Chapter 2:

Hearts and minds

A week has passed since their first battle in the DigiWorld. The expedition force has already started to build their FOB on the hill. It was big enough to build a base that could contain a few companies but soon they'll need more ground if they want the entire 1st expedition force in the world.

Stephen was standing in front of Eversman's office in the Command Center, who was reading his combat report.

"Has our prisonner said anything else?" The colonel asked while still reading.

"No sir. Just asking for food and water and some occasional nap time, sir." He replied.

"Right... Well we won't force her to like us either. Anyways, lieutenant, as you may know from our current situation, we're lacking some space for the main force to station here. That is why I called you here, like I did with the other officers, to go on a deep recon mission for you and your platoon. I want you to explore beyond our AO and find any villages and towns, establish a friendly relation with them. I want every detail on your map: terrain, rivers, caves, settlements and ect. Make sure you have enough supply to last a month. Your callsign has changed to 'Recon team 4'. Any questions?"

"What about the prisonner?"

"Bring her with you, she could be your guide. Anything else?"

"No sir." They both saluted at eachother before Stephen walked out of the office.

Stephen's platoon was standing at his attention, all in their combat gear while their officer is reading and checking the supply list with Weregarurumon standing shyly behind him with a desert marpat colored scarf around her neck so she could be recognised by the marines. Behind the standing soldiers were their convoy's vehicles: three Cougar 4x4 MRAPs, one LAV-25 and one Stryker APC.

"Dukeman, have you verified that we have enough supply to last a month?" Asked Stephen.

"Food, water and ammo sir!" The Staff Sergeant replied.

"Okay... now then... who the hell is our designated marksman?"

"I'll gladly be your marksman, sir!" Spoke up a woman as he turned his head to see her with a M39 EMR strapped to her chest. "Lance Corporal Elena Bradley reporting for duty!" She announced with a salute.

"I guess you just arrived here?" Elena nodded. "Welcome to the party Lance Corporal. Now that's taken care of, Cyberdramon might I ask why you have a SMAW strapped on you?"

The marines around him started to chuckle, so was he, before responding:

"I was thinking that maybe some extra firepower would be nice."

"Fine, just make sure you shoot at the right person."

Once he was over with the list, he puts down his clipboard and looked at his platoon.

"As you may have heard, we're going on a deep recon mission. We should be out there for at least a few weeks. Remember to be friendly in front of civilians and win their hearts and minds. We'll be all going in this mission with the guidance of our newest member: Weregarurumon. She is considered as a civilian and should be treated as such, meaning sacrificing your life for hers is included. If you're not happy with that, then you can get the fuck out of my platoon. As for the others, let's go on a field trip."

"Oorah!" They all shouted.

Hours has passed and the marines of Recon team 4 hadn't found a single settlement nor anything special to report. There were some few oddities here and there but they were considered normal to the digimon.

"Am I the only one who thinks that this feels like Afghanistan but with grass and digimons?" Asked the driver of the lead vehicle, PFC. Larry Brook.

"Nope, was thinking about the same thing." Stephen replied, who is sitting next the driver.

"How so?" Asked Cyberdramon on the back seat of the MRAP.

"Driving on a dirt road, no enemy contact for hours and probably a village in the middle of nowhere."

"That's it?"

"Well consider yourself lucky that we're fighting a conventional army, at least we don't need to be in constant alert because there might be an IED somewhere, ready to blow you in pieces or being ambush by terrorists from miles away, hiding behind the civilians." Stephen replied as a matter-of-factly.

"So you were fighting cowards?" Asked Flamedramon curiously.

"Fanatical cowards. These guys are the infamous parasites of Earth. You take one head off, two more will take his place. They're seriously a pain in the-"

"Turn to your right and there should be a small village near the woods." Informed Weregarurumon, interrupting Stephen's speech.

"You heard her, Larry." He said.

Some moments later and the convoy stopped infront of a small wooden village. It was surrounded by wooden palisades. At the village's entrance gate, was a wooden sign with the words:

-Welcome to Little Dawn village!-

-Pop: 56-

Stephen observed the village through the vehicle's windshield to see there wasn't any presence of civilians.

"Place looks empty." He noted before grabbing his M4A1 and exited the vehicle. "First squad on me! The rest of you watch our surroundings. Weregarurumon, Flamedramon with me also." He ordered through his radio and walked into the village. "Remember to smile and be friendly. Win their hearts and minds." He added.

The first civilian they encountered was a small cat-like digimon who just screamed and ran away from them.

"I don't know why, but I somewhat feel offended by that." Commented a Marine.

"Maybe it's their first time they see a human?" Hypothesized Brook.

"I think it's more of Cyberdramon they're scared of." The entire squad looked at the mentionned digimon.

"Hey! Why are you all staring at me?" Cyberdramon asked frantically and blushed in embarrassment.

The 8 men team continued further in the village until they arrived at what they supposed was the village center. Suddenly, they heard something running and laughing at the corner of their eyes. They then saw a small red digimon, chasing playfully a butterfly. The digimon had 9 feather-like, bright red and blue tipped tails, two long ears with the same features as the tails, blue stripes all over its body and a childish smile. It didn't seem to notice them until it bumped into Stephen. It was a little bit disorientated and then looked up at the marine. It immediately started to back away, fearing him. Stephen simply smiled and took off his helmet and his ballistic eyewear. He knelt down and moved his hand in front of him.

"Hey there little buddy! What's your name?" He greeted cheerfully.

The digimon seemed to be conflicted to wether or not it should trust him.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you or anything. Just want to say hello." He added.

The small digimon then looked up at the Flamedramon standing behind the human. He smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"E-Elecmon..." It replied shyly.

"Hi Elecmon! My name is Stephen and it's nice to meet you."

"S-Stephen-mon?" It asked confusely.

"No, it's just 'Stephen'. I'm not a digimon, I'm a human." He corrected the child digimon.

Elecmon's scared face was instantly replaced with awe.

"HEY LEOMON! I'M MEETING A HUMAN!" It shouted excitably.

Soon after, a Leomon bursted out of one of the houses near them and ran towards Elecmon and picked it up while smiling nervously and bowed down.

"Hehe... I'm so sorry mister if he bothered you! My little brother can be sometimes clumsy...hehe!" Leomon said sheepishly.

It was kind of weird for the marines to see a bipedal brawny lion being so intimidated by them. Any other human being would probably pale and shit themselves at first sight.

"No, it's fine actually. We thought for awhile this place was abandonned. But where's everybody else?" Asked Stephen.

"Ah yes everybody! Hehe...uh...hiding from you?" Leomon replied nervously.

"There's no need to worry. We're just here to say 'hello', not to conquer this place." Said the lieutenant, trying to comfort the lion.

"Uh? I thought you guys were here to fight the imperials?" Elecmon said puzzled. "I saw you guys beating them to a pulp a week ago, it was... AWESOME!" He added with awe and admiration.

"Then how about you say 'hello' elsewhere?" Asked a feminine voice behind them.

Raymond looked behind him and saw a black and white, bipedal fox who's apperantly glaring at him. The marines just noticed the digimon and jumped in surprise and aimed their rifle at it.

"Put your hands up-" Yelled Staff Sergeant Louis 'Duke' Dukeman but was soon interrupted by Elecmon.

"BlackRenamon!" He yelled joyfully as he jumped from Leomon's arms to the fox's arms, who hugged him gently. "You finally came back!"

"Stand down marines! Might I ask who are you?" Asked Raymond.

"BlackRenamon, I'm the village's guardian."

"And a member of the Dramon Resistance!" Added Elecmon and in return received a slap on the back of his head and a glare from her, probably because he said too much.

"Draconic Resistance huh?" Raymond wondered.

She sighed and then added:

"Yes... I'm also part of the resistance. But I'm just a scout."

"You sure? You look more like an assassin or a ninja to me." Noted sarcastically Flamedramon. "Scared the crap out of me." He added under his breath.

"Now can you please get out of here? Because of you now, there are more imperials coming this way with at least 3 full legions."

Leomon paled and fell unconscious while the marines seemed completely unfazed.

"2nd Lieutenant Stephen Raymond of the 1st 'Digital Marines', Echo company of the United States Marine Corps." Replied Raymond and offered his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Once they're done with the handshake, she looked at WereGarurumon with an amusing smile.

"I see that you've already met another member of the 'Night rose squad'." Everyone stared in disbelief at her, who was now laughing nervously.

"Hehe... surprise?"

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Asked Flamedramon.

"Now hold on a minute! It's not like I know if I should trust you or not. Come on Rena! Back me up here!" Weregarurumon plead.

"Soo... you're not an imperial?" Asked Cyberdramon with uncertainty.

"No, she's just an undercover spy. We're part of the Scout's Corps 'Night rose squad', we're the best there is in the Scout Corps. Weregarurumon is one our best scouts, we sent her undercover in the 54th Legion."

"Wait, I thought Digimon are genderless." Whispered Larry to a Marine, who simply responded with a shrug.

"And how many legions are there?" Asked Dukeman who's beginning to get concerned about their situation.

"I think there's currently 110 legions as we speak."

"I think it's safe to say that they'll be sending us their regulars now." Announced Cyberdramon.

"Talking about the regulars, there's the 33rd Legion coming towards your base, they're just a day march from the closest city, Iarica." She informed them."I can show you guys the way to this city."

"Just get in our vehicle and if you have anything else to share, we would gladly hear you out." Raymond said as the marines begin to move out.

After an entire week of non-stop traveling, Examon finally arrived at Sunset Valley's main city: Iarica. A city-state that governs all of Sunset Valley, it is located between the borders of the United Draconic Coalition, The Dramon Republic and the Wildlands Region. Since the war started, this small city-state remained neutral and didn't want to take part in the conflict since it depended on these regions for economic purposes. But their neutral position didn't last long as it fell in the Imperium's rule shortly after one of its protector, the Dramon Republic fell after months of grueling battles. Successfully cutting them from the UDC, Iarica didn't have any other choice but to surrender. Fortunately for them, the Imperium allowed them to trade with the UDC if they abide the Imperial laws. Thus, Iarica became an important commercial city for the entire Southern Continent.

The Royal Knight managed to get to the bustling city without the Imperials spotting him, eventhough he's a massive digimon. But what was surprising for him was that there was not a single imperial soldier present in the city, just the local law enforcements who didn't really care about the Imperium's strict laws or orders. Because if there were any imperial soldiers, they'll attack and capture him on sight since he's a Royal Knight. He landed in front of the town hall and walked calmly in the building. A few moments later, he knocked on the mayor's office door.

"Please come in!" Answered an old male voice from the office.

Examon entered the office while ducking under the door frame due to his massive size. The spacious oval office was littered with numerous books on the floor as the bookshelves that surrounded the office looked like a mess. Ahead of the dragon was a figure who seems to be deep in thoughts with the book it's currently reading. The figure was covered from head to toe in a robe that only its bright yellow eyes could be seen from it. Behind the faceless figure was a gigantic book, leaned on the wall.

"I see that you're still as messy as ever, Wisemon." He said amusingly.

Wisemon perked up and his eyes were lit up like a christmas tree, if that's even possible.

"Oh! Examon-san! It's been a while since I've seen my most successful student!" He said as he jumped from his office and ran to give Examon a hug.

"Are you seriously going to hug me every time I come here? I mean I visit you every month or two." He reminded to his old professor.

"Ah yes! I forget eveytime! I'm sorry but I'm getting very old lately." Wisemon said while picking a random book and reads it intently.

"79 is not old Wisemon, it's nothing compared with the digimon I work with."

"Yes, yes I'm old and all..." Examon just looked at Wisemon, dumb-founded. He sighed, knowing that his old professor will always be absent-minded.

"Anyways, what brings you here, Examon?"

"I heard that recently the imperials are deploying a lot of soldiers in Sunset Valley, may I ask why?"

"I don't know, maybe they're just training or sending more security further down... Now that I mention security, what happened to the 54th legion that was stationed here? I haven't seen them in days! Do they know that these streets are filled with scum bandits and-"

"I know you're lying" Examon stated with empathy. The old wizard sighed in defeat and frowned.(again, if that's even possible for him)

"So the rumors were true huh? The humans are here. Do you know how many are they? What are their intentions? Can we trust them?" Examon continued to bombard him with questions, worried that their new visitors from the Real World were invading them. Wisemon finally raised his hand which the dragon silenced himself obediently.

"Have you heard of 'the Dramon Resistance'?" The beast Royal Knight nodded.

"They've currently sent two of their best agents in this region and I've been cooperating with them eversince. They would give me regular reports on the imperials' mouvement while I offer them protection by keeping them off the imperials' law enforcements. With that said, I've recently got a report that one of them has been captured by the humans." Examon stared at Wisemon in disbelief.

"Is he alright?" He asked worriedly.

"'She', Examon and I hope yes. They didn't executed her on the spot when she was caught so all we can do is pray for her safety."

Examon frowned as the current situation of the Royal Knights gets even more complicated. Not only they were understaffed and their headquarter's region is being surrounded by imperial forces but now they need to worry about an unknown force from the Real World. Questions upon questions started to pile in, with no clear answers.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Well-"

However, Wisemon was interrupted when they both heard rapid footsteps outside the office.

"SENSEI!" Yelled a Wizardmon as it bursted violently through the wooden doors.

"Ah... Wizardmon-sama! What brings you here my apprentice?" Wisemon asked calmly.

"Something i-is at o-ur w-west g-gate!" His apprentice said through his heavy breathing. "Oh why d-did I skip P.E in c-college?" He asked loudly to himself.

"What is this 'something'?" Asked Examon. Wizardmon held a finger up, signaling Examon to wait for him to retake his breath.

"I don't know, but there was WereGarurumon-san and 'Rena-senpai coming out of metal boxes and demanding for us to open the gates to...uh, what was their name?" He struggled for a bit until he lit up like a lightbulb, feeling triumphant. "That's it! They were called: 'Marines'!"

"Well speak of the Devil. Shall we greet these 'marines', Examon?" Wisemon asked cheerfully.

"After you, old mon."

"Ah ah! I told you I was old!"

Examon smiled and rolled his eyes but soon frowned as he will finally meet face-to-face these newly called 'marines'.