AN: Hey everyone! Sorry this took a little while to get out. I've been really busy lately with family trips, job stuff, and helping my family with important stuff. We got to go to Comic-Con last month, which was pretty fun. If any of you watch My Hero Academia, we all dressed up as a family in some cool costumes. My aunt helped me make a Best Jeanist that looked great!
Anyways, I hope that you guys enjoy this coming chapter. Time to write it has been few and far between, but I worked on it as much as I could. I hope you guys like it!
Now for responses.
To smartalec121: I know I've already said this in a message, but it bears repeating: thank you. You're right that Rika's friends would never call her 'someone's wife.' They'd probably fear she'd hear from the Digital World and find a way to take them out from there! In the original draft, Tasuke was going to have been much younger when his parents disappeared, and the possibility that he was actually Henry's kid was going to be a thing, but it seemed contrived so I moved on but got stuck on that needless 'mystery' anyways. Regardless, I'm glad you like BlackGuilmon! He's super fun to write, especially when he's talking with May. And if there is hope for him, I hope that I can write it as organically as I picture it in my head. As for the Tamers, that will be a point that will be directly addressed eventually along with how and why the Digimon from the Tamers show disappeared. Who knows? Maybe some old faces will show up in the meantime.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and what comes next!
Episode 9:Digital Agents:First Strikes
Agents of D-CARD that operated in the real world were technically the only direct operatives of D-CARD, as they dealt with the real world defense against foreign Digimon. Operatives that defended the nurseries were 'D-CADD,' or the 'Digimon Center of American (Digital-World) Defense.' The agents of D-CARD worked at the beck and call of the Director, but when he wasn't personally interested in them they generally worked on loan to special branches of the CIA, NSA, or – more rarely – the FBI. Because of their position working for the Director, they were afforded certain... privileges. Privileges that Agent Derek Verrater very much enjoyed. Lots of government agents didn't really get all that many perks of the job. They had to stay in roach motels, drive terrible cars, and the pay? For all the work they put in, it was never enough to warrant it. What had his old handler called the real reward? Oh, right: "Pay-triotism," like doing things for your country was the reward. It wasn't as much a thing when you were responsible for a living WMD. He was in an pretty good hotel with a pretty good breakfast buffet, a nice mid-model truck. The pay was still terrible, though. Which was why he had decided to build his nest egg selling secrets. And worst came to worst, he had an exit strategy.
For now though, he'd enjoy the easy jobs in comfort. Jobs like hunting a pair of idiot kids for the Director. Right now, he could see that these two had barely any training. They hadn't set up any kind of traps for him, and they were running around like they didn't even expect anyone to come after them at all. Verrater grinned. Kids that D-CARD wanted kidnapped or dead meant only one thing: Digidestined. He'd definitely capture them, then. The information that D-CARD had three Digidestined in pocket would fetch a huge sum all over the world, and he wouldn't even have to offer it in one deal. He could sell it to everybody and retire anywhere in the world! Well, anywhere except America, but he figured that was a small trade for living like a king for the rest of his life.
But that would have to wait, at least until his job here was done, so he pulled up his binoculars and put on his headphones as he realigned the surveillance dish he was using to listen to the school. Inside one of the outer rooms, he could hear the two kids stupidly talking, but at least whispering, about Digimon. "So what did you tell Henry you were doing instead of training with BG?" The girl giggled, some kind of inside joke apparently.
"Part timing with a restaurant he hates. It's the perfect cover: he'll never check if I'm there!" the boy replied. "And it's BlackGuilmon."
"Defending him?"
"Have to make him my friend somehow," the boy explained as he leaned with his cheek on one hand. "Otherwise he'll never -" he stopped and turned, flashing an anxious grin as people passed by. "Never Digivolve."
"Smooth," the girl said with a smirk. She sighed. "But why doesn't he have to try."
"Because he won't," the boy explained. "So, I guess, it's up to me."
The girl most have rolled her eyes, because the boy indignantly asked, "What?"
"Maybe BG is good for you in one way, then," she explained laughing under her breath. "You'll have to learn people skills."
"Ugh," he grunted back, but he sounded amused by the whole thing. "What do you think we'll learn from -"
Verrater yelped as the bell rang suddenly, cutting off all other noises and deafening him until he tore his headphones off. He snarled and slammed them on the roof beside him before rubbing his ears. "Dammit," he groaned. He raised the binoculars and looked for the kids, picking them out as they went over to neighboring cars. Easy enough to track, just keep an eye on those –
He cocked his head to the side as he saw someone he recognized, vaguely at least. He'd seen enough pictures to tell who that was, but he wasn't sure. He picked up the surveillance tool and aimed it at the three kids. " – want, Kidnapper?" the boy ended as he glared at the newcomer.
The new boy looked uncomfortable. "Tasuke, I wanted to..." he glanced around, eyes scanning the sky like he expected someone was watching. "Don't be late. We'll be doing basics on everything you'll need to survive once people start chasing you."
"We aren't going to be late, Davis," the girl interjected before the boy could snap something else at him.
Verrater palled and the rest of the conversation faded away. Davis Estevez? That Davis Estevez? The Digidestined with an Ultimate level Digimon partner? Agent Verrater couldn't really hear the conversation going on now instead his mind was whirling in an effort to put all the pieces together.
He'd been sent after kids that D-CARD already owned.
They were being watched by the single strongest agent working directly under Gethen.
Verrater sold secrets and betrayed D-CARD.
It all clicked and he fought down the urge to scream in rage. Gethen thought that he could just use him as a goddamn test to make these stupid kids stronger? Like he was a stepping stone? Verrater tore the headphones off and tossed them out to the side of the road as he turned his key and the truck's engine roared to life. Gethen was going to really do something this stupid? He'd just run, then. That way –
No, no, no. No. Screw that. Running? He had a nice sum in his nest egg, more than enough to retire and even drag Goblimon with him for kicks. But kidnapping two Digidestined before they were a real threat? Forget selling the secret that the US had three Digidestined. Selling the both of them to a country would make him richer than God and he'd live more opulently than a Devil. And, he grinned, it'd be a great screw you to Gethen, that pompous...
But that did leave one issue. How to deal with Estevez. Verrater could beat a couple of Rookie kids no problem. Ogremon was more than enough for that, after all. But he couldn't hope to go face to face with Estevez. But odds were these kids couldn't deal with anything too strong yet given how stupid and untrained they were, so they wouldn't be sent after any Bio-emergence that was too strong. Champion or higher, definitely not. He picked up his 3D and glared at the screen. How far could he push this? Gethen wanted this to be a stupid test, then he'd push it as far as he could. He called the number. "Yes, I'd like to request an Ultimate Bio-Emergence on Friday near my current location." He listened to the question the agent on the other end asked and grinned. "It's needed to distract and divide."
He put his foot on the gas as he saw the kids' cars heading away, following them wherever the hell they were going. Now he just needed to set the trap, and he was sure he'd get a good way to do that soon. Getting rich because Gethen decided to let two idiot kids try and kill him would be priceless even compared to the millions he'd make selling them. He'd almost want to pay to see Gethen's face when he realized he'd underestimated Verrater. Not that he was stupid enough to try, but it would be nice to imagine from his beachfront home somewhere with Digi-agent bodyguards making sure he'd never be hurt. And all it would take was beating the snot out of these two stupid kids.
X X X
There are some important things that I hadn't really learned about handguns before I'd used one for the first time. You see, video games and movies really don't communicate a huge level of truth regarding them. First of all, they're kind of heavy. Not like so heavy you can't do anything, but heavy enough that it isn't all that easy to hold it out for an extended period of time. Second, recoil even from a handgun is nothing to sneeze at if you aren't prepared for it. I had set my feet just like the Kidnapper had told me to, and I'd still yelped as the gun shot up in my hands. "Shit!" I'd shouted as the gunpowder exploded and the bullet flew forward, slamming into the target and tearing through. The gun had shot up in my hands and the bullet went wide, cutting through the corner of the paper to leave a small hole.
After a little while, I got a little better at it. A lot faster than May, at least. While I eventually managed to get a couple on the center of the target, she just barely managed to hit the target paper at all. "Why am I so bad at this!?" she snapped as she finished and put the gun down at the range after removing the clip. We all removed our earmuffs and she turned around to glare at us. "I hate this," she muttered and glaring at me. "How did you do it so easy?"
"I'm not all that good at it, May," I said sheepishly. "I mean, I hit the target maybe four times in five clips. Look at Davis' target; he bulls-eyed the entire clip!" And he had. Ten small holes at the center of the target. I grinned. "But yes. I am better than you."
"It had to be at something," she spat back jokingly.
"But for now you both understand exactly what you can do, and what it's like to hold one of those," Davis said simply. He walked over and opened a door, letting the Digimon into the room.
"Ew, what's that smell? It burns my nose!" Dorimon cried as she walked in, standing on top of the massively annoyed BlackGuilmon, who was still tied down to a cart now being pushed by Huckmon's head. "I don't like it. It smells like BG's breath!" BlackGuilmon didn't say anything, but he smoke began to rise from his nose as he glared at Dorimon. I guess he learned it wouldn't do anything for him to thrash about like a toddler. Or maybe it was that we had threatened to muzzle him if he didn't stop.
"I wish that the two of you were actually good with them, of course," Davis continued as he ignored the Digimon. He shook his head. "But we can't worry about that. Agents are going to come after you sooner rather than later, and you need a way to defend yourselves from people who are going to try and kill you." He crossed his arms. "As minors, we aren't allowed to carry your regulation digi-weapons everywhere, so we'll have to leave them here in this gun range. And remember what you learned about gun safety. It's important that you never break any of those rules."
"We're not children," I muttered, annoyed.
"I mean, technically..." Huckmon pointed out simply.
"But we have more we have to worry about," Davis stated, uninterested in my protest. "For as useful as knowing how to fire a gun or win a fight is, it's more important to know how to keep a fight from happening." He motioned at the Digimon, then at us. "We're meant to protect people and keep the existence of Digimon a secret so nobody dies in our fights. So our first method of attack should be..?"
"Tunneling under ground to bite them!" Dorimon shouted eagerly.
"You were way too excited suggesting that," May muttered at her partner.
"And, no. No, it's not that," Davis said, a little surprised the puffball had come up with such a weird plan.
"No, it's a frontal attack!" BlackGuilmon shouted with a grin. "To destroy them with no surprise makes a fight interesting!"
"It's definitely not that, Idi – BlackGuilmon," I supplied hastily.
"Yeah, BG, it's obviously not that. Learn context clues," Huckmon said, drawing another growl from BlackGuilmon for the nickname.
"Can I finish?" Davis asked the Digimon.
"Oh, uh... sure thing, Boss!" Huckmon said, jumping away from the cart. "You can talk."
"Thanks for the permission," Davis noted dryly to his own Digimon. He looked back over at us. "It's making sure you fight on your terms. Somewhere far from people with enough open space that buildings and people won't get hurt, but close enough to here that you can grab your things on the way there."
"... I still like tunneling," Dorimon said with a frown.
"Digging holes? I guess the whole dog disguise has gone to your head," I said, angering the small mon. "Oh, calm down. You're an ugly dog, but a normal looking digimon."
"No, she's an ugly Digimon," BlackGuilmon remarked. Dorimon turned on him, furious, but that only made him laugh. "What are you going to do, in-training Digimon? Snuggle me to death?"
"Let me kill him, May!" Dorimon snapped, leaping forward only to be caught by her Digidestined. "I want to kill him!"
"You couldn't kill me if our situations were reversed. You can't do anything now," BlackGuilmon mocked. "Your owner wouldn't let you."
"Stop it," I commanded, earning a glare from him. He did shut up, though.
"The basics of what you need to do revolve around three things," Davis began to explain, motioning for Huckmon to ensure there would be no more Digital interruptions. "Detection, misdirection, and preparation. The first is difficult, especially when people are trying to hide from you. But there are signs to look out for. Start with cars popping up nearby no matter where you go. Head to a lot of places, and keep watch for the same car appearing either in different places or at the same place over and over. You should also look for new people. If your new plumber shows up at the mall, it might not be a good sign. Misdirection is all about leaving a trail of information, not too long or detailed, that leads to a location you have chosen. Ideally, it's far from people and somewhere you can set traps, which is part three: preparation."
"What kind of traps?" May asked apprehensively.
Davis replied, without missing a beat, "Explosives, mainly. Not much else that can damage a Champion level Digimon. Pits, claymores, and net traps for the humans. Anything else you can think of works, too."
"Wait, you want us to set explosives somewhere?! We're high schoolers, not soldiers!" I snapped. "You're crazy!"
"We are soldiers, by definition. We protect our home in a war, therfore soldiers. And they'll be international assassins, enemy soldiers," he retorted. Going to be honest, I didn't have a retort for that one. He nodded and continued on, as if he hadn't just told us to get over ourselves and kill people. "You'll need to memorize where the traps are so you don't accidentally blow your legs off or impale yourselves on sticks. Which means don't set too many, and spend as much time as you can on site memorizing the locations."
He paused for a moment, then nodded. "And the last thing, the fourth thing. You need to find a way to survive. It's not -" he shook his head and gave a look like he was trying to get rid of a taste in his mouth. "No matter how evil they are, or how much they want to hurt you, it isn't easy. If you've got a shred of humanity, it hurts to kill. You need to find someone or something to keep you from falling apart."
That was a lot to take in. Davis almost seemed like he was on the verge of tears, and that wasn't exactly summoning up confidence in the rest of us. "What keeps you from falling apart?" May asked after a few moments of silence her quiet voice loud in the echoing silence.
He stared at the ground, jaw set. Huckmon nodded at him, and he sighed. "For me, it's my mother," he explained as he clasped his hands. He stared down at them and fidgeted, running his thumbs over one another. "I joined D-CARD to help her after my father died. Knowing that these people would try to kidnap or kill her just to get at me, that they have, helps me understand that this is self defense. It makes it easier to survive it even if it doesn't hurt less to do it. I'm keeping her safe from people that would hurt her, and that's all I can do."
He looked up from his hands. "It'll be different for you both, but the idea is the same. The person or goal that means the most to you."
May and I looked at one another. What could be something that means that much?
X X X
"Okay, okay. So I like the plan, but could you go over the entire thing again because I wasn't listening?" Goblimon asked before burping out an entire chicken bone. The tiny goblin-like Digimon grinned and reached for another chicken wing, stuffing it whole down his green throat.
Verrater rolled his eyes as he plopped down on the other side of the bed. "You know, I wish I could trade for a better partner," he remarked honestly.
"No one else would help you lie, steal, and cheat," Goblimon retorted simply. He ate another chicken leg from the bucket. "So as much as I'd appreciate a smarter partner, too, we're stuck together, Derek. So, instead of complaining like you always do, just talk about the plan."
Derek glared at the Digimon, not happy with the honesty the actual goblin was giving him. "Just shut up and listen," he growled before taking a leg for himself. He took a bite to calm his anger at his partner. "Gethen's found us out."
Goblimon stopped pulling a leg up to his mouth and a cold sweat broke out on his head. "He... knows?"
"Probably for a while now." Derek waved his chicken side to side and scoffed. "Bigwig's probably been feeding us false info for a while now. Which is unfortunate; some of our old clients might not be happy about that."
Goblimon raised an eyebrow and hopped like a gorilla over to his partner. "You seem awfully calm for someone who knows we're screwed," he remarked, confused. "Why?"
Verrater grinned and took another bite. "Simple," he began after swallowing, "he's underestimated us. He thinks we're a couple of idiots to betray him. Thing is, he went after us like we were idiots. He left the Estevez kid here to capture us."
Goblimon yelped. "And that makes you less worried!? That kid and his partner can go Ultimate, numbskull! We couldn't hurt him if they tied their hands behind their backs!"
"But he really underestimated us. He didn't take me out of the system." He pointed his chicken leg at Goblimon. "See where I'm going?"
Goblimon thought for a moment, his tiny little brain struggling to turn the gears. Then: "Ooooh!" He jumped forward and ate the chicken leg from Derek's fist, gulping it down without chewing. "I get it!"
Derek rolled his eyes. "Really? Do you really?"
Goblimon nodded for a moment, then sighed. "No. No, not really."
"I'm going to have an Ultimate attack near their school, you empty headed... gah! Look, all you need to know is it's going to be us trying to knock out two kids and their Digimon so we can sell them. Two Digidestined kids who can't even make it to Champion."
"And how do we get out of the country, huh? Estevez'll definitely get the Wild One, and then he'll find us after we take the kids down, you know that idiot!" Goblimon insulted. He picked up another leg and threw it at Derek, the food bouncing off of his head with a thud.
"Ow," Verrater muttered dryly. He wiped grease from his forehead and crossed his arms. "We go to one of the consulates. I'm thinking the great white north. They'll pay the crap out of us for these kids, and they'll get us out of the country pretty damn fast." He picked up the chicken leg and threw it at Goblimon, who caught it in his open mouth. "See, moron, I've got a plan."
Goblimon glared at his partner. "Well, it better not get in the way of getting paid," he growled. "And as always -"
"We shouldn't get in each others' way, either. Believe me, if it comes down to me or payment, I know you'll choose payment. I can always trust you to be consistent, you little ogre." He nodded as he smacked the digimon on the shoulder. "And you can count on me to be the same."
X X X
That Friday, May and I sat together with the kidnapper in the mall's food court, eating fries as May and I talked about the best place and ways to set a trap. "There are some nice speakers I can set up all around the park where BlackJerkmon used to live. We can record some footsteps, our voices, and some attack noises to distract them."
"That's a good idea. You can set up for flanking them," the Kidnapper explained before taking another fry. "Or lead them into a more dangerous trap. It's more likely to trick a human than a Digimon, though."
"Then why don't we make smell traps, too?" I asked jokingly.
Instead, the Kidnapper nodded. "That would work, but it will take some... heavy scent. Old socks or worse..." he sighed and shook his head, fighting off an embarrassed blush. "It's not fun to hang up old underwear in a park, but it has saved my life once or twice."
"Gross," May muttered, dropping an uneaten fry onto the floor. Dorimon, hiding under the table, exclaimed in joy and jumped on it like she hadn't eaten in days. "More info than we needed."
Deciding now was the best time to change topic, I turned to the Kidnapper. "So, where does Huckmon go?" I asked as I grabbed another fry. "I mean, one minute he's there, and the next..." I tossed the fry in my mouth. "Gone."
"It's... hard to explain," he began with a confused frown. "As far as I understand it, some Digimon are reborn as eggs, with some level of their old data forming a baseline for what they become, while other eggs are brand new. Huckmon says that he's always known how to sneak around like that, so I guess it's leftovers from the last time around. He's still here, you just can't see him, or hear him, or feel him. He's like a digital ghost."
"If only BlackJerkmon could do that," I muttered. I leaned on the table and sighed. "Maybe then he could do anything other than stay locked up in the warehouse."
"If he could turn invisible, I'd worry about Dory getting loaded," May pointed out dryly.
I soured. "Oh. Right."
"Either way, until he's willing to Dedigivolve so you can move him around more easily, he's stuck in the warehouse," Davis explained. He opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by his 3D beeping wildly on the table. "A bio-emergence?" He reached over to his Digivice to check, then turned a few shades paler.
"What's wrong?"
He looked like he was fighting just to stay calm. "Both of you need to stay here. There's an Ultimate bio-emergence happening near the school."
May and I froze. "But there's practices going on. There's people there!" I hissed. "We can help you by -"
"No," he commanded sternly. He glanced at both of us. "I can keep it away from the school on my own, and you two would just get in my way." He stood up. "The Director doesn't want either of you in more danger than you can handle, and neither of you are anywhere close to handling something of this level. Stay away."
With that, he turned and walked hurriedly away. "... We're not following him," May told me when she saw my face. "If he says we'd get in the way, he's probably – no, scratch that. He's definitely right."
I turned towards her, surprised. "I wasn't going to say we should follow him," I protested. "I want to help, but I know when I'm useless. BlackGuilmon could barely beat Huckmon!"
"Then why did you say we could help?" she asked.
"I was going to say we could evacuate people."
"How?"
"Tell them... uh... We could say... that..."
"Exactly."
I groaned and stuffed my face with fries instead of coming up with a retort to her smug face. "Message for a... T and M," the mall's intercom suddenly buzzed. "I found BG. What does that mean? Yeah, I know you don't know, but – "
May and I froze and looked up. "Wh-what did he say?" May wondered quietly.
I glanced down at my 3D on the table. "I... have a bad feeling about this."
It didn't take us long to get to the warehouse, bursting through the door together. "I was wondering when you two morons would get here," a blonde man in a tactical vest stated, standing with his foot on top of BlackGuilmon. A gun was pointed at the Digimon's head. But worse, way worse, was what stood behind him. "Ogremon..." I muttered as my and May's Digivices beeped, bringing up his information. "The Digimon Hunter that seeks to fight bold Digimon with as much combat power as itself. He uses his Bone Mace attack to stun his enemies, then while they're distracted to kill them with a Pummel Whack from the distance.
In yellow: "A Digimon with a human partner."
The man grinned and pointed his gun and tossed zip ties at our feet. "Now, how about you two cuff yourselves nice and slow before I have to do something I really don't want to do." He looked at both of us and frowned. "Wait, isn't there -"
That was the point that Dorumon broke through the wall of the warehouse, firing a Metal Sphere at the man. He snarled and jumped to the side, rolling beneath the attack. His gun came up and he fired at Dorumon, who yelped in pain and stumbled backwards until violet lines appeared in front of her, solidifying into WarGreymon's Brave Shield. The man stopped firing and stood up just as BlackGuilmon had gotten to is feet and sprinted over to May and me. "Good. I was worried this was going to be too easy. Ready Ogremon?"
The green monster took a step forward. "I think I'm going to enjoy beating you four unconscious," he said, laughing darkly. He lifted his mace and tapped it against his other palm, trying – and succeeding – to be menacing "Now... which pipsqueak goes first?"
X X X
Lucas Gethen smiled as he finally had a chance to sit down in mission control in Washington, DC for the first time in weeks. It had been an interesting change of pace to spend his time out in Colorado, but it didn't compare to life in the Capital. Being away from all that power felt... provincial, almost. Still, that vacation had had its uses. He had three Digidestined in hand, and the Hazard, now. It was certainly worth the trip. Too bad that Zubel had to go. He couldn't risk specifics about the Hazard getting out, or for Henry's location to become wider knowledge within his own organization.
On that topic, he had a calculated risk he had to watch play out. He looked up at the main screen of mission control, where only he remained. The Director watched the scene unfolding with great interest, a growing smile on his face. He hadn't expected it to play out quite this well, of course, with Verrater playing into his hand like he was being paid to do it. He expected him to try and run, or for the traitor to call in some sort of backup that he would have to spend valuable resources distracting. Instead, the traitor simply called in a bio-emergence of an Ultimate to distract someone already ordered to stay out of the way. And now he was threatening them! Digidestined having their Digimon and their friends threatened usually ended up getting significantly closer to Digivolution.
Still, even this carried some level of risk. If that fool kept waving that gun around he might accidentally kill one of the Digidestined. That would be such a waste of resources. If it was one of the Digimon, he may be able to recoup his losses with a reborn egg, but humans had no such luxury. He'd waited this long for three Digidestined, and he had no desire to wait that long again. Those children would never grow if they weren't under real threat, so for once he was actually nervous. He had so much to lose, now.
But so much more to gain.
BlackGuilmon was ready to fight, now. Smoke was rising from his nose as he and Dorumon stared down Ogremon. Nearby, the children were getting ready to put their combat training to the test and get rid of the gun before Verrater could kill them or their Digimon. "I suppose there's nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the show," Gethen sighed as he leaned back into his seat. "I rarely make a bad bet, so I hope you do not disappoint me, Digidestined."
X X X
Former Agent Jennifer Smith and her tiny partner had been driving for days nonstop from the DC office where they had been sent for leave, knowing it was only a matter of time before the Hazard got too strong for them to face. They would have been there far earlier, but they had to cover their tracks and set false trails every so often just to make sure that they wouldn't be caught by their former superiors. They had managed to find someone that had enough basic knowledge of tracking devices to clean the 3D, but they didn't expect her to stay quiet. Someone, somehow would find out where they were going and it would be difficult to survive.
But Cadetmon and Jennifer knew that their luck wasn't going to hold all the way to Colorado. When their car flipped through the air and crashed on the side of the empty road in Nebraska it wasn't much of a surprise. The two screamed in surprise and pain as the car tumbled through corn, fires igniting around them. Cadetmon's egg exploded as the car came to a stop and Commandramon burst out, conscious and uninjured. "Jennifer!" he shouted, staring at the unconscious woman. He snarled and turned his gun towards the roof, shredding the metal before grabbing her and leaping from the car. He dragged her through the corn and put her carefully down. "Are you okay?" She groaned in pain, mind barely brushing consciousness. She was bruised and slightly burned, but otherwise she seemed fine.
He turned and shouldered his rifle, knowing it was only a matter of time before whoever attacked them showed up to see if they had died. "Tempest Wing!" Commandramon yelped as the tornado attack flew at him and Jennifer. He glanced behind himm at the human just barely waking up and knew he had two choices. Dodge and let her die, or let it hit him... and maybe die. Not even a hard choice.
When the attack hit, he was sent flying over his partner, the wind following him shredding corn as he went. He rolled to a stop a dozen feet away, his data no longer quite stable. His flickering form burned with pain as he forced himself to his feet. "Halsemon and Agent Juno Amour," the Digimon hissed as the agent and her Digimon stepped through the corn towards his partner, who was now pushing herself up on one arm.
"Commandramon," the Halsemon growled, sounding almost disappointed by it. "We are sorry it had to be this way."
"Which is why we didn't kill you," Juno stated. She glanced down at Jennifer. "Jen."
"They really sent our old training buddies after us, huh?" Jen asked as she stood up. She clenched her jaw. "I don't suppose I could convince you to leave."
"Some of us love our country," Juno said. She motioned for Jen to stand beside Commandramon, and she did. "But you are our friends. We thought you'd prefer to die facing it." She turned to Commandramon. "I am surprised a soldier like you wouldn't do your duty."
"Who says I'm not?" the Digimon asked.
Halsemon shook its massive, armored head. "Then it is time we fight." Without warning, Halsemon shot forward, spinning in a violent tornado that drove Jennifer and Commandramon apart. Jen rolled to her feet and reached for her 3D, only to be forced to continue running when Juno began firing a digi-pistol at her.
"You're not going to get off that easily," Juno stated as she fired at the former agent's heels. Jennifer ignored her former friend, pulling out her own gun and firing it back before sliding behind the downed car. "I'm going to get you eventually. Commandramon can't hold up to Halsemon without heavy digi-modification."
Jennifer rolled her eyes before looking over the car and firing at Juno. "The director is lying, Juno!"
"He is our leader. He has to hide secrets!" Bullets traded back and forth.
Commandramon was, just as Juno had said, at a disadvantage. Even though Halsemon was a Data type and he was a Virus type, the armor digivolution put the bird at nearly a Champion level of power, and that easily made it worth three rookies. The large bird was also significantly faster and stronger physically, with Commandramon's every attempt at dodging resulting in glancing blows that hurt. He was getting tossed all over the corn field, and Halsemon wasn't even bothering with using his attacks.
"Well, if we can't get you to decide to come back, we'll just have to bring you back," Halsemon begrudgingly sighed as he landed another glancing blow on Commandramon, the attack sending him tumbling to the ground and causing his data to glitch out. The dinosaur gasped in pain and clutched at his side, trying to will himself to stay together.
"He's working with evil Digimon, Halsemon," Commandramon implored. He struggled to his knees, still glitching. "Not just survival of the fittest like us. Evil."
Halsemon studied the small digimon for a moment. Then: "I don't believe you. When we take you back, we'll get to the bottom of this." He turned and began to advance on Jennifer. "But the director's orders were clear. Your data can be reused. Hers cannot."
It was then that Commandramon understood what was going to happen. They were going to bring him in alive, but they had no such orders regarding Jennifer. If anything, they had been ordered to make sure she didn't survive, instead dying in a 'car accident' on the side of the road. He snarled to himself and tried to drag himself forward just as Halsemon screamed, "Eagle Eye!" Twin arrows red energy flew from his gaze, crashing into the remains of the car. The explosive impulse of the attack was enough to send Jennifer rolling through the corn, smoke rising from her clothes. She glared up at the digimon and human approaching her, ready to kill her.
Commandramon felt a bolt of terror run down his spine at the image that appeared in his mind, of his human partner dead on the ground with a bullet between her eyes. He couldn't let that happen to her, not to his friend! "JENNIFER!"
The 3Ds of Jennifer and Juno went wild, swirling with army green energy that shown even through Jennifer's jacket pocket. "Limit reached. Digivolution commencing," the screen said as Juno glanced down at it, and she knew immediately what was about to happen. This was feedback from Jen's 3D echoing through hers, which meant – "Halsemon, attack Commandramon before-"
It was too late, however, as the olive-green and black egg surrounding the digimon had exploded. Gone was the small dinosaur, replaced now with a cyborg dinosaur a foot taller than Jennifer herself. It was coated in black armor, with large, silver talons tipping its feet. A pair of knives extended from red tubing on its back, giving the appearance of wings. Its chest looked like a tactical vest. On its head was a glowing red eye and a silvery-blue one beside it above a gas-mask like silver snout. The helmet was tipped with a black and yellow horn. The digimon held a large knife in a combat stance in its right hand. "Commandramon, Digivolve to... Sealsdramon!"
Jennifer's eyes widened. "You... you digivolved?" she wondered aloud as what that meant struck her.
"Too little, too late," Juno said, desperate to finish this before he could kill them. "Take him out!" she ordered Halsemon before turning her gun on Jennifer again.
Then, faster than even Halsemon could react, the Sealsdramon was in front of her. His fist lashed out and slammed into Juno, and she flew through the air and into the car. There was a sickening crunch and then she hit the ground, no longer moving.
Halsemon reacted immediately. "JUNO!" he screamed as he rocketed towards Sealsdramon, eyes glowing red with rage. "Gah! Mach Impulse!" Blades of pressurized air exploded from the large wings extending from his head, aimed directly at the newly-evolved Digimon.
Sealsdramon's red eye widened and narrowed in response. "Scouter Monoeye," his mechanical, even voice came out from behind the mask. Then it rushed forward, and the knife in his hand easily cut through the dozens of blades that Halsemon had sent at them. "I'm sorry it had to end this way. Death Behind!" And just like that, he vanished, reappearing above Halsemon with his combat knife in both hands. "You were good soldier, even if you were misguided." Then he buried the knife hilt deep in Halsemon's head. Violet data exploded from the wound and the hawk began to scream, agony echoing through the empty fields as he was broken down piece by piece. The digital field created by Juno's digivice transported the data back to the Digital World before the fog began to slowly disappear, leaving Sealsdramon and Jen alone.
Hours later, Cadetmon and Jennifer were driving away in Juno's car. It had taken some time to remove the lojack so they couldn't be tracked, but it had been worth it. It had been quiet, uncomfortably so. They hadn't said much in that time, still coming to terms with everything that had happened. "Jennifer, I -" Cadetmon began, intent on checking if she was all right.
"Thanks, Cadetmon, for saving my life. " She glanced over at him and smiled. "I guess now that we can digivolve, that makes us friends instead of just partners, huh?"
Cadetmon smild back and nodded. "That's right, Ma'am – I mean, that's right, Jen. Friends." He stared out the windshield. "But we only got this far because we can trust each other. You abandoned everything to come with me, even when it would have been easier for you to turn me in. We've been friends for a long time."
At that, Jennifer's smile just grew and she turned away to focus on the road stretching out in front of them. The two continued to drive, the silence now much more comfortable.
Okay, I haven't been able to get anything out of the Gogglehead for a few days now. He's been acting like a scared little baby every time I come around, and it's getting annoying. You'd think growing up might have made him less of an absolute Gogglehead, but it's almost like it's made him worse. And now this? You know, I like this Jennifer lady. I hope she doesn't bite it. And these kids, whoever they are, must be such goggleheads, but it's interesting to see Renamon isn't the only Digimon that can stealth around. Of course, she's definitely way better at it. Now, let me see what all of this is about...
HE TOLD YOU ABOUT THE DREAM GIRL THING!?
That's it, the Gogglehead is so dead. Come on, Renamon, let's see if he makes it to the next episode of Digimon: Digital Monsters!