FSE

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(Please, I know I messed up around some parts in this story and I do encourage any furs to tell me I messed up. I would really like imput to make my stories better, I do appreciate where people spot flawa and or mistakes. If told in the comments or PM, I will go back and edit. Thanks.)

Ryan:

I was one guy, Travis had more experience, and he expected me to lead a squad some point in the near future? Hah!

I didn't say that out loud however, rather not piss him off since I bet he knows like some sort of karate or bone breaking move that might leave me unconscious. I didn't want to tick him off already anyway, he may have looked my age but I'm sure he was stronger than he looked...a lot stronger.

He gave me fifteen minutes to pack, great. I ran back to the elevator and hurried upstairs, once up I sprinted to my room and opened the door. I quickly woke up Jason who spoke Italian as he drowsily woke up, he said something about sheep I think but it was so mumbled I couldn't even hear what most of it was. Yet, I heard a curse towards me in there which had me chuckling for a few minutes as I began to pack up everything we might need to take with us.

I grabbed a few pairs of jeans, a few shirts, two jackets, and some running shoes (it was the army, I was gonna have to run.) I managed to get some clothes for Jason too, luckily he had some dropped off besides his PJ's. He had a few pairs of dark jeans, a few shirts, and some boxers. I packed all of them and zipped the bag up but stopped about halfway up the zipper. I realized I only packed clothes, there was still a few more things I could get in that I wanted to take. I nearly forgot about my locket, the one thing I held closest to my heart and pretty much the only thing to remind me about my parents, that and the small frame of my father and mother sitting on my desk. They were dressed in their uniforms and looked strict and hard but still caring in a sort of way. I took it and placed it into my bag, grabbing my locket and placing it around my neck in the process. The last thing that had any sentimental value was the last photo frame with Nicholas, Robyn and I at a park making funny faces. Nicholas was sticking his tongue out at the camera, Robyn had her arm wrapped around my neck and was giving me a noggie, and I was just in her arms smiling and laughing a little.

God, I loved that day.

I placed it into my bag carefully, as if it might turn into dust if I just tossed it in like everything else. I felt bad, Jason didn't have anything but clothes, but he didn't seem fazed about any of it and just watched as I packed my things. He said he didn't mind he didn't have anything, but I still felt bad.

One thing I realized while packing: I still had my bracers on my forearms. I swore I took them off when I slept but here they were attached to my arms with the buckles keeping them tight but just tight enough to be snug and easy to move. I didn't really care at the moment, I just put on some different clothes while Jason changed as well, mainly a bright yellow hoodie from Under Armor, dark jeans, and running shoes. I grabbed my metal clamp and put my hair down, luckily I missed some strands and they covered my forehead.

Jason had a similar outfit except his hoodie was purple, dark purple actually and he wore no shoes. Some Digimon didn't, they said it kinda made it harder to walk or something. I paid it no mind but realized we only had about five minutes before he came up and dragged us out of the building. Jason waited for me outside the room as I took one more look around my room.

This could be the last time I see it, the orphanage, or even this country again for a while. I didn't wanna leave but it wasn't like I had any choice, I was being forced and willing to leave mainly because I wanted this god-forsaken war to end.

I sighed and patted the wall twice before nodding to Jason. I was going to miss everyone, Nicholas, Robyn, Alexander and Kuros all. All my friends, I was going to miss them all.

With a heavy sigh, I walked out and shut the door.

"Welcome back, with a minute to spare!" Travis exclaimed as we walked out of the elevator. He stood in the same place where I had last seen him but the sun was rising now and I'm sure he wanted to set off soon, or now.

I waved to him and walked up. "Yeah, we're done."

"Good, we need to get going," he said, looking to Jason. "You're...Jason, right? Pleasure to meet you, I'm Travis Rose, just call me Travis."

"Nice to meet you, Travis," Jason replied, thankfully not saying sir.

They exchanged a brief handshake before we moved again. He led us to the back of a very old and beat up dark green colored truck. It was a standard army truck with the front part and the large back with the large cargo area in the back replaced with an arched army-themed cover over the arched rings.

We followed him to the back as he told us to hop in. I hesitated at first but sighed, climbing up into the back, helping Jason up since he was smaller. Once we were inside, I took a quick look and gulped.

This was the squad he mentioned.

I didn't know how many were here but I took a guess...there looked to be twelve others inside the truck. Six pairs with their partners, there were three girls and three guys but I had no clue what gender their Digimon were. I stood there for a whole minute while Jason stood with me, both of us looking like idioti. (Idiots.)

One of the guys from the truck stood up and made his way over to me. He also had dirty blonde hair like mine but his was messy and short. He had dark brown eyes and wore the same uniform Travis had on. I saw some dark rings under his eyes like he stayed up all night playing video games or something. They all looked the same age as Travis, so I didn't feel totally outed.

"Ah, I'm guessing you're Ryan," he pointed at me, I swore he sounded Australian and he looked like he could pull it off too. "And you're Jason."

We both nodded as the Aussie accented guy held out his hand. We both shook it then looked around.

"Names Michael Granger III," he smiled. "Just call me Michael. Over there is my partner, the Gabumon, his name's Leo."

"Sure thing, Michael," Jason and I said in unison. Leo muttered something in his sleep but I had no clue what he said.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and tugged Jason along as well. The truck rattled to life and began to move forward as I saw Travis up front driving at the wheel.

"Ah, welcome to Squad 14, Ryan," he sounded cheerful, despite looking like he was way too tired to seem that way. "Well, I think it might have to be changed to Squad 16 now, but we'll debate that later." He sat me down on one of the benches and sighed looking around.

"You've already met Travis, he has a partner Patomon named Felix," Michael explained. "They're drivers/mechanics and usually drive but sometimes repair this piece of crap truck we don't need anymore."

"Shut up, Michael," a new voice came into the conversation. I turned my gaze along with Jason to look at one of the girls.

I think my jaw dropped.

She was downright gorgeous! I knew my mom was beautiful but this girl...wow, she could really give my mom a run for her money. Her hair long dark brown colored hair and curled at her shoulders, she had light blue eyes that were wide and showed every detail--she seemed to look deep into my soul with those eyes--and it made me feel weird in a way I never felt. Her skin looked perfectly tanned, not too light yet not too dark either. It was perfect, she had smooth skin and a gentle face but I knew she could change that face into a death stare at an instant just because she was in the military.

Michael just sighed. "Love you too, Piper." He gestured to the girl. "This is Piper, our other mechanic, small arms specialist, and tactician. Her partner is Nick, the Gaomon sleeping right between her legs. They're from France and they've been with us for about a year or so, maybe a year and a few months."

I looked at her again, if Aphrodite were to come down and give me a choice to pick her--the goddess of beauty--over this girl, Piper--a mortal--I'm sure I'd pick Piper. She was that beautiful, her face had a strong glow to it and it felt like she was pulling me in like gravity. I don't know why I was already in love with her, if I was even to call it that, but I didn't want to look away from her at all. I felt bad for Nicholas, he had some serious competition.

That being said, if she even liked me back.

I held up my hand and waved to her, even though she was only two feet away from me. Talk about being pretty stupid.

"Hi," I said to her. Great, that's all I can think of? Really?

She waved back and smiled, I saw pearly white teeth that made me envious. She was perfect down to the last detail.

"Hi," she replied back. I wasn't even sure she sounded as clueless as I had sounded but it was pretty close.

"Moving on..." Michael said, pointing to the next guy in the truck. This one looked to be the strongest out of everyone in the entire car, he had some strong muscles, a nice toned and sculpted body, and looked tough as nails. He could've passed for eighteen but I knew he was probably around my age. His hair was a black buzz-cut army style, he looked pretty tanned out, and his eyes were the color of dark brown.

He kinda scared me.

"This guy right here could take out Ray Mysterio himself, the true bulk of the squad along with his strong partner Tony! They can hunt down the slipperiest of criminals, gut a bull without hesitation, and can redefine the word 'carnage' and put their names in instead Please, welcoming, Joshua and Tony!" He sounded like one of those wrestling announcers, you know, before the actual wrestlers come in.

Joshua held up his hand and looked at me. "Don't mind Michael, he's usually hyperactive. I have two rules that I hope you'll follow: don't fuck with me, and don't fuck with my partner. Follow them and we should be fine." He flashed me a smile that told me he was just playing around, yet it didn't seem to make me feel any better. The Guilmon resting against his arm just snuggled closer, as if to say He's mine, hurt him, I hurt you more. I heeded that warning and gulped.

"I...like them, easy to remember," I managed a smile. "Rather not get my face punched in."

He nodded. "I like you already, welcome."

"Now, away from the big guy is probably the best sniper in the universe," Michael said, pointing to the guy in the corner. "These two can get a clean shot through the head at 1100 yards, snap your neck without hesitation, and turn a butter knife into the most painful thing in your life! Please, rounds of applause for Jun and Viktor."

The two figures showed themselves in the dark corner, which caught me a little by surprise. The human had messy black hair, minorly tanned skin (meaning he looked like a white redneck) with a well-built body, and he looked to have blue eyes. Laying against his shoulder was an Agumon who was also asleep. Actually, all the Digimon here seemed to be asleep, aside from Jason.

The human boy leaned forward and sighed. "I am Jun, this is my partner Viktor. We hail from Russia, Moscow, Russia actually." I saw him smile at me, it wasn't angry or frightening as I expected but it was actually friendly. "Don't worry, Michael is usually this energetic even when he hasn't had a Coke in two days." I heard him chuckle at the end, Michael grunting and huffing behind me. "Ah, where are my manners? This is Viktor, my partner for two years." He said patting his sleeping Agumon on the head. "Over there would be my girlfriend and Viktor's girlfriend, Mina and Mia."

We turned to the gaze of Jun's point. It was the second dark corner of the truck and sitting there was another pair sitting, one sitting and one sleeping. I looked up and saw a girl with ebony black long hair, he skin was just as white as Jun's but it was near impossible to determine what her eye color was, for she had sunglasses on. Why in a truck that was surrounded by shadows, I don't know. Sitting between her legs, leaning against the benches, was her partner--a Gatomon. They both wore the same outfit Travis had been wearing, actually, everyone was wearing the same outfit.

She actually scared me, not in just a creepy way or just a scary way, just a usual witch stare that sent shivers that sent fear down my spine. Something told me she did like to be fucked with.

Rather not test her either.

"Jun, I never asked to be part of this conversation," she muttered, but it was still loud enough for us to hear. She then turned her gaze over to me and began to look me over. "I expected better."

Ouch. Talk about hurt.

"Jeez, ease up on the guy, Mina," Michael retorted. "Did you expect a knight in shining armor?" he jabbed my arm in a way that didn't really make me feel better. "Don't listen to her, let's just move on to someone else you should know about." He gestured to the other girl sitting next to Mina and Mia.

"May I please welcome to the stage," Michael announced like a three-ring circus announcer. "one of the most dangerous pairs of girls I know on this entire planet. They can set fire to an entire hotel, destroy everything in their path if they wanted to, turn a city into a barren wasteland, and then use a single grenade to kill a dozen troops! Please, give me a round of applause for Emily and Victoria!"

There was no applause, just in case you didn't know.

The human girl, who I guessed was Emily, looked like a German girl that would've been described in the 1950's or something. She had medium blonde hair that curled at her shoulders, her skin looked white but seemed to have some tan in there, her eyes were clear blue and looked at me intently. She smiled and blushed at the sight of me, I even think I heard a faint giggle come from the corner. (Was she hitting on me?) Her partner held onto the German-like girl tightly, which her partner was a Biyomon in the same G.M.A.F. outfit.

"Oh, hey there," I said, still sounding stupid and hopeless as when I greeted Piper. I was hopeless actually.

She smiled and waved at me. "Hey, I'm Emily and this is Victoria." She said, hugging her Digimon partner tightly like a plush toy. The Biyomon named Victoria didn't even budge, like this was usual.

"And that's it! Meet the squad, Ryan and Jason!" Michael stated, taking his seat again near his partner, who just clutched the human tightly.

I didn't really feel welcome actually. I was an outcast here, the new guy, the recruit, the noob, the fresh meat (freshman joke). And it didn't feel well inside me. I hated feeling new, it makes me feel like I miss out on something a long time then join a while later and feel like an outcast because there are others who can do whatever a million times better than me.

I took my seat next to Piper again, feeling Jason sit down between my legs. I sighed and laid against the bench, closing my eyes slowly as I tried to take in everything that just happened. I woke up two days ago with war not even on my mind, now two days later I'm now in the middle of the war as the trophy prize, along with Jason, with bounties over our head and a target on our backs.

I felt someone pat my shoulder. It was Piper, the girl who had taken my feelings by storm and pulled me even closer.

"I know that sigh," she explained. "I felt the same way when I joined the squad. Feeling out of place, new, yeah, I get it. Reminds me of my first year in school...but you grow out of it eventually. Once you get into your first firefight, you won't feel so new anymore, I can tell you that much." She met my eyes again and smiled, I don't know what felt better--her hand resting on my shoulder (which felt nice) or her glistening eyes that met mine at an instant (that felt even better actually).

I shrugged. "I've felt out of place my whole life, all I can hope for is that I don't get shot and killed in my first firefight." Firefight...two words that really didn't need to be together.

"You'll be taught strategies, how to fight, how to hold a gun, and code words we have to use, et cetera," Joshua explained, trying to move his right arm but found having a Guilmon holding onto it was hard. "They don't just throw you into something like that unprepared, we would've lost this war a long time ago if they did."

That still didn't make me feel better.

I sat there for a few minutes without a word then jumped nearly ten feet (not literally) out of my seat. The truck abruptly stopped, there was a loud BANG! and CRASH! that came from the front. I felt the whole vehicle rumble then begin to make popping sounds. If this was about to blow up on me, I was seriously about to be pissed.

We didn't die however, all I did hear was cursing from Travis at the front. The curses were muffled with the sound of engine hissing from the front but I heard him hit the steering wheel, hard.

He cursed again and opened his door, slamming it shut loudly as I heard him stomp his boots up the front. He called out.

"Piper!" he shouted.

"Already on it!" she yelled back.

I didn't even notice she was up with a green metal toolbox in her hand. She grunted and jumped out of the back of the truck then jogged to the front. I had noticed Jason had fallen asleep between my legs and was happily dozing off with Nick, Piper's Gaomon partner, to his left. I felt my legs a go a little numb from barely moving. I felt I needed a little time to stretch my legs before we got moving again.

"Be right back," I said, getting up and walking out of the truck.

I was greeted with a bright sunlight at beat down on my face, it made me wince. I could've hissed, making myself sound like a vampire who was turning into ash, but held back the thought. Clouds were high in the sky but the sun was still warm and began to pound its warm radiance onto me. The temperature was still cool, I could see signs of early morning dew on the fresh green grass from the storm yesterday (a storm that I seriously thought was because of me), and it was still early in the morning. I didn't have a clock but I had to guess it was nearly time for school

Speaking of which, I nearly fainted when I realized we were in my high school's parking lot.

No, I caught myself. You're not passing out here.

_ _ I stumbled a little but caught myself as I nearly fell on my face. That would have been embarrassing (and really stupid) if someone had seen that. Luckily no did so I felt a little better.

What didn't make me feel better was the fact that we had broken down at my high school. Either the universe just really wanted me to have a crappy life (which was just cruel by my standards) or the truck just couldn't make it an extra fifty or hundred feet away from the school.

Maybe it was because I had some pretty horrible luck or something.

I wanted to curse but I realized that hardly any cars were parked, mainly because it was still early and the school wasn't open yet. I knew some of the teachers, janitors, and whoever else were already here but it wasn't like they were gonna care about a rusty, beat-up, hunk of junk truck (hey, that rhymed!) that was parked in their parking lot. They might just mistake us for a stalker van or something...oh, well.

I nearly jumped out of my skin (again, not literally) once I heard a loud BOOM! come from the front of the truck. I saw a huge plume of smoke erupt into the air like a volcano, which turned into a pitch black mushroom cloud eventually. I gulped, feeling the loud thunder of explosion hit against my body and vibrate my insides. My head jerked to the front where I heard a faint hissing that didn't seem to come from the engine. It sounded too human-like.

Then I heard someone curse in French.

" __Je vous ai dit de ne rien toucher! Merde, merde, merde!" I heard Piper curse up front. (I told you not to touch anything! Shit, shit, shit!)

From the tone of her voice, she sounded like she was in a ton of pain, that or she suddenly got pregnant and was giving birth. (Yes, I know that's impossible). I quickly ran up to the front with everyone in the back ready to file out, but Travis stopped them by telling them to stay in place. Well, I was already outside, no point in going back inside when I was almost at the front.

Once at the front of the car I nearly got sick from the sight. Smoke rose from the hood of the truck along with a fire (which needed to be put out, like now). I saw Travis kneeling down next to a fallen Piper who was clutching her wrist and hissing like a snake at the boy.

What caught my eye was the wet blood stain on the hood, trickling down to the pavement into a small puddle. What really made me sick was the fact that Piper was sitting next to the small puddle of blood, her wrist dripping with red crimson blood, at least I thought it was wrist. Upon further inspection, I saw that it was actually her palm that had gotten gashed out, in which she was holding a white cloth to her gash to keep more blood from spilling out.

I dropped to my knees. "What happened?" I nearly exclaimed.

Piper looked at me with her pain-filled eyes then turned to glare at Travis angrily. I'm not sure if pain could be mixed with fury, but she made it look so easily. If her eyes had been on fire, I'm sure she would've looked like some sort of demon from Hell (which Digimon did not believe in) that was now bent to kill Travis.

"He happened!" he gritted through her teeth_._ "Je vous ai it de ne pas toucher quoi que ce putani!" (I told you not to fucking touch anything!)

I looked at her then at him, I could mainly speak Italian but I could understand parts and bits of other languages as well (don't ask me how, I just do) so I knew she was cursing at him.

"Travis, is there a first aid kit in the truck?" I asked him quickly.

He looked at me and nodded quickly. "Oh, yeah! I'll be right back! Keep pressure on that wound!"

He bolted from his kneeling position and ran to the back of the truck. I was left with a bleeding Piper, who's white cloth had just turned rose red from the blood she was losing. I bit my own lip and sat next to her, ripping off part of my shirt without any hesitation then wrapped it around the gash.

"Thanks, sorry for the shirt," she apologized, grunting a little.

I shrugged. "You're hurt, you need medical aid."

"Yeah, let me just go to a nearby hospital."

"Which is about five miles away." I said.

"Great, my luck." She giggled, painfully actually.

I sat with her for a few seconds, the hissing of the engine breaking the awkward silence between us as he sat there in her own blood. Maybe we weren't that far apart, maybe we were closer than I actually had thought, if she had as terrible luck as me then she could easily be my long lost twin. (Yes I was aware my hair was blonde and hers was dark, I'm not that stupid.)

She let out a long drawn out sigh that seemed to be full of pain, she let her body slump, almost letting go of the reddening cloth wrapped around her palm. I held her upright and tried to keep her awake, she must've been losing a lot of blood and I hoped that Travis had that kit, soon.

"Come on, stay with me, Piper," I calmly said, patting her shoulder gently, as if trying to reassure her.

She sighed again, then met my eyes. "Okay..." she said shakily.

I placed my hand on her wounded one. "I'm here for you."

I felt my palm warm up, either I was deeply in love with her or someone had tapped a light-bulb to the underside of my hand. (Again, that's stupid.) But it wasn't light heat-heat warmth, it was a cool warmth that didn't burn at all and it actually felt really soothing.

"Ryan!" she exclaimed.

I didn't even notice what she meant until I looked at my hand, nearly losing my breath. My palm was glowing a bright white light over hers. The tattoo on the top of my hand began to blaze to life as the insignia began to swirl, a while light outlining the whole thing enough for us to see.

Note: Could not, in my mind, describe the Assassin insignia. So, here is what his tattoo looks like. http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Assassin_insignia?file=AssassinLogo.png

The insignia was glowing from white to a dark golden-like color and spread all the way up my forearm, with the adorned bracer which also began to glow as the eagle on it seemed to be almost moving, like flying. The glow surrounded us and began to encircle us with its warm radiance. I didn't want to take my eyes off my tattoo however, it still spun over my hand as the light began to run along Piper's arm, mainly around her wounded palm.

I could feel warmth, it wasn't the light however. It was wet...warm...and thick. I realized the scent once I found out it was Piper's blood, I began to unwrap the cloth around her hand to reveal the wound slowly closing up, the blood around it seeping back into its slash, un-drying itself and turning back into thick wet blood that went back into the crack. Once the wound was sealed up with the last remains of blood, the glow around us began to disappear and fade away. The mark on my hand slowly sunk back into my hand, the tattoo stopped spinning and we were left sitting there.

I felt weak however, my body felt weak, even my mind seemed a little slower. My sight was blurry for a few seconds but I shook my head and regained my sight, still feeling very lightheaded. I suddenly felt hungry, like for a burger or a huge milkshake or something. I don't know what had just happened but it didn't seem to freak me out as much as one would've thought, I had seen some weird things in the past two days that I put this aside for a few minutes.

Piper however was in shock.

"Ryan...how did...?" she spoke in a near whisper, examining her hand like it was now the newest thing on the planet.

I gasped for air, not even realizing I was panting hard. Had that whole ordeal taken so much out of me in just those few seconds? It felt weird...but yet, somehow, familiar and...good.

"I...don't know," I truthfully spoke. Hell, I didn't know what I just did! One second, I'm touching her hand trying to help her, the next second we're engulfed by a warm light and I managed to somehow heal her.

I heard the sound of boots come out way, turns out it was Travis holding a red kit with a white plus on the side. I don't know what took him so long, but now there was no point with the kit. I felt my eye twitch at him, telling him he was a little late to the show I (accidentally) put on.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked, a little caught off by the sight.

Piper looked at me and I looked back, she looked back at Travis. I saw her raise her hand, showing the perfect skin back in place without a single trace of blood on her hand or arm. There wasn't even a scar, which really confused me, an injury like that should've left some sort of white scar.

But nothing was there, not even a scratch.

Travis nearly dropped the kit but I jumped and stopped him. He looked to be in even more shock than either Piper and I looked (that was a lie, Piper looked spooked) and studied the hand like it was a nuclear bomb waiting to go off. I knew Piper felt embarrassed but there was nothing much we could say, it just sort of happened and I didn't even know how. I looked at my tattoo, this thing seemed to be more than just what I thought it was.

Great, a mystery. Something I'm not good at.

"Uh..." Travis said, shaking his head. "You two, I want to know what happened when we get to headquarters in England."

"England?!" I nearly dropped dead.

He nodded. "Yes, London to be exact. There you'll meet the Admiral so he can decide what to do with you."

Admiral? London? Across the freaking ocean? Uh...

"Don't worry, I'm sure he won't just throw you into a battle un-prepped," he explained, which didn't make me feel better actually. "You will be trained, I just don't know how. Right now, we have to get moving, we're gonna be late for our plane if we don't get back on the road. Let me have a go at it while you two get back in the truck." He sounded serious the whole time, and I followed his orders along with Piper and headed towards the back as he went to the front of the truck and began to work on the problem again.

I sighed, jumping back to the top, helping Piper up. Everyone looked at us with big eyes, three of the Digimon had woken up to see what the commotion was, their gaze mainly on me.

"We'll tell later," Piper stated, holding her wrist.

The all just exchanged looks then shrugged and went back to staring at us as we walked back to our seats. I heard loud CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! SQUEECH! up front then heard the hum of the engine again as I heard Travis yell in glory or something. The driver's door opened then slammed as I heard Travis give us the all clear.

I sighed, getting out of my seat to look out the back of the truck again, what caught my eye was the long cheese-wagon (a bus in case you didn't know bus nicknames) driving up to the school. It stopped near us as Travis began to drive forward but I didn't move, instead I grasped the metal bar on the roof of the truck and looked out to see my friends filing out of the bus. I wanted to jump out of this thing and hug them all, but I knew I couldn't (mainly because I didn't want to break a bone or get myself banged up) since they were already almost out of sight.

I sighed again as the huge block of cheese on wheels disappeared. My life just really sucked.

Planes crash, at least when I ride them.

The whole trip took a total of two and a half hours, Travis driving while everyone else took some short naps. Even I got a little sleep, which made me feel better (only a little, duh) for a short while. I grabbed my green bag as Travis stopped the truck and told everyone to grab their things and get running.

Everyone, even Jason, helped out getting the equipment. The whole squad jumped out and began to run towards the gate of the plane. Jason seemed to stay pretty close to Nick as they seemed to be having a conversation I couldn't hear. I ran behind them next to Piper as the 16 of us jogged down the airport hallways. We got all weird looks from others but once they saw the uniforms they only gasped (not at Jason thankfully who had his hood over his head from the hoodie) as we passed them at the scanner, check-in, and gate.

As we rushed down the busy port, I saw our gate that Piper had told me on the way here. It read: LONDON, ENGLAND--NOW BOARDING. However, instead of a long hallway that led to the plane, there was a set of metal stairs that lead to the stone ground below us. I found it a little odd but I didn't question anything right now, I just followed everyone as they led the way.

We jogged down the stairs and then walked the rest of the way to our destination, which just so happened to be the biggest plane I had ever seen in my life. It easily looked longer and larger than a regular plane and looked as tall as a two story house. The whole thing was covered in dark grey paint with a shark's head painted at the nose of the plane (talk about serious) with the cargo hatch opened as soldiers walked up the metal incline. No idea what that monster was supposed to carry, of course it couldn't just carry soldiers across the world, it had to be one of the big cargo planes, but I didn't care. As long as it got us to England, I didn't care.

As we neared the giant mass of metal, Piper and Travis both gasped, along with Nick and Felix (a Patomon in case some of you who didn't read earlier). They seemed to be looking at a Flamedramon who was climbing aboard, dressed in the same usual navy colored clothing and black boots.

"John!" all four of them cried out as they ran towards the Digimon, Piper tugging me along as Nick pulled Jason along.

The Flamedramon turned around and looked in their direction, only to be greeted by a humongous hug from four people. Before he fell from the weight of the hug, I could make out a few details of him. He looked about in his late twenties, he had dark blue skin, three scars across his face (ouch) and green eyes. He was tall, that was for sure, and he was slender with strong yet toned build. I could see those muscles clearly even from my few feet away.

"Travis! Felix! Piper! Nick!" he laughed and hugged those four back tightly. I hoped he didn't squish them with his strength.

They all laughed and helped the Mon up to his feet, the dragon chuckling deeply yet softly in a gentle tone. The guy looked hard as nails, sure, but he sounded totally different and nice in a way. Still, I couldn't help but hide behind Travis, Jason followed my example and hid behind Nick. I don't know what his deal was with the Gaomon, but the Veemon must've really liked him.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you four," the Flamedramon spoke as the rest of the squad walked into the cargo hatch.

"Same to you, John!" Piper excitedly smiled.

"I thought you were spending time with your family?" Travis asked.

John nodded and smiled, placing his hands on his hips. "I did, and I tell you, probably the best moment of my life happened a few days ago."

"What was it?" Nick asked, patting Jason from behind on the shoulder.

He just chuckled. "The birth of my son and daughter."

There was a collective gasp, even from Jason and I. I heard Piper shriek with glee as the guys began to shake the Flamedramon's hand, telling him congrats and all that. Jason and I were visible now since our cover was blown. Shoot. Which got worse once he saw us hiding behind the others. I felt like melting right then and there, even Jason seemed to have the same idea since he tried to hide behind me.

The Flamedramon patted their backs before walking towards us slowly. I felt my heart beat quickly, mainly because I was scared to death about this guy! He was easily a foot and a half taller than I was, stocky but not too bulky, and the scars...man those thing sent shivers down my spine. Jason quivered behind me but looked from behind me and stared wide-eyed at the towering Mon over him.

Man, didn't he feel short?

I gulped and stood at full attention (thankfully) without locking my knees. Jason followed my example and stood ready for the Mon.

He looked us over for a few seconds before speaking in his deep yet smooth tone. Those green eyes looked intently at me, as if telling me I won't kill you since you're a kid or something like that.

"And what might your names be?" he asked us, making me shake.

I was about to answer but Piper cut me off. "Those two are Ryan and Jason Masters, the ones we were sent to pick up from our mission."

He held up his hand and chuckled. "I think they can speak on their behalf, Piper. But thank you."

I let out a sigh of relief. "I'm Ryan, sir. Ryan Masters."

"A-and I-I'm J-J-Jason!" Jason spoke quickly with a stutter. He sounded just as freaked out by the Flamedramon as I was, and it showed.

He looked at us again and smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. His eyes changed from menacing to gentle and nice in a split second. I heard a deep rumble in his throat, which soon turned out to be a laugh. It sounded deep, just like his voice, but it actually seemed to have a bit of feeling. Weirdly, I felt like he was laughing at us just because I had turned into pre-Jason--stuck-up and tight.

"Ha-ha! Ah, you two can rest easy around me. I won't hurt you, and why would I? You two are the game-changers in this forsaken war!" He laughed, patting out shoulders, a little too hardly for Jason and I winced and nearly fell. "Sure, you're only teens now but once you get into the fight you'll see just how much adults you'll become soon. This war has a way to...change people. I used to be scared, just like you two, scrawny, new to things, and nervous. A few years of gunfights, brawling, and training later and look at me now!" He flexed his powerful muscles at us, making me cringe on the inside.

"John?" Piper interrupted.

"Yeah, Pipes?" he replied.

"You're scaring them."

John turned back to our direction, seeing us shake a little from the little show he gave us. I saw that smile fade quickly as he began to apologize to us to our faces. I felt scared, nervous, and embarrassed. Who knew what rank this guy was? And he was apologizing to a duo of teenage kids (yes, Jason was considered a teen since we both shared the same age as well, don't ask) who knew nothing about the army.

"It's...okay," I tried to stop him.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, no need to apologize."

John just sighed and placed his hands back on his hips. "Still, sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you like that, I'm sure you won't get bulky like me. You get into fights, you learn, then you do it better another time. That's how we do things." He gave us another pat. "C'mon, time to head out."

I think he already knew Jason was the golden Digimon, but somehow he seemed to be really mellow about it. Nothing major like a huge gasp for air, or a step back like we had caught a disease, or grabbed us and started to frantically shake us. He was just as nice as his eyes looked: gentle and soothing.

I really hoped I could trust him.

We followed closely behind him, looking over the insides of the plane. Benches were pushed against the walls of the plane with dozens upon dozens of soldiers already sitting down, strapped in ready to go. I could see wooden crates piled into the middle of the plane along with some metal crates labeled EXPLOSIVE and FRAGILE on the sides. Rather not touch those and nearly get my hand blown off. I could see a spot next to Piper and Nick where they left empty for Jason and I. I knew I felt a smile sweep across my face and I didn't care, hell, I knew Jason was dying to sit next to Nick so it was actually a win-win situation.

However, John wasn't leading us to the seats, which puzzled me a little. I soon understood why he didn't take us to our seats, once all the soldiers were in their seats the hatch closed slowly. I looked ahead and saw a guy--well, a man actually--who towered over Jason, even John, and I. He wasn't even Digimon, he was human. He had the same sculpted and toned body John had, but this guy was even stronger, taller, and scarier. He had white hair buzz cut over his head, his skin was tanned, he had wrinkles on his face but didn't look so old, and he had a single black eye patch over his eye.

The guy scared me shitless, and Jason agreed.

That wasn't the only thing that scared me however. Oh, no. There just had to be a taller Angemon standing with his arms folded over his chest standing next to the mountain main. My guess: they were partnered, meaning I was now dead. Well, Jason and I were now dead. The Digimon wore the regular G.M.A.F uniform: navy blue T-shirt, navy style camo pants, and black combat boots. I saw bullets strapped to the Angemon's shoulders, telling me he wasn't one to play around with this kind of stuff, like war. He didn't really look angelic, more like deadly.

I wanted to run for the hills, sadly John just tugged me along further, Jason tagging along being pulled by the wrist. John had a strong grip (duh, he was in the military) and led us right to the duo. Suddenly, he stopped, which caused all the talking and chatting on the carrier to stop at an instant.

Reason: the bulky guys ahead started walking forward.

I felt John's grip loosen, soon he was standing at attention, saluting to the two men who were heading straight for us. Thing is, Jason and I didn't salute or anything--we just stood there like idiots, idiots in fear actually.

The men stopped a few feet in front of us and looked taller and stronger up close and personal. They scared me even more but I laid a hand on Jason's shoulder, trying my best to reassure to trembling Mon. I think it worked, he shook a little less and tried to look the guys in the eyes.

The gray-haired man inspected me then grunted. I heard him speak, which made me almost tremble again. His voice was a rough, very low bass sound that made me shake a little.

"S' this is what the men in white spoke about, eh?" he grunted, folding his arms behind his back. He then circled around us as his partner stood still the entire time. "Seems like a joke if ya ask me." He laughed, with soft laughter from the soldiers around us. Without warning, he pulled back Jason's hood and revealed his golden face for everyone to see, in which there was a long gasp from everyone in the room (besides the squad) as they began to murmur.

"No sense in hidin' somethin' that we all know about," the man stated with another grunt. I knew Jason was blushing red, but I kept my eyes forward and gulped as the man stood back in front of us. "I expected more than...this."

I balled my fists and gritted my teeth. He was the second person to tell me I wasn't up to their standards and it was really starting to piss me the fuck off. I may not have been Hercules (his Roman name) but I was still someone. And he was talking about Jason too, which really pushed my buttons. Jason was still new to this whole thing, trying to figure everything out and they already wanted more than what he could give them?

Bullshit.

I clenched my fists. "Well, sir, this..." I gestured to me and Jason. "...this your last hope to win this damn war. Hope you weren't expecting a knight or a hulking mass of death, if so then I'm sorry to disappoint you. This is all you have, either you take it or leave it. If not, then I guess we're just going to have to prove you wrong." I don't know where that extra courage came from, but I now felt sick that it appeared out of nowhere and in front of this guy.

The entire plane was silent for a few minutes, I'm sure some soldier's mouths were dropped and hanging from what I said. Even the two men who towered over me looked a little stunned by my angry response to what he said. I just didn't want to be second rate to this guy, or anyone else. I may not have been what they expected but that didn't mean I wasn't going to be a great soldier.

Finally, the man with gray hair took a cigar from his pocket then lit it with a light from another pocket. He sucked in the smoke then blew it out into the air before looking at me, weirdly I saw a smile creep across his face.

"Smart-ass, eh?" he only chuckled. "I like that. Gives these soldiers a run fer their money. True, kid, yer not what we wanted." He took another smoke. "But apparently, we hafta put up to you, whether we like it er not. But, yer probably the only recruit, let alone a kid, whose ever spokn' to me like that. I'll give ya credit fer that, but if I ever hear ya speak to me like that again..." he took another smoke and instead of blowing it into the air, he blew right into my face and made me cough loudly. "...I'll personally make yer life a livin' hell, understand?"

I coughed, but was still mad. I got right into his face and smiled. "Crystal, sir." I said with clenched teeth.

He laughed again. "Fire, I like it. You will address me as Colonel Chief Hector. Or, jus' Chief Hector, or just Chief. Understand?"

I nodded without word, but still gave him anger-filled eyes. He was really pissing me off by the second, but I played along with this game of his. He looked strong, acted like it, and I'm sure could back it up. I didn't care. I was really to show him everything I had.

"Good, get in yer seat," he ordered us. "We're taking off in thirty seconds."

I rolled my eyes as I tugged Jason to our seats next to Piper and Nick. They looked a little shaken and gave us disapproving looks. I'm sure I had done something wrong, and that was tell off a military official in front of a group of soldiers who were either recruits or call-backs.

As I took my seat next to Piper, she spoke to me. "That was...a dumb move, Ryan."

I sighed and shrugged. "I'm tired of being treated like I'm not enough. I got enough crap about that from being an orphan and there's no way in hell a grown official is going to tell me I could be stronger, or smarter, or whatever. " __Si può andare a farsi fottere." I spoke in Italian. (He can go and fuck himself.)

She smiled and patted my shoulder. "He's just on a man-period, all the time."

"He needs to calm his tits," Jason spoke up this time.

Piper and I look at him with our eyes cocked. The plane began to drive down the runway as we slowly rose into the air.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" he asked, looking at us.

Nick only laughed, patting his shoulder as we joined the Gaomon in laughter. All the while, the Veemon just looked at us confusingly.

The plane ride went on for a few hours. I managed to get a little shut eye the whole time, which did me a little good since I could now focus on things.

I felt better, but not that much better. Sure, I was more aware and awake now but that was about it. Thankfully, Piper had a few granola bars handy and we ate those to pass the time. I had to keep myself from inhaling the food just because I was so hungry. Piper found it funny but now I really did fell much better, at least I had something in my system, rather than have air. I laid back in my seat and looked outside the window I was laying next to, all I could see was...well, sea. It was vast, dark blue, and rippled everywhere we seemed to go as we flew over the Atlantic. It looked really beautiful, I actually never thought I'd ever get a chance to see it for myself.

I sighed, remembering that I was now soooo far away from home. I was already hundreds, maybe even thousands, of miles away from my friends. My heart felt heavy but I knew there was no turning back now, I was already passed the point of no return so I just had to deal with this now.

I'm not sure why but I began to hear a slight rumbling sound. It didn't come from the plane however, which had me a little confused for I would've heard it during the entire ride over the ocean. I pressed my ear against the wall of the jet, the rumbling shaking the aircraft somewhat but it wasn't the plane itself.

Something didn't feel right.

I was right about that once I heard a loud BANG! Come from outside the huge jet. It rattled the who aircraft, waking everyone up. Another loud explosion sounded like the clasp of lightning. It shook me in my seat and made me shiver. Yeah, something was definitely not right.

I looked ouside my window to see a newfound land we were hovering over. I swore we were just over the ocean not that long ago...I didn't care right now, right now I knew one thing.

Something bad was gonna happen.

Sure enough, I was right. The plane tilted towards the side, making me almost fall out of my seat if I wasn't buckled in. I heard another deep rumble that shook the plane, this time making it wobble from side to side. I heard more bangs and clangs come from the outside of the carrier, making the whole plane rock around like it was on wheels riding across some huge cobble stones. A loud bang that hit my window jerked my head forward then made it slam against the wall, so hard that I was having trouble seeing, meaning I was blacking in and out.

"What's going--," I was cut off once something loud and powerful blasted against the outer wall of the plane.

The blast was so instense that all the windows shattered and started spraying glass everywhere. Everyone covered their faces as the plane banked again, this time to the right side. I felt those granola bars begin to churn in my. You will not vomit on this plane! I told myself. I kept trying to regain my vision, however my eyes were getting fuzzy and I was still blacking in and out from being jerked about in every direction. I felt the glass cut and scratch against my face, not sure if I bled but that would be the least of my problems.

I began to hear a loud alarm blare inside the plane, a blood red light flashed on and off, leaving us in darkness then brightening us with a dark light. I felt a little fear fill my body, what the hell was going on? Surely this wasn't a drill or something.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Well, not really bricks, but something hit the plane, harder than the other times. Without warning, there was a loud CRASH! that came from the side of the plane, suddenly we jerked to the opposite side again which didn't really go well with my stomach or the fact I was feeling really sick right now. Two reasons actually: plane sickness (which I now just found I had) and now the sickness that I felt like we were going to die. I was hoping this was just a stupid drill that I was going to smack myself later for being scared like a kitten, but it didn't feel like a drill after I looked outside the plane and saw that we had lost something.

It wasn't major, you know, unless you call losing the left wing of the plane major! Yeah, this was not a drill!

I could hear screaming and shouting coming from soldiers, women and men alike, who were screaming for help over the whirlwind that went on over us. The wind from our shattered windows blew around everywhere, nearly making all noise from the soldiers on the plane inaudible from the loud whish and whirl that sounded like a hurricane.

I felt Piper clutch my hand tightly, making me blush. If we didn't die on this plane, I was soooo going to remember this moment and wish for it to happen again. It felt good to hold her hand, I'm sure Jason was doing the exact same (maybe hugging) with Nick, who he was sitting with.

Dying here would suck, but dying with Piper felt better in a weird sort of way. I dunno, maybe I'm over thinking things a little. But then again, I could actually really like her. It would kill Nicholas to find out I had picked someone (a girl) to be with, maybe I could sweet talk him into understanding but I'm sure I would have to do more than just "sweet talk" him into understanding.

Even then, it would still be hard, but anyway, back to the problem at hand. You know, the plane crashing into the ground?

I saw the fire fume and spread along the rest of the remaining wing of the plane, the two turbines used on the wing gone. I gulped then felt the whole plane tremble much like I had when John approached me, but this only got worse by the second. There was a loud creaking sound that really sent shivers down my spine, I only realized what was causing it after I felt the plane begin to slant forward. My stomach did a loop-de-loop as I felt all the crates and packages begin to slide forward towards the cock-pit, thankfully they were all strapped together so they weren't flying around all over the place, else I'm sure more people would be dead (luckily, none were...yet).

The huge carrier only slanted more and more with each passing second, making the plane form into an all out dive into the ground. I felt my heart racing, just like a racehorse's, beating so heardly against my chest as I clutched the seat I was sitting on so tightly my fingertips turned snow white. The alarm just kept blaring as I looked outside my window again and nearly lost my breath, we were getting so close to the ground it wasn't even funny. I was really getting scared, my body trembled more than when I felt Chief Hector walk up to us.

I waited for the plane to crash and kill all of us, but something happened that I didn't expect. I don't know what exactly happened, but we didn't stop falling, yet I could feel out freefall begin to slant a little upwards just a little bit but it wasn't much of a slant and it didn't have enough time to level out.

We made full contact with the ground in a split second. The impact slammed my head against the wall of the plane, so hard that I was barely conscious. I felt something wet trickle down the back of my head then slide down the back of my neck, and even though I couldn't see it I could feel it. Blood. Great, my luck. I grunted and howled out in pain, the back of my head throbbing like there was no tomorrow.

The screaming continued as the plane skidded across the surface of the ground we landed on, the earth rattling and crunching under the sheer weight and impact of our plane. The power went out quickly, metal ripping from the walls of the aircraft with loud screeching sounds that peirced my ears. I wanted to cry right then and there, my mind seriously wanting to believe that this wasn't happening or that this was just a dream I needed to wake up from. If it were a dream, I'm sure I would've woken up by now, not take a painful blow to the head.

The plane skidded over the ground, destroying the earth below its weight and I could hear the sounds of sirens, car alarms, and even more explosions from outside. The passengers on the plane were thrown all around and about, the force of the impact knocking a few unconscious while others were ripped from their seats and were being thrown around in a whirlwind of choas. The screaming and shouting mixed with the screeching and explosions from outside made it seem like the end of the world was happening, that or it was the end of a city. I didn't want to know what was going on out there, or why we were justs shot down, and I didn't want to find out either. However, something told me I was going to have to do something I didn't like.

Our aircraft began to turn over, which wasn't a good sign at all. My stomach did it's own 360 as the plane began to spin in circles, rotating a full 360 degrees of its own as the wings began to tear off, more metal from the outer walls peeling off like a banana as we turned, flipped, and skidded.

I cried out as I broke away from my seat, not by accident, and was thrown the hardest I had ever been tossed at towards a wall. I don't know what happened after that, for I soon blacked out and lost all consciousness.

I don't know when or how I woke up, but I'm glad I wasn't dead. However, that's exactly how I felt right now. Not saying I've ever been dead (not that I wanna find out) but if you up from near death with aching bones, a sore body, a throbbing pain in the back of your head, blood dripping from your head, your ears ringing with a high pitched sound, then yes, I survived near death.

I tried to gather my thoughts, still trying desparately to wake up fully and get my body moving. My back was pressed against the wall of the plane while I felt exposed, but thankfully I still had clothes on. I heard popping sounds coming from the roof, even some parking sounds as well. I realized they were the cables used for the lights on the top of the plane. The hatch seemed to have ripped off, for the only light I could see came from that large hatch door.

I willed myself to try and move, finding that my legs felt numb and weak. I really hoped they weren't broken, that would only make my situation even more crappy then it already was. Grunting painfully, I began to crawl my over to the light, feeling the heat of a fire nearby warming the darkness I was surrounded by.

I huffed and panted. "N-need...t-to...get out of...here." I grabbed a cold metal spike that had been torn off to keep myself going. I could still feel blood trickling down my head, drying at the base of my neck, which only made my effort to get help stronger withe each passing second.

I was so close I could hear things I couldn't before, and the sounds I did hear my my body shiver with fear. Screaming, shouting, crying, wails of pain, I'm sure I heard it all. They were full of true pain and sadness, my ears getting every single detail of that pain and hurt. It made me shake, hell, it scared the hell out of me. But that wasn't it, that was only a part of what I heard.

The wail of gunfire, the thunderous array of explosions, the storming of boots, the crunching of stone, I heard it all. None of it sounded good, in fact, it sounded like the end of the world, literally.

My blood, the blood I still had in my body, turned ice cold once I saw a black figure appear from the hatch opening. I gulped and hoped it was help, because that was exactly what I needed: help. I crawled towards the figure, which got it's attention and ran over to me. I expected the person to help me up or give me a hand, but I was wrong. The dark form began to growl as he picked me up by my throat, hauling me high in the air and shaking me from side to side roughly.

I felt something sharp press against my throat, something cold yet wet but I knew what it was at an instant. A knife. It still felt wet, most likely it still had blood on the blade from...someone else. I shivered even with the tight grip on my neck. I coughed and struggled to move, feeling my lungs begin to lose oxygen as the person strangled me to death. The dark figure seemed amused by my struggle and seemed to laugh at my pitiful attempt to get free.

Something came over me, I don't know what exactly but it flowed through my body. I pulled my arm back and heard something click and flick from my wrist, I didn't even care what it was or what made that sound, I just didn't care.

I pulled my arm back forward and felt my hand make contact with the person's skin, the man jerked a little and stood stiff. The man then released the grip on my throat, causing us both to fall towards the ground. I landed with a loud thud, groaning as I found I had landed on my butt. Ow. While rubbing my butt, I noticed something I didn't before and it kind of scared me.

A blade a slid out from my wrist. I looked at it closely, there was some sort of inscription but I couldn't understand it, that and it was covered in dark red blood. It slid back into some sort of pouch inside my bracer, leaving me to gawk at the sight. I stared at both bracers, really amazed already but I had to put that amazment on hold once I remembered something was still going on.

I looked over to the dead body, the man unmoving. As I crawled closer, getting on my legs (painfully) just to look at the man but then I really wished I hadn't and just kept crawling away.

The man was a Growlmon, but not just any Growlmon.

"Oh, shit," I muttered to myself.

I saw myself looking at a Growlmon with dark black skin.