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Jason:

3 Months Later...

I did not like being cold, just throwing that out there.

In the three months that followed our living at the England G.M.A.F base, I learned more and more than what I could ever imagine a school teacher could teach me in an entire year. Our training (Ryan and my training) taught us many things--to work as a team, to solve problems on the fly, to never leave the other behind no matter what, and always to fight even when the fight seems to be over. We were also taught technical skills like computer hacking, literature, math, geographic science, and social studies since we were still young and we were still teens-ish. Therefore, we still had to learn everything that students in high school had to learn.

You'd think, 'Ugh', and I know, I did too.

Actually, it wasn't "uggy" at all. Whereas teachers usually stay static and boring during the whole class, the military knows well to keep you awake and listening to what they teach you. If you didn't listen or pay attention when they taught, expect a slamming homework assignment with about 50 problems, neither even nor odd. Slackers were always taught a lesson, and the best way to teach it was with a nice metal ruler being slapped against their desks to jolt them back into reality.

Man, was I glad I was a good listener along with Ryan. I guess I took after him in a sense (meaning, I took everything after him) and did the exact same things he was able to do as well. We never seemed to outmatch each other, and no one could seem to outmatch us either. We were like an unstoppable force of book knowledge and physical knowledge.

Speaking of which, I nearly forgot to mention how we were tested out physically in the military. They made sure we were both in top shape, physically fit, and very strong. Ryan looked like he put on some muscle but he managed to keep his lean and toned body that made him look perfect in his robe. I had grown a few inches and had slimmed down myself, gaining some muscle but also still looking just as lean and toned.

Our strength was tested each and every day in ways like rock climbing, wrestling, hand-to hand combat, and weight lifting. If we were given a problem, the problem had to be solved in mere seconds or else we failed the test, whether it involve a non-lethal explosives or non-deadly but very painful paintballs. And we always had to work as a team, no matter what. It didn't matter what it was or what we were doing, teamwork was what this military was made up of and leaving a "brother" behind was a symbol of dishonor and poor character decision.

We had graduated in only three months (mainly because the Admiral wanted us to train that long) and were already given our first mission only days after we had finished our training. It was better than just sitting around and waiting for our first assignment that would take forever to come in. And I knew for a fact that the Admiral already had something in store for us, else he wouldn't have us train for so long. The assignment felt like a test in its own way, if we failed then we would look bad or if we failed then we would make ourselves and the training program of the English look terrible and unsuited for the newest recruits.

Failure wasn't an option.

Our assignment was to head north...way up north. Like I said, I was not fond of the cold at all, I dunno why but I just did not like to be. Ryan was the exact opposite, he liked both the hot and cold. Maybe that was a difference we both shared or something, but at least that there was something we did not share.

Going back to heading up north, we were heading to an encampment up in Sweden, or Norway, wherever the borders were closest. But heading to the base wasn't our mission, we were going to be sent from that base to head to a large enemy base that was stationed a little ways off from the base we were going to. Apparently, the Admiral thought that destroying the base could tilt the scales in our favor and give us a better advantage near the northern countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia.

I only hoped he was right about that. This was our first real mission since the plane crash three months ago which had left Manchester nearly in ruin. At least the city looked better now, the roads were cleared and many of the shops and buildings were almost finished with repairs. The taller, more tougher to fix skyscrapers still looked bad but looked much improved since the last time I had seen them. The whole spectacle had made the news worldwide, some even called it the "Great Battle for Manchester" while others called it "Great Britain's Near Defeat".

I had seen--been--in that whole mess. We had almost lost, almost. If it wasn't for Ryan's quick thinking in besting and capturing Rodrigo, I'm sure we would've lost and been killed. That guy always seemed to tilt the scales in our favor even when he didn't intend to.

Dumb luck, that's what he and I called it.

As we dressed and got out equipment ready for our first mission, I couldn't help but think about how we had used luck in our lives since I was created. Ryan said he had some horrible luck. Talk about some major bull-crap. He was lucky to survive that crash, he was lucky to take Rodrigo hostage, and he was lucky to not be killed during that battle. I didn't care what he said, he was one lucky guy to be around. And I was lucky to be his partner, the Digimon by his side, the man who would always have his back no matter what the circumstances were, and the Mon to know when to tell him that he was anything but _unlucky. _

_ _ Once I heard the familiar click of a one strap backpack, as well as the grunt from across the room, I knew Ryan was done packing just like I was done. He wore only black sweats, a navy blue long-sleeve shirt, and basketball shoes. His hair was still dirty blonde but was cut now, it was shaggy and messy but it made him look much better. His skin had tanned from being outside and his body had become more defined. He was well on his way to becoming a strong leader.

He came over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder as I had finished packing my things for the trip. His grip hadn't changed in the past few months, but I was wrong after all since he had the strongest grip in the universe when holding a gun.

"You ready, man?" he asked in a concerning tone. "You've been staring at your case for a while now and we're about to go."

I hadn't realized I had been staring down at my bag thinking about everything all at once. I really had to stop doing that all the time.

"Huh?" I replied, like a retard. "Oh, yeah, right. I'm just about done." I said, placing a pistol inside my bag before zipping it up.

"You really need another gun?"

"It might come in handy."

"Someone's overcompensating," he said back, grabbing his small bag as he headed for the door then waited for me.

"No overcompensating just taking better precautions," I stuck my tongue out at him in a playful gesture that made him smile like a little kid. Jeez, he sometimes acted like one from time to time but I was glad it was only periodically.

I grabbed my own bag and followed him out, letting the door shut automatically behind us as we walked down the hall towards the elevator. Once inside, we hit Top Floor and headed up. Jun and Viktor were expected to meet us at the top, that or they were already waiting for us to join them. They were snipers so I bet anything that they had gotten up two hours before dawn just to make us look bad.

That was a lie.

Once we reached the top and the doors opened, we finally got to see how we were being transported. I swore I felt my entire jaw drop at the sight. It was an XVT-314! In case you didn't understand any of that, plainly it was just a jet. But it was one of the fastest ones the G.M.A.F air force, able to get from point A to point B in very short bursts of time. The thing was painted jet black (heh) with two sets of wings with a semi-large turbine on each one that put out tons of energy. The tail had twin turbines that helped keep the whole thing stable. The jet could harbor about six people, not counting the pilot, so the less weight it had the faster it could go.

I'm sure the weight of four teens wouldn't slow it down at all, unless we all weighed five-hundred pounds apiece. Ew.

The jet was already primed and heating when we started walking forward, and I could already see Jun and Viktor standing in the door-staircase. Once they met our eyes, they nodded and headed further inside, beckoning us forward.

We wasted no time standing around and jumped inside the jet, letting the stairs/wall of the air craft automatically shut behind us. As we walked to our seats I could see Jun and Viktor carrying their uniforms for the cold. They both had white camo parkas with fuzzy hoods, white thick pants, tan combat boots, gloves, and goggles. Glad they didn't have those all on, else I'm sure they would be burning up like ice cream cones in the sun.

"Took you long enough to join us," Jun said as he turned to smile at us.

Ryan chuckled. "Some of us aren't used to waking up so early."

"Like me," I added.

Viktor this time laughed. "You'll be getting up earlier if they let you. And trust me, it sucks." The Agumon snickered.

I nodded in agreement and took a seat next to the Digimon. "I bet, hopefully the Admiral doesn't get any bright ideas with our wake-up call."

This only caused the Agumon to laugh again, just as I heard the turbines begin to whirr. "Thanks for telling me, I'll be sure to let him know."

I cursed. "Why little bastardo!" I growled at him. (Bastard.)

I hated his laugh this time and pinned him to his seat then buckled him in, since he was too "lazy" to do it himself. I heard him chuckle as he slowed down his breathing enough to catch his breath. I swear...one of these days he was going to get it. Maybe not from me but I knew that he was going to get it. If not from me then it was going to be by Mina's partner, Mia.

Just as we strapped in, the intercom sounded over the whirring of the turbines.

"Good evening, gentlemen, today we'll be heading up north towards Sweden where, hopefully, we'll destroy the enemy base that's been causing a thorn in our side for the past few weeks." The voice sounded like a female, a funny one at that. "This will be a trip around, say, four hours long so I advise anyone on board to get some shut eye before we arrive. My name is Maloney and I will be your pilot for this 'fun' ride, my attendants are Sidney and Riana so if you have any questions or needs, please inform them. So without further delay, please enjoy the ride."

_ _ And without any wait whatsoever, the jet began to rise into the air slowly but steadily and turned due north. I felt and heard the sound of the engines spin quicker and faster, as suddenly we were shot forward with bone breaking speed, pan-caking us to our very seats.

I did not like the cold or the fact of being in a plane.

The ride was fast but it felt slow and smooth, just like the flow of a river. Once we had stopped being flattened to our seats, we were finally able to rest a little before we got to Sweden. Jun and Viktor were fast asleep while Ryan and I were still awake to see the landscape pass over the jet.

I could see the mountains and valleys that we passed over, the small towns and forests that looked peaceful and calm. There didn't seem to be any sign of a war anywhere for miles, but I knew that there still was but seeing this gave me a little hope for a new future. If we were lower then maybe I could see the people down there just walking from place to place, cars traveling, kids playing. It would sure put a lighter load off my head just to see the positive mood.

If there was even a "positive" in this war.

The last thing I saw were the snowy mountains and white valleys we passed over before I turned away and sighed. It was peaceful, something that I hadn't seen in a few months since our training started. The only "peace" I seemed to get was when I was asleep at night in bed, dreaming the best dreams my mind would allow me to have but even then I never truly felt at ease.

Guess that was just the job of a soldier, or what they made us believe. We had to fight for our lives and hope was the only thing to have with you, along with faith of course but not many used that.

_ Faith_, I muttered in my mind. It sounded familiar to me, almost like I had sensed it once before. I don't know if I had said it and thought about it before, but since we had a little time to spare I figured to give it some thought.

It was one word. Five letters. Something told me however that that was not what it was just meant to be. If I had to give it my own definition, I'd have to say that it was trust in something or someone. Maybe it was also a perspective of belief as well, but I have no clue. If I had a dictionary or something then I could look it up and think better of it, but I didn't so I had to go with what I thought.

What if there was more to it? The word rang in my mind dozens of times after I had thought about it, and usually whenever my mind locked on something then it was meant to be understood and given thought. The only problem was that I couldn't think of any way to put it like anything else besides what I mentioned. English and grammar only took me so far yet there was still a lot to learn.

Maybe later I could think, but for now I'd have to settle with what I thought. Still, it was locked in my mind and probably wouldn't leave until I gave it even more thought. Talk about a major headache.

_ Ding-Dong!_

Once that sound hit my eardrums then I knew something was about to happen. Jun and Viktor were jolted awake at the sound and began to unbuckle themselves like they were well oiled machines who had been programmed to do this. Ryan and I followed their lead and began to mimic them best we could. They grabbed their bags then headed for the door we came through.

As they neared the door, they began to change their clothes into their white outfits they had brought along with them. We were already in our uniforms before them and had our thermals, sweat pants, thick shirts, scarves, boots/shoes, gloves, and goggles with us which meant we were ready. As they neared their finishing ups, green light flashed above the door and flickered on and off while the Ding-Dong sound kept going on.

"Jason," Viktor said, lacing his boots to complete his outfit. "can you get those packs from behind you? We'll need them."

I turned around and saw a set of four packs that looked like backpacks to me, yet they looked thinner and slimmer. I grabbed one and handed each to Ryan, Viktor, and Jun then save done for myself. I had a feeling I wasn't supposed to open them so I kept the back sealed and buttoned up.

"Alright then," Jun grunted, stomping his boot against the floor as he fit it in place. "Everyone, strap on your packs and get ready 'cause we're about to go diving."

"Diving?" Ryan asked, puzzlingly. "We're more than a thousand feet in the air!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

Jun snorted and smiled. "_Sky-_diving, man."

I felt Ryan tense up at that instant. He had already told me he was afraid of heights and planes since what happened six months ago, so I could understand why he would rather be strapped to an electric chair than jump out of this fast moving jet. If he cursed, I sure didn't hear it, but I bet he was cursing dozens in his mind.

Once they were changed and had their packs strapped to their backs, I saw Jun hit a green button next to the hatch. Once he hit the button, the door made a hissing sound then pushed outward and slid to the side, sending a powerful gale of cold wind smacking us right in the face. I nearly fell over backwards form the force of the impact but managed to keep myself up.

God, the wind was cold! My body reacted just like anyone's would: shivering like I was hyped up on ten cups of coffee or something. My teeth rattled against each other just like everyone else's as I stood there and let the cold air blow against my already really cold body.

I pulled my hood over my head and fastened my goggles over my eyes, keeping my eyes from watering just from the gust. Viktor stood in the hatchway, his clothes bellowing in the wind, then took a few steps back and without hesitation ran forward and jumped out of the plane. He was gone at an instant.

Ryan looked at Jun who only smiled as he pulled his hood over his head, then pulling his scarf up to cover his mouth and nose.

"You two better jump, we're over the area where we need to be dropped off," he explained and hastily pushed us along to the doorway.

"I-I've never jumped out from a plane!" I stuttered as we neared the opening.

Maybe Jun chuckled his usual chuckle or the wind was pulling my leg and just playing with me. I had no clue but it seriously did sound like he did laugh at my reaction like anyone would.

My shoes were so close to the edge that I could already see the snowy landscape and mountains before us. We were high, higher than I actually thought, which didn't make my stomach stop twisting in knots.

"Remember: pull the red cord then the blue one but don't worry," Jun said behind our backs. "I'll be right behind you to let you know."

Before we could ever protest, Jun pushed us forward and watched as we tumbled through the painfully cold air.

I screamed at the top of my lungs as we fell towards the winter wonderland below. Ryan was falling quicker than I was since he was heavier than I was and he was flailing his arms all over the place. Like me. He was shouting and cursing at Jun for pushing us and--even though I was still falling--I couldn't help but laugh a little.

As the cold air rushed past my body and frightened my body more, I remember what Jun had told us before he pushed us out. Red then blue. I thought to myself over the bellowing of the wind.

"Ryan!" I called through the air. "Pull the cords!"

Ryan seemed to stop yelling like to just to hear what I said, finally getting his body stable after spinning a few times to spread himself full eagle. He grabbed his red cord then turn his head and looked at me and nodded.

I grabbed my own cord and pulled it hardly, then my blue one. Instantly, my pack opened and I was shot back quickly. My chute opened up and expanded, letting the cold air fill it as it began to slow my decent more and more. Ryan wasn't far behind either, he opened his chute and was sent back as well and began to slowly descend.

Farther below Ryan was Viktor as he stood on the ground waiting for us, though we were still a hundred feet in the air I could still see him easily. He flashed a bright orange light telling us where he was. It took only a few minutes before we touched down just like him.

I felt like kissing the snowy ground since I had missed it so much but held myself back as I took off my pack. The snow felt soft and smooth to my touch but when I stepped it felt like I was walking through mud. I had never seen snow, let alone touch, snow before so this was a totally surreal thing to happen to me. Okay, okay, sure, I hated the cold a lot and I just wanted to carry a heated with me, but I couldn't deny that snow looked beautiful and elegant when it was untouched. If it wasn't for the cold, I would sure lie down in the white embrace and let it wash over me.

But there was still a mission to do.

Jun landed shortly after us and took off his pack and walked over to us, trudging through the thick, nearly foot-high snow. It wasn't snowing now, thankfully, but I did see some clouds begin to mass not far away from us. Best guess, they were going to be over us in only a few hours and hammer down at us a massive snowstorm.

"I've already...ugh...informed the G.M.A.F base here of our arrival," Viktor stated, securing his gloves in place. "They should be here very soon."

"How soon?" I asked.

"Five minutes tops, they were already heading our way," he replied.

We all nodded in agreement and waited for the given time. Sure enough, five minutes later, did we see half a dozen snowmobiles begin to head our way. Each one, aside from four, had two passengers--the driver and the gunman. They stopped not very far from us and allowed us to trudge through the deep snow to get to them.

"You guys the infiltration team the Admiral sent?" asked the guy who sounded in charge as he lowered his scarf to talk. He didn't sound like I thought a Sweden person would, more along the lines of American.

Ryan nodded. "That's us."

He held out his hand. "Corporal Hand, at your service."

I found it funny that he was called "Hand" when he extended his hand but didn't say anything in hopes of not offending him.

Ryan shook it. "Ryan Masters, it's an honor."

He smiled back. "So you're Masters, eh? Well, welcome to Sweden though I wish it was on better terms of arrival. Get on."

He got off his mobile and let Jun take it over while Viktor took the other. Ryan shrugged and sat behind Jun while I took a seat behind Viktor. Corporal Hand and the other soldier took a seat on the two available snowmobiles and motioned the soldiers back. Jun and Viktor nodded at them and hit the gas, going forward as we skidded over the white plain.

The ride was long and tiring, well, at least for me. I had to lean against Viktor for support some of the time as he drove, almost falling asleep at times. There were few bumps or lumps that made us jump but it was a smooth ride by far. This was one time I wish I had a watch so I could just tell how long it had been or what time it was. Sadly, even Viktor wasn't wearing a watch so it was impossible to tell what time it was. It could be midday or just a little before it or after it but knowing was hard.

After what felt like hours of riding on a seat that was beginning to give me a rash on my butt, the encampment was easily in sight--our encampment. It was shaped like a regular base--square with watchtowers at the corners, sandbags up around the front and sides with mounted turrents guarding the perimeter with soldiers patrolling the walls. I saw snipers up in the towers with their guns already primed and ready to fire. On the inside there were two long buildings that equaled half a football field in length and width with even more soldiers guarding them. Tanks, trucks, and more snowmobiles were placed accordingly throughout the walls of the base. The soldiers inside were, no doubt, trained to fight at a moment's notice if the time came.

The sight made me awe, it was powerful and strong but still well organized. They were able to train soldiers in this kind of cold climate without it being a problem, I hoped.

The front gate was where we were heading, and it was heavily guarded like the rest of the base. Ten soldiers guarded the gates, all armed with assault rifles, all looked big and strong, ready to snap anyone's neck in a split second.

They scared me alright, rather not tango with them.

Viktor drove right up to the front gates with Jun right in front of him as the soon stopped their vehicles, letting the lead guard walk up to them.

"Identification, please," the guard spoke in a bass filled voice that told me he was definitely in charge.

Jun held up a letter he produced from his coat pocket (surprisingly not frozen) and handed it to the man. The buff man unraveled the letter and scanned over it then nodded. He waved to his other guards who happened to open the barbed wire gates, allowing us passage inside.

With permission to enter, we drove inside until we reached the lot where the vehicles were stationed. The group of us parked our snowmobiles then got off to stretch our legs after a long ride that had left my butt numb and sore.

As I popped my back in place (painfully), my eyes followed Jun and Viktor as they beckoned us to follow them towards one of the stone buildings. Ryan helped push me along as we both jogged to catch up to their pace, getting at their side just as they reached a set of automatic doors that let us inside. Before we got even a foot inside, my eyes found cameras mounted along the walls as they tracked our movements.

"Don't mind them," Jun said as he walked ahead of us. "Their commander is waiting to meet us to form our plan of attack."

"Wait, we don't have a plan yet?" I asked, looking to him.

"Yet," he replied. "The Admiral didn't even give us a clear way to get inside the base."

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"Beats me," he replied, seeing Viktor walk ahead as he tapped in a code on a key panel just a little ahead of us.

I saw him use his hand as the panel turn green, along with a green light above the door, as the door let us inside. We followed him in to see a strong looking man standing in front of a holographic table, looking frustrated. He looked to be in his middle thirties with buzz-cut blonde hair, leather-like skin, and a forearm communicator. He wore a navy blue parka, black thick pants, and black combat boots over his body, which was to say the room was colder than I thought it was.

He turned his attention to us right after we entered and greeted him. I saw as his silver eyes scanned over us like a high tech robot before speaking to us in a deep, rough voice.

"Ryan, Jason, Jun, and Viktor, correct?" he asked us, cocking an eye.

Viktor stepped forward and nodded. "Yes, commander. The Admiral sent us to air you on this mission."

He nodded but sighed. "If he sent you, then you have to be good. You're from Squad 14, right?" We nodded to his question. "Good, I've heard some good things about your little group. Nice work back in Warsaw. The name's Commander Killen."

"Thank you, sir," Jun replied.

He nodded once more, grunting as he looked back at the table hologram he was staring intently at before. He flicked his hand across the surface and swished it across until he reached a pentagon shaped object. The commander motioned us over to take a look, so we did and stared at the hologram.

"Alright, this is the base that's been a pain in our asses since we first established our own a few months ago," he explained, zooming in so we could see the base better. It had tall watchtowers at the corners, a thick wall that looked like it could take dozens of rounds of cannon fire, and plenty of soldiers guarding the inside. "It's called Fort Darius, and it's been causing us major issues. Our supplies have been cut in half in the past few months so we can't send as much as we want to the troops in Germany and Poland, who desperately need the supplies." The commander rubbed his eyes and sighed again.

"So that's why our troops stationed in Frankfurt and Berlin have been requesting more aid," Jun said, scratching his chin.

"That's right," he replied. "They're also raiding our supplies then sending the truck back to our base, only to be detonated right at our gates. They're weakening us for an attack, and this hologram proves it. Look." He gestured to the hologram then had it go underneath the base where we saw a cube-shaped room filled with dozens upon dozens of troops that looked ready to fight. "My best guess, they're gonna hit us in the next month when we're at our weakest and take our base from us. If we don't get theirs destroyed first, then we're going to lose a major foothold in the north."

"But the soldiers weren't the only problem the Admiral sent us for," Ryan added.

The commander sighed. "You're right, they're only part of the problem. The Admiral wants the four of you to infiltrate the base and take back a set of plans that can improve our tanks, as well as the fire-rate and capacity of our guns. Those plans were the last thing the Russian G.M.A.F sent us before the team that found them was wiped out. Sadly, the Shadows got a hold of the plans and are possibly reengineering them to fit their standards. If they do, we're only going to lose more men than before."

I bit my lip. Wow, a single set of plans could change the tide of the war? I wasn't so sure. Even if the Shadows had outdated guns, they were still very powerful and lethal when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Ryan saw that and he got pretty banged up from it. I didn't say anything so I listened, in high hopes that these plans were really going to help out in the near future.

"So, here is your mission," Commander Killen stated. "You are to infiltrate the base and recover the stolen plans. Here." He handed me a black flash-drive that I looked at intently for a few seconds. "That will help you locate the plans without them finding out, it'll bypass their firewalls with ease. You better not lose it, else if they don't kill you then I will." He smiled for once but made me shiver.

"How're we gonna get in?" I asked, trying to divert away from his eyes. "It's not like we can knock and they'll let us in or something."

"That's why we do our research," he explained, swishing away from the base to stop a little ways off to show a rectangular shaped object moving along the frozen terrain. "We've caught a supply truck heading their way with our supplies inside. It's not far from our base but it will take a while to catch up with, so it's going to be your way inside the base. They don't inspect the trucks until they get inside the base, but I'm sure you won't have a problem getting past the inspectors." He winked. "Once inside, head down to the third level to their science and engineering laboratories. Sadly, we don't have a room number for where they're keeping our plans so you're going to have to do a little digging yourselves."

"Is that our only way in?" I stupidly asked.

"You want to knock and see if they'll let you in?" he replied, sounding like a total smart-ass.

"I'll take our first option," I looked away, crossing my arms as I spoke in a hushed voice.

Commander Killen smiled. "Good, knocking is too nice for me anyway. Unless I'm using a gun to do the knocking, then it's fun."

"So when do we depart?" Jun asked him.

"ASAP," the commander bluntly replied.

"Okay then," Viktor said in an annoyed voice. "We'll leave right after this meeting is over, better not stall when we have a mission at hand anyway." He crossed his own arms and grunted.

"Alright then, before you leave, I have to things to ask of you."

"Let's hear them then," Ryan replied back.

The commander stepped back from the table and placed his hands at his hips, sighing as he looked at the ceiling. He dove into his pocket and brought out two things: a lighter and a cigarette. He popped the joint in his mouth and lit the open end before sucking in the smoke. He took the joint from his mouth and breathed out, letting the grey smoke blow into the room.

"I want you to burn their base to the ground," he said as he lit his lighter again and showed it at us. "Then dance on the damn things ashes." He said as he tapped his cig and let the ashes fall on the floor.

Continued in chapter twelve..."Insight to the past: Jun"