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Chapter 2 fires of war

Damn lights was the first coherent thought Ragoza could put together and was likely the only thing that could be said. His right eye was complete blackness as it was covered in bandages; his left eye was blinded by the sunlight that had perfectly shone through the windows and directly into his eye. He struggled to move away, to say something, but the effort was just too great. He closed his eye and lay there resting for a moment. He began remembering the events leading to this, the mission the detonation near the end then... the battle with the Weregarurumon.

He thought about the Digimon for a moment and then his next thought came to that of... mist. With that his eye shot open and he fought with a new purpose to get up. He managed to sit when finally a nurse took notice of him and waved a doctor over. Ragoza was beginning to throw the covers off when the doctor came over. "Ahh I see that they weren't lying to me when they said you would be a trouble patient. Put the covers back on because for the next week you stay here anyways."

Ragoza looked up into the doctors eyes- a human- seeing that there was no way to get out when he realized that the doctor was flanked by two burly guards, there arms looked like they were as thick as watermelons... he slowly put the covers on again.

"That's better my name is doctor Fisch and ranking I am classified as a captain though I'm just a civilian. I'm the best optical surgeon in the hospital and to say the least I think it is a miracle that your eye, not the one that is fully functional as I can see by the glare, will possibly be functional again but to what degree I am unable to tell I'm afraid. You will have sight but as to how far, or the quality of your sight, is up in the air."

Ragoza could not think of anything to say, blind in one eye? This would end him he had nothing other than military training, sure he lived like any soldier but he was career soldier. Blindness would end his career as a frontline soldier. Even the most minimum of impairment would end it. Doctor Fisch seeing a change in his patients demeanor took his leave realizing he may have just ended this man's place in life. He did his work to help people, and he worked hard doing it, but every time he saw that look of despair on a patients face, he couldn't help but feel he had failed...

It had taken a week and two days but it was judgment day. Would he continue to soldier? Ragoza had regained all functions at an alarming rate that the doctors thought he was some sort of super human, or a that he may have had something else wrong and demanded more tests. It was a matter of time before Ragoza began playing pranks around the hospital to keep himself from going insane.

"Ragoza I'm going to pull off these bandages now but make sure you are ready I don't know what it will be like." With a nod the doctor began to work. To Ragoza it was excruciatingly long but it was only 5 minutes, when the final bandage came off.

The nurse assisting gasped and took a step back while Fisch only blinked, but Ragoza saw it all, his eye was fine! "Doctor you have saved my eye and for that I cannot thank you enough!" Fisch's eyes widened

"What? You can see?" Fisch said in a higher voice than was normal for him

"Of course" Ragoza replied "quite plainly. Why what's the matter?" Ragoza said slightly worried. The doctor looked at the nurse then at Ragoza.

"Put your hand over your left eye. Good, how many fingers?" Ragoza looking at the doctor like he was some kind of idiot.

"your holding up 3 and the chart behind you bottom line says, XCGHKY, Further more I believe that there is a typo in the sign next to it." Fisch looked surprised to say the least. That sign was supposed to be a joke to those who could see fine. What he was seeing SHOULDN'T be fine.

"Ragoza look in the mirror you will understand why the seemingly stupid questions. Ragoza gave an exasperated look and turning to the mirror, he froze. It was white... completely white... a single long scar, perfectly straight, ran from just above his jaw line to just above his eye. His eye had been sliced in the cut as well. The colour had bled out of it. Upon a very close look mouth hanging open in astonishment, it was a pearly white in the very center showing where the black pupil SHOULD have been. He simply stood there for a time but eventually he turned to the doctor and spoke. "When do I leave?"

Fisch watched Ragoza walk out the next day. Every doctor in the hospital was fighting tooth and nail to get him back into the hospital to study how Ragoza could retain a fully functional eye...To hell with the old bastards. He had to let him go. The man is a leader, a soldier... a hero.

Ragoza couldn't think straight for a moment and sat down on the bench in his team's locker room, hanging his head. Huh if you can even call it a team anymore... god I should have done better. I should have saved mist.

Though Ragoza had known the renamon for only a short time he had come to like the digimon very much. He was considering at the time about delving into an area that he had little experience in. As a haze of thought continued to run in his head about what could have been done he looked up.

Every thought immediately left him as he saw the exact same type of mask they used in that mission. This was the last time he would be here... he had been promoted and was given command of a general arms unit. He was clearing the rooms of his belongings and the... others... he stepped towards the mask and picked it up examining it.

He stared at the reflective glasses for a moment seeing his scarred eye in them. That was when the thought struck him. This is my mask I can do what I want with it... Ragoza taking one last look around the room and satisfied left the room for the last time.

General Jak "flak" Gregor was a fox of principle who commanded the C.O.R.E.'s 3rd army. He was a smart and calculating fox, but he also took risks. He had worked his way through the officer corps and had been a troop favourite all the way through. He had earned the nickname "Flak" when he had first joined the army.

Then the C.O.R.E. wasn't around and a country that was warmongering had invaded his homeland. During a particularly devastating attack he manned an anti-air gun that had just had its crew killed. He turned out to be a devastating shot, shooting down several fighters. Ragoza had heard of him but had never met him but today was that day as he stood at attention in the general's office. The general knew the story behind Ragoza. He immediately knew this was a man who could be relied on.

"Well that's good enough for me. I'm giving you command of the 401st, dismissed." And just like that the conversation was over. The general watched Ragoza immediately pivot and walk out. Yes he could work with him. He could do it.

Ragoza wasted no time what so ever. He immediately brought every company under a strict training regime, which brought many complaints from soldiers. However not one of them could deny the fact that they were becoming far better that any other unit in the army. Roughly 6 weeks into training Ragoza called the company commanders together and told them to decide on 6 of their best soldiers and that they would be sent to him.

Soon he had 6 soldiers with their files standing in front of him. 2 were human, one extremely buff and bulky, and the other wiry and thin, with extremely intelligent eyes. He had one fox, very lithe in his movements. One was a Weregarurumon, with eyes surveying every detail extremely fast. There was a half dragon, her movements seemed to be slow in his movements but were actually quite detailed and thought out. And then there was the skunk. He gave an aura of confidence, leadership, and a little bit of arrogance.

"Do you know why you were called in here?" Ragoza said to the group in front of him. The skunk stepped forward. "No sir we don't" Hawkeye smiled. "Good, your now special ops, you get used to not knowing things." With that the new team all looked at each other warily. "Don't worry you're the best we've got in this unit and I know what your good at. Deacon" the buff human stepped forward. "Your heavy weapons, Olion you're technician" the other human was quite happy about getting the computer job. "Feller, your recon" the fox saluted. "Belian, your sniper, you and Feller are gonna be best friends." The Weregarurumon nodded to the fox. "Shelly, you're going to be combat arms, you get the fun gadgets they don't" the dragon seemed impassive with this decision. "And Deliath, you are hereby promoted you are the team leader. The lot of you dismissed, you begin training tomorrow." With that they filed out.

"So what do you think of him?" Belian said.

"Well he is definitely smart. I wonder where he got that scar?" replied Feller.

"Hey Deacon any theories?" deacon looked at feller

"I like him, scar means he's seen combat, and he gave me the big boy toys" he said with a vicious grin.

Olion looked over at his new team mates "well you get the big weapons you can't crack a magnetic door now can you? Guess what? Me and good ol Rig here can." He said patting a small palm sized computer on his hip.

"Well you boys don't get to use some of the fun gadgets, whatever those are..." shelly said somewhat crestfallen.

"Whatever guys you heard Hawkeye we better bunk in early." With that Deliath hopped into bed a fell asleep.

About 2 months later Ragoza received a note from general Gregor. He was being summoned for a special briefing. He found himself being bussed to a car a sitting beside the general. "Hawkeye, I've heard excellent reports about your unit." Ragoza nodded his head in agreement

"Yes sir we worked to get good." Flak nodded as well

"Good because you've just been made the point attackers against the city of Lezovitz." Ragoza looked at the general wide eyed

"What? An attack against a city? We're not at war are we? Never mind that we're not ready, we need another 2 months minimum, I would prefer more though." flak looked at ragoza.

"I'm sorry but your men are the best candidates for this mission you need to begin forming up you move out in 2 days." Ragoza looked at the general, a look of fury in his eye that still had colour, and getting out of the car that had simply driven around the block went to put his unit together.

Forming up was extremely fast and the men soon found them being rushed across territory after territory getting to the city of Lezovits. Ragoza had decided on waiting 3 days to get his planning in order. However on the first day a thought struck him and he took a jeep and painted it white. His men saw him driving off into the night, slightly worried for him. They had all come to like him.

Ragoza approached the outskirts of the city and slowed down. He pulled to a stop and pulled a pole out. He tied a white flag to the end of it and put it on the back of the jeep. He slowly approached the city. Within seconds he came to a bunker with some soldiers pulling him to a stop. "Who are you, what is your business?" said the human soldier who approached the jeep.

"I am commander Ragoza Hawkeye, I wish to speak with whoever is in command of this city." The soldier nodded and went to his bunker put in a few radio calls and soon waved him on. He found himself steered into the center of the city and into the town hall. He walked the steps to the top and met his enemy, a panther.

"I am commander Racath, of the Liberation army. I understand you come to parley. Please come in and we shall talk." Ragoza soon found himself seated in front of a desk and immediately took the initiative. "I want you to evacuate the city."

The panther looked at him. "I can't do that my orders are to hold the ci-" Ragoza cut him off "no I want you to evacuate the civilian population. I will give you 2 days which to do that."

The commander looked at him quizzically. "We shall do it, anything else?"

Ragoza nodded "yes my medics are wearing white and are unarmed, and under strict orders to treat whoever they see, enemy or not. I wish you to please make these men and women off limits, and I would also like to ask the same of your medics."

At this statement the panther looked at him in astonishment. "My, you truly are concerned about life aren't you?"

Ragoza nodded "life will be lost, no doubt about it. I only wish to minimize the amount." The panther nodded.

"You are different than other C.O.R.E. men Ragoza, most would have started shooting by now.

"We shall adhere to these rules set by the parley we would also like to ask if it would be better to place zones that are completely off limits and for use only of injured and medical personnel." Ragoza nodded.

"I agree to these terms. Thank you for your hospitality I must attend to my soldier." With that the exchange over, Hawkeye returned to his soldiers.

Everything was in order, battle would soon be commenced, but Hawkeye couldn't help but think about mist...

Story copyright to me, the Absorbentgene. Digimon belong to TOEI animation