Digital Crisis:
The Battle of Tokyo
March 9th 2017, Ginza District, Tokyo.
After getting off the train and walking into the busy crowd of the Japanese metro, an excited man was looking forward to this day. Indeed this was the 2017 Spring Doujinshi Convention, where many professional and amateur mangakas meet and greet their fans as well as another place for cosplayers to be in for the sake of cosplaying. At first sight, he seemed like an average man, short spiky and messy dark brown hair, oval shaped head, brown eyes with a small patch of beard on his chin, which he didn't bother to shave. He wore a simple orange t-shirt and white cargo shorts with simple white sneakers to match. During his trip in the train, his eyes were glued on his smartphone as he plays a newly installed Japanese MMORPG video game. Overall, he is an otaku and proud to be.
However he is more than your average anime and manga lover. His name is Youji Itami, 33 years old and a Second Lieutenant of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, 36th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division of the Central Army. To his luck, he was given a week leave, just in time for the important event.
Caught up in his video game, he didn't see the structural beam he was currently heading straight forward. Before he could spot it, he knocked himself against it head first. It was quite a painful experience.
"Are you alright, sir?" A male voice asked concernly as some people stopped and witnessed the scene.
"Y-yeah, j-just hit my head hard- ow!" He exclaimed after touching the bruise on his forehead.
"Here, let me help you up," The stranger said while offering his hand.
Grateful, Itami took his hand and heaved himself back on his feet. "Thanks, man, I appreciate the he-" He stopped mid-sentence and instantly smiled. The other person also smiled as both of them recognised each other.
"Crap, LT, is that you?" The man punched lightly his arm.
He was a much younger man, barely 21 but a sergeant of the JGSDF, the same unit as Itami's. In fact, Takeo Kurata is Itami's best friend and also an otaku.
"Damn right I am, come here you!" Itami playfully said as he grabbed him in a headlock, ruffling his hair while laughing. "You came here for the convention?" He asked excitingly.
"Hell yeah!" Kurata replied cheerfully.
Their friendly reunion was put to an abrupt stop when they heard frantic screaming outside the station, making everyone halt in place in a heavy silence as confusion started to spread across the station. Looking out the windows, their jaws dropped once they witnessed a gigantic red bug flying through the streets, causing death and destruction. Immediately and driven by primal fear, the civilians ran away screaming while others were too afraid to move from their spot, pushed around by the panicking crowd.
"Oh fuck..." Kurata stated with fear.
"We need to get these people to safety, fast!" Itami suggested urgently.
"What?! No! We need to get the hell out of here, dude!" The other protested.
"If we run like cowards, not only will innocent lives will be lost but more importantly the convention will be cancelled!"
Staring at the off-duty officer with a deadpan look, Kurata decided against leaving the civilians behind... as for the convention, he's willing to let it burn to the ground if it meant his life safe and sound.
"Alright, sir, what are your orders?" He asked with a sharp salute.
"Follow my lead," Itami instructed before he shouted to the people inside the station, "Everyone! Evacuate to the Imperial Palace! Now! Let's go!"
Like a herd of sheep, the frightened civilians ran to the direction of the palace. Kurata joined in and calmly warned and instructed the rest of them to the palace. Later, he and Itami got out of the station and into the streets. Numerous police armoured vehicles droved passed the station. Itami waved his arms around to stop them. Eventually, a police riot truck barely struck him if not thanks to the driver's expert driving skill.
"What the fuck? I could have killed you!" The police driver shouted angrily.
Taking out his military ID card, Itami ran to the driver and showed it. "Listen, man, I've instructed civilians to gather at the palace, I suggest that you gather as many officers as you can and form up a defensive line until help arrives!"
Without a single second to spare, the police officer allowed them in the vehicle. And so, the Battle of Tokyo begins.
It only took a few minutes for the riot truck to catch with the rest of the police convoy, assembled at the Imperial Palace. The ancient palace's gates were opened for the thousands of civilian flocking in in panic, praying to the divines to protect and save their souls. Municipal police officers tried their best to install order and discipline among the civilians as they lead them in the castle, reassuring them with their presence.
The convoy unloaded weapons and ammunation crates while heavily armoured officers rushed out of the vehicles and formed a defensive perimeter around the castle. Itami and Kurata were grouped with the police forces at the Eastern gate, where it is more likely that the enemy will show up.
"Here, guys," A police officer handed the two off-duty JSDF soldiers MP5A4 submachine guns with two magazines each, "Hope these will be effecient against whatever the hell we're up against," He commented.
Itami and Kurata had managed to save at least a thousand of civilians, now inside the Imperial Palace, safe behind the fort's massive walls. A dozen units of riot police and anti-firearms squads were formed at the Eastern defensive line, a line of riot shields and small arms guarded the palace's gate. The two soldiers wore over their civilian clothes lightweight bullet-proof vest. Gunshots echoed in the distant as a mysterious fog crept towards them.
"Shit, where the hell did that fog come from?" Asked Kurata nervously.
"No idea..." Itami replied, he turned around to a police captain, "How long until reinforcements arrive?"
"They should be here in a few minutes,"
"Let's hope we can hold for this long..." He muttered dreadfully.
"Something's coming up!" Yelled a riot police.
"Get ready! Weapons fire on my signal!" The captain isntructed.
A JGSDF AH-64 Apache attack helicopter flew past them, kicking dust and leaves around it before it fired a couple of rounds in the streets, hopefully killing whatever it was in its path. Suddenly, bullets started flying at their direction. Dozens of wounded fell throughout the defensive line. The first response units fired back blindly. Grenade launchers popped tear gas and smoke at the enemy.
"Medic! Medic!" Men shouted for aid as they drag the wounded and the dead away from the firefight.
SAT sniper teams opened fire at the shadows perceived in the fog of war. The riot shields didn't withstand against whatever the enemy force was firing at them. Their projectiles pierced through the ballistic shield like paper. The main defensive line was starting to lose men and ground fast. Ducking behind the now peppered Toyota land cruiser, Itami reloaded his SMG with the last magazine; Kurata was down to his sidearm, a Glock 19, with only two mags left.
"This is bad, Itami!" Noted Kurata with uncertainty, firing a couple of shots into the fog.
Looking around, Itami spotted a dead police officer near the vehicle. He hastily ran to him and dragged the body back. He passed the pistol mags to Kurata and took the radio.
"To any station, this is Second Lieutenant Itami Youji of the JGSDF! I am requesting reinforcements and evac for the civilians at the Imperial Palace, ASAP! Please respond!"
"Lieutenant Itami, this is Striker 1-1, I've got eyes on your position," Responded an attack helicopter pilot, "Nearest JSDF unit is five mikes away from you, they will arrive with armour and foot mobiles. I can provide you air support from here, how copy?"
"Solid copy, I want guns at anything beyond the bridge, over," He demanded urgently.
"Roger, guns spinning in a second, better cover your ears,"
The Apache attack helicopter hovered just above them, the M230 chain gun lit up, spitting out heavy rounds angrily at the enemy residing in the fog. The police force could hear their cries of pain in the distance, they cheered happily in response. Regrouped, the SATs and Anti-firearms squads opened fire as the fog miraculously spread out, showing their enemy's true face, and they weren't expecting nor believing at what they were seeing.
The enemy force was an army of creatures of different shape, size and form. They could observe blue reptilians in digital blue camo handling M16 rifles, large living tanks with gigantic armaments, ogres and goblins, avian reptilians and dinosaur-like creature, machinegun wielding centaurs and even human-sized bugs. Shock filled the men and fear ran through them. Itami could see it in their eyes and a scared man is a dead man.
"What are you doing?" He yelled at them sternly, "Kill those fuckers! Make them pay!"
With that, he got out of cover and took out his sidearm, firing at the army of creatures. Inspired, the police officers shot back, letting their weapons do the barking and greeting.
"Defend the civilians to the death, men! For country and honour!" He shouted courageously, this was the first time he led an assault.
The enemy force suddenly charged at them but they held their grounds, with the help of the Apache, they defended the bridge long enough for a brigade of JGSDF soldiers to arrive and relieve them with heavy armour support and APCs. Chinooks flew in the palace's park, where civilians were instructed to get in for the evac. With the combined arms, rifles and cannons, the Japanese forces managed to push back this alien force out of the bridge, though not without any casualties.
While a company of armoured infantry pushed through the streets, several platoons stayed behind to secure and evacuate the dead and wounded. Bullets, blood and bodies lay scattered on the pavement and cobblestone. Itami and Kurata rested against the land cruiser, taking in what they have just went through. They haven't seen so much death and destruction in the span of a couple of minutes, minutes that felt like hours. They were covered in sweat and grime before they were offered clean uniforms and proper JGSDF equipment.
Itami checked his Howa Type 89 assault rifle before he donned his combat helmet. He glanced back at Kurata, who was visibly shaking as he puts on a fresh mag in the rifle. Itami walked up to him, took his rifle, loaded it and pulled the charging handle, weapon's armed and ready to shoot, and handed it back to him firmly, grasping his hands on the rifle.
"Breath in and out slowly, remember your training and aim smart. We will make it through this alive, Takeo," The young soldier nodded nervously, a bit calmed down.
"Second Lieutenant Itami Youji?" Asked a tall and brawn JGSDF soldier.
The trooper was a sturdy young man with broad shoulders and a square head with firm cheeks and a strong jaw line and chin. The man was intimidating but seemed cool and collected, like a gentle giant. The soldier had his combat uniform's sleeves rolled up, revealing his strong built arms and large gloved hands that held firmly the rifle. Behind his combat glasses were calm brown eyes.
"Yeah..." Answered Itami confusely, "That's me alright,"
The tall sturdy man saluted firmly and dutifully, "Sergeant First Class Tomita Akira! Reporting for duty," He then relaxed his posture, "I will be your second-in-command with my unit,"
"Unit?" Asked Sergeant Kurata. Tomita replied with a nod. "Shouldn't Sergeant Major Kuwahara be with us and the platoon?"
"The Sergeant Major left me in charge of our unit while he is leading the rest of the platoon with the company in the assault," He informed to Itami.
"Where is the unit then?" The officer asked curiously.
Tomita turned around and whistled loudly. Moments later, eight other soldiers stood at his attention, lined up and saluting formally. Tomita then went on to introduce each of them.
"Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa, our Combat Medic, Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi, Sergeant Saitama Azuma, Leading Private Daisuke Tozu , Leading Private Wataru Katsumoto, the heavy weapons specialist, Leading Private Sasagawa Hayato and Leading Private Hitoshi Furata. We're the Third Recon Team."
"Nice to meet you all," He said with a curt nod to the squad, "what's the sitrep." He demanded in an authoritative tone.
"For now, we know that the enemy came from Ginza District. Our forces are currently establishing a perimeter to lock them in there so we can evacuate the civilians out and regroup for our counter-assault. U.S Marines are currently on the ground and holding some of our checkpoints, there's an F.O.B in Shinjuku. Our mission is to exfil a VIP at the Metropolitan Government Building."
"Where's that?" Asked Kurata.
"In NishiShinjuku." Sergeant First Class Kuribayashi answered behind him flatly.
"Shit, that's a long way. Do we even have any vehicles at our disposal?" Tomita shook his head dreadfully, all vehicles were either in use or destroyed. Itami slapped himself on the face, hating his current situation.
"At least it's a straight run away from danger," Kurata added, Itami hummed in approval.
"Okay then, Third Recon, move out!" Itami ordered as they went to their objective on foot.
"Ryoukai!"
In Yokota Air Base, JSDF troops and U.S Marines were gathered in the hangars for a mission brief, preparing for the evacuation of civilians. Reports were still vague but one thing is clear, the unknown opposition force is hostile and it is up to the Marines and JSDF to stop them.
The Marines of First platoon, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines, all lined up at the attention of Second Lieutenant William Richards and Staff Sergeant Stephen Raymond, one of the most respected senior NCO in the company. Raymond has been in the Corps since he was 18 years old, starting as a simple grunt before crawling his way up to become a Staff Sergeant at the age of 28. He was a light built man, lightly tanned skin, a round and shaved face with dark black short hair, dark brown eyes filled with determination and the experience of a battle-hardened Marine, with seven tours of duty under his belt: mostly in Afghanistan and recently Syria.
"Listen up, Marines!" The Lieutenant began, "For now the situation is still unclear and we do not have any official orders from the higher ups. However, Tokyo is under attack and innocent lives are in danger. Our mission for now is to protect an evac site in Shinjuku where we will hold our line until reinforcements arrive. For now, we will take orders from the JSDF. Is that clear?" He asked loudly.
"Sir Yes sir!" They all shouted in response.
"Let's move out, Marines!" Raymond ordered sternly.
The airfield was filled with numerous JSDF military aircrafts, from "Chinooks" to the UH-60 "BlackHawks" and UH-1 transport helos, to the AH-1 "Cobra" attack helicopters. The platoon piled in their designated Chinook, the air crew member saluted them before operating on the fifty caliber side machine gun. The aircraft slowly lifted to the air before heading towards Shinjuku.
Staff Sergeant Raymond sat near the rear exit ramp of the chopper, gazing at the urban landscape with ease. He then stared back at the platoon, most of them were relaxed albeit a little bit impatient for the veterans while the newer recruits were nervous, this was their first combat mission and they have to face an unknown enemy force. Raymond made sure that they will stay confident and win every firefight this OpFor will throw at them. They were Marines after all, Marines always win battles.
"Yo, Staff Sergeant!" Called a Marine Sergeant from near him, it was Louis Dukeman, Raymond's friend, "Do you think we're fighting aliens now?" He asked jokingly, making some of the greener Marines more nervous.
"Alien or not, we will kick their sorry asses back where they came from!" He replied with a confident smile.
"Oorah!" The veteran Marines praised in unison.
Shortly after landing in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, the platoon of Marines were briefed by their company commander of the situation. The company will set a Forward Operating Base for other U.S and Japanese forces as well being one of the evac sites for the civilians. Currently the platoon was tasked with investigating the Japanese Garden while the company fortified their defenses in the French Garden.
Passing by an ancient but iconic monument of the park, the Marines were enjoying the view of various beautiful plants and trees, especially the sakura trees which were blooming with life. From there, Richards gave the order to split the platoon to squads and ordered them to spread out to cover as much ground as possible. Following behind first squad, Raymond felt at ease in the garden, no wonder everyone go here every day in spring and summer. Suddenly the squad halted. They knelt down while Raymond walked up to Sergeant Dukeman.
"What's the hold up, Dukeman?" He asked curiously.
"I don't remember seeing this small shelter over there, up between the trees." He reported while pointing at a small concrete structure.
"Bravo team, with me," Raymond ordered as the fire team cautiously moved through the foliage.
The rifleman on point was PFC. Samuel Marcus, one of the greener Marines of the platoon, but he also showed confidence and pride despite his lack of experience. M16A4 rifle drawn up and ready to shoot, he scanned his surroundings before hitting his back against the wall of the square-ish concrete shelter.
"U.S Marines! Anyone in there?" He asked out loud in English, which Corporal Jayden Smith slapped himself in disappointment.
Raymond asked the same question out loud but in Japanese this time. However there were still no answers. He was about to order the fireteam back to the squad when all of the sudden he heard a creaking metallic noise followed with frantic footsteps, a gasp and a heavy thud. Turning back at the shelter, he first noticed the Marines aiming their weapons with disbelief, he then looked at the shelter and his eyes widened with shock.
Marcus was pinned to the ground by a large, red and white reptilian creature, growling savagely at them. The creature's scales were red with the only exception on its torso which was white. It had black markings on its body and face, most of them looked like a hazard sign. The reptile had golden feral eyes, a large ferocious maw with sharp, deadly teeth and strangely adorable bat wings for ears. It had a thick scaly tail and sharp claws on its hands and feet. The creature was hunched over the pinned Marine in a way that showed it was ready to pounce to another Marine if threatened.
"Staff Sergeant...What the fuck should we do?" Asked Smith nervously and worryingly.
"Just hold your fire, don't shoot until I say so," He instructed calmly while eyeing the creature closely.
"Is that the enemy?" Asked Lance Corporal Alex Winters, his M27IAR trained on the creature's head. "I have clear sight at its head, Staff Sergeant, I can put a bullet to its brains," He informed Raymond while aiming down through the ACOG, eager to pull the trigger.
"Not yet..." He dismissed firmly before taking slow footsteps towards it.
"The fuck?" Commented Smith.
"Just fucking kill it, Sarge!" Begged Marcus fearfully.
After closing a small gap between him and the creature, Raymond laid out his left hand while the other was grasping his M9 sidearm on his thigh holster. The saurian creature backed away while growling aggresively, holding Marcus with more pressure.
"Fuck! You are going to get me killed!" Swore Marcus, losing his calm attitude and confidence.
"I will shoot you if you don't shut the fuck up!" Raymond scolded before fully facing the creature, staring in its golden yellow eyes, "Easy there, bud, I promise we won't harm you if you let my Marine go and explain yourself," The fire team looked at him in bewilderment, "We can settle this peacefully-"
"We're wasting time, sir," Smith spoke up abruptly, not caring for hiearchy protocols, he was more concerned for his fellow Marine.
"I know for a fact you're a Digimon, am I right?" Raymond stated with certainty, which only gave more confusion to the fire team.
"A what-now?!" Marcus asked incredelously, "You've got to be kidding me!"
By a miracle, the creature nodded, understanding the human to let go of its captive, who crawled back to his teammates in panic, scared for his life. Then it fully stood up, a head taller than Raymond.
"I mean no harm, so please don't shoot," It spoke in a masculine voice, though filled with some resentment. Marcus had his jaw dropped in disbelief, so was the rest of the fire team. "My name is Guilmon, by the way," It said surprisingly politely.
"Okay, Guilmon, I want you to follow closely behind me, for your safety," Instructed Raymond while he ordered the team to join up with the rest of the squad.
Fortunately he didn't have to explain himself to the rest of the squad since all of them witnessed the scene. They all backed away from him, intimidated by the dinosaur-like creature. Dukeman was the only one who dared to step up and protest.
"What the fuck is this, Stephen?!" He asked angrily, dropping the formalities, "How do you think the LT is going to react to this?! Heck even the skipper?! Are you out of your Goddamn mind?"
"Relax, he's not hostile," Raymond reassured him cooly.
"How the fuck do you know that? Didn't you know that we're at war against this...this thing!" Countered Dukeman, glaring at Guilmon.
"If he was hostile, he could've roasted us and chewed Marcus's throat in a second," Marcus winced and unconsciously rubbed his precious throat, "As for the Lieutenant, you let me handle that, besides he could be useful in combat,"
Giving up, Dukeman sighed in defeat and reassured his Marines that the Staff Sergeant was right, though with regret.
"If anything goes wrong, I'm blaming you," He warned Raymond, glancing one last time at Guilmon before leading his Marines back to the ancient monument.
Guilmon shyly poked Raymond's right shoulder, "Hey...uh, thanks for saving my butt just then,"
"Don't mention it, I'm just surprised that I can meet a real-life Digimon, I must be dreaming or something," He chuckled lightly before following the squad, "So do you have a tamer or something?"
"Actually yes..."
Richards let out a frustrated sigh after yelling at his Marines to stand ground and listening to Raymond's reasoning behind 'adopting' the red creature into the platoon, his platoon. He rubbed his forehead as a headache appeared suddenly. He is going to have to explain all of it to the higher ups sooner or later. He just hoped to be dead before that could happen. He ordered Raymond and the digimon to follow him in the ancient Japanese structure to talk with them privately.
"Okay, Stephen, give me one reason why I should not put a bullet through his skull right now, make it quick because we're losing time," He demanded sternly as he stares at Guilmon coldly, making the digimon cower behind Raymond.
"He could be useful. His scales are tough and he could give us an advantage over the enemy and if he is reunited with his tamer then he can digivolve to be even stronger," Raymond explained with a hint of childish excitement.
"How the fuck do you know all of this? How can you be so sure?" Asked Richards, intrigued and surprised of his 2IC's knowledge of the "enemy".
"I used to play the card game and watched the anime when I was younger," He told him sincerely, "Maybe I should get back to it now that I mention it..." He added under his breath.
Deadpanned, Richards let out another sigh before facing Guilmon, who was still intimidated by him. "Good, at least he'll listen," He thought.
"So, you're a digimon and you have a tamer?" Guilmon nodded nervously, "Do you know where he lives?"
"At a bakery not far from here..."
"Okay, listen, lizard, and you better listen to me attentively," Guilmon nodded once again, "Right now, you're in a warzone with us. Civilians are evacuating the area so there is a high chance that your tamer is out of there," He stated firmly, leaving no room for discussion, "So for the time being, you will follow to MY commands and to those of the Staff Sergeant's, you are in MY platoon and you will do as you are told to do as well. If you do not meet my expectations, I will eliminate you myself. Am I clear?" He demanded with a cold and stern tone.
"Y-yes sir..." Guilmon replied nervously.
"Good, you better be," Richards then turned to Raymond, "He's your responsibility now,"
The three of them walked out of the building and headed back to the French Garden for Richards and Raymond to report to the captain of their new "friend".
Setting foot in the neighbourhood, Itami had to halt his unit as he catches his breath and check the map for directions. His troops formed a school circle around him, Tomita and Kuribayashi. While the two males were discussing about their actual position on the map with uncertainty, the petite brunette was getting impatient, tapping her left foot on the pavement furiously. Seconds later she lost her temper and growled as she ripped the map away from their hands and showed them their exact and correct position on the map.
"We're here for God's sake! Learn how to use a map properly!" She scolded at them angrily, "We're wasting time here! People are dying and all you do now lieutenant is asking for the map every five damn minutes!"
"Eh, sorry, Kuribayashi but I'm more used to the natural jungles than the urban one," Itami admitted sheepishly.
"What?!"
"Didn't you know? He's a Ranger," Tomita told her as a matter-of-fact.
"EH?! A Ranger? HIM?!" She gasped in shock and disbelief. "How can an incompetent officer like him be a Ranger?" She thought to herself, not believing reality right now.
"Hey, Tomita, I wish you would restrict yourself for saying that, I hate having eyes staring at me," Itami asked of him with a carefree tone.
Just when Kuribayashi was about to argue more, the unit heard the sound of wheels at the end of the street. The steering of wheels echoed eerily before a Humvee showed up. Following behind the first vehicle was a row of different armoured vehicles, consisting of: two other Humvees, two AAVP-7A1, a LAV-25A2, a Komatsu LAV and two Toyota Type 73 medium trucks. Itami did the first thing in his mind: he got ahead of his unit and waved his arms around in front of the small convoy and shouting them to stop.
The lead Humvee halted abruptly a few dozen meters away and a soldier in woodland MARPAT camo came out. The U.S Marine scolded him in English, which Itami tried to explain himself and apologized. With the language barrier bothering them, the Marine raised his left hand, signaling him to wait before he shouted a name back at the convoy. Another Marine ran beside him moments later and the two whispered for awhile before the other Marine spoke in fluent Japanese.
"What unit are you from?"
"I'm Second Lieutenant Youji Itami, Bravo Company, 36th IR, 3rd Division," After another talk with the first Marine, the interpreter asked him where his unit is heading to. "NishiShinjuku,"
Another moment of talk between the two Marines before the interpreter replied with: "Sorry, dude, we're heading to Kagurazaka, there are still civilians up there."
"That's okay, can we come with you?" He begged, earning him surprised looks from his soldiers.
"Sir, what are you doing? That's going to be a long detour for us!" Tomita reminded him with a hushed whisper.
"I know but at least we'll save more time than going on foot," Itami countered with a reasonable point, so he thought.
"Fine, get in the AAV," The first Marine said in English while pointing at one of the two massive armoured vehicles.
Itami bowed thankfully and instructed his troops to board in the vehicle of the convoy. As they did so, Kuribayashi took a glance at the first Marine. He was easily taller than her, sturdier than Itami but not as much as Tomita. At the same time the Marine glanced at her and their eyes met for a brief second, their matching dark brown eyes stared at each other in that moment before Kuribayashi joined with the others.
The unit was shocked to see a creature in the AAV, sitting nervously between two Marines. The digimon and JSDF soldiers stared at each other before they boarded in cautiously. Fortunately, the Marines were constantly eyeing the red digimon, hands firmly grasping their rifles, ready to shoot if it moved the slightless. As the AAV's rear compartment ramp closed up, the creature coughed awkwardly and smiled toothly while waving at them shyly.
"H-hey... I'm Guilmon," It introduced itself in clear and fluent Japanese.
The others just stared at him in silence. Guilmon sighed in defeat and stared at his feet in embarrassment. Meanwhile with Raymond, as he got in the Humvee, the driver, Private First Class Larry Brook asked him about the stare with the Japanese soldier he had moments ago.
"I don't know but she seemed kinda cute," The Staff Sergeant noted casually, making the other Marine laugh in response as the convoy moved forwards.
The streets outside his home was eerily quiet and the air was still, except for the low muffled sound of firefights and explosions happening in the distance. The TV in the living room was on the whole time, the news broadcaster's nervous voice echoed in the small living apartment. His parents were busy packing up, minimum necessities only while he was in his bedroom, rucksack ready to go but he was worried. Going back and forth with worry written all over his face.
The teenager had long and messy light brown hair with a pair of yellow goggles resting on his forehead. His light brown eyes stared nervously at the ground, wishing for his partner to come back soon. The boy wore a gray t-shirt with simple yet artistic black designs on it, marine blue cargo pants and red and white sneakers.
"Momentai, Takato," Chimed a small voice, "Guilmon will be here soon,"
"Yeah, you should stop worry about him," Said another, male, voice, interrupting his train of thoughts.
Sitting on his bed was his best friend and fellow digimon tamer, Henry Wong. He had short black hair, dark brown eyes and tanned skin. The teenager simply wore a black t-shirt and gray jeans with black tracking shoes. On top of his head laid a small white and green, a mix between a dog and a rabbit-like creature, its long ears rested on Henry's head lazily. Terriermon had a sheepish smile on his small face, enjoying his tamer's soft hair.
Takato was about to retort when his mom called for him urgently. "Takato, grab your things! We're going now!" His mother, Yoshie Matsuki, walked to his bedroom, her shoulder lenght chestnut hair was a mess due to the combination of stress and her constant state of worry. The woman looked at Henry concernly, "Henry, dear, are you sure your family is okay?" She asked concernly.
"Yes, ma'am, I just got confirmation from my mom that they are in a military zone at the garden." He answered calmly, despite the situation, "However, I think they forgot to bring some of my stuff, now that I think about it," He added sheepishly.
"Oh thank goodness! We're moving as soon as a military convoy comes in the neighbourhood," She informed the two boys before running back in the master bedroom, searching for her ID card with her husband.
Takato took his rucksack and with Henry and Terriermon, they went downstairs in the bakery and waited there patiently. The firefights outside their shelter seemed to get closer as it intensified. Fortunately most of their friends and family relatives were in safezones, heavily guarded by soldiers and hopefully evacuated out of the fighting.
The TV in the living room became static, presumably because of the fighting going on. This has been quite a frightening day for everyone. As his parents went downstairs with their own luggages, Terriermon's ears twitched as he heard faintly cars moving in their direction.
"Someone's coming!" He warned loudly and everyone in the bakery hurried out the door.
Several seconds later, they spotted a military car on their street, then followed by eight other vehicles. Relief ran through them as they took their belongings and went outside the bakery, Takato and his father, Takehiro, yelled and waved their arms at the convoy. The lead vehicle stopped and several soldiers in woodland digital patterned uniforms came out, weapons up and scanning the area around them while two other soldiers walked calmly at them. One of them spoke up, introducing them as U.S Marines and they would like to check their ID cards. Takehiro obeyed and show everyone's ID, except for Henry, who explained was his son's friend. Nevertheless, the Marines accepted him and gestured the family to head in one of the larger and more armoured vehicles.
"Thank God for these Americans to be here," Yoshie stated with relief, "But aren't Marines suppose to be in Okinawa?" Her husband simply shrugged in response as they reached one of the armoured vehicle.
In it were several JSDF soldiers who glanced at them or waved at them in a friendly manner. However one passenger was glad to see Takato.
"Guilmon!"
"Takato!"
Without warning, the digimon sprung out of his seat, accidentally stepping and pushing the soldiers away and hugged his human friend dearly.
"I'm so glad to see again! These soldiers are quite mean to me!" Guilmon complained while holding the boy dearly. He then hugged Takato's parents which they all returned happily.
Meanwhile some Marines got around them and pointed their rifles at Guilmon and shouting angrily at him. Takato and his family and friend instantly surrounded Guilmon and got in their way. It took several tense seconds before the same Marine they met stopped them and barked orders at them.
"Jesus Christ! He's friendly for fuck's sake!" Raymond scolded at his Marines before he turned to the civilians and apologized.
Once again relieved and glad for his intervention, the civilians got in the AAV, Guilmon explained to them happily about the particular Marine who saved him and befriended him. At least there was someone they can now trust.
Raymond got back in the lead Humvee with a scowl. "Jesus... that could have been a bloodbath..." He muttered before receiving a call on the radio, "This is Echo 1-1, receiving you loud and clear, send it,"
"Alright, change of order, we're going to the Metropolitan Government Building, I've marked the location on the GPS. It's another civilian exfil but apparently they're VIPs to the JSDF, so let's hurry up and get them out of there," Informed Richards to the rest of the platoon.
"Roger that," Raymond hooked the handheld radio back to the main radio, "You know where that is?" He asked the driver.
"Yep but it is one long detour, it is right at the otherside of the ward, Staff Sergeant,"
"How long will it take us?"
"About twenty minutes if there is absolutely nothing blocking us," Brook confirmed before he started the engine and began steering the vehicle to the side.
"Then let's make this quick and hope for the best," Raymond stated with dread.
The objective to contain the threat in Ginza District has been a failure. Enemy forces are quickly spreading across Tokyo, taking ground at a rapid pace. A regiment of the Ground Self-Defense Force is currently holding the Imperial Palace, Odaiba was reported to be under attack and Japanese Intelligence reported that the enemy was advancing towards Evac Site Foxtrot (The Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden). Every army in Japan is currently being pulled to Tokyo while Marines in Okinawa are being called in with U.S Army Cavalry and Infantry units from the USFJ. The U.S Seventh Fleet are sending reinforcements, supplies and air support to all forces. Additional reinforcements are in route in the forms of U.S paratroopers and special operations forces.
Thousands of civilians waited anxiously in the French, English and Japanese Garden as dozens of transport helicopters flew in and out of the evac site, taking as many civilians as they possibly can. For Captain James Clark, Company Commander of Echo Company, it unnerved him. The firefights were getting closer and there were still too many civilians. He did received additional forces from the JSDF but he felt they won't hold on much against their enemy, the "Digimon" as they are now identified as.
The JASDF did their best to basically carpet bomb them to hell with everything they've got but it wasn't enough to halt their advance. Casualties were rising faster than they could receive help. Time was against them, even with air superiority.
The park had been heavily fortified for the past two hours. Sandbags and Hesco barriers surrounded a good chunk of the park, guarded by heavy machine gun emplacements, fox holes, mortar teams, sniper teams, battle tanks and APCs. Attack jets and helicopters regularly flew passed the makeshift headquarters, which was the greenhouse, striking the enemy with showers of missiles, rockets and hot lead. Thankfully, with the initial fog cleared up, drones were able to pinpoint with ease enemy movements.
Observing the map on the table, it frightened him to see that the enemy was eating whole districts of Tokyo at a horrifying speed. Every two minutes, a Marine personnel would update the map: green zones marked friendlies while the red designated the enemy; the red mass kept creeping closer to them as it swallowed in the green zones. At this point, he wished the President would simply nuke the city to hell.
All of the sudden, loud and earth shaking explosions vibrated violently the greenhouse. A worried Marine came in with a radio in head.
"Sir, hostiles have breached Whiskey line, JSDF are falling back to here!"
"What?!" Clark exclaimed in frustration while some of the Marines paled with fear, "Aren't they supposed to retreat back to Sword line?"
"Most of the regiment has been completely wiped out, sir. There is barely two hundred men standing still,"
"Goddamnit! Lieutenant, how much time do we have to hold the line?" He asked the officer behind him.
"Twenty minutes, sir, if eveything goes to plan," The officer answered nervously.
"We do not have twenty minutes, get me every goddamn bird in this damn city ASAP! Tell them that thousands of civilians are at risk here if they do not move their asses quick enough!"
The headquarters personnel got back to their tasks immediately, operating as quickly and effectively as possible. Thousands of lives are at stake here and they must save the most of it.
"Let's go! Hurry up!" Shouted Raymond at their newly found civilians at a nearby park.
The new group of civies consisted mostly of women and girls, however a civilian was once again a surprise for the Marines who found them. It was yet again another Digimon and Raymond instantly recognized it. It was a Renamon, a fierce and renown Digimon. It was a bipedal yellow and white fox. It had black eyes with icy blue irises and pupils, giving a terrifying and cold look to the Marines and Japanese soldiers. Under its eyes were light purple markings and spiral markings of the same colour shade on both of its thick thighs. The digimon wore over its white furry forearms purple gauntlets with a yin-yang symbol on them. It had a furry white mane to its neck level, covering its upper white torso and had yellow fur sticking out of its shoulders. The Renamon had three large fluffy fingers with sharp claws at the end on each hand and strong white legs with the same features as her hands. Finally it had a long and smooth white-tipped tail that swayed casually yet gracefully on its own.
The Marines stared at her -"gender" told by Guilmon- either in intimidation or in curiousity and awe. Following such fierce and cold creature was her tamer of equal personality. The teenage girl was Rika Nonaka, daughter of a fashion model and renown Digimon card player, officially crowned as "the Queen of Digimon". The red-headed girl had the same icy blue eyes as her digimon. She wore over her light green t-shirt a black sleeveless jacket, a red scarf around her neck, blue jeans and red white-tipped sneakers.
The second group of five women and girls got in the second AAV with four Marines as their guards. Once everyone was in their vehicles and ready to go, the convoy head straight for the Metropolitan Government Building. During the trip, the Marines in the second AAV stared at Renamon, who merely stared back, sending them an uneasy aura.
"Echo Actual, this is Echo 1-Actual, how copy?" Richards radioed in to command, "Echo Actual, do you receive me? Over," Static noises echoed in each radio of the convoy, "I repeat: Echo Actual, this is Echo 1-Actual, do you copy? Over," There was still silence on the other end.
"This is bad," Noted Raymond, "We haven't received any reports from CHQ, this is really bad,"
The convoy made its way to the objective point through the empty and quiet streets of Tokyo. Intense explosions and firefights could be heard throughout the urban jungle, it set the Marines on edge, gripping their rifles strongly while scanning their surrounding meticulously, getting impatient as they expect an ambush coming up anytime soon but nothing happened so far. No shots were fired, no vehicles got blown up, nothing.
"To all units, I've got eyes on the objective building. Be prepared to disembark and set a defensive perimeter. We should hold out in ten mikes top. Quick exfil and evac this time," Raymond reported dutifully, "First squad on me,"
"Copy that, Echo 1-1," Sergeant Dukeman replied on the radio.
When the convoy halted in front of the Metropolitan Government Building, the Marines and Third Recon Team disembark from the vehicles and did as instructed; First Squad and a couple of Itami's soldiers went in the prefecture building while the rest of the platoon set up a defensive perimeter, the two AAVs and medium trucks were parked closer to the building, shielded by the Humvees and LAVs.
Itami, Tomita, Kuribayashi and Kurata were jogging ahead of the Marine squad. Once they entered the building, Itami ordered Kurata to search for their VIP in the reception office's computer. After some quick search on the computer's records, Kurata successfully found Hypnos's office floor.
"Fortieth floor, sir!"
"Let's go! Fortieth Floor!" Itami informed the Marines.
The group of soldiers and Marines headed straight for the elevator. Itami pressed the correct floor button and they all stood silently in the thight space, the cheery elevator tune made some of the Marines giggle.
During the uncomfortable trip upwards, Raymond was at the back of the elevator, standing closely next to the petite woman he met minutes ago. In front of them was the sturdy giant known as Tomita and the laid back officer Itami. Raymond peeked a glance at Kuribayashi, she had a few strands of her dark natural brown hair that stuck out of her helmet and hung dully on her face, covering a little bit her right eye. Her attempt on brushing them aside was cute to Raymond as he felt his cheeks heat up.
Kuribayashi glanced back at the Marine and their eyes met once again, only this time the stare lasted longer. Without his black combat shades on, his friendly small smile made her lips quiver by accident. She blushed and looked away for a second before staring back at him. The two smiled awkwardly and unknowingly blushed at the same time. Itami noticed them at the corner of his vision and stiffled a laugh. He silently whispered to Tomita, who looked back and shook his head with a smile. Itami looked back at Kuribayashi and winked at her. She glared back at Itami before she nervously chuckled to herself when Raymond looked between the two curiously. She found the American soldier handsome and adorable at that moment.
When they've reached the floor, the elevator abruptly stopped, its passengers jumped up by the sudden stop. Kuribayashi lost her footing due to restricted space and almost fell on Itami when Raymond caught her almost instantly. He had one arm around her shoulder, pulling her back, while the other gently pressed against her body armour at the front. She let a gasp before shyly thanking the Marine, cursing herself inwardly for feeling embarrassed.
The soldiers got out, rifles brandished and scouting for targets. Passing the numerous office cubicles, Itami called out several times the VIP's name: Yamaki.
Already seven minutes have passed and the Marines were getting impatient. Raymond had to call Richards and explained to him to hold two more minutes, which he wasn't too happy to hear about. At the other end of the office floor was another pair of elevators. One of them let out a 'ding' happily, signifying someone else has reached this floor. The two teams got around the specific elevator and raised their weapons. When the elevator door opened, there was a single security guard in light body armour humming to a tune. He stared out and paled. He was about to close the elevator but Raymond was fast enough to roughly grab him by the armour's shoulder straps and yanked him strongly out of the elevator, tossing him against the dark gray wall.
"Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed furiously and grabbed him by his shirt collar, lifting him up while pointing his M9 pistol under his chin. "Make it quick, Itami!" He said in Japanese.
Itami stood next the Marine and demanded sternly answers from the security agent. There was a short argument between the two before he told the truth.
"He's at the forty sixth floor, in the computer server room," He told Raymond unsurely.
"He's coming with us, bind him," Raymond instructed to Dukeman, who willingly obliged.
Reaching the forty sixth floor, the Marines were the first ones out into the empty and bland hallway. The walls and ceiling were bland white while the carpet floor was a shade of dark blue with small "colourful" dots scattered everywhere. At the end of the hallway was a pair of doors, a red sign that read "Restricted Area" was above the door frame. The Marines stacked on both sides of the doors, ready to breach in. Raymond, who was still holding the security guard, forcefully kicked the doors open and tossed him inside while the squad rushed in.
The room they were in was larger than expected, the soldiers had their jaws dropped in bewilderment. The room was dimly lit by dozens of computers and blinking screens that were displayed on the walls and oval ceiling. At the center of this mysterious room was a tall and strange looking machine with two pilot seats with computers and wires connected to them with the strange machine. At certain corners of the room were tall and robust looking computer servers, these were the same large servers used by the U.S military and the C.I.A. The Marines were no stranger to these massive beasts of machines but finding them in a civilian prefecture building intrigued them.
Next the machine was a group of a dozen employees, all of them stopped what they were doing and looked at the soldiers with worry. One of them however stepped up to them. He was a blonde man, wearing a black business suit and dark shades. The man lifted his hands up and calmly walked up to Itami.
"Mister Yamaki, correct?" The officer asked, to which the man nodded in response,"Sir, we need to take you and your employees out of here now. A helicopter is waiting for you at an evac site," He informed him urgently.
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but my work here is not done," Yamaki explained indifferently, "I can still save Tokyo if you leave me and my team time to fix this,"
"Eh?!"
Raymond started to lose his patience as he watches Itami and Tomita arguing with the civilian, their VIP who seemed to refuse to leave his post. The bonus two minute mark was up and Raymond decided to use brute force, he will get some backlash but time is of the essence. He roughly grabbed Yamaki by his deep crimson tie, pulling him hard and close to him; the brute action made his shades thrown out of its place and broke into pieces unintentionaly by its owner.
"You better listen to me, pal. Men are dying out there just so we can get your sorry ass out of here! I don't care if you can "save" this city, right now the enemy is right by our door step and we're losing precious time! Not only that but I have civilians on board that needed to be evacuated, stalling here will cost their lives. Now hurry the FUCK UP!"
With that said, Raymond threw Yamaki on the floor and yelled at his employees.
"Everyone out of the room, NOW!" They seemed to understand English perfectly as they hurriedly ran out of the room, escorted by the Marines.
Tomita and Kuribayashi lifted Yamaki back of his feet before he aggressively protested and slapped their arms away from him. He brushed his suit and huffed angrily before he was escorted by the two JSDF soldiers with Itami at the lead.
The two Marines stood watch out of the AAV's rear ramp, their forms relaxed. Takato took the opportunity to sit next to Guilmon and chat with him a little bit, a way to escape the dire situation they were currently in. Helicopters and jets flew above the convoy, the civilians looked up with either amazement or apprehension, the aircrafts launched their bombs and missiles into the streets, a few hundred meters away from them, the enemy was closing in on them. Coincidently, the sky darkened, turning into a dark shade of grey. The air was heavy for the civilians and soldiers of the convoy, fear installed in some of the women and girls in the group, and Rika was no exception. The red-headed teenager instinctively held gently on Renamon's paw, a little bit scared of their situation. The vixen could see it in her eyes but she decided to not speak about it and comforted her by lightly squeezing her small human hand. Rika gazed at her partner and gratefully smiled, a bit reassured now.
"This stays between us..." She whispered shyly. Renamon nodded with a small content smile.
"Everything's going to be fine, I promise," Renamon whispered back.
Her ears twitched as she faintly sensed nearby Digimon. At the same time, the human soldiers got agitated. One of them started to bark orders as they hurriedly got into firing stances, rifles drawn up while the turret guns on the vehicles scanned their surroundings.
"VIPs are here! Get ready, Marines!" Richards ordered them loudly upon spotting the other group approaching them. "Start the engines! We're moving out in two minutes," He then radioed in the Company's headquarters, "Echo-Actual, this is Echo 1-Actual, we have civilians and VIPs on board with us, we're inbound to your position in fifteen mikes, how copy? Over,"
There was no response, only white static noise came as a reply, "Echo-Actual, this is Echo 1-Actual, we have civilians on board with us, is the evac site safe? Over," Still no response.
"What's the sitrep, lieutenant?" Asked Raymond once every civilian was safely in the vehicles.
"I still can't get through them..." Richards answered concernly.
"Brook! Try to get comms with the CO on your radio!" The Private First Class gave a thumbs up in response and checked the radio in the Humvee.
"Can't get through either, Staff Sergeant!"
"Itami!" The JSDF officer turned curiously at Raymond, "Can you get any signals with your CO?" It took a few moments for Itami to understand him and after some quick calls, he shook his head in denial, "What do we do, sir?"
"Hey, Staff Sergeant!" Called out Sergeant Owen Steele from the first AAV, "Guilmon is getting aggressive over here! He said something is coming here! He's growling now!"
Suddenly a shot snapped through the air, a red projectile barely struck a Marine by the head."Fuck! Contact to our right! Three hundred meters at the traffic lights!" Brook shouted before the Browning fifty caliber machine gun opened fire with several rifles joining the fray.
At the end of the street, Raymond spotted a large group of hostile digimon marching towards them. They seemed to be well trained as they moved from cover to cover and shooting back.
"Light 'em up, Marines! Let them eat it!" Raymond shouted as the entire platoon and Third Recon Team returned fire.
Bullets flew between the two forces, the humans were more accurate and managed to take out a small quantity of hostile foot mobiles. In addition to their rifles and machine guns, the two AAVs fired their Mk 19 grenade machine gun and the LAV-25 sent powerful 25mm rounds from the chain gun while the two M240 machine guns lit up, spewing 7.62mm rounds. The humans had the advantage of superior firepower, however they were greatly outnumbered.
Another hostile force came from the street to their left. The humans were fortunate to have abandonned civilian cars as cover but the vehicles were quickly destroyed by the overwhelming enemy fire.
"Ah fuck! Corpsman!" Shouted a Marine from the back of the convoy.
Navy Corpsman Thomas Waltz ran to the second AAV, the wounded Marine had a bullet hole on his left thigh and a severe burn on his forehead, his helmet destroyed in two mangled pieces.
"Shit! Marines, get to the vehicles! We're falling back!" Richards ordered as the Marines at the forefront of the convoy slowly backed away and into their vehicles. The three APCs and LAVs provided sufficient cover fire.
"Where are we going, sir?" Raymond asked with uncertainty while ducking his head as bullets whizzed and snapped near the Humvee.
"We're moving up towards Ochiai Central Park. I'll try to get CASEVAC over there," Replied Richards through the radio.
The convoy veered backwards and out of the Metropolitan Government Building. Humvee turret gunners fired back, pinning the enemy down to assure the convoy a safe escape or at least to put some distance between them. The LAV-25 was now at the lead, ramming and pushing away the abandonned vehicles that blocked their path.
"To any station, this is Echo 1-Actual, I'm requesting a CASEVAC on my location, we have about twenty five civilians and a wounded on board with us, we're Oscar-Mike to Ochiai Central Park, ETA 13 Mikes. Over,"
"Echo 1-Actual, this is Oddball 2-1, we-*static* be aware that-*static*-how copy?"
"Oddball 2-1, can you repeat that, I'm having some interference on the line,"
"*Static* ETA 10 Mikes, we will stay two mikes longer-*static*- we will leave with or without you,"
"Negative, we have civilians and VIPs on board-"
"Can't stay lon-*static* Bombs will -*static* static*"
During the exchange, Raymond was starting to hate the mess they were in now. Aircrafts were still operating above them yet he sensed that their efforts were futile. This was like a typical alien invasion movie. At that thought, he chuckled grimly.
The convoy made a quick turn towards the nearest bridge, crossing Kanda River and took the road that followed the river. Firefights still echoed in the distance, Richards tried to contact any U.S unit in the area but abandonned shortly after, assuming the worst has happened. Now he needs to worry about his Marines and the civilians. The sky was still grey as late afternoon came, thick black smokes rose to the air, flames could be seen in the urban "jungle" of Tokyo.
Inside the second AAV, named "Growler", Thomas tended to his patient carefully and attentively. The wounded laid between the seats, bandaged up and induced with a shot of morphine, resting his eyes. The vehicle's radio buzzed to life loudly, catching everyone's attention as the voice of the Staff Sergeant spoke out.
"Marines, we should arrive at the evac site in eight minutes. I know this has been quite frustrating for you all but we will return here and kick their asses," The Marines in the AAV replied with a "oorah" at that statement, "Once we reach the evac site, disembark and form up a firing perimeter. Three helos should be there by the time we arrive. Retreat Hell," The radio went silent for a bit before Raymond spoke up but this time adressing to the civilians, "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Staff Sergeant Raymond of the U.S.M.C, we will arrive at Ochiai Central Park where helicopters await you for evacuation. This will be all over soon, be brave and have hope, thank you. We promise to get all of you out of this safe and sound, it is our duty and we will give our lives to assure your safety,"
"What was that all about, Staff Sergeant?" Brook asked with a smug grin while keeping his eyes on the road.
"Just some reassuring words for the civilians, Larry," He sighed tiredly, "Who would've thought that escorting civilians will be so tiring..." He commented with a tired chuckle.
Three U.S Army BlackHawk helicopters flew above them, heading towards their designated LZ in the central park. Raymond noticed that the helicopters were landing on the baseball field. He was about to suggest the Lieutenant to break through the linked metal fence but the LAV-25 ahead of him made that action. Making a hard turn left then right, the light armoured vehicle rammed straight through the fence, crushing it under its massive wheels and making an easy and direct access point for the other vehicles.
Dispersing to form a semi-circle, the Marines and JSDF soldiers first disembarked from the vehicles before they regroup the civilians behind the convoy. A helicopter crewman jumped out and jogged towards Richards urgently.
"I'm taking the VIPs and the wounded!" He shouted at him, the minor dirt tornado and the rotorblades deafened the air near them.
"Okay!" Richards pointed at the VIPs and Thomas then at the crewman.
The designated people followed him while Itami escorted the rest of the civilians to the second and third helicopters. The first BlackHawk slowly ascended however the second was still on the ground while the third was still loading in civilians, this made Richards and Raymond worry. The platoon commander sent him to investigate what was going on.
When Staff Sergeant Raymond joined Itami, he notices that he was arguing with the pilots and crewmen agitatedly.
"No! We can't and we won't let them in!" One of the pilots shouted in refusal as he points at the three digimon and their tamers. Takato's and Rika's parents were abput to leave the helicopter to let the children in but were held back by one of the crew gunners. It was chaotic to say the least.
"For fuck sake! They're civilians! Let them in!" Raymond scolded the pilots.
"No, they're the enemy, we better shoot them while we can!"
All of the sudden a large explosion was erupted a few dozen meters behind them. Just on the street, dozens of hostiles opened fire, trying to take down the two grounded helos. Bullets snapped near them, some grazed the metalic black bird.
"Fuck it! GO!" He shouted before ducking and dragging the children back to the convoy on the spur-of-the-moment.
Admist the confusion, the soldiers fired back while the second helicopter was off ground, tilting its nose towards a safe zone, barely dodging a rocket passing by. The third one barely made it out of the firefight in one piece, black smoke started to form behind its tail.
"Stay down!" He ordered the children and digimon sternly, hiding them behind a Humvee. He ran across the line of vehicles and joined with Richards, "We still have three kids and three digimon with us!"
"What?! You were suppose to solve the problem! Not make it worst!"
"Spur-of-the-moment thing," Raymond simply replied before firing a couple of bursts at the enemy.
"Yeah right, my ass!" William retorted angrily, "Alright then, show me what these creatures are capable of," He suggested half-jokingly, half-desperately.
"Okay, just give them an opportunity," Raymond stated and ran back to the other side of the convoy.
"W-wait- I was just fucking kidding! Goddamnit!"
Marines and Japanese troopers took cover behind the convoy. Bullets zipped across the grass field, empty brass cases fell on the ground, knocking on others to create soft melodies in the cacophony of rifles, machine guns and whatever the enemy had to shoot at them. Dirt shot upwards by poorly aimed bullets or thrown frag grenades. The armoured vehicles gave off metallic 'pings' as they were harmlessly struck by hostile projectiles.
Then, men were dropping on the grass, blood has been spilled. Wounded started to rise while ammo was decreasing faster than expected. Mari Kurokawa and Thomas Waltz worked to their fullest to drag, attend and bandage up their patients before moving to the next one.
"Staff Sergeant! We need to get the fuck outta here!" Waltz pleaded urgently.
"Working on it!" He yelled back.
The corpsman was undermanned with the amount of wounded to care while bravely dodging enemy fire, if that was even possible. He then looked at the digimon hiding behind the Humvee, they seemed calm compared to their tamers.
"Hey you two over there!" He pointed at Renamon and Guilmon, "Help me out!"
They silently nodded and sprung to action. Guilmon provided cover fire for Renamon, launching his "Pyro-Sphere" attack while enemy bullet harmlessly bounced off his robust scales. Renamon was next the medic in the blink of an eye, which startled him for a moment but he focuses back on his task, he would question reality later.
"Get them behind the amtracks, alright? It's those big vehicles!" He instructed her loudly, "Mari, we're moving now!" He informed the other medic.
"ARGH!" PFC. Adrian Tombles, manning the fifty caliber on the second Humvee, screamed as intense heat struck him through his chest, crushing and burning a chunk of the ribcage to pieces and ash, "Fucking Christ! Corpsman!" He yelled from inside the transport.
Hearing his cry for help, Guilmon ripped apart the Humvee's passenger door and dragged him out by the plate carrier with his maw. Guilmon growled with effort as he pulled the sixty plus kilograms Marine in full combat gear, weighing at total more than a hundred kilos.
Once out, he carried the wounded over his shoulders and sprinted effortlessly towards one of the AAVs. Brook took cover behind a Humvee and he stared at Guilmon in surprise after the digimon gently dropped the other Marine on the ground. A projectile struck Guilmon's cheek, the force made his head jerk to the side but other than that, he was completely fine, just more pissed off now.
"Marines! Fall back! Fall back!" Richards ordered as they slowly backed away from their frontline. The vehicles roared to life and desperately tried to veer away from the firefight, receiving multiple bullets at the sides and rear. The Humvees and the Komatsu LAV were at the very front of the defensive line, taking the brunt of the opposing firepower. The armour didn't resist much longer, peppered to bits.
"Leave the Humvees! Get the wounded in the amtracks!" Raymond shouted before chucking a smoke grenade on their position. As they begin their retreat, one of the medium trucks got hit by a rocket, blowing apart the rear, forcing the driver to leave the vehicle and supplies with it behind.
Sergeant Dukeman escorted the three teenagers to safety, using himself as a living shield and provided cover fire. Meanwhile Renamon acted on her own way to protect her tamer and friends. She was dodging attacks and vaulted from one spot to another gracefully, launching her sets of attacks, neutralising enemy soldiers in melee when some of them got too close. It seemed like a perfectly choreographed performance, jumping in the air with ease and landing on the spot smoothly. She was a complete contrast of the hectic firefight she was in, a dancer in the middle of the battlefield. Swift, graceful, beautiful and deadly.
Once the platoon and Third Recon Team was at the other side of the park, Raymond watched Renamon taking out a group of blue dinosaur-like commandos with deadly grace. He spotted a creeping digimon to her left, silently taking out a combat knife and was about to sprint and stab her if not thanks to Raymond's quick aiming. The Staff Sergeant fired three shots at center mass, all three rounds connected, piercing the digimon's body armour; the combatant fell on the field lifelessly. Renamon glanced back at him, nodding gratefully.
"No time to say thanks! Get your ass over here now!" He yelled after taking a firing stance, firing in semi-auto his M4A1 carbine.
The kitsune sprinted towards him, avoiding enemy bullets with relatively ease, she looked like she was gliding on the grass left and right. After running pass him, she tapped his shoulder, signaling him to move up. He fired a couple of shots more before turning and sprinting towards the abandonned town hall at end of the park, Renamon was leaping from tree to tree covering him from above. The LAV-25 provided cover fire for the two, after running out of ammo for the chain gun, only its two M240 machine guns pinned the enemy position.
"Hurry up! Come on!" Kuribayashi shouted at them, taking cover next the building's structural beam.
The platoon's machine gun teams were set up on the first floor, spewing out hails of hot lead above him. Raymond finally got in the ancient town hall, breathing heavily while leaning against the wall, his lungs were burning and his throat dried out. Renamon slid through the entrance door, just in time to avoid yet again a bullet. She rolled to the side and stood back up, brushing herself off before bowing to him. He simply waved his hands modestly. Kuribayashi walked up to him offering him a small water bottle.
"Daijōbudesu ka?" She asked concernly, which Raymond, understanding a little bit of Japanese, simply nodded with a small smile and took the bottle.
"Arigatō," He replied after drinking half the bottle in one go, "Here," He handed the bottle to Renamon, "Thanks for covering my back out there," He insisted after she hesitated a bit.
Gunshots echoed loudly throughout the building. The walls on the inside and outside were being peppered by bullet holes and the windows shattered by the soldiers bashing them to create another firing spot. Grenadiers used their M203 grenade launcher to fend off the attackers with a stronger punch, firing high explosive shells upon them. Explosions shook lightly the building, showering the humans in dust. Their uniforms were covered from head to toe in dust, sweat and grime. Soon, the AAVs ran out of grenades for their main guns, AT-4s and SMAWs were used against the enemy but it was clear to everyone that ammo was running very low. Fortunately, they would have a breather once their attackers started to pull back, probably regrouping for another assault. They need this time to plan a better course of action.
The Marines and soldiers of the Third Recon Team were gathered in one of the offices at the back of the building, discussing for their next move. The civilians and their digimon were safely moved in the room next to their's. Tomita displayed the map of Shinjuku on the lone office desk for them to search for a better and alternative escape point.
"We have twenty minutes before evening hits so we better find our next exfil point fast," Informed Sergeant Eric Sexton, Hardcase 1's vehicle commander.
"We'll first make our move to the elementary school two klicks North from our position, we'll hold there for the rest of the night before we get out of Shinjuku," Richards stated tiredly.
"Are we leaving Shinjuku, sir?" Dukeman asked a bit surprised.
"This ward is probably lost to us, U.S forces and JGSDF are holding an F.O.B just outside, we can regroup and rearm with the others before we commence a counterattack."
"But how can you be sure, Lieutenant?" Sergeant Lukas Firimbi asked, Hardcase 2's vehicle commander, "For all we know, that F.O.B might be overtaken by the enemy. Our signals are jammed and I haven't heard any of our aircrafts lately," Some of the Marines nodded in agreement, walking right into enemy territory was also a bad idea.
"Worst case scenario: we'll call in CASEVAC, attracting everyone in the area and hold them off until it arrives," Added Sexton with dread.
"In any case, we need to get the hell out of here, period," Countered Raymond, backing Richards up.
"He's right, we're losing time here." Agreed Staff Sergeant Charlie Yurrek, the LAV's crew leader.
Walking in the discussion was Corpsman Waltz, his uniform tainted with his sweat and grime but also with blood. His blood caked hands were shaking lightly onto the piece of cloth he was holding dearly.
"Excuse me for the interruption, s-sir... but, uh, Private First Class Adrian Tombles is gone, sir..." A heavy silence filled the room, "H-he took some kind of laser bolt or some shit like that a-a-and it just burned right through his chest, cutting a major artery near the heart..." The Corpsman was on the verge of collaspe but soldiered on and saluted his platoon commander, leaving the room in silence.
The platoon's first K.I.A today. A minute of silence remained in the room. Richards then faced the silent Raymond.
"Do you think these digimons can provide us some kind of help?" Raymond, still struck by the news, perked his head towards Richards.
"Yes, sir. They can digivolve to become stronger if-"
"If?"
"If their tamers have the cards to do so," Raymond concluded pensively.
"Christ... Can you go ask them quickly?" The Second Lieutenant requested plainly.
Raymond nodded and walked out of the room and into the next one. Knocking lightly before entering, the Marine saw that the three teenagers sat against the wall next to each other, their faces expressed worry and exhaustion. When they gazed at him, he could see small glimmers of hope in their eyes. In addition, Terriermon rested on his tamer's lap, Guilmon sat next to Takato and Renamon was leaning next the door frame to his right. He gave a weak friendly smile and sat down on the solid ground in front of them.
He took off his helmet, ruffling his messy and grimey short hair and sighed. He stared at each of them, the two boys were more expressive, showing worry, while the red-headed girl seemed to hide her emotions. He looked at his wristwatch, ten minutes left, better make this quick.
"Do you have any cards that can digivolve your partners?" He asked in Japanese, though with mistakes, possibly mistaken certain words for others since he only had a crash course of the language, quite ironic for a casual anime fan.
They looked at each other in confusion, Takato stiffled a laughter from the Marine's rude way of speaking his language. Guilmon then spoke up, translating Raymond's request in Japanese clearly.
"Yes, they all have a Digivice," Guilmon said to him while they showed their "Digivices". They were ordinary looking handheld devices, ressembling more like slightly bigger Tamagotchis with only a card slot on the side as a difference. Takato then showed him his small deck of cards, sorting through them and showed him a blue card. Takato let the Marine inspect it while he explained its use. The card was entirely blue, with the Digimon Franchise logo and a black strike below it on either faces.
"This card ables us to digivolve to a better form but it requires a long recharge time between each usage," Guilmon explained before Raymond gave the card back.
Satisfied with himself, Raymond stood up, mentioning the teenagers and digimon to stand at his attention. With a confident smile he came up with a plan for their next mission. He faced the three digimon.
"Are you up to get some action?"
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of the prequel. Updates may be slower but I do intend on finishing this story before posting Digital Crisis 2 (already working on a couple of chapters). This story is shorter than Digital Crisis 1 but it will be filled with a lot of action of epic proportions! (okay... maybe not...). Leave a review if you want, it would be appreciated and helpful, and... à la prochaine! :D