Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Now, Forever and Always ❯ chapter 7 ( Chapter 8 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: moose_of_doom 
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Romance / Action | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 07.14.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 231 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Romance / Action | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 07.14.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 231 | Status: Completed
Chapter 7:
Start of the storm.
********
John Thornton looked up as the door to his shop opened, revealing a face he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Liam Dillon! What the hell are you doin’ in a place like this?” he said in his Belfast accent.
Liam didn’t answer immediately. Instead he smiled at his friend and held the door open for his companion, a young girl, about twenty, with dyed pink hair. After she had come in, he closed the door carefully.
“It’s good to see you John. Have you got the… items I asked for?”
Thornton nodded, and opened the door to the back room. As he went through, Liam locked the front door of the shop.
“Liam, who is this guy?” Mimi asked quietly.
The big Irishman looked at her.
“Me and John go way back. Back to Ireland at least. Now he runs a specialist service for me, on the occasions when it’s necessary.”
At that moment, Thornton came back into the room. He set three army-issue carry-alls on the counter, and unzipped them.
“You want to check them over?”
Liam nodded, and pulled out the contents of the bags.
five assault rifles lay on the counter, gleaming dully in the light.
“What models are these?” Liam asked.
“HKG5’s. Newest model, can go full auto – useful in some situations. I get the feeling you might be needing them.”
Thornton indicated a couple of boxes next to the guns.
“C4 explosive, and radio detonators, and then there’s this…”
Thornton held up a metal tube, about a foot long. Liam took it, and extended it a further two feet. Mimi could see a button on the top. Liam closed the tube again, and placed all the items in one of the carry-alls.
“What is that?”
It was Thornton who answered.
“66 millimetre rocket launcher. Good for busting stuff up. There are spare rockets in the bag.”
He looked up at them.
“Liam, are you going to war again?”
Liam shrugged.
“You could say that. How much do I owe you?”
Thornton shook his head.
“I still owe you for Armagh. No charge. Keep the peace, man.”
Liam nodded, unlocked the door, and he and Mimi walked out to the car.
As they drove back to Gennai’s house, Mimi asked,
“Liam, what did he mean, ‘I still owe you for Armagh’?”
The big Irishman looked at her, and there was a deep sadness in his eyes.
“That’s one thing I’m not going to tell you.”
=============================================================
Kari awoke on a comfortable bed. Sitting up, she looked around at her surroundings.
It was just like any room in a hotel. The walls were bare of pictures, and as she got up, she knew that she was still a prisoner in Paul’s trap. She was still in the same clothes she had been wearing when she had been snatched, and her hand flew to her jeans pocket.
She felt the small bundle there; the one McKane had slipped into her pocket. She pulled it out, and found that it was a small, folded square of paper. Opening it up, she read what was contained inside.
‘Keep this safe. I’ve managed to get his trust, but I can’t risk openly helping you. Don’t worry; you won’t be kept here too long, if my friends and me have our way. Not all the guards know what is coming, so be careful around them too. I’m doing this as a favour to an old friend.
McKane.’
At the bottom of the not, was pinned a small square of card. She pulled it off, and looked at it.
‘Liam’s bar. Traditional food, and a friendly atmosphere.’
She remembered, suddenly, the touch of Davis’s mind, his voice calling her, calming her. He was alive!
She smiled for the first time in days.
=============================================================
Davis, Gennai, and the others stood on the plateau, looking down at the town beneath them.
Veemon looked up at his companion.
“So what happens now?”
Davis shrugged.
“Now, we wait for Liam and Mimi to get back. Then we’ll se what’s going on.”
Even as he spoke, Liam’s car pulled up to the house. The big Irishman got out, and the two of them walked up to where the others stood.
“Did you get everything?” asked Davis?
Liam nodded, and indicated the carry-all over his back.
Tasha called to Davis, as another car drew up.
“We need to get moving Davis. Gatomon hasn’t woken up yet.”
Davis nodded, then looked back as June got out of the second car. He had called her the night before, and filled her in on the situation, even more so than what Gennai had already told her.
She didn’t speak as she joined the rest. But the glare she gave Davis was enough to make him nervous.
TK and Patomon came and stood next to him.
“Shall we?”
Davis nodded, and pulled out his newly repaired D3. He cut a gleaming line in front of him, which burst open into a digiport.
Tasha and Salamandramon went first, Tasha carrying the unconscious Gatomon. Davis felt Veemon tense as they went past. He knew how his companion felt about the cat-Digimon.
As the rest of the group went in, Davis remained. Finally, it was just him and Gennai left.
Davis motioned for the old man to go through first, But Gennai shook his head.
“You’re not coming?”
“The domain of the digital world has been sealed for me ever since Paul took over. And I cannot go back again.” Gennai replied.
He sighed.
“I am not the powerful being I used to be. I’m not the guardian anymore. I’m just an old man.”
Davis had to shout to be heard over the rushing wind of the digiport.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m as happy as I will ever be, knowing that the Paladin has returned.”
Davis nodded, turned, and leapt through the portal.
=============================================================
He fell roughly, onto his stomach. He rose, and dusted himself off, and looked around.
They were in the desert region, the dry land stretching for miles around. In the distance, they could see the city.
He sighed.
“I guess we’d better get moving.”
The group of companions set off towards the distant buildings.
=============================================================
“When were you going to tell me? When you brought them back?”
June’s voice was angry, and justifiably so. Until Davis had called her, she hadn’t known that TK was missing. She had been worrying about him for days.
“I’m sorry June.”
It was an inadequate response, and Davis knew it. He was walking at the head of their little column, aiming towards the distant buildings.
“Sorry! What… did you forget that we were going out or something? You’re not the only one with someone you care about at the end of this quest you know!”
“I know, June! I said I’m sorry, what more can you ask for. I was a little pre-occupied!”
She was silent for a couple of minutes, looking at the ground as she walked.
Suddenly, they were startled by a cry from further down the line.
Davis moved back, and found Tasha hunched over Gatomon, whose eyes blinked, disorientated, in the afternoon light.
“She just woke up! Looks like Gennai was right!”
Veemon knelt next to Gatomon.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
She looked up at him, and grinned.
“I’ll be okay. Where are we?”
“The desert district. We’re heading towards sand-city.”
She held out a hand, and he grasped it, pulling her to her feet.
“We were really worried about you. Don’t scare us like that again, okay?”
She nodded, and walked with Veemon and Davis back to the front of the line.
=============================================================
Davis didn’t stop again until they reached the city, hot and tired.
They walked down the main street, but no one greeted them. For all appearances, the city was completely abandoned. The dark windows of the buildings gazed down at them, like the eyes of giants.
They camped in the main square, and set up a fire. None of them wanted to stay in the buildings. They were all too tall anyway.
TK and Tasha sat next to each other, as Mimi cooked dinner. Palmon, who had gone on a foraging hunt earlier, had brought back several cans of tinned food. The plant Digimon stayed away from the flames.
Liam came over to the two of them, and reached into the bag he was still carrying. He handed them one of the rifles each. Crouching in the dust in front of them, he indicated some of the switches on the side.
“This is the safety catch. You turn it like this…” he twisted the switch, “To set it to single shot. That’s all I want you using at the moment. We need to save ammo.”
He walked back over to Davis, and handed the young paladin two handguns.
“I figure you won’t be wanting a rifle. That sword will make it too complicated to carry them both. These’ll give you all the firepower you need.”
Davis nodded without speaking, and took the two holsters the big Irishman handed him, strapping them around his legs. He placed the two Berettas inside, and carried on staring into the fire.
TK watched him, and jumped when Tasha spoke next to him.
“He really does love her, doesn’t he?”
TK nodded.
“They both went through a lot to get to where they are. Kari was going out with me, when Davis was in a car crash. He had two broken legs, and one day, when Kari was ice-skating; she went through some thin Ice. I was too far away, but Davis dived in, cast and all, to save her. Then he was the one who gave her CPR.”
He sighed.
“He saved her life. And I only wish I had seen that they were perfect for each other before…”
he trailed off, and Tasha pressed her luck.
“Before what?”
He grinned sheepishly.
“Before I started getting stupid and tried to beat him up. I was really laying into him, when Kari tried to break us up. I accidentally caught her, but it really pissed Davis off. He only threw one punch in the whole fight.”
His grin widened.
“He knocked me out cold. But in a way, I’m glad. I’ve come to realise that Davis would go through Heaven and Hell if Kari was in danger. But he’d do it for the rest of us as well. It’s just part of who he is.”
He looked round at her, and caught the sad expression on her face.
“What?”
“I wonder if anyone would do that for me. Would anyone do what he’s doing if I was in danger?”
TK was silent for a moment.
“I would.”
She turned round, startled, and looked at him. He blushed a deep crimson. She didn’t reply, but instead, slipped her hand into his.
=============================================================
Across the fire, Davis still stared into the bright flames, reaching out with his mind. He suppressed a grin when he caught fragments of TK and Tasha’s conversation, but then his concentration resumed.
He could feel… something in the darkness around them, a slight movement…
He stood, and his hand flew to the hilt of his sword. Looking up, June gave him a questioning glance, and started to speak. He held up his hand to stop her.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Suddenly, out of the darkness, something flew at Davis, a maelstrom of claws and teeth. It slammed into his chest, and he fell back, into the fire. He rolled through, and landed on his back. He looked up at the Dinosaur-faced creature that stared down at him, closing it’s mouth as recognition dawned in it’s own eyes.
“Agumon!”
Tai Kamiya’s Digimon companion looked down at him in shock, as other recognisable Digimon came out of the darkness around them.
=============================================================
Start of the storm.
********
John Thornton looked up as the door to his shop opened, revealing a face he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Liam Dillon! What the hell are you doin’ in a place like this?” he said in his Belfast accent.
Liam didn’t answer immediately. Instead he smiled at his friend and held the door open for his companion, a young girl, about twenty, with dyed pink hair. After she had come in, he closed the door carefully.
“It’s good to see you John. Have you got the… items I asked for?”
Thornton nodded, and opened the door to the back room. As he went through, Liam locked the front door of the shop.
“Liam, who is this guy?” Mimi asked quietly.
The big Irishman looked at her.
“Me and John go way back. Back to Ireland at least. Now he runs a specialist service for me, on the occasions when it’s necessary.”
At that moment, Thornton came back into the room. He set three army-issue carry-alls on the counter, and unzipped them.
“You want to check them over?”
Liam nodded, and pulled out the contents of the bags.
five assault rifles lay on the counter, gleaming dully in the light.
“What models are these?” Liam asked.
“HKG5’s. Newest model, can go full auto – useful in some situations. I get the feeling you might be needing them.”
Thornton indicated a couple of boxes next to the guns.
“C4 explosive, and radio detonators, and then there’s this…”
Thornton held up a metal tube, about a foot long. Liam took it, and extended it a further two feet. Mimi could see a button on the top. Liam closed the tube again, and placed all the items in one of the carry-alls.
“What is that?”
It was Thornton who answered.
“66 millimetre rocket launcher. Good for busting stuff up. There are spare rockets in the bag.”
He looked up at them.
“Liam, are you going to war again?”
Liam shrugged.
“You could say that. How much do I owe you?”
Thornton shook his head.
“I still owe you for Armagh. No charge. Keep the peace, man.”
Liam nodded, unlocked the door, and he and Mimi walked out to the car.
As they drove back to Gennai’s house, Mimi asked,
“Liam, what did he mean, ‘I still owe you for Armagh’?”
The big Irishman looked at her, and there was a deep sadness in his eyes.
“That’s one thing I’m not going to tell you.”
=============================================================
Kari awoke on a comfortable bed. Sitting up, she looked around at her surroundings.
It was just like any room in a hotel. The walls were bare of pictures, and as she got up, she knew that she was still a prisoner in Paul’s trap. She was still in the same clothes she had been wearing when she had been snatched, and her hand flew to her jeans pocket.
She felt the small bundle there; the one McKane had slipped into her pocket. She pulled it out, and found that it was a small, folded square of paper. Opening it up, she read what was contained inside.
‘Keep this safe. I’ve managed to get his trust, but I can’t risk openly helping you. Don’t worry; you won’t be kept here too long, if my friends and me have our way. Not all the guards know what is coming, so be careful around them too. I’m doing this as a favour to an old friend.
McKane.’
At the bottom of the not, was pinned a small square of card. She pulled it off, and looked at it.
‘Liam’s bar. Traditional food, and a friendly atmosphere.’
She remembered, suddenly, the touch of Davis’s mind, his voice calling her, calming her. He was alive!
She smiled for the first time in days.
=============================================================
Davis, Gennai, and the others stood on the plateau, looking down at the town beneath them.
Veemon looked up at his companion.
“So what happens now?”
Davis shrugged.
“Now, we wait for Liam and Mimi to get back. Then we’ll se what’s going on.”
Even as he spoke, Liam’s car pulled up to the house. The big Irishman got out, and the two of them walked up to where the others stood.
“Did you get everything?” asked Davis?
Liam nodded, and indicated the carry-all over his back.
Tasha called to Davis, as another car drew up.
“We need to get moving Davis. Gatomon hasn’t woken up yet.”
Davis nodded, then looked back as June got out of the second car. He had called her the night before, and filled her in on the situation, even more so than what Gennai had already told her.
She didn’t speak as she joined the rest. But the glare she gave Davis was enough to make him nervous.
TK and Patomon came and stood next to him.
“Shall we?”
Davis nodded, and pulled out his newly repaired D3. He cut a gleaming line in front of him, which burst open into a digiport.
Tasha and Salamandramon went first, Tasha carrying the unconscious Gatomon. Davis felt Veemon tense as they went past. He knew how his companion felt about the cat-Digimon.
As the rest of the group went in, Davis remained. Finally, it was just him and Gennai left.
Davis motioned for the old man to go through first, But Gennai shook his head.
“You’re not coming?”
“The domain of the digital world has been sealed for me ever since Paul took over. And I cannot go back again.” Gennai replied.
He sighed.
“I am not the powerful being I used to be. I’m not the guardian anymore. I’m just an old man.”
Davis had to shout to be heard over the rushing wind of the digiport.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m as happy as I will ever be, knowing that the Paladin has returned.”
Davis nodded, turned, and leapt through the portal.
=============================================================
He fell roughly, onto his stomach. He rose, and dusted himself off, and looked around.
They were in the desert region, the dry land stretching for miles around. In the distance, they could see the city.
He sighed.
“I guess we’d better get moving.”
The group of companions set off towards the distant buildings.
=============================================================
“When were you going to tell me? When you brought them back?”
June’s voice was angry, and justifiably so. Until Davis had called her, she hadn’t known that TK was missing. She had been worrying about him for days.
“I’m sorry June.”
It was an inadequate response, and Davis knew it. He was walking at the head of their little column, aiming towards the distant buildings.
“Sorry! What… did you forget that we were going out or something? You’re not the only one with someone you care about at the end of this quest you know!”
“I know, June! I said I’m sorry, what more can you ask for. I was a little pre-occupied!”
She was silent for a couple of minutes, looking at the ground as she walked.
Suddenly, they were startled by a cry from further down the line.
Davis moved back, and found Tasha hunched over Gatomon, whose eyes blinked, disorientated, in the afternoon light.
“She just woke up! Looks like Gennai was right!”
Veemon knelt next to Gatomon.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
She looked up at him, and grinned.
“I’ll be okay. Where are we?”
“The desert district. We’re heading towards sand-city.”
She held out a hand, and he grasped it, pulling her to her feet.
“We were really worried about you. Don’t scare us like that again, okay?”
She nodded, and walked with Veemon and Davis back to the front of the line.
=============================================================
Davis didn’t stop again until they reached the city, hot and tired.
They walked down the main street, but no one greeted them. For all appearances, the city was completely abandoned. The dark windows of the buildings gazed down at them, like the eyes of giants.
They camped in the main square, and set up a fire. None of them wanted to stay in the buildings. They were all too tall anyway.
TK and Tasha sat next to each other, as Mimi cooked dinner. Palmon, who had gone on a foraging hunt earlier, had brought back several cans of tinned food. The plant Digimon stayed away from the flames.
Liam came over to the two of them, and reached into the bag he was still carrying. He handed them one of the rifles each. Crouching in the dust in front of them, he indicated some of the switches on the side.
“This is the safety catch. You turn it like this…” he twisted the switch, “To set it to single shot. That’s all I want you using at the moment. We need to save ammo.”
He walked back over to Davis, and handed the young paladin two handguns.
“I figure you won’t be wanting a rifle. That sword will make it too complicated to carry them both. These’ll give you all the firepower you need.”
Davis nodded without speaking, and took the two holsters the big Irishman handed him, strapping them around his legs. He placed the two Berettas inside, and carried on staring into the fire.
TK watched him, and jumped when Tasha spoke next to him.
“He really does love her, doesn’t he?”
TK nodded.
“They both went through a lot to get to where they are. Kari was going out with me, when Davis was in a car crash. He had two broken legs, and one day, when Kari was ice-skating; she went through some thin Ice. I was too far away, but Davis dived in, cast and all, to save her. Then he was the one who gave her CPR.”
He sighed.
“He saved her life. And I only wish I had seen that they were perfect for each other before…”
he trailed off, and Tasha pressed her luck.
“Before what?”
He grinned sheepishly.
“Before I started getting stupid and tried to beat him up. I was really laying into him, when Kari tried to break us up. I accidentally caught her, but it really pissed Davis off. He only threw one punch in the whole fight.”
His grin widened.
“He knocked me out cold. But in a way, I’m glad. I’ve come to realise that Davis would go through Heaven and Hell if Kari was in danger. But he’d do it for the rest of us as well. It’s just part of who he is.”
He looked round at her, and caught the sad expression on her face.
“What?”
“I wonder if anyone would do that for me. Would anyone do what he’s doing if I was in danger?”
TK was silent for a moment.
“I would.”
She turned round, startled, and looked at him. He blushed a deep crimson. She didn’t reply, but instead, slipped her hand into his.
=============================================================
Across the fire, Davis still stared into the bright flames, reaching out with his mind. He suppressed a grin when he caught fragments of TK and Tasha’s conversation, but then his concentration resumed.
He could feel… something in the darkness around them, a slight movement…
He stood, and his hand flew to the hilt of his sword. Looking up, June gave him a questioning glance, and started to speak. He held up his hand to stop her.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Suddenly, out of the darkness, something flew at Davis, a maelstrom of claws and teeth. It slammed into his chest, and he fell back, into the fire. He rolled through, and landed on his back. He looked up at the Dinosaur-faced creature that stared down at him, closing it’s mouth as recognition dawned in it’s own eyes.
“Agumon!”
Tai Kamiya’s Digimon companion looked down at him in shock, as other recognisable Digimon came out of the darkness around them.
=============================================================