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Chapter XIX

Yukon the Terrible

Jason:

We quickly made our way back to the headquarters after hearing that. Bad part was however, we had to go on foot.

We got a few quick meal bars and a few gulps of water after what Piper told us and bolted back for the base. We ran as fast as we could, accompanied by a dozen and a half troops to guard our backs. It was only Ryan, Piper, Nick and I and those soldiers. The rest of the Squad needed to aid the still squabbling parts of the city, which meant we had to split away from each other yet again.

Under normal circumstances, we all wouldn't be running this quick just to get back to the base but then again, when were we under normal circumstances? We ran by battles that raged on between our side and the Shadow side, dodging explosions and bullets in the process while almost getting our heads blown off. Debris flew by us while dust covered the area we ran past, and the group tried its best to avoid all the gunfire we passed by with minor casualties. The sky itself was masked in black streams of smoke coming from falling jets and smoke arising from the explosions on the ground, and the smoke was also starting to block out the sun almost, aiding us just a slight bit.

"Duck!" Ryan ordered as he fell to his knees.

Everyone followed his lead, including me, while we all ducked on the ground and a jet spun out of control above our heads, leaving a thick trail of smoke and fire in its wake before crashing half a mile behind us in a gigantic inferno. The impact shook the ground violently and left a huge mushroom cloud in its wake, completely destroying everything in that area. The blast had also caused many of the crippled buildings to topple over one another and collapse, leaving gigantic mounds of rubble and half standing buildings. Luckily, that was it, nothing else major...unless you count the deaths of civilians and soldiers in that area major...which it actually was.

Once the coast was clear, Ryan unslung the gun from his shoulder and turned the safety off. I followed his lead and turned the safety off of my gun, which everyone soon did and followed him as he led us towards the base. I could clearly see his finger on the trigger, trembling in an angry way that made me feel warm inside.

He was angry, but he just didn't show it. I was his partner, so I could clearly tell. While we ran, he was only a few feet ahead of everyone else, always looking over his shoulder to make sure nothing had happened to us. I never understood why he always had to play Superman all the time (could've just been in front of Piper), but he was even more deadly when he was truly angry.

Which was rare.

Half an hour passed by with periodical breaks in-between to catch our breath to regain our energy. The base was close by but looked in terrible condition. Many of the windows had been shattered, small portions of the walls and inner base had been demolished, and smoke rose out from many of the broken windows while small fires blazed in dozens of spots.

I looked at it from afar, completely away from everyone else, and sighed, shaking my head. I would've cried, but I had no tears to cry with. The G.M.A.F had taught me to never cry and right now crying wasn't going to make things better for me.

"It's not easy, is it?" I heard a voice say from behind me.

It was Nick. Now, I would start acting like the shyest, unsocial, completely out of the way guy around him but now wasn't the time. The troops weren't that far away and we were just in the middle of a torn up street just looking at the headquarters' tower.

I shook my head in response. "Like it ever is?" I asked, turning to him in response. "It's never easy when you're me. Never. Never ever. I literally have a target on my back and a gun pointed right in the center. Now, I have to worry about whether or not Ryan and I are actually safe here in England."

"You are, Jason," Nick tried to reassure me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

A spark of uncertainty shot through my spine. "But for how long?" I sighed. "I almost died three months ago nearly after my creation, and it was in England--the safest place in Europe."

Nick folded his ears and closed his eyes. God, I hate it when he did that! "Jason..." he nearly whispered, moving closer to me. "...so long as I'm living and breathing on this Earth, I swear on my life that you will forever be safe and you will never die."

That was when he grabbed my hand and intertwined it with his.

That was also the moment when the world had been lifted off of my shoulders for the very first time since I was created.

"Ryan, Jason, move up!" Piper ordered from behind us.

An explosion from a grenade had Ryan and me running up ahead with our cluster of soldiers. I barrel-rolled into the huge wall of dirt and fired a few rounds before retreating into my cover, killing a soldier in the process. Ryan was right beside me, using up his entire cartridge on a trio of men standing up on top of the headquarters' wall. As he took cover, two bodies fell onto the ground from above and hit the ground with a loud thud that was muffled with the sound of bullets and utter chaos.

The front walls of the base had stacked with Shadow troops in a short amount of time, telling us that our forces near the base had been slaughtered. It was true while we fought, many of the bodies of our fellow soldiers had been littered across the ground around and through the base. It was almost a taunt in a way. The soldiers had almost been lined up in rows around the front entrance, as if telling us that we would be part of the next row if we tried anything.

Of course, we were usually risk takers anyway.

The front gates had been more heavily fortified than we thought, the soldiers on the insider sending large squadrons hammering down on us from the air and ground. Ryan turned around and slammed a man running for him in the face with the butt of his gun, summoning his hidden blade before sending it into the man's neck, soon turning his attention to two others running straight for him. With my aid, I fired what was left of my cartridge of bullets at the two of them before having to reload. Ryan nodded my way before sprinting forward towards the gates, me following just ten paces behind him with a small group of soldiers to cover our backs.

I reached the wall along with Ryan while they took care of the men on top of the walls. With ducked as a nearby explosion knocked a ton of dirt and pebbles on our heads, our hoods luckily blocking the dirt from getting in our eyes. I waited as he reloaded his gun then looked over his shoulder through the gate passageway, turning back around as a barrage of bullets flew by.

"Ugh, the courtyard looks unmanned," Ryan said, wiping the dirt off of his hood while the troops met up with us and placed their backs against the stone wall.

A tremor shook the ground just as I spoke. "If we don't take care of the guys on the wall then how do you expect to get that far?" I asked, turning my head quickly to catch a glimpse of a Shadow Grunt coming up to one of our soldiers with a knife. I grabbed my pistol and, without any aiming, fired two rounds--sending the jackets flying through the air at breakneck speed right into the man's chest and head.

Right as I put my gun back into its holder, I noticed Ryan had been examining the wall in a thorough manner. He nodded before looking at me. "We can scale the wall."

I thought he was crazy at first but with my own look at the wall I saw that he was right. With the explosions, gunfire, and tremors that had taken place the wall had been deformed with many of the stones missing whiles others were pushed outward but remained in place. The slots looked large then small enough to climb on, yet I only worried if they _actually_gave in while we scaled the wall.

Another tremor shook the ground. "You're insane!"

"Got a better plan?" he asked, turning around, grabbing a few of the stones before pulling himself up. He took it slow, placing one foot on a separate stone at a time before pulling himself up further to reach for another one.

I let out a long sigh before reaching for my own stones. His plans weren't the best but at least the get things done, sadly however putting both of us at risk. I was only a few feet behind him already, only about three feet off the ground, but he was faster than I was and was quickly making his way up the wall with ease...I think. While climbing up the wall, I made sure to repeat the same steps I was taking just in case I had forgotten. Reach, grab, leg up then place, other hand, et cetera.

I grabbed the next block above me, using my arm to haul myself up only to have the block slip out from its slot and slam right into the ground. My hand gave away and nearly made me fall, but luckily I was still holding onto a block and my feet were still in place. The slip up did make me gulp however, only holding on by one hand. I let out a long sigh of relief, patting my chest which was in pain now, then threw myself to the right, grabbing hold of another set of blocks. I reached again and grabbed a block once more, hauling myself up with much better luck this time.

Ryan was already hauling himself up the last portion of the wall while I was right behind him, reaching for a new block. I had lost track of time but it was a miracle that no one was shooting at me or him while we were vulnerable. Not far above me were gunshots, mainly from a pistol, telling me that a gunfight had started. I decided to stay where I was and cling to the wall for dear life.

Only problem with that was the fact that my arms were burning from all the climbing. It had been a while since I had to actually climb a wall but my arms were starting to give way as my grip started to wane and my muscles were beginning to fail on me. I was already high in the air and a fall from this height could seriously injure me, even as I grunted and forced myself to hold on just a bit longer.

_ "Merda!"_I cursed just as my hands slipped from the block.

I expected to fall straight towards the ground but something had grabbed my arm, which turned out to be Ryan. He was holding onto my arm with one hand while forcefully holding onto a chain rail that prevented people from falling over. The pain in his eyes told me everything, but the smile he was using to chuckle had me rolling my eyes. The guy used what strength he had left to pull me up, landing on his back while I was on my hands and knees panting along with him.

(Yes, I realize that was a 'that's what she said' moment. Don't remind me.)

Ryan took his time to catch his breath but I was already on my feet, looking for something that could help me out. To my luck, there had been half a dozen turrents aimed towards the courtyard of our base and they still looked operational.

_ This is gonna be good,_ I said in my mind, jogging for the turrent. Once inside the mounted gun, I grabbed the handles and placed my fingers on the triggers and started shooting. Bullets flew out of the barrels at breakneck speed, soaring through the air before hitting the ground with powerful force. I turned to gun towards large groups of soldiers, my shots flying all around them like a hurricane of metal jackets, soon embedding themselves into the Shadow soldier's bodies. Quickly, I made short work of the groups and made my way towards the front gates where the real fight was. Many of the soldiers opposing our side were already aware of my gun but were ill prepared for my onslaught of bullets that flew their way, mowing down large sums of men against the wall, inside walls of sand, and behind metal barricades.

My gun however ran out of bullets in a jiffy, leaving only a dozen men alive. Just as I was about to curse again, machine guns filled the air with their chainsaw-like sound, mowing down the remaining soldiers in only a matter of minutes. The final death blow came from an explosion from a gas canister that blew up a large portion of the base's wall, leaving a small fire and a thick trail of smoke leading into the sky.

By the time I had left the turrent, Ryan was reloading his gun, looking my way with a sly smile. Yep, he had been a part of that mass killing; I only hoped he didn't gloat about it.

We spent no time waiting around. The both of us climbed back down as fast as we could without falling then joined up with what was left of our troops and Piper and Nick. Nick had ordered the troops to stay behind and guard the gates, hoping that they could stop any reinforcements from the Shadow's side from coming our way for a while. His plans hadn't failed me yet, so I trusted that he was right.

No resistance was met upon entering the base, other than the fact that the lobby looked like it was about to collapse. Wires sparked, what was left of the lights flickered on and off, most (not all) of the pillars had crumbled, and hundreds of bullet holes had been left in the walls. Thus judging this, I could only guess that most of the other floors of the base looked like this.

Just then, my ear communicator went off. I clicked it. "This is Jason, go ahead."

_ "Jason, this is the Admiral,"_ the Admiral's voice stated from the other end, sending shivers down my spine for some reason."Did you make it inside the base?"

"Yes, sir, we're about to come and rescue you but we need a--" I said just as he cut me off in mid-sentence.

_ "No! I'm not the intended target! It's Rodrigo! You must make sure to get to him before coming for me!"_ Silence filled his end for a few moments before he came back. "My guards and I will meet you on the helicopter pad at the top of the base; I have a chopper heading our way in twenty minutes so you need to get to Rodrigo before that chopper gets here, understood?"

There was a part of me that wanted to protest against his orders, but I really wasn't in the mood to get punished for disobeying an order. I sighed. "Understood, Admiral. Which floor is he located on?"

_ "Floor thirty-nine, just two floors under my own."_

"Okay, we're on our way, sir. Jason out," I said before I cut the line.

The three of them looked at me with puzzled expressions. I explained to them what the Admiral had told us to do, which made Piper shake her head in disbelief. After a minute or so of debate, she finally agreed to go for Rodrigo and follow the orders instead of disobeying them. She jogged towards the emergency staircase, blocking it with an extra gun she got from the floor just as we started to make our way up.

"Rodrigo still had vital information and the Admiral has the Elite Guard to protect him," she stated, jogging up the stairs, going two at a time. "They're the best soldiers we have and are sworn to protect the Admiral no matter what, even if it means sacrificing themselves in the process. He has plenty of them to guard, which means we need to get to Rodrigo now. Come on." She spoke quickly, making sure we got all of the details, passing us up the stairs.

Time passed quickly on our ascent towards the top, our bodies in much pain through panting and soreness. Before we went on, Piper tossed Ryan and me a bottle of water, which we made quick work of, gulping the whole thing down in seconds. Nick and her also quickly gulped down their own bottle, tossing them empty thing onto the ground once they were finished.

"We're gonna need plenty of energy if enemies come along," Nick panted, trying to rush the air back into his body. He, along with the rest of us, was matted in sweat, mixing with the dirt and grime that his body had also accumulated over time. The group of us looked like we had just run a 5K through mud and smoke while we panted like dogs in the summer heat.

Just after he said that an explosion was set off that shook the entire floor, grabbing our attention at an instant. It was only a little ways ahead of us but the smoke reached us faintly. Ryan was the first to go ahead, grabbing the pistol from his holder, carefully crouching while walking. The three of us followed his lead, making sure not to make a sound while we grabbed our own guns.

It was almost pitch black with only minor light to illuminate the path ahead of us. Hopefully the sound of faint gunfire and explosions would mask our approach otherwise...I bet you know what would happen. Slow, we took it, the sound of voices creeping upon us like our own shadows.

Out of the darkness came a light from one of the prison rooms. Ryan looked back to us and shrugged, gulping before he went on ahead with us. Piper and Nick went towards the other wall but stopped just before they were visible to the voices. My partner beckoned me to go ahead of him, which I took carefully while staying as far in the shadows as I could.

Just then, an all too familiar voice hit my ears and made me think twice about my chances for survival. Shivers went up my spine and I stopped moving instantly.

"Oh Rodrigo, if there was a moment I could document this I would do so right now," Yukon giggled in her menacing, fearful tone.

I was literally shaking in my boots.

It was her. Out of all of the people in the entire world (not to mention the Shadow Army) it had to be her. The only Shadow Digimon that scared me even more than Rodrigo, which says a lot about me.

Yukon.

It just had to be her. It was bad enough that it was only the four of us and my stomach was starting to get sick on me, but now I had to add her and her bodyguards into the equation. Not only that, but now Rodrigo was definitely free and eager to get revenge on Ryan for putting him behind bars.

Great.

I silently gulped and put my back against the wall, summoning what courage I had left. I carefully looked over the doorway into the prison room, taking notice of the half dozen men clad in black uniforms and one Shadow Digimon (a.k.a Yukon) standing over a Shadow Flamedramon (a.k.a Rodrigo). The Shadow Renamon was clad in her own dark clothes: a tight black, elastic suit, black combat boots, metal black gauntlets, a tool belt with a deadly looking gun strapped to it, and a set of throwing knives strapped to her shoulders. Her eyes were still that same menacing blood red color that made the fear inside me begin to rise once more.

Rodrigo on the other hand looked tired, sleepy, and thinner than before. He wore only a pair of baggy navy blue jeans with a belt to keep them up. His toned chest and stomach were exposed with his arms, showing off his light yet slightly above average build. I could literally see the dark rings around his eyes, telling me that he was not one who liked to sleep.

He walked out of the prison cell with both of his wrists bound by titanium cuffs, something even the Shadows had trouble breaking. Once out, he smiled and held out his wrists towards the Renamon which she only giggled once more at. She then raised her right arm, producing a trio of emerald colored claws that slid out of the top of her hands, almost like Wolverine. With one slash down the middle of the chain, also managing to slice through the cuffs as well, she broke the restraints in two and let Rodrigo rub them for comfort.

"So, that is the new metal mother and father have melded?" Rodrigo asked, rubbing his wrists.

Yukon smiled, nodding just as she sheathed the claws. "It's called diacarbon. Stronger than a diamond but as light as a leaf in the breeze." She marveled, getting an approving nod from her brother in return.

"Mother and father never disappoint," he snickered. He stopped and looked back to Yukon. "Now that I'm free and we're alone, we must kill the Admiral immediately and report back to mother and father a once."

Yukon and her guards didn't move a muscle. The Shadow Renamon just stood there and folded her arms, sighing into a shrug. Rodrigo looked around the room in confusion, wondering what was going on.

"What's the matter? We must go!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the doorway where we were at. I only hoped that they didn't listen to him.

He took two steps towards the door before two guards stopped him in place, causing him to take those same steps back. He looked horrified at what just happened and took notice of the rest of the guards, finding that they all had aimed the barrels of their guns at him with a strong and steady grip.

"Treachery!" he exclaimed once more. "What is the meaning of this, Yukon?"

She only flipped her hair to the side and brushed dust off of her shoulder. In the snap of a finger, she had those two guards restrain Rodrigo, who was struggling against the men, just as she was about to speak.

"Oh, brother," she said. "You have to understand that this was not my decision. But I cannot blame mother and father for doing this."

"What are you talking about? Unhand me!" he shouted, struggling in vain against the two men.

She shook her head then paced around the room. "The humans and Digimon of Light have held you captive for over three months, have they not?" Rodrigo nodded, hissing almost at the guards who did nothing in response. "And who's to say that they haven't extracted some information from you?"

"But they haven't!" Rodrigo protested, softly growling.

"Oh, Rodrigo, you can lie all you want but we know. You may look like a good liar but I see it in your eyes." She placed her hand on his chin and lifted his head up to meet her eyes, those blood-red orbs that made him jerk his muzzle away.

"I...don't know what you're talking about," he retorted, grunting.

She rolled her eyes in return. "Lie all you want, it doesn't change the fact that you displeased mother and father. Secret bases have been hit by the humans' armies, how do you explain that? Our base in Sweden was destroyed, explain that. Many of our compounds in southern Asia have been laid to waste; now tell me how do you think that happened, hmm?"

Rodrigo remained silent, giving Yukon her answers.

"Exactly. Mother and father are very angry because of your betrayal--"

"I did what I had to do! They were going to kill me!" he shouted at her.

She hissed then slapped him across the face, getting a howl of pain from him in response. My own body tingled with anger and fear, yet I felt almost pity for him actually. (God, I felt pity for him?) He grunted, shaking his head while trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Watch your tongue or I swear I will cut it off and shove it down your throat!" she hissed at him, which got his attention once more and also shut him up. "Now, since you gave away the locations of some of our most vital bases, in doing so also killing many of our own beloved troops in the process, mother and father have both decided to have you executed." Rodrigo looked like he was about to shoot back but an evil glare from Yukon stopped him where he was. "Now, now, now, you haven't heard the best part. They did order me to kill you, but...I'm feeling generous today, and you are my brother of course. So I will give you two options."

"The first option is that I can go ahead and kill you and end this right now, in turn doing just what mother and father ordered and being a goody little two-shoes. Or, I can give you the gun and let you use it on yourself. If you choose that option, try not to go against me because...well, look around you! You're outnumbered and you and I both know who the fastest one in here is, so I wouldn't try anything stupid, wouldn't you agree, brother?"

For once, I actually saw fear in his eyes. He stood there restrained by two strong soldiers without a word to even say back to her. I looked down and saw that his hands were trembling, his legs were slightly shaking, and a drop of sweat had formed at the side of his head. It was also the face that made me know that he was scared; the mouth was ajar and the pupils in his red eyes had shrunken down almost to the point where I couldn't even see them.

He was scared. Unbelievable.

A faint click turned my head. I quickly turned to find out it was Piper who was holding an oval-shaped object. It wasn't a grenade because I knew the shape and color of the orb. Her thumb pressed against the trigger of the orb while she held it tightly, waiting for the right moment to strike. She made a few slow steps forward, trying to get closer and closer to the door to put whatever plan she had to work.

"You've lost your mind," Rodrigo said, grabbing my attention once more. "I am not going to kill myself, you bitch."

Yukon shook her head. "Get him on his knees." She ordered. The guards holding him forced the Shadow Flamedramon onto his knees with minor resistance, pushing his head forward towards the ground. "Such a shame, brother. I hoped to not have your blood on my hands."

"You will pay for this, Yukon," Rodrigo growled. "I swear on my life that you will pay dearly for this. Mark my words, you will pay." He promised the Digimon, almost snarling.

"I highly doubt it, brother," she mocked, laughing. "Goodbye." She finished, pointing the barrel of the gun right at his face.

It was at that moment that Piper threw the orb inside the room. Yukon halted her shot and followed as the orb rolled all the way towards her feet. Three digital dings went off before the orb exploded in a large ball of white smoke that masked the entire room and inside the hallway.

The soldiers, Yukon and Rodrigo cursed at the top of their lungs, coughing while trying to get through the thick fog of smoke. Piper bolted forward and ran into the mask of smoke, coming out only seconds later with a coughing Rodrigo slung over her shoulder. The Shadow Digimon seemed almost unaware that it was Piper but continued to cough through the thick smoke.

"Ryan, hold onto him," Piper ordered, much to Ryan's groan. He nonetheless hauled one of the Digimon's arm's over his shoulder then looked to Piper. "Come on, we don't have much time left. The Admiral's waiting for us, come on!"

We didn't have to think twice about it, so we followed her onward. She led us through the thick smoke, looking back at us every few seconds or so to make sure we weren't left behind. Ryan jogged the best he could with a coughing Digimon slung over his shoulders while Nick and I stayed in the rear to protect the rear of the group in case the guards or Yukon (or both) caught up to us.

We made it to the staircase shortly after, chugging up the stairs as fast as we could without tripping or going ahead of each other. I decided to help out Ryan, who looked very tired after holding Rodrigo for a bit, slinging the Shadow Digimon's other arm over my shoulder and stepping quickly with him. Seconds later did Rodrigo finally realize that we were the ones rescuing him, yet he didn't do anything to stop us.

"Y...You're..." he coughed out, sounding raspy and exhausted.

"Yeah," Ryan replied, grunting. "Ugh, we're rescuing you so just shut up and let us get you out of here." He said, taking the stairs carefully.

He groaned out in pain. "Why?" Rodrigo asked, taking his own steps to help aid us, lifting his arm off of my shoulders. "She was about to..."

"We know, we know," I cut him off, looking back to check for any soldiers heading our way. "As for why, you're more valuable to us alive than dead. At least, that's what the Admiral thinks anyway."

He looked at Ryan once more then at me, then back at him. Whatever he was doing, it kinda creeped me out. Maybe he was trying to understand what was going on and actually work with us instead of against us. He didn't resist, he didn't fight, and he certainly didn't try to go for the gun strapped to Ryan's waist. I had a feeling in my stomach that he knew that we were his only salvation of getting out of here alive, and if he killed us then he would have to answer to Yukon and her soldiers.

With Rodrigo's cooperation, we went quicker up the stairs, rising the floors of the building at a steady rate. Each set of stairs felt like it was endless and in a short amount of time our legs were taking us slower and slower. The heat and sweat from the climbing and running were getting to us, and our energy was starting to wane after so long. We could only hope the Admiral and his special guards were already up there waiting for us considering we were already late on time.

It would surely be a bad day if he was already gone.

It was finally only minutes later that we made it to the top floor (hallelujah!) and found out that the Admiral was still waiting on us. He was surrounded by four guards, who were standing right in the passenger area of the helicopter, along with his Flamedramon partner Anders. The propellers on the copter were already spinning and it was very easy to tell that they had been waiting a good bit of time for us. Hopefully he wasn't mad, which would've been the least of our problems, but at least we had Rodrigo and we did as he had ordered us to.

We finally arrived at the copter and handed Rodrigo over to Anders, who then aided Rodrigo into a seat on the aircraft. The guards, one by one, then climbed inside the copter along with the Admiral and then Anders, and once they were inside, Ryan, Nick, and Piper carefully made their way inside and strapped themselves in. As they strapped themselves inside, the engine started to crank up and the propellers began to whir quicker and quicker with each passing second.

Just before I was about to board the aircraft, a loud POP! Went off from behind me, and then the sound of shattering glass filled the air. Red lights inside the helicopter started going off before the alarm began to blare, even the sound of shouting and frantic moving seemed to take part. The copter then slowly picked up off the ground and started to drift towards the edge of the building, slowly picking up speed before ascending into the air. I ran to get hold of the aircraft, but its jerking motions were too rabid and I feared if I even got close, the propellers would come down and turn me into swizz cheese.

Ryan, Piper, and Nick (along with Anders) all screamed my name and tried to reach for me, to no avail. The aircraft was off the ground and easily over ten feet in the air hovering over the base, completely out of my reach. I could hear them yelling at the pilot, telling him to come back for me, but he and I both knew why he wasn't turning around--even for me.

With a quick turn of my body, my eyes soon met those of a certain Shadow Renamon who was hell-bent on killing me.

My white sword was in my hands in only a second. I knew that I had a minor chance of surviving against Yukon, knowing good and well that she was strong, powerful, and terrifying. I had already seen just how scary she could be (or had I?) yet there was no telling whether or not I could actually use that as intelligence for this fight. There was still a possibility that she was holding back, knowing the Shadows, with something up her sleeve to use against me.

Okay, okay. I just need to think about this. What would Ryan do in a time like this? I wasn't there for his fight with Rodrigo but he said that I need to size up my opponent then think of them better than what they appear to be. Alright, Yukon was a Renamon (Shadow Renamon, duh) and Renamon are known to be quick, sly, and strong. Knowing she's a Shadow means I need to make sure I take her up a few notches, putting her above my caliber. Since she was a Shadow, she has to also be very strong, cunning, ruthless, and a master in this field of battle. She was the sister of Rodrigo so knowing Ryan had trouble fighting even him made her look even worse.

Hmm...there were no flaws I could possibly see. She started to take steps towards me, causing me to stumble backwards just before I caught myself. I gulped then slowly crept forward, keeping my blade aimed towards the sky. Okay, okay, okay. No flaws as far as my eyes could see. Great. I already knew about her unbreakable emerald colored--pardon me--"diacarbon" claws that could break through anything. Those were going to be a major problem considering that Renamon were fast with their hands (that's what she said, I know, I know) and I knew if I made a wrong move, I was going to die.

We stopped only ten feet from each other, looking each other up and down. She was studying me and I was studying her. We both had the same idea, but I was going to have to fight for survival while she was going for blood. Both of our clothes were light, her weapons were easily lighter than mine, and she's most likely had years of experience compared to my months of training.

Damn, I'm screwed, I thought to myself, knowing it was all to true. She was going to make mincemeat of me, and there was nothing I could do about it! I was by myself while the group watched from the skies. If they landed, there was a good chance that Yukon could still shoot the Admiral and Rodrigo but while they were in the skies I still felt like they had a chance of not getting shot down. The pilot himself was lucky enough he wasn't shot or else we were going to be screwed.

Don't give in... a voice spoke in my mind.

I looked to my left, then to my right, then back at Yukon. There was no one around me other than her, but I felt like there was someone right beside me. My shoulder tingled a little, causing me to shudder like it was cold or something. It felt almost like there was a presence right next to me.

_You are not alone..._it said again, this time like it was in my ear. It felt like it was distant but it was so close like it was literally touching me.

"What?" I muttered, looking over my shoulder just to see nothing. When I looked back, Yukon was still there but she had cocked her eyes at me. I was still standing where I was, waiting for something to happen I guess.

I took one hand off of my sword and placed it on my shoulder. All I felt was a spark, not like electricity, but it felt like a warm fire that warmed my entire body (as if I wasn't warm already) but in a good way. The feeling made me relaxed my shoulders, straighten up my spine, and stand up taller. I almost felt taller in a sense but I was still a Veemon, a more relaxed yet serious Veemon.

We are with you... the voice said in its distant echo, suddenly getting more and more distant. Just before it completely vanished, it said one final phrase that made me shudder once more.

Trust the Creed.

_ _ Whatever the voice was talking about, it almost scared me. My body wasn't shaking as bad as I thought it would be but I still felt scared in a sense. I was still relaxed, less tense, but I kept my guard high and my sword higher. Whatever this "creed" was that that voice was talking about I had no idea what it was and I bet that Ryan had no idea either.

Maybe I was starting to go mad, like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. Was I? Nah, weird clothes, funny accents, and questionable people aren't exactly my thing. Okay, one of those is a lie at least since I actually do wear weird clothes--clearly. Ugh. Whatever I was, I was going to be dead if I didn't think of something. Yukon looked like she was growing impatient, and I knew from good experience that you don't want to piss of a Shadow Digimon like Ryan had.

"So, you're the Golden Digimon these humans have been ranting about?" she asked, bringing her gauntlets up, revealing those claws once more.

I shuddered but nodded. "That's right. And you're Yukon, Rodrigo's brother. I remember you from the Sweden base."

Her tail whipped around and shot out sharp crystals towards me. I grunted then rolled to the side, avoiding them just by barely. I heard a rip as I got back onto my feet, finding out my robe had been torn more. Ugh, looks like Ian and Ron were going to have their work cut out for them repairing this thing, along with Ryan's.

She hissed at me. "You were there?" I heard her lowly growl at me. "You little whelp; do you have any idea how much that little stunt you and your group pulled cost me in the long run? I lost needed soldiers in that base."

"Bad for you, good for us," I responded, taking my hand off of my sword. I grabbed one of my throwing knives and threw it straight for her. She grunted then leaped forward, dodging the knife in the process but also shooting her own bullet in the process. Luckily, her aim was bad and she only grazed my leg. I hissed but I made sure she didn't hear me.

Her growl got more and more menacing with each passing second. "I will make sure you die a slow and painful death for that, then I'm going to send you to my mother and father so then can burn your remains and dump them in the Shadow Ocean."

Shadow Ocean? Do they name everything after themselves? "We'll just see about that, won't we? I'm not going down without a fight." I replied, bringing my sword back up.

She snickered. "Good, it's never fun when they don't fight before they die." She slid her claws over one another, creating sparks that dropped towards the ground. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart limb by limb." The Digimon licked her lips, flexing her fingers while keeping her eyes on me.

I stood there in fear for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. I know for a fact I had already pissed her off, so I was going to have to go for survival. Her red eyes seemed to almost glow towards me like a fire dancing in the wind. I gave my own menacing star back, hoping that I looked just as ruthless as she did. I highly doubted it but there was nothing else I could possibly do, besides just delay my death and wait for a miracle to come forth and save me from impending doom.

I let out one more sigh before I charged for my death.

Whether I died or came out alive, at least I was going out with a bang.

I wasn't the one who made the first move though; she pulled her arms back then brought them forward, slicing them through the air. I quickly ducked to avoid them then made my own slashes while she however blocked them with her claws then returned my attacks. I quickly maneuvered my body to avoid the oncoming slashes that nearly grazed my robes.

Quickly, I brought my blade forward and met with her claws. A loud clang echoed through the air, carrying the sparks from the two metals farther and farther apart from the battle. She went for a quick jab to my stomach, which I avoided just by barely and returned with my own horizontal spin-slice to her stomach. She seemed to be one step ahead of me and locked her claws with my sword, leaving me vulnerable. She smirked at me then kneed me right in the stomach, causing me to howl out in pain just before she kicked me backwards, sending me skidding on my back towards the edge of the building. While still holding onto my blade, I used the tip to slow myself down just before I got to the edge of the building, avoiding sudden death by mere feet.

As I struggled to get back onto my feet, I could already start to feel the pain from everything upcoming to this finally hit me like a brick. My legs wobbled, my stomach and side ached, and a headache was starting to settle in after being prolonged for so long. God, this was a bad time for that to happen.

Bigger things seemed to go on behind my back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the copter being bombarded by bullets from the ground as the pilot tried to evade them. Ryan and Piper were providing whatever cover they could with the turrents mounted on the sides of the helicopter, trying to avoiding getting shot themselves. The guards and Anders helped out with anything they could, some actually resorting to RPG's that were shot very inaccurately.

I had to let them handle that and hope they could pull it off. I trusted Ryan, and Piper, and Nick. Ryan was my partner, no question I trusted him. Piper was kind and really treated me like a friend. Nick...well, I'm sure you can already guess why I trusted him already. My trust for the Admiral...was still up for debate however, I did trust Anders.

Please, let them be safe, I said in my mind. Whatever that presence was, I hoped it heard my plea and went to them and protected them.

Yukon charged once more towards me, both of her claws aimed right for me. I brought up my sword and summoned all the strength that would come to me, charging right for her as well. We met in the middle once more, sending sparks and waves of power everywhere around us. Our blows against each other rattled the air in their metallic sound, somewhat even shaking the floor around us. We both unleashed volleys of blows against one another, my attacks blocked by her claws while she was blocked by my swipes. We continued to evade and avoid each other's attacks by blocking, sidestepping, and ducking for what felt like hours.

I could feel her tower of strength overpower my own though. She beat down her claws against my sword not too long after, using some of my own flaws to her advantage. She tripped me using her tail then brought her claws down on me while I was incapacitated, but luckily I summoned my hidden blade with my free hand and stopped the attack from landing yet also bruising my wrist in the process. She pushed forward, sending her claws forward against my hidden blade while I used al the strength I had and pushed back. With my sword hand, I swung and cut her right on the side which caused her to howl out in pain and jump backwards a long ways away from me.

As she regained her strength, I got back onto my feet as quick as I could to think of a plan of action. She staggered back while she stood, giving me a few moments to catch my own breath to think. I could make out a small trail of blood on the floor and on me, telling me it was possibly hers or possibly mine. Whatever the case was, I still had Yukon to face down against all odds without anyone to back me up, just like when Ryan had faced down Rodrigo back in Manchester.

I used my sword to keep my balance while my legs wobbled to keep me up. If I could describe the pain my body was feeling right now, I would but it almost felt indescribable. The searing pain in my side came back, my lungs felt like they were on fire, and my head was swimming due to exhaustion. That was putting it as easily and bluntly as I possibly could.

Yukon fiercely growled at me, clutching her side in pain. "I'm gonna make you wish you hadn't done that, you worthless shit!" She cursed me, glaring at me once more. I literally saw the anger inside her start to build up, manifesting into something dark and powerful that was making me cringe.

I wasn't kidding. Her body began to glow a redish aura that wrapped itself around her entire body. This black ring began to manifest around her waist area before expanding to the size of a hoola-hoop. Dark tendrils wrapped around the ring, many of them looked like ravenous snakes looking for their next meal. Yukon continued to glow almost as bright as the sun; I had to cover my eyes with my arms to block the brightness. The heat she was giving off was almost as hot as the sun, tingling my skin while heating up my robes to the point I hissed from the pain (surprising that my robes hadn't burned off in the process).

Wind began to rush all around me like some sort of vortex, blowing dust and dirt everywhere around me like I was inside a tornado or something. I opened my eyes enough just to see Yukon start to levitate in the air, slowly lifting off of the ground towards the sky. Her fox-ish palms glowed much brighter than her body, turning into the point where they just looked like two white orbs of light with black tendrils swirling around her wrists.

My own palm started burning. It was the one with my tattoo. The symbol burned through my leather glove, lifting off of my hand like it was some sort of 3D picture. It spun slowly horizontally before glowing brighter, making me cover my eyes almost. The burning pain only lasted seconds before it was replaced with that warm feeling from before.

No way...was it that presence?

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't hostile...if a ghostly presence even counts as hostile. It was warm, not the Sun or Yukon warm, but a comforting warm that washed over my body like a shower. I lowered the arm covering my face to look at it, feeling the warmth well over my body with its powerful presence radiating my energy from within.

Trust the Creed, my son.

_ _ "Time to die, you worthless shit!" Yukon howled, thrusting her palms forward. Instantly, hundreds upon hundreds of dark colored crystals shot forward like some sort of hail storm towards me.

"I don't think so!" I exclaimed, looking up, summoning all the power that surged within me, and then thrust my palm forward. A beam of light shot forth from my palm, spreading out all around like some sort of transparent dome. The black crystals beat against my "shield" hardly, yet they all shattered against my protection and crumbled to the ground. The ground around me cracked, even some of the stones that held the building together began to levitate off of the ground around my base and inside it.

Weird, weird, weird! I thought to myself as the crystals continued to beat against my dome. This felt impossible! Was I really doing this or was this a dream? Ugh, nope, that searing pain in my side told me this was definitely not a dream.

Nothing made sense anymore.

I groaned, just going with the flow of things for the time being. Before I even knew it, a dark ray shot forth from Yukon's palms and landed against my protection, causing my body to be pushed backwards. I used all the strength I had and stayed on my feet, staying my ground while these absurd forces were pit against my own absurd forces.

Grunting, crying, and pushing, I pushed as hard as I could against Yukon's power, finding it harder and harder with each passing second. Slowly, my energy was being drained and it was only a matter of time before I was going to be forced to give in. My eyes were fogging out, my body was feeling weaker and weaker, and my arms were burning (in a bad way).

It was only seconds before my body was about to give in but Yukon was the first to let up. She completely stopped her beam and constant beat down of black crystals against me, giving me seconds to catch my breath. Once the crystals and ray stopped, I let my arms drop to my hips, causing the dome around me to dissipate into nothing but tiny glass fragments that soon disappeared into nothing.

Just as the last crystal disappeared I fell forward onto my hands and knees. I sharply panted, gasping for air which caused me to cough up blood instead. While spitting out the foul tasting liquid, Yukon herself descended towards the ground, panting and taking in large gulps of air like I was. Blood continued to drip from her side onto the ground yet her expression told me that losing blood was the least of her worries. We both huffed and coughed, much of which involved tons of spitting out blood from our mouths all over the ground.

My vision was going foggy, the muscles in my arms and legs could barely keep me standing, and I had little energy left. Sweat continued to drip from my forehead, mixing with my crimson colored blood in a very disgusting manner. The symbol that was tattooed finally seeped back into my hand after being a 3D picture for the past few minutes.

_ You have done well, my son._

I wanted to tell that voice to shut the fuck up, but I couldn't even muster up the words to talk back. What I could do however was muster up the energy I had left and stand up and hope she was just as wiped as I was, maybe with a hunch but I was at least standing. Though my legs wobbled and I could feel like I hadn't eaten anything in a week, at least I was still standing but I could get anything that if she just blew on my face I would just fall back onto the ground.

Yep, I was screwed.

We both stood far away from one another, keeping our distance in case one of us made an attack. I bent down and grabbed my sword which now felt like it weighed as much as Ryan yet somehow I managed to keep a grip on it and keep it a few inches off the ground. She looked just as beat as I did, and I knew because her forearms hung towards the ground, and she wore heavy gauntlets.

I had completely forgotten about Ryan and the group but it was only when I saw it fly overhead, dented and beaten up but still running, that it made me feel much better. Okay, I was as good as I wanted to be but it did let a load off of my shoulders know they were fine, I hope.

I turned my attention back to Yukon. She had taken a few steps forward before stopping the exact distance where we started. I thought she had run out of tricks considering she hadn't done anything since that surprise move on me.

Before I could even react, she brought up the pistol she used to try and kill the pilot but aimed it straight at me this time. My eyes widened in shock. Why hadn't she done this before? She could've just killed me and had this all over and done with in only a matter of seconds, but she didn't.

Either it was an honor thing, or a challenge thing, or just a plain stupid thing. Well, I was being a hypocrite. I could've used my own gun but I didn't, I guess all those things I said about them also applied to me as well.

I shook my head then turned back to Yukon, who was giving me the most sinister smile I had ever seen. Her white teeth were revealed, I could see the gun shaking which told me she was gripping the dang thing pretty hard, and her own legs wobbled. She still looked in much better condition than I was though, and it really pissed me off too. I had to fight against her forces, get pretty much exhausted, then come back to the base, fight more forces, and have an increasingly difficult grudge match against her.

Yeah, I didn't stand a chance.

She staggered forward, keeping the gun aimed right at me. "Time...to die, you little runt. You've caused me a great...deal of trouble and now you're gonna pay for it, with your life!" She mocked, laughing at me.

I took shaky steps backwards to prepare myself for the end. I had already delayed my death, but I was now at the gates of Hell.

"Not this time, you vile whore!" a loud scream howled from the air.

That was when a gunshot was fired.