The Fallen: First Blood

By Evolution

It is a feeling that few experience, a rush of adrenaline, but an overwhelming remorse soon follows… many who experience it wish they never had, because it only leads to more… and more… that is the price of first blood…

The cry of tearing steel filled the air.  Hot sparks rained down on the tired and decaying workers.  An entourage of heavily armed soldiers slowly passed a large vat of boiling metal.  The Tamer slaves were forced to bow to the head of the procession by their drivers.  The one they bowed before was a dark figure dressed in nothing more than a black cloak, the hood of the cloak masked his face with darkness.  Walking at the cloaked figure’s right hand was a slim man with blond hair.  The man wore sunglasses, despite the fact that the only light present was from the glowing hot metal in the vat, and the sparks that precipitated around them.  The blond man was rhythmically opening and then snapping shut a Zippo in his hand.  There was a faint smile on his face, one of streaming confidence. 

“President Yamaki,” said the cloaked figure with a deep and scratchy voice.

“Yes?” answered the blond man calmly.  He hated these camps; they put an inescapable chill in his bones.  At times it drove him insane.  There were times at night when he would wake up from a terrifying dream screaming, the weight of all the souls he had torn from their bodies crying in his ears, tearing at his mind.  But he would silence their crying with the rhythmic clicking of his metallic lighter, it was the only way.  He had opposed the systematic extermination of Tamers from the beginning, but in the end, the benefits would yield more than the loss would take. 

“Must you play with that infernal lighter all the time?”

“Sorry,” Yamaki grimaced.  “I only do this when I’m deep in thought.”

“It’s getting on my nerves,” the cloaked figure growled, “put it away.”

Yamaki reluctantly put the lighter into his black coat pocket, glaring at the cloaked figure.  He would have to endure the tears of the fallen Tamers for a while.  The cloaked figure’s presence was annoying him; he wanted to get the hell out of this disgusting camp.  “Is there a reason why you called me here, Sovereign?”

The dark figure cackled, “Yes, I want you a full report of all your plans and how they are unfolding.”

“Everything is going as planned.”  And so everything was, and had been for the last few years.  Just as there had once been four guardian Digimon in the Digital World, there were four lords of the human world now.  He was one of them, the president of the east.  His primary, though hidden, agenda was to eliminate Digimon entirely.  If killing humans was needed to do so, which it was, then he would not let his conscious hold him back.

“And what about the Tamers?” the cloaked figure continued.

Yamaki smiled, “Every day they grow closer to extinction.  Soon, there won’t be any to stop us.  Once those in the camps have finished refining the chemicals from the Digital World and Earth, we’ll be able to continue on with the next phase of the plan.”

The cloaked figure croaked, “Everything is not under control, there are still some Tamers not confined to the camps!”

Yamaki recoiled slightly in surprise, but then regained his composure.  There was a trace of annoyance in his voice, “Of course everything is under control.  I admit that there are a few Tamers that have managed to escape capture and who cause a little trouble, but they are hardly enough to worry about.”

“Oh, nothing to worry about?  What then of the attack on the camp in the southern sector?”

Yamaki frowned when the cloaked figure brought this up.  Those Tamers, the ones he had been so frustrated with when they were only children, still caused him trouble to this day.  They were the only resistance in his district, but they still hadn’t managed to do any major damage.  “Yes, it’s true the camp received massive damage, but the majority of that was from an attack of Pteranomon.  And if I’m not mistaken, it’s your job to keep them under control.  Besides, the damages should be completely compared in the next couple days.  Nothing more than a minor set back.”

“It is not the damages of the camp that I am worried about,” the cloaked figure hissed.  “There is a certain group of Tamers, far more powerful than the rest.  They are slowly reuniting, and if I’m not mistaken, they rescued the last member of the group from that camp.”

Yamaki grinned, “Don’t worry about them, I’ve got someone on it…  Besides, the one they rescued lost her partner Digimon years ago; she’ll be nothing more to them than extra baggage.”

“Yet they also managed to recruit the other girl,” the cloaked figure spat, “the one you said would never join them.”

Yamaki smiled, “You know how she is, even more than I do.  To her, battle is like eating or breathing, she can’t live without it.  And what better chance to get some more fighting into her system than that the little adventure the others proposed to her?”

There was a waver in the cloaked figure’s voice, “They plan on coming to the Digital World to find me?”  The waver turned to a malignant chuckle, “Well watch for their next bioemergence, and as soon as they get here, kill them.”

“Even Rika Nonaka?” asked Yamaki with some unease.

“Especially her…”

Rika sat on the concrete boundary of the roof of a deteriorating building.  She gently swung her legs back and forth in the night air.  She loved hovering on the edge; one slip and it would be a 70-storey fall to the street below.  There was something about being above the sea of lights below that made her feel so peaceful.  There would be an occasional explosion in the distance, resulting from who knows what.  But the peacefulness was present because it was too dark to see all of the dark and evil acts taking place below.

Renamon was usually present with her at times like this, but for the moment she was on one of the lower levels of the building, having that idiot Kazu fit her with some anti-detection devices. 

Most normal nights Rika would be out there, in the darkness below, staking out some place to rob, or robbing someplace.  She hated the fact that she had to steal for a living, but it wasn’t exactly like she could get a job.  She made the robberies right in her mind because she usually took from those well off enough that the little she took wouldn’t hurt them.  Then, after she had taken out a share for herself and Renamon, she gave the rest to Ben, who used it to provide relief for Tamers who needed it.  At times she’d thought of keeping the money for herself, and then just creating a new identity.  She could pay the genetic scanner to skew her test results, but he’d probably turn her in after she paid him anyways.  At times she couldn’t understand why humans hated Tamers so much.  But she didn’t like them very much either, so it all worked out.

Rika had never really considered herself to be a child, even when it had been physically undeniable.  Somehow, deep in her unconscious, she knew she would never live the life of a normal human girl.  But that didn’t really bother her; it’s not like the humans down below had it much better off than she did.  In fact, many humans shared the same life as she.  She remembered that day when her life, her childhood, was flushed down the toilet.  It had been a little while after she had left the team, and it was just the beginning of Earth’s death pangs.  The pain, the tears, hiding in the mud, they were crystal clear in her mind’s eye…

It was raining.  Lightning blasted the land and the thunderous cries of some wretched god above echoed through the air.  Rain was Rika’s favorite type of weather.  While most people cowered in their homes, she stood with her face to the sky, the fresh drops melting on her face and trickling onto her lips, the pleasure of their cool sweetness.   She knew her mother would be pissed at her for dragging water into the house, but she didn’t care. 

Renamon was sitting under an overhang of the house, wishing she could enjoy the rain with Rika, but knowing that it would take hours to dry her fur.  Rika, noticing a troubled look on her partner’s face, journeyed to her friend and sat down next to her. 

“Rika,” Renamon said.  “Maybe we should forgive the others and go back to helping them.  They’re having a lot of trouble with the Digimon that keep appearing, and I’m sure they could use our help.”

“Why?” Rika growled.  “They have Ryo, he should more than enough help for them.”

“It’s just that-” there was a loud knock at the front door of the house, followed by a loud crashing through the house.  Renamon’s fur bristled, she growled and leapt onto the roof, disappearing while still in the air.  Rika had a strange feeling in her gut, and she slowly began backing away from the house and back into the rain, which was no longer light and gentle, but heavy and furious.  There were some shouts from her mother and grandmother, followed by the deep, menacing voices of men.

The door burst open, and two uniformed men walked through the doorway.  Her mother and grandmother followed.  One of the men smirked at Rika and raised his gun calmly at her.  “Hey little lady, you don’t have a problem coming with us do you?”

Rika scowled, “I’m not going anywhere.  What, are you trying to arrest me or something?”

“A new law’s been passed, missy,” the other guard answered, “all Tamers are being moved to Protected Communities in the Digital World, as of now.”

Rika’s grandmother stepped forward and tried to reason with the men.  “Please, I don’t know what you mean, my granddaughter’s not a Tamer, whatever that is.”  She glanced back at Rika, and the looked to Rika’s mother, pleading for help. 

The man with the gun laughed, “She’s a Tamer alright, she’s been spotted with a kitsune-like creature on numerous occasions.  We also had a few sources personally identify her as a Tamer as well.  Now, why don’t you come with us peacefully?”

Rika’s grandmother threw herself between the men and her granddaughter.  “I will not let you take my granddaughter.  She may be a Tamer, but she and her Digimon friend have done more good for this city than anyone else.  For whatever reason you’re persecuting Tamers, it’s wrong.  Rika would never hurt anyone!”

“Lady, Japan’s not the only country doing this, the whole world is.  There’s obviously something wrong and dangerous with Tamers, so it’s best they be removed from society.”

“If it weren’t for Rika and her friends, there would be no society!”

“Lady, calm down.  Now I’ve been given the authority to arrest Rika Nonaka by whatever means possible, and I intend to do so.  So get the hell out of the way,” he pointed the gun at the old woman’s chest.

“No,” Rika’s grandmother growled firmly.

The officer looked to his companion, “I warned her, you’re my witness.”  The companion nodded.  Then the man with the gun looked back to the old woman, and pulled the trigger of his pistol.  The bullet tore into the old woman’s chest, and she fell to the ground with a grunt.  She lay there and didn’t move.

“Noooooo!” Rika screamed in terror, running to her grandmother.  The officer raised the gun and yelled at her to stay where she was.  She didn’t listen. 

The officer turned to look at his companion, as if to ask whether he should shoot the girl or not.  But as he turned his head back to the girl, a blur of yellow fire landed in front of him.  He was about to gasp in surprise, but instead gasped in pain as the girl’s partner Digimon tore the gun from his hand with a swipe, sending the gun splashing into a puddle next to the old woman’s body.  The two officers backed away from the Digimon, one holding his torn and bloody hand, screaming obscenities in pain, the other with a gun raised to the Digimon and a radio to his ear.  He yelled loudly into the radio, “Hostile resistance and one officer wounded, request back up immediately!” 

Rika looked up from her grandmother’s body to see the standoff between Renamon and the two officers.  “Fuck, kill the damned thing!” yelled the officer who had been injured.

“I’m not sure were supposed to, I think they want these things alive,” replied the other.

“I won’t let you hurt Rika,” growled Renamon.

The injured officer hissed and pulled a knife out from his belt, “It’s already attacked an officer, that’s reason enough to shoot it, Kipling!  Besides, as soon as you let your guard down, it’ll kill you instead!”

The officer nodded and aimed his gun at Renamon’s head; he slowly began to pull back on the trigger.  There was a shot.  The officer with the gun fell to the ground, a gaping wound in his head.  The injured officer looked back at the young girl, his jaw gaping.  Rika had a cold look in her eye, and the gun quivered in her hands, still red with her grandmother’s blood. 

The officer laughed and then looked to Rika’s mother, “She would never hurt anyone, would she?  Well in case you weren’t watching, she just murdered an officer of the law.”  He turned back to Rika, “Now put the gun down, and slowly raise your arms.”

“Why?” Rika hissed.  “I’m not going to go with you.”

“You’re a murderer.  If you don’t come peacefully, I’ll have to kill you.”

“You’re the murderer,” Rika spat.  “My mother’s a witness.  She saw you kill my grandmother, and your friend was going to kill Renamon.”  Rika slowly put the gun down on the wet grass.  “I won’t leave until the other officers arrive and see what you’ve done, then they’ll be witnesses too.” 

The officer took a few steps forward and grabbed the gun from the pool of water she had set it in.  He then aimed it at her, “You’ve made a wise decision, kid…  But look at this,” he held up his battered hand, “I’m still a little mad about this.”  He turned and pointed the gun at Renamon.  “You know, I could kill anyone of you and the courts would believe it was out of self defense.”  He pointed the gun to Rika’s mother.  “She’s the only witness, but the courts would believe that whatever she said was only an attempt to defend her daughter.”  He turned back to Rika and aimed the gun at her head, “But maybe I’ll just say my partner and I were attacked by all of you, and that I was the only survivor!” 

Rika looked at him, a deep, hateful fire burning in her eyes.  The officer smirked, and began to squeeze the trigger.  Then he let out a cry of searing pain as claws tore down his back.  He turned around, and cried in surprise to see nothing there.  Then he looked up to see the fox Digimon floating in the air above him, wrapped into a ball, strange ice-like crystals forming in the air around it. 

“What the hell,” he cried, raising his gun and aiming it at Renamon.  But before his greasy finger could find the trigger the fox burst its arms and legs out into the air, and the crystals began shooting from around Renamon.  The man cried as the thousands of ice crystals tore through his body, torrents of blood spraying from the holes they left in their paths.  When the barrage stopped, what was left of the man fell to the ground, nothing more than a heap of torn flesh and blood.      

Rika looked at Renamon, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, her body shaking.  They had spilt human blood for the first, but not the last, time.  They would grow numb to the feeling in later years, but the sour taste it left in their mouths would never vanish.  Rika hugged the body of her fallen grandmother again; hoping vainly that it might wake her.  The blare of police sirens rippled through the air.  Rika looked to her mother, who only stood idly.  Her mother’s eyes seemed to be full of sorrow and pain; they seemed to tell the Tamer that she should leave, quickly. 

Rika rose, her clothes stained with blood.  “Renamon,” she said, her voice full of tears.  Renamon burst forward and grabbed Rika in her arms, and then leapt over the fence surrounding the yard just as the sirens stopped in front of the house.  Rika looked back to her mother, the sad picture imprinted in her mind.  That was the last time she had ever seen her.

It didn’t stop raining for the next three days.  Rika and Renamon had lived in the alleys with all the street trash and druggies that wondered around aimlessly.  She saw many other Tamers surrender to their captors in a less than heroic fashion.  She tried to search for her other teammates, but all of them had fled long before the arrests had started.  They had known beforehand what was going to happen.  They hadn’t warned her.  They had abandoned her.  Renamon tried to interject for them, pleading with Rika to give them the benefit of the doubt, but Rika knew all too well that only members of the team received friendship, and when you leave the team, you leave the friendship.  But, then again, she had never really considered herself a member of the team, and abandonment could only be expected…

Rika sighed.  Old and bitter memories.  She had never thought that just a few years later the others would be in need of her help, and she hated herself for actually agreeing to help them.  She wondered, for a moment, if the accident had never happened, would all of this, this entire world, be different?  If the accident hadn’t happened, she never would have left them in the first place, and the rest of the events might have been prevented.  Would her grandmother still be alive?  Would hundreds of Tamers still be walking the streets as more than ghosts?  Was everything her fault? 

Her body stiffened as she felt a hand firmly grasp her shoulder.  Years of life on the streets had killed out the surprise reaction, crying out would only get you killed these days.  She turned and looked at the owner of the hand with a frown.

“It’s not your fault.  I’m sorry I said it was earlier, Rika,” Henry said calmly.  “Things would have gone this way no matter what.”

Author’s Note:  I’m sorry if that was a little over detailed, I have to admit that it even scared me a little.  Most scenes like that aren’t going to be as detailed…