Pain and sorrow (Renamon)

[mirei]

"Dear elder, how are you? ... I know it's a bit silly to talk to you, but I can't but want to do it when I see your statue in the middle of the town"

The Alraumon gazed outside the window of the room and saw in awe the inspiring and respect-inducing statue of Jureimon, her beloved mentor, father-like figure and former elder of the village. It was the main attraction of the village and reminded everybody about everything he did in life for the village. Then, she turned her sight back to the small shrine she build inside her small home and continued.

"A lot of things have changed since you left us. Remember how a Stingmon always flirted with Sunflowmon? At the end they decided to become a couple and departed out village to find happiness in greener pastures. The troublemaker Mushroomed changed his ways and now helps in the farms and we try our best to survive, but .."

She paused and looked at her arms, they still had fresh injuries from the last time she had to fight to protect what rightfully belonged to them. Those hands who should only be used to work in the field and to hold books, they were stained with the sweat and dirt of battle.

"But times have changed. Elder Jureimon, the days of peace ended when you died and now we constantly have to fight for our lives, for the product of our hard work, and to honor your memory. Bandits, thieves, raiders ... I don't know when, but once the word about your demise reached the ears of those with ill intention, bad digimon constantly attacked our village and to tell the truth ... we can barely resist their attacks. So far we repelled most of them with minimal losses, but that's only because they attacked disorganized, and at times we simply offered to pay tribute when the big raider gangs attacked. And our people .. they are losing the faith"

The plant digimon looked into her memories and saw the images of the old times, when the village was prosperous under the leadership of Jureimon and lots of plant digimon and anyone interested in joining them migrated to their home. Alas, now the village barely had one third of the inhabitants during Jureimon's era and even now their numbers were being further reduced with each raider attack.

"Hey! stop slacking and come here to replace the tired guard!"

A loud shout interrupted her "talk" with the deceased Jureimon. It was Igamon, one of the few digimon who actually worked until exhaustion to defend the legacy of the elder. The Alraumon might have ideas and ideals, but it was Igamon the one who actually executed and followed his ideals, forcing those slackers to work even if he gets a bad reputation. Needless to say, the village would be doomed without the strict but good hearted ninja digimon.

"Elder, I talked enough with you for today. The village might not be like the one you wanted to create, but it is our village and I will try to work as hard as you and Igamon did for the sake of our memories and the village"

Said that, she abandoned her small room, barely a bit more than a hut, and took her turn as guard of the village. Even a little digimon like her could at least warn the others if danger arrived and rally the few warriors they had to protect their village.

[observer]

Metaphorical dark clouds indeed were hanging over the unfortunate village, which ... has brought it upon themselves, really. If they weren't able to reorganize themselves and resume normal activity - it was their failure, and nobody else's. And they had nobody to blame for it, except themselves. As for raiders... are crows to blame for feeding on a rotten corpse?

Sadly, clouds above the village were only to get even more darker. Because such a defenseless prey would soon attract ... predators. Large predators. And ... it happened, when the local petty gang brigades were swiped like grains by a much ... stronger, organized, and sinister force...

Those that came didn't have any sort of cliche name to call themselves, like "Bloody Fangs", or "Dark Swords", or "Retards with guns" or whatever. Never felt the need. The members always called their clan "We" or "Us", while foreigners referred to them as "They" or "You" when talking directly... Lack of actual name had more terrifying effect than all the pompous titles...

"They" were milking this village for several months now. The clan, in general, left the villagers alone if they were able to pay a tax, "Tribute" it was called, and was of quite a sizable amount. It was a tax "for protection", even if the only thing villages needed protection from was from said clan. But ... being disorganized as they were, the village was ... irregular with their payments... And that was ... irritating "them"... This didn't bode well...

Which is why Yasyamon, an aged spokesman, was now in the bandit encampment on the outskirts of the village. He was one of those few who cared about the settlement, and people in it, even if others didn't. He had experience, being spokesman even at times when the place had firm leadership and prosperous future... His thoughts were heavy as he approached the tent of the insidious leader that leaded "them"...

The renamon's patience was growing weary of this situation as well. There were many things she was known for, patience not being one of them. And she exhibited quite a degree of that when dealing with this ... pathetic settlement. Sometimes she wondered if it was even worth her trouble - income from it was meager and irregular, and caused her trice the headache getting it. These ... puny villagers, what were they thinking? Getting bold? Or thinking they could deny her her rightful income? Perhaps they needed to be taught a lesson...

She was not alone in her tent, however, oh no. A sangloupmon - her right hand and her ride at the same time, was present at her side always. They ... had a relationship, of sorts, but that was not important at the time. or maybe it was, to them at least, as they were planning on spending some time together, when the untimely visit of the spokesman distracted them.

- Ah, it is you. I was expecting your arrival yesterday. - the renamon said, standing up from Sangloupmon, who she also used as a couch of sorts - the vampire wolf doubling as one excellently. The yasyamon didn't like the empathizing on the word "yesterday". But he had a reason - to buy a day to collect the necessary payment... That risk proved to be vane, however - the wealthier families were reluctant and unwilling to pay, the poor had nothing to pay with... And now he was standing before the renamon with empty hands.

He wondered how such a powerful gang could have elected a rookie as their leader, of all people, so that even powerful champions trembled when she spoke... There was a reason though. She was not elected, she was the one who created the clan. Her authority unquestionable. He didn't know that, however. But still...

- My sincere apologies, milady. We needed additional time to collect the payments due, and it is the reason why I didn't show up yesterday... - the Yasyamon said, inclining his head in a sign of apology... This already happened before, several times, and he really hoped he would be lucky again... Let's see...

- Indeed. Now, give me the payment you owe us. The one you spent entire day collecting. - the renamon's voice sounded eerily calm, as she approached him, the glare from her eyes ... insufferable. Yasyamon turned away a bit, he wasn't used to be glared like that ... his danger sense was tingling. He observed the fox's movements, well heard of her murderous demeanor... She looked at him again, and ... chuckled. A chuckle that sent shivers down his spine...

- Milady, I humbly ask you for a bit more time... New tributes are hard to come by since your last tax drained us like it did... - he managed to squeeze this out of himself, and mentally prepared to be shot the moment he uttered these words... And ... a smirk appeared on the mob leader's face... Not good, not good...

- Ah, this is amusing. Did I somehow give the impression I care? - her fake gleeful and condescending demeanor then suddenly dropped to a scowl. Uh-oh...

- Now give me the payment.

- But ... milady! We're poor villagers! How can we give you what we don't have?

And then a smile appeared on the renamon's face, a smile that made the yasyamon take a step back in a reflex. Never before he think he would get frightened by a rookie, and yet he was. Facial expression a mix between blood thirst and lust, she approached him, hands suddenly pressing against his torso, brushing against the muscles, as she pushed the Yasyamon back a bit, swooning over to him, and looking in his eyes...

- Do not ... toy with me...

- Ah!

The long vampire fangs of Sangloupmon thrust into the spokesman's neck from behind, his body twitching before the fox's arms enveloped around him, constricting from any movement. This all was ... too sudden, too unexpected - he never even had a chance to resist... The body twitched and writhed, his eyes opened wide in fright as he was drained of all live in a most carnivorous way possible... In less then a minute, the sangloupmon consumed the "blood data" from his unfortunate victim, until ... nothing remained, only an empty shell which fell apart to remaining bits of data, only to be consumed by the renamon this time... It was all planned out. The fox and the wolf smiled at each other malevolently, before she said:

- Prepare the troops, honey... We shall make an example of this village tonight...

[mirei]

"It's late, way too late"

The Alraumon had finished already her guarding hours and was a bit worried about Yasyamon. In his prime he was a wandering samurai, excelling at painless death slashed, but in his old age he moved to the peaceful village a few years before Jureimon died. His combination of experience and ability with the words made of him a good choice as a spokesman to deal with raiders, not many things made him tremble and if the worse happened, he still had some vigor left in his tired body.

Alas, he was taking too long to return from negotiating an extension for the payment date and the Alraumon feared the worst.

"What can we do now?"

She inquired, requesting the opinion of the more courageous and powerful Igamon. Those two and Yasyamon were some of the few digimon left who genuinely bothered with trying to protect the village. Aulraumon had the ideas and wisdom she inherited from Jureimon while Igamon had the skills and intimidating presence to make the anarchistic villagefolks obey and was good in a fight and Yasyamon had the experience of old age and was good with the worlds, serving as a negotiator to deal with infighting and deals with third parties.

"... He must be dead by now. Let's raise the defenses while we can"

"How can you talk like that? Yasyamon would never .."

"Would never die? We used to think the same about Jureimon and now he's gone. Don't be naive, you know very well that times have changed and we must always be ready for the worst situation"

The Alraumon was a bit shocked for the pragmatism and pessimism of Igamon. How could he believe so easily that Yasyamon died? He was late, but that didn't instantly mean that he was dead, as much maybe he got distracted by something and it wasn't worth to increase the security just because Igamon was overreacting. Against her wishes, Igamon increased the defenses and warned the whole village about the incoming disaster. Some considered him a wacky attention whore who was overreacting as usual while others panicked and left the village, but the point is that nothing went as he wanted and only got as much two or three battle-ready digimon to protect the entrance.

And so, the hours passed and by the time night arrived, Alraumon wished she listened to Igamon's warnings and prepared for battle. As usual, she was in her hut with the wishful thinking of this being just an error, that nothing terrible was going to happen, but history would prove that this night was the night when Igamon was right and she was wrong. It was the night when her peaceful approach to everything would change for a desire for power...

[observer]

The village got the message.

Panic was seen even from afar, as many abandoned their homes, picking up whatever they could carry with them and ditching the settlement... Only to be picked up by brigand patrols set alongside the perimeter and on the roads. The fools didn't realize... that there was no escape. And that they were surrounded. They didn't want to pay, and they wouldn't escape "their"wrath...

Renamon stood over the map of the village before her, thinking. She was the brains of the outfit here, without her this rag-tag bunch of evildoers would be nothing than an uncontrollable mob, which could be thwarted by a smaller, but more organized force. When they're both numerous and organized, they're indeed a force to be feared, until that ... nothing.

- Things are going just as you predicted, darling... - suave voice of Sangloupmon, who arrived with squad goblimon to where she was, was heard. Indeed, she foresaw some running away, and some preparing to defend their homes. The latter being very, very few. But still, they were not to be underestimated...

The village was surrounded by a wall, and had a gate. Aside from the gate-keep, the fortifications were pitiful - a fence to ward off animals. She didn't know there the opponent would put up the resistance, but it would be logical that they would be at that guard-house at the gate - made of stone, it was a mini-fortress... Yes, they would be there...

- Time for step two of my plan. The actual attack. Our men will go across the fence in multiple places, the wall is small enough to be climbed over. That way we will assure the garrison won't be able to stop us from scaling the walls, they're too few... And the place is too small... they will be unable tor resort to guerrila warfare... - she said many words than neither Sangloupmon or goblimons knew... She looked... concerned somehow...

- Methinks ye worry too much, boss. They're easy-picking, what can possibly a bunch of villagers do? - one of the goblimon's dared to ask...

And then there was silence. Renamon stood above the map, obviously considering the words said to her by this ... puny minion. And then a sick smile appeared on her face. The other goblimon gulped when he saw that: - Uh-oh...

- What can a bunch of villagers do? Hmm... - she said with fake thoughtfulness, turning around. The goblimon wasn't taking hints, and replied:

- Well yeah, what can they do?

- They can do ... THIS! - the renamon suddenly turned around...

Nobody had seen the blade flying through the air... Even goblimon didn't get what was going on, until ... noticing the knife stuck in his forehead, and blood dripping from it's blade... The other goblimon gulped again, and sangloupmon chuckled, then the foolish minion dropped to the ground, his data disassembling, and the fox absorbing it.

- And this will happen with anybody who would say something stupid to me. You have been warned. And you will follow my plans. Dismissed. - she hissed out, returning to the map. Today was a good day... She actually did the world a favor by ridding it of an idiot... And more idiots were to die this day...

[mirei]

" ... ..."

The Igamon silently meditated sitting on the ground. He knew that an attack was unavoidable and had to make sure his mind was clean and his will unshakable for when the battle began. And more importantly he was concentrating to prepare to die, because Yasyamon was sent to negotiate with "that" gang, and "it" was merciless and brutal, only one ready to die could ever hope to have any chance of battling against them.

And like him, the whole village was in silence. At first no one took seriously his warnings, but the death cries of those who tried to run away froze their blood data. They could do nothing but cower in fear, hiding in the safety of their huts.

As for the Alraumon, she simply didn't know what to do and prayed in front of the Jureimon statue, wishing that he were here to guide them.

"Elder Jureimon .. I'm scared. "that" gang that took from us so much, Igamon says they will attack, but I want to believe that he's wrong. Please elder, help us ..."

Everything was silence in the village, at least until something happened, something that broke off the almost eternal silence.

"Enemy!!!"

One of the guards, a mushroomon shouted. He couldn't see clearly what was attacking them under the veil of the night, but it was obvious something was marching towards them. A nearby floramon used her roots to sense the vibrations in the soil and confirmed that at least 10 or even more digimon were coming from the front. However, something felt wrong there, she could sense faint movement coming from other directions, but the feeling was weak and couldn't confirm anything.

"It has started. Those who calls themselves warriors, prepare to die. With our blood we will protect this village that we inherited from our mentor!"

Said that, everybody got into battle positions and Igamon himself closed his eyes for a seconds before opening again, ready to give his own life for the lives of the many people living in the village. Many of them didn't deserve at all to be protected, but Igamon swore Jureimon to protect everybody, even those who wouldn't move even a finger for other digimon.

[observer]

The enemies were indeed coming. And they outnumbered the defenders somewhere around 10 to 1. At such numbers, they could easily swarm the opposition and overwhelm them, however, that would be the way of the stupid, and would lead to ... unnecessary casualties. And a bad rep. Because a tale of heroic dozen bravely holding off a hundred evil bandits would boost the resistance than a tale of a village slaughtered without any mercy...

Which was exactly what Renamon was planning to do. The group of ten digimon approaching the gates was a trick maneuver, and she was with this group. Riding Sangloupmon, with a blade in her hand and a cloak dashing behind her back, she looked so much like some sort of an amazon... or something akin to that...

She looked at the gate-keep in front of her, feeling numerous glares on herself... Not many people were there, but it was heavily fortified... And yet... was she planning to attack it? As it turned out ... not in the slightest. Surprise? Well ... depends.

- You were right... They're at the keep... What do we do with them? - Sangloupmon asked somewhat carnivorously. Renee's smile topped him on that.

- Nothing. I have them exactly where I wanted them. Inside... they won't be able to protect the village. I had the others who climbed over the fence to surround it from the inside and prepare ambushes... Unless they want to watch the rest burn... They will come out, and play by my rules... - she chuckled...

And indeed, truthful to what she said, soon, on the other side of the village ... dreadful screams of pain and horror were heard, and a few houses were caught on fire. Villagers were being slaughtered! Will the only defenders come and try to save them? They could, but on their way ... they would be waited for...

[mirei]

"Stay calm, don't try to be heroes ... "

The Igamon was trying to keep things under control from his side. Those ten to who were coming after them were not visible thanks to the light from their lightposts, but there was something weird. Why would the leader, that foul renamon, and her right hand man Sangloupmon be between them? And to make things even more strange, those numbers were low and the leader of "that" gang would never commit a mistake like that, she wasn't one to underestimate the enemy.

"Help me, I don't wanna die!"

The death cries coming from behind proved that everything was just as Igamon suspected. Definitively there was no such thing as an honorable raider and the defenseless were the first to be killed by the vilest of treacherous attacks.

"H-h-haaaa!!!!"

"Goddammit, I told you not to try to be heroes!!"

Soon everything was chaos. Despite Igamon's attempts to try keep the order in the defensive perimeter, the guards defending the gate immediately jumped towards the ten digimon led by renamon to destroy her in retaliation for the death of their friends. However, it was more than obvious she had this planned since the beginning, and those mushroomons and a kiwimon would meet their end at the hands of the vicious murderer and her attack dog. Igamon couldn't help but watch how they ran towards their death, he simply couldn't afford to fall in renamon's trap like the others and his priority was to save as many villagers as possible

As for Alraumon, she was caught off guard by a goblimon when the chaos started. As usual, she was praying in front of the Jureimon statue in vain and such behavior made of her an easy prey for the infiltrators.

"Noo, not the statue!"

Almost in a flash it was over. She saw in front of her the agonizing figure of the goblimon who tried to kill her, his torso pierced by the shark claws in her hands. This was the worst part of being raised in this area, sometimes she had to get her own hands dirty with the data of her enemies.

The goblimon dissolved into data and she looked around, horrified for the brutal massacre. It happened in merely a single minute. Some of the huts were on fire and several goblimons were running around the village, torches at hand, igniting every house and hut in their way and for some reason leaving intact a few of them.

"Elder Jureimon, please tell me this is a nightmare .."

And so, she stayed immobile, frozen by the shock as everything she cared for was being devoured by the fires. Many digimon cried for help and a few who escaped from the burning huts were quickly killed by the goblimons. The few warriors in the village were desperately spreading themselves around the areas in fire to stop the pyromaniac digimons, but the odds of saving the villagers were very low. It was hell itself

[observer]

The renamon chuckled lowly as she heard the dreadful screams from inside the village, and gasps of horror from the guards at the walls. It was all working ... perfectly. Her ruthless plan obviously took its toll - few of the defenders could sit idly and watch their beloved village and their inhabitants put to the torch - no, they would launch themselves into suicidal attempts to save them... even if there is no hope...

This was exactly what happened. A few of these pathetic pests dared to jump from the wall and charge at her, despite being outnumbered and outgunned. Tch, pitiful. She won't even move a muscle against such kind on "trouble". That would be the job for her underlings. Her commanding voice sounded distorted in the night.

- Make ready!

And upon the command, her line of goblimons concentrated energy in their hands, each creating a fireball, while those few mushroomon and kivimon were approaching, running as fast as they could. To their own doom. A slasher smile appeared on the fox's face. Anybody liked friend mushrooms?

- Fire!

And then the poor saps met their doom, as dozens of fireballs smashed into their corpses, exploding and lighting up the area for a few brief moments. And in them, one could see that there were far more out there than just a dozen... At least two more dozens were lined up behind them, hidden in the cover of the night... And defenders lost half of their forces in that stupid... stupid charge...

The renamon rode a bit in front, towards the charred, disappearing corpses. She had no interest in them... Only for their data, which she absorbed with a smirk on her face... Delicious... those were. But there were other things to do besides that. Taking a breath, she called out to the remaining defenders:

- Hey! Hopeless garrison! Listen up! You are surrounded, your village decimated. This is the price you pay for defying us, and for thinking you can put up a fight. Surrender and come up with your hands up, and we will stop burning and will resolve only to pillaging. Continue to resist and we will burn this place to the ground, and will besiege you until you die. - her ultimatum was harsh, basically it was choosing between bad and worse... But ... did they really have a choice?

... Meanwhile the murder of one Goblimon didn't go unnoticed by his comrades. The plant digimon soon became surrounded by a few more of his kind, viciously-looking at her, and a commandramon, that looked to be a sergeant of some sort for these brutes.

- She killed our own! Kill her kill her! - one of the goblimons shrieked wildly and threw a flaming fireball at her, before the commandramon nailed him in the head with the butt-end of his rifle.

- Shut the fuck up I'm in charge here! Boss said to bring a few prisoners... I say this be the one. - he growled, and then... shot a volley from his rifle at the alraumon's legs, to bring her down and prevent any attempts of escaping...

[mirei]

"..."

She could've cried, she could've shouted for help, but the Alraumon choose silence as answer to the gunshot injuries in her legs. No matter how much she prayed, that wouldn't save anyone from this predicament so she simply endured the pain and looked with dignity at the Commandramon and the Goblimons who surrounded her.

"Pay death with death, that is the law you follow. Then remember well that this goblimon burned to death my friends and now he paid the price as your law dictates."

Normally it would be an awful choice to taunt the enemy, but it was clear than only the Commandramon brought any sort of order in the goblimons there present. She might be docile and not as skilled as others in combat, but from Jureimon and Igamon she learned how to defend herself, and against brutes, letting their emotions control them was the best to escape or defeat them.

As for the plant digimon herself, she was in an odd and strange state of calmness. Often it's recommended to be beware of the nice ones and the Alraumon wasn't an exception. Witnessing the death of her friends by all means should've traumatized her, but instead all she felt after the initial shock was quiet anger, and a desire for power. Yes ... power, the power to stop this barbaric onslaught, the power to crush the ruthless digimon who took so many lives. Alas, she had not that power and all she could do is to remain calm and wait for the proper time to show why she was Jureimon's successor.

Meanwhile, in the other side of the village, the reaction towards the ultimatum was divided. There were some who wished to fight to death, yet there was some who followed the code of warrior like Igamon and surrender themselves to the Renamon forces. Those who decided to give up were anything but cowards, they knew well that even if the word of a vile raider had the same value of dirt, it was better to die for the villagers. They were the disciples of Igamon, and he taught them about how the raiders would kill the combatants and leave alive only those helpless ones who were only good to work in the fields. However, as long there was life there was also hope, and new and better warriors would appear to take their place when they died. With those beliefs in mind, they surrendered and left their fate to be decided by the cruel Renamon.

Igamon simply looked from the distance at those brave souls resigned to their deaths and saluted them. He too was ready to die for the village, but he also wanted to play a risky gamble. No sooner the battle began, he had killed any enemy who noticed his presence with the swift blade of his and the moment Renamon arrived to the village gates, he concealed his presence, his smell, his breath, betting in the low chance of Renamon not realizing he was in the village when the raid began.

If things went well, he could either deal swift death to the raider leader, or survive to train the next generation of warriors. And if things went wrong ... at least his death would encourage the surviving villagers to not lose hope, because there was still Alraumon. He often shouted and treated her harshly, but that was to toughen her spirit because he believed that the day he joined Jureimon in the data matrix, a new leader had to be ready to guide the survivors.

[observer]

The renamon laughed, gazing at the destruction. Her plans were working perfectly, the village was in flames, those bright lights reflecting in her cold, blue eyes. She loved this feeling. Loved power. Loved wealth. Loved being in control. And at the moment she had everything she desired. It was a God syndrome - here, she was able to do anything, anything she wanted. But first ... finish off that pesky resistance, that dared defying her.

But that one was only a matter of time too. Her words... seemed to have effect on them. Some left the posts, also jumping down from the fence, approaching, but this time with their hands crossed behind their heads. Excellent. There was an urge to kill them off now, but the fox restrained herself... for now. She wanted them out of the gatekeep first, and deal with them later. She knew things won't go so smoothly if the remaining defenders knew they were going to certain death... At least from her point of view.

- What do we do with the prisoners, ma'am? - another commandramon asked, giving out a military salute first. She just loved those dino soldiers. Never complaining, always perfect discipline, doubt inexistent... Shame there were so few of them, the bulk made of those useless goblimons...

- Take them away, for now. I'll decide their fate later. Now ... are there any remaining soldiers within? - her gaze fell cold on the fortress afar.

- Yes, some. We don't know how many exactly... - the soldier shrugged. Unlike those pathetic goblimons, commandramons knew not to fal in apologies for what isn't their fault. They respected themselves, and the fox respected them for it - they were her personal guard. Officers, of sorts...

- Too bad. We'll have to lure em out... Bring me ... some civilians...

[mirei]

Maybe the fox hadn't realized it yet, but all the warriors who surrendered to her forces were more than ready to die for the safety of the villagefolks. Their eyes showed not a single hint of fear or weakness and wouldn't shout a single scream of agony even if she tortured them until their death. With nothing but determination to die with dignity, they let the raiders to take them to their final destination ...

Meanwhile, most of the civilians were already captured and grouped in a circle-like formation while Goblimons and one or two Commandramons kept an eye on them, guns pointing at their heads just to cause fear in them. Between the captured civilians there was Alraumon. She was still as calm as she never was before in her life and quietly awaited for whatever happened next. What's more, she looked all the time towards the Goblimon who wanted her dead, as if defying him and taunting the dumb soldier into disobeying orders. However, the commandramon at charge of that squad simply punched the Goblimon when he tried to react to the provocation. A small smile appeared in the Alraumon's face.

The minutes passed and eventually another Commandramon appeared. This one seemed to have received some direct orders from their vile leader and told everybody that she demanded some civilians to be taken to her.

"Take her, that Alraumon!"

The Goblimon of before was really pissed off and with a grin in his face, saw how the Commandramon accepted his request and picked the Alraumon and a few Floramon to be sent to their leader. The Alraumon simply looked at the Goblimon who doomed her to receive whatever treatment the Renamon had in mind for the hostages with emotionless eyes and marched towards her destination, limping a little due the gunshot wounds. Judging from the activity of the invading forces, she assumed they still were looking for the surviving guardians, and she was confident in Igamon being still safe. He was their only hope to stop the evil raiders ...

[observer]

Finally the prisoners have arrived, in a straight line in front of the troops that were right behind, their weapons ready. The renamon never stopped smiling that night, when everything went on so well... Such a good sport... but others had to pay in blood for her amusement... Why was she so twisted? So ... vain? One would never know... Five prisoners were placed so that the rest could see from the gate-keep, commandramons

- Remaining defenders! Listen up! I am known for many things but patience is not one of them. Either you come out with your hands up, or we start killing the captives. One per five minutes. And to show we aren't messing with you... - she chuckled and gave a nod towards the closest commandramon.

*BANG!*, and a chuumon's head was blown off by a powerful rifle shot, the headless body falling unto the ground and vanishing into data, which the fox soon absorbed. No, there would be no second chance for this one... He was gone ... forever, becoming a part of that... vile bandit... And more were to follow... The rest of the captives shuddered in fear of such fate. Some were smaller ones, children even. They were crying. She chose such on purpose, as a psychological attack... Relishing in other people's pain and anguish... yes, she liked that. A sadist. To the core...

And the alraumon was 3rd in that queue. In front of her was a tiny wanyamon, just a child form, and yet he was standing here, and his head would be blown off next. The child clung to the bigger plant digimon, crying hard, not wishing his existence to end so abruptly...

- P... please... do ... say something... I am ... scared so much! - but soon a strong hand pulled him away from the plant digimon, gruff voice of a heartless commandramon being heard as he placed the digimon in front of his rifle.

- Shut up, you're next.

[mirei]

And so, suddenly the whole defending forces froze in their places. Some got so distracted that got killed by the ruthless foes they were fighting against while others simply looked in horror at how a Chuumon was mercilessly executed just because the raider leader wanted to do it.

It was the end, the moments civilians began to be executed was the moment any more resistance would only cause the death of the very digimon they wanted to protect. One by one, the defenders ceased the hostilities against the invaders and let those filthy murderers to take them to the place where they took war prisoners. Unlike Igamon's well trained followers, this batch of prisoners had fear in their eyes and despair in their hearts. For them, this was the end.

This sudden change in the situation snapped the Alraumon out of her calmness and she felt only frustration as the Wanyamon had a rifle placed on his forehead. At pointblank range his death was certain, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Meanwhile, the Igamon watched in silence from his hideout how the raider leader was even crueler than he thought. One thing was to kill soldiers and grown up digimon, but to kill little kids that barely could care for themselves ... this was wickedness itself. And to make things worse, Alraumon was one of the hostages. He had high hopes on her, but it was either her or him. No matter how much he valued her, he simply couldn't let the renamon know he was there in the village. Alraumon was their future hope, but Igamon was the hope of the present. As long he lived, he could train another digimon to be his future successor.

However, something inside him told him to abandon that logical but ruthless plan. He remember how when Jureimon died he promised to make of Alraumon, the elder's favorite disciple, a great leader and to protect the village with his life. It was either to honor his promise and let the new generation take his role, or to throw away his honor and his word and survive. Igamon was a pragmatical digimon, but he was also a man of honor. It was true that there was no guarantee that Alraumon would live up to the expectations both Jureimon and him had for her .... but also it was true that she was the one with the good ideas Igamon later executed thanks to his authority.

His thoughts were interrupted by another gunshot. First Chuumon and now Wanyamon ... he had no more time to continue thinking, and it seemed like the raider either knew he was hiding or made a prisoner spill the beams and confess Igamon was in the village. Knowing just how merciless the renamon was, there was only one choice to reduce as much as possible the casualties of this cruel invasion.

"Stop right there! I am the leader of the guardians, my life is worth one hundred of theirs!"

He did it. Out of pure respect for the elder and his last will, he tossed aside his pride and pragmatism and committed the severe mistake of showing himself, disarmed and mask-less to show he wasn't hiding anything. He didn't even bother to see the Alraumon in the face, that would only make the Renamon discover just how important she was .. all he did was to look at the vile vixen with eyes that showed determination. And so, as he let himself be surrounded by her minions, he simply hoped that Alraumon lived to become a great leader, just as Jureimon wanted ...

[observer]

Another shot, another body... Another pack of data for Renamon to consume. She felt no mercy, no pity, no remorse, as she consumed the data. Even more data... More power for her... She liked power. She wanted more of it. She knew that it's a jungle here, and ... she didn't care. Nobody would show mercy for her... The commandramon then pulled the alraumon and put her on her knees, gun to the back of the head.

- Time to die... - the soldier said without much emotion, putting the finger on the trigger. The renamon yawned, she hated waiting or making people wait, and seriously considered executing one per minute to speed things up. Time was about up, she rose her hand to give a signal to shoot, when...

- Stop right there! I am the leader of the guardians, my life is worth one hundred of theirs!

A crooked smile appeared on her face again... Finally, the main enemy came out, the only one capable of giving resistance, or organizing one. Igamon. She remembered reports - without him this "resistance" was nothing. A pathetic mess to be squashed. About four commandramons moved forward, their rifles pointed at the brave ninja who chose to accept his fate. Soon goblimons pulled too, surrounding the leader in a tight leader. This mock battle was now ... won.

- Ah good... Then this little mess is over... - she said non-nonchalantly, as if it was a simple matter of things, and not something that was tragedy... Her gaze stopped at the alraumon for a second. She could have ordered her executed now... But was there point? Not really...

- Eh, release her. Gather the villagers in one place. We will execute the defenders in front of them. - she ordered, riding off on sangloupmon... While her minions got themselves busy with her order... This would be the final blow to their morale...

[mirei]

Bang! The executioner didn't bother at all with inserting a silencer in the barrel of his weapon to at least give a silent death to his victims. No, that would be too merciful for the hostages, their deaths had to be as noisy as possible to inspire panic and despair and make sure everybody understood Renamon wasn't playing around.

Such vile scheme was successful because the Alraumon lost every bit of calmness she had before, and the other digimon awaiting their executions had nothing but fear and despair in their hearts. This wasn't like facing death in combat, it was a death of the cruelest kind. The wicked and evil fox digimon wouldn't let them die peacefully, first she would order public death to crush their morale AND as icing of the cake, would absorb their data just to spite them.

And now, the plant digimon was the next in the execution line. If only this were a normal life or death situation, she could accept her face and face death with dignity. However, the Renamon was bound to absorb her data and with that, destroy her very self. Memories, emotions, experiences ... usually small fragments of them would linger within a reincarnated digimon after death while the rest returned to the digital world to revitalize it. Alas, the crime of data absorption destroys everything and leaves nothing but an empty. Her treasured memories of Jureimon ... she simply couldn't accept that they were going to disappear forever and become just mere food for a monster like the foul vixen, she had to do something, but what?

It was the end, and there was nothing she could do other than wait her execution. She felt the cold barrel of Commandramon's assault rifle on her head and it was only a matter of time before a "click" followed by a "bang" signaled the end of her life.

"Eh?"

The unexpected happened and Igamon suddenly came out of his hideout only to offer himself at exchange for the hostages. Alraumon didn't knew if feel relieved or feel terrified because it was up to the raider leader to decide what happened next. Vile criminals like renamon weren't known for keeping their promises, but she seemed to be so confident about her crushing victory that against all odds, decided to spare the hostages and instead kill the guardians in a public execution.

It didn't took more than five minutes for the goblimon and commandramon to prepare the scenario for the massive execution of the guardians and to gather the "audience". Less wicked raiders would've killed the opposition on the spot, but Renamon was beyond mere raiders. She had carefully planned everything to maximize the impact of the "show" and very soon her efforts were going to bear fruits. The method of choice was the firing squad and all the guardians, Igamon included were unceremoniously tied to to large stakes driven into the ground. It was as if Renamon wanted to show everybody that even the great Igamon was just the same as any other defender compared with her greatness.

And so, both commandramon and Goblimon fired on the defenders fireballs and gunfire. Most of the death sentenced digimon cried in agony as their data poured from their wounds while Igamon and his loyal soldiers looked towards the innocent civilians with powerful eyes that showed their determination, indirectly telling them to be stronger and to believe that there's nothing wrong in giving one's life to let others live.

" .. hgg ... all empire soon or later dies ... rest assured my fellow ... !!!"

Igamon tried to say a few words of encouragement to the villagefolks, but the bullets and fireballs pierced his skin and burned his data. And despite that, he insisted in talking even after everybody else dissipated into data.

"my fellow people ... her reign of terror will follow me soon to the grave ..."

Igamon ... he no longer looked like an Igamon. His whole body was filled with holes and it was completely covered with severe, high degree burns. Yet, the warrior refused to die as testament of his perseverance. It wouldn't be until two more firing rounds later that his digicore finally lost it's shine and his badly damaged data fragmented and left his body. It was so badly damaged that if Renamon wanted to absorb it, it wouldn't do anything but cause bugs and errors in her data matrix.

And so, the great warrior finally expired and the whole village cried for him and those who lost their lives in this pointless battle. If renamon said anything during the execution, her words were completely ignored by the villagefolks, who honored their fallen by not missing a single moment of their deaths.

While it was true that Igamon's final moment inspired a few digimon to continue working for the future of the village, Alraumon included, most of them were effectively demoralized and none of them had any intention of fighting back anymore. In certain way, Renamon's plan was a success and until the eventual abandonment of the village, there would be no more rebellions against her reign ...