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Chapter 2 The Wounds You Can't See

Tom was having the same recurring nightmare he had since Devin's death. It was cold. Snow blanketed the forest floor. The sounds of patrols approaching their position.

Tom was kneeling next to one of the only people that ever cared about him, trying to stop the blood that poured out from a wound in her abdomen.

"T-Tom," she said shakily, her breathing raspy. "Shh, Devin, you need to rest." he asserted.

"N-n-no, T-Tom, I'm-m ...n-not g-going...to m-make...it."

"No! Don't talk like that! You're going to be ok. I'm getting you out of this."

With all strength she could muster, she pulled him down into the cold snow next to her as ships spotlights passed overhead. Her hand was still on his shoulder as she began to try to speak again.

"L-Listen to me," she gasped. "I-I need t-to say t-this T-Tom. You never deserved t-this. You're the kind o-of person t-that will d-do great things. Y-you need to g-go on-n you n-need t-to b-break free. I'm-m s-sorry, you n-never deserved t-th-this Tom. I-I...."

With that her last breath left her lungs, and Tom saw the life that once filled her big green eyes leave, and just like a breath of exhaled air she was gone. Gone forever.

"Devin?! No, no, no! Don't you dare!" he cried as a sob racked his body from head to toe. "Don't leave Devin...please.....D-Devin? Devin?! No...no, no, no...no!" His eyes went wide with sheer horror as he said this. "God, no, please come back Devin!" Tears poured from his eyes, streaking his cheeks. "P-Please don't leave me...you were all I had left."

The snow and Toms tactical gloves were stained a bright red with her blood. He sat hugging her lifeless body, cradling her head in his arms and continued to sob, unable to stop.

"Why God? Why her.... she didn't deserve this.... b-bring her back! Please bring her back! Take me; leave her and ....t-take me please." Tears streaked down his face. He could feel the cold sting as his tears froze in the freezing weather.

Now Devin, the snow, and trees began to fade into a black void, where he sat and continued to cry. He felt alone. Helpless. Forgotten. He closed his eyes tight...

Then something happened. He felt like he was being carried by someone, someone soft and loving.

At that moment, he felt like everything was going to be ok. He felt safe, at ease, like all his problems just melted away. It was amazing.

With this new comforting feeling, he slipped into a deep sleep, calm and relaxed. This how he stayed for hours until it was all shattered by a loud familiar bang.

____________________________________________________________

The young Renamon had woken up at her normal time. The sun was just cresting the horizon, casting rays of light through the treetops.

She leaped down and gracefully laded on the floor of her tree top den. She sighed when she saw her new guest was still out cold. She checked on his wounds. His shoulder, to her surprise, had healed almost completely.

His leg, however, was another story. The blood had stained the white cloth a deep crimson, and the wound showed no signs of healing.

She replaced the old strips of cloth with fresh ones. After she was satisfied with the bandage job, she went over to the side of her den that held the baskets of various fruit, nuts, and berries. She had become accustomed to eating naturally grown food since she arrived in the forest.

When she got over there however, her mind was turned from food as she saw the strange staff her guest used to hit the Kodokugumon. She observed it curiously.

[What a strange staff...how could something so flimsy looking help in a fight?] she wondered. She picked it up and held it like she saw the boy did in the clearing.

She ran her paw down its length it was mostly metal with an odd telescope on the top. She found the bolt and cocked it putting a round in the chamber [This is such a strange staff...]she thought. She gripped the rifle tight, not knowing she was also squeezing the trigger, and a loud bang emitted from the rifle. It bucked against her shoulder, and a burning smell lingered in the room, startling the unprepared vixen, who quickly put it down and examined the large caliber hole in her den's wall.

[Wow...that is a LOT of power. I guess there is more to that staff then meets the eye!].

The sound of the rifle ripped Tom from his slumber. He knew that sound all too well. He reared up and fell from the hammock, getting tangled up in the blanket. Rena suppressed a chuckle as she watched the boy trying to untangle himself.

"Calm down, you're safe now." she assured, still trying to suppress a giggle.

"What the hell happened!?" Tom exclaimed, still trying to get his bearings.

"You were attacked by a Kodokugumon. I saved you and brought you back to my home to attend your wounds. You were in pretty bad shape."

" Y-y-yes, thank you. I thought I was done for," was all he could say as he remembered the events of the day before.

He now got a good look at the person that saved his six. Judging from the defined curves and voice, he could tell she was female. He had never seen species like her before. She was about 182 cm tall (6 feet), she looked of vulpine origin, with thick yellow fur that covered most her body. Her lower legs, paws, and belly were covered with white fur. Her chest and most of her bust was covered with a thick, snow-white mane, except for the lower part, which gave her a clear female appearance. Her head was triangle shaped, with a set of pointy white tipped fox ears, and a set of emerald green eyes that seemed to float in a sea of blackness, under which were w-shaped marks. She had no clothing whatsoever, except for two long blue gantlets that came up a little past her elbows. They exhibited yin-yang symbols by her 3-fingered paws, as well as another symbol he couldn't recognize.

Overall, she was quite beautiful for someone who wasn't human. She came over and helped him to one of the log stools.

Tom felt a shot of pain shoot up from his leg when he stood on it. The Renamon saw him cringe. "It hurts that bad?" she asked worriedly

Tom, being a bit irate from the pain, answered a bit sarcastically, "No, it's not like someone shot me or anything!"

Rena gazed at the ground sadly. Tom realized he was being a jerk and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry, I've just been through a lot in the past few days," he explained. "Thank you for helping me. My name's Tom."

Rena looked back up to him with her emerald eyes, a grin on her face. "Nice to meet you! And it's no problem. I couldn't just let you get eaten by that Kodokugumon. You were wounded pretty badly."

Tom looked down at his leg. If she hadn't stepped in, he would definitely be spider chow. She did a good job dressing the wound, but it still needed some work.

"You did a good job with my leg, but I still have to do one more thing so it can heal properly. Can you hand me the pouch in the front most pocket of my pack?"

She quickly retrieved the white and red pouch and handed it to him. She sat across from him, watching intently as he took out a long pair of little metal tongs and a red can with the words 'BIO AGENT' on it.

"Can I help with anything else?" she asked, looking at the objects quizzically.

He looked up. "Yeah, I need you to keep pressure on the wound while I remove the bullet." She nodded and pressed down with both paws while Tom took the tongs and inserted them into the wound. Blood began to pour out.

"Ah, god damn!" He heard a clink and pulled the tongs out, a blood stained lump of lead held in its grasp. "Got it! Quick, take that red can, insert the end into the wound, and press the lever down." He put the tongs down and took her place in keeping pressure on the wound.

She did as she was instructed. When she did, white foam like substance filled the wound, sealing it up and stopping the bleeding. It also numbed the area somewhat, relieving Tom of much pain.

"Wow! What is that stuff?" she asked while looking at the can with amazement.

After letting out a sigh of relief, he answered her. "It's called Bio Foam, it seals, disinfects, and numbs the wound," he said as he picked up the bullet he removed.

"That's amazing I never seen anything like it " she said while putting the can down.

Tom wasn't paying attention anymore he was looking at the bullet he removed and was lost in thought. [9 mm, FMJ, probably from his pistol. I'm lucky he doesn't use .45 or a hollow point. That would've shredded my femoral artery,] he imagined, tossing the bullet aside, shuttering at the thought. He began to wrap his leg up to protect the wound, so the bio foam could do its job.

He limped over to his pack and proceeded to pull out a pair of black ACU pants. Slipping them over the ripped pair of thermal pants, he then began to try to assess his situation as he sat back down on the log stool.

The blue clad Renamon was so full of questions about her new guest. "So, Tommon, what level are you? Training or rookie?"

Tom turned his attention away from his pack and back to his yellow host. "I don't know what you mean by training or rookie, but if you mean level as in rank, I'm a corporal," he replied, confused.

"I have never seen a Digimon like you before, nor I have I heard of the Tommon before..." she pondered.

Her statement confused Tom. [Digimon? The Tommon? What is she talking about?] "No, Tom is my name, not my species. It's just Tom. And I'm not a Digimon."

The yellow vixen cocked her head in a quizzical manner. [Not his species? Not a Digimon?]

Tom saw her confusion and tried to clarify. "Take you, for example. What is your people called as a whole, your species name?"

" I'm a Renamon," she replied, still trying to see where he was going with this.

" Ok, and what do people call you as an individual?"

" Renamon," she stated simply.

Tom was getting a bit frustrated, but kept a calm, even tone, and tried to explain it better. "No, that's your species name. I'm a human. That's my species name, but my individual name is Tom." She nodded, seeming to understand.

" I see. Digimon don't usually have individual names," she explained Some other Digimon races give individual names, but with my people, only Digimon with status have unique names, or those who had it given to them. Normally, we are differentiated by a physical or personality trait."

" Wow, that's really different from where I'm from," he acknowledged. [I thought it was confusing with Spartans with similar fist names,] he assumed. "Would you mind if I gave you a name, for the sake of avoiding confusion?"

"Not at all! In fact, where I'm from, new friends usually would give one another a name to call each other by if they already didn't have one. What would you have in mind to call me?" She smiled sweetly.

Tom thought and it struck him. Rena. It wasn't that big of a change, but it was a shortening of "renard", which is French for fox. It seemed to fit.

"Well, how about I call you Rena. It's basically just a shortening of your species name, but I like the way it sounds. Also, where I'm from, it actually comes from a word that means fox."

"I love it!" she smiled "So Rena it is."

Her eyes suddenly grew wide. "So Tom, you're a human."

He looked at her strangely. "Yep last time I checked," he confirmed.

"Wow! I've heard stories of your kind and your world!"

Tom gave her a surprised look. "That's strange. I haven't heard of Digimon or Renamon before."

She shared the same expression. "Really? That's weird...I would think you would've at least of heard of Digimon before," she wondered

"Not at all. Tell me about your race. I'm fascinated from what I've heard so far! It's pretty interesting."

For the next few hours, Rena explained all about Digimon, and what she knew of the Digital World. Tom was surprised to hear he was in another plane of existence. She also told him of the stories she heard about humans, and how some Digimon would go to the real world to get stronger. She told him about the events of the dreaded D- Reaper attacks that occurred a few years back. To her surprise, he had no idea about that whatsoever. She would think the whole human race would have known if it was on the verge of destruction.

"Attacked? That's impossible! I've never seen or heard of a D-Reaper before. The last time any kind of conflict occurred on Earth was the Covenant attack on New Mambas 80 years ago!"

"I don't know, but that's just what I've been told. I don't know much else about humans, other than that I have never even seen a human before. Until I met you," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"May I ask how you got here if you've never heard of Digimon or the digital world before?"

Tom leaned against the wood wall and let out a deep sigh, trying to process all that he had just been told, and what has occurred over the past twenty-four hours. Or, what he thought was twenty-four hours. "Honestly, I don't know exactly, but I guess I should start from the beginning."

Tom explained that he had run away from a military program called the Spartan project, and how he had found the cave and the strange device and pendant. How he was wounded by Zach, then the next thing he knew, he was in the middle of the woods, and was being attacked by a giant spider.

Rena hung on every word, and when he was done, she was just full of questions. She wanted to know more about this project that he ran from, but she was more interested in the items he found. "Do you still have them?"

"The items? Yes, I do right here." He produced the strange pendant and device.

Rena took the pendant and turned it over in her paw. It was made of an odd black metal. On the front was a symbol that looked like a sickle, and on the back was an odd yin yang looking symbol, except the tails of the yin and yang didn't touch. Instead, it formed a kind of vortex shape, one side being black, and the other white. Strange symbols ran the backs circumference.

" I don't know about the symbols on the back, but the one on the front I do know. My mother had a pendant with the same crest. It is an ancient symbol that means 'after life or shadows'. It was also said to be the crest of a great ancient warrior. It was her families crest."

Rena put it down on the large round log that was serving as her table " May I see the device?" she asked politely.

"Sure, knock yourself out. The stupid thing won't turn on any how," he said frustratingly.

Tom was about to hand it to her, but as soon as Rena's paw touched it, the device emitted a bright light, and they both felt a shock radiate through their bodies. They both dropped it, and it landed on the table. The holographic screen sprang to life, and odd symbols scrolled across. It emitted a light that seemed to scan both him and Rena. The symbols changed to English and a female mechanical voice sounded from it.

" Genetic memory, genome and data scan complete," it stated.

"DNA and data match legacy requirements. Genetic Gaies detected and authenticated."

"Confirmed tamer- Thomas Walls and partner- Rena."

"Genetic bond match. Partner and tamer confirmed."

The device had now produced 3D side by side of Tom's DNA and Rena's data code, which then dispersed and the device fell silent. Tom felt strange, like ice cold water was injected into his brain. It didn't hurt, but he felt weird. From the look on Rena's face, it seemed she had been feeling the same way.

Her eyes went wide when she realized what must have just happened, and how special this boy was. The words tamer, partner. She had heard about them. How some Digimon were paired with humans called tamers, but one thought could only cross her mind, and for some reason it brought her joy. [I have a partner!]

Tom stood there, stunned. "What the hell just happened?! What did it mean, genetic match, and how did it know my name?!" he exclaimed

Rena seemed to have answers. "I'm not completely sure what it meant by genetic match, or how it knew our names, but I think that thing is a Digivice, and you and I are now bonded as partners!" she replied happily.

"Digivice? Partners? What the hell does that all mean?" he asked.

" Well, I only know that some Digimon become bonded as partners with a human, and it's supposed to make them stronger as a team through the use of a Digivice. I don't know much else, but I might know someone who could shed some light on our situation. There's an old family friend. He is a Digi-historian, and knows practically everything about the Digital World, and is knowledgeable in the human world as well."

"Great! When can we see him?" he enquired. Tom tried to get up, to only be forced to sit by the paint that shot through his leg.

"He lives in a place called the Forgotten Valley. It's a two-day hike from here, but by the looks of it, you're in no condition to be traveling. We'll embark when your leg is better. Until then, I would be more than happy to share my home with you. We are partners, after all," she said with a smile.

Tom sat back against the wooden wall, trying to process all that has happened [A day ago, I was running away from the Spartan program. I was going to trek to Orion's space dock, where I would stow away on a freight ship and disappear. Now I've been transported to some wacky place called the Digital World. I've been shot, then attacked by a giant spider, and met a fox girl who is now telling me we're some kind of partners after some device went haywire. This is crazy...I must be going nuts.] The more he thought about it, however, the more he though about how Rena saved his ass, and how rare it was for someone to treat him so nicely. Plus, there was just something about her he liked. He was beginning to like the idea of staying with the fox girl more and more. A thought crossed his mind. [Is this what it's like to have a true friend?]

"Well, it seems I don't really have a choice, do I?" he chuckled a bit.

A sweet smile crossed her muzzle when he said this. With that smile, it made Tom feel something he hadn't felt in years. He felt true connection with someone other than Devin or Bart.

Rena was going through the same thing. Trying to process all that has happened. How this strange person just showed up out of nowhere, and how she had taken care of him. But all this aside, for some reason, she felt great joy at the fact that he was her partner. This was odd. She had never met this boy before, but for some reason, the thought of her being partners with him gave her joy. It all just felt right...

ME: Well, that was an interesting chapter, wasn't it?

TOM: Ok, first thing's first. Rena, we're going to go over some basics on gun safety and operation.

RENA: He-he... ^^' Sorry about that...I didn't know what it was for!

TOM: It's fine. Just don't wake me up like that again...ever...

ME: Ok, you two can finish this later. We gotta end this fic. Well, please leave a comment or review! All are welcome, they all help!