The Ice Storm

by Mewgia Mirrorcoat

Games of Spit! Radioactive chicken! Video games! Charades! Izzy is OOC! What could possibly be the cause of all this madness? An ice storm trapping everyone in different places, of course! (Chapter 2 up)

1. Chapter 1: And So It Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon. I do own the story idea though.

A/N: This story containes hints of Kenyako and Takari, and it's also somewhat Sorato. I'm really a Taiora fan, but as of the "Digi Christmas" episode and the end of the series...grumble grumble... Anyway, there will later be a discussion based off of that...

I decided to stick in a few random things though - Matt has perfect pitch (in which one can correctly identify the pitch of any given note...very cool, and sometimes very annoying if you have it, as will be shown later...), everyone's sending obnoxiously long emails with their D-terminals, and everyone has a D-terminal. When people send email, it shows up with their full Japanese name. And the scene with TK and the stove incident will eventually show up in the DigiAnecdote collection (you'll see what I mean if you read this). Enjoy! And don't become a popscicle in the process!

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Chapter 1 – So It Begins

In which Odaiba has its worst (and probably only) ice storm and blizzard, causing many problems for the Digidestined.

Kari sighed as she watched her breath mist on the cold window. It was a nice, cold January day, and a Sunday too, for that matter, even if the city was going through a time of exceptionally cold weather. She dazedly drew a small picture of her crest on the window, then wiped it away. For a moment, she waited as the window began to fog up again, and idly, drew a picture of the crest of Hope. She smiled, watching the clock, where it read 1:23 PM, idly picking up a CD in her left hand twirling it.

There was a knock on her bedroom door. Kari immediately hopped up from her seat by the window, wiping away the small picture she'd drawn on it. "Come in."

Tai popped his head into the room, dressed for the cold weather outside. "Hey Kari, before she left Mom told me to go down to the grocery store, is there anything you want for when TK gets here?"

Kari thought for a moment. "How about some popcorn and a deck of cards for Gatomon?" She motioned towards the napping digimon on her bed.

Tai grinned, taking a little pad out his pocket and jotting it down. "At your service," he said in his best waiter voice.

Kari rolled her eyes. "I hope my favorite server is being nice and responsible."

"But of course mademoiselle!" Tai cried out in mock astonishment. A moment later, he laughed, and stuck the pad back in his pocket. "Kay, I'll be back in half an hour, probably with Matt or something, since he's always bored on Sunday afternoons..."

"All right. Be careful, it's really cold out. See you later Tai."

"Later."

With that, Tai closed the door again.

Kari sighed, staring out the window, every now and then glancing at Gatomon. Her partner had fallen into a state of perpetual tiredness after the final battle with Malomyotismon, and had only made her state worse by staying up late every night since then. Kari worried somewhat for Gatomon, mostly because the other digimon had all recovered easily after the battle. So she had had Gatomon sleep the entire day today.

Kari finally moved away from the window, and sat on her bed next to her sleeping partner. As long as Gatomon was okay, Kari would stay happy.

The doorbell rang. Grinning, Kari jumped up off the bed, much more full of energy than her lethargic partner. She opened her door, ran out into the hall, and opened the door, feeling a whoosh of cold air rush into the apartment.

TK stood there shivering in a thick blue jacket, with his breath visible and his face practically frozen into a grin. Like always, he wore his trademark hat, which had some smudges of dirt on it, and seemed to look a little soggy. His blond hair had bits of frost in it. "H-Hi K-K-Ka-r-ri..." He spoke, his teeth chattering.

Kari's eyes widened in concern and she grabbed the freezing boy and quickly ushered him into the apartment, closing the door before too much cold air could stream in. She led him to the couch, forced him to sit down, grabbed a spare blanket and threw it over him.

TK blinked. "Th-thanks Kar," he gladly took the blanket, but didn't wrap it around himself.

Kari noticed this as she grabbed a packet of hot cocoa from a box. "TK, wrap that around. Did you walk all the way here?"

"Yeah..."

Kari sighed as she made the hot cocoa. "Was something wrong with the bus or something then? You look like you got hypothermia or something."

TK shrugged, still too cold to really answer. He still didn't put the blanket on.

"TK, put the blanket on."

TK sighed, still shivering somewhat, though he was starting to adapt to the warmth of the apartment. "Okay, just wait...it's Patamon, I had to keep him from freezing somehow." He carefully took Patamon out from underneath his jacket. "Man Kari, you're sounding like my mom."

"Maybe I'll be forced to turn into your mom if you don't put that blanket on..."

Patamon was shivering too, but not as much as his human partner. The digimon turned and gave Kari a strange look as TK finally wrapped himself and Patamon in the blanket. "But that's not right Kari, because then you would have been married to Mr. Ishida and you'd be a newspaper reporter...and everything would be really messed up."

Kari and TK both blinked, and began laughing. "That would be messed up," TK commented, who had warmed up enough that his teeth had stopped chattering, though he still shivered.

Grinning, Kari brought the hot cocoa over to TK, who took it gladly. They sat in silence, TK sipping the cocoa, and Patamon still shivering slightly every now and then.

Finally, Patamon hopped out from under the blanket, flapping his wings and flying up above the two humans. TK and Kari looked up at the digimon, who seemed to be acting normally again. Patamon grinned, and sat on TK's hat, before wincing slightly and flying up into the air again. "TK, you should get a hair dryer. I think it'll help," Patamon said, giving some advice.

Kari quietly reached over and patted TK on the head, where he scrunched himself up and gave her an innocent look, turning slightly red. His hair felt very damp and cold, and the moisture had soaked through into his hat. The frost she'd seen earlier had melted, but it still left him looking damp and miserable. She looked at him, taking her hand away. "What happened?"

TK blushed slightly more than earlier, probably from the mom look Kari was giving him. "Umm...I showered, didn't dry my hair, and walked here."

Kari sighed, though her eyebrows raised in concern. "And your hair froze."

TK grinned slightly.

Kari shook her head. "You're going to become Tai or someone like him someday."

TK raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not my mom?"

"As likely it is that you're Mr. Fujiyama."

TK laughed, and Kari began to laugh with him as they sat together on the couch. Patamon glanced at them smiling, and stated simply, "I'm going to go see Gatomon, but you two stay warm, okay?"

Kari blushed while TK nodded, wrapping the blanket around himself tighter. Patamon flipped in the air, then flew away from the two down the hall.

The two sighed, as they sat in silence for a minute while TK finished his hot cocoa. It was still warm inside, though from a glance outside one could almost see the temperature outside. The window was starting to have the presence of ice on it outside, giving it a strange mirror type of look, or a stained glass kind of feeling.

Kari shrugged, and suddenly stood, smiling. TK looked up at her inquisitively.

"So, what do you want to do?" She grinned. "I finally got that movie you wanted to see..."

TK's eyes widened, and he grinned in return. "Kikujiro? Great, I've heard it's a good movie, and never seen it..."

Kari laughed. "Well, I've never seen it either, so now we'll be able to see if it's as good a movie as all the older kids say..."

"Hey, don't forget us!" a voice came from around the corner. Kari and TK turned to the hallway, where Gatomon and Patamon both walked over.

TK smiled at the two. "Feeling better now Gatomon?"

"Yup, sleeping does a lot for someone."

Kari sighed at the comment. "Which is why you should sleep at night and not be so nocturnal."

"Yeah, you don't want to turn into a poor zombie like Joe has the past month," TK added to Kari's statement.

Gatomon shrugged, and hopped up onto the couch, holding up a movie. "I can't help it...most cats are nocturnal anyway. Here's your movie."

"I'll make popcorn and lots of!" Patamon shouted excitedly, and hopped up into the air.

"We only have one pack left though," Kari answered to Patamon.

"That's okay! Start the movie!"

Kari and TK looked at each other, smiling.

---------------

Matt watched as his breath became more and more visible in front of him, and everything around slowly turned to ice. Wincing, he wrapped his black jacket around himself more closely, his teeth chattering. Inwardly, he hoped his guitar wouldn't be ruined, and resisted a temptation to take it off his back and carry it closely so it wouldn't freeze. But he kept walking down the street, hoping he could get to Tai's apartment before he froze to death or something along those lines.

The weather and everything reminded him of the incident where he'd nearly died in a blizzard back in the Digiworld. Somehow, he was beginning to get a bad sense of déjà vu, and he only hoped he'd be lucky this time. Gabumon wasn't with him, he was in the Digiworld, nice and warm, the lucky mon. And it was only Gabumon who'd saved him last time too.

With a deep sigh, Matt finally decided to give up trying to get to Tai's apartment for the moment until he got warmer. Passing a grocery store, he made a quick decision to stay somewhere until he gained his usual level of comfortable warmth, then run all the way to Tai's.

He turned his head to the grocery store, not seeing any other warmer places anywhere close to his location. Groaning, Matt quickly turned around and stepped into the store.

He didn't regret it. The first thing he saw on his right was a hot coffee stand. "Yes! Warmth!" he grinned under his breath. Rushing over, he quickly grabbed a cup and filled it with coffee, then handed some yen to the vendor, who seemed to be getting a good amount of business that day.

Matt then walked over to the bread isle where he knew there wouldn't be any extra coldness (like the frozen food section, which was the last place he wanted to be right now). He spent the next minute standing there, sipping his coffee and savoring the warmth it gave him, even though it wasn't particularly good coffee.

Matt sighed, standing there with his coffee, until he caught a glimpse of someone with large, bushy brown hair walking past the isle. Blinking, he ran over and poked his head around, smiling when he saw who it was.

"Hey Tai! Fancy seeing you here!" he called out.

Tai turned around, facing away from the shopping cart he was pushing, which had his jacket hung over it. He grinned when he noticed Matt. "Hey Matt! Come to join me buying groceries?"

Matt held up his cup of coffee. "More like escaping the cold and trying to stay warm while attempting to join you in whatever you're doing."

"Well, what I'm doing right now is buying groceries, including some stuff for younger siblings," Tai winked, holding up a couple boxes of popcorn from the cart.

Matt nodded in understanding, and walked over to his friend. "Wonder how they're doing right now..."

"TK should have reached the apartment by now, so I'm guessing they're talking."

"And talk they shall, I suppose," Matt sighed. "Anyway, since I'm here, I might as well help you get groceries."

"All right then," Tai shoved a pad of paper into Matt's hand. "You can go get the bread then, since you were just there. What were you doing anyway?"

"Staying warm, and I intend to keep staying warm. So don't send me to the frozen food section, please."

"Sure."

Matt sighed, glancing at the paper. He noted the specific bread brand, and glanced at Tai, raising an eyebrow. "Is the specific brand important?"

Tai winced. "Yes. Once I got the wrong brand, and Mom was really mad...I've never tried getting the wrong brand since..."

"Okay then...never heard of the great courageous Tai Kamiya who was afraid of his mother's wrath..."

Matt deftly dodged a mock punch at his head, and smiling, walked back into the bread section, still holding his coffee.

For a while, the two of them traded jokes and groceries while they wandered the store, trying to find all the items listed on the list. Though it took some time, they enjoyed it, hanging out and poking fun at some of the live produce kept in the store.

"I remember a time when we would have stopped in our tracks, shrieked and yelled 'FOOD!' had we seen that," Tai pointed at the tank of fish over by the side.

Matt snorted. "Yup, don't you miss those times?"

"Running for our lives from giant beetles and other such monsters? Beating up Bakemon? Saving the world? ...Sometimes yeah, if I'm bogged down with homework..."

"Heh, same here..."

Tai finally grabbed a notebook and a deck of cards, slamming them down into the now full cart. "Well, that's everything. What time is it?"

Matt checked his watch, having discarded the empty container of coffee long before. "About two."

Tai grinned. "Well then, let's go pay for everything and get back home!"

"Into the freezing storm outside."

"Then we'll just get coffee too before we leave."

The two trudged down the aisle, making their way to the front of the store, ready to stand in line, pay an obscene amount for all the groceries, and then make their way through the freezing weather back to the apartment with the bags of groceries. However, as they got close to the end of the aisle, a strange beeping tone came up from the speaker, indicating some sort of important message.

"It's an A major tonic chord, only slightly flat," Matt automatically said, listening to the tone. Tai rolled his eyes.

What they didn't expect though, was the message from the speaker.

"Shoppers, due to the snowstorm outside, the weather has been deemed too dangerous for anyone to travel through, and so as an order from the Head of the District of Odaiba, an emergency lock-in has been put in place. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Matt and Tai looked at each other in shock.

The message continued on. "Until the storm has cleared up and the weather has become safe again, please stay calm and remain within the store. We will continue to give you updates every hour. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience, and we hope you manage to enjoy whatever time you may have to spend here."

There was dead silence after the announcement.

Tai was the first one to recover from the shock. He gave Matt a somewhat worried look, who glanced back at him. Matt just blinked a lot, until Tai hit him on the head.

"Matt, we're trapped in the grocery store," Tai said shakingly.

"Until the storm has cleared up..." Matt answered slowly. The two looked at each other, and pushing their cart, ran up to the front of the store.

A small crowd of about five people was there too, staring outside and not quite believing what they were seeing. A huge flurry of snow flew down outside, covering the windows with a sheet of white powder. What could be seen through window seemed to be covered in ice. Other windows, though not covered in snow yet, were frosted over, created the effects of broken glass. The door was also frosted over in a similar way, though it had a red light flashing over it.

Matt gave Tai a very serious look. "We're gonna be in here for a while. I don't see any computers around, so we can't travel to places through the Digiworld."

Tai only paused for a moment, getting the familiar look on his face that among the Digidestined had become famous – the leader look. He thought, planning out a decision. "Okay," he breathed, sure of himself. "We have to wait this out. We won't starve, there's already too much food here, so we're set for staying alive for a while at least. So our first plan of action..." He picked up his cell phone. "We call everyone and make sure they're all okay."

Matt sighed, taking out his phone as well. "Assuming that our phones can get a signal through this storm..."

-----------------

Joe heard the announcement, and was immediately relieved that he'd brought so much food in his bag, even though the library didn't allow it. He got up from the desk he was studying at, looking around the room he was sitting in. Besides the huge group of gamers on the computers, only the most studious people around were in there, studying, although most of them were looking around in some shock and giving each other worried looks.

One of the things Joe thought of first included packing up his stuff and going into the Digiworld to try and get home, or even just meet up with some digimon. But one glance around the room, and Joe could tell that he wouldn't be able to. The group of computer kids were using every single computer there, playing some sort of online game. From knowing Izzy so well, he knew he wouldn't be able to convince any of them off of the computers.

So, he resignedly grabbed his cell phone and walked out of the area to the doorway, where he dialed a quick number.

"Come on...Hello, Mom? This is Joe, I'm in the library, and I'm going to be here a while..."

-----------------

Ken, Davis, Yolei, and Cody all glanced at each other in shock. Other shoppers around them seemed to be in the exact same position. There were some people within the mall who completely ignored the announcement.

Yolei however, was the one who lost it. "Oh my god! We're trapped in here. We're TRAPPED!!" She dropped her bag, grabbed Ken by the shoulders and shook him.

Ken sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be okay, if you think about it."

"Yeah, well just wait until the storm blows over! And there's always the Digiworld," Davis said thoughtfully (for once).

Cody glanced over at the four In-training digimon who were playing together on the benches. "In that case, we'll all be okay. If we call our parents to let them know where we are, we should be fine."

"Yeah, we can treat this like a big trip or something!" Poromon yelled back from over where the other Digimon were.

Davis stood silent for a moment, then grinned. "Okay! So I say we just act like normal and continue to have fun!"

And that's what they did.

-----------------------

Izzy, covered in snow and ice and feeling very miserable, dug through his locker for the book he'd forgotten to bring home on Friday. He didn't want to miss another homework assignment, and he desperately needed the book in order to complete it.

He didn't know why he'd walked all the way back to his school just to get a single book, especially through the freezing rain and snow. And he really didn't feel like walking all the way back home in the storm.

With a sigh, he found the book he was looking for and stuffed it into his bag, where thankfully, everything was dry (including his laptop). Still feeling cold and uncomfortable, he glanced out the window. The storm seemed to only be getting worse.

With that, Izzy made a decision and walked over to the computer room. He knew his mom's computer was on, so all he had to do was travel through the Digiworld. Plus, the gate was open, since Sora had told everyone she was going to visit Biyomon and other Digimon.

He was in for a surprise when he found that the gate had closed.

Somewhat unhappy, he stuck his back against the wall of the computer room, and tried to get the gate to work. He had a feeling that the gate's behavior was somewhat related to the horrible storm outside. Looking out the window again, he sighed and sat. He would just wait it out.

-----------------

Sora glanced at the TV back home, where it sat, unresponding to anything. She sighed and stepped back.

Biyomon looked up at her, concerned. "So something's wrong with the gate?"

"It was supposed to be open all day. It's weird, because if it suddenly closed, something strange must be going on in the Real world," Sora answered, involuntarily shuddering. If something strange was going on, then not only did it mean she couldn't help out, she was stuck in the Digiworld for a while.

Biyomon looked worried still. "If that's the case, does that mean that you're stuck here?"

Sora sighed. "I hope I'm not, because too many people would freak out if I didn't go back home, and I wanted to bring you along too for the tennis trip."

"In the middle of winter?"

"Yes, surprisingly."

With another sigh, Sora resignedly took out her D-terminal. Biyomon glanced at her. "So Sora, how are you going to get home?"

Sora shrugged as she wrote her message. "Right now I'm hoping that one of the younger kids can open the gate for me. Unless you're willing to let me stay with you…?" She looked up at Biyomon with pleading eyes.

"Of course Sora! You can stay with me if you can't get home!"

Sora smiled, sending the message. Then she put down her D-terminal and grabbed Biyomon, hugging her tightly. "Thanks."

--------------------

Having sat at a desk and made himself comfortable in the computer room, Izzy idly did his homework with the book he'd gotten, watching his laptop for any signs of change, in case someone emailed him or something. He sighed, flipping another page in the book as he took his notes.

Glancing up at his laptop, he saw he had one new message. He quickly abandoned his homework, eager to see something come up, and checked the screen. He saw it was from Sora, and opened it.

From: Takenouchi, Sora

To: !Everyone

Body: Hi everyone, it's Sora. The Gate just closed for some reason, so I can't get home. Is it possible that one of you can open the gate for me? Either that or tell my mom where I am? Thanks, - Sora

Izzy wasn't sure what to say, but he knew he couldn't open the gate, and therefore probably wasn't the best person to look to first. Still, he sent a reply message.

From: Izumi, Koushiro

To: Takenouchi, Sora

Body: Okay, I can't open a gate, but once we get a hold of Davis and the others, we'll be able to see if you can get home. I can still call your mom though, if you need me too. – Izzy

Izzy sighed as he sent the reply. Looking out the window again, he inwardly hoped the snow would stop for an hour just so he could go home. The Gate was closed, and he was stuck in school on a Sunday doing his homework. Not really what he wanted to be doing. Still, he would rather be inside than out in the storm.

Resignedly, Izzy picked up his pencil again, still feeling somewhat wet from earlier. He turned yet another page.

----------------

From: Inoue, Miyako

To: Takenouchi, Sora

Body: Hey Sora, we got your message. I don't know about TK and Kari though. I'm in the mall right now with Davis, Cody, and Ken, so we're looking for a computer. We'll check back.

I should warn you though – there's a horrible snowstorm outside and there's an emergency lock-in here at the mall, so if you come through a computer here, you won't be able to leave the mall... – Yolei

After finishing the message and sending it, Yolei glanced over to where Davis, Cody, and Ken were all looking on a standing map of the mall.

"There?" Davis pointed somewhere on the plastic.

Cody shook his head. "Davis, we want something like an electronics store, not a sports store."

Davis shrugged. "Hey, I'm trying!"

Yolei sighed and stuck her D-terminal in her pocket. "Any luck guys?"

Ken pointed at a couple of areas on the map. "Well, the digimon went off to check these areas, and there's another electronics store here we could got to."

"Great! Let's go there then!" Davis immediately pumped a fist into the air and checking the map, started walking away in the corresponding direction. Resignedly, the other three followed.

It didn't take long for them to reach their destination, but all four of them very easily saw that the store had no computers. The room was filled with TV sets ("Wow, if this were the Digiworld," murmured Cody), and attached to each was a gaming platform and controllers. While Ken and Davis were both interested, it wasn't what they were looking for.

"Back to the drawing board," Yolei mumbled, and the four of them trudged quietly away back to the map.

Demiveemon, Poromon, Upamon, and Minomon were all sitting quietly under the map, looking somewhat disappointed. Ken caught onto why. "No computers?"

Demiveemon shook his little head. "Nope, we checked. You guys too?" Ken shook his own head sadly.

"Yeah, we even checked the stores surrounding! No computers!" Poromon piped up.

The four humans were quiet for a moment before it hit them.

"No computers. No computers," Davis said quietly, trying to take in the information.

"We can't get home," Cody stated. "We can't help Sora get home."

For a moment, there was more silence. A feeling of eeriness overcame them, as they tried to take in the fact that the only other way they could get home was by either waiting out the storm, or busting out of the building and breaking a few windows in the process (neither of which were very attractive choices). Then Yolei lost it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!!!"

A few passing people looked at her strangely. She completely ignored them.

"There are computers here! There have to be computers here! There must be computers here! There will be computers here! In fact, I'm going to make sure that there are computers here!!" she yelled, seeing a store owner staring at her from behind the counter in his store.

Davis, Cody, Ken, and the digimon all looked at each other, concern for the mental state of their friend showing on their faces. Yolei ignored them as well as she marched away from her friends, straight towards the store owner. She didn't know what she was doing, she only knew that she had to find a computer if any of her friends, including Sora, wanted to get home. Oblivious to the people around her who were surreptitiously raising their eyebrows, she stomped into the store, straight up to the counter, and looked the shop owner straight in the eye. The man stared back, eyes widening in concern.

"Yes, miss?" he asked politely.

"Sir," Yolei took a deep breath. "Can you please broadcast a message over the PHS asking if there are any computers in this entire building, or if anyone has a laptop, and please check in here if you do?"

The man blinked. "Yes, I could, but for what reason?"

"The computer!" Yolei let her temper take control. "I need a computer, because it's the only way I could possibly help many of my friends escape from an inescapable predicament!"

"This predicament being what?"

"AAARRRGGHH!!!"

Back where everyone else was, Minomon turned and glanced at Ken. "I think Yolei has gone crazy."

Ken nodded back. "I agree. Then again, she was always a bit crazy." His eyes turned thoughtful as he said this. "But that's Yolei. And I like her for that."

------------------

Tai angrily punched a bag of rice sitting in his shopping cart. "This isn't working! I can't get a stupid signal through this storm!" He threw down his cell phone onto the bag and plopped down on the tile floor, glowering.

Matt, who was standing and leaning with his back against the cart, sighed as he also threw his cell phone onto the bag of rice. "Hey, at least you got one call in."

"Yeah, my dad. And mom's there too," Tai propped his head up on his hand. "So my parents know, but no one else."

"Hey, same here," Matt answered back.

Tai stared into space. At least Matt had managed two calls, to both his mom and dad in their respective apartments. "Well then, I guess we have to keep trying to reach the others." He gave Matt a glance. "And you didn't bring your D-terminal?"

Matt shook his head. "I didn't think I'd need it. Hey, what happened to yours anyway?" He pointed out at Tai.

"Hey, I didn't think I'd need it either. Who usually needs a D-terminal when you go grocery shopping anyway?" Tai lay down onto the tile floor and stretched out. "Wow...boredom in a grocery store..."

Matt groaned. "Well then, we can be bored together."

At that moment, a beeping tone came up from the speaker.

"Still A major tonic chord, still slightly flat," Matt immediately said.

Tai took his moment to groan. "You and your perfect pitchness..." He mumbled.

Matt grinned back. "You and your tone-deafness," he answered back.

"I'm not tone-deaf! I just can't keep a note, that's all!"

The two of them didn't really listen to the announcement the store keeper gave, all they caught was that the storm was getting worse and all the doors were frosted closed. With a sigh, Tai grabbed a wheel of the shopping cart and pulled it toward him. "Hey Matt, can you get my cell for me? I don't feel like getting up."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Lazy bum you are," he smiled as he leaned over and retrieved both cell phones from where they lay in the cart on the bag of rice.

---------------------

"WHAT, THERE ARE NO COMPUTERS OR LAPTOPS IN THE ENTIRE BLEEPING BUILDING?!?!?!?!"

"I'm sorry miss, but there are none."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Ken very quickly ran up and grabbed Yolei by the shoulders, turning her around. He quickly bowed to the shop owner. "Thank you very much sir," he said politely, before ushering the somewhat freaked out and spazzing Yolei out of the area.

Cody sighed as Ken brought Yolei back to where the group was hanging out by the map. "It's all right Yolei, just calm down. We'll all be fine, we'll just have to tell Sora that we aren't able to help her and hopefully TK and Kari can."

"If they can," Davis muttered as he took out his D-terminal to email Sora.

-------------------

Izzy, having now finished his homework, began to play solitaire on his laptop (he was pretty good too, he beat about half the games he started). It was either that, or surf the web, update his computer, or other such things.

As he beat a game and began thinking he should do something different, his laptop beeped, and he went straight to his email program.

From: Takenouchi, Sora

To: Izumi, Koushiro

Body: Izzy, I think I'll take your offer to call my mom. Davis and the others can't find a computer, and I don't know what's happened to TK and Kari. Could you call my mom? And could you also possibly tell me what's going on with the whole snowstorm thing that Yolei mentioned earlier? She says that there's an emergency lock-in at the mall, so no one can leave. Thanks, - Sora

Izzy decided to send another email back, but reading through Sora's message, he thought about the other digidestined. It was possible that TK and Kari could be in some sort of predicament and stuck somewhere, as well as Davis and the group of younger kids. He pondered the idea of the lock in as well. If that was the case, then Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken could possibly be stuck and unable to do anything, and also needed to contact other people...

With a sigh, he decided to do a big check on everyone else as well. First, he sent an email back to Sora.

From: Izumi, Koushiro

To: Takenouchi, Sora

Body: Sora, I don't know much about the snowstorm, other than the fact that it's so bad I don't want to walk back home in it. I'm going to send out a big email to everyone else asking where they are and what's going on with them in case they're in a kind of situation like yours. Don't worry, I'll call your mom and let her know where you are. – Izzy

With that done, Izzy sent the message, and sent out another one.

From: Izumi, Koushiro

To: !Everyone

Body: Hey guys, this is Izzy. Just in case you're all stuck somewhere, can you email me back saying where you and everyone else you know of are? Hopefully, we can all help each other out and call parents, or stuff like that. I'll make a big list of where everyone is. – Izzy

It didn't take long for Izzy to get replies back.

From: Takenouchi, Sora

To: Izumi, Koushiro

Body: Hello Izzy, you already know where I am, in the Digiworld, with Biyomon. I think Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken are at a mall or something. And I'm pretty sure Mimi isn't involved in anything like this. And thanks for calling my mom. – Sora

From: Motomiya, Daisuke

To: Izumi, Koushiro

Body: Hey Izzy, it's Davis. Me, Ken, Yolei, and Cody are all at the mall. And we're locked in because of the stupid snowstorm outside. Sora's in the Digiworld, Mimi's in America, and Kari's somewhere watching a movie with TK. I don't know where. That's about all I know. – Davis

From: Kido, Jyou

To: Izumi, Koushiro

Body: Sorry Izzy, I just got your email and Sora's too. No one would get off the computers until now, when one guy had to use the bathroom...Anyway, I'm in the library. There's a lock-in here because of the snowstorm. Sora's in the Digiworld, and Mimi is safe in New York with no snowstorm. Where are you anyway? Hope you're okay. – Joe

Izzy waited for a little while, trying to see if he could get a head up on where TK, Kari, or their older siblings. He was somewhat surprised at the news of the lock-in, in both the mall and the library, but supposed that if the storm really was bad enough that the lock-in had to be implemented, it wasn't very safe for himself to go out either. Deciding to wait on the emails for now, he got up from his chair, pulling out his cell phone, ready to call both Sora's mom and his mom.

He dialed Sora's number first. He calmly brought the phone to his ear, and frowned when he heard only static and a beeping noise coming from the phone. Checking his phone, he looked at the screen and realized that it couldn't get a signal and thus had no service.

Izzy felt just about ready to pull a Tai, and wanted bang his head into a wall.

So he resignedly sent an email out to everyone.

To: !Everyone

From: Izumi, Koushiro

Body: Okay, this is Izzy with where everyone is, except for Tai, Matt, TK, and Kari, because I couldn't get a hold of them. If any of you four listed gets this email, please email me with where you are (just check the other emails.) Anyway, here it is:

Sora is in the Digiworld.

Joe is at the Library.

Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken are at the mall together.

Mimi is in America, perfectly fine.

I'm at school, in the computer room.

Let's all keep in touch and give updates on where we are, since if there really is that lock in, we may be trapped where we are for a while. Plus the fact that the Gate to the Digiworld is closed. – Izzy

With that sent, Izzy then sighed and stood up, deciding to take walk down to the school office, where he knew there was a phone. After that, he would check the weather outside, and hopefully find something to eat.

----------------

"So basically, I had a giant bonfire two inches from my face, and Matt had to run in and extinguish it while I turned off the gas," TK explained a misadventure to a very appreciative crowd sitting on the sofa.

Kari and Gatomon were laughing, while Patamon still looked sheepish. "Well, the potato blowing up really scared me!" Patamon tried to defend.

"You didn't have to tip the frying pan over and pour the oil on the stove burner!"

Kari just shook her head as she made herself more comfortable with a sofa pillow. "Well, at least that proves you can't cook, TK!"

TK grinned, letting himself collapse onto the sofa as well. "Hey, it happened to Matt too when he was eleven! Of course, there was no Patamon to tip over the frying pan..."

Patamon gave his partner a very disgruntled and hurt look. TK immediately picked him up and hugged him. With that, Patamon let go of the look and snuggled up in TK's arms. "Okay, I understand, you're just egging me on or something like that," the small digimon answered.

"Yeah, you're still my friend!"

Kari and Gatomon both laughed, as Gatomon jumped up into Kari's arms as well.

Having finished the movie earlier, the four were now exchanging stories and having light conversations, unsure of what else to do. They hadn't noticed the growing frost on the window and the balcony door, or the strong winds that whistled outside. However, they had noticed that Tai was taking an exceedingly long time getting groceries.

Kari sighed, getting a worried look on her face. TK glanced over, and nodded, realizing what was wrong. "I'm sure Tai's fine," TK said reassuringly. "His hair wasn't wet when he left the apartment, right?"

The digimon snorted, and Kari just smiled, raising her eyebrows. "No, but that doesn't mean he didn't do something stupid like slipping in a puddle and drowning in it."

"How one does that, I'd like to know," Gatomon murmured to herself.

Kari ignored Gatomon's comment. "Besides, if something had come up, he would have called home or let one of the other Digidestined know."

TK shrugged. "Yeah, I understand. Either that, or he has tried to call, and something's wrong?"

"In that case, you should just go call him!" Patamon and Gatomon exclaimed at the same time. For a brief moment, their eyes met and both digimon blinked at each other.

Kari gently put Gatomon down. "Great digiminds think alike," she muttered to Gatomon, as she stood to approach the phone. TK calmly set Patamon down next to Gatomon, so he could turn around and watch Kari as she called her brother.

Kari quickly walked over the phone, ready to pick it up and dial Tai's cell phone number. To her surprise, as she reached for it, it suddenly started to ring.

"Maybe it's him," TK called from his place on the couch. Patamon and Gatomon both hopped up onto the back of it to watch Kari as well.

Kari picked it up. "Hello?"

"YES!! IT WORKED!! IT WORKED!!"

All four occupants of the room jumped at the sound of Tai's voice emanating from the phone. Kari gently held the phone about a foot away from her, as Matt's voice also came from the phone, saying, "Tai, shut up! Even the store manager's staring at us now!"

While TK perked up, surprised to hear his brother's voice, Kari carefully turned down the phone volume. "Okay, I'm glad something worked Tai, now where are you?!" Kari almost yelled into the phone, her worry showing in her face and tone.

TK could almost picture Tai cringing on the other line.

"Sorry Kari, I'm in the grocery store with Matt. The manager says it's too dangerous for anyone to go outside so we're locked in and have been for the past couple hours," Tai replied.

Kari blinked. "Too dangerous to go outside? Why?"

Tai seemed somewhat surprised at Kari's answer. "You don't know? There's a lock-in here and just about everywhere else too."

"A lock in?"

There was an audible sigh from Tai's end of the line. "There's a blizzard outside, Kari. So no one can leave the store. I'm sorry I couldn't get a hold of you earlier, but the blizzard kept messing with my phone signal and I couldn't call in."

Kari's face softened. "I understand now. So you and Matt are stuck in the grocery store?"

"Yep. Hey, is TK there? Matt wants to talk to him."

"Yeah, he is. Just a sec." Kari turned away from the phone and held it out to TK, who, guessing what was going on, got up from the couch and accepted the phone from Kari.

"Hello?"

"TK, you're there and everything?" came Matt's voice.

"Yep, all here and thawed after nearly being frozen."

Matt laughed. "That makes a pair of siblings who both suffered from nearly becoming popsicles. I'm just glad you're at Tai's apartment and safe."

TK laughed as well. "And I'm glad that you're safe, whether you be in a grocery store or not."

Matt let out a groan. "Believe me, the grocery store is getting boring. I can tell you exactly which isle holds wheat germ and which one has natto sitting in it."

"Well, enjoy your natto then..."

Matt made a disgusted noise. TK snorted and began laughing slightly. Kari and Gatomon both gave TK strange looks, while Patamon slowly nodded in understanding, a grin growing on his face.

"'Well, call Mom, and be safe," Matt advised to TK.

TK grinned. "You too, as safe as you can be in the grocery store."

"Yes, dangerous cooking utensils everywhere."

Shaking his head, TK rolled his eyes as he gave the phone back to Kari. She gladly accepted, putting it to her ear as she waited for Tai to come back on the line.

"Hey again sis, you good there?" Tai asked in his cocky manner.

Kari sighed. "As good as I'll be if this lock in really is taking place everywhere."

"Yeah, because if it lasts for a while, you'll be in that house alone with TK...for a while..." Tai's tone seemed to suggest something strange, something Kari couldn't really put her hand on. It had to be something of interest though, since she heard Matt groan in the background, and a telltale whoosh of someone ducking a playful swing.

She decided not to bother. "I hope all goes well in that case, since you're in the store with Matt..."

"Hey, we'll probably just play card games, or sing 'Kumbaya' or something like that," Tai commented, as crackle began to enter into the conversation.

Kari frowned. The crackle began to cover up more of the sound she heard, and soon she realized she wouldn't be able to hear Tai at all. "Tai, I think you're losing your signal," she told him.

"I think so too. I'll try and call in often to see how you're doing, kay?"

"Okay. Bye Tai."

"Bye Kari."

Kari sighed as she hung up the phone, and replaced it onto its holder. She gained a worried look on her face, and she glanced at TK, who seemed to be not only reading her mind, but also worried too. The two sighed simultaneously and both glanced at the door.

They also thought simultaneously, because they both realized something at the same time.

Kari showed her thoughts first, when she glanced at the frosted window, so covered in ice she couldn't see out of it. It was the same with the balcony door, and she couldn't even spot the balcony railing outside through the heavily covered and frosted door. It was almost as though a heavy layer of snow and ice had obscured all sight outside from the occupants of the apartment.

She nodded to Gatomon. "Gatomon, can you go over to the window and open it?"

Gatomon jumped up in response, hopping towards the window, while Patamon, the only one there who didn't understand why everyone had suddenly become tense, blinked in confusion. "Why open the window?" he murmured, "It's cold out..."

He turned to watch as Gatomon undid the window latch and tried to pull the window open. Everyone's eyes widened in shock as Gatomon strained to open the window, and finally pulled so hard that there a large CRACK sounded. And suddenly there was a design of broken glass across the window.

Gatomon jumped in shock herself, staring at the seemingly broken window, before turning towards the other three dumbstruck souls in the room. Her tail and shoulders sagged, and her face clearly showed a very guilty and embarrassed look. "I'm...sorry..." she said very quietly.

Kari said nothing, and simply rushed to the window. She squinted at it for a moment, then widened her eyes. Before Gatomon had a chance to feel worse, Kari quickly said, "The window isn't broken, Gatomon, it's fine. It's something outside the window that's broken..."

While Gatomon sighed in relief and turned back to the window, TK and Patamon both gave each other glances, Patamon finally understanding the meaning behind the tense moment. The two of them rushed to the sliding door that opened the way to the balcony. After undoing the lock, TK carefully placed his hands on the door panel, with Patamon grabbing it as well while flying, and the two attempted to pull the door open.

Needless to say, they failed miserably, as the ice outside kept the door tightly shut.

TK and Kari looked at each other. They both had the same thing going through their minds, and immediately ran for the door of the apartment, Patamon and Gatomon with them. Without bothering to put their shoes on in the threshold, Kari reached the door first and undid the lock. She grabbed the handle, turned, and pulled as hard as she could.

The door refused to budge.

Seeing Kari's strained face as she tried to open the door, TK placed his hands on the handle as well. Together, the two tried to pull the door open, but to no avail. They only succeeded in becoming extremely red in the face and making their hands feel raw with pain.

"Well, in that case..." Patamon jumped forward, and TK's D3 began to glow.

Gatomon, Kari, and TK all turned around, eyes widening, and yelled in shock, "GYAA, NOO!!"

At that, Patamon stopped in mid-air, and the glow surrounding TK's D3 dissipated.

TK sighed. "I'm sorry Patamon, but I don't think Kari's parents or her Tai would be too pleased if we broke down their front door."

"Not to mention we could be very cold..." Kari muttered.

The four stayed silent for a moment, glancing at each other with uncertainty and idly looking around. They all knew exactly what was going on, and the predicament they'd gotten into. With some more moments of silence, it slowly sunk in that they were trapped together in the apartment for however long it took for the ice on the doors to melt and for the storm to stop. It could possibly take a while.

"Well then," TK said aloofly, idly twiddling his thumbs as he thought about the situation. "Why don't we play some random games or something like that?"

"Either that, or we can sing '99 Bottles of Pop on the wall' and go down infinitely, seeing which negative number we're on by the time we get out of here..." Gatomon mumbled.

Even with all the different suggestions being given, all four had a pretty good idea that they would be stuck in the apartment for quite a while...