"It's FREEZING…" Judie and Mikey whined
"It's FREEZING…" Judie and Mikey whined.
The three girls were REALLY wishing they still had their trench coats…
"Come on! Think warm!" Gomamon encouraged.
Anne shivered, and she rubbed her arms.
"Thinking warm won't really help…" She whispered, looking down.
"It's not THAT bad." Raph stated, and everyone looked at him like he was crazy.
"Maybe if you're a polar bear." Don retorted.
"Think 'bout it. If it started snowin', we could have a snowball fight."
Mikey grinned.
"And build a snowman!"
Judie seemed just as excited.
"Or an igloo!"
"Or a snow fort!" Rose added.
"Ya'll need it!" Raph teased.
"I could beat you blindfolded!" Rose challenged, smirking.
"I could beat BOTH of you with a hand behind my shell!" Leo interjected.
Anne sighed, looking at everyone as they laughed.
"But we could go into hibernation…" She muttered.
"Or die…And it would make travel harder…"
Gomamon seemed to be the only one that had heard her…
They kept walking, and the trees ended in a field of snow.
Eyes wide, they stared at it in surprise as Judie and Mikey started playing.
"We can't walk across this whole thing…Our toes will go numb…" Rose reasoned.
"Then we can't keep going." Anne stated.
"We can't just stand here." Don stated.
Agumon stopped, sniffing the air.
"There's a weird odor in the air…"
Biyomon sniffed the air as well.
"…I believe he's right…"
"But what is it?" Rose asked.
Gabumon joined in on sniffing the air.
"It's…"
"Steam?" Anne finished, looking at the column of it in the distance.
"It's a geyser." Don informed.
Judie stopped.
"…HOT SPRING!"
Everyone ran, wanting to enjoy the heat, but they were disappointed…
AGAIN…
The rocks were barren, and the water was FAR too hot.
"Awwww…" Judie whined.
Anne sighed, shaking her head.
"We have more pressing matters. We need to find food."
"I see some." Mikey stated, and Anne looked at him curiously.
"Really? Where?"
The orange-banded turtle pointed, and she followed it.
"…You've got to be KIDDING me…" She muttered.
A FRIDGE was standing there, and, in any other situation, Anne would've questioned her sanity.
Everyone else ran to it, but Leo froze from opening it when Anne stepped forward.
"W-We shouldn't! W-What about the person that owns it?"
"I'm sure they'd understand, imouto." Rose reasoned.
"I-It just doesn't feel right…"
Judie shook her head.
"I say open the door, Leo! I'm starving!"
Leo did open the door, and looked at the rows of eggs.
"…WHOA…"
"They look delicious!" Don stated.
"W-We shouldn't eat them! They might make us sick!" Anne stated, looking worried.
"Then I'll be the taste-tester!" Judie offered, grinning.
"I-Imouto-!" Anne objected.
"I'm sure it'll all be fine." Rose soothed.
When Anne didn't say anything, everyone set out to cook the eggs.
Rose used a large, flat rock, over a fire, to cook eggs sunny-side up, as Mikey boiled some.
Don and Leo went and got firewood, and Anne plopped down to make chopsticks.
As she whittled away, she had a small frown on her face.
"Stop worrying, Annie." Gomamon stated.
"I can't help it…I'm a worrier…"
Setting down another pair of chopsticks, Anne grabbed another stick of wood.
"…I just feel like I need to do my job better…"
"What job?"
Anne looked at him with somewhat guarded eyes.
"…Being a big sister…"
Before Gomamon could delve deeper, the others called for them to eat.
Everyone gathered around a flat rock that they were now using as a table, with different types of eggs in the center.
"Dig in! 'Cause you're cooking next time…"
"I can feel the love, Rosie…" Judie stated sarcastically, piling food into her bowl.
"Some ketchup would make it better…" Raph grumbled, still eating.
"Well, why don't YOU go and find some?" Rose replied, laughter in her voice.
"Besides, I can do my best. What do you guys like with your eggs?"
Anne looked down at her barely-touched food.
"I like salt…"
"Soy sauce." Leo stated.
"Salsa." Raph added.
"Mustard and jelly beans!"
Everyone stared at Mikey like he was crazy...
"OKAY…No…" Rose replied.
"I like it topped with maple syrup." Judie stated, smiling.
"…Both of them are CRAZY…" Leo muttered.
"I like it with whipped cream." Don admitted, looking down.
"That sounds delicious!" Judie stated.
Rose elbowed her oldest imouto.
"Remember when you had that omelet with ice cream, chocolate syrup, and a bunch of cherries?"
Anne blushed.
"Yeah…"
Mikey grinned.
"Ice cream sundae omelet! Sounds great!"
The blush deepened, and she nodded slightly.
"I wish I could try it."
Rose thought Anne was going to faint from all the blood rushing to her face before the grey/white-banded turtle stood up, running away.
"Annie!" She called out, startled.
The younger turtle ignored it, and ran to the farthest edge of the warmed rocks before stopping.
Resting her forehead on a wall of rock, she kept chiding herself.
'What's wrong with me? Why can't I be normal? Just a little?'
"Annie?"
She turned to see Gomamon, and sighed.
"What is it?"
"I was about to ask you that same question."
She turned away again.
"…It's nothing…"
He walked up, reaching up to grab her hand.
"If it was nothing, you wouldn't have run off like that."
Looking down, she stared at the worried green eyes.
"…I just…I don't feel normal…"
"What do you mean?"
She sat down, her shell against the wall, and Gomamon on her lap.
"…E-Everyone has something to…contribute to the group…But I'm…just not good at anything…"
"You're a good person."
"But that's just not enough, Gomamon…"
She tried to stop the tears from welling up.
"I can't fight, and I can't stop them from doing anything dangerous…It's like they don't hear me…"
"You need to make them hear you." Gomamon stated determinedly.
"You're too scared of what they'll say, that you don't say what YOU want to. Annie, your sisters love you and your friends care. They'll WANT to hear."
Anne moved her gaze away.
"…I…I'm not sure I can…"
"Just try. If not for yourself, than for me?"
She smiled slightly.
"And why for you?"
"I don't like seeing you sad." He replied, cuddling into her arms.
"I can't protect you from yourself, you know."
She giggled softly.
"I know…"
"…And Annie?"
She stopped standing up, looking at him expectantly.
"…You're a great big sister…"
The smile grew as she got to her feet.
"…Thanks, Gomamon…"
--
Finding the others again, Anne looked worried when she saw Leo and Raph fighting.
She looked curiously at her sister's on the sidelines.
"They're fighting about whether we should climb Infinity Mountain." Rose stated, pointing to the large rock formation.
"Infinity Mountain's a doozy, that's for sure!" Tentomon added.
"Raph says we should, since we could see the whole island, but Leo says we shouldn't, because there could be evil Digimon up there." Don explained.
The fighting started affecting the two 'youngest' turtles, Judie crouching down and covering her ears.
Anne, not wanting her sister to be worried, stepped forward.
"G-Guys, stop!"
Getting between them, she tried to look serious.
"L-Let's try to work this out…"
"What's YER opinion on this, Anne?"
She looked at Raph in surprise.
"W-Well…"
"Anne, who do you think is right?" Leo stated.
Anne took a step back, mind panicking.
"W-Well…I think there are pros and cons to both…I-I'm not sure which I prefer…"
"Why don't we just go as far as we can up the mountain?!" Raph questioned.
"We couldn't protect ourselves up there!!"
"Stop fighting!!" Anne shouted, surprising her sisters.
"Stop being so difficult!"
"Difficult?! Yer the most difficult person I know!!"
Hurt flashed through her eyes, then tears started welling up.
"I-I…"
Gomamon became defensive at this point.
"Stop lying to her, Raph! YOU'RE the one being difficult right now! She tries to stop you two from biting each others heads off and keep the others from worrying, and you snap at her?"
Guilt seemed to spark in the red-banded turtle, but Rose stepped towards her sister first, hugging her comfortably.
Soothing her, she glared at Raph.
"Before we do something else we'll regret, let's head to the cave we passed by."
Leading Anne away, Leo glared at his brother before following.
Everyone settled down on the cave floor, and Anne curled into a ball, Gomamon at her shell.
'I'm just making things harder…I-I won't help things by just talking…'
Looking out of the cave's mouth, she saw peaks.
'…Maybe…'
Standing, she walked outside, looking up at Infinity Mountain.
'…Sensei always said I was the best at climbing…I've got the best chance…'
She looked back, eyes sparkling with tears.
'…They may not care…but I still do…I'll make it to the peak, then they won't get hurt…'
Walking up the path leading to the peak, she stopped when she heard a voice.
"Annie? You're not going to climb the mountain alone, are you?"
She sighed, looking down.
"…Go back to the cave and sleep, Gomamon…"
"I don't want to."
"It's safer that way."
"You shouldn't always take the easy way out."
She contemplated a moment before nodding.
"I guess I can't stop you…I can't seem to stop anyone, anyway…"
She walked past the Digimon, and he started following her.
"…Nice night for a walk…"
Anne looked at him curiously.
"That was weird…"
"What's wrong with that? I sure have more fun!"
She thought for a moment before nodding.
"I suppose…"
The walk was dangerous, what with jumping across streams, walking across logs, going through dark tunnels…
After going up a rock wall, Anne lifting him up, they waited a moment to catch their breath.
Looking up at the peak, a soft smile spread across her face.
"Looks like we're about halfway there…"
"We make quite a team."
She nodded.
"Yeah, we do."
The ground began to rumble, and Anne hugged Gomamon to her chest.
'Please tell me this mountain isn't a volcano!'
She looked up, seeing a rock wall open, letting out Black Gears before it closed.
The grey/white-banded turtle stood up, a determined set in her jaw.
"They're coming from up there. Let's go."
Gomamon couldn't have argued if he'd wanted to.
She seemed so set on it…
It would've been like trying to stop a charging bull.
The sun started rising when they reached the right spot, and Anne looked at the rocks suspiciously.
"I'm sure I saw them here…"
Anne was prepared to keep climbing when Gomamon caught sight of something.
She followed his gaze, seeing a large winged horse, a red visor on its head.
"That's Unimon. He's a wild old Digimon. He's not much of a talker…"
Seeing the large Digimon coming closer, Anne pulled her partner into a small niche in the wall.
"We don't have to hide from him, Annie!"
"Better to be safe than sorry…" She whispered.
When Unimon landed and started drinking from a small waterfall, Anne started to relax.
'…He SEEMS harmless enough…'
"I told you he was a nice Digimon! He wouldn't hurt a fly!"
Anne sighed, letting Gomamon back on the ground.
"…He's a beautiful horse…"
"Maybe Unimon could tell us what we need to know! Then we can head back to the others!"
Gomamon stepped forward before Anne could protest.
"Hello, Unimon! It's me, Gomamon! It's been a long time since we-!"
Both Digimon looked up, ears twitching.
Anne came out slightly, worried.
"G-Gomamon?"
"It's a Black Gear!"
It struck Unimon in the back, making him rear, and his visor glowed red as he turned to them.
"I-I think we're in trouble, Gomamon…" Anne whispered, taking a step back.
"Hello, Gomamon! Aren't you happy to see me?"
The grey/white-banded turtle scooped up her partner, backing up.
"Ariel Attack!"
The attack destroyed the small bridge of land they were standing on, and Anne turned to start running.
"Ariel Attack!"
It kept hitting behind them, making her feet scramble for purchase and her legs shake.
"Ariel Attack!"
It hit the rocks above them, and the two hardly managed to pull themselves onto stable ground.
Unimon hovered in front of them, looking cocky.
"Are you trying to run?"
Anne looked back, her heart sinking.
"That's a perfectly safe route if you're thinking of flying away!"
Unimon started powering up another attack, and she hugged Gomamon tighter.
"G-Gomamon…"
"Ariel Attack-!"
Suddenly, the massive Digimon was tackled into the rock wall.
Anne looked up once the dust and rock stopped falling.
"Birdramon?"
Rose saluted from the bird Digimon's foot, Leo and Agumon beside her.
"We came to save you." Leo stated.
Anne relaxed.
"Thank kami…"
Unimon pulled himself free of the rock.
"Ariel Attack!"
Birdramon, shielding the group, was shot down, hitting the ground a bit farther down.
"BIRDRAMON!" Rose shouted, sliding down to comfort her partner.
"Agumon, Digivolve to…GREYMON!!"
Though the large dinosaur Digimon tried to reach him, Unimon still slammed him into the wall.
"GREYMON!" Leo called worriedly.
Unimon just kept hitting him back into the wall until he retaliated.
"Nova Blast!"
Unimon dodged.
"Ariel Attack!"
Greymon shielded his partner from the falling rocks, and Anne stood up, worried.
'Leo and Greymon are in trouble…'
She looked down.
'…And now Unimon is going after Rosie and Birdramon…'
Birdramon flew up.
"Meteor Wing!"
The attack missed, and Unimon tackled her straight out of the sky.
Rose skidded down when the ground under her feet gave, and Anne felt her heart race.
"ROSIE!"
That's when she spotted it.
The Black Gear in Unimon's back.
'If I could just pull it out…'
She stood up, putting Gomamon down.
"Don't do anything crazy, Annie!" Gomamon warned in a panic.
"…If I can help at all, I'll do anything…"
"ANNIE!"
But she'd already jumped, landing on the horse-like Digimon's back.
Using the Black Gear as a hold, she started pulling with all her strength.
Unimon reared and bucked through the air, trying to wrench Anne's hold loose.
"Annie, don't try to be a hero!"
"I'm not! I'm just trying not to be a nuisance!"
"Annie, you're not-!"
"I just need to do it, Gomamon!"
Suddenly, her hold was wrenched loose, and she felt weightless before gravity took hold.
A scream ripped itself from her throat before she could stop it, and she somehow locked on with her partner's eyes.
"ANNIE!!"
The device on her belt glowed, and so did Gomamon…
"Gomamon, Digivolve to…IKKAKUMON!!"
Instead of landing on the sharp rocks, like she'd been expecting, she hit soft fur.
Looking up in confusion, she saw the large Digimon.
"…Ikkakumon…"
"Hold on tight, Annie! We're going for a ride!"
Ikkakumon tackled Unimon to lower ground.
"Ariel Attack!"
He dodged it easily.
"Harpoon Torpedo!"
At first, it seemed that the sharp projectiles missed, but they opened to show explosives that hit the horse-like Digimon in the back.
Unimon galloped away as the smoke cleared and the Black Gear shattered.
The others seemed okay, and the knot in Anne's heart seemed to loosen.
Once they were on safe ground and the Digimon had Dedigivolved, Anne was set upon by a worried, proud Rose.
"Don't scare me like that! You might've gotten Gomamon to Digivolve and save our shells, but you still scared the shell off of me!"
Anne nodded, smiling sheepishly, before turning to Gomamon.
"…Thanks, Gomamon…For everything…"
Trying to seem nonchalant, Gomamon shrugged.
"I had nothing better to do, anyway…"
Crouching down, she smiled wider.
"You don't have to be modest, Gomamon…You're my hero…"
He blushed.
"Hero?"
Biyomon giggled.
"Gomamon's embarrassed!"
"I'm no such thing!"
Everyone looked at the peak, and Rose shrugged.
"We're almost there, anyway. Why not?"
The small group reached the top, and looked out at the island…
"There's not much out there…" Leo muttered.
Anne shrugged.
"It's not the destination, but the journey that's important…"
'And this journey was the most important I've ever had…Thank you, Gomamon…for being such a great friend…'
