A/N- Hello!!!!!! How are ya!? *Suddenly yawns* Wow, I must be more tired than I thought. ..anyway, I have an adoring public to please…so I won't sleep now. You people better appreciate the sacrifices I'm making for you!!! ;)
Anywho…time to recognize my *cough, cough* fans:
Lavos- I don't really know anything about the game except that Ryo is the Hero and that Millenniumon is the villain. Apparently it's female and I heard a rumor that it's supposed to like Ryo. *Shudders* As for Leomon and Dobermon…I'm not saying, but you're right, Leomon's death did almost ruin it…Rika, Ryo and Renamon made it cool though…;)
Hello*mimmy- Thanks for the compliment…I'm…er…sorry I made your friend cry. *Whispers* Psst…is he gay?
Blue Panda- Thanks!!
KristiexxNguyen- I know, I feel sorry for her too…hehe…I'm so evil!
DigiqueenTMIM- AAAAARGH!!! You can't do this to me!!! I have to know!! Just telling me that wont help!! I'm pathetic with things like that!!! PS You don't like Jurato? Strange, not a fan myself, but I do use it as a backup.
Amethyst Blizzard- Please!! Don't hurt me!!! I'm so young! Heh, you were right, I did sorta…borrow their idea, but I was gonna kill Seiko from the beginning.
Okay, enough recognition…on with the show!!!
Chapter 8Neither sleet nor snow nor hail
Rika ducked out of the way of a flying calculus equation. It hit Kenta in the forehead and his yelp echoed eerily around them.
Even with her sunglasses on, Rika had to squint to see through the bright blue light. Ryo was walking beside her, looking around as if this place was new to him. But it couldn't possibly be new, because he had been to the Digital World long before she had. But as Rika thought about this, she suddenly realized that she had never really asked how he had gotten to the Digital World in the first place. She shook her head free of the thought, deciding to ask him later when she wasn't in fear for her life.
There was a sudden surge of electrical energy and Rika was suddenly hanging upside-down. Ryo and Cyberdramon were floating nearby her and Renamon had taken a hold of her arm to prevent them from getting separated.
"Should I choose which way is down again?" Jeri suggested. Rika looked around her and smirked. The way she was floating, it felt very much like she was pointing down, but she knew from experience that where they were now, up and down was all the same. It depended on your own perception.
"Let's just say down is this way," Rika said, pointing above or below her head, it didn't really matter which one it was since they were the same.
"Not again!!" Takato cried.
The force that had kept them all suspended in mid air let go of the Tamers and they all plunged downward towards large pinkish plates that gave way to a blue sky. Rika braced herself for the fall; she could hear Ai, Mako and Suzy all screaming in fear.
A soft sort of pressure hit her body as Rika fell through the plates, but before she could fall any further, she felt a pleasurable warmth surround her and she blacked out.
*~*~*~*~*~*
A terrible cold was surrounding Rika's body and she awoke with a gasp. Her eyes stung painfully and when she wiped them, her hands got wet. Strange, she didn't remember Digi-Phirmha being wet; if she could recall correctly, it had been a desert...
Pushing herself up into sitting position, Rika looked around the crater she had made in her fall. She shook her head and something cold and wet fell onto her neck. She shivered and zipped up her jacket. Renamon hadn't been kidding when she had said that the Digital World had gotten colder. In fact, it was freezing here!
Getting gingerly to her feet, Rika dusted herself off and looked around her again. The other Tamers had all fallen around her and they had each made a crater of their own.
A hand was extended to her and Rika looked up at Ryo's smiling face. She accepted it and he pulled her out of the bowl.
As soon as Rika was standing properly and she was stable on the slippery ground she looked up and gasped.
The entire Digital plain, that had once been a scorching desert land, was now covered in snow!
A frigid wind was sweeping across the area, bringing more snow with it. Rika shivered and moved closer to Ryo.
"Oh my G…" Her words trailed off with the frozen wind.
All around them, the Tamers were rousing themselves and getting up out of the snow. Their reactions were all similar to Rika's. Astonished awe.
"Dude…" was all Kenta could muster to say. Kazu simply nodded in agreement.
The once dull brown land was now a blinding white wonder world. The mountains looked like glistening castles, looming over the Tamers ominously.
"It's so strange," Alex said as she stepped up beside Rika. Rika turned to look at her and in the sudden sunrise, she saw, for the first time, what Alex really looked like.
Her hair, that had seemed dark brown in the darkness, was now clearly a lovely cinnamon color. The auburn bands were really the same orange red that Rika had and her eyes were now shining bright emerald green.
She was wearing dark blue jeans that had a wide denim belt attached to them. They were low rising and looked as if they were molded to her body like a second skin. Her cotton shirt was black and the long sleeves laced at the ends like shoes. She was wearing a medium blue, hooded jacket over that. It had the word 'Adidas' printed across her chest and the zip split it down the middle. Her sneakers were blue, grey and white with white souls. She was wearing a leather wristband that had metal spikes on it in rows of twos. Between these were little silver studded stars.
There was a leather cardholder, identical to Rika's, attached to Alex's belt and her D-Power was hanging beside it. It was a shimmering silvery-blue color and the ring around the screen was silver. She had two earrings in one ear and the other ear only had one. Her face was irritatingly familiar to Rika, but she still couldn't place why.
Getting frustrated, Rika turned to look at her surroundings again. Renamon was conversing quietly with Koronamon. He was such a pure shade of white that he made the snow around him look grey.
Renamon's eyes widened at what Koronamon was telling her and she glanced briefly at Rika.
Feeling extremely exposed, Rika turned away from them and looked at Ryo. He was scanning the sky.
"What are you looking for?" She asked, her words and breath coming out as a mist before her.
"Cyberdramon," Ryo said simply. "He's looking for somewhere safe for us to take shelter for a while." Rika couldn't help but smile at this.
Always so practical…stupid Ryo, she thought, her smile becoming mischievous. She looked up as well and looked around again.
There were pink Data Streams zooming around the area, but none of them were close enough to worry about so she ignored them.
Why are there so many pink things in this stupid world? She thought in irritation. Her eye suddenly picked up on something black against the white of the snow.
It was Cyberdramon.
He flew towards them and landed in front of Ryo.
"There is a suitable cave not to far from here. It is warm and we will be safe there," he growled. Ryo patted his arm lightly.
"Good job, boy," he said. The Tamers were huddling together around Rika and Ryo now.
"So, are we going there or not?" Kenta asked.
"Yeah, Dude. If I don't start moving my legs are going to freeze!" Kazu agreed.
"And if you don't shut up, I'll personally make sure you mouth freezes shut!" Rika said angrily. Kazu glared at her, but a single look from Rika made him quail in fear. Smirking triumphantly, Rika turned to Jeri who was shivering against Takato. Calumon was curled up in her arms, but when he saw the open gap in Rika's jacket, he flew into it and hid deep inside it. Rika chuckled and zipped it shut, holding her arms over the shivering bundle that was Calumon.
"Right, I think we should get going," Takato said, his teeth chattering slightly.
"I'm with Takato. If we don't find shelter soon, we'll all freeze," Henry said seriously.
"Okay," Ryo turned to Cyberdramon. "Is it far, pal?"
"No, you will get there faster if you ride though."
"Okay then. Guilmon, you ready to digivolve?" Takato asked.
"I'm ready when you are Takato!" He said happily.
"Renamon?" Rika turned to her partner. She nodded and Rika and Takato raised their D-Powers.
"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!" They said in unison. To digivolution cards were swiped through two D-Powers and in a lash of light, Renamon and Guilmon both Digivolved.
"I'll take Ai, Mako and Suzy," Kyubimon said as she stood beside Rika. "They will be warmer in my fur." Rika nodded to the three children and they clambered onto Kyubimon's back, Impmon climbing on after them. Growlmon picked Takato up and then lifted Kazu, Kenta and Henry up as well. Terriermon was huddled up inside of Henry's jacket, but he seemed okay.
"You can ride with me and Koronamon, Jeri," Alex said.
"Oh…thank you." Jeri smiled at her and allowed Koronamon to lift her into his arms while Alex climbed onto his back. Alice had hopped onto Growlmon with Henry and she was sitting, holding onto the white hair on his head.
This left only Rika.
Ryo grinned at her and extended his hand to her.
"Need a lift, Wildcat?" He asked. Rika glared at him playfully and shook her head in mock exasperation. Chuckling lightly, Ryo pulled her onto Cyberdramon's back behind him. Rika was forced to wrap her arms around his waist when Cyberdramon kicked off into the air, nearly throwing her off.
"Alright, Cyberdramon!" Ryo called. "Lead the way!" With a burst of speed, Cyberdramon took off, with the rest of the Digimon following close behind. The only one who seemed to be having a bit of trouble keeping up was Growlmon. This, however, was remedied by a quick 'Hyper Speed' card. They were going at an incredible pace and Rika was holding onto Ryo so tightly, she was almost scared she was hurting him.
"You okay back there, Wildcat?" Ryo called over the roaring wind.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Rika shouted back.
"We're almost there!" They heard Cyberdramon growl.
"Thank goodness!" Rika said in relief. Ryo chuckled at this and Rika smiled. But before she could make her comeback, Cyberdramon had landed heavily on the ground at the mouth of a cave.
Rika and Ryo hopped off his back and they walked into the cave. The rest of the Tamers followed them in when they arrived.
Cyberdramon had been right; the cave was perfect. It was large enough to house all of them and there was a short corridor that led from the entrance to the largest part of the cave, shielding them from the wind.
"Nice work," Ryo said proudly to Cyberdramon.
Within minutes, they had a fire crackling merrily in the middle of the domed area and they were all considerably warmer.
They were now plagued with the problem of what they were going to do next. They were all tired and no one had any idea as to what they should do.
Rika yawed and leaned back into a stalagmite that had sprouted form the cave floor.
"I think we should get some rest," she said tiredly. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted."
"Rika's right. We're all tired and we won't stand a chance against the Devas if they find us like this. Cyberdramon, will you take the first watch?" Ryo asked. Cyberdramon growled his approval and walked to the cave door, picking a spot that was out of the wind.
The next few minutes were spent packing out sleeping bags and blankets. When they were all finally lying down, Rika rolled onto her side and sighed.
"Goodnight, Rika."
"Goodnight, Ryo," she whispered quietly. They were lying close to each other, just like the others. They were lying in pairs for warmth. Alice was curled up against Henry and Suzy. Kazu and Kenta were snoring side by side. Ai and Mako had nestled together with the smaller Digimon. Jeri was lying in Takato's arms and Guilmon had curled himself up behind him.
Renamon had joined Cyberdramon for the first watch. Only Alex lay alone. She was leaning against Koronamon who had sat down and simply shut his eyes.
Rika sighed and cuddled closer to Ryo, searching for more warmth in her dazed sleepiness. Her eyes drifted shut and within seconds, she was fast asleep…dead to the worlds, both real and digital.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Ryo slipped away from Rika and smiled down at her. She was curled up inside her sleeping bag, another blanket wrapped around her from the inside of her bag, so she had extra warmth.
She shivered in her sleep and shifted towards the place Ryo had been lying before.
Ryo couldn't help but chuckle lightly at this.
She must be really cold…He bent over and gently shook her shoulder. A grimace marred her pretty face and she turned away from his hand. But he was persistent. He shook her shoulder again, this time a little more forcibly. Rika mumbled something incoherent in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open. Rolling onto her back, she looked up at Ryo sleepily.
"Morning, Wildcat," he grinned. "It's our turn to take watch." Rika groaned and sat up. A shiver ran up her spine and she gasped at the cold.
"It's freezing!" She said fervently, wrapping her arms around herself in a self-hug.
"Yeah, I know. Come, I'll bring the blankets along." He pulled her to her feet and grabbed their blankets.
Henry and Alice were sitting at the cave mouth, shivering slightly from the wind. They hadn't picked a very good spot to sit in.
"Okay guys. We'll take over now," Ryo said. They turned to look at Rika and Ryo and Alice sighed with relief.
"Finally," she muttered sleepily. "It's a little chilly out here." Henry smirked at her.
"She has a gift with understatements," he said to Rika and Ryo. They chuckled and when Henry and Alice had left, they sat down in a spot that was out of the wind but allowed for perfect visibility.
Rika wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and leaned back against a rock.
"I can't see how we're going to be able to travel through this," she sighed, steam rising out of her mouth.
"If we're lucky, the blizzard will be over by tomorrow," Ryo said, looking out into the howling wind that brought more and more snow with it.
"It's hard to believe this is really happening," Rika mumbled. She was shivering violently and the rock she was leaning into was making her back ache.
"Everything is so different." Ryo looked at her sympathetically.
"Don't worry, Wildcat. No matter how different it is we'll get through it." She turned to him and smiled appreciatively.
"Thank you, Ryo," she whispered. It was so soft that Ryo thought he had imagined her saying it. But she repeated it, more loudly this time.
"What for?" Ryo asked. Rika looked away from him, turning her eyes to the outside world.
"For sticking with me, through all the crap that's going on. It means a lot to me…" Ryo smiled at this.
"Hey," he said gently. "What are friends for?" Rika looked up at him again.
"Yeah," she said, smiling weakly. "Friends…"
*~*~*~*~*~*
When the sun suddenly set again, casting an eerie shadow over the bright snow, Ryo looked towards Rika. She had slipped sideways into him, her head on his shoulder. She was sleeping peacefully.
He grinned down at her and shifted a little closer to make her more comfortable. The blizzard was still raging and the entrance to the cave was almost completely covered with snow.
They had been sitting there for quite a while now and Ryo was pretty sure that their watch was over.
But looking down at Rika, he found that he didn't want to wake her. She looked more peaceful than she had in days. Ever since her grandmother's death, she had been a lot more distant.
It was understandable of course. Rika had loved her grandmother a lot. Most of the time, Seiko had been the only person Rika could turn to before she met the Tamers. Even after that, she had really only trusted her and Renamon.
To lose Seiko must have been killing Rika.
A noise behind him made Ryo look back. Alex was walking towards them with Koronamon at her side.
"It's our turn to take watch," she said. "You can go get some more sleep if you like."
"Do you mind if we stay for a while?" Ryo asked. Alex just shrugged and sat down.
"The others are all awake you know," Alex said suddenly. "Have been for hours." She gazed at Rika for a while and Ryo suddenly felt very protective over her. He watched Alex carefully.
"Is Rika alright?" She asked. Ryo looked down at Rika then back at Alex. She was truly sincere in her concern and Ryo relaxed, feeling that it was okay to trust her.
"She'll be fine. She's just a little upset I guess. She took Seiko's death pretty hard."
"I tried to help her," Alex said, a hint of sadness barely masked in her voice. "But that Digimon was to strong. Koronamon and I barely made it ourselves." Ryo looked at her for a second and sighed.
"It wasn't your fault. The Devas are getting stronger." A thought crossed his mind and he looked at Alex expectantly.
"You…did you maybe get its name? The Deva I mean," he asked. Alex looked up, a little startled, but she nodded.
"He called himself the Deva Commander. His name was Zihuralamon. He isn't a Deva, he's a Digimon all his own I suppose. He's stronger than all the Devas put together."
"So…what, do you think he's the one sending the Devas after us?" Ryo asked. Alex shook her head.
"No. I think the Sovereign created him as well," she said. "You know, to be like a Sergeant or something. And think about it. If he's that powerful, just imagine how strong the Sovereign must be." Ryo sat back to think for a while.
If Alex was telling him the truth, then they were going to have to think of a new plan. They were having enough trouble with the Devas, let alone their Commander. This…what was his name? Zihuralamon?
He looked back at Alex, a thought suddenly crossing his mind.
"How do you know so much about the Devas and the Sovereign?" He asked.
"I've been here before, Ryo," she said, dropping her gaze. "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, I came here two months before you did the first time." Ryo stared at her wide-eyed.
"That would mean you were here for five months before the D-Reaper issue!" He exclaimed. Alex nodded solemnly.
"Do you remember when you fought that piece of the D-Reaper that looked like a big worm with teeth and no eyes?" She asked.
"Yeah, of course. That was the battle when Rika gave me all her power," Ryo explained.
"I know, but it didn't help did it? You cut it in two, but it didn't die." Ryo stared at her, now thoroughly shocked.
"How did you know that?" He asked. "You weren't there!" Alex shook her head again.
"But I was. I saw it happen from inside the Digital World. You see, I was going to catch a ride with you on that Arc thing, but I was to late. So I fought along side the Digimon here. It was Azulongmon and I that destroyed that piece when we saw you couldn't." She took a deep breath and continued. "I had to travel through another dimension to get back to the real world after you defeated the D-Reaper."
Ryo was gaping at her openly now.
"You…you mean you were helping us all along?!" Alex simply nodded again. She seemed to have lost the will to talk about it anymore.
It was at that moment that Rika decided to wake up. She sat up and looked around. Her eyes fell on Alex and she they watched each other for a while. Alex's eyes flashed and the brown faded to green.
"We should go," Ryo said, looking between them. "Come on, Rika." He stood and pulled her to her feet. While Rika walked back into the cave, Ryo lingered behind for a second.
"Hey Alex?" He said. She turned to look at him.
"Hmm?"
"Do you mind if I tell the others about this? I think they should know," he said. Alex hesitated for a second, but then she smiled and nodded.
"I guess they do have a right to know, so sure." Ryo smiled and nodded before he followed Rika back inside.
Alex watched him leave, and then looked back at Koronamon.
"When are you going to tell them the rest?" He asked impatiently.
"Soon," she replied. "She's not ready to hear it yet…none of them are."
*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N- Hi again. Sorry it was so short and I promise there will be more action in the next chappie. Anywho, thanks for reading! Oh, by the way…I'm not sure about the whole 'Digi-Phirmha' thing, but en I went back to the episode when they first got to the Digital World, that's what Takato called it so…yeah, lets just leave it for now. If you know the real name, then please tell me.
Now for some more recognition of my *cough, cough* fans:
Violet eyes Rika- Thanks a lot! But what did you mean about the descriptions getting blurred?
Taitaliney-2049- Thank you!!! That was so nice of you! But I really don't think my fic is better than the show. *blushes*
Tk293- thank you. I guess the name might have irked you a little. ;)
