Yolei was beginning to remember why she hated winter and physical exertion. You got cold, so you wrapped yourself tightly in whatever you had to wear—and then you started to sweat, so you fanned your collar (or cloak, in this case)… and then you froze again. It was a vicious cycle, and Yolei hated every part of it.

She found the ascent somewhat easier today, and she kept up easily with Ken—who seemed to be having a harder time of things. Maybe he had strained himself yesterday. They didn't talk much, both breathing hard from the exercise and the altitude. Yolei's legs burned up and down their length, and she was contemplating suggesting a break when a bright glitter caught her eye.

She jogged as quickly as she could on top of sliding rocks and aching legs toward the sparkle. "Ken! I think I found it!" Without wasting breath to explain what exactly she had found, she hurried to confirm her discovery. And there it was, brilliant crystal shining in early afternoon light around a dark opening in the mountain's side. She squinted against the glare and found that she couldn't see a foot into the cave.

Ken caught up quickly to his companion. He sat on his heels in order to peer into the darkness, to no avail. It was roughly five feet in diameter, almost a perfect circle. Yolei could see a faint grey after she shaded her eyes, which turned out to be a path that led down into the center of the peak. "Why couldn't there be a convenient door at the bottom of this stupid mountain??" she exclaimed. "Where is that lamp?" She searched her clothes and the satchel she still carried and pulled the lantern from it triumphantly. "Ah-ha!"

She held it up in the cold, clear air, but nothing happened. "Hey, we could have a problem in here."

Ken scrutinized the upheld lantern with a frown. "I do not relish the idea of traversing a cave in the dark while nameless creatures await our arrival."

Yolei shook her head. "Neither do I, but what else are we going to do? Come on, eventually the angel guy said there'd be light from the star."

And she was right. What else could they do? Ken shrugged in resignation. "Lead on."

Yolei had barely taken two steps into the opening when a silver light sprung up around her. "Oh hey, it turned on!"

"What did you do?"

After inspecting the lantern for a few moments, Yolei gave up. "I don't know. I guess it's activated when it gets dark, like the streetlamps."

The top of the tunnel—for so it was—hung a few inches about Yolei's head and brushed the top of Ken's. When Yolei was peering ahead into the darkness beyond the lantern's reach, she was unable to watch the ground and tripped over loose rocks that littered the tunnel's floor. When she switched her gaze to her feet, she imagined that she heard those mysterious creatures and couldn't concentrate. Ken was close at hand, though he never offered (or insisted) to hold the lantern, and he was readily available for Yolei to clutch if she felt she was about to fall on her face.

This time they were descending, and doing so gradually, so Yolei thought they might be able to strike up a conversation.

"So, as far as quests go, this one isn't too bad, huh?"

Ken glanced at her sideways. "Are you basing this off experience or…?"

She chuckled. "Well, I guess I've gone on a few in my day, but I mean from what I've read. People always… I don't know… die and become mortally wounded and say they can't go on. You know, the whole Lord of the Rings epic journey fraught with peril?"

"I never saw it."

Yolei gaped. "Let me get this straight—teenage male computer nerd and you didn't see Lord of the Rings?"

"Remember, been living in Digital World for last several years?"

"Yeah, with computers."

Ken shrugged. "True. When I get back to my fortress, I'll see if I can download it."

For some reason, Yolei found this uproarious. "You're already living in this place and trying to take it over, why not cheat, um, Peter Jackson out of a matinee ticket?" She giggled, and it was only made worse when Ken looked at her with an expression of purest confusion. "Never mind. When you return to your base of operations, I highly recommend the trilogy."

In her amusement, she forgot to think carefully about her feet and promptly tripped. Her arms windmilled, and just before she crashed to her knees, she grabbed Ken's shirt. He toppled right along with her, and in a matter of seconds, they were a confused heap in a rock-strewn tunnel.

The sight of the dreaded Emperor with holes in the knees of his pants and covered in dust set Yolei giggling again between exclamations of pain. "No offense, but this would be great morale booster for my side." She formed a picture frame out of her fingers and peeked through it. "I bet Davis would think of a good caption for it." At Ken's bewildered expression, she relented. "Sorry." She was still giggling under her breath. "Laughing to keep from going crazy, I think. Better than, um, going crazy."

Ken shook his head. "I don't quite believe that you are not already."

Another joke. Truly, this was an era of miracles. "You may be on to something." She stood and brushed herself off as best she could. In the lantern's pale light, dirt stood out prominently, and she sighed. Mimi would crucify her. "Well, let's continue on or merry way. Next stop—creatures of the dark who will try to kill us. We have… a dagger." She paused. "You do still have it, don't you?"

Ken nodded, producing the weapon for a moment before slipping it back into his clothes.

Yolei pursued her lips. "It doesn't look like much. Maybe it glows blue or something." She laughed briefly. "Another Lord of the Rings thing."

They made their way through the shadowed passage carefully but more quickly than either had anticipated. Soon enough, Yolei felt her stomach announcing dinner time and proclaimed a halt. There was no way to tell how much time had passed, and it was as good a way as any to determine mealtime. Walking in eternal night had made both sleepy, and they fell asleep soon after eating.