It wasn't usual for Wisemon to look forward to being punished, but then, it wasn't usual for him to actually be punished. He had spent most of his life in Lilithmon's service, and he knew her moods and motivations very well by now - well enough that he could usually arrange things to fall out in such a way as to make sure any mistakes he made were attributed to someone else, or forgiven entirely. She was far more lenient with him than she had been with most of her retainers back in the old days. Back then, she had many servants. Now it was only Wisemon and Witchmon, with only Wisemon being reliable enough that she could trust him. She couldn't do him any serious damage without losing her one real link with the outside world. Lilithmon needed him, and they both knew it. Today, though, it looked as if a lecture was in order, and he couldn't be more pleased.
He paused by the door of her study, collecting himself. He may not have had much in the way of visible expressions, but Lilithmon was as familiar with his moods as he was with hers; despite her dreamy manner, she missed very little that went on her domain. If he looked too pleased with himself, she would realize what he was up to, and then there would be trouble. He lowered his eyes and let his shoulders slump, taking on the look of someone shouldering a heavy burden. Only when he was sure he looked properly reluctant did he dare to enter.
"You are late," said Lilithmon, in her usual unconcerned tone. She could have been commenting on the color of the carpet. Nevertheless, Wisemon cringed, because he knew it was expected of him.
"My sincere apologies, my lady," he said. "I did not mean to keep you waiting."
"You have been lax in your duties these last few days," said Lilithmon. "I have come to expect more from you, Wisemon."
"It may be that I am out of practice," said Wisemon. "It has been a long time since we have had a serious threat to deal with."
Lilithmon pondered that for a moment. "That may be true. It may be that I have underestimated these children. They seem to have more power beneath the surface than I would have believed possible. It may be time to take more direct action..."
Wisemon held his breath. This was the moment he had waited for!
"Where are they now?" she asked at last.
"Last I saw of them, they were still in the mountains."
"Good," she said softly. "You will find them for me. When you have their exact location, report back to me, and I will take care of them for you."
Wisemon heard the rebuke in her voice, and didn't care. He bowed his head so she wouldn't see him smiling. "Of course, my lady. It will be as you say."
"Very well. Do try not to disappoint me this time." She waved one hand in his general direction, without seeming to look at him. He bowed again anyway, just to be safe, and moved away as quickly as he could without incurring her displeasure.
Things are finally starting to go right, he thought, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. At long last, his lady would emerge from her self-imposed exile and smite down her enemies, and there was no one alive today who could stop her once she went on the move again.
After all, there were some secrets about Lilithmon that only she and Wisemon knew, and no one could fight what they knew nothing about...
For Kouji, it began with nothing more than a faint, almost imperceptible feeling that something good was on its way. He didn't notice it at first, other than as a slight lightening of his mood. He had been walking all night, and his body felt numb and clumsy. His feet ached from pounding on the rocky ground for so long. That was probably what finally drew his attention to the feeling stealing over him - why, when he was so aching and exhausted, did he feel so good? As the feeling grew, his eyes were drawn irresistibly to the east, and he became aware of a change in the color of the sky. It went from gray to pink to gold, and the mountains gleamed in the growing light.
"It's beautiful..." he said, staring raptly at the sunrise.
"Is it?" Takuya mumbled. He had his eyes on the ground, watching for rocks and roots. He seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open, much less appreciating the sunrise.
"It means the night is over," said Kouichi, "and maybe with some luck, our enemies will give it a rest."
"I'd like to give it a rest, myself," Takuya replied. "We worked hard yesterday!"
"I'm with him," said Izumi. "I'm bushed. My feet are killing me!"
"I guess we do probably need some sleep," Kouji admitted. Even with the increasing light giving him strength, he knew deep down that he was running out of energy. They had traveled all night without stopping, and none of them had eaten in hours. "On the other hand, our supplies are running low. I estimate that we have enough food for one more meal, maybe two if we're really careful, but after that..."
"Bokomon, you said there was a rest stop near here," said Takuya. "How much further away is it? Bokomon?"
Bokomon said nothing. Instead, he snored. The two little Digimon were both sound asleep, one slung over each of Junpei's shoulders. He was quietly bearing his burden, feeling that he had to do something to make up for holding the rest of the team back lately. At least Bokomon and Neemon weren't particularly heavy, but it made him feel a bit like a pack mule.
"That's not fair," said Izumi. "If we don't get to sleep, they don't, either! Wake up!"
She prodded Bokomon, and he twitched slightly and went back to sleep. She frowned, seized his elastic band, and snapped it as hard as she could.
"Ouch!" he cried. "What was that for?"
"You weren't paying attention," said Kouichi. The rising light level wasn't doing anything for his mood. "We wanted to know how much further until we reach that rest stop you were talking about."
"Oh. That," said Bokomon blearily, blinking his sleepy eyes. He looked around at the mountains, and then flipped open his book and began checking the information in it. "Hmm. If my calculations are correct - and they always are - we are currently on our way through the pass between Mount Landing and the Untouchable Mountain."
"Untouchable Mountain?" Junpei repeated. "I don't know if I like the sound of that."
"Don't worry; we won't get too close to it," Bokomon replied. "The Untouchable Mountain is known for having very steep, slick sides, and it is prone to rock slides in warm weather and avalanches in cold weather. Very few Digimon have been able to climb it successfully, and its peak is so sharp that even flying Digimon have trouble landing upon it, and so it was called the Untouchable Mountain. The pass we're going to take goes over the shoulder of Mount Landing, which is much safer. There will be a bit of a climb, still, but it's safer than passing under the Untouchable Mountain's slopes. Beyond that, it's all downhill from there. The rest stop is located in a valley just beyond our sight."
He pointed, and the others raised their eyes. Framed against the rising sun were two mountains. One was a wicked looking thing with a sharp, jagged point that looked needle-thin from a distance. The other had a flat top and rounded sides. There was a curved lump on one side that could only be the shoulder they were supposed to be aiming for.
"That doesn't look like a bad climb," said Junpei. "And once we're done with that...?"
"Safe haven, a warm bed, and a home-cooked meal," answered Bokomon positively.
"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" asked Takuya, suddenly bright-eyed and eager.
"You were complaining you were tired," Kouji teased.
"Yeah, but if it's a choice between sleeping in a bed and sleeping under a rock somewhere..."
"We should hurry," said Izumi.
"No kidding," Junpei agreed. "I'm not looking forward to starving up here in the mountains."
"It's not that," she said. "The wind is changing."
Takuya gave a theatrical groan. "Not again! Why did we have to come to the Digital World in the rainy season?"
"I don't think it's going to rain," said Izumi. "This feels... different."
"Well, it's not going to storm," Junpei said. "I don't feel a thing."
"It's not going to rain," said Tomoki. There was something in his voice that made everyone turn to stare at him. His expression had gone strangely blank. "It's going to snow."
"Is it?" said Kouji. "That's odd. It doesn't seem cold enough to snow... and I don't see any clouds."
"I know," Tomoki answered, "but it's going to snow anyway. It's really weird. I can feel it coming, like a big avalanche. I don't like it."
"Guess we'd really better start making tracks," said Takuya. "If we get hit by a snowstorm and get stuck somewhere... Brr! I hate being snowed in."
"I don't see how it can snow," said Kouji, sounding frustrated. "It's a little cool up here, but it can't be less than fifty degrees, and there's barely a cloud in the sky."
"I know that," said Tomoki. "That's why I don't like it. It doesn't feel natural... but it is going to snow, and snow pretty hard. We had better find shelter, and fast."
"Well, you'd know best," said Kouji, but his raised eyebrows indicated that he was still skeptical. "Let's keep moving, then."
The weary team made an effort to pick up the pace, despite their tired eyes and aching limbs. After a few more minutes of this, Kouji made an effort to lift their morale a bit by suggesting they take a snack while they walked, and distributed a handful of dried fruit to everyone. The fruits were very hard and dry by now, and a little crumbled after being carried all this distance, but they tasted all right. A few gulps of water helped, and water was the one thing they had in abundance right now, having filled up their canteens the day before. A little breakfast did help give them the strength to go on. As the sun rose, so did their spirits. They attacked the slopes ahead with determination and even a certain amount of enthusiasm as their second wind set in. Only Tomoki seemed withdrawn. He gazed pensively into his mirror as he walked.
"You okay?" asked Takuya, drawing closer to him. "You aren't getting too tired, are you?"
Tomoki gave him a brave smile. "I'm doing my best! I know we'll get to rest soon, so I'm going to keep up until we get there."
"You aren't all worried about that snow, are you?" Takuya persisted.
Tomoki looked down. "A little. You believe me, right?"
"Of course I believe you! I've done it too, right?" said Takuya. "We're all doing it, one way or another. It's getting kind of creepy, when you think about it. I mean... twice in the last couple of days, I've turned into Flamon, and each time, I've forgotten who I really am. I just think I'm the Element of Fire, and nothing else seems to matter. And now every time one of us starts acting like that while we're human..."
"Hey! Maybe I can evolve soon!" said Tomoki, perking up a bit. Then his face fell again. "But I wouldn't want to get lost, either...."
"You won't get lost!" Takuya said bracingly. "You've got the Pool, right? The thing that shows who you really are. As long as you don't lose that, you can't lose yourself. You're pretty lucky, you know."
"Hey, that's right! I'd almost forgotten," said Tomoki. He looked back down at his mirror and grimaced a bit. "Whatever I evolve into, I hope it doesn't look like that."
Takuya looked down and discovered that the mirror was showing the goat again. It was an impressive looking goat, as far as goats went, with lots of shaggy fur and great curling horns, and Takuya wouldn't have wanted it to be angry at him. He wouldn't have wanted to be one, either.
"Wonder what's with that thing?" said Takuya.
"Maybe it's some kind of warning," Tomoki replied thoughtfully.
Takuya shrugged. "Maybe we should ask Bokomon if there are any random herds of mountain goats out here."
"That's what it is! A mountain goat," said Tomoki. "I'll bet that's why I keep seeing it. Something important is going to happen... up there." His eyes strayed to the lofty peaks ahead of him.
"Somehow," said Takuya, "I kinda hope not."
For the next hour or so, things started looking more positive. The trail on Mount Landing was broad and smooth, which Bokomon attributed to them getting closer to civilization. Most of the group was already dreaming happily of a home-cooked meal and sleeping with a roof over their heads. Some of them were already half-asleep, giving no more attention to their surroundings than it took to keep walking. It was Kouji who first noticed that there was something odd about this morning - instead of getting lighter, it was growing darker and darker. He looked up at the sky and saw clouds rolling in. He silently caught his brother's attention, and pointed upwards. Kouichi sighted the clouds and winced.
"They're moving in fast," he muttered. "There must be a strong wind up there."
"We're going to get some weather of some sort," said Kouji, eyeing the darkening sky. The clouds were roiling and piling up at an astonishing rate, and he wasn't sure he'd ever seen clouds look quite that threatening before. "I'm not sure I believe we're going to get snow, though. This looks more like another thunderstorm, to me."
The brothers looked speculatively at Junpei, but he didn't seem to be acting in any way out of the ordinary. Actually, if they'd known, he was thinking more about his chances of getting a decent lunch than the weather.
"It can't snow," said Kouji. "It's not cold ... enough... to snow..."
He trailed off. Despite his prediction, white flakes were starting to float down from the sky. Kouji and Kouichi exchanged looks of dismay as the snow settled in their hair and on their clothes.
"Aw, nuts," Takuya muttered. "I was hoping it would hold off a little longer... I hate being cold and wet."
"All right, maybe I was wrong," said Kouji.
"This is bad," said Tomoki. "We need to get to shelter, and fast."
"How far are we from the rest stop?" asked Izumi.
Bokomon looked uncomfortable. "About three miles, as the Birdramon flies, but the trail zigzags quite a bit. On foot, it's closer to six or seven."
"Now you tell us," Takuya muttered.
The snow continued to fall as they hiked upwards. At first, it was just a handful of gentle flakes, no more than could dampen the road as they melted. Then the temperature began to drop rapidly, and the wind picked up. The snow fell faster, reducing visibility to a few yards. Now it was piling up on the road and obscuring it from sight, and the path began accumulating a layer of ice and snow. The children found themselves laboring to climb what had been an easy incline a few minutes ago.
"Maybe we had better rethink this?" said Izumi, or tried to. The wind was biting her to the bone, and her teeth were chattering to the point where it was hard to talk.
"What's to rethink?" Takuya shouted back. "Either way we go, we're going to get frozen! There's no shelter out here."
"We might have to make some," said Kouichi.
"Out of what?" Takuya asked. He waved one hand around at the rocky terrain. There weren't even any trees nearby, only rocks and more rocks.
They struggled onward. The snow was piling up around their ankles and getting into their shoes. A halt was called while they raided their packs for anything that could be used to keep them warm, and they piled their clothes on in layers and wrapped themselves in their blankets. Bokomon and Neemon were faring the worst, having not brought any spare clothes with them - they had never owned any in the first place. They had to settle for being tucked under the jackets of whoever would consent to carry them. Carrying them was a necessity now, because the snow was starting to pile up to the point where they could barely plough through it on their short legs.
A strange darkness seemed to have fallen over the world while they walked, and inwardly, everyone was worrying. Kouji in particular was disturbed by the fact that it was evening-dark at what should have been noon. It was a darkness that couldn't be attributed to just clouds; there was something vile in the air that brought a chill to his soul that matched the one in his frozen feet. He glared up at the clouds, that were still twisting and roiling in a highly un- cloud-like way. Watching them move for too long made him feel seasick.
"All right, this has officially given me the creeps," he said. "Has anyone ever seen the sky do that before?"
Izumi glanced upwards. "Now that you mention it... no."
"I knew there was something bad about this," said Tomoki. "This isn't a natural snowstorm."
"Then what is it?" asked Takuya, eyeing the clouds uneasily.
"Someone must have sent it here by magic," Bokomon said, from the safety of Junpei's coat. "There are a few Digimon powerful enough to do such a thing."
"I guess it's too much to hope they're just doing this because they're bored?" said Junpei.
"Maybe they just wanted a snow day so they could get out of school," Neemon piped up.
"Somehow," said Bokomon, "I don't think that's it."
"I don't like the looks of this," said Kouichi. "It's one thing to fight a Digimon, but it's something else to try to fight the forces of nature."
"What are you talking about? We are forces of nature!" Takuya declared.
"Yes, but we barely know how to control our powers," said Kouji. "Someone else obviously doesn't have that problem. Someone doesn't want us getting over this mountain!"
"I read something like this in a book once," Tomoki murmured.
"Well, I'm not backing down," said Takuya stubbornly. "We're too close to the end of the trail to turn back now, and I'm not going back through all that again!"
"Obviously not," said Kouji dryly. Instead of explaining, he pointed back the way they had come. The path was snowed under, and even their footprints had been obliterated by the falling snow and whipping winds. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find their way back.
"We can't worry about that now," said Takuya. "We'll just have to keep pushing forward until we can find some shelter, or until this snow gives out!"
"Are you kidding? That's crazy talk! We'll get lost!" Izumi said.
"We're already lost! How much more lost can we be?" asked Kouji.
"We can't stand here and turn into icicles," said Junpei reasonably. "As long as we aim between the two mountains, I don't see how we can get too lost."
He waved vaguely at the horizon. The two mountains, one smooth and one sharp, still loomed faintly visible, even through the driving snow. They looked like a pair of gray ghosts, or just the shadows of mountains, but there was no mistaking their distinctive shapes.
"I guess you're right," said Kouji. "All right. Forget the path. Let's just set a course for the gap between the mountains and hope for the best."
"You got it," said Takuya. "Enough arguing - let's move!"
He suited action to words, breaking into a swift trot, leaving the others scrambling to catch up to him. He cast a glance over his shoulder once or twice, to make sure the others were following him, but he couldn't bring himself to slack off his pace. There was something inside of him telling him that he needed to get out of this cold, and soon. It was the same beguiling voice that whispered to him that he was something more than human, and that if he wished, he could change into something that could turn this snow into so much hot water. All he had to do was shrug off this clumsy human form and accept his destiny.
I really need to get out of the cold, or I'll go crazy!
With that thought in mind, he looked back at the others, who were strung out in a line behind him. Kouji was closest to him, using his Staff to find the rough places on the ground and helping his twin over the difficult spots. Tomoki came next, apparently unbothered by the snow or the freezing temperatures - he hardly seemed to feel the cold. Junpei was bringing up the rear, burdened as he was by a pair of half-frozen Digimon. He was keeping a solicitous eye on Izumi, who was shivering even under her layers of wraps.
We're going to have to keep an eye on her if we don't want her to freeze. She handles cold even worse than I do, Takuya mused. And I'm not sure I like the idea of what will happen to him with all this snow around. If I'm hearing the voice of Flame out here in all of this, I can only imagine what he must be hearing!
"Takuya, watch yourself!" Kouji shouted at him. "You're getting too far ahead!"
"I'm okay! I know what I'm do-" said Takuya, and stopped, because his foot had found a loose stone buried under the layers of snow and ice. He tipped over and fell on his back, and began to slide down the icy slope. He struggled to turn himself over, to find something to cling to, but all there was were stones and loose snow. He continued to pick up momentum as he slid down the side of the mountain like a human toboggan.
"Help!" he cried.
"Takuya!" Tomoki broke into a run. Before anyone could stop him, he'd jumped down the slippery slope after his friend. The others watched in horror as both of them fell out of sight beyond the curtain of snow.
"Idiot!" Kouji muttered. He sighed. "I guess if they've gone, we'll have to go, too."
So saying, he took a careful look at the slope and jumped onto it, sliding down the side as if he were riding a skateboard, using the Staff for balance. The others followed, if not quite with the same easy grace. Down and down they fell for what seemed like hours, skidding on the ice and bumping into hidden rocks. They were dumped unceremoniously at the bottom of the incline feeling bruised and battered and more than a little disoriented.
"Is everybody alive?" Izumi called.
"I'm getting awfully tired of this," Bokomon muttered.
"Mmph, mmph!" said Neemon. Junpei had managed to fall on top of him. The boy quickly scrambled to his feet, and Neemon gasped for air.
"Sorry 'bout that," said Junpei sheepishly. "You okay?"
"I think so," said Neemon. He sat up and shook the snow out of his ears.
"It looks like we're all in one piece," said Kouichi. "Now let's see if we can find..."
"Hey, guys, over here!"
Out of the swirling drifts came Tomoki. He waved to the others.
"Takuya's over here," he said. "I think he hurt himself!"
"Great," Junpei muttered. "Just what we needed."
The group trudged after Tomoki, fighting the drifts of snow that had piled in this crevasse. While it had been inches deep on the trail, here it had slid down the steep sides of the mountains to pile in heaps that were waist-deep in some places. They dug their way through to find Takuya a short distance away, trying gingerly to stand up with the aid of a nearby rock. He looked quite annoyed that he had come to this.
"Well, you don't look dead to me," said Kouji. "What's wrong with you?"
"I twisted my knee a little when I fell, is all," Takuya replied. "It's a little sore, but I'll manage. Are the rest of you guys okay?"
"Fine, other than being stuck down here," Izumi replied. She looked up at the snow covered slopes, slick with ice. "No way we're climbing out of this."
Takuya looked sheepish. "Well, the goal wasn't to go up, anyway. We were heading to the valley to begin with, so I just saved us a climb."
"Except now we're trapped at the foot of the Untouchable Mountain," said Bokomon, "and have just radically increased our chances of being crushed in an avalanche."
"Great," Kouji muttered.
"On the other hand, the Untouchable Mountain is known to have a few clefts and caves in its sides, so it is a bit more likely that we can find shelter," Bokomon continued.
"That's more like it," said Junpei.
With no other option, they trudged forward again. The snow was piled so deeply that it took a major effort to even walk, and the older boys wound up taking turns marching in front, clearing a path so that the rest of the group could follow more easily in their wake. From time to time, a sheet of snow would come swishing down the side of the mountain and splash against them, but it was never enough to cause more than an inconvenience. They marched in grim silence, trying to ignore the bitter cold and keep their frozen feet from stumbling on the uneven ground. Takuya sniffled as the bitter air froze his nose.
At last, looming out of the omnipresent whiteness, they saw a streak of black against the gray-white mountainside. They rushed forward and found that it was, indeed, a narrow crack in the stone wall. It was so small that they had to get down on their hands and knees to crawl inside, and even then it was a tight fit, but once they were inside, there was enough room for all of them to sit comfortably. They settled down with sighs of relief, enjoying the relative warmth; it was still chilly and damp inside this cave, but it protected them all from the biting winds outside. Their combined body heat soon raised the temperature until it was almost comfortable, if a bit stuffy.
"Whew!" said Takuya, sinking back against the wall. "I'm glad that's over!"
"It's not over yet," said Kouichi. "We're just putting off the inevitable for a while. We're still stuck in an avalanche area, and we still don't have enough food to last much longer. If we get snowed in here, we could starve - if we don't suffocate first." He nodded significantly at the tiny opening to the cave. Already snow was piling up in front of it. If the snow continued at this rate, it was entirely possible they would be trapped in this airless hole.
"We've got to think of a way out of this," said Kouji. "There must be a way..."
"We'd be safe enough if we could work out how to climb back up onto Mt. Landing," Junpei offered. "Safer, anyway."
"That doesn't do us any good," said Bokomon. "You can't get there from here."
"We can't give up!" said Tomoki. "There might still be a way out. If we look, maybe we can find a place where the slope isn't so steep, and we can climb back out again. At least, we might be able to find a better cave."
"How are we going to find that?" asked Junpei. "If we go back out there, we'll freeze, or get an avalanche dropped on us."
Tomoki shook his head. "You might, but I won't."
Everyone stared at him.
"You aren't thinking of doing something crazy, are you?" Takuya asked.
"It makes sense," Tomoki insisted. "I hardly feel the cold. The snow doesn't bother me like it does you guys. I'll be fine out there. You guys can stay here and wait for me, and I'll search the area and see what I can find."
"What if you get lost?" Izumi asked him.
"I'll use this," he said, holding up his mirror. "I'll make it show me the way out, like we did in the Drimogemon caves. Don't worry," he assured them. "I'll be fine. You'll see."
Before anyone could stop him, he'd turned and scampered through the opening to the cave. Within seconds, he had disappeared, and the falling snow blotted out any trace of his passing.
There were people who saw their problems more clearly after a good night's sleep, and then there were people like Witchmon. It was seldom that Witchmon ever saw the answers to her problems clearly, and generally, even when she did, a night's sleep tended to hamper her thought process more than help it. This was because it was difficult for her to remember anything for that length of time. Even if she had things more or less settled in her mind by the time she went to sleep, when the morning came, not only would she not remember what she had decided, she often wouldn't remember what the problem was in the first place. Most of her problems were dealt with that way: not gone, just forgotten.
Today, however, she still had a problem on her mind, and that was the issue of the Legendary Warriors. In her dreams, she had been haunted by what the warrior-insect Mushimon had told her - that she couldn't be on both sides at once. She knew perfectly well where her loyalties lay. She owed everything to Lilithmon and Wisemon, and besides, she loved her brother and didn't want to make him upset with her. It was true, too, that Lilithmon would likely do unpleasant things to her if Witchmon was caught disobeying orders. On the other hand...
On the other hand, she had discovered somewhere along the line that she rather liked the Legendary Warriors. They had been kind to her when they had no reason to expect her to be kind to them in return - and every reason to believe she wouldn't, since she admittedly had done her limited best to try to kill them the first time they met. More than that, she admired their courage and perseverance. They had kept going against obstacles that would have left her cowering in tears of fear or frustration. Most of all, they had what she admired most: loyalty. They stood by each other no matter what befell them. She had to admit, if only to herself, that if Wisemon had once again issued the order to her to find the Warriors and destroy them, she would have balked. Perhaps not openly disobeyed, because old habits died hard, but...
Witchmon was mulling all this over as she made her morning effort to brush her hair. Today was not one of its cooperative days, and she could have sworn one side was tangling itself while she was brushing the other. How she wished she could have Lilithmon's effortless elegance!
"How long are you going to stay in there preening?" said a voice at her door.
Witchmon jumped and dropped her brush; it skittered across the floor and disappeared under her bed, where she would be forced to cover herself in cobwebs trying to retrieve it later.
"Oops!" she said.
There was a heavy sigh. "Do I even want to know what that was?"
"It was nothing, really!" she said. "I just... dropped something, but it's okay! Um, what are you doing here, Wisemon?"
"At the moment, standing out here talking to your door. You might come here and open it."
"Sorry!" Witchmon jumped to her feet, catching her toe on the hem of her dress as she did so. She staggered a bit, and managed to regain her balance just in time to walk into the door. She opened it, rubbing at her sore nose. Cat twined comfortingly around her ankles.
"It's about time," said Wisemon. "You know Lady Lilithmon dislikes it when the people around her make too much noise, and I dislike having to raise my voice."
"Sorry. I don't like people watching me when I'm getting dressed."
Wisemon rolled his eyes. "You are the only person who lives in this part of the building. Who is going to see you?"
"I don't know," said Witchmon sheepishly. "Someone."
Wisemon shook his head. "I don't know why I'm having this nonsensical conversation."
"You started it," Witchmon pointed out innocently.
Wisemon pressed a hand over his eyes. "I give up. Let's start all over again, shall we?"
"Okay," said Witchmon agreeably. "What's up?"
"Truthfully, I'm worried about Lilithmon," said Wisemon. "I'm afraid I don't think she's exerting herself as much as she might be."
"Oh," Witchmon said. "What does that mean?"
"It means," he answered patiently, "that I don't think she's trying hard enough. You know better than anyone how much I would like to see her power restored, and it breaks my heart to see her setting herself up for failure when I know she could do so much better."
Witchmon didn't know what to say. She tried, "Oh," again.
"Well, look for yourself," said Wisemon.
He took out one of his crystals from his sleeve. It was deep blue, but when he breathed on it, it lit up, showing a blur of white. She stared at it.
"Ooh, pretty! A snow globe!"
Wisemon looked as if he were seriously regretting this idea.
"No," he managed to grind out. "It is not a snow globe. What you are seeing is actual snow from a long way off, all right? Make an effort to follow along."
Witchmon nodded and attempted to look alert.
"Lilithmon has conjured a snowstorm over the mountains that the Warriors are trying to cross," said Wisemon. "Am I talking too fast for you? Good. Now, look."
He waved his hand over the globe, causing the image to zoom in on a barely visible crack in the rock. Witchmon saw a flicker of movement - someone inside was clearing snow away from the exit.
"You see?" he said. "They've hidden themselves away. Lilithmon's powers, considerable though they are, won't hold out forever. If they are able to successfully wait out the storm, they'll be able to dig themselves out and go on about their business."
He stopped talking and looked to see if Witchmon was taking this in. She continued looking at him expectantly, waiting for the rest of it. He sighed.
"Let me spell it out for you," he said. "If they can get out of that cave again, that will make it look like Lilithmon isn't powerful enough to stop them. We don't want that. What we want is for Lilithmon to remember her true power. She won't be able to rise again unless we can encourage her to come out of this self-imposed exile. That means we can't let them out of that cave. Do you understand?"
Witchmon thought a minute. "So... you're saying we can't let them get out, right?"
"Very good, Witchmon! For a minute, I thought you wouldn't get it. Yes, dear sister, that is exactly what we need to do - keep them in that cave. So, what I want you to do is go out there and arrange a little accident. You should be able to do that. You're good at having accidents. I'll send you out to the mountains, and you see if you can arrange to push some of the snow down to cover up the entrance to the cave."
"But, but," said Witchmon, "I thought you said..."
Wisemon's voice was heavy with warning. "You thought I said what?"
"That I could be friends with them," she answered sheepishly. "I don't want to do anything to hurt them..."
"You won't have to hurt them," said Wisemon. "You don't have to do anything but block them into the cave so they can't get out. That's all." He refrained from mentioning that if they didn't suffocate under the tons of snow before they dug themselves out, they were likely to die of hypothermia or starvation, or some combination of all three. Of course, Witchmon wouldn't think of any of that until it was too late, and would probably blame herself for letting such an "accident" happen.
"Oh!" said Witchmon. "Well... Okay! If it will help..."
"It will help immeasurably," said Wisemon.
"All right, I'll do it," she said. "Where do you want me to go?"
"It's too far for you to fly," said Wisemon, watching her sigh in relief as he did so. "I will transport you magically. Here." He handed her another orb, this one bright red. "Use this to tell me when you're ready to come back."
Witchmon accepted the stone and put it in her hat, where it was less likely to get lost. She clutched at her broom in one hand, and Cat jumped up onto her shoulder. When she was in readiness, Wisemon placed one hand on his blue crystal and said some harsh-sounding words. There was a flash and a smell like burning rose petals, and then she was gone.
Tomoki walked through the snow, and was not particularly bothered by it. It was a very strange feeling. He had always liked snow, ever since he was a small child, and his parents used to pull him around their yard in a little plastic sled. The whole world became a sugar-frosted wonderland where you could do almost anything: glide along the surface of water, or build houses and people out of ice. Boring patches of grass became enticing playgrounds. Everyone stayed home from work or school for a while and relaxed - there was something about snow that made work take second place to enjoyment. Yes, he quite liked snow, but he had never experienced a feeling quite like this before.
For one thing, he wasn't cold. He knew he should be, because he could feel in his heart that the temperature was well below freezing, and he had nothing heavier than a light jacket to protect him. Nevertheless, he wasn't even shivering, and while he didn't exactly feel warm, he didn't feel he was in any imminent danger of freezing. Actually, he felt that he could have walked through this snow storm in his shorts and t-shirt and actually feel better than he did under all this insulation. He was actually tempted to try the experiment, and it took a certain amount of willpower to resist.
That wouldn't be good, and you know it, he scolded himself. This was the last time and place to go tempting fate like that! What happens if you evolve out here? You'll be in big trouble, that's what. None of the others are out here to protect you...
He shook his head. He didn't need protecting! He wasn't a little kid anymore, and he could protect himself, especially in a place like this. This was his big chance to do something that none of the others could do!
Determinedly, he slogged through the snow. Its coldness might not have bothered him, but the depth was starting to hinder him. It was already piling up well past his knees in some spots, and just walking was a struggle. The flakes were coming down harder and faster than ever, and visibility was no more than a few feet, at best. He was walking through a world of white skies, white earth, and white air, and the snow clinging to his body made him look like a walking snowman. He held a hand in front of his face and watched the snowflakes pile up in his palm. It surprised him to see that the flakes didn't melt when they touched his skin. He put a hand to his face; his skin was ice cold.
This isn't good. I need to finish this and get back to the others, fast, before I become a real snowman!
He shook himself, trying to clear his mind. He was hungry and thirsty from his exertions, and it was making him feel weak and lightheaded. He tried scooping some snow into his mouth, and then spat it out again. Something didn't taste right about it, but more than that, he was made uncomfortable by the fact that it didn't seem to want to melt. He was as cold inside as he was outside, and he didn't want to think about what that meant. He could hear the wind singing as it whipped through the sharp stones on the Untouchable Mountain, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to block it out of his mind.
He continued struggling forwards, using his hands as well as his feet to move the piles of snow out of his way. His limbs felt heavy - not from the cold, but from utter exhaustion. He wanted to lie down and sleep. He fought back a yawn as he forced himself to keep going.
Everyone is counting on you! Hang in there, Tomoki...
His foot struck something, and he looked up. Ahead of him was a rocky slope, running at about a forty-five degree angle. It seemed to lead back up the side of Mount Landing. Tomoki climbed a short distance up its side, checking for pitfalls or unexpected slick spots, but it seemed perfectly hospitable. Elated with his victory, he scrambled back down the side of the hill and began picking his way back to the others.
At first, the going was easy, and he was able to find his way by walking in his own footprints. Even beyond that point, the snow wasn't quite as deep in the places he had pushed it aside, and he could walk without worrying. The sound of the wind in his ears was blotted out by the happy thoughts in his head, as he thought of how proud and impressed his friends would be when they heard what he had to say to them. They shouldn't be too far ahead, now. In a few minutes he would be with them again, and everything would be all right.
A chill went down his spine, and he stopped walking. What was wrong with him? He hadn't felt cold since the cold had started, so where had this chill come from? Was the power of the Spirit of Ice abandoning him? No, it was something else - the chill of something bad about to happen...
That was when he heard the rumbling. He looked up just in time to see a great wave of white rolling down the steep side of the Untouchable Mountain. He screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the rumbling of the oncoming snow.
"No! No, stop!"
Tomoki held up his hands, as if he could order the avalanche to turn back, but that power was not his. He could only stand helplessly as he watched the snow roll inexorably forward, covering up the trail. Higher and higher it piled, until it was heaped up above his head, an impenetrable wall of whiteness. Tomoki stood helplessly. Little stray swirls of powder snow pooled almost lovingly around his ankles. He only stood and stared, looking at the tons of immovable snow that stood between himself and his friends.
"No..." he said again, quietly.
He pressed his face into his hands, and felt coldness. He brought them away again, seeing flakes of white. He was weeping snowflakes.
Something tore inside him. What good was having power over ice and snow if it couldn't save his friends? Why did he have to be safe from the snow and ice while the people he cared about most were swallowed up by it? Why did his own element have to be their undoing? How could he let this happen? He threw his head back and howled like a wild animal.
I can still fix this, said a voice in the back of his mind. He wasn't sure if the thought was his own, or whether it had come from another source entirely. It could have been the voice of the wind, or the echo of the animalistic howl that had come from his human throat. Whatever it was, its message was clear: I can fix this, but not as a human.
Without stopping to think about what he was doing, he began tugging at his clothing, shedding the excess layers. The last shreds of warmth next to his body were stripped away, leaving his skin bare to the sub-freezing winds. A normal human would have been frozen in moments, but he felt nothing but a dim sense of his strength returning. The icy wind sang in his ears.
The power of Ice is the power of winter, it whispered. It is the time of rest and the prelude to regeneration, and brings relief from the heat of high summer. It lies in the darkness beneath the earth and crowns the mountains that touch the sky. It adorns the planets in the most distant reaches of the universe. It is deep, wise, and steady. The Ice is in you, and you are Ice!
"The Ice is in me," he repeated, softly as falling snowflakes. "I am Ice!"
The wind whipped up to frenzy force, momentarily obscuring the boy in a cloud of whirling snowflakes so dense that they seemed to have rubbed him out entirely. Then they settled, and where there had once been a human boy, there sat something else entirely. It had a round body covered in snowy white fur with blue speckles on its back, and it walked on four short legs with heavy paws. Its face was bearlike, with a short muzzle and rounded ears. Oddly enough, it was also wearing what appeared to be snowshoes, and a pair of tubular metal devices was strapped to its back. The beast rose up on its hind feet and howled again, victoriously.
"Finally!" he said. "Out at last!"
He shook himself, freeing the light coating of snow that had settled on his fur. Then he sized up his situation. On the one hand was a great mountain of snow and ice - too much for even him to plough through. That wouldn't be any fun, anyway. On the other hand, however, were interesting trails and slopes and drifts to play in. That was much more exciting. Laughing to himself, the little Digimon trundled off into the storm.
It was very cold in the cave. There was only so much a collection of five humans and two small Digimon could do to warm the roots of the mountain, and even with their breath rising up in steamy clouds around them, the air was still chilly. Takuya swore that the temperature was continuing to drop, both inside and out. No one seemed inclined to disagree with his analysis - mostly because they were too busy trying to keep themselves warm. The floor and walls were icy cold, not to mention a bit damp, and were hardly comfortable to sit on, but they were too exhausted to stand. Instead, they huddled together in a tight knot, with what clothing and blankets they could pull together thrown over them to hold in the heat. Nevertheless, a few of them still shivered. Cold and lack of sleep was preying on all of them; Izumi in particular kept nodding off and coming awake again with a jolt.
"Quit doing that!" said Junpei, sounding close to panic. "You're going to get - hypothermica, or whatever they call it."
"I don't think that's quite it," said Kouichi. "You're right, though. We're not going to last long, at this rate."
"I'm okay, really," Izumi protested. Her voice sounded a bit faint. "I'm just sleepy, that's all."
"I hope Tomoki is okay," Takuya said. "What if an avalanche falls on him while he's out there? We shouldn't have let him go."
"He'll be okay," said Kouji bracingly. His voice sounded steady and confident, unusually so for the often-pessimistic Warrior of Light. "He'd never let us down. He's a lot stronger than he was the first time we met him. And he's also right that he has the best chance out of any of us at surviving in this blizzard."
"Yeah, but to let him go alone?" asked Takuya. "That's crazy. Someone should have gone with you."
"Not you," said Izumi, showing a flash of her usual spirit. "You're almost as bad about the cold as I am."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." There was a thoughtful pause. Takuya shifted around a bit, trying to find some way of sitting that didn't freeze some part of his anatomy, and chafed his hands together. His fingers ached with the cold. He tucked them under his arms.
"Y'know," he said at last, "I just thought - has anyone but me noticed that Tomoki is being a little more reckless than usual?"
"You mean, with this going out into the storm?" asked Kouichi.
"Yean, I mean that," Takuya said. "And I mean running off in the Drimogemon tunnels. I mean volunteering to be bait in our trap for Witchmon. All that stuff. He's taking a lot of risks these days - dangerous ones. It's not like him."
"You're right, it's not," said Junpei. "Man. I wonder what's gotten into him?"
"Maybe it's just... you know, being here again," said Kouichi. "I know how he feels, a little. Like, I didn't get as much of a chance as you guys did to be a hero. I started out on the wrong foot, and it's tempting to do something to try to be a hero. Maybe he just wants to reassure himself that he's still as good as he was back then."
There was a pause as everyone considered this possibility.
"Well, I just hope he doesn't go and do something crazy," said Junpei.
"He won't," said Kouji. "Sometimes I think he's the most level-headed one among us. He won't let us down."
Takuya nodded, feeling reassured. Kouji had that effect on him, which was one good reason why the two of them hung out together, different though their personalities were. Kouji was good at making him see reality, and the reality was that Tomoki was tougher and more determined than most people gave him credit for. If there was a way out of this mess, he'd find it, and if there wasn't, he'd think of a way to make one.
But it won't do us any good if we freeze to death before he gets here! he thought, clamping his hands over his ears. Even though his fingers were only marginally warm after being tucked close to his body for a while, they burned like fire on his frozen skin. He gritted his teeth and bore the discomfort anyway. This is ridiculous. I'm the Warrior of Fire! I ought to have it in me to deal with a little thing like the cold.
He pondered his options. He had no doubt that Flamon could have this cave warm as toast in a few seconds, but was it really worth the risk? True, he probably couldn't run very far in here, but what if Takuya got stuck in that form and couldn't get back? True, such a fate was probably better than death, but Takuya didn't relish spending the rest of his life as a Digimon, especially if being a Digimon meant losing all his memories of his friends and his own true self. He hated to even think of something like that, but if it would save the rest of his friends...
Before he had a chance to make up his mind, his ruminations were interrupted by a distant thud, and what sounded to him suspiciously like a feminine shriek. Then there was an ominous rumble that made his stomach seem to sink.
"What is-?" Junpei began.
Then the rumble became a roar, and they watched helplessly as the entrance to the cave was covered in a crushing layer of snow. The white window to the world became gray, and then black, as all light was blotted out.
"Is everybody all right?" said Junpei to the darkness. He knew it was a rather silly thing to say, considering that nothing had happened, yet, that directly affected them, but he felt like he ought to say it anyway.
"I guess," said Takuya. "I can't see, I'm trapped in a cave under a ton of snow, and we're probably all going to suffocate in a few hours, but no, I'm not hurt."
"We didn't need that," Izumi scolded.
"Well, what was I supposed to say?" asked Takuya. "It's true, isn't it?"
Nobody answered, but then, they didn't need to. All of them were thinking the same thing: that it would take something like a miracle to get them out of this one, and their supply of such seemed to be running a little low today.
Still, one had to try something - at least, one did if one happened to be Takuya Kanbara. What did he have to lose?
Maybe I don't have to go all the way. Maybe if I can control it...
He closed his eyes, searching for the power he knew lay inside him. Almost immediately, he felt it leap up, like a fire when a bellows was applied to it. He wrestled it back down. He didn't want all the power at once, just a smidgeon, just enough to get them all out of this jam.
He was brought out of his trance by the feel of someone touching his face.
"Takuya? Is that you?" asked Kouichi uncertainly.
"Don't do that," Takuya said vaguely. "It's distracting."
There was a faint scuffle, and some muttering that he didn't pay attention to. Then there was the feel of someone's fingers brushing him again, and there 0 was a yelp of surprise.
"Takuya, you're hot!" said Izumi. "I mean, seriously - you're burning up!"
"I know," he answered. "Don't bug me about it. This isn't as easy as it looks."
"Um... what are you doing?" asked Junpei.
"Kinda hard to explain," Takuya muttered. He was starting to get the hang of this, he thought. The embers had settled into a steady blaze, and for the first time in hours, he felt comfortably warm all over. "You know how it is when I change into Flamon? I just figured out I can go halfway and stop."
"Oh," said Kouji, who didn't sound entirely enlightened or reassured by this explanation. "Well, I guess... that's... useful!"
"At least it's making things warmer in here," said Kouichi. "Whatever's going to happen to us next, we won't be cold while it happens."
"Hey, I just had a thought!" said Izumi. "Takuya, what if you could make the snow warm? You know, melt it. Turn it into steam, even. Maybe you could melt a way out of here!"
"And maybe he could melt the snow and flood our cave with us in it," Kouji said.
Takuya chanced opening his eyes. He was aware that he was glowing faintly. He took the opportunity to glare at his friend a moment. "Can you think of any better ideas?"
Kouji sighed. "Not a one. Fire away!"
"Cute," Takuya muttered.
Nevertheless, he scooted closer to the place where he guessed the door was, reaching out blindly until his hands touched something cold. Whatever-it-was hissed, and Takuya felt a cloud of steam brush his face. He pressed forward, feeling snow melting and sizzling into clouds of vapor. Water trickled across the floor as he steadily widened the opening.
This could take all afternoon, he thought. I sure hope Tomoki is doing better out there. If he sees this, he'll flip out! I hope he's not too worried about us...
There was a cat walking in the snow. It appeared to be looking for something, searching this way and that, whiskers twitching and tail lashing. At last, it pounced on a patch of snow and began to dig rapidly. It worked industriously, throwing up small plumes of powder, until it had uncovered a trace of something red. It appeared to be the tip of a hat. It moved slightly. The cat continued to dig, until finally, the rather blue and frozen-looking face of Witchmon emerged. She gasped for air and began floundering about, attempting to haul herself out from under the snow.
After a few more minutes and quite a bit more digging on Cat's part, Witchmon was able to free herself, and she sat down on a convenient rock to catch her breath. Cat sat on her lap to be petted, and she crooned praises into his furry ear. Wisemon and Lilithmon didn't know what they were missing by not having a familiar.
"At least I did something right, this time," she said, looking around at the piles of snow. "Well, almost right."
She hadn't meant to let herself get snowed under. She had just lost her footing and been swept up in the general chaos, which seemed to happen to her a lot. At least she had been at the top of the slope when all the excitement started, and had escaped having the full weight of the avalanche fall onto her. She worst she had managed to do to herself was get quite cold, and also rather wet, which would doubtless make Lilithmon get annoyed with her again, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She had never quite gotten the hang of any of the spells that might help her in this instance, and the last time she'd tried, she'd wound up setting her hair on fire.
But she had done what she had come to do, and that was the important part. She looked around at the piles of snow, which were still being augmented by a few small flakes that continued to sprinkle down from the sky. It appeared that whatever spell Lilithmon had used to call the storm was beginning to run out of steam. If Witchmon hadn't come along, the group probably would have managed to dig itself out and get on with the trip, which meant that Witchmon had done a good job, for once. She felt absurdly pleased with herself at this minor victory.
Except...
There was something moving around just at the fringes of her field of vision. She blinked a few times, trying to work out what that strange shape could be. Had one of the humans been outside of the cave when she set the avalanche off? That was just what she needed - to have one wandering around loose who could maybe get the others free. Like it or not, she was going to have to deal with this one. She wasn't precisely sure how she could do such a thing, but she knew she had to try. She hauled her broom up from out of the snow, noting that it had held together remarkably well, considering the abuse it had been put through. It must have been that magical duct tape stuff the humans had put on it. Mounting it carefully, she allowed herself to float down to ground level to have a look at what was going on.
The first thing she noticed was a blotch of color on the ground. She dropped down next to it to have a better look. Sure enough, it was human clothing, but there wasn't a human in it - it was just a heap of clothes lying innocently in a pile of snow. Next to the clothes was a duffel bag, which was mostly empty, but there was something protruding from it that caught her eye. It glittered softly even in the gray light. Slowly, cautiously, as if she expected someone to jump out and accuse her of something, she reached out and picked it up. It was the Pool of Knowledge.
"Wow," she said softly.
This, she suspected, was important. She held it up for a better look, wondering what she should do with it now that she had it.
"Where did this come from?" she wondered aloud.
The mirror flashed, and Witchmon dropped it. Fortunately, it landed harmlessly in the snow and continued to flash and flicker. Intrigued, she leaned closer. The mirror was showing her one scene, over and over in an endless loop. It showed a boy standing in the snow, which whipped around him until he turned into something else entirely. Witchmon watched it a few times as the point sunk in.
"Oh, I get it," she said at last. "He evolved, didn't he?"
The mirror blinked a few times in what seemed to be an affirmative sort of way.
"Well, now what do I do?" Witchmon wondered aloud.
She hadn't been expecting an answer (asking that question seldom produced a good one at the best of times) but the obedient mirror obliged by showing her a picture of herself following along after the furry Digimon. She tilted her head, slightly puzzled, but she assumed the mirror knew better than she did. As a general rule, Witchmon assumed everyone knew better than she did. She slogged off through the snow in the direction the furry thing had gone. As an afterthought, she turned back, stuffed its abandoned clothing in the bag, and brought those two, just because she'd always been taught to be thorough, and also that leaving clothes lying around on the floor was unladylike.
Meanwhile, the Digimon who had been Tomoki a few minutes ago was trundling merrily through the snowy pass without a care in the world. If Takuya had known about this back in his cold, damp cave, he probably would have reversed his wish and started wishing instead that Tomoki was worried as he could manage to be. Instead, he was making his way through the pass with no thoughts in mind except a vague disappointment that the snow seemed to be letting up. He liked snow. It shouldn't go away now that he was finally here to enjoy it.
He found himself at the foot of a slope, and began climbing up its side. His broad paws were well suited to getting up even the steepest of icy inclines, with thick pads to protect him from the rocks, and sharp claws for digging into cracks. A bit of mountain climbing sounded like as much fun as anything else. He started upwards.
Little Brother, where are you going?
He stopped. He was sure a voice had spoken to him, but he could see no one nearby. And who called him "Little Brother"? He was no one's brother; he was just Samuimon, the Elemental of Ice... but...
You know that is not true, Little Brother. Your family is much wider than just those you are bound to by blood.
"I don't understand," said the Digimon. "I don't have a family. I'm just Samuimon."
You are more than that, said the voice. Samuimon cringed. He had never heard a voice like that before. It was deep as the roots of the mountains, strong as the north wind. It rattled him to his core. Next to whoever this voice belonged to, he felt he was just a snowflake who would melt and fade away at the first touch of the sun. You are more than a Digimon. You are more than you imagine.
"Who - who are you?" asked Samuimon hesitantly.
The wind whipped up the snow again, and through the swirling flakes, he caught a glimpse of something looming over him. It was huge and shaggy, with great curling horns and deep, intelligent eyes.
I am a spirit, it said. In life, my home was on this mountain, and my presence is still strong here, strong enough to speak to you. Now you must listen, while I still have the strength to stand before you. You are on the wrong path, Little Brother. You did not become one with the power of Ice for your own enjoyment, but to be of help.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Samuimon. "I've always been here, haven't I? And I don't have any friends... at least, I can't remember any..."
Then let me show you one, the beast replied. It raised its head, staring off at something. Watcher, come forward.
There was a pause. Then Witchmon came slinking out from behind the rocks, guiltily clutching the Pool of Knowledge.
Here is one who would be a friend to you, if her loyalties were not divided, said the spirit beast. He turned to Witchmon. Come here, and hold out the mirror. Then we shall see some things of interest.
Witchmon shuffled forward, looking absolutely terrified, holding the Pool before her like a shield. Samuimon, impelled by his natural curiosity, looked. At first, he beheld only the silvery surface of the mirror, which showed nothing more than the gray skies and reflections of the last few snowflakes that drifted down. They settled on its cold surface and did not melt, but clung there, coating it with a thin rime of frost. Samuimon plodded forward and raised a paw to brush them free.
He found himself looking into the reflection of his own eyes... but they were wrong, because he knew that his eyes were black, but these eyes were green. His face should have been covered in fur, not smooth like this one was. He wrinkled his snout in puzzlement, wondering if this was some kind of trick, and saw the face in the mirror wrinkle its nose. He held up a paw; it held up a hairless, five-fingered hand.
"That's... me?" he asked at last. "But that's a human. Why am I...?"
That is something you must solve on your own, the spirit replied. You are more than a Digimon - but also more than a human. It is only when you understand this that you will be able to harness your true power. Until then, I will do what I can for you.
The great beast took a breath and let it out in a long, steady stream, something that cut through Samuimon's thick fur like a winter gale. Once again, the mirror rimed over with frost, and then cleared. Its surface now showed a darkened room... or, rather, a pitch-black cave, though the mirror made the figures inside visible. Samuimon leaned forward, trying to see. They were all gathered around a small opening in the cave wall, which seemed to be plugged with snow, all of them digging at it as if their lives depended on it. One of them, who was outlined in a faint orange glow, appeared to be melting through it with his bare hands. Samuimon gasped.
"That - that - that's them!" he said. "I remember now! They were trapped! I have to help them! How could I forget?"
You forgot when you became one with the Element of Ice, the spirit said. Such forces are great, but impersonal. They have no feelings, only power. Used incautiously, they will devour whoever uses them.
"How can I stop that from happening? Can it even be done?"
It can be done. The answer lies inside, and you must find it yourself. That is all I can tell you. The beast shook its horned head. My strength wanes. I will do one last thing for you, and then I will be gone. Mayhap we will meet again someday.
"But... there's still so much I need to know..."
Perhaps the spirit didn't hear him, or maybe it no longer had the strength to speak. All Samuimon saw was a great swirl of snowflakes that rose up and obscured it, and then he heard a voice say, "Great Snowplough!" Then a wave of crushing force washed over him...
After a few confused moments, Samuimon hauled himself out of a drift and shook himself. A rustling somewhere nearby told him that Witchmon was doing something similar.
"Ack! I'm all tangled up! I can't move," she complained. "Why does this always happen to me?"
Samuimon trundled over and gripped the hem of her dress in his teeth and tugged on it. It had somehow managed to get so twisted around her legs that she couldn't stand. A few minutes of work between himself, Cat, and Witchmon got her straightened out and on her feet again. Samuimon fetched her broom for her.
"Thanks," she said.
"Thanks to you, too," he said. "I would have been in trouble if you hadn't brought my mirror back."
"Oh, well," she said, blushing a little. "It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I brought your clothes, too." She proffered the duffel bag.
"I might need that later," he admitted, slipping his head through the strap. "Thanks a lot, Witchmon! Now I need to go check on my friends."
"And I need to go back home," said Witchmon. "Wisemon will be wondering where I am, if I don't get back soon."
"Okay. See you around, Witchmon!"
He waved goodbye as she unsteadily mounted her broom and went sailing away. Then he turned and began barreling back up the path as fast as his paws would carry him. He was surprised by what good progress he made. Not only was Samuimon's low-slung body surprisingly fast, but the path had been swept clean ahead of him, as if the entire rift had been scoured by a powerful wind. The ground was now smooth, flat, and covered by only the thinnest coating of snow. He raced along it, making a beeline to the place where the mouth of the cave had been.
He almost didn't see it. Despite the help of the strange beast, there was still a lot of snow pressed against the side of the mountain, and it was hard to say exactly which drift was the one concealing the entrance. In the end, he had to rely on Samuimon's enhanced sense of smell to sniff out the place where there were still faint odors of human beings riding on the air. He thrust his paws into the snow and started digging furiously.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the divide, five teenagers and two Digimon were also furiously moving snow as best they could in the cramped, dark, and muggy place they were trapped in. Takuya's efforts had managed to generate a great deal of steam, water, and slush, which were puddling on the floor and getting everyone's feet wet. Sitting down was no longer a possibility, unless they wanted to be soaked to the skin, so they were all doing what they could to help with the snow removal. They had already cleared out several cubic feet of snow, enough that one person (or two small Digimon) could actually crawl out into the snow.
"Hey, do you hear that?" asked Neemon, twitching his long ears.
"I don't hear anything," said Bokomon. "What do you hear?"
"It sounds like someone digging," Neemon replied.
Bokomon rolled his eyes. "That's a big surprise. How long did it take you to figure that out?"
Neemon started to say something. In the next moment, there was a great swooshing noise, and something came ploughing through the wall of snow and nearly bowled over everyone in the room. All those unfortunate enough to be in its way were thrown to the ground. Takuya caught the brunt of it, and was plunged into the puddle on the floor with a rush of steam. The shock broke his concentration, and the magical heat dispersed. He twitched, groaning woozily, and attempted to discern what had attacked him. There appeared to be a small polar bear on his chest. He pushed it away, and it rolled onto the floor, slumped, and turned into Tomoki. The rest of the group gave various exclamations, comprised of victory yells at realizing they were free, shock that a strange Digimon had burst in on them and turned into a human, and dismay that their friend was now lying naked and unconscious in a puddle of barely-melted snow. Kouichi grabbed one of the dryer blankets and wrapped it around him, and moved him into a sitting position. Kouji went to help Takuya up; he seemed a little dazed after all his exertions.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked Izumi, eyeing her young friend worriedly.
Tomoki twitched a little and opened his eyes. "Guys?" he said. "Did I make it? Are you okay?"
"We're fine," said Kouichi. "Looks like you had a rougher time of it than we had. What happened to you?"
Tomoki looked around at all of them, then down at himself. Then he burst into tears.
"Hey, hey, take it easy!" said Junpei. "Everything's okay..."
Tomoki sniffled. "I almost got lost. I was really going to do it. I was just going to walk off and leave you to... to..."
Kouji made a wry face. "Ordinarily, I'd ask for an explanation for something like that, but in this case, I think I can guess."
"So you transformed?" asked Izumi. "I kind of wish I had seen."
"I'm glad you didn't," Tomoki said. "As soon as I changed into Samuimon, I forgot all about you guys. I would have been wandering around in the mountains forever if I hadn't met that goat thing."
"Goat thing?" asked Kouji. "I think I missed something."
"It was kind of like a goat," said Tomoki. "I've been seeing it in my mirror. It looked like... this."
He held up the mirror so that all could see. Sure enough, the spirit-beast stood there in all his glory. Bokomon scampered forward to get a better look at it. As soon as he caught a glimpse of it, he gasped.
"Why didn't you show me that before?" he asked.
"I didn't know it was important!" Tomoki replied.
"Well, maybe this will convince you it's important!"
Bokomon went flipping through his book, opening to a full-page spread showing a rough drawing of the shaggy beast. There were words written around it, though they were in the language of the Digital World, and therefore illegible to Tomoki. He leaned closer anyway, and made up his mind that he was going to learn to read that code someday if anyone would give him a chance to sit still long enough to study it.
"You see?" asked Bokomon. "That goat, as you call it, was none other than Ancient Megatheriumon."
"Um," said Tomoki.
Bokomon sighed in exasperation. "The spirit of the original Warrior who battled with Lucemon all those years ago. That's who you met."
"Ahh!" Tomoki said. "No wonder he called me 'little brother'."
"I'm impressed," said Junpei. "I wish I could meet whoever gave me my Spirit. I'd thank him."
"I didn't think of that," Tomoki admitted, "but I think he understood. He was trying to help me get back to myself, so I could go help you guys. We talked a lot about this weird way of evolving."
Kouji's expression turned keen. "Did he say anything interesting?"
"Not a lot that I understood," said Tomoki. "Only that it's not like Spirit evolving - it's dangerous. But he said there's a way to do it safely, if we could just understand it. Something about being more than just a Digimon, and more than a human..."
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out," said Kouichi. "If anyone can, it's you! Right, Takuya? Takuya?"
All eyes turned to Takuya, who, weary from his labors, had fallen asleep on the wet floor. Izumi giggled.
"Well, he's put in a hard day," she said. "Him and you both, Tomoki. He must be really tired, to sleep in a cold spot like that."
"I'm cold, too," said Tomoki. "Can I get dressed, please?"
"Oh!" she said. "All right. I'll be outside!"
The group scrambled out into the open, dragging a groggy and soggy Takuya with them, so Tomoki could dress in privacy. The clouds seemed to be letting up, and the world was looking like an ordinary late afternoon instead of an ominous dusk. Already, bits of blue sky were becoming visible again. The air felt almost warm.
A few minutes later, Tomoki emerged, properly dressed once more.
"I think we're safe, now," he said, looking at the sky. "I'm not getting any more snow vibes."
"Good. Maybe we can finally get out of here," said Takuya.
"Hey, that's right!" said Tomoki. "I found the way out! It's this way!"
He sprinted ahead, using his free hand to beckon to the others, while the other clutched the precious mirror. The others trudged along behind him.
"You know, he does make a pretty decent leader, sometimes," Takuya commented. "He did pretty well today, in spite of everything. As well as any of us have done so far."
"You could be right," said Kouji. "So, that's everyone so far but Kouichi and me..."
Takuya gave him a wry look. "You don't know how lucky you are. It really messes with your head."
"Yeah, I guess so," said Kouji, but he didn't look all that convinced. "I guess I'll find out soon enough, the way things are going. Still, at least we know there's a way to control them, now..."
"If we could just figure it out," said Takuya.
"Yeah," Kouji agreed. "If we could just figure it out..."
Wisemon had never been so tempted to fidget. Only the knowledge that doing so would probably cause even more anger from his mistress kept him standing still. He already couldn't imagine how she was going to take the news he had to bring her. He was braced for the worst.
Lilithmon, reclining in her throne, gave him a casual glance, as if he were a mildly interesting bug that had lit on her carpet, one that she wanted to observe a little while before she squashed it.
"You may deliver your report," she said.
Wisemon took a deep breath. Best to get things over with as quickly as possible.
"The humans have survived," he said.
Lilithmon twitched. For a moment, her face showed an unseemly amount of expression, and she quickly smoothed it away. Her posture eased again.
"Explain," she said.
Wisemon did. "They were, as you so astutely predicted, greatly hampered in their movements by the storm you conjured, but were able to seek shelter in a small cave during the worst of the storm. They were briefly trapped by an avalanche, but one member of the team was able to tap into the element of Ice to transform, and used his Digimon form to dig a way out. By that point, the storm's power had spent itself, and they were able to proceed unhindered."
There was a long pause. Wisemon held his breath, wondering what would come next.
"So," said Lilithmon at last. "I have failed."
"It would seem your plan's execution did not go as well as it might have," Wisemon allowed.
"It has been a long time," she said softly. "It has been a very long time indeed since I was presented with a challenge. These humans have insulted me, Wisemon." She stood up, and her wings unfurled, twisting and writhing like snakes; her eyes flashed. "You were right. It has been too long since I reminded the world of my true power. I will not be taken lightly by these human strangers and their tamed Digimon - or any other living being in this world. It is time I showed them all that I am still as great as I ever was."
For a moment, she stood poised, head held high, eyes blazing, arms flung wide as if to grasp at the entire world. Then she dwindled again, and became only a darkly beautiful Digimon with her finger pressed over her mouth in thought.
"But I will not rush," she said. "Haste would be both unseemly and disastrous. I will retire for some time, to think this through. But I will not back down!"
She swept off, departing to her inner chambers, the rooms where even Wisemon was not allowed. He bowed to her as she passed, and remained that way until she had vanished behind her closed doors. Then he straightened up. He was laughing quietly to himself.
As he left the room, he found Witchmon standing outside waiting for him. That suited him nicely, as that was what he had told her to do in the first place. She regarded him worriedly.
"Did everything go all right?" she asked. "I'm really, really sorry the avalanche thing didn't work out... Did I do bad?"
"No, no," he said. "For once, you did exactly the right thing. Probably more by accident than design, but the fact remains that your bungling has succeeded in furthering my purposes." He patted her on the head as he passed, as if she were a dog.
As he returned to his own rooms, he drew out one of his crystals and gazed into it. The sun was shining in the mountains again, the snow was melting, and the Legendary Warriors were still doggedly making their way through the pass. They would be in the valley by dinnertime, at the rate they were going. There, they would find warmth and peace and safety... or so they thought. Wisemon laughed again.
"That's right," he said. "Rest. Build up your strength. Let yourselves think you're ready. My dear, dear children... you're about to find out what you're really up against."