Enter The Light

Part Six: Fate Decided

Standard Disclaimer Thingie: Digimon is not mine, including characters, digimon, etc. Plot is. Don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

"Garudamon!" shouted the new digimon, a massively huge bird whose wings blocked the sun momentarily.

Sora paid no attention to her partner's evolution – seemed, in fact, not to notice it in the least. Her shoes slipped beneath her when she stepped on to the ice. When she tried to step further, she slid forward on the slick surface and sat down, hard. It hurt, but the cold was more startling than the pain and already it felt as though her legs were beginning to turn to ice. She muttered a curse under her breath and somehow managed to get to her feet.

"Shadow Wing," said Garudamon in a tone of godlike power. The Blue Meramon hesitated, if only briefly. A strong gust of wind – stronger than even the gales Miyako's wind spells had produced – sped across the planes, scattering the blue fire, dousing some of them. One of the two remaining Blue Meramon fell over in the force of the wind; the other brought its arms up to shield its face.

"Cold Flame!" called the standing Blue Meramon, and a moment later the other joined the attack, but Garudamon easily dodged the flying ice balls and was not affected by frozen ground.

Sora slid across the ice, twisting and turning in an attempt to control the direction. When she was near enough to Taichi she dug the heels of her shoes into the ice and fought for a foothold. Miraculously, they cracked the ice and her slide stopped.

"Taichi…," she said, her voice revealing her fear. His eyes were shut, his breathing slowed, and it seemed as though his skin was taking on a blue tint. Sora crawled the last of the distance on her knees and reached him.

"Taichi!" she called loudly in his ear and he stirred but didn't waken. Sora began to feel her legs grow numb behind the thin fabric of her skirts. The weather had been spring-like. She cursed herself now for not having worn a thicker fabric – but how was she to know that she'd be freezing on the ice?

"Shadow Wing!" called Garudamon, and one of the Blue Meramon deleted, the blue flame of its body disintegrating in the force of the wind, the dark core beneath dissolving and deleting.

"Taichi…wake up," Sora shouted over the sounds of the battle nearby. She took his shoulders in her hands and shook him violently until his eyes opened, briefly, and he blinked at her.

"Tired…," he mumbled. "Few more minutes." His eyes slowly closed one more and he was silent.

"No!" she yelled sharply. "No, don't sleep. Taichi…don't sleep. You'll freeze!"

"Freeze?" he mumbled, blinking slowly. His eyes shut again. She shook him harder, until she was afraid she might have hurt him, and then he opened his eyes again. "Ow…," he moaned. "Too cold. Need to light a fire."

"Mega Flame!" shouted a voice from somewhere nearby, and Sora felt a warmth in her arms as the ice that had been forming cracked and melted. The last of the persistent Blue Meramon deleted violently in the midst of the flames and the ice melted beneath them, leaving the plains flooded.

Sora found herself kneeling in ankle-deep water, her skirts now soaked, her stockings drenched. The water was warm, though, and she could feel the sun again.

"That's better," Taichi said sleepily, and shut his eyes again. This time, Sora let him sleep.

Two days after Koushiro's return to Hida, he called a meeting with those he thought were likely the village elders – including the outspoken old woman, Kimiko. Iori had taken Koushiro's advice and spent a great deal of time thinking and mulling over the decision that would undoubtedly change his entire life as well as the lives of all the villagers. He had retreated to the upper rooms of the mansion where hardly anyone ever ventured (certainly none of the villagers, out of fear of Bakemon).

Koushiro was not eager to participate in a meeting with the village elders, particularly Kimiko, but nearly everyone had been desperate for some sort of news from the palace about who was to be the new Lord of Hida. Rather than announce the king's plan to the entire village, he agreed after some amount of urging to meet with the twelve village elders and tell them what had happened. Hopefully, Iori would return from his upstairs retreat and accept the mantle of responsibility and all would be well. Otherwise, the wizard thought glumly, there would be a great deal of problems.

They assembled in the study that Iori had previously spent an entire day cleaning. There was no furniture, as all that had been there had been deemed to be in too poor condition for salvage, and so the twelve elders seated themselves in a half circle facing the cold fireplace.

"I would wager that the villagers won't have a problem accepting him, but if they do, it wouldn't hurt to use a bit of magic," Taichi had advised with a rather mischievous glint in his eyes. "Remind them about the power of the king and where you've come from."

Although Koushiro had initially thought that frightening the villagers would not be the best tactic, he was now reconsidering this plan. Thus when the elders were all assembled, he lit the fire by magic. A bright flame burst forth from the previously cold wood while he stood some distance away. A few of those sitting near the flames were startled, for there had likely not been a mage in Hida since the death of the last lord.

"You have not brought us here solely for a light show, have you, wizard?" Kimiko demanded.

"It is our village. We ought to know, should we not? What plans has the King for us?" one of the men questioned. He was the youngest of the elders – his dark hair was only tinged with gray at the temples and he had no beard nor mustache – but he was second liveliest, after Kimiko.

Koushiro smiled peaceably, as though he were amused by the antics of his students, and passed through the center of the circle to take a seat before the fire. "Light shows are hardly my specialty," he answered calmly. "I merely thought it an expedient way to warm the room." He sat on the floor, folding his legs beneath him, and surveyed the others in the room. There were three women besides Kimiko, and eight men, several of whom had long gray beards and pure white hair.

"The king will not give Hida to another of the northern lords," he began simply. "Hida will remain Hida, independent of the other holdings."

There was a murmur in response to this that Koushiro largely interpreted as favorable. Kimiko's frown remained, however. "Who then, will be responsible for it?" she demanded. "Surely the King has had time to decide this?"

"He has," Koushiro answered. "It is not only his decision, however. There are others who must be consulted."

"Others?" questioned the man who had spoken before.

"The other Lords," said one of the eldest men who sported a long white beard. "I'm sure they're all fighting over us, are they not? Who should or should not take possession of an ancient and forgotten holding?" He had raised one eyebrow, as though the entire situation amused him.

"Precisely," the wizard agreed. "Politics are more complex than I like to think of, and not my arena, so unfortunately, I haven't the details for you."

"Do you have information for us or not?" Kimiko demanded.

"Kimiko!" said the eldest man sharply. "Forgive her," he said to Koushiro, bowing slightly. "She has always been outspoken."

"She is entitled to her feelings," he answered diplomatically. "The King has made a choice," he said to her.

"Who then?"

Before Koushiro could answer, the door to the chamber opened, creaking loudly on its hinges, and Iori entered the room. After spending more than a day in the dusty upper levels, his hair was mussed and his clothes were covered with a thick layer of dirt. There was a scratch on his left cheek, and his partner Armadimon, following behind him, looked tired. Koushiro would not have been surprised to find that he had found Bakemon and fought them.

"What's happened to you?" one of the women questioned sympathetically. "Where have you been?"

"Upstairs," he answered vaguely. "The Bakemon are gone now," he added absently, confirming Koushiro's suspicions.

A hum of conversation responded to this. "Bakemon?" questioned the same woman. "There were Bakemon here?"

"It was rumored for years," the eldest elder reminded her, shrugging lightly. "We are grateful to you, sir."

"Not so grateful as I am," Iori answered, sighing. The door had been slowly closing behind him all this time, and now it slammed heavily, startling them all.

"Were there many of them?" a different woman questioned.

"Was it a vicious battle?" asked the relatively young man, obviously eager for an action-filled story to break up a dull meeting.

"Three," Iori answered. "Not too vicious. I have been in far worse." He sighed again, showing his exhaustion, and began to cross the room. Koushiro got to his feet and made room for him in the circle.

"This is all very well, but off the topic," Kimiko said when Iori had sunk to the ground. "Will you tell us who the King has chosen for us?"

"I am," Iori said, so startling her that she fell silent (which did not happen often).

There was no answering murmur to this pronouncement, no mumbles of surprise nor anger nor disappointment nor anything to gauge the opinion of the group. Iori sighed heavily again and let his eyes fall half shut.

"Y-you?" Kimiko finally managed to say, regaining the power of speech before any of the others had wrapped their mind around the meaning of his words.

Iori opened one eye fully and looked directly at her for a brief moment, then looked away and addressed the entire group. "I was born in Hida, though I have few memories of this place. I was not born to nobility, but the King seems to think this matters not. I have helped you rebuild this place and I will help you further if you let me. I don't wish to stay where I am not wanted."

Another moment of silence followed. "The King is wise beyond his years," said the eldest of the men, and a few murmurs of assent followed this. "We would be pleased to have you."

"We could have far worse," Kimiko muttered grumpily, but Koushiro could see that even she was not opposed to this idea.

After a few moments of quiet discussion, the eldest of the elders got slowly to his feet, assisted by those sitting nearest him. "If it pleases you, it pleases this council of elders," he said finally. "We welcome to you, the new lord of Hida, and hope you will be most happy here."

Once more, Shijo and Daisuke had spent the night camped on the side of the road rather than in beds of any sort. This time, it was in a forest not ten steps beyond the primary village. When the sun rose in the early morning, the village was not visible – there were only trees around them.

Daisuke had already awakened. He was holding a few long sticks out over the fire, a freshly caught fish skewered on the end of each one. The smell of food had not yet awakened V-mon, who was nonetheless mumbling contentedly in his sleep, no doubt dreaming of feasts on roasting fish.

"The village is gone?" Shijo questioned, looking back in the direction he was certain they had come from the night before. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"It does that," Daisuke answered. "Some sort of protection magic." He shrugged, as though to say that it was not something he knew much about or was much concerned about.

A short while later, the fish devoured and fire doused, they were on their way once more. The forest here had no path through it, but Daisuke did not seem to be concerned about getting lost. Their feet crunched through fallen leaves. All around, new growth was appearing in the form of flower buds and new leaves, and the air seemed to be growing warmer with every passing step. Shijo paused to unfasten his cloak, feeling warm.

"Don't do that," Daisuke advised him. "The sun will be brutal when we reach the desert, and you don't want to be burned."

"D-desert?" Shijo questioned, wondering if perhaps he had lost his mind. He shook his head. "You must be remembering wrong…there's no desert here!"

"Only a little further," V-mon said. "This place is weird with the magic. Hidden villages, strange weather…it's not like any place else you've been."

"That's not saying much," Koromon piped up. "We haven't been many places."

"You're in for a real surprise then!" the blue digimon answered cheerfully.

Despite the part of him that was saying that such a thing wasn't possible, Shijo found that the air was growing warmer, and the plant life around them was slowly growing sparser and sparser. More sunlight filtered through the trees until it was completely unobstructed.

"It is a desert," Shijo said in surprise, his doubts completely erased. "How strange."

Before them stretched what seemed to be an endless amount of soft pale sand, and above it, a huge expanse of blue sky. The temperature was so warm now that Shijo could feel sweat beading on his forehead after only a few moments in the sunlight.

"What's that?" Koromon questioned, looking toward an odd object lying in the sand a short distance away. It was long – the length of at least four men, tapered so that it was slightly wider at the far end than the near, where it extended into a sharp point. The far end seemed to have been damaged in some way, for the solid rock was jagged and sharp as though it had been sharply broken. A few cracks extended along the length of it as well.

Shijo looked toward Daisuke for an answer to his partner's question, but instead a strange look had come over his face. The boy thought for a moment that he looked as though he were contemplating a grave – for his expression was a grim frown – a mixture of sadness and memories. V-mon, too, was frowning, shaking his head slightly.

"It's bad," the digimon answered. "Very good that it's been destroyed."

Daisuke crossed the space and hesitantly touched the smooth surface of the object. He shut his eyes as though he were remembering some unpleasant but necessary memories.

"I don't understand," Shijo said after a few moments of silence. "How could this be bad? It's only a…a rock?"

"Now, it's only a rock," V-mon answered. "Before, it was infused with dark magic – a very powerful rock." This explanation didn't seem to have clarified much for the boy, but V-mon didn't know how else to explain it.

"What?" Jyou asked, staring blankly. His eyes had grown wide, his pupils small. His skin had paled a few shades so that it was now distinctly white. "How in the hell did he get…?"

"Jyou!" Palmon scolded sharply.

"Frostbite?" he went on, ignoring the plant digimon. "How is it possible to get frostbite when the ice and snow has melted? My luck! Only mine! How does this happen? I despise frostbite…."

"Blue Meramon," Mimi answered. "Jyou…."

"I thought, since winter is over, there would be no more frostbite this year. I thought that we had moved on to spring colds and hay fever. It seems, however, that I was wrong. I'm going to scream. I said I would scream, and I'm going to scream…."

"Jyou…," Mimi interrupted. "Will you help or not?"

"Of course I'll help," he answered, rummaging through the back of his office for the necessary herbs, pausing only briefly in his ranting. "Tell them to heat water – lots of water – and bring blankets. Is it bad? Of course it's bad. It would never be my luck for it not to be bad."

"It's not that bad," Mimi told him, but it didn't seem as though he'd heard, and so she left so that she might pass on his instructions. In the hall beyond, she thought she could hear him shout a wordless cry of frustration.

"Impossible," Yamato was grunting when she arrived, for he had taken it upon himself to carry the still-sleeping Taichi in to the palace. "Impossible. Somehow…frostbite in the spring…."

"I suppose that will teach me not to go on picnics anymore," Sora said, following after him with a rather concerned expression. Her partner, Mimi noted, was not Piyomon, but had de-evolved to Pyocomon. Before Mimi could comment on this, however, Yamato noticed her, having since set Taichi down into bed.

"What did he say?"

"Heat water and bring blankets," Mimi reported. "He'll be along soon…he was finding some herbs and mumbling to himself."

"I can only imagine," Yamato sighed. "See to the water, could you?"

Sora had already opened the nearest wardrobe and began to pull out blankets. A few moments later, Jyou emerged, carrying a box full of herbs and potions in his arms, Gomamon cheerfully riding on his head, grinning.

"Something interesting and out of season!" Gomamon said, obviously far more cheerful than his partner, who was managing to glare daggers even though his target was atop his head and out of view.

"I spent four months dealing with frostbite," the doctor returned, steam almost visibly rising from his head. "This is not in the least bit interesting!" Gomamon seemed unfazed by this outburst, as usual. Jyou sighed.

Mimi returned a moment later, aided by one of the servants, a pot of water nearly overflowing between them. "If someone would light a fire…this will be hot soon enough," she said, grunting under the weight of the heavy pot. With some difficulty, she and the other woman managed to hang the vessel within the fireplace, and Yamato set to work on the fire.

Sora had seated herself on a chair nearby, having piled no less than six heavy blankets atop the bed while the others worked. Pyocomon was in her lap, napping quietly, and Sora was quiet, her expression grave. She, looked pale and drawn, nearly as much so as Taichi. Mimi stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, noting as she did so that Sora's skin was cold to the touch.

"Not too bad," Jyou was mumbling. "All right…out! I can't work with sixteen people watching me!"

"Sixteen?" Gomamon echoed. "There's hardly sixteen people here, Jyou, or are you delirious?"

"I'll show you delirious," Jyou muttered.

Mimi moved to leave, noting as she did so that Sora had not moved at all from where she sat, and did not appear to have even heard the doctor's shout (an amazing feat, considering the volume of his voice). "Sora?" she said, quietly, but the other didn't seem to have heard her. "Jyou?"

Jyou glared at her with a severe frown, and then noticed Mimi's expression. He sighed heavily. "All right. She can stay. I know better than to argue. Everyone else, OUT!"

Not much in the way of action here, unfortunately.

Coming soon, you'll find out where Takeru ended up, get to see another 'happy little reunion' between Miyako and Ken, and, eventually, a massive battle in which someone gets…whomped, for lack of a better term. It'll be painful to read, I think. I hope. Thanks for reading and reviewing.