DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

NOTE: To anyone having trouble with the type 2 error message, I have placed a guide to bypassing it that I found via google on my profile.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Frostbite

Friday 12th November – 7:52p.m.

Digital World, Jungle Level

"Wait for me Takatomon!" Guilmon cried as he ran after his Tamer like an overexcited puppy, leaving the rest of the group to stand there in silence.

It should be me going after Rika, Renamon thought bitterly. The girl had been blocking her telepathic signals since Ryo had interrupted her attempt to rearrange Kazu's limbs. She is my partner and I…I wouldn't even know what to say. Maybe it is better that Takato went – he always seems to know how to talk to Rika…

"Heh, thanks for the help there Ryo," Kazu chuckled, breaking the long silence with his usual lack of tact. "For a minute there I thought I was gonna have to put her down myself! Man, what a psycho bitch…"

Renamon span on her heel, her eyes and paws blazing with azure fire that she fully intended to unleash on Kazu. Ryo, however, beat her to the punch – quite literally, in fact.

Kazu cried out in surprise and pain as his idol's fist slammed into his face directly over his right eye. The shorter Tamer was sent flying to the ground, clutching his face in agony as the rest of the group (including Cyberdramon) let out a collective gasp of shock. None of them had ever seen Ryo raise a hand against anyone, let alone one of his friends. The older boy was stood over Kazu's prone, stunned form with his fists clenched. He seemed torn between hitting the boy again and just leaving him there.

Eventually, Ryo chose the latter, storming off towards his partner and climbing onto the armoured dragon's back. Cyberdramon leapt into the air, spreading his wings and soaring high into the sky without a word. The dragon soon began flying in wide, leisurely circles high above the other Tamers and Digimon.

The group's attention was drawn back to the ground by a whimper of pain from Kazu, a single tear working its way down the boy's cheek.

"Well d-don't just stand there," he sniffled, trying desperately to keep himself under control. "Somebody help me up!"

As the boy's robotic partner began stomping ponderously towards him, a flash of light and peal of thunder washed over the clearing, quickly being followed by another, and another, then several more.

"What's going on?" Jeri asked in a panicked voice as the noise receded.

"What…what is that?" Gaomon gasped and pointed at the source of his shock.

"That" appeared to be a dancing stream of white electricity flowing into the ground. As the Tamers and Digimon watched, it turned pink and began to quickly expand until it was many times its original size. A blinding flash of light tore at their eyes and when they looked again, it had been replaced by a beam of pink light that was all too familiar to some members of the group.

"Data stream!" Kenta cried in horror.

"Renamon!" Rika's telepathic voice called out to Renamon in a panicked tone.

"RIKA!" the kitsune shouted in terror and leapt into the air, teleporting several metres as the beam of light began to move.

"Get out of there, Rika! RUN! RU-"

Renamon let out a shriek of pain as a wave of agony tore through her mind. The vulpine Digimon fell to her knees, clutching her skull as she was struck by a horrifying realization.

I can't sense her any more…

Arctic Level – 7:56p.m.

This isn't good… was all that Rika had time to think before the beam of pink light washed over her and the world was enveloped in a blanket of pure white. At first she thought it was a part of being teleported by the Data Stream – some intermediate dimension that she had to pass through like something on a bad sci-fi show – but after several seconds her eyes began to adjust.

This really isn't good… she groaned mentally and shivered. The girl was stood in the middle of a snow-covered plain, her vision limited to only a few hundred metres thanks to the fierce blizzard currently tearing through the tundra. A rustling sound from behind her brought the redhead's attention back to her immediate surroundings and she turned to see a dazed-looking Takato pull himself out of a snowdrift a few metres away.

"What the…Rika!" the boy gasped and leapt frantically to his feet as he caught sight of his friend. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm f-fine, Gogglehead," Rika replied through her chattering teeth, practically having to shout to be heard. "We got p-pulled into a Data Stream, remember? And n-n-no, I don't know w-where we are."

"Damn…" he cursed and began to walk towards her, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to keep warm. "What are we gonna d-do?"

"I don't know," the redhead sighed.

"Okay, first we need to find sh-shelter and then…wait, have you tried contacting Renamon yet?" Takato asked, hope lighting up his face.

Rika didn't reply, closing her eyes and cursing herself mentally as she reached out to her partner. Renamon? Renamon! Hello? Can you hear me?

"I…I can't sense her!" she gasped as she opened her eyes.

"Oh, crap. Look, we need to find shelter and-WAH!" Takato yelped as he tripped over something and landed flat on his face.

"Surprise!" a familiar childlike voice cheered as a red blur leapt at the boy and began licking his face. "I'm so happy you're okay Takatomon!"

"Guilmon? Where did y-you come f-f-from?" the brown-haired Tamer asked with a look of bewilderment.

"That big pink thingy brought me here! Where is here, Takatomon?"

"I don't know…"

"Can we p-please stop the chatting and get the he-hell out of here?" Rika growled as she fought to control her shivering. "Digivolve him to Growlmon and let's get m-moving already!"

"Oh, right. Dig-Modify! Digivolution activate!" the boy called as he slashed a card through his D-Arc.

"Guilmon Digivolve to…to…er, Takatomon? I don't think this is working…"

"What? That's imp-p-possible!" Takato groaned and tried slashing the card again to no avail. "Why can't you Digivolve?"

"I dunno," the little dinosaur replied with a shrug. "I am still pretty tired from all the walking earlier – maybe that's it!"

"W-wonderful," Rika muttered sarcastically. "We need to move anyway or we'll freeze to death. Look – there's some h-hills over there, m-m-maybe we'll be able to find a c-cave or something."

"Right. Let's go!" Takato agreed as the trio set off towards the nearby hills, their progress slowed dramatically by the deep snow and poor visibility.

This is gonna take forever… the boy sighed mentally as he fell flat on his face.

Jungle Level – 8:04p.m.

"Any sign of them?" Jeri asked, desperation clear in her voice as Cam, Henry and Terriermon climbed off of Gaogamon's back.

"Nothing," Henry replied with a sad shake of his head.

"Same here," Ryo reported through gritted teeth as he climbed off of Cyberdramon's shoulder.

"Where could they be?" Jeri cried and clenched her fists.

"Look, somebody has to say it," Terriermon snapped. "It looks like they were sucked into the Data Stream."

"You're right," Leomon agreed sadly.

"If they were sucked into the Data Stream they could be anywhere by now…" Kenta mumbled in a flat tone.

"Pi…" MarineAngemon added from the boy's shirt pocket.

"We have to go looking for them!" Renamon announced suddenly, her first words since the sudden severing of her link with Rika.

"Renamon, that would be highly illogical," Guardromon began hesitantly. "They could be anywhere by now. We are just as likely to find them if we continue on our planned route – they may even expect us to do so and try to meet us at one of our destinations."

"Yeah, and besides, Rika can take care of herself," Kazu added, letting out a yelp of surprise as Renamon teleported in front of him and hoisted him into the air by his throat.

"You'd better hope she can," the kitsune hissed, her eyes blazing with azure fire as she tightened her grip. "Because if anything happens to Rika I swear on my life that I will kill you. Very, VERY slowly."

"Renamon…" Leomon growled and placed one massive paw on the smaller Digimon's shoulder. "Put him down. This isn't helping."

"I respectfully disagree," Gaogamon snarled, his Tamer nodding in agreement beside him.

"Same goes for me," the black-haired boy spat. "You'd better hope her and Takato come back safe, Kazu."

"ENOUGH!" Kenta roared suddenly, startling everyone (including his partner) into silence. "This isn't getting us anywhere. Guardromon's got a point. There's no way we'll be able to find them just by wandering around and hoping we run into them, and Rika knows that. She'll probably head for the Sovereign Level and try to meet us on the way."

"I…ah, shit…" Ryo cursed and slumped onto a nearby log. "He's right. The Digital World is massive. As much as I hate to say it, there's no point looking for them."

"We can't just give up!" Jeri protested.

"We're not giving up," Henry sighed. "We just have to accept that we're not gonna find them by wandering around like headless chickens."

"I don't like this," Cam muttered with a sigh of defeat. "But I guess we don't have a choice."

An uneasy silence descended on the group before it was broken, once again by Kazu.

"Uh, Renamon? Could you put me down now? Please?"

Arctic Level – 8:10p.m.

"F-f-f-finally…" Rika sighed as she, Takato and Guilmon stumbled into the cave at last. It had taken what seemed like forever to reach the hills in the knee-deep snow and biting wind and both she and Takato were shivering uncontrollably and had taken on a definite bluish tinge. Guilmon, however, seemed irritatingly unaffected by the cold.

"If I never see another snowflake…" Takato muttered and rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them. "So cold…need fire…"

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon yelled and launched a crimson fireball at the floor, vaporising a huge chunk of ice and sending a wave of warm steam floating into the air. "Is that better?"

"A l-little," the boy replied and shook his head. "Next time w-warn us if you're gonna do that? I thought there was a d-d-Digimon or something."

"Hey, Goggles!" Rika's voice called and Takato realized that she had gone further into the cave on her own. "You should see this…"

"Coming!" he shouted in reply, jogging towards the back of the cave. "What is i…oh."

The goggle-wearing Tamer winced as he rounded a bend and caught sight of a small, round chamber about ten metres across that was obviously home to at least one Digimon. A small wooden table and a few chairs sat at the middle of the room and a few white fur blankets were dotted around the edges.

"Looks like this cave is taken…" Rika remarked with a scowl.

"Hey, you never know – the owners could be friendly!" Takato suggested, jumping as Guilmon started growling and a chorus of cackles echoed from behind him.

"Or perhaps not…" Rika sighed as she turned and caught sight of the newcomers, taking out her D-Arc as she did so. They were about five feet tall and bore a distinctive resemblance to a goblin, with the exception that their skin was pale blue. The creatures were wearing thick, fur-trimmed vests and fur hats and each one carried a weapon. Two of them carried crude-looking clubs, while the third carried a bent, rusty short sword that looked like it would shatter if it hit anything.

Name: SnowGoblimon

Level: Rookie

Attribute: Virus

Special Attacks:

Bolt Strike

Freezing Gobu Breath

Snow Gobu Mace

"Uh, hey!" Takato called nervously. "We were wondering if y-you knew the way to the Jungle l-Level. We got sucked into a Data Stream and wound up here and w-we just want to get b-b-back to our fr-"

"Kill them!" the SnowGoblimon with the sword shrieked. "Lord Zhuqiaomon will pay well for their heads!"

His two club-wielding henchmen quickly obeyed him, charging at Guilmon with twin battle cries. The little dinosaur swiftly fired off a "Pyro Sphere!" but his target dodged nimbly to the right, quickly closing in on the saurian and tackling him to the ground.

"Guilmon!" Takato cried and reached for his card holder as his partner began wrestling with the two goblins. "Don't worry boy, you can take them! Digi-"

"LOOK OUT!"

The boy turned just in time to see the third goblin's sword arcing towards his face and let out a grunt of pain as something knocked him to the ground just in time. He quickly scrambled back to his feet and was surprised to see Rika stood beside him.

"Damn it, Goggles! How many times do I have to tell you not to let your guard down?" the redhead growled and leapt aside as the blue goblin charged at her this time.

Great, now he's distracted I can…where's my D-Arc? Takato panicked as he rifled desperately through his pockets. After a few seconds he spotted the device lying on the other side of the cave. I must have dropped it when Rika knocked me over! he realized and started towards the D-Arc, only for the SnowGoblimon currently chasing Rika to get there first. The strange Digimon snatched up the device and thrust it into its pocket, turning to face Takato with a wicked grin.

"Oh, no you don't!" the goblin cackled and started advancing menacingly towards him, only to yelp in surprise as a snowball caught him in his right eye.

"Nice shot, Rika!" Takato cheered as the girl threw another snowball, hitting the goblin in his other eye.

Now she's bought me some time… the boy thought triumphantly and began looking around the cave for a weapon. He spotted a large stick lying against the wall nearby and quickly grabbed it, turning just in time to see SnowGoblimon begin chasing after Rika, brandishing his sword and screaming threats.

"I'll eat you alive you little brat!" the goblin shrieked as he ran, slowly closing the gap between him and the girl.

"Oh, no you don't!" Takato yelled and broke into a run, intercepting the Digimon and taking a swing at his head with the stick.

The blow connected with a sickening crack and SnowGoblimon staggered, dropping his sword as he stumbled against the wall. Takato swung the stick at him again but this time the goblin caught the blow on his arm and the stick snapped in two. The boy gulped in fear as the furious SnowGoblimon fixed him with a glare, pouncing at him with a berserk scream a second later. He let out a grunt of pain as the goblin's fist slammed into his solar plexus, crying out as a set of claws raked along his right cheek. Takato fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing as SnowGoblimon reached into his vest, drawing a small, rusted dagger and raising it above his head.

"Night-night, human!"

As the dagger began to descend, a wet squelch rang through the cave and the goblin's face suddenly went slack. The Digimon fell to his knees and his data fizzed for a second before dissipating completely to reveal Rika stood behind him with a blood-coated, broken short sword.

"You okay?" she asked, a hint of concern creeping into her voice as she quickly pulled Takato to his feet.

"It's just…a scratch," he wheezed in reply as he fought to regain his breath. "My…D-Arc?"

"Here," the girl said as she picked up the device and handed it to him.

"Thanks. Digi-Modify! Seed of Health activate! Strength activate!"

With the help from the two modify cards, Guilmon quickly turned the tables on the two remaining SnowGoblimon, snapping one of their necks with a flick of his claws and incinerating the other with a roar of "Pyro Sphere!" As the saurian absorbed the data from his fallen foes he turned to his Tamer, concern written across his features.

"Takatomon? You're bleeding!"

"Heh, it's just a scratch – really!" the brown-haired boy repeated as his partner ran towards him. He petted the little dinosaur affectionately on the nose before turning to his fellow Tamer. "Rika, I…you saved my life back there."

"Oh, come on – it's not like I haven't done it before!" the girl muttered and shook her head.

"You have to admit, this time was a little different."

"Whatever," she shrugged and frowned. "I think I should take a look at your cheek. We should make sure it's not gonna need stitches or something."

After a cursory examination of Takato's injuries, Rika decided that they did not need any treatment – which was fortunate, considering all of their medical supplies were back with the others in the Jungle Level. Other essentials they were lacking included food, drinking water, warm clothes and sleeping bags, although the fur blankets left by the SnowGoblimon rendered the last two items on that list at least partially unnecessary.

The two Tamers and Guilmon were exhausted after their exertions and so settled down to try and sleep. Unfortunately, the combination of the sub-zero temperatures and the children's shivering made it impossible for them to sleep, and the lack of any fuel for a fire made it all but impossible for them to warm up. Eventually, Guilmon was forced to repeatedly use his Pyro Sphere attack on the icy walls and floor to generate some heat and prevent them from drifting into hypothermic comas. The little red Digimon quickly tired, however, and Takato decided that something had to be done. He had come up with an idea of how to keep warm a while ago, but had been too terrified to even think of suggesting it. Looming death, however, had a tendency to put things into perspective.

"Rika?" Takato's voice called out and the girl opened her eyes a fraction, cursing him silently. "Are you still awake?"

"Yes, Gogglehead. What do you want?" she replied tersely, shifting under her fur blanket to try and get warm.

"Well, um…I've been thinking," he began hesitantly in a tone that Rika recognized all too well.

I am not going to like this…

"You see, Guilmon can't keep this up forever," the boy continued. "And, well, when he runs out of energy we're pretty screwed. So, I was thinking…um, we could be warmer if we…shared blankets?"

Rika remained silent, biting back her instinctive retort. "So, Gogglehead wants to try and cuddle up under the covers? I knew you were in love with me!"

Damn it… she thought with a small sigh of resignation. He's right. Anything's better than freezing to death.

"Fine…" Rika muttered and climbed groggily to her feet, picking up her fur blankets and carrying them over to the boy.

Takato didn't even bother trying to hide his look of surprise as he helped Rika to rearrange the blankets, shuffling sideways and making room for her when they were both satisfied. She slipped reluctantly under the covers, lying down stiffly next to the boy while trying to keep herself as far away from him as possible.

He was right, she thought after a few minutes. This is a lotwarmer.

After a few more minutes, the redhead slowly began to relax, allowing her muscles to un-tense and shifting slightly further to her right, further under the covers and towards Takato. As the two children drifted closer to sleep, they drifted closer and closer together until they were pressed close against each other, all embarrassment forgotten in their quest for mutual warmth.

11:47p.m.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the icy cave as a shadowy, hooded figure paced calmly towards the three sleeping figures huddled under the fur blanket. The two humans were practically hugging each other in their sleep, while the Digimon, Guilmon, was curled up in a ball at their feet. The figure approached the trio, reaching down and gently placing the back of one dark-skinned hand against Takato's forehead, finding it dangerously cold. It then did the same to Rika, then stood up straight again.

They will not last much longer.

In a soft, baritone voice, the newcomer began to chant softly, a warm, golden light emanating from his outstretched hands and washing over the sleeping children and Guilmon. A warm breeze carrying the faintest hint of a cinnamon smell washed over the room as the light flared brighter and the figure's chanting reached a crescendo.

When the light faded, Guilmon, the children and the figure were nowhere to be seen.