Before we start the next arc, I believe an interlude is appropriate. Okay, maybe not an interlude per se, but... uh... just read.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to anything Digimon. I'm not even out of college yet; how can I have ownership of a Japanese-based franchise?

LAST TIME:
ISAMU: With Kiyoko added to our ranks, we decided to hightail it out of the Flower Fields. But Apollomon was more than a little upset that he didn't get to finish the job. Everyone Digivolved to ultimate level, but even three Digimon against one wasn't enough. Apollomon was one of those power-is-everything types, and that got me filled with enough righteous fury to Digivolve Wormmon straight to mega level, GranKuwagamon. We beat the fallen Olympian and were introduced to another new face in the aftermath: Minomon, Wormmon's in-training form.

Chapter 21
Train

"You have to admit," Kiyoko said. "He does look kind of cute." She reached over to Minomon, who was in Isamu's arms as they walked, and petted his head, to which he reacted pleasantly. Because Minomon had no legs, Isamu had to carry him. "But I still don't see why he's like this."

"My guess is he used up a lot of energy when he was a mega," Isamu suggested. "For some stronger forms, Digimon tend to use a lot of energy just to maintain them."

"All this is still a little over my head," Kiyoko said, "but I suppose I get it." There was a pause between everyone. "So where exactly are we going?"

"We're just employing a strategy that seems to work with us," Daichi said.

"What's that?"

"Keep walking," Isamu answered, "until something happens."

Kiyoko was silent for a bit before saying to Gatomon, "You're sure we did the right thing teaming up with these guys?"

"The way they say it," Gatomon pointed out, "we were probably supposed to be with them from the start."

"We never actually said that, Gatomon," Daichi said. "But since Kiyoko has a Digivice, she's probably a Digi-Destined, further evidenced by the fact that Gennai sent us to the area you two were in. When you guys actually joined us was probably not too important."

"Hey," Isamu interrupted. "How about we set up for the night? I mean, Minomon's not the only one who could use the rest." It was getting dark, and with no clear direction in mind, everyone agreed that a good night's sleep would do them all good. The two boys pulled out their sleeping bags and Daichi pulled out an extra for Kiyoko. At first, she refused, saying that she had gotten used to sleeping on the ground for the past few days. However, Daichi insisted, asserting that the sleeping bag would be much more comfortable than whatever ground she found suitable. Kiyoko, at Gatomon's urging, relented.

Daichi woke up to find himself in front of a large castle. He looked around but saw nobody, not even Isamu, Kiyoko, nor any of their Digimon. Suddenly a large creature appeared, surrounded by shadow; it had the body of a humanoid from the waist up, but its lower half was four-legged, like a centaur. At first, he believed it to be a Centarumon, but the shape was much too big, both in height and structure, not to mention it had two attachments on its forelegs that pointed forward. Daichi didn't know what to do except run. As he did, he found he was running faster than was normally possible. He soon found himself running across a snowy mountain, barely making out the dark shapes of a hulking humanoid, a large bug, and a small, almost familar creature as he passed, all with red eyes. But he didn't stop running, not because he couldn't, but because he felt the same aura of darkness around them and the fear that it induced in him. As he left the mountain he saw three objects that he identified as sleeping bags. This last sight was quickly interrupted by himself waking up.

He looked around and saw that the others had awakened as well; both Isamu and Kiyoko were upright and all three Digimon had sprung up into a defensive pose.

Isamu spoke first. "Bad dream?"

"'Scary' is term I'd use," Kiyoko said. "At first, all I saw was this dark figure in front of a castle. I didn't know what it was, but I could tell it was bad news. I ran and found myself on a—"

"Mountain?" Daichi finished. "Seeing three creatures along the way with red eyes?"

"And then running back here before you woke up?" Isamu added. They all stared at each other in another round of silence.

It was now Daichi's turn to break it. "Would now be a bad time to mention that I had a nightmare before we came here?"

"Let me guess," Isamu said nervously. "You were surrounded by a group of shadows…" he paused to let someone else confirm his suggestion.

Kiyoko stepped in. "…and they merged into one giant shape?" Another pause.

"Either humans tend to have the same dreams quite often…" Minomon suggested.

"…or something weird is definitely going on," Dracomon finished.

"I admit that the first dream is part of the reason I threw you off my bunk when we first met, Minomon," Isamu said.

"But what does it all mean?" Gatomon said.

Daichi thought about all this. "Well, now that I look back on it, some of those shadows in the first dream I now realize were of Digi-Agents we had faced before."

"So the other shadows were the rest, then." Kiyoko added.

"Then whatever Digimon they merged into must have been their 'unifier,'" Isamu finished.

"But what about this dream?" Dracomon asked.

Isamu wasted no time in asking, "Minomon, are there any snow-covered mountains near here?"

"Since we just passed the Flower Fields," Minomon answered, "the nearest mountain should be Mount Snowcap. But I don't remember anything about a castle."

"It's our best bet," Daichi said. "Something is definitely behind that mountain. And I have a feeling it's especially dangerous."

After several failed attempts to get some more sleep, everyone got up, made breakfast, and hiked through the forest toward the mountain. It wasn't until they were close enough to the base of the mountain that they realized they had a problem.

"You know," Daichi said, "somehow the snow looked warmer in the dream. Wish we'd packed some winter gear."

"We left from summer camp, remember, Daichi?" Isamu retorted. "Why would he have brought stuff like that?"

"So how are we supposed to climb that?" Dracomon asked.

"Who says we have to?" Kiyoko pointed out. "All we have to do is walk around the mountain." She made a circular motion with her arm as she said this.

"But we don't know when we'll have reached the other side," Daichi countered.

"Well, we can't very well just start climbing with no heavy coats, now can we?" Kiyoko argued.

"Guys, guys!" Gatomon shouted as she and Dracomon came between them. "We'll find a way."

"And I may have just found it," Isamu said. Everyone turned to find Isamu and Minomon in front of a sign. It read, "Digital World Xpress, 1 Kilo-Digimeter," and pointed to their left. They all looked down to find a line of railroad tracks. "We can just ride over it," Isamu said. Nobody argued, but instead headed in the direction of the tracks.

They finally found the station where the train would stop. Daichi looked at a map showing the route the train would take. "Looks like the next stop is just behind the mountain," he observed. "We can find the castle more easily and in good time."

Isamu went to a booth where a Hagurumon, a gear-shaped Digimon, was stationed. "Excuse me," Isamu asked, "do you know when the next train will be arriving to cross the mountain?"

"That all depends," Hagurumon said in a rough voice. "You got enough money to be on it?"

Isamu turned to Minomon in his arms. "I don't suppose he'll take human money, will he?"

"Well, since there aren't a lot of humans here…"

"I got you," Isamu said, defeated.

"Let me handle this," Kiyoko said, pushing Isamu out of the way of the booth. "Six to the next station, please." She pulled a device like a jump drive out of her pack and placed it in a slot in front of Hagurumon. The device flashed green and six tickets appeared as she took it out of the slot.

"The train should be here momentarily," Hagurumon said, almost friendlier than before. Kiyoko took the tickets and handed one to each of the boys and the Digimon, with Isamu holding Minomon's.

"Hey Digimon, hey Digimon," Isamu said in wonder at what just happened.

"Where did you…?" Daichi started.

Kiyoko, realizing what was about to be asked, said, "It's kind of a long story." What that story was would most likely have to wait because they all felt the ground starting to rumble. They also heard a low rhythmic sound coming from behind. They looked and saw a large, black train moving toward them. It was a steam engine, but looked streamlined enough to be mistaken for an electric train. The front wheels were partially concealed behind what appeared to be claws, tucked into the sides of the engine's body. The front also had, surprisingly, a pair of eyes from inside the chassis.

"Is that a Digimon?" Kiyoko asked.

"Locomon, to be precise," Isamu said as Daichi pulled out the D-Power.

"He's right. Locomon is a data type machine Digimon, ultimate level. He's built for speed and his Steam Bomb does more than just block your view." Locomon slowed to a stop with his passenger cars near the Digi-Destined.

"All aboard," it said in a deep southwestern accent. "Just place your tickets in the box near the entrance and we'll get a-moving." The doors to the nearest car opened. Everyone stepped inside and saw a large, metal box with a slot in it. Everyone placed their tickets in it and took their seats along the sides.

"Boy, not a lot of other passengers here," Kiyoko observed. Aside from all six of them, there was nobody else on board.

"There aren't a lot of Digimon who want to go to the other side of the mountain," everyone heard Locomon's voice say. "Not since Castle Drac appeared a few months back."

"Then how come you're still here?" Dracomon asked.

"I have a few rounds to make back and forth," Locomon answered. "Besides, the last guy that tried to train-rob from me… well, let's just say he's looking into changing careers."

"So we ought to be safe," Minomon said.

"Castle Drac," Gatomon said in deep thought. "You think maybe…?"

"…that's the castle we saw?" Kiyoko finished. "Maybe."

"So, Locomon," Dracomon said, changing the subject, "how long will this take?"

"With current snow conditions," Locomon replied, "I'd say a couple hours at least."

"Guess that gives us some time to talk," Daichi said.

"About what?" Isamu asked.

"Ourselves," Daichi answered. "I mean, I think Kiyoko should be brought up to speed about who we are and what's happened to us. And we don't know much about you either, Kiyoko."

Kiyoko shrugged. "Makes sense. So, why don't you start?"

The boys told their story from their arrival into the Digital World all the way to the defeat of Pumpkinmon, switching narrators as they deemed necessary. Kiyoko had obviously learned a lot more about Digimon by picking up on and asking about some of the terminology they both used.

When they finished, Daichi asked Kiyoko to start telling her story.

"First, let me ask you something," Kiyoko said. Nobody was sure if she was starting her story this way or if there was one last thing she wanted to know. "You've obviously been here for a long time now. What did you tell your parents before you left?"

Daichi was the one to answer. "Well, I sent my dad an e-mail describing the situation as we were getting ready to leave. I decided that lying would just be impractical, so I told him the truth as far as I knew it. I don't think he believed me; his reply told me that much. But he did say that he understood Isamu and I had 'something important' to do, his words, and that it had to remain secret, so he said he would provide cover for Isamu from his parents. The bottom line: they don't know we're here, but they don't expect us back anytime soon either."

"Your dad's a cool guy," Kiyoko said. "I just wish I could be so lucky. When I was just a kid, my real dad died with my mom in a car accident, something the doctors said I was lucky to have survived. Then my foster mom, who was as close as any other mom could be, died of illness just a couple years ago. Her husband, however… well, let's just say there's a reason I'm calling him 'her husband.' He refused to acknowledge that I even existed, let alone actually care for me. So, the first chance I got, I packed some essentials, left his house, and never looked back. I don't think he even cared: no posters, no police cars hounding me, nothing.

"After I took to the streets for a few days, I found those Digimon cards. I don't know what possessed me to take them, but they felt like some sort of treasure to me. It was a couple days later when I met this old guy."

Looks like we're finally getting this inside scoop on Kiyoko. I know you're curious, so stay tuned for more Digimon: Digital Monsters!

I would say it's about time for a change of pace, right? Besides, she says she's been here for a week; let's see what's happened in that time.

This is CF signing out.