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It was official: it was too hot to do anything.
The balcony door to the Motomiya household was open, letting what little pitiful breeze there was barely push the edges of the drawn back curtains. A wind chime softly gave a whisper of a tink tink tink to accompany the buzzing of summer’s cicadas. The sun hung high in the cloudless sky, unable to prevent its rays from cooking the citizens of Earth.
Daisuke and V-mon were on the living room floor laid flat on their bellies, faces pointed directly at the small plastic oscillating fan. A constant cycle of pointing to one face for relief, only to leave them in the heat once again to treat the other. The small CRT television droned on with the news, though neither of the boys were particularly listening. Being that it was a Wednesday afternoon, it would be hours before any cartoons would air, so this would have to do. Despite their hopes, the news anchors did little to distract them from the oppressive heat.
“Is this what all of summer break is like, Daisuke?” The imp sighed, his horns sagging down.
His human companion huffed, “No, usually we go outside and play, or play video games, or do– I dunno, anything . But it’s just too freakin’ HOT. UGH! Why’s it so stupid hot this week???”
“Maybe the sun’s upset at us for something?”
“If it is, it needs to chill out.”
The shuffling of feet could be heard as Daisuke's mom entered the room. She was headed towards the kitchen, but swerved to the living area once she caught sight of the young boy and digimon.
“You know, your brains will rot right out with how much TV you've been watching.” Ms. Motomiya chided, tired of seeing the same sight for the past 3 days. “It's summer break, you boys need to be outside burning energy.”
“Uuuuuuugggghhhhhh Mooooooooommmmmmm… ” Daisuke groaned, rolling onto his back and slinging his arm over his eyes.
“Daisuke.”
“It's too hot though, mom! I heard from a friend who said his uncle's cousin is frying eggs on the pavement! I may be rotting my brain, but at least I'm not scrambling it!”
V-mon perked up, “Someone's frying eggs?”
Ms. Motomiya sighed and slowly shook her head, “No one is cooking eggs and especially not on the pavement. You'll be fine. Now, you have 15 minutes to figure out something to do before I start handing out chores, okay?”
Together, the two replied,
“Yes mom.”
“Yes Ms. Motomiya.”
Seemingly satisfied, the adult woman left to the kitchen, leaving the boys to lock their gazes back on the television screen.
“This week we can see some record highs. Don't get too hopeful though, as similar temperatures ranging from 29 to 30 degrees are predicted to continue into next week's forecast.”
Both boys groaned in unison at the weatherman's words.
“Now, please stay with us after this commercial break for some tips on staying cool with Mako and Kiwimon.”
The TV switched to an ad for ice cream, which depicted some kids running around on a snowy mountain made of the product. Daisuke felt that this was targeted just to make him feel worse.
“I wish we could be there …” He sighed, reaching out his hand hopelessly at the screen.
“Yeah… Reminds me of Mt. Aichteaemel, that place is always snowing.”
The human boy lifted his head, “Mount what’s-it-who’s-it?”
“Mt. Aich-tea-em-el, it’s in the Digital World! I’ve never been myself, but I’ve heard that it’s a great spot for a snowball fight!”
“Man, that sounds like a dream right about now…”
The two closed their eyes, imagining all sorts of games and activities they could play in the snow, until Daisuke suddenly shot up to his feet.
“WAIT A MINUTE– if it’s in the Digital World, why don’t we just go there???”
V-mon similarly shot up to his feet at the revelation, rushing to the family computer with his friend. They waited impatiently for the system to boot up and connect to the internet, listening to the all too familiar beeps and clicks play as it worked. Not bothering to allow the computer to fully wake up once the home screen flickered into view, Daisuke swiftly clicked open the Warp Point Program (or, WPP for short).
With the connection between the Real World and Digital World no longer being restricted, it had theoretically become possible for any regular person or digimon to be able to cross the boundaries at any time. Given how new the whole phenomenon was and how dangerous the Digital World could be, it hadn’t been long before national governments stepped in to block off access to the common man. However, trying to do this was like trying to stop water from escaping a mesh net; there would always be another hole.
Anyone who had a D-3 could already access the Digital World at any point through a computer, however, after the two worlds were properly connected, this privilege was extended to anyone with any sort of digivice. Rumor had it that counterfeit digivices were being made with the sole purpose of allowing someone to go back and forth between worlds, though, Daisuke couldn’t say that he’d run into anyone with one.
Koushiro made the Warp Point Program that was widely utilized around the globe for anyone with a digivice. Legality wise, this was the digi-traveling equivalent of Pirate’s Bay, but as usual, Koushiro never seemed too bothered. He knew both worlds were in better hands with the digidestined than with any government body.
V-mon peered over the desk as the computer displayed the WPP interface. A large map of the Digital World could be seen, sectioned off into areas that when hovered over, would show the amount of available warp points. Daisuke let the imp sit on the chair at the desk so he could navigate to Mt. Aichteaemel’s location. After a bit of fumbling around, they eventually found a warp point located at the middle range of the mountain’s height.
“Alright! Vee you’re a genius!” Daisuke cheered, giving his friend a quick squeeze. “I’m gonna email the others and see if they wanna come with!”
“Lucky that we found a warp there at all, that’s the only one in the area for miles! ” V-mon happily remarked.
The two idly chatted while they got ready for their expedition and waited on replies from the group. It felt unnatural to dig out his winter sweater in July, and Daisuke almost didn’t pack it, but a distant part of him knew that anything could happen. The boy packed some other warm clothes while V-mon came padding in with his arms full of snacks to throw in. By the time they were finished packing their day pack, Daisuke’s D-terminal was lit with return emails.
As he scrolled through them, his face became gradually more sour.
“Miyako and Hawkmon can’t come because she’s gotta help with her parents’ shop today. Iori and Armadimon are out of town. Takeru and Patamon are visiting his grandparents with his brother. And even freakin’ Hikari and Tailmon are busy shopping!”
“And I thought you guys were busy during school.” V-mon sighed, trying to wrap his head around how humans managed to always be so occupied with things to do.
They were just about ready to call this a solo Daisuke and V-mon adventure when one more reply whistled in. The human boy opened it and lit up with a smile.
“That sounds like a great idea. I found the warp point you mentioned, Wormmon and I will meet you there.”
Daisuke threw his backpack on and beckoned for V-mon to follow him back to the computer, “Ken and Wormmon are coming! He said they’ll meet us there, so let’s head out!”
Just as he reached into his pocket for his D-3, he called out to his mom, “MOM, V-MON AND I ARE GOING TO GO HANG OUT WITH SOME FRIENDS!”
After a distant, “Alright, stay safe sweeties.”, the boys activated the digivice and traveled into the digital realm.
– – –
The two flew out of the rather small screen on the ATM, falling face first in the cold embrace of the snow. Sticking the landing when traveling between worlds was still a skill they had yet to master. Daisuke got to his knees and swiftly sprang to his feet from the shock of the sudden shift in temperature, his whole body sending a violent shiver down his spine. Though, after the initial hit, both human and digimon felt a wave of relief trickle slowly throughout their bodies.
It was difficult to tell how high they were on the mountain with all of the lumbering trees surrounding them. The trunks on the trees were wider than Daisuke’s full arm span, maybe even twice as wide, it made his head spin. Their branches were similar to that of evergreens, however the pine needles were a rusty shade of purple. Snow gently fell through the air, tickling the cheeks of the mountain’s visitors.
There were more ATMs scattered around the area, haphazardly sprinkled about like someone had dumped them carelessly. They varied in make, model, year, brand, and condition; however, only the one the boys came through was lit up.
Daisuke approached a random ATM and started fiddling about with the buttons, “Do you think there’s any cash inside any of these? We could raid them while we’re waiting!”
V-mon scratched his head and began poking the metal casing of the machine, “Money? Uh, I dunno? Is there… usually cash in these?”
“Of course there is! It’s an ATM!”
“Wuzzat?”
“It’s uhhh, it's a machine that you go to that gives you money. You put your card in and then it spits out coins and bills!”
V-mon tilted his head in thought, “If these give you money, then why do your parents work?”
“Well– it’s not free money. It’s um, it’s money that I think is in your bank account. I don’t really know exactly how it works, I’ve only ever seen my Dad use it.” Daisuke sheepishly explained as he kicked the machine. “But this is in the Digital World so it doesn’t matter if we take money from it because we’re not stealing from anyone! Unless there’s a Digi-economy you haven’t told me about.”
“If there is, it’s news to me!”
After a few more kicks, Daisuke looked to his friend with a devious grin, “Think you could crack this sucker open, V-mon?”
“You got it, pal!”
V-mon used his headbutt attack to bash the front base of the ATM, busting the front panel and causing the machine to fall on its back. The two boys eagerly popped open the panel, only to feel disappointed when inside was nothing but strange monopoly looking money and random circuitry that didn’t connect to anything.
It was incredibly common to find random human objects and technology just lying around the Digital World, there’s no telling what you’ll find. Though, getting any use out of them is rather rare, as they almost never function as one would expect, if they even turn on at all. Koushiro constantly makes theories about this phenomenon, however his running theory is that it has something to do with how the general population views and understands technology. Most people know that an ATM functions through wires and circuits, and they understand that the prime purpose of the machine is to receive money, but when it comes to actually knowing how the whole thing works, the majority of people don’t have that knowledge.
There was a flash of light behind the boys, followed by the quiet crunch of snow.
Daisuke and V-mon whipped their heads around and called in unison.
“Ken!”
“Wormmon!”
In front of the lit ATM stood Ken Ichijouji, who notably did not fall flat on his face upon entering the digital realm. Wormmon landed next to him, to which Ken knelt down and extended his arm to allow his friend to crawl up to his shoulder. Ken could never help but smile when he felt Wormmon's little legs scuttle along his body.
“Motomiya, V-mon,” Ken said, though his eyes passed over his friends and over to the destroyed ATM. “We leave you to your own devices for 5 minutes and you've already caused untold destruction…”
Daisuke's cheeks flushed red, “What– this??? No it was uuuhhhh it was like this when we got here!”
“Daisuke definitely didn't tell me to crack it open!” V-mon helpfully chimed in.
Ken and Wormmon exchanged glances.
“Anyway,” The human and his imp rushed over, “I'm glad you could come! It feels like heaven out here!” Daisuke smiled.
“Really? I didn't think it was that bad back home.” Wormmon replied, curling around Ken's neck with a shiver.
Daisuke watched as Ken removed his backpack and dug around inside.
“I don't know how you could prefer the heat, I thought I was gonna melt into the floor!” V-mon said. He picked up some snow from the ground and rubbed it on his cheek, relishing in the cool.
“Warm weather is preferable to nearly every species of bug, V-mon. Their bodies aren't equipped to deal with the cold because they don't have their own inner heating like other types of animals such as mammals.” Ken started to explain. He plucked out a scarf from his bag and wrapped it snugly around Wormmon's approximate neck. “That's why now that it's summer, you see and hear bugs everywhere. The warm weather means that cold blooded animals can come out and thrive.”
Ken put a small beanie on Wormmon's head, before zipping up his bag and looking inquisitively at V-mon, “In fact, I'm surprised that you don't also prefer the heat. Given that you're covered in scales, I would have thought that you were cold blooded as well.”
Daisuke was still trying to process everything Ken had said about bugs when he snapped to look at V-mon's body. It was a fact he'd always known about, but had never really stopped to really look at the imp's scales. Their bright blue hue glimmered in the snow.
With everyone's eyes on him, V-mon awkwardly blushed and shrugged, “Uhhhh I dunno? Hey how about instead of standing around we go do something???”
His human partner nodded and started to take lead, “Yeah, we can talk while we explore the area! C'mon!”
Ken gently cracked a small smile and nodded, following along, “Alright, but I still have some questions for you, V-mon.”
“Oh gee.”
“You have scales, so do you shed?”
“Shed?”
“As in, do you grow new scales and have times where your old scales peel off?”
“Oh, then yeah I think so?”
“Fascinating, so you have the scales of a reptile but the warm blood of a mammal…”
“I'm not a ‘reptile’ or a ‘mammal’! I'm a Digimon…!”
The small party hiked further and further from the warp point ATM, Ken and V-mon's voices filling the air as they left.
– – –
The group had been hiking for an hour or two, and had now found a spot for a bite to eat. There was always something about finding a secluded spot in the wilderness that made food taste all the most enjoyable. They were fairly high up on the mountain, and were able to look out to the world below from the cliff they'd found. The peaks of the trees were densely packed close together, barely any purple from their needles being visible under the snow. Despite the constant snowfall, the sky had very few clouds. The digital sky was always a sight to behold, what with its watercolor-like splatters of colors and alien looking atmosphere.
The wind blew gently, but it was enough for Daisuke to pull his coat collar closer in. Distantly, he could barely make out a flying digimon miles away into the horizon. They hadn't run into life on their hike, but that wasn't entirely unexpected, and probably for the better. While most digimon were nice or at least neutral, some of the more animalistic ones tended to be aggressive on sight, and frankly, Daisuke wasn't particularly in the mood for a fight.
The young human boy looked to his friends and smiled in between handfuls of crackers. It wasn't long ago that an expedition like this wouldn't have been for leisure, and yet somehow it still felt like their days of fighting baddies were years behind them. How was it possible to feel this well lived and still only be 13? Daisuke wondered about that occasionally.
He started to notice Ken flicking his eyes at him, then looking away quickly. It hadn't taken long for Daisuke to learn that this was Ken's way of trying to prepare himself to break a silence. Daisuke hoped that one day, Ken wouldn't feel like his presence was unwelcome or a burden. Right now, it was just difficult for the former villain to try and be the conversation starter, but Daisuke didn't mind. He was great at talking!
“I think I'm all rested and ready to go! You guys?”
Ken nodded and put Wormmon on his shoulders, “Yes, I'm ready. If we head back now and make the same time, we should be back home in time for dinner.”
Wormmon was already imagining it in his head, “I would be hard pressed to miss a chance at your mother’s cooking, Ken.”
Ken chuckled as he stood up and dusted snow off of his pants, “She would certainly be beside herself if either of us missed without calling.”
V-mon handed Daisuke his bag and started making his way down the mountain, his human partner following close behind, though Daisuke caught a glance from Ken. Ken bit his lip and brushed his hair aside, taking his gaze towards the ground as he cleared his throat.
“Um, Motomiya…”
The red haired boy kept his speed back to match Ken's and walked by his side, “What's up?”
“I… I wanted to thank you for inviting me to come today.” Ken stumbled out, his usual even voice carrying a tremble.
“Of course dude! You're part of the team and one of our friends! It wouldn't feel right without you and Wormmon around.”
“I was just– surprised, when you decided to go through with the plans even when the only one coming was me.”
Daisuke shot him a jokingly offended glare, “Why wouldn't I? You act like you're some kinda back up date!”
Ken suddenly blushed and subsequently heard his digimon partner chuckle quietly. He almost made a comment, but was interrupted by Daisuke continuing, “C'mon man, you know we enjoy having you here! You're not just some guy, and you're not even just a friend, you're one of the best people I know, Ken. I look forward to spending time with you just as much as any of our other friends. In fact, sometimes I think about just asking you to hang out.”
Ken's heart was pounding, mostly being filled with pure gratefulness over hearing just how much his friend cared, but there was a certain other feeling he couldn't help but realize was coming up. “Motomiya… I– I don't know what to say other than… thank you.”
The purple haired boy could almost swear he could see a dusting of red around Daisuke's cheeks, but surely that was just from the cold. They had both stopped moving and were simply smiling at each other, Ken felt a kind warmth flow throughout his body. He could have stood like this forever, but the moment was swiftly shattered when a snowball suddenly flew and hit Daisuke squarely on the back of the head.
“YEAH! Strike one for V-mon!” The imp laughed from ahead, wielding another snowball at the ready, “C'mon! We can't just stand around all day, we just had a break! Let's get moving!”
Daisuke immediately shot his digimon a scowl that could kill, and started making his own ammunition, “Oh you think you're just gonna get away with that?! GET OVER HERE!”
– – –
The trek down had morphed into all out warfare. Snowballs flew between the trees that acted as cover for the boys, screams and laughter echoing through the foliage. While Ken and Wormmon worked together as a team, V-mon and Daisuke were not so kind to each other. Several times the human and imp would tackle the other and rough house on the ground, rolling around in the snow. Though, all it would take was a potshot from the other duo to remind them that there were two notably less snow-covered individuals on the battlefield.
This continued on until about an hour in, when a ground trembling low rumble stopped all action at once. While the snow absorbed much of the shockwaves, it wasn’t enough to not get the group’s immediate attention. The shaking started softly before quickly hitting a crescendo and slowly petering out, leaving loose snow on the trees to fall around them.
Once it was clear that the seismic event was finished, Daisuke locked eyes with Ken across the path, “What the hell was that??? An earthquake?”
Ken picked up Wormmon, who was clutching the boy’s leg like a liferaft, and made his way over, “Possibly, but I find it unlikely that we would have felt tremors that intense this high up. I’m thinking that it was more likely…”
“An avalanche?...” Wormmon nervously finished.
Ken nodded, “Unfortunately. And if one happened, it’s highly probable that the shaking could cause a chain reaction and trigger more to follow.”
Daisuke bit his lip, briefly weighing his options until he looked down at V-mon, “I don’t think we should stick around to find out, let’s just fly back to the warp point and get out of here. V-mon, you think you can do that?”
The digimon gave a thumbs up, “I’m pretty worn out, but I have enough fuel in the tank to fly us down! I remember the way we took, so it should only take us a few minutes.”
Daisuke snatched his D-3 from his belt in a fluid and practiced motion, summoning V-mon’s transformation from Rookie to Champion form. It didn’t matter how many times he’d seen it, watching digimon digivolve was always a spectacle. After the light faded, what was once the little imp was now the larger than life draconic beast, XV-mon.
Admittedly, XV-mon wasn’t the most comfortable to ride on when there was more than one passenger, as his body wasn’t quite big enough or shaped right for accommodating even a single person. Daisuke sat at the beast’s helm, and Ken was forced to wrap his arms around the boy’s chest in order to hang on well enough. For some reason, the red-headed teen found that he didn’t mind.
After a solid 10 minutes of flying high above the peaks of the trees, Wormmon spoke up from his spot atop his human’s head, “I don’t see those ATMs anywhere, I thought the warp point was around here…”
Daisuke felt similarly, a greater dread occurring as he saw what should have been trees disappearing under a heavy blanket of snow, “XV-mon?”
“I thought the same thing, I swore we started around here. But this area looks completely buried.” The beast confirmed.
Ken tugged lightly on his friend’s coat, “Can you check your D-Terminal?”
“Yeah, lemme check…” Daisuke trailed off as he wrenched his device from his pocket. Flipping it open, he opened up the map, only to feel his dread growing deeper.
Bright red text reading “SIGNAL LOST” blinked on the screen.
Ken tried to peer over Daisuke’s shoulder to get a look, growing uneasy at the boy’s silence, “Motomiya? What’s it say?”
“Check yours– I think mine’s bugging out.”
While he didn’t entirely buy it, Ken acquiesced and dug out his terminal, taking the same steps that Daisuke did, only to see the same screen display. “Shit–”
“Uh, sorry guys but can we land while you hash this out? I don’t think I can keep this up much longer.” XV-mon sheepishly notified.
Daisuke patted his digimon’s shoulder, “Yeah, go ahead and get us on the ground, buddy. We just need a moment to figure this out.” He optimistically explained.
Finding a spot near what appeared to be the avalanche site, XV-mon landed not a moment too late, as he reverted back to his Rookie form as soon as his riders disembarked. The tired digimon grabbed at his human’s bag to try and find a snack for a boost.
“Is there a problem with the D-Terminals? You guys got all quiet up there.” V-mon asked.
The two humans were showing each other their screens, both anxiously coming to the same conclusion.
Ken held out his terminal so V-mon could see, “I think the warp point was destroyed in the avalanche. Neither of us are getting a signal from it, and this is definitely where we started. All of those ATMs…”
He looked over to the wall of snow, it was surely too unstable to try and climb on. Not that searching for the warp point would be helpful, it’s not like they could get it back up and running without an expert like Koushiro, and even with him it would be a gamble.
“The next nearest warp point isn’t anywhere even remotely close, I remember when me and V-mon were looking for this one back home that we were surprised that there weren’t more around here.” Daisuke bit out, frustration seeping through. “It’s literally kilometers away.”
Ken shivered, feeling some of the cold bite through. He took Wormmon from his head and held him close, “We don’t have much of a choice, all we can do is start heading in one direction until we get a connection with another warp point that we can then follow the signal to. Our main problem is going to be surviving that long in these conditions. It wouldn’t be so bad if we could fly, but V-mon’s out of energy, and, well, Wormmon?...”
Wormmon had gotten more quiet as they spent time in the cold, and it was clear that he was just as, if not more drained of energy than V-mon from playing around and just being in the weather. He tried to perk up, “I could turn into Stingmon for a little bit, I’ll go as long as I can…”
“I don’t want you to use up too much energy in this cold, Wormmon. You’re struggling in these temperatures as it is, and it’s only going to get colder at night, we can’t risk you digivoling further down into an even more vulnerable state.” Ken stated.
“But what if I can fly us far enough to get a signal, Ken…? At least then, we would have a direction, or we could contact the others…”
“No! It’s too much of a risk! Unless we come across some substantial amount of food, neither you OR V-mon should be digivolving. You need to stay in your current forms as long as possible so you don’t get weaker.”
As much as Daisuke would have preferred to fly for a chance at a signal, he knew that Ken was right. There wasn’t a good solution to their quandary, but they couldn’t risk putting either of their digimon in danger for the sake of a chance.
A north wind blew and caused cold flakes to cut at his cheeks. Their time was limited, and they needed to make as much ground as possible before nightfall. Daisuke took off his beanie and put it on V-mon’s head, much to the imp’s confused appreciation.
“Then let’s get moving! Come on guys, I know it sucks, but this is nothing! We’ve tackled waaaaay worse than a little cold hike, we’ll get out of this with nothing more than a scolding from our parents!” The red haired boy laughed, his smile reflecting in the white of the snow.
As much as Ken would have liked to keep up his friend’s positivity, he couldn’t help but feel like this was just the beginning. Anxiety pooled in his stomach as he followed along, his arms wrapped completely around Wormmon’s body.
– – –
Ikuyo Motomiya would not have considered herself to be much of a strict parent. She believed that it was good for her kids to go out into the world and discover things at their own leisure, and while she may worry about their whereabouts sometimes, she knew that her kids were good and would stay out of trouble for the most part. Her only real rule was that Jun and Daisuke be home for dinner at 6, or if they weren’t going to be there, that they call her and let her know where they were.
All in all, Ikuyo was relaxed in how she let her children explore their world, and she rarely if ever needed to fret. Which was why when the clock read 7:00, she felt the unfamiliar sensation of irritation and fear.
Daisuke never, as scatter brained and rash as he was, never broke the rule. He was either in his seat at the dinner table just as the hour chimed, or had called her beforehand. The fact that neither her son or his digimon had rang was equal parts annoying and concerning. Ikuyo remembered the first time V-mon had called to let her know that he and Daisuke were staying at their friend Takeru’s house for dinner, a smile curling on her lips. It felt so strange to hear that voice and feel a sense of warmth knowing that someone was looking out for her boy. In many ways, V-mon had already found a place in her heart, despite only having been around for a few months.
Sure, the shock of learning what a digimon was and that apparently Daisuke had known V-mon far before the Digital and Real worlds connected was… intense. It was even more intense when Daisuke insisted that this creature was his best friend and that he was a part of the family now. Ikuyo had been reasonably apprehensive at first about housing a strange alien critter in her home, and admittedly looking back, felt that she could have been warmer to V-mon in his first weeks.
But now? The poor mother found herself regularly considering herself to have 3 kids. Maybe it was because V-mon was so similar to her son, or how he was so polite despite still learning human norms, or how cute he was when Ikuyo caught him accidentally calling her “mom”.
It put a pit in her stomach to watch the minutes pass, no phone having rang and two seats at the table left empty during a meal. Ikuyo anxiously twirled her finger around the phone cord, unsure of what her first move should be. Daisuke had said that they were going to hang out with some friends, but that could mean anything in terms of location. In the best case scenario, they were just at someone else’s house and would soon be receiving an earful, and worst case…?
The fretful mother exhaled an anxious breath and started to dial the first number on the little list of her kids’ friends. The Iori household number went to the receiver, so she went to the next only to hear from Ms. Takaishi that her son was out seeing family. Ikuyo tried to hold her worry down as she dialed the Inoues, but after hearing that they hadn’t seen the boys all day, she started losing control of her feelings.
Ms. Motomiya shakily dialed the Ichijoujis, upset that she was this strung up over something that likely had a completely normal explanation.
“Hello? Akane Ichijouji speaking?”
Ikuyo snapped out of her spiraling thoughts, “Yes, hello Ms. Ichijouji, this is Ikuyo Motomiya– Daisuke’s mom. I’m calling to ask if you’ve seen him and V-mon? Did they come and visit your son?”
“Oh, no I haven’t seen them here, but Ken did say that he was going to meet up with them. In fact, I wasn’t far from calling you, ma’am. He isn’t home, and he didn’t tell me that he was planning on staying late, and now that YOU’RE saying that you haven’t seen him…” Ms. Ichijouji said, the poor woman sounding far more distraught by the second.
Ikuyo knew that it would benefit no one if they both freaked out, so she took a deep breath and worked to settle down the situation.
“Let’s not panic just yet. I’m sure it’s something perfectly normal and logical that happened. I still have one more of Daisuke’s friends that I need to contact, maybe they’re both over there and just lost track of time?”
“I-I suppose… that could happen…”
“How about this? I’m going to hang up, call my last contact, and then report back to you with what I hear, alright?”
“Oh– yes that would be wonderful, thank you Ms. Motomiya. Bless you.”
Ikuyo smiled, “Don’t worry, as a mother of a teenage boy too, I understand. I’m going to hang up now, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll hear from you in a bit. Good bye.”
She hung up the phone and immediately worked to dial up the Yagamis.
The phone rang once, twice, a third time…
“Hello?”
A young voice answered the voice, she sounded familiar.
“Hello, this is Ikuyo Motomiya, Daisuke’s mom. Is this Hikari Yagami?”
“Yes ma’am, speaking.”
“Oh good, have you seen or heard from Daisuke or Ken today? My son said he was going to hang out with some friends and apparently hooked up with Ken at some point, but neither of them have come home yet or let anyone know where they are.”
There was a distinct pause over the phone, followed by some mumbling and fumbling with something, before Hikari responded.
“Yes, they’re at my place, ma’am! They’re outside playing soccer with my brother, I guess they just didn’t notice the time flying by!”
A weight was released from Ikuyo’s entire body and soul. Her boys were okay.
“Oh that’s so great to hear, thank you Hikari. I’m sorry to ask, but would you mind–”
“Ah would you look at that! They just walked in! ………………… oh, yeah I can ask! Ms. Motomiya, can Daisuke and V-mon sleepover?”
“Sleepover? I…” Ikuyo trailed off, thinking about saying no considering how much they made her worry. But… it was an innocent mistake, they were just outside burning energy and being kids, like she had asked. “... Sure, I see no problem with that. Tell them that mom says goodnight. Oh! And tell that Ken boy to call his mother and let her know where he is too, that poor woman is just as worried as I was!”
“Hah hah yep I sure will– thanks Ms. Motomiya! Bye!”
Ikuyo heard the receiver clink, and hung up the phone. A smile grew from ear to ear. Her boys could have fun tonight, but they would be on the receiving end of a good lecture when they got home tomorrow.
Hikari hung up the phone, dragging her hand down her face with a groan.
“Of course the one time Takeru or I aren’t there, they lose track of time in the Digital World. I would’ve thought Ken would be good about it… Why do I even cover for them?” She muttered to herself as she sat down at her family computer to look up the warp point the boys had planned to meet at. Furrowing her brow, Hikari searched around the area that Daisuke messaged them about, but that entire section was completely dark now. The whole mountain wasn’t even showing up on the map, like it didn’t have a warp point close enough to get data on it.
That didn’t make any sense unless…
Her heart sank.
She whipped out her D-Terminal and typed up a message to their friend group chat.
“Daisuke? Ken? Where are you guys?”
“Respond as soon as you see this.”
– – –
The digital sun had half sunk itself beneath the horizon, or what little of it could be seen between the trees. The call of nightfall summoned the snow to blow harshly at an angle, making it difficult to remember the pleasant flurries from only hours ago. As the light around the quartet got dimmer, it only helped to remind them that they didn't have a flashlight or matches. With pressure building from the slow darkness seeping in and the weather getting rougher, it was agreed that night travel would be impossible.
The trek was miserable, smiles having lost their presence as they made ground but lacked even a hint of a signal. Ken had stuffed Wormmon down the front of his sweater in an attempt to protect his friend at least a little bit, but there was only so much snow soaked wool could do. V-mon insisted that he could walk just as much as his human companions, and tried to hide his deep chill with optimism. Eventually though, it was clear the imp's feet were starting to freeze and his scales were doing nothing to keep in any warmth. Daisuke made the executive decision to carry his digimon on his back piggyback style. The human also sacrificed his coat to V-mon, despite his partner's protests. Overall, the group would rate the experience 1 out of 5 stars.
“We need to find some sort of shelter.” Ken said, speaking the first words in an hour. “Soon. I don't think we have much more sun left.”
Daisuke huffed, determination still clear on his face, “I know, trust me. I'll shout as soon as I spot even a little something. Can you be some extra eyes, buddy?”
The boy nudged V-mon with his shoulder, to which the digimon only hummed in response.
Daisuke smiled regardless, “Good, great! Just keep your eyes open and lemme know if you spy a good bunch of trees! Or uhhhhhhh… something– big. That can block the wind. You know what I mean!”
V-mon rested his heavy head on his human’s shoulder, wearily gazing out beyond the billows of snow as best as he could. Neither Ken nor Daisuke felt good about how unresponsive their digimon had become.
“I’m sure we’ll find something cozy soon guys, we just have to keep going!” Daisuke gritted out, “We’ll look back on this some day and we’ll laugh about it, we’ll laugh about how unlucky we were! We’ll tell the rest of the gang and Miyako will be all like ‘if I was there, none of that would have happened!’, and I’ll be like ‘how would you have known about a stupid avalanche coming?!’, and SHE’LL be like–”
“Motomiya,” Ken tried to cut in, but Daisuke continued on.
“She’ll be all like ‘I dunno but I wouldn’t have chosen somewhere stupid to go!’, but she’s only saying that ‘cause she totally wanted to go,”
“Daisuke,” V-mon also attempted to say, however this also failed.
“And then Iori will probably say something wise, and Takeru will second that like he came up with what Iori said even though he didn’t, and–”
The red haired boy was finally properly interrupted when V-mon bonked him on the head.
Daisuke immediately shot a snarl at his digimon, but before he could speak, Ken grabbed him by the shirt and pointed outwards.
“Look, I think that’s a cave over there!” Ken said.
Sure enough, when squinting his eyes through the wind, it was clear that there was some dark hull on the side of the mountain. With renewed strength and a burst of adrenaline, both boys ran as best they could through the thickening snow towards the possible safe haven.
Entering the mouth of the cave may as well have felt like entering a 5 star hotel with how infinitely better it was compared to the elements outside. The 2 humans swiftly slowed down as their energy drained from the running, collapsing onto the hard stone floor once they were far enough in not to be bothered by the wind.
Daisuke set V-mon on the ground and scooted up close to Ken and Wormmon. The group simply sat in silence catching their breaths, feeling the comparatively warmer air hold them, but realizing extremely quickly that it was not enough. They all desperately just wanted to fall asleep right then and there, Wormmon already was asleep much to their concern, but internally they all knew that sleeping in this cold was a death sentence.
The 2 humans exchanged eye contact, a wordless conversation playing out between them. Eventually, Daisuke stood up, his limbs achy and frigid.
“Ken, try to keep the other 2 warm. I’m gonna go get some firewood real quick.”
The blue haired boy immediately shot his arm out and grabbed his friend’s hand, “Wait, you can’t go back out there.”
“Someone has to, we can’t be in here without any heat!” Daisuke snapped, yanking his hand away, before immediately feeling guilty about his tone and sighing, “Sorry– I promise I'll be fine, okay?”
V-mon stood up, trying to shove off the coat that had been surrendered to him, “Daisuke, you at least have to take this!”
His human denied the coat though, and pushed it back towards the imp, “No, you need it more than me right now. You’ll need as much energy as you can once I get back.”
Daisuke grabbed his bag and gave it to V-mon before continuing, “There’s not much, but there’s still a snack or 2 left in there. Eat that and do not do anything else, you hear me?”
It suddenly clicked in Ken’s head what his friend’s plan was, “You’re going to try and have him digivolve into Fladramon. Motomiya– that’s too dangerous right now.” He sternly asserted.
“Do you know any other options??? We can’t not have a fire! I don’t wanna risk it either but we kinda don’t have another choice! You and me are the best off and we’re freezing, how do you think V-mon is feeling? Wormmon’s doing even worse!--”
Suddenly, the mass bundled up inside Ken’s sweater got far smaller with a flash of light. The group instantly fell silent. Ken peeked down his collar, checking on his friend. He anxiously brushed his hair aside, eyes casted down.
“... V-mon, are you comfortable trying?” Ken said, words much more quiet.
The digimon nodded, tired eyes determined, “I’ll do the best I can…”
“Then it’s settled.” Daisuke stated, starting to make his way back into the outer world, “Ken, keep V-mon and Minomon as warm as you can. Make sure he eats everything in my bag, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I will. Just– please don’t do anything stupid.”
The Chosen of Passion flashed a thumbs up with a sparkly grin, “Can’t make any guarantees.”
– – –
EMAIL GROUP CHAT LOG: “Digidestined (+ newbies edition! (^o^)丿)”
Hikari Yagami - 10:09 pm
Alright guys, doing this in main chat because I think we’ll need the cavalry
Taichi Yagami - 10:10 pm
Cavalry?
LOL what did you guys do this time
Hikari Yagami - 10:11 pm
It’s just Daisuke and Ken
Yamato Ishida - 10:12 pm
Of course it involves Daisuke
Sora Takenouchi - 10:12 pm
Of course it’s Daisuke
Takeru Takaishi - 10:12 pm
Of course Daisuke did something
Hikari Yagami - 10:14 pm
I know I know
But I think it’s pretty serious this time
Jou Kido - 10:15 pm
3=0uth-f[0CKIJOUBG{Hffjsp0[eif[wpeojK\T]P1
Yamato Ishida - 10:17 pm
what
Jou Kido - 10:18 pm
Sorry Gomamon took my terminal
What are we talking about
Also can whatever it is wait until tomorrow? I have to study
Taichi Yagami - 10:20 pm
Since when do you NOT have to study
Hikari Yagami - 10:21 pm
Guys shut up this actually for real serious TT_TT
I’m 98% sure Daisuke and Ken got trapped in the Digital World, and it’s in a pretty rough place
Dai invited some of us to go to some place in the DigiWorld called Mt. Aichteaemel to get away from the heat. I guess it’s super cold up there.
Anyway, he and Ken went but they haven’t come back. Daisuke’s mom literally just called and was freaking out. I checked the WPP so I could go get their asses but the warp point they used is literally gone. The whole mountain is off the radar.
They haven’t been responding to emails either.
Koushiro Izumi - 10:26 pm
Can you send the coordinates to the next nearest warp? I might be able to broaden the signal a bit and use their profile data I have from their digivices to search for their exact location.
Taichi Yagami - 10:27 pm
Koushiro popping in when his “baby” is mentioned LOL
Koushiro Izumi - 10:27 pm
I’ve been reading the whole time
Hikari Yagami - 10:29 pm
-33.892061, 180.73619
Takeru Takaishi - 10:30 pm
I can’t look at it cause our grandparents don’t have a computer, but that warp point must have been super isolated if it going out completely wiped a mountain off the map
Hikari Yagami - 10:31
Yeah, it was literally the only one on the whole thing. The nearest warp is tons of kilometers away.
That’s why I’m concerned. From what I could gather, the mountain is super cold. And if they’re stuck out there, they don’t even have a signal FIND the nearest warp or call for help.
Yamato Ishida - 10:33 pm
shit
yeah
Sora Takenouchi - 10:33 pm
Ok yeah this sounds bad, me and Piyomon are ready
Koushiro Izumi - 10:35 pm
I broadened the signal as best I could from the warp point Hikari gave me, as well as other ones around the perimeter of the blackout zone. I couldn’t find anything, which means they’re deep in there. Considering the conditions of the surrounding areas, I can reasonably calculate that they’re in temperatures as low as -23 C at this time of night.
It goes without saying that I believe a search party is in order.
Taichi Yagami - 10:41 pm
shit ok.
Alright, Yamato, Sora, Koushiro, and Miyako: go search for Ken and Daisuke towards the center of the blackout zone and work your way out since your digimon can fly and/or are built for traveling in the snow
Me, Takeru, Hikari, and Iori: Search the outer perimeter of the zone closer to the warp points since our digimon can’t travel as fast in these conditions
Mimi if you’re awake you’re on my team too
Koushiro Izumi - 10:45 pm
It’s almost noon for her
Taichi Yagami -10:45 pm
Oh ok
Then join if you can Mimi, but I think we should have it covered
Jou Kido - 10:48 pm
Wait what about me
Taichi Yagami - 10:51 pm
Ikkakumon’s negative fast on land (no offense), I would rather have you here on standby for when we get back in case anyone is injured since that’s kinda your thing
Good ol’ reliable Jou!
Jou Kido - 10:53 pm
Fair enough
Good luck you guys! Please don’t ALSO get lost!
Hikari Yagami - 10:54 pm
Thanks everyone, we should be able to do this in no time together :D
– – –
Ken didn’t think he had ever hated waiting as much as he did in the current moment. His frigid, achy form held the 2 digimon he’d been entrusted with close. The boy had wrapped one arm around V-mon’s shoulders, feeling at least content that the imp was awake, albeit clearly fighting to stay that way. His thoughts were more pressed around Minomon, terrified at the implications of Wormmon’s de-evolution. The poor chestnut creature was far more vulnerable in this stage, and Ken felt the fear of further devolving punching at his patience. At the very least, being that Minomon was much smaller than his rookie form, he could be entirely concealed in his human’s sweater.
In between thoughts of Minomon’s health, the blue haired boy continuously kept flitting his eyes back to the entrance of the cave. Ken checked his D-3; it read 11:03 pm.
Daisuke had been out for coming on an hour, and Ken’s hope was dwindling ever so slowly. He knew it was a bad idea to let that idiot go out there, he knew it. Daisuke was out in the elements in a t-shirt trying to gather wood for a fire that judging by V-mon’s drooping eyes, wouldn’t be happening.
What kind of friend was he to let him go back out there like that? What kind of pal would sit in the better conditions and do nothing? What kind of person would watch as their companion shriveled away? What kind of monster would–
Minomon curled closer to Ken’s chest in his slumber, a small hum from the creature. The human sighed, drawing his knees in. It was usually Wormmon who would break him out of these thought cycles, preventing him from falling down the pit of inner despair. But there was no cute mumbly voice, only the screaming of wind.
V-mon’s horns perked up, and he raised his head over to the cave’s opening. A dark silhouette of someone stood there, a bundle of branches in their arms.
“Motomiya!” Ken cried, standing up swiftly but gently so as to not batter Minomon, and rushed over to his friend.
“Heeeey man!... See?... T–Told you I’d be back…” Daisuke optimistically smiled, in spite of his horribly frozen body. He began to stumble further inside before finding himself coughing harshly. V-mon was at his side to catch any falling wood, concern etched on his weary face.
“You’re coughing, come on and get inside.” Ken stated, ushering the frigid boy in, “How long ago did you start coughing?”
“I’m fine! I’m fine! That’s the only one… D-don’t worry about it, let’s just get this fire going!... I-I bet everyone’s ready to be warm!...” The human hoarsely spoke, body almost collapsing as he fell to his knees to start arranging the gathered tree branches and twigs.
V-mon looked to Ken with distress in his eyes, silently begging him to do something. Taking off his sweater, making sure to keep Minomon bundled up inside, the boy handed the cloth bundle to V-mon and crouched beside Daisuke. He gently took the red head’s hands and pulled them away from the wood.
“Let me, you’ve already done enough, okay?” Ken gingerly asserted, keeping his grip firm as Daisuke tried to pull away.
“No, it’s really super fine…! I just… I just need…” Daisuke trailed off, breathing heavily and body trembling.
The former villain pulled his friend in close and scooted him against the cave wall.
“Please– just let me do this, Motomiya. You need to rest, but keep your eyes open, understand?” Ken sternly but not unkindly instructed. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Daisuke seemed too wrecked to fight back anymore.
“Mmkay…”
“Thank you.”
With that, Ken worked to swiftly arrange the given materials into the optimal fire pit. He got up and briefly gathered some stones to place around the perimeter of the pit. Information about how to create the best fireplace swirled in his head as he built, ever thankful for his bookwormish knowledge coming in clutch. Once he was finished, he stood up and kneeled beside Daisuke. The boy was hazily looking at the ground, mind likely not truly present in the moment.
“Hey, I finished building the pit. Where’s your D-Terminal?”
Daisuke snapped his attention back to reality and sluggishly rummaged in his pockets until he shakily pulled out the device, “I-I-I got it right uh… right here…”
“Okay, excellent.” Ken encouraged, he then looked to V-mon, “V-mon, are you ready?”
“As much as I’ll be.” The digimon nodded.
Taking his eyes back to Daisuke, it was clear that the boy was falling and was falling fast. Ken lightly patted Daisuke’s cheek and brought his attention back to the D-Terminal.
“Motomiya, all you have to do is say the words, okay? Just say ‘Digi-Armor Energize’, that’s it.”
Daisuke seemed to take a moment to process the words, before blinking slowly and selecting the Digi-Egg of Courage. He sucked in a breath, but immediately started coughing. The other human and digimon stepped closer to him, but the boy recovered quickly and took in another breath.
“D-Digi-Armor, ENERGIZE!”
The cave was briefly flashed with light, V-mon’s body glowing brightly in a spectacle– until it stopped. The imp stumbled forwards, taking in air quickly.
“It– It didn’t work… No– no no no.” The digimon mumbled in fear.
“V-mon–” Ken started, but was stopped immediately.
“Try again, Daisuke! I can do this! I have it in me!”
Daisuke worked to keep his mind conscious, his voice working to feel determined, “Digi-Armor… ENERGIZE!...”
Again, V-mon’s body was engulfed by light only to fumble and return to the darkness in the same form he was before.
Ken stood up and put his hands on the imp’s shoulders, “Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself! You don’t have enough energy so just– stop!”
“I’m not gonna just let everyone freeze to death because of MY stupid idea!!! I was the one who mentioned this mountain to Daisuke, so it’s my fault we’re trapped here! I have to turn into Fladramon!!!” V-mon cried, tears starting to prick from the corners of his eyes.
His fists were balled and trembling with anger as he took a strong stance, “DAISUKE! AGAIN!!!”
“V… V-mon…” The digimon’s human hoarsely mumbled in worry.
“I’m not giving up! Please Motomiya, say it again! I’M GOING TO DIGIVOLVE!”
Ken tried to stop Daisuke, but it was too late, the words rolled out of the boy’s mouth.
“DIGI-ARMOR……… ENERGIZE…………!”
This time, the light was so intense that the entire cave was swallowed in the shine. V-mon’s body morphed and contorted until it stood as tall as a grown man. Flames burst through the air before the brightness of the transformation could settle down. The structure of twigs, logs, and other gathered wood erupted into a show of pyres, the cave walls witnessing even more light.
And then, as if a switch was flipped, the overwhelming rays of illumination died away until all that was left was the modest glow of the campfire.
Where V-mon once stood was the laying body of Chibimon, completely worn out and unconscious. Ken rushed over to the tiny digimon, cradling him in his arms and whispering kind words.
“Good job Chibimon, you did it…”
The fire’s warmth stung at first, as Ken’s skin reacted to the sudden shift in temperature, though this shifted into relief rapidly. The human wanted to do nothing more than to curl up next to these precious flames and sleep, but he had the others to take care of.
Ken brought Chibimon to the bundle of clothes that held Minomon, and tucked him inside as well. Gently scooping up the swaddled digimon, the blue haired boy set them next to the fire pit with a relieved hum. It was all he could do for them for now.
Next, he tentatively approached Daisuke’s sitting form, which didn’t appear to be holding on to consciousness any longer either.
“Motomiya…? Motomiya, wake up.” Ken tried to coax, but all he got was his friend’s head lolling to the side.
With a defeated sigh, the Chosen of Kindness grappled his friend from under the armpits and dragged him close to the flames as well. He laid the boy down as gingerly as possible, and then worked to assess his condition. Ken took off his gloves and felt at Daisuke’s arm; it was raw and beyond chilled. Daisuke’s breathing was slow and a tad more heavy, but nothing too terribly concerning yet. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be coughing in his sleep. Ken prayed that the cough was nothing and that his friend hadn’t fallen ill.
The only conscious boy left practically fell apart next to the fire, mind and body truly exhausted. He knew staying awake was better, that all of them being asleep in this state was severely dangerous. A hostile digimon could come, or the fire could need tending to, or one of the others’ conditions could get worse; but Ken was too far gone.
Gritting his teeth, he admitted defeat and curled up next to the bundle containing Chibimon and Minomon. Ken held them close to his chest, allowing them to be graced by the warmth of the fire, while also sharing in his body heat. They would make it out of this. This wasn’t the end. Ken knew he would wake up.
All he needed was a tiny nap.
– – –
Miyako sat at the helm of Aquilamon, malding in her own self pity as her eyes swept over the land below.
She blew a strand of hair out of her face and grumbled, “I work all day with Mom and Dad, and when I finally get some me time, THESE 2 had to go and get lost! Morons.”
“I worked too.” Aquilamon stated.
“Yeah, but you didn't have to, you know? It's not like there's a digimon partner contract that states that you have to help me with everything .”
“I suppose… but I wanted to. I enjoy spending time with you, Miyako dear. Even if that means working my feathers at your parents’ shop.”
The girl sighed, before wrapping her arms around Aquilamon's neck in a hug, “... Thanks Aquilamon. It means a lot.”
The large bird hummed in content, always happy when he can get his human's barbed personality to simmer down and reveal her more hidden kindness. He looked down to the mountain forest below, his vision impaired by the constant winds and snow. He wasn't surprised that there hadn't been any other digimon sighted during the past hour they had been searching. Conditions as harsh as these would prove to be a perilous home for even the most cold comfortable creatures.
Admittedly, Aquilamon was glad that Miyako had to decline joining the boys, despite how much she complained the whole day about how she wanted to escape the heat like they had. The fretful bird could picture horrid images in his head of his human frozen and miserable. What if she got frostbite? Or buried in snow? Or incredibly ill? No, he was definitely relieved that they dodged this bullet, even if it meant tending to the convenience store.
“Hey, you see that?” Miyako said, pointing down towards a large flush of white.
There was a sudden break in the monotony of trees, as only the very peaks of them could be seen poking out from an enormous heft of snow.
“Judging by the shape of it all, I would deduce that an avalanche occurred here, if I had to guess. Fairly recent, given how none of the snow has evened out.”
Miyako gripped some of Aquilamon's feathers, “Recent? How recent? Like, today recent or last week recent???”
“Hard to say.”
“You don't think– I mean– they're a bunch of idiots, so if it DID happen they probably deserved it but…” Miyako's voice lowered, “...Do you think they're under there, Aquilamon?...”
It broke the poor bird's heart to hear his human speak with anxiety in her voice. A reminder that Miyako really was only 13, a child, really. Ken and Daisuke were also only 13, and while they were accompanied by their own digital partners, that wouldn't stop the terror of being buried.
“Your Digivice can detect other Digivices close by, yes? Check yours.”
“Oh, right!”
Miyako whipped out her D-3 and felt a wave of relief as the screen showed no other devices in the area.
“They're not down there, thank God…” She breathed, before feeling her familiar annoyance bubble over, “I'll have to give those boys a one two for making worry like that! And for making me be out in this freezing weather! AND for making me lose sleep! AND…”
Her complaints could be heard trailing off as the duo flew away. Aquilamon started to fly back towards the nearest warp point for a signal so they could check in with others. He hoped beyond hope that Ken and Daisuke will have been found by the time they returned.
– – –
Ken awoke to a strange bumping– no, bouncing on his stomach. Up and down, up and down, up and down… Whatever it was, his sleep fogged brain felt that it was alright to roll over and clock some more Zs.
“Ken, Keeeeeen, Kenny Kenny's still in snoozeville but he should get up!”
The boy's eyes suddenly shot open as he looked to the owner of the voice. Minomon was sitting on his belly, little hands a flutter with excitement.
“Hey, there you are! Good morning, friend!” Minomon cheered.
Ken instantly sat up and brought his digimon into a hug, his heart drumming in his chest.
“Minomon! You're awake– you're actually awake!”
“Of course I'm awake, were you worried I wouldn't be?”
The boy held his partner out, allowing him to settle snugly in his lap.
“You don't remember?...”
Minomon tilted his head, bright eyes innocently twinkling, “Not really. I just recall being all cold and kinda sad. I don't even remember devolving from Wormmon.”
“Right, okay…” Ken ran his fingers through his hair and looked around to get a bearing on his surroundings.
It was daylight outside, the wind and snow having settled down to resemble the winter wonderland they'd experienced initially. The fire was much smaller, but still flickering and present. Chibimon was still tucked in the bundle of scarf and sweater, his little head poking out. He remained asleep, but didn't appear as wrecked as the night before. Ken was grateful that the little imp hadn’t devolved further during the night. Finally, he took a gander at Daisuke, and unlike his digital partner, he appeared much worse.
Ken crawled over to his friend's side and investigated further. Daisuke's breathing was quick and shallow, his voice coming out in barely audible wheeze. There was a red flush across his face and his whole body appeared to be covered in sweat. Placing his hand on the boy's forehead, Ken's heart sank. Daisuke was burning up.
As Ken tried to mentally recuperate from the learned information, the other human started to cough and hack, gunk clearly lodged in his throat. The blue haired boy sat Daisuke up and hugged him close, patting his back to hopefully help dislodge whatever was stuck. When the dreadful coughing subsided, the boy was once again left entirely limp and shivering.
Ken locked eyes with Minomon from where he sat, unable to let go of Daisuke.
“... I'll fill you in.”
He went on to recap how the warp point was destroyed, and how they tried to fly on XV-mon to search for a new signal but nothing was close.
“We wandered down the mountain for hours, and I held you close but you were so cold, Minomon… And– and when we finally found this cave you were unconscious and devolved down to your current form, and I was just really… I… I was really scared … I thought you might never wake up…” Ken said, biting back tears, “I thought I was going to lose you again because of my mistakes.”
“Hey now, don't cry! Ken it's okay, it's going to be alright.” Minomon soothed, hopping over to lean against his human. “First of all, this isn't your fault, it's no one's fault. We couldn't have predicted that the way home would be destroyed, and you just wanted to spend time with your friends– I did too! We're just a group of buddies that got unlucky, nothing more nothing less.”
Ken let go of Daisuke and laid him back on the ground, before picking Minomon and touching their foreheads together.
Minomon continued, “I'll never leave you, Ken. No matter what happens, no matter how it happens, I'll always be by your side.”
“...I'll always be by your side too, friend.”
Ken pulled away from the embrace and wiped his eyes. He could be emotional later, there was work to do.
As much as he wanted desperately to help Daisuke feel better, realistically it was entirely out of his hands. What Daisuke needed was to be back home where he could get treatment for whatever he had come down with, but even walking to get to a warp point was out of the question now. There was no way they could travel with the boy in this condition.
That meant that they had to wait and hope for rescue, which felt like the most infuriating solution. Sitting around and idling while Daisuke got worse was unacceptable, Ken knew he had to do something.
In his head, he silently listed off items the group needed for survival. Food, water, warmth, and shelter. Warmth and shelter were currently covered, though Ken could tell the fire needed some more fuel. Food was a big problem, punctuated by his empty stomach grumbling. Realistically though, he knew that they could survive for a while without it. Water was far more necessary, and thankfully was easily available.
He dug through his and Daisuke's bags for their water bottles, and went outside briefly to fill them with as much snow as he could.
“What are you doing?” Minomon asked as Ken returned.
“We're going to melt the snow to get water, it'll take a bit of time though.” Ken explained as he set up the 4 bottles by the fire. “The fire needs fuel, I'm going out to get some more wood. Minomon, can you watch over the other 2?”
Minomon wiggled anxiously, “Are you sure you should go out there?”
Ken picked up Daisuke's coat that had been discarded on the floor ever since V-mon's evolution. He put it on, determined not to make the same mistake his friend did.
“I'll be fine. It's warmer with the sun out and the weather's calmed down since last night. I won't be gone long, okay?”
“... Okay, I’ll be right here when you get back.”
“Thanks, friend.”
– – –
Yamato had to be practically dragged back home after searching during the last night. He and Garurumon scoured their sector of the mountain for 5 hours straight, and would have continued on longer had Sora and Birdramon not come and quite literally abducted them. Having rested and gotten a good meal, the duo of boy and wolf set out during the afternoon to search once again.
Admittedly, Yamato didn’t know Daisuke and Ken all too well (well, other than that Daisuke’s sister was a nutjob). The former came off as someone just like Taichi, if Taichi’s brashness and stupidity were cranked up 100%, and the latter was the “Former-Digimon-Dictator-turned-good”. When Takeru had told his brother about how they eventually let Ken join their friend group, Yamato had been ready to pop a blood vessel. The mere thought of that complete monster not only reforming so quickly, but also sticking around Takeru’s side? No, surely this was all some sort of trap. Someone was just taking advantage of his little brother’s kind heart and soon enough, the true colors would shine.
Except that didn’t happen. Yamato met Ken on several occasions when he would tag along with Takeru’s friend group, and the boy seemed to truly be in a better place. A tad monotone and a little unsettling in how he appeared to observe everyone around him constantly, but overall a good character.
Even if he thought of these 2 boys as “Takeru’s friends” instead of his own, he couldn’t help but feel that same drive to help them, as if someone like Koushiro or Mimi went missing. They were digidestined, the Chosen of Passion and Kindness. Maybe Yamato himself being the Chosen of Friendship is what left him unable to leave a soul behind, a blessing and a curse.
The digital sun was halfway below the horizon, mocking the pair for not finding the lost crew.
“Yamato, it’s getting late…” Garurumon spoke up, his eyes similarly fixed on the sky as he moved.
“I know.”
“The weather’s already starting to pick up again, we can’t handle the night after traveling all day.”
“Who says we can’t? What if they can’t handle the night? They haven’t had a break for a meal and warm beds like we have, Garurumon.”
“Yamato…”
The boy felt the wolf slow down and look back at him, large eyes laced with exhaustion.
Yamato parsed his thoughts momentarily, before sighing with a nod.
“...fine. But we still keep a full effort on our way back, alright?”
“Understood. Can you let me smell their items again?”
Garurumon’s human opened his bag and held out the two shirts. Thankfully, being a wolf-like creature came with the perk of having an exceptional nose for tracking scents, so they’d brought an article of clothing from each boy respectively. The digimon let what had become a familiar odor fill his nostrils and imprint the signature in his mind’s eye. After taking a strong whiff, Garurumon’s entire body swiveled east and broke into a sprint.
“Wh– Garurumon what is it???” Yamato cried, having to regain his mount on the creature from the sudden movement.
Garurumon kept his eyes and nose straight forwards, feet kicking up snow. He said only two words, “Found them.”
– – –
Ken started to rely more heavily on the glow of the fire as the sun dipped further below the ground. He sat kneeling beside Daisuke, dabbing his forehead with a scarf turned washcloth. The fever wracking through his friend's body had yet to settle down, but admittedly, Ken didn't know exactly what to do. Usually the idea is to bring fevers down, but they were already trying to beat the cold. What if putting a cool washcloth on him made the illness worse? Warming him up didn't feel right either though, given the growing heat already building within him. Eventually, Ken settled for just trying to wipe the sweat away, even if realistically it probably wasn't doing anything.
Chibimon had woken up at some point during the evening looking much better, much to Ken's relief. Having only one critical patient was already enough for the boy. The two digimon wanted to help out somehow just like Ken, but just as the boy had discovered, there wasn't much they could do. In order to give them some feeling of purpose, Ken ordered them to refill their water bottles with snow and put them next to the fire when they were emptied. Other than that, the digimon contented themselves to cuddling up beside Daisuke, hoping to provide some comfort.
Daisuke had been in and out of consciousness, though not truly aware of his surroundings during his wakefulness. The boy stirred, watery eyes screwing tight before slowly cracking open.
“Wh……. Where………?” Daisuke choked out, eyes darting around swiftly as he attempted to sit up.
Ken gently pushed him back down and brushed his hair aside, “It's alright, you're safe. Just rest, Motomiya.”
Eyes rolling over to Ken, the sick boy stared at him for a long moment, bleary mind trying to piece things together. Chibimon nuzzled up against Daisuke's cheek, which seemed to lull him back into comfort enough to fall back asleep. Or his body was too exhausted to stay awake for longer than a minute. Ken hoped it was option 1.
“Ken?...” Minomon spoke up from his place by Daisuke’s arm.
“Yes?”
“When humans get sick like this, how do you make them feel better?”
“Well… sometimes you can just wait out with bed rest and fluids, but if it's anything more than a cold, you usually have to go to a doctor and get medicine.”
“Is this a cold? He got sick from being in the cold weather.”
Ken looked downcast at Daisuke.
“... it's not a cold, is it?”
“No Minomon, I don't think it is…”
Silence stretched on in the cave, with only the crackle of fire and growing growling of the wind filling the space.
Peeking a glance at their savior of a flame, Ken stood up to place more wood from the pile he gathered to feed it. In that moment, his eyes locked ahead at a sudden large silhouette engulfing the entrance to their cave. The darkness outside against the bright fire light gleaming in his eyes made it impossible to decipher what the being was. Ken was frozen in place, heart hammering in his chest. It looked to be a large, possibly a Champion or Ultimate level digimon. They were cooked.
“You found them! Garurumon you did it!” A familiar voice sounded from the shadow.
“I– Ishida??? ” Ken called out.
The hulking figure came into light, revealing Yamato Ishida riding atop Garurumon, his face lit up with excitement. Ken practically tripped over his own feet rushing over to the duo, his soul feeling like it would flood from a tsunami of relief. They had been found, they had actually been found . The boy could have hugged both of their rescuers right there, but there was business to get to.
As Ken came up to them, Yamato's face quickly creased into concern as his eyes scanned the boy's body.
“You don't look too hot, bud.”
“Don't worry about me– Motomiya's much worse. We need to get him out of here, stat.”
Yamato dismounted Garurumon and made his way around the fireplace to see the other 3 residents. Minomon and Chibimon were cheering, bouncing with happiness, but they notably stayed practically attached to the boy laying on the ground. Just looking at Daisuke made it clear why he indeed needed help as soon as possible.
“He looks sick.”
“Very, he's been like this since last night, and it's only gotten worse.” Ken confirmed, picking up the two little digimon so Yamato could get a proper look, “He's got a bad fever– I can't get it to go down. And his breathing is clogged with something– and, and he hasn't been truly conscious since yesterday–”
Yamato placed a hand on Ken's weary shoulder, his hold firm but gentle.
“Take a deep breath, it’s going to be okay, Ken. Let's first get you guys out of here before we assess the situation. We're not doctors, so all we can do is bring him back to safety and get him to one.”
Ken swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded, “...right. I understand.”
“Garurumon, can you come here and lay down? We're going to try and get Daisuke on your back.” Yamato directed.
Garurumon padded over and got down as far as he could, “I'll try to make it a gentle ride.”
“Thanks pal, you're the best.” Yamato smiled, before turning to Ken and squatting to grab Daisuke’s legs, “Ken, grab under his arms. We'll sit him in between us. I'll be up front if you can sit behind him. Chibimon, Minomon, pack up your guys’ stuff and put out the fire.”
Everyone moved like a machine, clear in their jobs given by Yamato. They successfully got poor Daisuke’s limp body onto Garurumon's back. When the two other humans got aboard to act as his supports, it looked like he was just another regular rider. Chibimon and Minomon carried out their duties swiftly, joining their humans ready to go.
Garurumon finally stood up, his full form strong and bold.
“Is this too heavy for you?” Yamato asked cautiously.
The wolf shook his head and started making his way out of the cave, “Not at all, my friend. If everyone's ready, then let's go.”
“Ready!” The chorus of riders called, to which Garurumon answered by breaking into a run.
The wind blew harshly in their faces as they sped through snow and around trees. Ken couldn't imagine actively choosing to deal with the sting of snowflakes pelting his skin for any longer than necessary.
“I want to thank you, Ishida and Garurumon. I'm truly grateful, and don't take this the wrong way, but… why did you come searching for us? It’s not like you’re close friends with us. These are harsh conditions to be in for anyone, much less looking for people you aren’t heavily connected with.” Ken asked, anxious curiosity pooling in his stomach.
“Hey, we may not know each other all too well, but you’re part of the Digidestined! As soon as Hikari figured out that you guys were missing it was all hands on deck!”
“All hands on deck? You don’t mean…”
“Everyone’s been searching for you man, not only because the area to search was huge, but also because everybody wanted to search. We’ve all been worried sick about you guys, Ken.”
Garurumon grinned, “Yamato had to be forced back home yesterday. Knowing him, he would have kept searching until either his body gave out, or you were found.”
Yamato’s cheeks erupted into a furious blush, “AH– well– I mean– It only makes sense– anyone would be determined if they knew people were trapped in THIS weather.”
Ken didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t have imagined the day where people truly cared about him this much. No matter how many times his friends told him how much they valued him, it still took him by surprise when others showed this level of compassion. The pessimistic side of him wanted to say that they were just looking for Daisuke and V-mon, but no, he’d grown up emotionally. Ken could say to himself without a shadow of a doubt that people were genuinely concerned for him too.
“Your folks are beyond worried about you guys by the way. You need to call and tell them that you’re okay right when we get home, got it?” Yamato said, his voice breaking Ken from his thoughts.
“Our parents know?” Ken sheepishly squeaked.
“Well we had to tell them once the search took longer than a night! Hikari tried to cover for you, but when we figured out something bad happened, it was only fair that your parents knew too.”
Ken groaned and peeked down at Minomon in his lap, “We’re never going to see the light of day again, are we?”
“I wouldn’t worry too much.” Yamato chuckled, remembering his own experience of seeing his Dad again after returning from the Digital World a second time as a young kid, “Judging by how they sounded, I think they’ll just be happy that you’re all okay. I mean, Daisuke’s seen better days, but I think he’ll tough it out once he’s in a warm bed with people taking care of him.”
“I suppose that’s good to hear… Wait, you spoke with my parents directly???”
“Oh– um, yeah. We needed something for Garurumon to get your scents with, here, this is yours.” Yamato explained as he opened his bag and tossed Ken a shirt back.
The Chosen of Kindness caught the shirt, and stared at it in his hands. People cared, they really did care. They were in good hands. The group would get home safely, they would return to their families where they could have a warm meal and a clean bed, Daisuke would get the care he needed to aid with his illness; everything would be alright.
Ken hugged more firmly around Daisuke’s chest as he closed his eyes, letting the wind and snow lick his face. It didn’t hurt too much anymore, because he knew it would all be okay.