Joe pulled two plastic shopping bags toward him and started rummaging through them, taking out what he'd prepared in advance.
"Everyone, use these to warm up first."
He handed out the convenience-store heat packs he'd brought along.
"As expected of Joe, you're always so well prepared." T.K. said admiringly off to the side.
"But… where is Gomamon?" Joe asked, worry heavy in his voice. The whole reason he'd ditched cram school and come to the Digital World this time was to save Gomamon.
Nearby, Yolei was wrestling with her own heat pack, fumbling with it until it slipped from her hands and fell into the snow. When she bent down to pick it up, she suddenly caught sight of a Digimon's eye beneath the surface.
"Gomamon!"
Joe recognized him at a glance and immediately started digging into the snow with everything he had. The other kids rushed forward to help.
At last, they managed to free Gomamon from beneath the drift—only to see his immaculate fur matted with wounds and streaks of blood. The sight made Joe's heart twist with pain.
"Gomamon… Gomamon!"
"Joe…"
"Hang in there!"
"You really came, Joe…"
"Of course I did—we're partners, aren't we? I've been worried sick about you this whole time. What happened to you? How did you end up hurt this badly?" Joe stroked Gomamon's fur as he spoke, voice thick with concern.
"It was… the Digimon Emperor."
Gomamon's answer shocked everyone—though, in a way, it was exactly what they'd been expecting.
Through the curtain of swirling snow, they could clearly see a single Dark Tower standing in the distance. On that endless white expanse of snow, a lone column of solid black was impossible to miss.
"All right, let's go smash it." Davis said, brimming with energy.
"But to do that, we'll have to cross this whole snowfield first." Gatomon said regretfully. "The wind and snow are way too strong. Going by air would be really hard—the weather might make flying impossible."
"Joe, did you happen to bring a sled or ice skates or something?" Yolei asked, full of hope.
"I'm not that prepared…" Joe answered awkwardly. Honestly, at this point Yolei was treating him like some kind of cat with a four-dimensional pocket.
In the end, the kids chopped down nearby trees and shaped the wood into something usable, tying the pieces together with rope to make a simple, makeshift sled. Their Digimon lined up in front to pull it, while the children climbed on. Just like that, they set off across the snow toward the Dark Tower.
"Those meddling brats again."
The Digimon Emperor was overseeing the Gizamon as they built a new prison when he noticed them, grinding out the words through clenched teeth. "This time I'm definitely going to teach them a lesson."
The kids' sled, pulled along by their Digimon, sped quickly toward the Dark Tower—but as they drew closer, they were stunned to see a row of Frigimon standing at its base, arms raised, hurling their special attack, "Absolute Zero Punch," straight at the oncoming sled.
"Ah! Aaah! Aaaah!"
The sled let out a long chorus of screams as it carved out a ninety-degree turn, barely dodging the incoming barrage of Frigimon punches.
Frigimon were Champion-level icy Snow Digimon whose bodies were covered in snow and ice. Their appearance might be chilly, but in reality they had warm, gentle personalities. Just watching their smooth movements and cute mannerisms made people feel calm and at ease. Frigimon themselves disliked fighting and, among battle-loving Digimon, they were particularly bad at dealing with Flamedramon.
Their special attack, Absolute Zero Punch, was released from their huge bodies and could freeze anything it hit.
Ice Breath: a cold blast from their mouth that froze the opponent.
Snowball Fight: a technique where they pelted enemies with snowballs.
They had only just managed to avoid the first attacks when the kids saw, to their dismay, that the Frigimon were now hefting massive snowballs over their heads and hurling them in their direction.
"Ah! Aaah! Aaaah!"
The kids stared in horror at the line of enormous snowballs rolling after their sled, growing bigger and bigger as they picked up more snow. All they could do was scream.
"Nova Blast! Nova Blast! Nova Blast!"
Three huge fireballs shot past the kids, slamming into the three snowballs that were about to catch up to them and turning them into clouds of steam.
"Tai!"
"Big brother!"
"Tai!"
Standing atop Greymon's shoulder, Tai grinned and waved down at them. He hopped lightly to the ground and smiled at Kari and the others as they jumped off the sled and ran over.
"Hey, everyone. I'm here."
The group turned to look back at the Frigimon behind them, now under the Digimon Emperor's control.
"All right, let's go."
"Armor Digivolve!" ×5
"Veemon Armor Digivolve to—
Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"
"Hawkmon Armor Digivolve to—
Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"
"Armadillomon Armor Digivolve to—
Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"
"Patamon Armor Digivolve to—
Pegasusmon, the Flying Hope!"
"Gatomon Armor Digivolve to—
Jeannemon, the Smiling Light!"
"Gomamon still can't Digivolve right now, so I'm counting on the rest of you." Joe said from the sidelines.
"Yeah! Let's go, everyone!"
"Absolute Zero Punch!"
The Frigimon all launched their special attack at once.
"Nova Blast!"
"Flame Fist!"
Greymon's Nova Blast and Flamedramon's Flame Fist collided with the Absolute Zero Punches still hanging in midair, evaporating them into mist. Seizing the opening, the other Digimon unleashed their techniques and shattered the Dark Rings on the Frigimon's legs.
"Gold Rush!"
"Mach Impulse!"
"Silver Blaze!"
"Baptême d'Amour!"
With the kids' Digimon landing precise hits one after another, the Dark Rings on the Frigimon exploded, one by one. Soon, only the Dark Tower behind them remained.
"La Pucelle!"
Jeannemon crossed both swords and swung them in a single, graceful motion, slicing the Dark Tower cleanly in half.
"Nice work!" Joe called out in encouragement.
"Hahahahaha…"
Just as the kids were celebrating, a loud, all-too-familiar laugh echoed from above their heads.
"The Digimon Emperor!"
"You meddlesome little brats… This time, you're going to pay. I'll beat some proper manners into you once and for all." the Digimon Emperor snarled, his face twisted with rage.
"Come out, Shellmon!"
At his command, six Shellmon burst up from beneath the snow, each one bound by a Dark Ring.
Shellmon were aggressive Aquatic-type Champion Digimon that lived in the shallow waters of the "Net Ocean." Though they lived inside large shells like crabs, their bodies were actually soft, more like mollusks. As they grew, their bodies just kept getting bigger and bigger, forcing them to constantly swap out shells until some of them reached the size of small hills. Shellmon had a habit of moving into anything they could fit into, no matter where it was. With low intelligence and a naturally combative temperament, they were dangerous Digimon best avoided whenever possible. Their special attack was Hyper Hydro Pressure, firing liquid at extremely high pressure.
While everyone was still reeling from the sudden appearance of the Shellmon, two Ebidramon suddenly leapt out of the river behind them, snapping their massive pincers shut around Halsemon and Flamedramon and dragging them both underwater.
Ebidramon were Aquatic-type, Data-attribute Champion Digimon. Their bodies weren't particularly large, but they possessed the powerful offensive strength characteristic of the Dramon species. Their special attack was Sea Dragon King Double Claw.
"Flamedramon!"
"Halsemon!"
Davis and Yolei ran to the riverbank, staring at the churning water where their partners had vanished. They couldn't see even a trace of them. Davis grew so frantic that he nearly threw himself into the river to save Flamedramon, only to have Joe grab him at the last possible second.
"Let go of me! I've got to save Flamedramon! Let go!" Davis shouted and struggled wildly.
"What good would it do for you to jump in? Gomamon will bring them back." Joe yelled back at him.
"We're counting on you, Gomamon!"
"Leave it to me, Joe!"
Gomamon said, then dove into the water. "Gomamon Digivolve to—
Ikkakumon!"
As soon as Ikkakumon entered the river, he dove deeper, searching for any sign of Flamedramon and Halsemon, who had been dragged down by the Ebidramon.
Onshore, Greymon locked horns—quite literally—with one of the Shellmon. But it was obvious that Shellmon was no match for him; Greymon quickly shoved it over, knocking it onto its back, and then blasted its Dark Ring to pieces with a single Nova Blast.
Things were even easier for Jeannemon. Shellmon's bulky body couldn't compare in the slightest to her speed. Their only anti-air move was Hyper Hydro Pressure, a column of water fired from the opening at the top of their shells—but the attack was so painfully slow it couldn't even come close to touching Jeannemon. With a single stroke of her sword, she cut through the Dark Ring on Shellmon's body.
Pegasusmon circled in the sky, raining down his special attack, Holy Shooting, on the Shellmon below. The dozens of shining bolts struck their shells, and the Shellmon roared in pain. Seizing that moment, Pegasusmon fired Silver Blaze, shattering another Dark Ring.
Digmon drove his drills straight into the ground and unleashed Big Crack, collapsing the earth beneath a Shellmon and knocking it off-balance. He then followed up with Gold Rush, his spinning drills smashing the Dark Ring on Shellmon's body to pieces.
Of the two remaining Shellmon, one was sent flying by Greymon and then finished off by Jeannemon breaking its Dark Ring from behind, while the last was taken down by Pegasusmon. All six Shellmon were defeated, leaving the Digimon Emperor seething with rage.
The battle on land was going splendidly—but beneath the water, things weren't going as well. Ever since Ikkakumon had gone under, he still hadn't returned to the surface, leaving the kids onshore more anxious by the second.
Tai walked up behind Cody and patted him on the shoulder. Cody turned around, confused, looking up at him.
"Use this, Cody. Go down there and help Ikkakumon." Tai said, taking out a Digi-Armor engraved with the Crest of Reliability.
"The Digi-Armor of Reliability!" Cody shouted, shocking everyone and drawing their attention.
"But…" Cody hesitated. "Can I really use it?"
"Of course you can. You have the same honest, reliable qualities I do. Come on—fight alongside us, Cody." Joe said, encouraging him.
"Right, Joe!"
"Armor Digivolve!"
"Armadillomon Armor Digivolve to—
Submarinemon, the Ever-Flowing Reliability!"
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