Gee, can we spell 'sappy romance'. Tee-hee. I just felt like writing a

Sora&Tai fic. Its got a *cough* slightly adult *cough* situation, so take

warning. Anyway, enough of my babbling. Enjoy! (This takes place whenever

you want after they defeat Machinedramon.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, I haven't the slightest idea who does.

This story line HOWEVER, is MINE!

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Heart of Ice and Flame of Courage

By: Foxfire

"SORA!" Tai screamed over the roar of the blizzard. The snow was blinding

and cut at him, and Phoenixmon's fiery feathers did little to help.

"SORA!" Pheonixmon echoed in her deep feminine voice.

Two days ago Peidmon had sent all eight of them in different directions,

with the wrong Digimon. He'd outsmarted himself though. The Digimon had

all been at mega level. It was true, without the right human partner they

couldn't digivolve, but they couldn't devolve either. And it wasn't

helping.

Pheonixmon hadn't been able to attack anything since the day before, and it

was a wonder she could still fly. Tai had seen Sora and Wargreymon go to

the same frozen wasteland, but the hadn't met up yet.

"Tai!" a faint throaty voice penetrated the wind of white.

"Its Wargreymon!" Pheonixmon exclaimed. With great difficulty they flew

closer. They gasped at the sight that met their eyes.

Wargreymon was a sad sight indeed. His polished armor was dented and

crusted over with ice. Exhaustion showed clearly on his metal-plated face.

Held protectively to his chest was Sora.

"Tai..." Wargreymon said weakly, then collapsed on top of Pheonixmon. Now

in contact with Tai's digivice, he devolved back to Koromon.

Sora was blue from the cold, and her clothes had ice forming on them.

"Pheonixmon," Tai said "I know you're worn out, but we need to find shelter

or we'll all die."

The giant four-winged bird nodded, and flapped her fiery wings to the cave

she and Tai had found earlier.

They reached the cave. The tunnel turned back on itself, so the snow was

kept out. With the last of her strength Pheonixmon placed her passengers on

the dry dirt floor, then turned back into Yokomon.

Okay, first aid, Tai thought, For hypothermia (freezing to death) use a dry

sleeping bag-

"Where in god's name am I supposed to find a sleeping bag?!" he shouted to

the empty cave. As if to answer his question, a sleeping bag rolled out

into the open.

"Give me a break. Oh well, a sleeping bag's a sleeping bag."

He unrolled it on the ground. Trying not to think about what he was doing,

he removed Sora's freezing clothes, so she was wearing only her bra and

underwear. He slid her, Yokomon (unconscious) and Koromon (unconscious)

into the fur-lined sleeping bag.

He then removed his cold and wet clothes, and then got into the sleeping

bag and zipped it up around the four of them.

Sora's skin was colder than ice, and the Digimon were no better. Tai

wrapped his arms around Sora and the Digimon beside them. Praying that he

could warm them, he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

It was cold. So cold. That was all Sora could think of. Wargreymon had

done the best he could, but they were both worst for the wear. She was in

the oblivion of unconsciousness, painfully aware of the cold, and the fact

that she might never wake.

Then a wave of billowing warmth swept through her. It was easily the best

sensation she'd ever felt. She slowly opened one eye, and smiled. This had

to be a dream. Still, it was a nice one. She snuggled closer to Tai and

drifted off into peaceful sleep, without noticing her Crest was glowing

brightly.

Yokomon and Koromon felt a strange feeling surge through them. They both

digivolved to Biyomon and Agumon, and wrapped their arms around each other

and the children they were to protect.

In the shadows a large squirrel Digimon chuckled. So sweet, Squijummon

thought, and continued chuckling. He curled his flaming tail around the

gold orb before him. Placing both paws on it he chanted something

incomprehensible. The orb glowed with a buttery warm light, softly lighting

the chamber of the cave. Picking it up again, Squijummon then whisked back

into the shadows and vanished.

Sora awoke the next morning. Then she saw Tai sleeping next to her. She

cocked an eyebrow. So it hadn't been a dream.

Both of their clothes were spread out on the floor, now dry. She quickly

got dressed, and attempted to wake Tai.

"C'mon, sleepy head." She said while shaking him.

"Uh? Wha?" he responded intelligibly. Sora laughed, fully waking him.

"And good morning to you too." She said jovially. Tai sat up, blushed deep

crimson, and Sora threw him his clothes.

She turned around as he put his clothes back on.

"Agumon and Biyomon?" Sora asked "Could you go into the other room?"

Biyomon gave her a look, then left with Agumon following.

"Sora?" Tai asked after a few moments "Are you okay?"

She looked at him incredulously, then grinned. "I'm better than okay!

Thanks to you." she then grew serious "Tai, there's something I want to

tell you,"

"Me too," Tai replied "Uh, Sora? We've known each other for a while, and,

and I want to say that now we're more than friends."

Sora smiled "Me too. C'mon, spit it out." She said teasingly.

He blushed deeply "I love you Sora."

Tai leaned over and kissed her sweetly on the lips. Sora kissed back and

wrapped her arms around him.

"I really really hope this isn't a dream." She thought desperately.

After a few minutes they broke the kiss, and noticed the two Digimon

peeking from behind a large rock.

"I knew they liked each other." Biyomon whispered. Agumon nodded.

"Biyo!" Sora shouted.

"Uh-oh. I think they see us." Agumon gulped. The two Digimon surrendered

and came from behind the boulder.

A high pitched laugh filled the chamber. The quartet saw what looked like

a giant squirrel with a tail of fire was on top of another large rock,

laughing like there would be no tomorrow. In its paws was a gold orb.

"It's Squijummon!" Biyomon exclaimed.

"Yah know 'im?" Tai asked her. She nodded her feathery head. "Squijummon

is a cave dwelling Digimon, the cold doesn't bother him because his 'flame

tail' attack can melt anything."

"Almost anything." The squirrel corrected, coming out of his hysterics. He

jumped off the rock and landed right in front of them. He came up to Sora's

elbow.

"Were you the one who gave us the sleeping bag?" Tai asked. Squijummon

nodded. "Where did you get it?"

"If I told you K-mart, would yah believe me?"

"Nope." Sora replied.

"Ah shucks." He said, snapping his fingers. "So, guardians of Love and

Courage, in exchange for my service, I require some help."

The group grew wary. What exactly did this creature have planned?

"What kind of help?" Tai asked, eyes narrowed. Squijummon cocked his furry

head.

"There is a mystery, within these very caverns. No one understands it. I

will take you there, if" he paused "If you wish."

Tai and Sora looked at each other, concerned. They whispered inaudibly to

each other.

"He's helped us," Sora argued. Tai frowned.

"What if he helped us then to destroy us now? We can't risk it !"

"Squijimmon may be a trickster, but he's straight. He wouldn't work for

Peidmon." Biyomon said backing up Sora.

"I'm flattered Biyomon. Its a good thing I have red fur." Squijummon's

voice cut in. The kids and their Digimon stared at him.

"How dya hear us?" Tai demanded, causing Squijummon to wince and flatten

his ears in embarrassment.

"I have excellent hearing and, no offense, you're none too quiet."

They stared the Digimon down until Sora broke the silence.

"We'll help you Squijummon," she said softly, while the other three looked

incredulous. Squijummon's ears perked up again, and Sora smiled a gung-ho

grin Tai didn't know she had. "Show us this prophecy."

Squijummon was practically bouncing in excitement. From behind the boulder

he produced two fur-lined cloaks.

"You'll need these." He said as he threw them at the kids.

"Also from K-mart?" Sora teased, and was rewarded by a bright smile. They

quickly put the cloaks on. They came down to their ankles and were very

soft and warm.

The squirrel gestured to an opening leading to another chamber.

"Follow me."

Squijummon led them through a long twisted path. His gold orb lit up the

cavern with a soft glow. Other than the ruffle of cloaks and the distant

sound of water dripping, it was quiet.

The path they traveled on was dry and covered by packed earth. The other

chambers and paths branching off were darker, wet, and cold.

The path began to slope downwards.

"How far is it?" Agumon asked Squijummon.

"Far." Was the reply.

A frigid breeze suddenly wafted through the tunnel as the air grew colder.

Sora shivered and pulled the cloak tighter around her shoulders, glad she

had it. Agumon and Biyomon hid under their partner's cloaks. Squijummon

seemed oblivious to the rapidly dropping temperature.

"Must be because his tail is made of fire." Tai thought.

A cold light filtered into the tunnel, giving everything a cold blue glow.

Icicles now hung from the rapidly enlarging cavern. A small jagged doorway

in the rock and ice marked another chamber.

The group stepped into a room of dazzling white. It was the size of a

football field. They were on a raised path a few hundred feet above the

ground. The walls were coated with ice, and the ceiling was pure ice,

explaining the cold light. In the center of the circular chamber was the

thing they'd come to see.

A large stone carved into the shape of a heart, completely encased in ice.

It hung in the air, held up by nothing, a few feet from were the pathway

ended.

Tai and Sora gasped at the incredible sight. Squijummon skirted up to the

cliff end of the path.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, his shrill voice echoing against the walls of

the chamber. Sora and Tai walked closer, followed by their Digimon. The

squirrel pointed at some writing on the piece of stone, barely visible

through the thick ice.

"What's it say?" Tai asked, teeth chattering.

"It says 'The Heart of Ice will remain frozen forever.'"

Sora suddenly burst into tears. Tai, shocked, put his arms around her and

tried to console her.

"What's wrong?" he softly asked the weeping girl. She halted her sobbing

and wiped the tears off her face before they froze.

"After Demidevimon told me my Crest would never glow, I started to have

nightmares. Of this place. I could read what it said, and I knew it was

talking about me." She said mournfully.

"That's not all that is there," Squijummon pointed out "There's more

writing, but the ice is too thick to read it."

"Why didn't you just melt the ice?" Biyomon inquired. Squijummon scowled.

"Watch." He instructed. He whipped his tail in an arc, and a blade of fire

flew at the ice encrusted sculpture.

"FLAME TAIL!" he shouted a the fire plowed into its target. The children

watched expectantly.

The fire glanced off and burned itself out. Not even a chip of ice had

been melted.

"Its useless." Sora said tonelessly, tears forming in her eyes.

"No!" Tai said forcefully, putting his arm around her. "We can do it! If

for no other reason than to prove you're wrong Sora. Your Crest glows. You

care about the group. And," he pulled her closer "I love you."

He kissed her. Sora felt all the pain, sorrow, guilt, and loneliness leave

her heart. A feeling of calm, peace, took its place.

"I do too." She murmured.

Both their Crest glowed brightly as the three Digimon watched in awe.

Without warning, the symbols of their Crests burst from the tags. The two

golden symbols collided with the ice encrusted heart. The Crest of Love hit

first, growing and laying atop the ice. The Crest of Courage overlapped

the other Crest. Then the ice shattered.

A brilliant red and orange flame exploded outward, filling the entire

chamber and washing over the five figures. It melted all the ice in the

room and the chambers beyond. The ice ceiling evaporated and let unfiltered

sunlight pour in.

The fire contracted and came to rest around the heart, a living flame.

"That's it!" Squijummon exclaimed excitedly, reading the exposed writing "

'The Heart of Ice will remain frozen forever unless the flames of Love and

Courage melt the spell despair on the land of the north.'"

Two small, smooth, disk-like stones clattered to the ground. They were

warm, as if heated from the inside. They were sandy beige, and one had the

Crest of Love carved on it, and the other had the Crest of Courage carved on

it.

"Tai," Sora said in an oddly hushed voice "These have to be important. I

think they're the key to defeating Peidmon."

"You're probably right," Squijummon said. Agumon and Biyomon came closer.

"Guess what Sora!" Biyomon exclaimed "We can warp-digivolve again!"

"Now that's great news!" Tai said enthusiastically.

Biyomon, warp-digivolve to..Pheonixmon!

Agumon, warp-digivolve to..Wargreymon!

Tai and Sora mounted their partners. Squijummon watched with an

indecipherable expression on his face.

"Thanks for your help," Tai called to him from Wargreymon's shoulder.

Squijummon was crestfallen.

"So," Sora said gently "Would you like to come with us?"

Squijummon's blue eyes went wide in disbelief. Had she just said what he

thought she said? He perked up his ears.

"I'd be honored to travel with you, Digidestined." He said eagerly.

He climbed up beside Sora on Pheonixmon's fiery back.

"All right," Tai said confidently "Let's go find the others!"

Far far away from that spot a sneering Peidmon watched the pillar of light

before him. Suspended in it was a small form of a child.

"They may have fulfilled one part of the prophecy," he said to no one in

particular "But without their source of strength they will fall like leaves

in the wind."

The pillar of light around Kari flared up as her silent statement said

'Wait and see. Just wait and see.'

What of the prophecy? Will the Digidestined find one another and save

Kari? Find out in the sequel, 'Desert Rose'.

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'Someone's been stealing my pen name' you're probably thinkin'. I'm not

being myself. This has no new characters, no twisted bizarre plot, no-

Fine, I'll shut my big mouth. Frankly, I'm not sure I will write a sequel.

If you want one, E-mail me at mgealta@msn.com. If not, spit flames at me

anyway.

So long!