Chapter 90: Land of Ice

Thomas Kasuto

3 Days

 

“Thomas, it’s starting to get dark out,” Statuedramon said, looking around at the perpetual white of Nymphaea Province; the ice, the snow, even the sky at night was white in this province. “Shouldn’t we stop and rest for the night?”

“No. We’ve officially entered Nymphaea Province. We’ll need to stay active at night when it’s colder, because if we go to sleep now, we’ll freeze. We’ll be sleeping during the day, when it’s warmer.”

“Are you sure about that? Either way, this place will be really fucking cold…”

“Why do you think Victoria always brought us here during the day while we trained with her? It’s always warmer during the day, even in a place like this. We’ve just got to keep moving, and we’ll be fine.”

“So, why aren’t you cold?” Zelda asked. “You’ve even offered to give me your jacket like you did last time…”

“Yeah, I’ve been here all those times you came here with Victoria, and I’m cold!” Statch said.

“This is only the second time you’ve been here, Zelda, so it’s normal for you to still be affected by the drastic drop in temperature, and Dragon Digimon like Statuedramon are cold-blooded. Cold-blooded Digimon are much more active in the warmer areas of the continent, and are very sluggish in the colder areas. Of course, Statuedramon is usually sluggish anyway, so there’s not much difference.”

“That’s only when I’m hungry!” Statch protested.

“And you’re always hungry,” I said.

“This is true…”

“Thomas…did Victoria really train you two in this place?” Zelda asked. “Wouldn’t you have been five years old at that point?”

“No, she didn’t start training me until I was eight, when we found Statch,” I said. “It wasn’t until I was ten that she brought me here. She lived in Valneva Territory, so it would only take an hour or so for us to reach Nymphaea for our training to begin.”

“I always hated those training sessions,” Statch said. “She and Thomas always did it in the nude, so I guess I can’t complain as much…”

“In the…nude?! Thomas, how did you manage that?!” Zelda asked, a look of bewilderment and slight embarrassment on her face.

“She trained me to the point where it wouldn’t bother me anymore,” I said. “She watched over me at all times to ensure I would continue to move. Needless to say, I feel quite fine with all of this.”

“She should’ve trained you in the desert, buddy; you have difficulty with hot temperatures like I do with cold temperatures,” Statuedramon said.

“…I asked her about that. She said…she didn’t ever want to go back to the desert,” I said. “At the time, I only knew that she had been there before, but now…I have a feeling that’s…where Clive…”

“…I see…” The three of us continued to walk in silence through the night’s blizzard for what felt like an hour, Zelda’s shivering hand clasped in mine for warmth.

“Thomas, it’s getting really hard to see,” Statch said. “Do you think…maybe we should go back? Can we at least stop at a place close by, like in Valneva Territory? We could come back in the morning—”

“No! We came here knowing it would probably take a few days before we found Neptunemon, and I intend to stay here until he’s found!”

“But what if he isn’t here anymore?!”

“We can’t afford to think like that; we need to find as many allies as we can to help us,” I said. “I…I will not give up until Neptunemon is found, no matter what!” An intense, bloodcurdling roar shook the very air without warning, causing even the blizzard to slow and diminish.

“Zelda…please tell me that was your stomach,” Statuedramon said nervously.

“Statuedramon!” she protested in her oft heard embarrassed voice.

The solid ice we stood on shook as something heavy, something large, began walking toward us. Even through the remnants of the blizzard, all we could see were two red eyes, glowing, and a colossal figure.

“Something’s approaching us again,” I said. I gripped the handle of my sword and stepped in front of Zelda.

“Do you think it could be Zudomon?” Zelda asked.

“I doubt it; even if Vajramon didn’t kill him, there’s no way a Digimon his size could’ve made a sound that loud.” The Digimon began walking toward us again until we could clearly see its monstrous, bestial face.

“No way…this guy of all of them?!” Statch asked. “He was strong enough before, but now, with all twelve of them free…”

“Well, if I believed in it, this would be what one might consider an ironic twist of fate, no?” Belphemon asked. “That, here, I would meet up with the three who sent me to the Dark Area the second time…Tell me, what brings you three here?”

“We…we’re going to find a way to defeat you!” Statch exclaimed. “All twelve of you!”

“Defeat us?! Hah!”

“We will not allow you to continue your twisted plans of world domination,” I said. “Whatever it takes, we will stop you!”

“World domination? Do you really think we’re doing all of this for such a trite, meaningless reason as that?!” Belphemon asked. “No! We are more complex than that! What we want…is the freedom to do what we desire! It is our freedom that we really want…”

“If you really want freedom, then stop doing things that make others take that freedom away!” Statuedramon said.

“…You don’t understand. I didn’t expect you to, though,” Belphemon sighed. “Having freedom…entitles us to do as we wish.”

“…What do you want to do with your freedom?” I asked. “What is it you really want?”

“All of us…almost all of us are Virus Digimon,” Belphemon said. “It’s in our blood to do the things we do. I think you know what they are. Doing those things…it gives our lives meaning…it gives us purpose.”

“Hurting innocent people gives your lives meaning?!” Zelda asked incredulously.

Belphemon grinned. “Yes. It does. It is all merely…an instinct for us. Second nature. We feel like we have no greater purpose in life than to inflict pain and suffering on others,” he said. “That being said…allow me to give my life meaning…by destroying you three! Lampranthus!”

“Thomas, get back!” Statuedramon jumped in front of me, holding up his shield as one of the chains wrapped around Belphemon’s arm struck the Rookie Digimon down. “Wait…what? I thought…that attack did something different…”

Belphemon laughed. “You are aware of how all twelve of us have powers unique to us? Foreign to other Digimon of our species?” he asked.

“Then…your power; what is it?” Statuedramon asked.

“My power…is the ability to alter the memories of all those I wish. With that power…I am able to make my enemies forget what my attacks do so they will be unable to properly defend themselves. It’s kind of fun, don’t you think?” Statuedramon glared at the huge Mega. “Although…I haven’t actually used it yet. It seems you’ve forgotten all on your own.”

“…Seriously?!”

“Now, stand still so I can cut you all up into little pieces!” Belphemon shoved his claw into the ice before us, narrowly missing Statuedramon by a few inches.

“Come forth, SaberLeomon!”

“Howling Crusher!” Zelda’s summoned Digimon Spirit rushed forth and swiped his enormous claws at Belphemon, who caught them in his own hands.

“The Digimon that defeated me last time...I wonder…are you truly capable of doing so again?” Belphemon asked.

“I am!” SaberLeomon roared. “Twin Fang!”

“Gift of Darkness!” Belphemon swatted away SaberLeomon’s attack and clawed through the Spirit’s face. “Well…I’ll take that to be a ‘no,’ then.” SaberLeomon roared one last time before disappearing.

…The Digimon…who defeated Belphemon five hundred years ago…it was Neptunemon! “Let’s get out of here!”

“For once, I agree!” Statuedramon said, following behind Zelda and me as we took off.

“Go ahead, run all you like!” Belphemon snarled as he began to chase after us. “You can’t escape destiny!”

“Hey, look up ahead!” Statch pointed to a huge wall of ice. “There’s a cave there we can hide in!”

“Statuedramon, that opening looks large enough for Belphemon to follow us in there!” I said.

“Well, all we have to do is keep running around in that cave until we find some part of it where Belphemon can’t follow us!”

“And if we don’t find a place like that?!”

“Well, if we don’t go in there, we’ll have to fight him anyway; this way, there’s a chance we’ll lose him,” Zelda said.

“Fine, let’s go!” We ran into the cave where, to my relief, Belphemon was unable to follow us. Instead, the beast stood outside, trying to forcefully claw his way in, but to no avail.

“See, what did I tell you? You just need to learn to trust me a little more!” Statch grinned.

“…Yeah…I’ll do that next time…Sorry…”

“Eh, no harm done. I’m not usually the most reliable guy, anyway…”

“Then you were very out of character just then. Keep it up.” I sighed, sitting down to catch my breath. “Zelda…are you okay?”

“…Up ahead…I see something,” she said, pointing toward a pathway.

“Thomas…I smell a Digimon,” Statuedramon said. “And I’m not talking about Belphemon, either…But I do not recognize the scent…”

“Well, let’s go see who it is, shall we?” I asked. “Whoever it is, I doubt it’ll be worse than Belphemon.”

We walked down the icy path until we came into a large room. The room was empty, and it was made entirely of ice. There was an opening in the ceiling that allowed one to view the sky. In the middle of the room stood a huge Digimon encased in ice.

“…That’s him,” Statuedramon said. “That’s the Digimon whose scent I caught…”

“Who do you think it is?” Zelda asked.

“Do you think…it could be Neptunemon?” I asked. “None of us have ever seen him before…”

“Well, if it is, then we should probably unthaw him,” Statuedramon said.

“I’m on it!” Zelda said. “Come forth, Dynasmon!”

“You desire my services, milady?” Dynasmon asked, kneeling before Zelda.

“I need you to unthaw that Digimon,” Zelda said.

“Understood.”

“Don’t hurt him, though!” Zelda added quickly. “Just melt the ice, okay?”

“I understand, milady,” Dynasmon said. “Dragon’s Roar!” Dynasmon fired two flaming orbs from the palms of his hands at the frozen Digimon. The ice shattered and melted away instantly. The Digimon’s eyes blinked once…twice…

“Excuse me…sir? Are you okay?” Zelda asked. The Digimon’s head turned to look at us.

“…You…were you the ones who saved me?” the Digimon asked slowly.

“Yes, Dynasmon here was the one who unthawed you,” Zelda said. Dynasmon bowed his head modestly before disappearing.

“Can you tell us who you are?” Statuedramon asked. “And what are you doing in a place like this?”

“My name…is Neptunemon,” the Digimon said.

“Neptunemon?! The Neptunemon?!” Statch asked.

“I take it…you’ve heard of me?” Neptunemon asked.

“We came here looking for you,” I said. “We need your help, Neptunemon. Lilithmon and her allies are back.”

“You don’t say…I though all of the nonsense was over with four hundred years ago, when Lilithmon killed herself…” Neptunemon shook his head. “I came here to get away from all the bloodshed, and I thought I would never have to fight again until I encountered a Digimon calling himself IceDevimon froze me here. Tell me; what year is it?”

“It is the year 798,” Zelda said.

“798…about a hundred years, I’d say, give or take a decade or two,” Neptunemon said. “Well, I was never very good at math. Or battling, I’m afraid; I gave my spear away before coming here to Nymphaea so I wouldn’t have to fight again.”

“You what?!” Statuedramon looked at Neptunemon with scorn in his eyes. “But…if you don’t have your spear…then…”

“Take it easy, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you out,” Neptunemon said. “But…without my spear…I may not be very helpful to you…”

“Who did you give your spear to?” I asked. “If we find it for you…will you use it to help us?”

“I gave it to a Digimon blacksmith called Vulcanusmon. He undoubtedly modified it and gave it to whoever wished for it.”

“…Tommy…” Zelda turned to look at me; her eyes were wide with shock and curiosity.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Anna…my sister, Hannah…she didn’t talk about it much, but…one time, while we were both in Adonis Village, she told me that her spear was one once used by a legendary Digimon…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Statch protested. “What the hell are the odds of that?!”

“If you feel as though it belongs to your sister, then I implore you to go search for it,” Neptunemon said. “If you truly wish for my help…then that spear may be the key.”

“Couldn’t you just use like, a giant icicle or something?” Statch asked.

“No. My spear, the King’s Bite, was different from other weapons. It had a mind of its own…and would always do as I commanded,” Neptunemon said.

“…I have a feeling this means we’re going to…Cyclamen,” I said.

“Just one problem,” Statuedramon said. “Belphemon’s standing right outside the only way out of this cave; as soon as we escape, he’ll tear us to shreds!”

“Belphemon? If its Belphemon…I should be able to hold him off…while you three escape,” Neptunemon said. “After all, Belphemon was my target Digimon four hundred…ish…years ago.”

“Are you sure about this, sir?” Zelda asked.

“Certainly. Lilithmon and the others all had to be stopped…many years ago, just like I’m sure they must be stopped now. Lead me to Belphemon!”

“Very well. The entrance is this way.” I led the four of us to the cave’s entrance where, to no surprise, Belphemon stood waiting for us.

“Allow me to go first,” Neptunemon said. “Wave of Depth!” Neptunemon created a surge of water that shot through the mouth of the cave and struck Belphemon, knocking him to the ground. Neptunemon quickly slid through the cave’s mouth.

“Neptunemon…it’s been a while,” Belphemon said. “That attack you just used…was it not the one you used the caused Mandala to sink to the bottom of the ocean?”

“You three, go!” Neptunemon shouted. We nodded, and ran out from behind the God Man Digimon. Belphemon merely laughed as we did.

“Go on; run away,” he said. “It’ll be that much easier for me to kill your friend!” Zelda looked back as Belphemon and Neptunemon continued their fight.

“Don’t look back!” I said. “Keep going! We have to get to Cyclamen!” Damn, I never thought I’d ever say that…