A Chilly Encounter [Desmond]

Only a few days have passed since Desmond last saw his girlfriend, Samantha, in the real world. He managed to get a new pair of glasses so he was pretty happy with that. To his surprise, Sam told him that she wanted to go back into the Digiworld with her partner, Hawk. The blond tamer didn't know why she wanted to return there seeing her first experience wasn't a walk in the park. But he didn't stop her, he just asked if it would be okay for him to tag along, just in case that something would happen. The more obvious reason was that he just wanted to spend more time with her. And his partner, Demi also wanted to see both the girl and her partner. The fireball was drawing circles on the ground with Desmond's headphone on his head, listening to whatever music there were in the cellphone. He was humming along and that was enough to entertain the Digimon.

The blond tamer was sitting against a rather large tree with his Digivice in hand. For some reasons, after pushing some combination of buttons, his Digivice sync in with Sam's Digivice. He could see a blue dot on the screen pointing in one direction. The screen was pretty small though so he wouldn't be able to pinpoint where she was. But that gave him a direction and he could see that the dot would flash faintly when she was moving. It was a nice function of it. However, that meant that he was constantly looking at the blue dot to see if she was getting any closer. Desmond looked up at the leaves that were blocking most of the sunlight and sigh. It wasn't a warm day but he had his three layers of clothing. And he could always ask his partner to create some heat for him.

The Frenchman lost track of time, he came here earlier after Hawk told him where they were going. Desmond wanted to make sure that there wasn't any danger around them, but he knew that it could change in any moment. He yawned and then looked at Demi who was still drawing circles. Seeing him do that made him smile. The Digimon had such a childlike mind. He would be amazed by everything and would always be happy. Demi would stop drawing when a large leaf fell from the tree just in front of him. He picked it up, removed the headphone and began playing with the green leaf. "Look!" He would shout to get Desmond's attention. He began waving the leaf form side to side while giggling. "Be careful not to burn it." The tamer would say with a smile. That didn't even come into the DemiMeramon's mind. He began wondering what would happen if he were to burn it. He looked at the leaf for a few seconds. And curiosity got the best of him. The leaf caught fire and it turned into ashes instantly.

"Ooooh!" Demi looked at the human. "Did you see that?" He asked with a large smile on his face. Desmond sighed and stood up. "Don't go burning the trees now." The Digimon looked at the tree behind his tamer and tilted his head on one side. "No. Do not burn the tree." The blond man would repeat to make sure that his partner wouldn't try it. Demi opened his mouth and was about to say something but Desmond repeated it once more. "No. Demi, you are not burning the tree." The fireball looked at the ground a bit sad. "Don't be sad, I'm sure that Sam and Hawk would be here soon." Hearing those names made Demi look around him with wide eyes and a wider smile. "Oh! Where?"

Desmond would take another look at his Digivice. The blue dot got closer to the center of his screen. "Should be..." And without looking up, he pointed in one direction. "Right there."

Desmond took a last look at his Digivice before looking straight in front of him. He would see his girlfriend and Hawk slowly making their way to him and he couldn't help but smile. The DemiMeramon was very happy to see the duo as they got closer. He just couldn't resist but to go for a hug. "Hawk!" He shouted as he hugged him. Desmond waved at the Hawkmon with a bright smile. He would then notice that Sam was a little behind her partner and she didn't seem very happy to see them. Which was strange. She is a shy girl but he was expecting that she would smile at them. According to Hawk, she was acting weird and from what he could see, she seemed rather nervous. "Sam!" The fireball then shouted while waving with both hands. The blond tamer was about to say something as Demi tried to go to hug the brunette but something else happened.

A pair of long white arms grab her from behind and Desmond's eyes widened. The DemiMeramon stopped moving as well. Was that a Digimon? For a split second, Desmond froze as the IceDevimon suddenly appeared. And he looked like trouble. The blond tamer jumped and started running toward Sam but something happened to his legs. He looked down and saw that both legs were frozen, literally. He reached down trying to pull his legs free without success. "Sam!" He shouted as loud as he could. "Leave her alone!" The IceDevimon only smiled at him and even laughed a bit. Desmond felt so powerless and also angry. He began shouting at the evil Digimon as he disappeared from view.

Demi didn't want to shoot fire at the IceDevimon knowing that it would most likely hit Sam. He turned around to look at his partner with tears in his eyes. "Desmond..." He was crying. "Desmond!" And he floated toward him and placed both hands on one of his legs and the ice began melting. It would take a few seconds for it to melt completely and then, he would go free Hawk as well. Desmond held his head with both hands and screamed out loud once more. "We need to find her!" He shouted. The DemiMeramon was done freeing Hawk by now. He could see his tamer look in every direction looking for something, anything. But no, nothing at all but his own voice. "Sam!" And he could feel tears forming on his eyes. "Sam... Please... Sam..." And he fell on his knees, crying. Demi went to hug the human and cried with him.

It would take him few more seconds of crying before hearing a faint beeping. Desmond opened his eyes and looked around. Nothing. Then another beep. This time, Demi pointed to his tamer's Digivice. A tiny bit of hope came upon the human. They could track her with that. If she still had it on her. He had to take that chance, there wasn't anything else he could do. Wiping his tears, Desmond stood up and took a deep breath. "Come..." He would say shakily. "Let's go find Sam." He took one step and then turned around. "Follow me, Hawk. We will find her. I swear." Demi also wiped his tears away and extended his arms so that Desmond would hold him. He can't float that fast. The Frenchman grabbed the fireball and gave one good look at the Hakwmon before starting to run.

It would take around fifteen minutes of running, stopping to catch his breath and running again. He wasn't sure how much farter he could go. His heart was beating very fast and he could feel the adrenaline pumping in his veins. He was going to find Sam and make the IceDevimon pay for what he did. After chasing the dot on the Digivice for what seemed like forever, they came face to face to a rather high cliff. There was no way for him to climb that. But he had to try, what else could he do? He placed the DemiMeramon on the ground and looked up with determination. "I'm going up." He said a bit scared to be fair. He knew that he wasn't going to make it but he wasn't going to give up. He placed on hand on the wall of the cliff and took a deep breath. He jumped to grab anything but his hands slipped. He cursed loudly and fell down on his knees.

"Sam..." And he began crying again. "I'm sorry..."

Desmond felt Hawk tugging him while he was crying. The Digimon asked him if he loved Sam that much. He loved her much more than that. However, he did not answer the question. And then the DemiMeramon also began tugging his shirt. "Come, Desmond." He would say before going to wipe his tamer's tears. "Sam is waiting for us." The Frenchman slowly stood up with his eyes now very red. He was going to find her, no matter what it takes. He looked up at the top of the cliff once more and punched the wall of dirt with his left hand. Trying to climb up would be a waste of time, he knew that now. But a part of him wanted to try once more. He jumped up, managed to get a grip and his other reached up. But it slipped and he fell back on his feet. It was pointless to continue. He screamed in anger and sorrow. "Sam, I'm coming..." He whispered to himself before wiping his tears once more.

Taking the DemiMeramon back into his arms, Desmond began taking the long way up. He had no clue on how far they had to go before finally moving toward the upper part of the cliff. He was running out of steam too, he wasn't in a very good shape. But determination and his love for the girl made him go on and on. The blond human lost track on how much time it took them to get in front of another cliff. Did they go all this way for nothing? Looking at the wall next to them, the walls were about twelve feet tall. If it was as slippery than the other cliff, they wouldn't be able to get there. The tamer looked up and began losing hope. If only he could get a grip. "Desmond." Demi quietly said. "Let me down."

Desmond slowly crouched down and let the Digimon float away from him. He saw the DemiMeramon close his eyes and began to shine brighter. His Digivice also began to glow and with a second, Demi got into his champion form. He was now much taller and could possibly climb that smaller wall. "Get on me." He would say with a deeper voice. Desmond looked at Hawk for a second and nodded. His hand reached out for Hawk to hold and would get on Demi's back. The Meramon waited for them to hold him before taking a big jump. His large hands dug into the dirt and managed to get up with a bit of difficulty. But they did it, they were up there. "Hold on." The figure made of fire said as he began running. His long legs could run faster than his tamer's or Hawk most certainly.

After a bit less than a minute, the trio could now see a large IceDevimon but not Sam right away. "Sam!" Desmond shouted as loud as he could. He then heard the girl scream in pain. "Let her go!" Rage took over sadness as he got closer and closer. He would jump off his partner and try to see where his girlfriend was. He could see darkness over something made of ice. "Demi, get the monster!" The Digimon made of fire began moving toward the IceDevimon but then stopped a few feet in front of it. He saw Sam down on the table and wasn't sure what would happen if he were to hit the IceDevimon. Desmond didn't think and just ran past his partner and jump on the table to be between the evil Digimon and Sam. He felt the aura hit him instead and felt his skin burning. He too screamed in pain but the IceDevimon quickly grabbed him and threw him away like a ragdoll.

Fortunately, the evil Digimon did not toss him off the cliff. Desmond was now on the ground, shaking from the burning sensation. He had to stop it. Seeing Sam and Desmond in such pain made Demi glow brighter in anger. He took two steps and threw a punch hoping that he would be able to stop whatever it was happening to Sam. He roared loudly to get IceDevimon's attention if his punch would be dodged. He just wanted to make the aura stop rather than killing the evil Digimon. The Frenchman was still shaking but managed to stand up on one knee. "Sam!" He shouted again while trying to get up on his feet. He had to stop him, whatever it costs. Even his own body.

Desmond was breathing heavily on the ground when Sam and her partner came to him. He could see them getting closer and closer and hope came back to him. They were together again. "Sam..." He was so happy to finally see her face. His hands went to touch her face and tears rolled off his face again. He wished that it was all over now but no, it wasn't. The Meramon and the IceDevimon were locked in some kind of fistfight but none of them were winning. For something as big at the icy Digimon, he was agile and managed to dodge all of the fire Digimon's attacks. Demi tried his very best to punch and throw small fireballs but nothing was happening. The IceDevimon ducked down to evade a punch and then kicked the Meramon away as he got rather close to the two tamers and Hawk. He then created a wall of ice between Demi and the trio. Demi began punching the wall and then spew fire from his chest, melting the ice but not fast enough.

As IceDevimon went to grab Sam, Desmond jumped and held on the girl with all his might. "Sam!" He wasn't going to lose her again. He felt his feet leave the ground and he was now in midair with Sam and the evil Digimon. "Let go of her!" He shouted again and again. That was all he could do, hold on and shout. The evil Digimon would try to shake Sam around so that Desmond would let go but he managed to hold on to her. He wasn't going to give up now, he wasn't going to let him take her away from him.

But then, the tamer got kicked on the chest and the pain made him lose his grip of the girl. The kick made him close his eyes in pain and then felt his whole body fall down on his right hand. As he rolled closer and closer to the ledge from the impact, he managed to open his eyes just in time and grab the ledge with his left hand. His right hand was most likely broken and it was burning. He looked at the ground far below him. If he were to fall, he might not make it alive. His right hand was shaking from the pain and his left hand was slowly slipping. This wasn't going well at all.

Sam was now high in the sky with the IceDevimon still holding her. But he would let her go and fall to her death. Demi broke the wall on that moment but was too late to jump and save the girl. He couldn't see his own tamer's hand so he didn't know what to do but run to get Sam. However, the IceDevimon would shot more ice at him and he felt spikes of ice falling down the sky toward him. Using his large hands to shield himself, he still got hit pretty hard and even fell on one knee. Fortunately, Hawk was faster than him and dived to save Sam. Desmond looked up and saw her falling. she wasn't going to make it, she was falling from way too high. In the split-second it took to see the IceDevimon let go of her, Desmond kicked the wall of the cliff and he tried to pull his weight with his left hand altogether. He felt his left hand moving away from the ledge and his eyes were locked on Sam. He reached out as far as he could to try and grab her but he was too far away. Demi ran as fast as he could to the edge but he was too late. "No!" He screamed like he never screamed before.

All could Desmond see was his girlfriend falling. The two of them were getting closer but they were also falling closer to the ground as well. "Sam!" And his voice echoed in his head and he felt that everything stopped for a second. He closed his eyes and saw flashes of memories from that day he met her and their first kiss. And his eyes opened and the tip of his fingers touched hers. That simple sensation made him smile and he saw Hawk getting closer. He knew that she was going to be alright somehow. But him? He didn't care anymore as long that she, the one he loves, was safe.

Desmond first felt his fingertips touching Sam's. They were barely touching but it seems that it was enough for her to catch his hand. Within a split second, they were now in each other's arms. "What am I doing?" Despite the fact that they were basically falling to their death, the blond tamer smiled. "Saving you." He said while trying to rotate his body in mid-air so that it would be him that fall first and that maybe his body would be just enough to save her from death. Keeping his eyes open as long as he could, Desmond saw Hawk reaching Sam and he blessed the holy spirits. With Hawk, surely, they could fly away. But that didn't happen as Sam decided to let go. "No! Sam! No!" Unfortunately, the human couldn't keep her in his arms due to his broken right hand. The pain was too much for him to handle and he couldn't bear looking at the girl he loves dying in front of him.

It was then that a miracle happened. Hawk digivolved into something much bigger and Desmond managed to grab him with his good hand. He tried to extend his other one so that Sam might just be able to grab it. He wouldn't be able to grab her hand but she could hold on his arm. As the girl took hold of both Hawk and Desmond, the three of them flew back up and safely landed on the top of the cliff. The Frenchman fell on his knees, exhausted from all that. His right hand was still shaking and was very painful. He looked at Sam as she got closer to him and he went for a hug. "Sam!" He shouted, maybe a bit too loud. "You're here!" And he began laughing. "You are really here!" His mind went from being scared to being very happy to see her safe and sound now. "Oh Sam, please don't let go."

Tears rolled down his face but the tamer had a smile on his face. He really thought that it would be the end for them. He felt so bad thinking that he should have been here sooner and that he should have been able to save her. "Please don't let go." He repeated this time more like a whisper. "We are safe now, we are safe." Were they really safe? No, the IceDevimon was still around and most likely not going to run away. He had the feeling that the battle just begun.

Demi ran to the two tamers and placed himself between the IceDevimon to protect them with his own body. The evil Digimon was too far away for him to do anything. He could have thrown fireballs at him but he could hit Hawk if he would miss. So he just stood in front of the two humans and braced himself for anything that would come to him. And it didn't take long for it to happen. The now flying IceDevimon began throwing large spikes of ice toward the Halsemon who managed to dodge them. But the demon Digimon calculated that, by getting out of the way, the spikes were now going toward the Meramon. Demi extended his arms forward and his fists became bigger. He punched the first one, the second one missed and the last one hit the fire Digimon on the ribs. But that wasn't going to be enough for him to give up.

Behind him, Desmond was still holding Sam in his arms. "Sam, Hawk and Demi will save us." He said before looking at his partner. He tried to lean on one side to see if Hawk was doing okay but the Meramon was too big for that. The IceDevimon laughed from where he was. It seemed that even against two champions, he had more tricks ready for them. The blond tamer held Sam tighter so that this time, she wouldn't be able to go unless she really wants to.