Route of Chill Circumstance:

**Presently** J

Whew, glad that I was talked into these armored motorcycle leathers, the fur on the rough of the neck is a nice touch, especially for the chilly climate, and where I'll be going. Doubly glad for the armored-padding too. Even with my new strength, I’ve taken a few short tumbles already. I’m getting better at climbing by the moment though. Hm, oddly it feels like I’m being watched. It can’t be her though, since the GPS signal is still so far away, and moving still. Oddly, she seems to be coming back towards this direction. I’m tempted to try texting my old number, but the screen on that phone is broken, I’m not sure what good it would do.

The scenery out here is breathtaking. I can’t believe I never even thought to go out for a hike, a climb, or anything. The inspiration for my artwork and scenery sketches is almost palpable. I mean, it’s about noon at the moment, so the sun’s rays are cascading off the snowy cliffs, lighting the peaks of the mountain range far into the distance. It’s just gorgeous. As each moment passes, the twinkling dances along the snowy slopes, light glinting in a new way in minuscule adjustments second by second, mirroring the rotation of the planet.

I’m tempted to see just how good the sketch function is on this new phone, but I don’t know how long I can stay safely out on this climb. I want to get to her before it gets dark, if there is any chance she really exists. I just want to thank her for saving my life. That’s, that’s all I need. Then I’ll go back to my apartment, I’ll run Pflopsie for more info and analysis. I’ll let her go on with her life. She doesn’t owe me anything. She did call me her best friend though, her partner. Why would you do that, save someone’s life, then disappear? I just hope she’ll hear me out, if she’s real, if I find her.

I’m still uncertain though. I mean, almost super strength? Bleeding weirdly? Healing within days, recovering in a week instead of weeks to months? Winning a sweepstakes that I don’t remember entering, and it being directly deposited? Gladys having my wallet and keys ready for me, as if they’d simply been dropped in a lost and found box while I was in the hospital? I might still be in the hospital bed, having a fever dream. She just, she has to be real though. Right?

Ugh, what am I even doing out here? Chasing the GPS signal of a broken phone that can’t possibly have remained charged for this long. I sit in the snow atop a small boulder, rest my elbows on my knees and drop my face into my hands. I feel tears streaming down my cheeks. It’s so far from my normal, I don’t know how to parse reality right now. Even since the attack. I mean, me, charging at a colossal bug to try to save some shaggy stray labrador? It swatted me like, well like a bug, hah. Founder’s Rock remains uncracked, so there’s very little evidence the whole thing happened. I mean, none. No real evidence at all.

A yearning, a tug at my very soul pleads with me, begs me to believe it. It’s certain Vixi is out there. Somewhere. Somewhere in this mountain range. Maybe she’s some sort of snow fox? What are they called, fennec foxes? No, I think it’s just Arctic foxes.

Alright, enough self-doubt and self-pity already, yeesh. If nothing else, we’re just exercising our new stupidly-strong super-muscles. I mean, we have a standing leap that’s Olympic levels, pull-ups and free-climbing are almost effortless. We lifted that freaking sofa over our head, spooking our neighbors. Ugh, I keep slipping into the plural. Bad habit I’ve had since I was a kid. Don’t you mean since we were a kid? Heh. No, I’m joking. The only me in my mind is me.

Alright, alright already. Let’s get climbing. I think a ridge bridges the gap between this mountain and the next at the next rise. Hopefully it’s crestable. I don’t want to have to walk all the way down to the base of the far side of this mountain then climb back up the next, and repeat that over and over. Let’s pick up the pace some, we should probably turn around at around two or three in the afternoon to get back before it gets dark, and too cold. We didn’t buy camping equipment, just this climber’s axe pick thing, this belt harness with hammer and pitons and rope. I bought extra rope that I’ve got coiled up like some sort of boxer’s wraps on each arm, under the jacket, just in case.

Whew, okay, thankfully the ridge did lead between the mountains, I didn’t have to scale one mountain and the next over and over, returning to the base each time. Even still, I’ve covered a couple of miles only, and it seems like her GPS location is finally relatively stable. She’s maybe traveling back and forth between two points that are relatively close to each other. It’s almost like she’s, huh. Patrolling? That’s a weird assumption though, right? I mean, my supposed partner, my protector and savior, patrolling between two spots on a mountain, miles away from the city? I’m not even sure what’s weird versus normal anymore though.

Brr, you ever get the feeling you’re being watched? I’m not all that cold, despite climbing snowy mountains. Yet I shuddered as if someone had just walked over my grave. It’s not her though, she’s still a ways off to the northeast. I accidentally went too far west. Well, not accidentally. I was heading towards where I guessed her GPS location might pop up next, before I realized or found out that the GPS kept popping up between these two points. Huffing a sigh, I struggle to find a way to course-correct. Suddenly I’m blinking rapidly in confusion.

Did, did I just see a, a black dragon? I mean, it almost looked like, I mean, no way, right? It sort of seemed like it was stitched together like some sort of Frankenstein’s monster. Or maybe it was wearing pleather, and the pleather was stitched? Why would a dragon wear pleather? Why would a dragon wear anything? Hey, goober, more pertinent question. Hm? Why would a dragon exist!? Wow, right, yeah. I’m so far from normal. I must be hallucinating again. It was probably just a trick of the light. Besides, it’s like it was moving too fast to really get a decent look at, so it was probably a cloud shadow or some..thing. The sky is entirely, totally, one hundred percent clear. I gnaw on my lip nervously while glancing around.

Okay, it has been like an hour or so since I saw that black dragon, or, well, thought I saw something anyway. I’m finally making progress towards her GPS location again. Or well, the southwestern location that she seems to stop at. W,w,what is, is that? Is that an avalanche!? Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. Why didn’t I think about just, just normal mundane disasters!? I’m going to die from snow, after living through all that nonsense! No no no no! Dashing for the nearest tree, I leap towards it as the snow plows towards me.

Thankfully I’m light, so I don’t just plow the tree over, but over the roar of the falling snow is the audible creak, groan, and cracking of the trunk. I keep scrabbling up and down, trying to find the safest position in the tree. Near the top, I’d hasten it being toppled by the avalanche, too low, and I could be swept away by the tide of snow. Two massive shadows passing across me swiftly in the early evening sun send a new wave of concern and fear through me.

There’s no way. Right? I, I think I just saw a werewolf fighting a dragon in the sky, leaping after and tearing into each other. I, I think I’m going to faint. This whole thing must have been a nightmare. The adrenaline is bringing me towards the edge of passing out. If there’s any chance that this is real though, I need to hang in here. Fight. Fight it. Just, just a bit longer, the snow is almost settling, though the trunk is snapped halfway through. Oh no. There is definitely a werewolf fighting a dragon, and they’ve spotted me.

**Moments ago** Rena

I'm leary of leaving Weregaruru to roam about and consume more data. Who knows what forcing some gluttony induced dark-digivolution could produce for such a powerful foe? I mustn't lose heart. Devidramon and Ogremon are both powerful. Hm, I sense a shift in the air. It almost sounds as if there's a landslide somewhere nearby. I land atop Ogremon's peak, between their clobbering swings momentarily. They laugh as they include me in their melee, but I point towards the sound.

Both stop to look, and seem now to realize how dangerous Weregaruru may become, or possibly already is. If nothing else, the experience in joining a grand battle is something they lust after, both as Ogremon, and as dark-data-digis. I take off down the slope, and although I am generally faster than the Ogremon, they leap incredibly far in a single bound, landing much further down the slope, heading towards the avalanche ahead of me. Huff. That's fine. They are strong. I will be along shortly.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

**Presently** J

The dragon looks my way and shouts, "Flee you fool!"

I, I'm not sure what to make of this, but the werewolf licks its chops as it stares at me, its eyes devoid of anything but hunger. My eyes wide with terror, I'm nearly paralyzed with fear, in my precarious position latched onto the cracking trunk of this tree. If I wanted to flee, I'd risk a very quick death, sliding off either edge of the recent avalanche. I inhale a shuddered gasp as I withdraw my ice axe, the climber's pick tool. It could save my life if I can dig it in during a slide, but now the werewolf is leaping my way.

I brace myself for impact, and the tree I'm latched to shatters beneath me, sending me tumbling into the now overly-loose snow. I'm forced into an undesired slide, as I'd feared, towards the edge of the steeper of the two cliffs drops. I frantically swing my ice axe, trying to find purchase in something, anything, before I go rocketing off over the edge out into empty air. The adrenaline and terror from the fall must be far too great for my mind, I must be hallucinating again. I think I spy two figures approaching.

Giant, spiky, green, wild-haired, goblinoid men with what look like large bone clubs are leaping up the cliff face, against the flow of the recent avalanche. I roll my eyes at myself. I need to be checked into a mental institution. Dragons, kaiju bugs, werewolves, trollish goblinoid ogre things, super strength, sweepstakes, digital fox best friends? I've gone completely insane. If I survive, the first thing I'm going to do is find mental health providers in the area.

Yet the two figures land nearby, one stops the werewolf in its tracks, blocking its advance with his club. The other green giant reaches towards me. I'm frightened, he has a terrifying visage, but I might be able to escape his grasp. I won't be able to survive falling to my death. I reach out and grab the hand reaching for me. Surprisingly, he gently lifts me to a spot behind him, and sets me in one of his footprints, stable, flattened snow.

He calls back to me as he faces the werewolf, "You shouldn't be out here, but you smell like you're a digimon. Never seen one like you though. After we club Weregaruru, maybe you and I can spar. Try to stay alive til then, okay?"

My jaw drops as the gentle green giant leaps away to join his friend, a moment too late. The werewolf is actually the Weregaruru apparently. Huh, that sounds like rougarou, or loup garou. I think those are, well, kinds of werewolves. Are those Ojibwe or Algonquin? Wait, no, I think those are Cajun. Wendigo is the Ojibwe or Algonquin equivalent of a creature that hungers for humans. I spend way too much time studying monsters for my art, so much that I get them, and details about them confused and mixed up. Regardless, my rescuer is too late to rescue his friend.

I watch in horror as the werewolf seems to virtually fire arcing slashes through the air from its claws, sheering the bone club of the further green giant. The slashes also rend into him, stunning him just long enough for the werewolf, err, Weregaruru, to sink its fangs into him. An odd thing happens. I begin to hallucinate again, more ones and zeroes, a dark, semi-bluish hue, escape from the bite, and as the Weregaruru is tearing into the green giant, the unexplainable occurs. The giant seems to vanish into, well, a cloud of mirror-like shards, triangles, each reminiscent of a piece of the giant. It's accompanied by a familiar shattering sound, though I can't quite place where I recall it from. The Weregaruru appears to vacuum these shards, and ones and zeroes into its mouth as it draws a massive breath.

Oh hell. A big, bad wolf, huffing air? When has that ever been a good thing? The green giant looks the slightest bit afraid as it holds its club before it as a guard. The dragon swoops in from behind, and tackles the Weregaruru down the slope, unfortunately, closer to me. The Weregaruru grins as it lashes out my way, its claws digging into the leather, the plastic armor, and the rope about my arm. Thankfully, somehow, that was just enough coverage to keep it from slicing my arm off. Still, the impact of its claws shatters bone, and now my left arm hangs limply at my side as I frightenedly scrabble away.

As it swings once more, I block the blow with my climber's axe, barely intercepting it with my good arm. I flail wildly in retaliation, and to my surprise, the ice axe actually causes a minor marring as it sinks into the fur, and flesh, of the Weregaruru. Then it's yanked away from me. I lose my only defense, and weapon, foolishly. The Weregaruru plucks the axe from its skin, and hurls it spinning into the dragon, tearing one of its already tattered wings, sending the dragon tumbling out of the sky.

I scrabble further away as the Dragon recovers from the attack. The remaining green giant, and the black, stitched dragon, work together against the Weregaruru. The giant seems to grunt a sort of begrudging acknowledgment to the dragon. The Weregaruru begins to, I don't even know how to describe it, kickbox? It does some sort of Capoeira or breakdancing moves, keeping the pair at bay. Just as it seems to be sticking to a pattern that the pair might be able to figure out, it lunges at and tears into the other green giant, my rescuer. He's gone in an instant. That same, odd disappearance, dark ones and zeroes, and triangles, accompanied by a shattering sound.

Those, those poor people. Worse for me, the Weregaruru has a straight path to me once again, and it blocks my downward escape route. My only option is to climb, and climb I do. Scrabbling up the slope, through now-loosened snow, I fight nature, and gravity, to escape from an ever-hungry werewolf. Its magical claws rend through the air, time and time again, somehow not severing my limbs or shredding me to pieces, instead, collapsing bones, crushing me.

Somehow, despite being moments from death, I suddenly feel something pleasant. I feel right, good, like I belong. I find myself crying tears of relief, though I know not why. I'm an instant away from its next, likely-fatal attack, when a yellowish blur appears as if from nowhere, rocketing into the Weregaruru at high speeds.

The blur, finishing an impressive aerial knee-kick, lands next to me, and worriedly calls out, "Jaku!? What are you doing here!?"

After landing, the figure comes into focus, Vixi, or perhaps Rena. I smile beneath my broken motorcycle helmet. The Weregaruru is caught in a half-nelson by the dragon, an odd sight. The Weregaruru however uses its massive jaws, and startling flexibility to bite into the dragon's limbs, injuring it deeply. From that single chomp, it's already obvious that the dragon won't win. It's deeply hurt, and losing vitality by the moment.

I apologize, "I'm, I'm sorry. I had to thank you. I had to know if you were real, and thank you. Looks like I screwed up and wasted your efforts. Bones, koff, caved in, punctured things. I'm sorry V, um, Rena. I'm sorry."

There are tears in her eyes, but she steels herself as she faces away. She allows herself only a quick, worried glance back my direction. After which, she leaps into the fray, saving the dragon from a devastating attack. Somehow, somehow I know this isn't going to end well for her. I screwed up so badly.

Rena is caught in a chokehold as she leaps to make another attack. She's being used as a club to bludgeon the dragon who had been attacking from the Weregaruru's flank just now. The battle draws closer by the instant as the stunned dragon is bludgeoned with Rena up the slope by the Weregaruru. Seems like we're all about to be a snack for the gluttonous beast. Coughing, I struggle to move closer to the fray. Wanting to be near her in our last moments, I reach out, touching the tip of Rena's tail as it swings wildly, coincidentally close enough for an instant.

In that instant, Rena suddenly slips free, and stares for the briefest of moments in disbelief. She glances between me, and the fight. Oh no, the Weregaruru has the dragon pinned, and is beginning to devour it. Worse, the Weregaruru is glowing, like Vixi did when she became Rena. I gasp a shuddering breath. I have an idea, it worked once before, right? Plus, this phone is broken now too after all those crushing werewolf-claw attacks.

Rena dashes into the fray, clothed in some form of ethereal glow, a translucent flame of gentle, cool-colors. She lands blow after blow on the distracted Weregaruru. The dragon is surprisingly resilient, even more so than the green giants, as it continues to survive while being eaten. The Weregaruru ceases its consumption of the dragon as it turns its attention onto its own changing shape, and Rena, for interrupting its meal. Rena's assault is impossible to keep track of. Dozens, maybe a hundred or more strikes in an instant, and though it seems to bother the Weregaruru, it does not finish him. Worse, and oddly, a large man wielding shotguns, dressed oddly similar to me, stands where the Weregaruru once stood. I really don't want to see Rena blasted with giant shotguns. Now's my last chance to have some effect on the outcome here, possibly saving Rena. The shotgunning motorcycler is aiming his guns at Rena, almost in slow motion, payback for interrupting his meal. Or perhaps he deems Rena a threat, but deems the dragon defeated. Regardless, I'm helplessly caught up in slow-motion. I agonizingly slowly reach for my phone to throw it, too slowly as Rena is blasted downslope by two, now-smoking shotguns. Tears in my eyes, I toss my phone towards the dragon, hoping that it works like when Vixi became Rena.

**Route of Fel Fires**

**Route of Chill Circumstances**