Chapter IV
It was a week after Mimi had left, and a few days after Palmon departed. Gatomon had become stronger, Kari believed the digimon to be better entirely, but Gatomon feigned weakness to stay near Kari, and stay in between Kari and T.K.
Setsuna was awoken by a voracious digimon. (They all are, really.) Tiaramon was convinced she was starving. So Setsuna got up, and was surprised to find Yamato awake.
"Morning," she mumbled sleepily.
"Starving digimon make great alarm clocks, don't they? To show his thanks, Learmon promptly returned to sleep. I couldn't though. That wolf snores!" Setsuna just laughed at his misfortune.
"It makes you wonder what they did before we came."
"Learmon was an egg when he was given to me."
"Tiaramon was Kalamon when she found me."
"Same as the first time for all of us...Jyou was terrified of Bukamon."
"That's hilarious."
"Yeah, it was." Setsuna looked over at the wolf digimon and laughed. He was snoring very loudly. Tiaramon promptly ate the food offered her and curled up next to the wolf for a cat nap. (She's immune to Learmon's power!)
"Sleep and eat, that's all they do!" Setsuna said.
"They also save your life," Yamato said.
"Or destroy it," T.K. said. Yamato and Setsuna spun around, neither had known that T.K. was awake. He was leaning against a tree, near Kari.
"How long have you been awake?" Yamato asked his brother.
"A while. I can't sleep much any more." At the sound fo T.K.'s voice Gatomon awoke. She hissed at him and got between him and Kari. The cat's hiss awoke Kari herself, but then the cat stopped.
"Angemon!...No Patamon," Gatomon said. Sure enough, the rookie digimon came flying straight for T.K.
Yamato went over to Learmon and woke him, waking Tiaramon at the same time.
"Go away," T.K. said to Patamon.
"Leave here with me Take. Your closeness to light will hurt you in the end," the digimon lied. He found he could not remain in champion form while his digidestined remained near the Crest of Light. Even the ring Gatomon had given him no longer worked.
Tiaramon noticed as the virus began to take T.K. even more, just as it did with Sora and Taichi. She ran forward and tackled Patamon.
Gatomon knew her anger had never been directed at T.K., and seeing Patamon again only enraged her further. She attacked.
T.K. struggled to fight the virus, but found it nearly impossible. He clutched his head and fell to his knees. Kari rushed to his side and knelt down. "Takeru!" she cried.
"Get...away from...me...Kari," T.K. said. He felf himself lose control of himself. He pushed Kari away from him. Patamon quickly became Angemon. He shook the rookie digimon and champion off him easily.
T.K. quit struggling suddenly. He stood up and walked towards Angemon.
"Attack!" T.K., now fully taken by the virus, yelled.
Kari was in shock. She watched as Learmon became Daemon, and Tiaramon became Firamon. Soon Angemon retreated, but in his hands he held T.K.
"I'm sick of this," Yamato said.
"I agree," Setsuna said. It was then Yamato got an idea.
"Is Gomamon infected?" he asked Setsuna.
"No."
"Good. We can't do this on our own. Mimi and Jyou can't stay on the sidelines. You find Gomamon and Palmon. I'll go back to the real world for Mimi and Jyou." Kari stood up.
"How can I help?" Yamato thought a minute before answering.
"Prepare to fight your brother and mine. We can't remain on the defensive. Setsuna, how far can Tiaramon digivolve?"
"Mega, I think. My crest is strength."
"Good. I leave at dusk." He then turned to Learmon, "You're going to the real world, pal."
"Real world? This world seems real enough."
"My world," Yamato explained.
~~~~
It was now dusk, and Setsuna had already found Gomamon. Setsuna walked over to Yamato before he left. "You better come back with two other digidestined in tow."
"I promise," Yamato said.
"Promises don't mean a lot to me. Too many have been broken. Come back to me, us," she said quickly. Yamato smiled.
"I'll come back for you and Kari. If not, send Tiaramon after me. Then you'll get me back in pieces." Setsuna laughed. She walked back to Tiaramon.
A flash of light enveloped Yamato, and then he was gone.
~~~~
Moments later Yamato found himself in his apartment, with Learmon at his side. He immediately went to the phone. He called Jyou first. On the first ring Jyou answered.
"Hello," Jyou said.
"Jyou, it's Yamato. Get your crest and digivice and come over to my house," Yamato said.
"I can't fight this time," Jyou said.
"I lost Takeru. I need your help. Even Kari will fight," Yamato said.
"She will?"
"Yes. Gomamon is already waiting for your arrival." There was a long pause.
"Jyou? You still there?"
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Good, I've gotta call Mimi now, so bye."
"Bye." Yamato hung up the phone and called Mimi. He had no problems with her. The mere mention of Palmon got her teary. She even arrived six minutes before Jyou.
Jyou was baffled when he saw Learmon. "What happened to Gabumon?"
"Virus. Learmon is my digimon partner now."
"Gotta problem with that?" Learmon asked.
"No," Jyou said.
"Good. Let's go back, you promised Setsuna," Learmon told Yamato.
"Ready you two? I think five on five is much better."
"This is going to be hard. I don't want to hurt any of them," Mimi said.
Yamato was about to say something to comfort Mimi, but Jyou stepped in instead.
"Mimi, you have to think of them as the enemy, only until the virus is cured."
"What I want to know is what it is and where it came from," Mimi said.
"That is a very good question."
