Renamon would have looked like nothing had happened...
...if there weren't two small, black dragon-like wings sprouting from her back.
The foxlike Digimon smiled weakly from her bed. "Hello. I hope I didn't give you all too much of a scare."
"Well, no," 'Mitsu lied, "but it sure did give me the perfect opportunity to learn about the Virus."
Renamon chuckled darkly. "That wasn't... the way that I expected you to find out."
"Yeah, I kinda figured."
"Renamon," Gatomon said suddenly, "what am I going to do about my training? I'm nowhere near being able to handle our department on our own..."
"It's all right, Kohai," Renamon smiled, placing a paw between the cat Digimon's ears, "I've sent a call to Wizardmon. He will be on his way shortly."
Something flickered behind Gatomon's large blue eyes, but she said nothing.
"How long do you think you have?" 'Mitsu asked.
"I... do not know exactly. But I do know that I won't have long." Renamon smiled apologetically at the pair.
"Is the Virus contagious?"
"Not as far as we know. All the instances we've encountered haven't been spread."
"Then how does the Virus get around?"
Renamon chuckled again. "That's what we're trying to find out now."
"What do you remember before the Virus hit you?"
Renamon paused thoughtfully. "...I felt as if I was coming down with the flu -- my knees were weak, I grew hot, I began to tremble... And then I heard a sound as if something flew over my head, and the next thing I knew, my shoulderblades were searing with pain -- as these things grew." She motioned towards the wings.
Yoshimitsu frowned, then shrugged. "Since the symptoms are different... Perhaps the infection is different, too."
Gatomon smiled shrewdly. "He has your thinking, Rens."
"We better get going." Karumon said. "I was told by Patamon that there's someone else that wants to meet you."
Hunter rolled his eyes and followed suit to where his digimon was going.
Blair followed suit as she followed Hunter and Karumon.
Riley looked inside the interior. This wasn't certainly something you see everyday. Floramon looked at her and Hatsue.
"I better get you guys to Gatomon soon." Floramon said. "All I know is that it isn't safe here."
Riley and Floramon glared at Hatsue who was eating messy.
Hatsue stopped when she saw Riley and Floramon look at her table manners.
"What." she said. "You ain't someone eat before."
"So... How do I use this thing?" 'Mitsu held up his Digivice.
After their visit, Renamon had Gatomon take Yoshimitsu to the Digital Information Library to meet Leomon. Renamon had said that there, Leomon could help 'Mitsu learn to use his Digivice and give him a hint on where to start looking for the other DigiDestined.
"Let me see it," Leomon rumbled, holding his open paw -- hand? -- out. Once 'Mitsu obliged, he held it up to his face. He sniffed it twice, causing 'Mitsu to sweatdrop. "All right." Leomon thrust it back at the DigiDestined. "The button on its own shows the time. The button on the upper top side shows the map of the kingdom you're in -- currently Server -- and the last button shows the location of the other DigiDestined. Each one will be represented as dots; each dot will be the color of their Crest."
"Sir?" Gatomon, who had returned to Renamon's side as soon as she dropped 'Mitsu off in the library, "Patamon says that two other DigiDestined have arrived."
Leomon clapped 'Mitsu on the shoulder, causing him to almost fall over. "Well, DigiDestined, go and meet your fellows."
Hunter looked at the research institute as Karumon butted his legs to move.
"You know I don't like that," he said.
"Well if you would move." Karumon said. "Then maybe I won't have to deal with you."
Blair looked outside as she followed Hunter and Karumon. By now she was sick of Hunter and Karumon fighing with one another.
"Can we shut up for once." Blair said, losing her patience. "I'm sick of seeing you two fight. We have to find the one who owns the green dot and soon."
Hatsue picked up a napkin after seeing Riley and Floramon disgusted with her table manners.
"I eat like this all the time." she said. "It's normal for me."
"We have to find the one who owns the green dot and soon."
"Someone talkin' about me?" 'Mitsu asked, fingers interlocked behind his head. "Though, I don't own the green dot, I am the green dot."
He grinned cheekily at the two other DigiDestined, one boy, one girl. He held up his Digivice and gazed at its screen. Yep -- dots blue and bronze were right in front of him and, though the screen didn't show it, Gatomon stood on one side of him and Patamon hovered on the other side, and frog-like and fairy-like Digimon was with the bronze person.
"Konnichiwa!" 'Mitsu said cheerfully, clipping his Digivice back on his belt and offering his hand for a shake. "I'm Abukara Yoshimitsu, DigiDestined of Altruism. I take it you two are the DigiDestined of Luck and Happiness."
Hunter smiled at what the boy said.
"That's right." he said. "I'm Hunter Vargas."
Riley looked up at what Hatsue (Sayu) said.
"Still, it's gross." she said.
Floramon nodded her head.
Hatuse finished eating and faced the others.
Blair nodded her head.
"I'm Blair Haru." she said. "Do you have these weird digivices like Hunter and I have?"
She held up her digivice.
'Mitsu (once again) held up his green Digivice, this time screen facing outward. "Yup. All us DigiDestined have 'em. There should be two more... Shouldn't there?" He turned the screen inward and checked. "...Yeah. Pink and red. Er... Destiny aaaand... Patience?"
If Gatomon had any eyebrows, she'd raise them. "You have a quick memory."
"Yeah. I can memorize things easy. Remembering them doesn't always work."
"Aaaaaanywho." 'Mitsu stretched. "This is the Digital Research Institute of whadda whadda."
"The Band of Crests' Digital Research Institute of File City," Gatomon corrected dryly.
"Come on inside," 'Mitsu said warmly, motioning towards the door. "I'll explain on the way to... er..." He looked blankly at Patamon. "Where're we s'pposed to go next?"
"To meet the Head of this Institute," Patamon chirped helpfully.
"Who is...?"
"None other than WarGreymon." Patamon's eyes grew to be stars. "The hero, one of the Mythical Trio -- "
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Gatomon tugged playfully on one of Patamon's ears. "Let's just go in to the Boss, shall we?"
"Soooo..." 'Mitsu glanced at his fellow DigiDestined. "What all do you need to know? What Digimon are, where we are, how to use your Digivices...?"
"I think so." Karumon said. "I'm Karumon, Hunter's partner, confidant..."
Hunter rolled his eyes, unimpressed by that frog.
"Will you shut up?" he hissed. "The last thing I need is having you boring me for hours."
He then turned to Mitsu.
"Whaere are you from anyway?" Hunter asked. "I'm from San Francisco, California. That's in the USA."
Hatsue (Sayu) glared at Floramon. "It's Sayu." she yelled. "Not Hatsue."
Riley looked up at her digivice as she and Floramon faced Hatsue.
"Sayu, wait." she said. "I got three dots. One is gold, another is green and the lat one is the blue dot."
Floramon looed at Riley and nodded her head.
"It's time I took you and Hatsue the research facility." Floramon said. "In file city, Palmon will go with us for a while before she returns to her job as a waitress. Otherwise Digitamamon will complain about us."
"I was born in Osaka, Japan. But I currently live in Tokyo." 'Mitsu coughed into his shoulder and decided that a swift and clever change of subject was in order. "Okay. So, you guys basically need everything explained, right? Here we go.
"We're in File City, the capital of the kingdom of Server. We're on the planet or whatever called the Digital World, or DigiWorld. The creatures -- people -- that populate the DigiWorld are Digital Monsters, or Digimon. Why a group of people would call themselves 'monsters' is beyond me.
"We're most likely here because we're some sort of 'Chosen Ones', and we're s'pposed to save the DigiWorld from certain doom. Typical, ne? All of us -- including the two that haven't shown up yet -- have Crests, our strongest personality trait. Altruism (that's me), Happiness (I guess that's Blair), Luck (that's you, Hunter), Patience, and Destiny. Word has it that those Crests, along with our Digivices, are key to saving the DigiWorld.
"What are we s'pposed to save it from? Somethin' that's known best as the Virus, but its true name is Devil's Assassin. Corny, ne? The symptoms of the Virus differ among the Digimon, but the telltale sign is that they grow devil wings that keep getting bigger and bigger, draining the energy or whatever outta them until they kill the Digimon."
'Mitsu eyed Karumon. "And I guess each of us get a Digimon partner. So far, only you've got yours... Hm. Interestin'. Wonder when my bugger'll pop up." Pause. "...I'll have to explain this again when the other two show up, won't I?"
Blair looked at Mitsu.
"Devil's Assassin." she said.
Realizing that this meant that she'll be fighting soon. At the same time she wouldn't have no choice, she needed someone at least try to run that by her again because she was lost now.
"Let me try to get this right." Blair said. "There are five crests. Mine is happiness, yours is Altruism and Hunter has luck. Now I'm really confused."
'Mitsu smiled grimly at her. It suddenly hit him that she was fairly pretty. "The confusion hasn't even begun, kid."
"We're here." Gatomon cleared her throat, then rapped on one of the large, double-doors that they had stopped in front of. "Sir? The humans are here."
A quiet voice spoke from within.
"Enter."
Hunter was still in a shock of disbelief. He tried to ignore anything that was there but still he was he won't admit he was curious.
Blair looked at Mitsu in anger.
"I am not a kid." she said. "I'm 13 years old and I'm more than a mere kid."
'Mitsu didn't look impressed.
"I'm fourteen, bucko, and I call just about everyone except those I hold in high respect 'kid'. Get used to it."
Hunter rolled his eyes.
"I'm fifteen." he said, facing Mitsu. "And don't you dare call me a kid or get hurt by me."
Karumon glared at Hunter, Mitsu and Blair.
"This isn't really the time to fight with one another." Karumon said. "WarGreymon will be mad if were not here to see him soon."
'Mitsu held up his hands. "Hey, I wasn't arguing. I was just telling them that I call anyone that I don't hold in extremely high respect 'kid'."
Note the emphasis on "anyone".
Then he stepped forward.
The room was cavernous and dark. Some kind of thick perfume wafted into their nostrils, and 'Mitsu's eyelids became surprisingly heavy. He closed them halfway and continued on into the room, his footfalls quieted by a thick, lush red carpet.
Hunter glared at Mitsu, ready to cream him.
"What did you say?" he yelled.
Blair rolled her eyes.
"Let's just not fight." she said. "That makes me nervous."
"Where are you taking us, Floramon?" Riley asked.
'Mitsu looked at Hunter oddly through the corner of his eye.
"Dude, chill. All I basically said that since I don't know you two well enough to hold in high esteem, I'll call you guys 'kid' a lot. It's habit, okay? Get off my back."
"So, these quarralling children are the ones who were summoned to save our world?" a deep rich voice mused darkly. "Well, we won't last long."
A tall, armored orange tyrannosaurus-like Digimon stepped forward into the light, arms crossed.
"I am WarGreymon," he rumbled. "I, along with Nefertimon and Pegasusmon, are the Pyramythical Trio. Whilst my companions are ruling our kingdom of Server, I am ruling the facility that runs the Band of Crests, the creators of this facility and its fellows. Welcome to the Digital World, Children of Fate."
Blair looked at them.
"Let's just be calm." she said. "I don't you two fighting."
She then turned to WarGreymon.
Hatsue followed Riley, Floramon and Palmon towards the research facility. I got better thing to do with my time. she thought. Kuso no dessa.
"Whatever." Hunter said.
Karumon shook his head and face WarGreymon.
"Please excuse him, my lord." he said. "Hunter doesn't believe we're real just yet."
WarGreymon chuckled darkly. "He will not doubt us soon."
'Mitsu opened his mouth, but quickly shut it. He knew that Hunter would have to find his own reasons for realizing the DigiWorld was real.
"Like that will be the day." Hunter said. "I still have hard time believing that you are real and that this is a dream."
Karumon shook his head.
"Will you listen to what WarGreymon has to say first?" he said, facing Hunter. "Before you make the wrong conclusion. How is it that you were able to see Kazemon? She may be tiny but she can hold her own."
"Give him time, Karumon." Kazemon said. "He needs to adjust first."
"He'll believe in due time," 'Mitsu said bitterly, "when it's his life or the life of those he cares about that are in jeopardy."
"I have summoned you here so we may discuss the position of the Crests and your goals," WarGreymon continued.
"Position of the Crests?" 'Mitsu crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that? I thought the Crests were just personality traits."
"They are," WarGreymon inclined his head slightly, "your strongest personality trait, given the form of power. However, in order for your Digimon to Digivolve to the highest levels, to their most potent forms, your Digivices must be able to harness the power of the Crest. You see, your Digivices are... honing objects that direct the power of your Crest and turns it into Digivolving energy. The form a Digimon takes when it Digivolves depends on the type of energy it absorbs; if your Digimon absorb the energy of your Crest, then they will take their strongest and most powerful forms."
"Pardon for my manners, but hold up." 'Mitsu held his hands at his sides, fingers spread and palms facing WarGreymon. "How do you know this? Why don't the other Digivolution specialists know about this? Isn't this, ah, groundbreaking material that's must-know information?"
"I know because I have experienced this," WarGreymon said, annoyance tainting his deep voice. "I have reached this form because I have experienced this. My DigiDestined partner, my closest friend, and the human partners of Nefertimon and Pegasusmon saved the DigiWorld in times past, but all traces of their journey, all civilian memories, have been erased because Tarot wishes it. We are not allowed to disclose this information to the general public."
In the corner of his mouth, loud enough for only his fellow humans could hear, 'Mitsu murmured, "Translation? Politics."
"Our strongest trait." Hunter said, unimpressed. "Whatever. I don't believe in that anyway."
Karumon rolled his eyes.
"Maybe you should shut your big mouth and listen." Karumon said, facing him. "Our lord had something to say so you should listen instead of opening your mouth."
"How about you leave me alone?" Hunter retorted. "You don't talk to a half Latin , half Filipino in a manner where my patience is real thin."
Blair looked at Hunter who was in disbelief that the digimon were real.
"I don't want to believe it too." she said. "But we don't have a choice in the matter, Hunter."
Riley looked at Floramon and Palmon before facing Sayu.
"Looks like we're here." she said. "This is the research institute where we might find others that are just as lost as we are."
Palmon left afterwards as Floramon stayed with Riley.
"After all, I'm your partner." Floramon said. "Now the next step is to get you two to WarGreymon."
WarGreymon nodded. "Good. The DigiDestineds of Patience and Destiny are coming. Now, about th -- "
An explosion rocked the cavernous room, followed by screams from outside. 'Mitsu clambered back to his feet, fists clenched.
"What in God's name -- ?!"
Gatomon and Patamon rushed into the room, stammering.
"S-s-s-s-s-s-sir!"
"Y-Y-Yoshimi-mitsu!"
"R-Renamon -- "
" -- the Virus -- "
" --sh-she's -- "
But WarGreymon and 'Mitsu were all ready gone.
"At least I hope they're normal." Hunter said, to no one in particular.
Karumon rolled his eyes at his partner's arrogance.
Blair looked at him.
"Maybe we should find them." she said.
Hatsue looked around and rolled her eyes as she, Riley and Floramon entered the institute.
"Oh joy, people." she said, unimpressed.
Riley looked at Sayu weirdly.
"They're just as out of place as we are." she said.
Floramon looked at her.
"At leat I'm not the only one who found my human partner." Floramon mused.
Riley and Floramon noticed a red-haired girl in all blure with a tall boy around her age with his hair in a ponytail and alongside him are a frog digimon and a tiny fairy digimon on his shoulder.
The infirmary was an empty wreck. Beds were strewn everywhere, and the poor Infirmymon were huddled in a corner, trembling madly with fear.
"...So, she's not in the infirmary. Wonderful," WarGreymon muttered as 'Mitsu rushed past him and towards the Infirmymon.
"What happened? What direction did she go?!"
The terrified Digimon gave high-pitched squeaks, which were, obviously, no use to him. 'Mitsu threw his hands in the air and gave an angry grunt. He swore violently.
Squeals and screams echoed from the end of the hall. 'Mitsu spun around, fists clenched.
"Oh, dear Tarot," WarGreymon groaned.
"The Nursery! Ritamon! The infants!" 'Mitsu exclaimed, and his legs were sprinting down the hall as fast as he could before he knew it.
Hunter looked at Karumon.
"We should do something to help them." he said.
Riley and Floramon noticed a red-haired girl and a boy with a frog digimon.
"We'll have to introduce ourselves later." she said.
Hunter placed the tiny Kazemon in his shirt pocket. He and Karumon sprinted
towards the nursery.
"Well this was an option for both of us." Karumon said.
Hunter glared at him.
"Shut up." he said.
The Nursery was a battlefield. Or, to be truthful, a slaughterfield.
Wounded infant Digimon scattered the ground. Explosions set off in a timely matter, followed by screams of horror and pain and shock. 'Mitsu's teeth and fists clenched and his muscles tightened, his pale eyes flashing angrily.
They were defenseless! They hadn't done anything, and yet, they were suffering! If someone didn't do something, all of the infants would be killed. If someone didn't do something, the entire facility would be destroyed. If someone didn't do something, the city wouldn't withstand this barrage of horror.
Up above it all, WarGreymon and Renamon were battling. Renamon's wings were five times as big as they were when 'Mitsu last saw them. 'Mitsu's eyes flashed again. The Virus did this. The Virus turned Renamon's eyes a hungry red, the Virus made Renamon bloodthirsty, the Virus...
'Mitsu swore loudly. Whoever created this infernal virus was going to pay, if it was the last thing he did.
Blair followed Hunter and Karumon towards the nursery even though she didn't have her digimon.
Hunter and Karumon glared angrily at the Virus.
"Leave them alone." Hunter yelled. "Pick on someone your own size."
"Leave them alone. Pick on someone your own size," Hunter shouted, but his voice was lost in the din as another explosion rocked the room.
'Mitsu clenched his jaw. His limbs trembled, heavy with anger. Just as he began to search for a weapon -- a piece of pipe, a branch, a toy, anything -- when his ears managed to catch a snatch of a terrified squeak.
"Miz...zie...!"
The teenager whirled around. "Ritamon?!"
"Mizzie...!"
"Where are y -- "
There! A bundle of yellow-and-white fur, huddled underneath the wreckage of a tiny swingset. 'Mitsu was there instantly."Mizzie," Ritamon sniffled. "Why's Rennie bein' so mean?" He sniffled again.
"It's not Renamon's fault." There was no doubt, no hesitation in Yoshimitsu's voice. "It's the Virus that's making her do this."
"The... Virus..."
