Faithful Friends Are Hard to Find
Inhale. Gatomon dislodges the final bit of scattered data and snatches it out of the air between her paws, as if she was catching lightning bugs. Exhale. The tension goes out of her tiny body. Her knees weaken, and Gatomon falls to the ground. The device dangling from her tail ring reacts, sucking in the data eagerly. It displays a number – 100%.
"Gennai, you old fart, I hope this works," she breathes, her voice barely a whisper. Gatomon grabs the device, pulling it from the ring, and holds it in front of her.
Her large, clumsy paws fiddle awkwardly with the keypad on the device, but she manages to do something right; the screen brightens until it blinds her, not unlike the glow of a Digivice during digivolution. Gatomon squints her eyes and turns away, but keeps a steady grip on the object. It seems to liquify and then disintegrate in her hands.
For a moment, she thinks she has failed, that something has gone horribly awry. The light dims and vanishes. When Gatomon opens her eyes, there is nothing in her hands. Her ears fall back and fold against her head. Her tiny shoulders slump. But, when the colored sparks dancing in front of her vision begin to fade, she notices something not far from her – a Digi-egg.
Gatomon reaches out to touch it, and to her, it's the most amazing thing she's ever seen. The shell itself is a soft corn-yellow color, dotted and patterned with streaks of red-orange and indigo. Sitting on the ground, Gatomon pulls the egg into her lap and wraps her arms and legs around it, pressing her face against the shell.
"I'm so close to seeing you again," she murmurs, her voice vibrating through the shell. "I can wait a little longer."
Author's Note: Hello, everyone! In lieu of the announcement that Digimon Adventure is getting a third season with Tai as the main character (how exciting!), I've been rewatching the old series and got swept away by the 8th Child arc, particularly Gatomon and Wizardmon's friendship. I'm busy with school right now so this is just a minuscule contribution (305 words, I believe), but expect to see more from me in the future.