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Disclaimer: It doesn't take rocket scientist to figure out that I don't own Digimon. I DO, however, own the idea of MegaNogardmon. If you wanna know where I got the name, Nogard is Dragon spelled backwards. I can't come up with a good name for anything. But don't sue me. I don't have anything you'd want, anyways.
Rating: I hate ratings. I'll put PG, but it's probably just G.
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I curled up, warm and snug, next to Kari. Her breathing seemed shallow, but I was so tired I hardly noticed. My eyes fluttered shut, and I dreamed...
I dreamed again, as I often did, of my past. The dreams always began happily reminding me of friends long gone, but soon they turned to nightmares, relishing in giving me depressing thoughts and leaving me awake and crying.
Tonight, however, I was awakened early, only after a faded image of Wizardmon...
"Gatomon?" Kari coughed.
"What is it?" I jumped to my feet.
"I feel sick, and my throat's sore."
"I'm getting Tai," I declared. Soon, I returned, dragging a very worried Tai with me.
After examining his sister, Tai turned away. I stood in front of him defiantly.
"What is wrong with her?"
He looked at me and squatted on the ground near my height. "I don't know," he said. "It could be the flu, but I don't see how she could have gotten it."
I didn't know what the flu was, but I knew it sounded bad.
"Will she...live?" I asked.
Tai seemed far off, but he looked at me for a minute. "Probably, the flu's not that bad."
I felt warm tears well up in my eyes. "I've lost friends...I don't want to lose any more of them!" My voice was choked, and my mind flashed the old, faded image of Wizardmon. I furiously shook my head and lay down beside Kari again. Maybe I just didn't understand a human sickness like this, but I was worried.
"What did he say?" she coughed.
I told her what I knew. "You'll get better soon, just take it easy."
In moments, she was asleep. I laid a paw on her small, thin arm.
Morning dawned cold and damp. As the kids packed up to leave our camp, I walked a little ways into the surrounding woods. I felt something strange, and I wanted to check it out.
Something brushed past my neck. I spun around quickly.
"Who's there?" I shouted.
No answer, only a soft whistling.
"I know someone is following me," I called into the forest.
I listened closely and realized that the whistling was actually someone speaking to me, and I didn't recognize the voice.
"You do not want to lose any more friends, do you, Gatomon?" it hissed.
"Who are you and how do you know my name?"
"One of your old friends told me. I am MegaNogardmon.
"Why can't I see you?" I asked. "And who told you my name?"
Suddenly, a huge black Digimon with silver wings appeared right in front of me. It looked a picture Kari had once shown me, of something called a dragon.
"There's no need to be afraid..."
The Digimon may have been attempting a smile, but it looked more like a sneer.
"I think you may have noticed my little...infections. Yes, I sent out diseases to attack Digimon, and it also attacked your little human friend."
My eyes widened. "So you're the reason Kari is so bad off?"
He nodded in a near-evil way. His dark hair fell around his blue eyes, and he snickered.
"LIGHTNING PAW!" I yelled, attacking the huge Digimon. I couldn't DigiVolve, since I'd left Kari sleeping back at the campsite.
"I wouldn't try that again if I were you, Gatomon. At least not if you truly value your friends."
I glared at him. "Well, the only one I have left is Kari, and thanks to you I won't have her much longer."
"That's not totally true," he frowned. He snapped his clawed fingers, and a long line of Digimon appeared in front of me. But these Digimon weren't moving. They didn't look dead, but kind of...frozen.
The line started where I stood, with Baby Digimon. It ran into the forest, up to a few Mega Digimon.
"I don't know any of these Digimon," I said to MegaNogardmon.
"Yes, you do."
"What are you, a Dark Master?"
"No," he sneered, "I didn't get that far. Just take a look at some of them."
I began walking past countless Digimon, until I came across some I knew: Pumpkinmon, Gotsumon, Piximon, and...
"Wizardmon! What did you do to him?"
"Heh, I thought you might recognize that one. Had to force him to tell me your name. Oh, yes, all these Digimon somehow made it to me, but I infected them all with my disease. That same one that got your Kari. The Flu, as I've heard."
I walked slowly to where my friend stood, seemingly frozen in time. "I'm going to save you," I promised. I ran back to our campsite, calling over my shoulder, "I'll save all of you!"
When I got back to camp, Kari was sitting up. I explained MegaNogardmon and his scheme to all the DigiDestined.
"So that's why I'm sick?" Kari asked. I nodded.
"We need to save those Digimon!" Mimi said. "They're counting on us!"
We took off, Kari and all, back through the forest. MegaNogardmon and the frozen, sick Digimon were all right where I left them.
"What took you so long?" MegaNogardmon asked. "Ah, you brought me some target practice!"
I ran to where our few allies were frozen in a small cluster. Kari followed me.
"Why didn't you tell us he got Wizardmon?" Kari coughed.
"I don't know..." I answered softly.
"Wing Spear!" MegaNogardmon threw his attack at our group.
All the Digimon DigiVolved except for me. I couldn't make myself leave Wizardmon. He was gone, and somehow now he was so close to being back...
"Hand of Fate!"
"Flower Cannon!"
"Vulcan's Hammer!"
"Terra Force!"
"Metal Wolf Claw!"
"Wing Blade!"
"Horn Blaster!"
I turned as I heard each Digimon call out their attacks. That was when I DigiVolved.
As Angewomon, I faced off against MegaNogardmon.
"You've hurt lots of Digimon, and Kari, too. I'll stop you now, and free those Digimon!"
"You can't defeat me!"
"Celestial Arrow!"
As I shrunk back down to Gatomon, I saw MegaNogardmon vanish into small bits of computer data.
One at a time the sick, frozen Digimon awoke.
"Hey, Gotsumon, it's those two fun kids!" Pumpkinmon pointed to Matt and TK.
"Yeah, thanks, you guys!" Gotsumon smiled, following Pumpkinmon off into the forest, where most of the Digimon went.
"Hooray for the DigiDestined, yup-yup!" Piximon zoomed off above the trees.
"Gatomon...is it you?"
I turned my attention from the retreating form of Piximon. My eyes welled up with tears of happiness. "Yes...if you're really you."
Kari smiled. We both ran to Wizardmon and hugged him. I...waited a long time for that hug.
"Hey Gatomon, I think I'm better now!" Kari grinned.
I looked at her with my tear-streaked face and smiled. "I am, too, Kari. I know I overreacted about you being sick. But now, look where I am! I have you still, and I have someone I thought I'd never see again."
A faint noise echoed on the wind, like the hissing voice of a now-dead enemy...but I was the only one who heard it...
THE END
*Well, comments? Was it kawaii? Was it pathetic? Here's a note: This was origianally a MUCH darker fic, 'till I found out someone already had a fic where Kari gets cancer. -_-; Bummer, so I had to rewrite it a lot and it's not exactly the way I wanted it...Please tell me what you thought!*