A/N: This ran away from me. And this is what happens when I watch Yugioh 5Ds and then try and write digimon lol. So here's biased theories from JP. :)

Concurring Overwrite
Data Fragment 42: Revered

JP didn't know when he'd last been out and well. Last time he'd heard from most of the others, actually. Until Zoe had stopped by for a surprise visit that led to his dad moving them full time into his workplace. And until Takuya stopped keeping in touch, too.

Not that Zoe had done anything. Just offered a hand that JP had honestly meant to take until those stomach cramps had gotten in the way. But then his dad had shown up and she'd left, and he'd immediately given him some sort of bracelet to wear. Said it'd stop the virus.

It did, kind of. Stopped it from getting worse, he thought, but it certainly wasn't a cure.

And then Zoe got to a phone and called his mobile, and explained what she knew, which unfortunately wasn't everything. But she knew the virus wasn't an organic virus, but rather a computer one. She knew the bracelet had some sort of antivirus. She knew there were other digidestined, and people pulling the strings, and a great change on its way. She knew she'd made a choice before she'd understood what that choice was.

And now Mr Takenouchi had found Takuya and brought him back: a Takuya with ash all over and dull eyes, and a bracelet around his own wrist that looked similar to JP's.

But they didn't talk that first night. The weight of silence was too heavy, and JP might not have all the answers but he could be a good friend. The weight of hunger, however, wasn't heavy enough. It took some prodding, and patience JP had been nursing for weeks. Patience he hadn't had in the digital world.

But Takuya slept. And ate. And slept again. And something seemed to unravel. And, finally, stuttered with tears, the tale came out. His own encounter with the virus, and the antivirus. Wild shadows in their home. A digimon attacking his brother. Doggymon defending him. The entire house in flames and the Ryo that Zoe had mentioned overseeing it all. And then Shinya's teacher: an adult, somehow turned into a child again and shedding her adult worries.

'…asked if she could help me find him, like he was just playing hide and seek…'

And that did seem very cruel, from this angle, JP thought. And if he was being honest, he didn't understand the virus.

He understood the attraction, certainly. Dismantle the parts one didn't like, or the parts they did. Build as many variations of their ideal self as they needed. Theoretically, they could populate a world on their own: just a few select Chosen. They could repeat their mistakes and learn from them and then erase them from their own memories… but why? Ultimately, what was the point?

Then again, all lifeforms floundered in the cage called fate and not all of them believed in greater purposes. And as far as humanity went…

'That's not really the problem for us, is it?'

Takuya stared at him.

JP stared back.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean…' He shrugged. He was just thinking aloud, really. 'We're digimon, even if we don't have the spirits, anymore. But that doesn't make us any less human. We all accepted that, in the digital world. So that's not the problem with the virus.' He fiddled with his bracelet. 'It gave Zoe and I stomach bugs. It's instigated whatever reason we can't contact Tommy or his brother or the twins but what is it actually trying to do? What are we trying to prevent with these?' He held the wrist up.

Takuya looked at his own wrist. 'He said…' His voice trailed, then picked up again. 'Like it was a process of selection. Doggymon hadn't been quick enough. Sh-shinya hadn't been quick enough.' He fiddled with his own bracelet. 'They seemed to imply… taking this off would bring him back. Would bring everything back.'

'I doubt that,' JP said bluntly, and Takuya's hand fell away. 'I mean,' he added hurriedly, 'that it'd be more like that teacher, and wouldn't change the absolute reality that way. But maybe that's also your choice. If you want to change your past, your choice. If you just want a clearer perception of it, your choice. Zoe's memories haven't changed. Only difference is she's got her wind powers again. Sounds like the twins need to sort their heads out, though.'

'You've seen them?'

He hadn't, and it felt like so long. Too long.

'We can't save everyone,' Takuya said slowly. 'We can barely save anyone. Even last time, we and the three angles, Bokomon and Neemon… We were all that was left. And last time, it was Koji that lost a brother. But we kept going. Turning that back now feels like invalidating that.'

Everyone suffered differently, humans or otherwise.