Disclaimer: Don't sue me, I don't own them. Except for Kou-chan. He's MINE!!!! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Chapter 4 (oh boy!!!)
Gatomon awoke to find a bird staring her in the face. *It must be awfully hungry to come down near my shelter...* she thought. *I thought for sure that bad smelling plant would have kept it away...* Suddenly she gasped as the entire ground swung back and forth in time to the breeze blowing merrily by. She rolled over on her stomach... and fell out of the tree with all the grace and aerodynamic efficiency of an anvil. Groggy as she was, she couldn't twist around enough to land on her feet in time. She saw the ground rushing up at her- And with a sudden jerk and buzz of wings, she found herself being pulled back up to the branch.
Tentomon- who, of course, was the one who had saved her- immediately began telling her off for moving around before she was fully recovered, and for not exercising more care in the tree, and didn't she know she had made him drop easily bruised fruit to save her?
Gatomon took it all silently, knowing that the insectoid Digimon was just concerned for her. It almost reminded her of the concern Patamon used to show for her, before... A tear slid out from one eye before she could stop it and Tentomon immediately noticed.
"Gatomon? I'm terribly sorry if I've said anything to upset you."
"No, it wasn't your fault, Tentomon, it's just..."
"What?" His voice was as gentle as she'd ever heard it.
"I... I feel kind of stupid for telling you, but... the way you were acting, it reminded me of Patamon and the way he used look out for me..."
"So it was something I said! I knew I shouldn't have been so harsh on you, you were sick and I shouldn't have raised my voice and..." He rambled on about how his manners seemed to be vanishing for about 30 seconds before Gatomon was able to get a word in edgewise.
"Its not your fault! It was just old memories coming back..."
"Yes, but its my fault you had to remember anything that would cause you pain!"
"Oh, fine, have it your way..." Gatomon was slowly remembering another time that Tentomon had protected her, albeit as MegaKabuterimon. The battle with LadyDevimon floated in her mind, as she remembered how he had caught when an attack had sent her reeling, and how later MegaKabuterimon had thrown himself in front of the attack LadyDevimon had aimed at her, resulting in LadyDevimon breaking a nail and losing the battle. Gatomon suddenly realized that Tentomon had always been looking out for her, right along with Patamon. Realization dawned on her. She didn't need to cut herself off from everybody else, because Tentomon would help her through the storm of dark emotions, would protect her from the grief, just like he protected her from everything else.
Tentomon noticed the sudden smile that crept onto her face. "I'm sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but might I ask what you're smiling about?"
"I just realized... you've been protecting me too this whole time... I was so upset about Patamon, I just failed to realize it. I'm sorry about shutting myself off to all of you... you especially must have been worried sick..."
"I was. When you were gone, it was like... I couldn't find anything left to be glad about. I was worried that maybe you'd deleted yourself out of grief... I still am..." Tentomon admitted.
"You don't need to anymore," Gatomon said bluntly. "I'm going to stay and fight the sadness right here, with you. You've always protected me, and I've been such a baka not to notice it before."
"Gatomon..." Tentomon couldn't speak out of sheer joy.
Suddenly, a beam of pure light shot from the sky and resolved itself into a portal similar to a mirror. Gatomon and Tentomon were paralyzed with shock.
"What is it?" Tentomon whispered.
"I'm not sure... it doesn't look threatening... Look! A face! Is that..."
"Oh, sweet Goddramon..." Tentomon breathed. "Patamon!?!"
The image of Patamon smiled. "Yes, it's me. I came to thank you, Gatomon, before I go to the afterlife. I'd come back, but I died in the real world, so I can't be reformatted. Besides, Takeru can't come back, so..." The image looked sad for a second.
"Why did you want to thank me?" asked Gatomon.
"Because I couldn't go to the afterlife until you let go. By realizing that you could still be happy without me, by realizing that you and Tentomon could be happy together, by accepting my death, you freed me. And it is for that last act that I thank you." Gatomon smiled with tears in her eyes.
The image turned to Tentomon. "My time is almost up. Tentomon, you've been a good friend. Take care of Gatomon for me, alright?" Tentomon nodded, tears forming in his own eyes.
Patamon started to fade away. "I love you, Gatomon. Goodbye..." The image faded and the beam broke into a million fragments that sparkled and danced in the sun as they showered down over the two Digimon.
Tentomon and Gatomon stood transfixed for a few seconds, then turned towards each other with tears in their eyes and a slight blush on their faces.
"I'm never going to forget him," Gatomon whispered.
"Neither will I."
"Did you mean what you promised?"
Tentomon's insectoid face managed to look slightly confused and extremely embarrassed at the same time. "What are you talking about?"
"You promised Patamon that you would take care of me for him. Did you mean it?"
The awkwardness suddenly left Tentomon's face. "I promised Patamon from the very bottom of my soul and now I promise you in the same way. Gatomon, I promise to protect and cherish you forever."
"And I you," she whispered, tears flowing freely down her face. Her paws found Tentomon's talons and they stood there staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. They finally broke each other's gaze and looked at the ground.
Gatomon spoke first. "Since when was the sun setting?"
Tentomon frowned at the celestial body nearing the end of its daily journey. "I suppose when the portal opened, a temporary warp was created in time and the rest of the day passed faster than normal."
"Do you have to sound like Koushiro? Oh... that reminds me..."
"Reminds you of what?"
"I haven't seen Hikari since the accident." Gatomon's voice trembled slightly on the last word but she took a deep breath and continued. "I was so busy shutting myself off that I completely ignored her... She must be feeling awful and it's all my fault..."
Tentomon attempted to comfort her. "It's not your fault entirely. I mean, you were dealing with grief and you got distracted. She'll understand."
"Yes, I guess you're right. Tentomon?"
"What?"
"Can we contact Hikari tomorrow and ask her to visit so I can apologize?"
"Of course, Gato-chan."
Gatomon giggled sleepily. Apparently, the day's events had taken a toll on her already exhausted body. "I like it when you say that... Can we go to sleep down here? I'm too tired to climb..." The cat Digimon curled up and was asleep. The last thing she heard was, "Anything for you, Gato-chan..."
Later that night...
Gatomon suddenly sat up in the darkness. Tentomon noticed a change in her breathing pattern and came over from where he was standing guard. "What is it, Gatomon?"
"It's Hikari! I feel her here!"
Tentomon suddenly noticed a strange feeling in the back of his mind. "Koushiro's here too! But why would they come so late?" He looked at Gatomon and gasped. She was trembling with fear or cold. "Gatomon! Are you okay?"
"It's Hikari," Gatomon gasped. "And something's wrong with her..."
AN: Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! THE EVIL CLIFFHANGER STRIKES YET AGAIN!!!!! Sorry for any out-of-character-ishness, love makes Digimon do strange things... Izzy: ... -_-;
Me: I am sincerely sorry for the wait, hopefully I will get the next chapter out a little faster than this one...
Izzy: *mutters* Yeah, right...
Me: Quiet, you. Anyways, please review and ja ne!!!!
Chapter 4 (oh boy!!!)
Gatomon awoke to find a bird staring her in the face. *It must be awfully hungry to come down near my shelter...* she thought. *I thought for sure that bad smelling plant would have kept it away...* Suddenly she gasped as the entire ground swung back and forth in time to the breeze blowing merrily by. She rolled over on her stomach... and fell out of the tree with all the grace and aerodynamic efficiency of an anvil. Groggy as she was, she couldn't twist around enough to land on her feet in time. She saw the ground rushing up at her- And with a sudden jerk and buzz of wings, she found herself being pulled back up to the branch.
Tentomon- who, of course, was the one who had saved her- immediately began telling her off for moving around before she was fully recovered, and for not exercising more care in the tree, and didn't she know she had made him drop easily bruised fruit to save her?
Gatomon took it all silently, knowing that the insectoid Digimon was just concerned for her. It almost reminded her of the concern Patamon used to show for her, before... A tear slid out from one eye before she could stop it and Tentomon immediately noticed.
"Gatomon? I'm terribly sorry if I've said anything to upset you."
"No, it wasn't your fault, Tentomon, it's just..."
"What?" His voice was as gentle as she'd ever heard it.
"I... I feel kind of stupid for telling you, but... the way you were acting, it reminded me of Patamon and the way he used look out for me..."
"So it was something I said! I knew I shouldn't have been so harsh on you, you were sick and I shouldn't have raised my voice and..." He rambled on about how his manners seemed to be vanishing for about 30 seconds before Gatomon was able to get a word in edgewise.
"Its not your fault! It was just old memories coming back..."
"Yes, but its my fault you had to remember anything that would cause you pain!"
"Oh, fine, have it your way..." Gatomon was slowly remembering another time that Tentomon had protected her, albeit as MegaKabuterimon. The battle with LadyDevimon floated in her mind, as she remembered how he had caught when an attack had sent her reeling, and how later MegaKabuterimon had thrown himself in front of the attack LadyDevimon had aimed at her, resulting in LadyDevimon breaking a nail and losing the battle. Gatomon suddenly realized that Tentomon had always been looking out for her, right along with Patamon. Realization dawned on her. She didn't need to cut herself off from everybody else, because Tentomon would help her through the storm of dark emotions, would protect her from the grief, just like he protected her from everything else.
Tentomon noticed the sudden smile that crept onto her face. "I'm sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but might I ask what you're smiling about?"
"I just realized... you've been protecting me too this whole time... I was so upset about Patamon, I just failed to realize it. I'm sorry about shutting myself off to all of you... you especially must have been worried sick..."
"I was. When you were gone, it was like... I couldn't find anything left to be glad about. I was worried that maybe you'd deleted yourself out of grief... I still am..." Tentomon admitted.
"You don't need to anymore," Gatomon said bluntly. "I'm going to stay and fight the sadness right here, with you. You've always protected me, and I've been such a baka not to notice it before."
"Gatomon..." Tentomon couldn't speak out of sheer joy.
Suddenly, a beam of pure light shot from the sky and resolved itself into a portal similar to a mirror. Gatomon and Tentomon were paralyzed with shock.
"What is it?" Tentomon whispered.
"I'm not sure... it doesn't look threatening... Look! A face! Is that..."
"Oh, sweet Goddramon..." Tentomon breathed. "Patamon!?!"
The image of Patamon smiled. "Yes, it's me. I came to thank you, Gatomon, before I go to the afterlife. I'd come back, but I died in the real world, so I can't be reformatted. Besides, Takeru can't come back, so..." The image looked sad for a second.
"Why did you want to thank me?" asked Gatomon.
"Because I couldn't go to the afterlife until you let go. By realizing that you could still be happy without me, by realizing that you and Tentomon could be happy together, by accepting my death, you freed me. And it is for that last act that I thank you." Gatomon smiled with tears in her eyes.
The image turned to Tentomon. "My time is almost up. Tentomon, you've been a good friend. Take care of Gatomon for me, alright?" Tentomon nodded, tears forming in his own eyes.
Patamon started to fade away. "I love you, Gatomon. Goodbye..." The image faded and the beam broke into a million fragments that sparkled and danced in the sun as they showered down over the two Digimon.
Tentomon and Gatomon stood transfixed for a few seconds, then turned towards each other with tears in their eyes and a slight blush on their faces.
"I'm never going to forget him," Gatomon whispered.
"Neither will I."
"Did you mean what you promised?"
Tentomon's insectoid face managed to look slightly confused and extremely embarrassed at the same time. "What are you talking about?"
"You promised Patamon that you would take care of me for him. Did you mean it?"
The awkwardness suddenly left Tentomon's face. "I promised Patamon from the very bottom of my soul and now I promise you in the same way. Gatomon, I promise to protect and cherish you forever."
"And I you," she whispered, tears flowing freely down her face. Her paws found Tentomon's talons and they stood there staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. They finally broke each other's gaze and looked at the ground.
Gatomon spoke first. "Since when was the sun setting?"
Tentomon frowned at the celestial body nearing the end of its daily journey. "I suppose when the portal opened, a temporary warp was created in time and the rest of the day passed faster than normal."
"Do you have to sound like Koushiro? Oh... that reminds me..."
"Reminds you of what?"
"I haven't seen Hikari since the accident." Gatomon's voice trembled slightly on the last word but she took a deep breath and continued. "I was so busy shutting myself off that I completely ignored her... She must be feeling awful and it's all my fault..."
Tentomon attempted to comfort her. "It's not your fault entirely. I mean, you were dealing with grief and you got distracted. She'll understand."
"Yes, I guess you're right. Tentomon?"
"What?"
"Can we contact Hikari tomorrow and ask her to visit so I can apologize?"
"Of course, Gato-chan."
Gatomon giggled sleepily. Apparently, the day's events had taken a toll on her already exhausted body. "I like it when you say that... Can we go to sleep down here? I'm too tired to climb..." The cat Digimon curled up and was asleep. The last thing she heard was, "Anything for you, Gato-chan..."
Later that night...
Gatomon suddenly sat up in the darkness. Tentomon noticed a change in her breathing pattern and came over from where he was standing guard. "What is it, Gatomon?"
"It's Hikari! I feel her here!"
Tentomon suddenly noticed a strange feeling in the back of his mind. "Koushiro's here too! But why would they come so late?" He looked at Gatomon and gasped. She was trembling with fear or cold. "Gatomon! Are you okay?"
"It's Hikari," Gatomon gasped. "And something's wrong with her..."
AN: Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! THE EVIL CLIFFHANGER STRIKES YET AGAIN!!!!! Sorry for any out-of-character-ishness, love makes Digimon do strange things... Izzy: ... -_-;
Me: I am sincerely sorry for the wait, hopefully I will get the next chapter out a little faster than this one...
Izzy: *mutters* Yeah, right...
Me: Quiet, you. Anyways, please review and ja ne!!!!