Gatomon to the Rescue
In the infirmary, Emily was asleep in bed. Obviously overcome by her fever. Gatomon remained at her side to watch her. Next to the bed was a small table with a pitcher full of cool water. The blonde girl also had a cool, wet cloth on her forehead.
Gatomon listened as she heard her partner's raspy breathing. She wondered if she had a sore throat. I was afraid of this, Gatomon thought to herself. I was worried she was getting sick again. The medicine Esmeralda gave her while we were at the Court of Miracles helped a little bit, but Emily hadn't fully recovered yet. She turned her attention to the door, wondering if Frollo would be coming back. For him to want Emily to be here and brought back to health, apparently he didn't want her to die yet. Gatomon also thought about the others and wondered how they were doing. Hopefully they weren't being treated any worse. Then again, knowing Frollo, he may already be doing something awful to them. But what could she do? She couldn't leave her partner while she was at her most vulnerable. Gatomon also feared that Frollo could still do something to Emily even while she was sick.
Gatomon looked out the window. I could try praying, she wondered. Emily said that she always prays whenever she feels scared or helpless. Okay, how did Emily do this? She remembered the times she would watch Emily pray before going to bed. Gatomon got on her knees and placed her paws together and raised her head to Heaven as she looked out the window. "God?" she began, nervously. "Um, I don't really know how this works or if You listen to prayers from Digimon, let alone beings from other worlds, but I've seen Emily do this lots of times and I don't know what else to do. I thought maybe if I came with her to this world, I could help her and her friends, but… I failed. I couldn't protect any of them and now we're all at Frollo's mercy. Emily's sick and I'm scared for her. I'm afraid to leave her because I know if I do, Frollo may do something awful to her. But Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba need help too. But… I don't know what to do. Please, I need help and so do my friends." Her eyes began to fill with tears. She closed her eyes and sobbed, "Please help us, God."
She softly gasped as she felt Emily's hand on her. "It'll be all right, Gatomon," she said with a weak voice. "We'll get through this somehow."
Gatomon held Emily's hand in her paws. "I don't want to lose you, Emily." The cat Digimon turned her attention to the door as she heard voices on the other side. She got off the bed and moved closer to the door and placed her ear close to it.
"Is she awake?" Frollo's voice asked on the other side.
"No, sir," a guard answered.
"Very well," the minister replied. "I'm going out for a while. I should return shortly, but send for me if there's any change in the girl's condition."
Gatomon heard his footsteps fading and wondered where he was going. "Where would he go so late at night?" Then she remembered. "Of course, Frollo goes to the cathedral often to visit Quasimodo to school him and have a meal with him." She hoped that he was going there for that small setback. That would give her the time she would need to find Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba. But how would she be able to escape? The door was locked and guarded. Gatomon returned to the bed and looked out the window. Maybe it was possible to climb out. It didn't look too steep.
With Emily's life at stake as well as the others', Gatomon decided she had to take the risk. "Don't worry, Emily," she whispered. "I'll be back." She jumped out of the window and began climbing down. She made to the colonnade and looked down to watch Frollo entering his carriage and leaving. "I'd better be quick," the cat Digimon told herself and went back on the run. She remembered the minister revealing that the boys were locked in the dungeon. It was a good thing Frollo had passed Gatomon off as an ordinary cat. If he had any idea how wrong he was, he would have kept quiet.
Gatomon couldn't use her powers to fight, but she could rely on her strength and acrobatic skills. She made it down the stairs and saw a guard posted nearby. She also looked and saw a set of keys at his waist. She had to get them. Gatomon ran towards the guard, jumped on him, and knocked him unconscious as he fell to the ground.
Hearing her cheer in triumph, Yugi asked, "Gatomon? Gatomon, is that you?"
The cat Digimon turned around. "Yugi!" she said with glee.
"Gatomon!" he cheered. "What are you doing down here? Where's Emily?"
She approached the cell with the keys. "She's still in the infirmary. I left her there so I could rescue you guys."
"What about Frollo?" Joey asked.
"He left the Palace of Justice about ten minutes ago," she informed him. "I assume to go to the cathedral."
Kaiba took the keys from her and began working on unlocking the cell. "Did he do anything to you girls?" he asked, struggling to find the right key.
"He hasn't done anything yet," Gatomon said. "But he's been trying to convince Emily to join him on his idealistic path of righteousness."
"That's what I figured," Kaiba snapped. "His lies have nothing to do with his ideals. He just wants Briar because he's consumed by lust for her."
"But we knew you'd protect her, Gatomon," said Joey. "I said to the guys, 'If that bastard tries to do anything to Emily, Gatomon will be all over him like a crazy, out-of-control wildcat.'" And he and the cat Digimon began laughing.
Kaiba finally found the right key and unlocked the cell. They also found their weapons on the side of the wall and grabbed them. "Now let's get out of here," Joey said.
Kaiba had bad news. "I'd hate to say this, guys, but even though we're free, we still can't exactly leave." To explain what he means, he says, "If we get Briar out of here, it'll make her condition worse. She could end up with pneumonia. If that happens, she likely won't survive."
Yugi dreaded at the thought of losing Emily. But he knew Kaiba was right. He and his friends were still trapped and wouldn't be able to escape until Emily got over her fever. "Let's find the infirmary and see if there's anything we can do to help her."
"Okay, but first," Kaiba plucked a hair from his head and used his magic on it, creating a clone of himself in the cell he and his friends escaped from. He asked for a hair from his friends so he could produce clones as well. This way, no one would know that they had escaped.
Afterwards, the brunette cast an invisibility spell on himself and his friends, leaving Gatomon only visible so they could see her as she would lead them to the infirmary.
Even though Gatomon had only been on the path once, she remembered the way after paying careful attention while keeping at Emily's side. As anticipated, she saw guards at the door. Kaiba used his scepter to release an enticing aroma that lured the guards to sleep. Yugi quickly grabbed the keys and fiddled with them, trying to find the right one to unlock the door.
He managed to find the right key and unlocked the door. Once they all stepped inside and closed the door, the invisibility spell began to wear off. Yugi looked and saw Emily lying in a bed. "Emily," he softly cried, running to her bedside.
She stirred and moaned and opened her eyes. "Yugi?" she asked in a weak voice.
"It's okay, Emily," Yugi whispered. "We're all here."
She smiled as she saw her friends surrounding her. "How did you guys get here?"
"Gatomon rescued us," said Joey. "And she brought us to you."
Emily smiled at her partner. "Gatomon, you clever little cat."
"Don't worry, Briar. We'll get you out of here." She tried to respond, but only coughed. "You are sick, aren't you?" the brunette asked, seeing that she was worse than he thought.
Gatomon remembered. "Esmeralda gave Emily some medicine in case this would happen. It's back at the inn."
"How are we going to get there?" Joey asked.
Kaiba had an idea. "I'll use my magic." He placed his scepter on the floor to create a kind of warp vortex. He also picked up Gatomon. "We'll get the medicine. You guys stay here and stand guard in case anyone comes." And he jumped in.
When they found themselves back in the room of the inn they were staying at, Gatomon found Emily's knapsack and began rummaging through it. To her delight, she found the small parcel of medicine Esmeralda gave to the blonde. She jumped back into Kaiba's arms and they jumped into the warp vortex, returning to the infirmary.
After Kaiba used his magic to remove the warp vortex, he took the medicine from Gatomon and asked, "Did Esmeralda say to prepare the medicine in a certain way?"
The cat Digimon nodded. "She took a small amount and mixed it with a warm broth before giving it to Emily."
"We don't have any," said Yugi.
Kaiba saw the pitcher of water on the table and got an idea. He turned the water into broth and heated it up and mixed a little bit of the medicine with it.
Yugi helped Emily to sit up. She took the cup from Kaiba and began drinking small sips.
"How is it?" Joey asked.
It wasn't like how Esmeralda prepared it, but it still carried the same taste of beef and tea. Actually, she tasted more of the herbs than the broth and that made it a little more bitter. She forced a smile and said, "Well, they say if the medicine is bitter, then that's a sign that it's effective."
She was right. Despite the fact that the taste was putrid, the medicine in the broth was healing her throat and clearing her sinuses.
"Try to get it all down," Kaiba told her. "Hopefully you'll be better tomorrow. When you are, we can take you home."
Emily liked the sound of that. She continued drinking until her cup was empty.
"How are you feeling?" Joey asked.
"Well, I can breathe again," the blonde girl replied. "I still feel a little tired, though."
Kaiba felt her forehead. She was still warm. "Try to get some sleep," he told her. "We'll take turns keeping watch."
She nodded and lied down in bed. "Hey, guys," she said softly. They all gave her their attention. "I'm really glad you're all here and that you're all okay."
Yugi knelt down beside her and held her hand. "As bad as things may be right now, there's nowhere I'd rather be than with you," he said with seriousness in his tone. Emily smiled and nodded and closed her eyes to rest. Gatomon curled up into a ball and laid beside her. While Joey and Kaiba were standing by the door, Yugi remained at Emily's bedside, praying for her to recover.
