Okay, here we are, episode 6~ Also, a little piece of information, this episode runs in tandem with the last one.

DemiDevimon: "I got hit pretty badly in that last battle with those other girls. Miyuki brought us to a site where all the Digimon were pretty nice and I recovered. But a virus infected Centarumon, the site's protector, and he started attacking the other Digimon. Miyuki decided to protect them and got hit instead, flying back into a wall. I got pretty pissed off and Digivolved to Devidramon, attacking Centarumon and getting the virus out of him. Miyuki's still hurt pretty bad, with a bruised back, but with this medicine that was found, she should me up and about in a few days."


Hana glared at the brunette girl retreating into the distance. She turned to Yumi, who had grabbed her shoulder. "Why did you let her get away?" she asked.

"Hana, calm down," the lavender haired girl said. "I don't think she's our enemy. The only reason she fought back is because you wouldn't leave her alone."

Kiira nodded, agreeing with her. They both thought Hana was going a little overboard with this. "I mean, sure, her partner's a Virus, but what if he's different? Every rule has to have an exception. Maybe that's what he is."

Their Digimon partners looked at one another. Kiira had a point. What if that girl and her partner weren't the enemy? What if they were supposed to work together?

Hana sighed. "Whatever. She got here a different way than we did, and we don't know anything about her. I still say she's bad news."

Renamon looked at her partner. She agreed that Hana might be taking this a bit too far. She could tell that her partner saw the brunette and DemiDevimon as threats, but maybe they weren't. Hana, she thought. Give her a chance.

Hana glared ahead of her. That other girl had run out of sight by now. The others didn't understand. Hana was a girl who often thought mathematically, and that girl was an unknown variable. She didn't like it.

They were walking in silence for about ten minutes when Yumi asked, "Where to next?"

Hana was about to say that she didn't know and they should keep walking when she saw a hole open up next to the group. "Come on, this place is just as good as any."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

They did not expect what they were met with. The girls and their partners were surrounded by buildings that seemed to be falling apart. There was a cracked street in the middle, leading far into the distance.

"What the hell...?" Hana muttered, looking around. The place seemed abandoned, without any signs of life.

"This place is completely abandoned..." Kiira said.

Her partner was about to agree with her when she saw something in the corner of her eye. She stopped and turned, looking for whatever she'd seen.

"You alright?" Labramon asked Palmon. "What's up?"

The plant Rookie shook her head. "It's probably nothing," she said. "I just thought I saw something."

"Like what?" Hana asked.

"I don't know, all I caught was some kind of shadow, but it was gone before I could really look at it," Palmon said. "Sorry..."

The blonde looked at her partner. Renamon nodded before leaving the group. She was the most agile of the group and as such, she was the best for recon. If there was something out there, she should be able to find it.

"What do you think it was?" Labramon asked.

"Considering what this place looks like," Palmon began, "nothing good."

"The Virus might already be here," Yumi commented. "So we should probably keep an eye out for survivors, if there are any Vaccine types here."

"Good idea," Hana told her with a nod.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Renamon ran, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, scanning the ground below for any signs of the enemy. She had grown slightly anxious, leaving her partner's side. She was concerned for Hana's safety, but she had Palmon and Labramon with her. She should be safe...

The Rookie was jolted out of her thoughts when a moving figure caught her eye. It was darting from building to building, sticking to the shadows. She followed it stealthily, waiting for it to move into plain view. She didn't like how sneaky it was being. Taking everything else they'd encountered in the other websites, that could only mean this figure, whatever it was, was bad news.

The two reached a four-way intersection. It had to come out now.

The figure paused before slowly moving into the light. It was a black bipedal cat Digimon. Renamon moved out of sight. She wanted to see where this Digimon was going.

"Who's there?" the other Digimon called out. "I know you're following me, so get out here and face me!"

Renamon sighed. She could pretend she wasn't there, but she wanted answers. Jumping from the roof, she landed in front of the Digimon. "Who are you?"

The cat Digimon crossed her arms. "I could ask you the same, Vaccine. Are you here to attack us?"

"What?" Renamon asked.

Yellow eyes narrowed. "You're not the first Vaccine Digimon to make their way in here and decide that we need to be exterminated."

"Start from the beginning," the Rookie requested. There was something here that she was missing, and she needed to know what it was.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

After another few minutes, the girls decided to take a break. They'd been on their feet almost nonstop since they'd left the last site. A small rest would be nice.

"I'm a little worried about Renamon," Kiira said. "She's still not back yet."

"I hope she didn't run into any trouble," Hana whispered. She really cared about her partner, and she would hate for anything to happen to the fox Digimon. "That shadow you saw..." she began, turning to Palmon. "It wasn't very big, was it?"

"No," she replied. "But just because it was small doesn't mean it's not really dangerous. I know Megas that are my size."

The blonde sighed, leaning back against a building. Something wasn't right about this place. It was too quiet.

"Are those humans?" she heard behind her, coming from inside the building.

"Shut up, moron! They'll hear you!" another voice hissed, coming from the same direction. The human stood, earning weird looks from her teammates. She put a finger to her lips as she approached the window.

Swinging the shutters open, she said, "Got you." A few small Digimon fell out onto the ground. They were round and indigo, with long ears.

"It looks like we have a problem," Kiira said. From the looks of these Digimon, they seemed to be Viruses. The group watched as more and more of them poured out the window.

"A big problem," Palmon agreed.

"Name: Pagumon. Classification: Virus. Threat: None."

"Okay, so they're really weak," Yumi said, "but we are seriously outnumbered."

"We can take them out," Labramon said as he and Palmon prepared for battle.

"Wait!"

The five turned as a familiar voice called from a nearby roof. Renamon jumped down, followed by a black and purple cat Digimon. "They aren't our enemy," the Vaccine said.

"Name: BlackGatomon. Classification: Virus. Threat: Medium."

"What are you talking about?" Hana asked, crossing her arms. From everything they had seen, Viruses were the enemy. They were surrounded by said enemy, but Renamon didn't think they were in any danger. What was she thinking?

"BlackGatomon was the Digimon Palmon saw," Renamon explained. "She watches over the Pagumon here."

"So... we're in the domain of a bunch of Viruses?" Yumi asked, earning a nod from BlackGatomon.

"Yes," she said. She looked up at them with a hard expression. "Not all Viruses are as bad as you think we are." Her gaze drifted down to the Pagumon surrounding them. "You should get back inside," she told them.

"Sorry," one said as they all hopped back through the window. The Champion shook her head.

"So, let me get this straight," Hana asked, not completely convinced. "You're telling me that a bunch of Viruses live here, but you aren't trying to hurt anything?" A nod. "But you're Viruses. Everything we've been told taught us that Viruses are bad."

"Not all of us," BlackGatomon repeated. "Some of us didn't come here by choice. We were just pulled in one day. We've been trying to live here in peace until we're able to go home."

"You're a little small to be a protector," Kiira commented.

The Champion looked to the ground. "I'm not the protector. Ours was killed in battle. Protecting the little ones is the best I can do." She looked down the cracked road. "There are so many other Digimon out there on their own. All we want to do is be left alone." She sighed. "But they won't give us that."

"They?" Palmon asked. "Who are 'they'?"

"Vaccines," she replied. "Freelancers, kind of. They think it's their job to get rid of every Virus they find, and that includes us. That's why I was sneaking around earlier, and why I keep the Pagumon inside."

"Haven't you tried to explain what's going on here?" Hana asked.

"We're Viruses, they're Vaccines. As far as they're concerned, everything that comes out of our mouths is a dirty lie," BlackGatomon said bitterly. "Nothing we try to do will convince them that we just want to be left alone."

Renamon looked at her partner. She had a plan, but she wanted to make sure that Hana approved of it. The human nodded, having an idea of what her partner was about to say. "Why don't we stay here until their next arrival? They should listen to us," she suggested. "You will finally be able to live without fear and eventually make it home."

BlackGatomon offered a smile. "Alright," she said. "Thank you very much." She began walking down one of the roads. "Follow me. I know somewhere you can stay for the night."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"Is it just me, or is this place a little creepy?" Palmon asked. They all stood in front of what apparently used to be a hotel before it began breaking down.

Kiira turned to BlackGatomon. "Are you sure it's safe?" she asked.

"Yes," the Champion replied. "It may seem like it's about to fall apart, but I promise you, not even an earthquake could tumble this building."

"Thank you," Hana told her before the group went inside. It didn't take them long to find rooms as it was a small, one-story building. The humans each took separate rooms, but shared with their partners. At the moment, they were meeting in Hana's room.

"We have to help these guys," Yumi said. "Even though they're Viruses, they're completely innocent." She gave the leader a look. "Like someone else we know."

Hana crossed her arms. She should have known it would come back to that eventually. "This isn't the time for that. Maybe she is like these Digimon, but I still don't think it would be a good idea to let her in."

Renamon sighed. Her partner was being far too thick-headed. Steering the conversation, she said, "We have to keep an eye out for these Vaccines that try to attack them," she said.

"How are we supposed to fight them, though?" Kiira asked. "I mean, in the past, it was always, 'destroy the Virus, absorb it in the Digivice'. But we can't just kill other Digimon, right?"

"She's right," Yumi agreed. "What should we do?"

"Give them a warning," Labramon said. "Make sure they know to not come back."

"I'm going to have to agree with Labramon on that one," Hana said. She looked out the window. "Hopefully we'll know when these assholes get here."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

It was only a few hours later when they heard the chaos outside. Not taking the time to go to the entry, the teens and their partners vaulted out the ground floor window. They didn't want to waste a second. They weren't sure what level this enemy was at, but if it could destroy a protector, then it could easily take care of little In-Training Digimon like Pagumon.

Hovering above the same intersection where Renamon had met BlackGatomon were two Digimon that somewhat resembled angels. One was male with six wings and long golden hair, a metal mask covering half his face. The other was female with four wings and hair mostly covered by a long red scarf.

"Name: Angemon. Classification: Vaccine. Threat: Medium."

"Name: Darcmon. Classification: Vaccine. Threat: Medium."

"Hey, you two up there!" Hana yelled up to them. They both looked down.

"It's one of the humans we heard about," Darcmon said. "But what is she doing here?"

"She should be exterminating the Viruses," Angemon said, grip tightening on the golden staff in his hand.

Renamon stepped forward. "Wait," she told them. "This is all a mistake. These Digimon don't want to hurt anyone, all they want is to be left in peace."

"I see they filled your head with their lies," Darcmon said, twirling her own, shorter staff while her other hand reached for the sword at her hip. "We're sorry, but I think we have no choice." She looked to the other Champion. "Angemon?"

"I agree," he said. "I truly am sorry, but the Viruses must be exterminated. If you stand in our way..."

"We'll just have to take you out with them," Darcmon finished. "Dancing Sword!" she yelled, drawing her sword and diving at Kiira.

"Poison Ivy!" Palmon yelled, vines wrapping around Darcmon's wrists and tossing her to the side. "No way I'm letting you hurt my partner."

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon yelled as orange energy gathered in his fist before thrusting it forward and the energy shot toward Hana and Yumi. Renamon and Labramon acted on instinct.

Labramon pushed the humans out of the way before cupping his hands. Renamon jumped into them, pushing off and flipping midair before landing a kick at Angemon's stomach. It may not be much, but it did startle the Champion.

"RetrieverG!" Labramon yelled, firing his attack at Darcmon as she began to back away. No doubt, she was leaving this battle to Angemon and was about to go off and attack more of the Pagumon. The female turned and glared. "Dancing Sword!" she yelled again. Labramon began to dodge but the attack grazed him.

"Poison Ivy!" Palmon called out. She reached for the Champion's sword. If she could get that away, it would be much easier to fight her.

Darcmon noticed the vines coming at her and batted them away with her staff before they could get a good grip. "Why are you fighting us?" she asked. "You're Digi-Destined, you should be helping us fight them."

"That's not a fight, that's just picking on some Digimon weaker than you," Yumi accused.

Renamon, meanwhile, focused her attacks on Angemon. "Diamond Storm!" she yelled, twisting midair to push off from a wall when he retaliated with his own attack. "Listen to me," she began. "You need to understand, not everything is as black and white as you want it to be. There are gray areas. There are Viruses who don't want to hurt anyone." Her eyes narrowed. "And then there are Vaccines like you who get their kicks taking out Digimon who don't want to fight back." She bounced off another wall, heading straight for him. "You disgust me." She landed another solid kick before flipping and landing on her feet.

Hana stared at the Rookie. She had a good point. Math was always black and white, no grays. She didn't like to think about those. Something either was or it wasn't. There were rules, and those rules couldn't be broken our you'd mess everything up. Maybe...

She was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard a loud thud. All three of their partners had been thrown into a nearby wall, causing the whole building to shake.

"We have to do something," Yumi said.

Hana nodded. "Right." The girls opened their Digivices.

The energy flowed from their Digivice to their partner, yellow to Renamon, white to Labramon, and green to Palmon.

"Renamon Digivolve to... Kyubimon!"

"Labramon Digivolve to... Seasarmon!"

"Palmon Digivolve to... Togemon!"

Darcmon shot Angemon a nervous look. Two Champions against three Rookies didn't seem too bad, but right now, she really didn't like their odds. But the other angel Digimon seemed unwilling to back down. "Even though you Digivolved, we still can't let this go on." He shook his head. "We have to make you understand, and if the only way to do that is through battle, then so be it." He raised his fist. "Hand of Fate!"

Togemon raised her owns fists, holding them together as they absorbed the majority of the blow. "Needle Spray!" she retaliated as the others ducked and dodged out of the way.

"Sun's Courage!" Seasarmon yelled, aiming for Darcmon. The arrows hit her, forcing her to the ground. She glared as she slowly stood and was about to raise her sword when Kyubimon appeared right in front of her. She hadn't even seen the fox move.

"I wouldn't," Kyubimon suggested, nodding at the sword. Darcmon saw that faint glow appearing on the ends of her opponent's tails. She gulped and set down her sword. Her eyes drifted up to Angemon. Maybe fighting these Digimon wasn't such a good idea.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon yelled, aiming at Seasarmon, away from Togemon. She could block his attack so he would have to go after the weaker link. Seasarmon jumped, but as had happened with Darcmon's attack as Labramon, it grazed him.

"Come on," he said. "The kids are right. These Digimon aren't going to hurt anyone. Hell, most of them can't hurt anyone!"

Darcmon looked around. Peeking through the windows were a few Pagumon. They looked... scared. These Digi-Destined were planting seeds of doubt, and seeing these poor In-Training Digimon only added to it. Though Angemon, she knew, would be harder to convince.

"Hand of Fate!" the Champion in question yelled, this time aiming at Hana. These other Digimon were always dodging his attacks, but he knew one of them would surely get in between his attack and the girl, allowing for a direct hit.

He was stunned, however, to see a black shape run out from a building and jump, taking the blow head on. The figure was knocked to the ground and went rolling several feet. Silence seemed to fall over them as they all looked.

BlackGatomon lay on her side, badly hurt by the attack and impact with the ground. Yumi, being the closest to her, ran over and kneeled down, resting the small Champion's head in her lap. She looked up at Angemon. "Is this what a normal Virus would do?" she asked. "The kinds of Viruses that we're both fighting, the ones that are trying to hurt this place and other Digimon... Would they risk their own life to protect someone else's?"

Angemon was speechless. This was going against everything he'd ever thought. Viruses that wanted peace... It was a mind-blowing concept.

Darcmon took the moment to take to the air and hover by her friend's side. She put a hand on his arm. "We were wrong, Angemon," she said softly. She turned to the girls and their partners. "I'm sorry. We both are."

"If there's anything we can—" Angemon began.

"You've done enough," Kyubimon said icily before turning her back on them and she and the others brought BlackGatomon inside.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

She was in bad shape, but they'd done the best they could. One Pagumon had led Kiira to what appeared to be an old pharmacy to get some bandages. They bandaged the Champion and stayed with her until she awoke.

"You okay?" Yumi asked softly as yellow eyes slowly opened.

"The... The Pagumon?" BlackGatomon asked.

Renamon gave a small smile. "All safe," she assured her. "Angemon and Darcmon left. I believe they are gone from this place for good. They understand now." She gave her partner a sidelong glance. As do you, I hope.

"I could never thank you enough," BlackGatomon told them.

"I think you did, taking that hit for me," Hana told her. "That was really brave."

"I couldn't stand by and do nothing," she replied. "You are the ones that are supposed to free us from the Virus looming over us. You are the ones who can save us all."

Palmon smiled. "We're just glad you're safe."

Next time:
Kiira: What is this freaky place?
Yumi: It looks like some kind of castle...
Labramon: I've got a bad feeling about it.
Palmon: If
you've got a bad feeling...
Miyuki: Need some help?

Despite how short it is (I know, not really, but I prefer to break 4,000 words per chapter) and how little time I wrote it in (you can probably tell by the time it's posted that this is very last minute), I like the way this turned out. And to those of you who have followed my stories, especially Digimon Academy and its sequel, you're probably surprised I let BlackGatomon live. Trust me, me too. But it's too early for people to start dying left and right! Though I don't think this one will have as much as Academy did. Anyway, that's all I've got for you this time.

See ya on the flipside~ Elisa out~