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"Okay. So... Here's the situation, put as bluntly as I can," Goma sighed, rubbing his face, "We're completely, totally f--"

"Goma! Language!" Gato chided, annoyed.

"...Gato, Sala's not even in the room, and I think the situation merits some vulgarity," Goma retorted, glaring at the feline.

"Oops. Sorry. Habit," Gato winced.

"How about elaborating on what the situation actually is, rather than squabbling like we usually do?" Agu asked, resting his chin on his hand.

"I thought squabbling over minutiae was our standard operating procedure around here," Gazi added, grinning.

"Will all of you shut up? Our lifespans are currently measured in hours, if not minutes," Goma growled, bringing everyone to silence. He sighed and tapped some keys on his keyboard.

"The virus has adapted. By getting a sample of our X-Antibody, it's mutated to be able to infect us. Gato, BlackGato, Gabu, Gazi, and Sala were infected with the new strain, and since it's airborne, by now we're ALL infected," Goma explained, as he displayed graphics above him of the virus infecting cells.

"I'm sorry, Goma, it--" Gato began, looking ashamed.

"Wasn't your fault," Goma interjected, "and what happened in the Hive actually turned out for the best anyway."

"...Um... how so? The way you were just speaking, you made it sound like we're gonna go full cock-zombie any second. And you never go full cock-zombie," Guil asked, tapping his claws against the table.

"Gato left her Brand's scanning function on the entire time. She got tons of data. Mountains of it. And tons of scans of that brain-pillar-thing. BlackGato's theory was right, they're all connected to each other in a single network," Goma explained, showing footage from Gato's scans. The Defenders who had stayed behind from the scouting mission recoiled in horror at the sights.

"In getting those scans, Gato gave us what we needed to cure this disease," Goma explained, "The pure-strain. The original strain. The one that originally infected whoever Patient Zero was. It's in that Pillar. And Gato got a full scan of its genetic code, every last one and zero."

"With it, we can fashion an antiviral," BlackGato said, rapidly typing away at a keyboard of her own, "Thankfully, Devidramon gave me a full hypnotic subliminal education in biology and hacking, and I'm working on that now."

"...Is there anything you don't know?" Pal asked, staring at the black-furred feline.

"I don't know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop," BlackGato replied, not lifting her eyes from her data.

"Wow. An actual JOKE from BlackGato. Maybe things aren't as bleak as it seems after all. So, what? We take this vaccine..." Gabu remarked.

"Not a vaccine. Antiviral. Vaccines are preventative, antivirals are cures," BlackGato interjected, apparently too busy to speak in anything more than short, curt phrases.

"...Okay, ANTIVIRAL... So we take it, use it on the Infected, cure the world, and everything is hunky-dory?" Agu asked.

"Nope. We're still utterly boned," Goma said, sighing, "And that's why I'm not celebrating. The antiviral needs to be delivered straight into the main network node. The Brain Pillar."

"...Oooohhh...." Gato said, wincing, "...Yeah, we're screwed. The Infected aren't gonna let us anywhere near it ever again. Not unless we're Infected too. And it knows how to detect X-Antibody Digimon now. We're not invisible."

"...Yeah, I don't think we'll be able to operate a hypospray once our IQ drops to less than a doorknob..." Gazi said, sighing.

"Which is why we're going to attack now," Goma said, standing up from the table. He was so short that this gesture did not make much of a difference.

"It's our only option at this point. We're gonna charge the hive pre-emptively. All of us," Goma continued, resting his palms on the table and leaning forward, "We have a map of... well... at least enough of the Hive to chart a path straight to the Brain. And our X-Antibody forms are more powerful than our normal forms. We have a good chance."

"...Correct me if I'm wrong, but... uh... didn't you say something about Defenders not having a policy of doing suicide missions?" Gazi asked, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Normally, yes, but considering this is literally the apocalypse and our absolute last resort, I think we can suspend that policy," Gabu sighed.

"I'll have enough hyposprays for everyone within one hour. I suggest everyone prepares weaponry and gets ready to go, so we can begin as soon as they are ready," BlackGato said, her paws blurring on the keyboard, the rapid tapping of keys filling the air.

"...Yeah, not sure that's gonna be much to speak of. All the armories are still gunked up. Admittedly, the thought of walking into the hive with body armor and pulse rifles is a nice one..." Guil grumbled.

"But one we'll have to do without. Besides, I don't think any of our nonlethal gear is enough to take down an Infected. They don't exactly feel pain the way we do, and knocking 'em out is way harder than you'd think," Gato explained, sighing, "...I'm gonna go check on Sala. I think I'll just let her sleep."

"You're not gonna explain what's going on?" Guil asked, his eyes going wide, "...I mean, we need all the bodies we can get on this one."

"...I can't do it to her, Guil. She was brave once in getting us out of there, but the nightmares she's gonna have for years after... I can't make her go in there again," Gato said, wiping a tear from her eyes, "...So I'm going to let her sleep. If everything turns out okay, she'll wake up and the world will be back to normal..."

"...And if it doesn't?" Guil asked softly.

"...She'll never know one way or another, and we'll be together in the Hive," Gato said, shrugging as she walked away. Guil watched her go, unable to avoid thoughts of Rena, who was somewhere lost in the Hive herself. He sighed deeply and went to try to at least get a taser functional before the attack.

*******

"You okay, Gato?" Pal asked, walking into the room. Gato looked up from gently petting Sala's head as she slumbered.

"I'm... tired. The six hours of sleep I got when I collapsed after getting back wasn't near enough," Gato whispered, standing up and ushering Pal into the next room. Pal brushed her cape of leaves back, following her.

"It's a bit more'n that, girl. I know ya. An' you're buried deep in your own head," Pal said, as Gato went to a coffee machine and served herself a cup, "...An' I can tell that, because you just poured soy milk into your coffee... And you also hate coffee."

"Ack! PBBT!!! Gah! Gross!" Gato spluttered, having just taken a sip. Pal snickered and grabbed some paper towels to clean up for Gato.

"I'm just... I'm scared, Pal," Gato admitted after a moment, sighing as she poured her drink down the drain, "And I don't like being scared. And I don't like worrying about the future... or even if I'll have a future."

"Defenders crisis management 101: Everythin' one step at a time. Don't worry about more than the next ten seconds," Pal reminded her.

"...Yeah. It's just hard to do that right now," Gato admitted, glancing over her shoulder at Pal. She brushed one of her long pink petals out of her face, her green eyes regarding Gato. Gato was struck by how pretty she was, a sudden rush of affection flowing through her. She realized it almost felt like she was seeing Pal for the last time.

"Uh-uh. You don't start doin' that," Pal said, her patient, kind expression turning dark.

"D-Doing what? I didn't do anything!" Gato exclaimed, blinking in surprise.

"You were sayin' goodbye to me in your head. Gato, I'm a great negotiator and diplomat because I can read people like books. An' if you were a book, girl, ya'd be 'See Spot Run,'" Pal growled, crossing her arms over her dark green nipples, making her golden leaf medallion chime softly.

"Wait, did you just call me stupid?" Gato blinked.

"No, I called you simple. Subtle difference," Pal retorted, "You're a terrible liar 'cuz everythin' shows on yer face. An' while you ain't ever been anythin' I'd call an optimist, you've never given up either. What I just saw was you givin' up."

"I'm... I'm not giving up!" Gato exclaimed, frowning deeply as she looked at her friend, feeling anger growing in her chest.

"Then why aren't ya tellin' Sala? Why are ya just sittin' here like a useless lump, rather'n' doin' what the others are doin', and getting ready to kick names and take ass?" Pal growled.

"...I don't think... that's what the phrase is, Pal," Gato said, trying to parse that last sentence.

"Shut up. You don't get to give up," Pal snarled, getting nose to nose with Gato, enunciating every word so carefully that her usual accent vanished, "You don't get to give up, because then I know there's no hope. And if there's no hope, then we might as well give up right now, go and throw ourselves to the Hive."

"I-I..." Gato stammered, quailing from the intensity of Pal's glare.

"You're my role model, Gato. I'm a jokey pervert who babbles on about inane crap. That's who I am. But everything I learned about being a hero, I learned from you," Pal said softly, still speaking very carefully. Gato was silent, blinking as she saw the tears in Pal's eyes.

"...And if you care about me... or Sala... or BlackGato... or anyone... we need you to be the one to give us hope," Pal finished after a moment.

"...okay..." Gato croaked, her voice going hoarse despite herself as she felt tears in the corners of her own eyes. She swallowed and took a deep breath before repeating, in a stronger voice, "...Okay."

"...Can I go back ta bein' the jokey perv now?" Pal asked, her voice quavering.

"Yes, I think you can," Gato said, and both girls laughed and embraced each other. There was nothing sexual about the hug for once. Gato wrapped her arms around Pal and kissed her cheek. Each tried to say things they could not find the words for through their touch.

"...I'll wake up Sala, and we'll get ready," Gato said as they parted.

"Yeah. Good. I'll go help out Goma with plannin', I suppose," Pal agreed.

"Pal, you're my best friend and my hero too," Gato said sincerely as the other girl turned to leave. Pal paused in the doorway and looked over her shoulder, her eyes watery.

"...I ain't done nothin' to be yer hero, but... thanks..." Pal said, walking out.

"...You're totally wrong about that," Gato disagreed to the empty room, before turning to go wake up Sala.

******

"That power pack goes in the other way around," Gato said, as Sala tried to push a glowing battery into a hazard suit's power port. The hazard suits were customizable environmental protection suits of the same sort that might be used in hazardous situations in the human world. But unlike human suits, Digimon came in all shapes and sizes, necessitating that they be able to be quickly fitted to any body. As such, the suits were slotted into the wall as a basic template that when activated would form itself to the user's body.

"Ack. Sorry," Sala grumbled, fumbling with the pack and flipping it around until it slid into the slot smoothly, "...Aren't these suits like... useless? I mean, Impmon was wearing one when he got infected..."

"Well... yeah, because it got ripped," Gato admitted as she checked the suits for tears, "But we're already infected, Sala. In this case, we're just gonna use them to put another layer between us and the Infected. At least they'll hafta tear 'em off our bodies before they can do anything with us, which gives us time to fight 'em off or escape."

"Ah. Guess that sorta makes sense," Sala said, fitting another pack into another suit. There was a minute of silence as the two worked, before Sala said, "...Gato, I wanna ask something, but..."

She was interrupted by a piercing, blaring siren echoing through the base. The lights flickered, then went out. A moment later, crimson lights came on, flooding the room with a bloody glare. Screeches and snarls and howls echoed down the halls, as gunfire and electrical crackles sounded.

"Gato?" Sala squeaked, her eyes wide in fear.

"...It's okay. Get into a suit," Gato said, tapping her Brand and opening a communication channel.

"Goma? What's going on?" Gato asked.

"We're under attack. The Infected are massing outside the base. They've already breached. The autocannons and internal defenses are blasting 'em with nonlethal ammo, but there's too many," Goma said, his voice strained, "...We've gotta go. Now."

"The suits are ready. Get down and get geared up," Gato replied, "Everyone, you hear that?"

A series of acknowledgements from the other Defenders sounded over the comms, but Gato had already stopped paying attention. She turned to face Sala as the little girl stepped forward. The white hazard suit obscured everything but her eyes from view under thick plastic. It wasn't quite form-fitting; instead it was baggy, to allow room to move and to create a pressurized environment. A pair of filters sat where the mouth would be, and she wore a small oxygen tank on her back.

"You okay in there?" Gato asked.

"Um... my thingies are really, really cramped..." Sala replied, wincing.

"Just bear with it. One way or another, you won't be wearing that for long," Gato said, stepping into the template next to her.

******

Goma's claws were a blur on the defense controls as he programmed turrets, rerouted power to taser fields, and fired immobilizing foam and glue at as many of the Infected as he could. It was a losing battle. For every one he took down, ten more got past him. The base defenses just weren't meant to deal with these kinds of numbers.

"Dammit, I feel like I'm in that one part of the Matrix Revolutions..." Goma muttered as he aimed another autoturret, sending a barrage of rubber bullets streaking out with unerring accuracy at a bunch of Infected. Each struck with pinpoint precision, directly in the center of the forehead or at the temple for knockout blows. It wasn't enough.

"The hyposprays are ready," BlackGato reported, coming up in a hazard suit of her own, carrying a tray. The other Defenders each took one, hooking it to a utility belt on the suit.

"Remember, the mission is to get to the Pillar and inject that. Nothing else matters. Keep running, even if anyone goes down," Goma called over his shoulder.

"Aren't you gonna suit up, Goma?" Sala asked, blinking.

"...No. If I step away from these controls, we'll be swarmed in seconds, rather than the minutes I'm buying us," Goma said, not looking up from his work, "...And someone needs to cover your escape from the base."

"Wait, what? You're gonna sacrifice yourself?!" Gazi growled angrily.

"It's not a sacrifice if I trust that one of you is gonna succeed. It's a gamble," Goma replied, "Besides. Look at me! I'm gonna slow you guys down. Unless the Pillar is at the bottom of a lake, I serve you guys better here, buying you time. Now go!!!"

"...Goma, we'll see you afterwards," Gato said, glancing at Pal, who nodded in agreement.

"...Yeah, I look forward to the party. Get outta here!" he called.

The Defenders ran out of the room, leaving Goma alone. It was like playing a game of whack-a-mole that was just too fast to keep up with. Goma locked down as many hallways as he could, firing every trap, every gun, every defense he could think of to slow the horde. It wasn't enough. Goma wiped sweat from his forehead, watching the monitors as the suited Defenders left the escape hatch and ran down the hill at the back of the base, into the woods.

He suddenly heard snarling from behind him. Quickly setting the defenses to autofire as long as the generators ran, he turned to see twenty Infected entering the room. He had neglected to lock down the control room in his haste to work all the other defenses.

"....Damn," Goma sighed heavily, "...And too bad there's not a sink in here. It wouldn't do much, but Marching Fishes might have annoyed you for a few more seconds..."

The Infected roared and pounced. Goma's world vanished into a scramble of soul-rending ecstasy and pain beyond imagining...

******

"Crap, crap, crap, crappity crap!!!" Agu cursed as he sprinted down the street, his feet pounding the pavement beside the other Defenders. The road was the fastest way to the forest and the cave.

"If you... have breath to curse... save it... for running!" Gazi huffed, trying to adjust his suit a little to make it easier.

"Why couldn't they design these with more room in the crotch?" Guil complained, his raptor-like claws clacking on the ground as he winced through his visor.

"Don't think they had our particular endowments in mind. Focus on the mission, not your groin," Gabu replied, grabbing Agu's hand and squeezing it for a moment.

"Believe me, for once I ain't thinking about sex!" Pal panted, doing her best to keep up. The hazard suits did not make running any faster.

The eight remaining Defenders could already hear the rumbling of the horde behind them, feel the vibrations in the concrete of their pounding feet. They knew they could not outrun the Infected like this. Gato pivoted and turned right off the road, straight into the forest. If they could not outrun them, they could hide and move through the trees.

The plan almost worked.

As the Defenders ran into the underbrush, a black-soaked figure slammed into Pal, knocking her clean off her feet. She tumbled into a tree, gasping and grunting as claws raked across the visor of her hazard suit.

"Oh, no, PAL!!!" Gato yelped, skidding to a halt and making to run to her friend. A Monodramon hissed at her, hissing as it drove its purple-scaled hips against her, splashing her suit with black spunk.

"I'm okay! Just gimme a sec to take care o' this... freak!!!" Pal growled, wincing as its claws ripped open her suit as it tried to get to her. She delivered punches as hard as she could, growling as she drove it back. It whipped its bat-like wing at her face, using it like a blade. The wing struck her head, ripping the mask right off, exposing her head and the large tri-colored petals of her blossom.

"PARALYSIS SPORE!!!" she shouted, sending a wave of green powder floating from the flower. The dragon snarled as it continued to try to tear at her suit, cutting rends into the chest, tearing open the groin and exposing Pal's erections.

Then suddenly, it keeled over onto its side, twitching. All of its muscles were locked tight, unable to move at all.

"Pal! You okay?" Gato asked. Pal nodded and spat on the ground, coughing.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Stupid thing tore up my suit, and spurted in my mouth. Yeeuck!" Pal complained, still spitting, "Ugh. That spunk tastes na-... nuh... nuhhhh..."

"P-Pal?" Gato asked, frowning. The plantgirl had begun to shake from head to toe. Her penises spurted thick ropes of green fluid onto the ground, jumping and jerking more and more violently.

"Oh, no... C'mon, Pal... don't do this..." Gato pleaded.

To her horror, Pal emitted an ear-piercing shriek. The plantgirl turned to face her, as her black eyes quickly turned to a shade of blood-like crimson. The back of the tatters of her hazard suit exploded outward into further shreds as four penis-tipped tentacles erupted from her shoulder blades, already spraying copious amounts of black liquid. The semen bursting from her trio of erections darkened and thickened, resembling tar more and more.

"What the--" Agu gasped.

"She's Infected! The virus must've mutated again. Avoid all contact with the Infected!!!" BlackGato shouted.

"Palllll..." moaned Gato, tears running down her face at the state of her friend, even as the plantgirl shrieked again and charged at her.

"BLUE BLASTER!!!" a voice shouted from beside her, and a stream of icy white-blue flames struck Pal, driving her back. Frost crackled as Gabu marched forward, having taken off the suit's mask. He kept the pressure on until Pal was coated in a sheen of ice, pinned to a tree trunk.

"That won't hold her for more than a second. C'mon, Gato, we can save her by ending this!" Agu said, grabbing Gato's hand and dragging her away from Pal. Gato closed her eyes and let Agu lead her away, listening to Pal's screeches and snarls of rage fade away behind her.

"How the hell are we supposed to get to the Pillar if we can turn zombie instantly now?!" Guil asked, panting as he sprinted.

"....We can't. Not without sacrifice. Some of us are gonna have to distract the horde for the rest of us to make it to the Pillar," BlackGato said grimly.

"Let's just go... We're running out of time, and they're catching up..." Gato growled, trying to put Pal's face as she transformed out of her head. The flower had looked so scared. She stared at Gato as if she were pleading... pleading to give her hope for something other than her fate.

Gato grit her teeth, determined to do exactly that.

*******

The race to the Hive was a hectic scramble for life the entire way. The horde of Infected nipped at their heels (in some cases literally) the entire way, as the seven remaining Defenders sprinted mile after mile, only stopping for brief moments to catch their breath.

More ambushes came out of the forest, stragglers, wandering Infected that hadn't joined the horde. While none of the Defenders fell, there were close calls. Gazi had his suit torn clean off of him completely by an Infected Betamon. This effectively doomed him, even if he escaped initial infection. There was no way he could even approach the Hive without instantly transforming.

He still soldiered on, despite this, looking like a ferocious sabretooth tiger more than the cat-rabbit he was. He carried Sala on his back, protecting her and helping her keep pace with the older, faster Defenders.

Agu, Gabu, and Guil, the only ones left with ranged attacks, removed their masks and carried them, spitting orange and red fireballs and blue-white sprays of ice-fire behind them, doing everything in their power to hold back the horde and keep them at bay until they reached the Hive.

Gato and BlackGato helped in their own way by using their Lightning Claws to fell trees in their path, dropping the massive logs as something the Infected would have to climb over to get to them. It would only slow them down by seconds, but every bit helped.

When the cave entrance appeared ahead, Gazi tossed Sala to Gato and stopped, actually skidding backward several feet. He bared his claws, which sparked with electricity.

"Gazi!" Gato called, gasping.

"GO! I ain't gonna hold 'em for more than half a sec, but I'll do my damndest!" Gazi snarled.

"He can't come with us, Gato, move!" BlackGato reminded her. The white furred feline nodded and shifted Sala in her arms as she sprinted into the cave after the other Defenders. She heard Gazi shout his attack name once behind her... but then his voice was drowned out by snarls.

"Three down and we only just got to the Hive. Our odds aren't looking good..." Gabu panted.

"Don't say it, don't think it, just RUN and blast anyone in our way!" Agu snarled, "PEPPER BREATH!!! PHWAH!!!"

He reared back, spitting a large fireball straight at an Infected that charged out of an opening in the side of the tunnel. It struck with a small explosion, sending the Infected flying backward and filling the tunnel with billowing black smoke.

"Was that Armadillo you just blasted?!" Guil yelped.

"AGAIN, I'll apologize later! RUN!" Agu snarled, giving Guil a shove from behind to get him back to sprinting.

The tunnels were even more nightmarish than the run to the Hive. The Infected swarmed out of every nook and cranny. They attacked from all directions; running down the tunnels towards them, attacking from behind, appearing out of side tunnels. Gato winced and mumbled an apology to Sala. As they went deeper and deeper, the Defenders were forced to fight more and more fiercely. Despite her promise to the child, Gato was forced to fire off lethal attacks to drive back the swarm of Infected.

"G-Gato!" Sala squeaked, lashing out from riding piggyback on Gato's shoulders. Her foot slammed into an Infected's chin, knocking it back.

"I can't hold back, Sala. It's them or the world..." Gato growled, firing off a Lightning Claw that scattered a dozen bodies away from her, "If we don't make it, then there's no one else to save everyone..."

"I... understand..." Sala whimpered, whipping her paw in a lightning-fast chop against a Gotsumon's temple, dropping the rocky Digimon at Gato's feet.

"I'm sorry..." Gato hissed through gritted teeth, as Agu was forced to immolate a group of Infected before they reached him. She wasn't sure who she was apologizing to; Sala for being forced to kill, herself for breaking her promise, or to the Infected for being forced to end their lives when a chance existed to save them. Maybe she was apologizing to all of them at the same time.

"RENA!" gasped Guil, his eyes wide through his suit's visor as he stared off a side tunnel.

"Guil! Don't be stupid! That's not her! Keep running!" Gato yelped as the boy began walking down the path. Sure enough, Gato caught a glimpse of the tall vixen.

Her eyes glowed a malevolent, blank crimson as drool dripped from her muzzle. She was hunched over, her posture that of a mindless beast, not the dignified and controlled martial artist she had once been. The fox's gloves were tattered, torn, and completely soaked through with black goo. The fluffy fur of her chest was matted down with black cum, her breasts on full display. A trio of immense lengths hung from between her legs, splashing the ground with steady streams of ebony cum. Long tentacles lashed from behind the vixen, snaking towards Guil.

"Rena! C'mon! It's me!" begged Guil, panting as he jogged towards her.

"He's lost it, Gato! Leave him!" BlackGato shouted, already sprinting down the tunnel.

"I..." Gato hesitated. BlackGato was right. Guil had gone off the rails, and the right thing to do was to leave him behind. But Guil was her apprentice, and doing so felt wrong.

"Take her! I'll catch up once I nab him!" Gato shouted, plucking Sala off her shoulders and tossing her to BlackGato. The black-furred feline gave a loud snarl of frustration and dashed away, carrying the puppy.

"Guil! Get back here, you idiot!" Gato shouted, turning her attention back to the lizard.

"Rena... Oh! I know. You can't see me through this stupid face-mask!" Guil chuckled, pulling his helmet off and exposing his handsome face. He completely ignored Gato's frantic shouting.

Rena responded by jamming one of her tentacles down his throat. Guil yelped and gagged as the fox grabbed him and pinned him down. Black fluid leaked out of the corners of his muzzle, and splattered his face as she tore at his suit, ripping the white plastic and exposing his red scales.

Gato began running as soon as she heard Guil give an ear-piercing shriek, not waiting around to see what happened next.

Sure enough, she soon saw Guil among the throng behind her, his eyes turned blank red, his claws scratching the ground as he roared and hissed. His penises throbbed, spitting black liquid as newly grown tentacles swayed behind him.

"LIGHTNING CLAW!!!" Gato's own voice shouted as a pair of purple-gloved claws slashed violently, sending the Infected back away from Gato.

"I told you to run, you moron!" BlackGato snarled, "and you chose to sit and watch!"

"Says the hypocrite who came back for me!" Gato retorted angrily, rushing to keep up as they sprinted down the winding corridors in a blur of white and black. They could see hints of orange flame and the blue flare of ice-fire as they caught up with Agu and Gabu.

"I didn't come back for you! I came back for Sala!" BlackGato growled, "I handed her off to Agu after she wouldn't stop pestering me to come back for you!"

"Sure, but your inner thoughts say otherwise," Gato replied, panting for breath as she checked the map of the Hive on her Brand.

"PLEAAASE tell me we're getting close? I'm runnin' outta fire here," Agu huffed loudly, coughing up a billowing cloud of smoke, "I've only got about six or seven more rounds of Pepper Breath left in me."

"We're five minutes away," Gato replied, "Just hang in there a little longer."

"We'll try, but... I'm on my last legs too," Gabu grunted, shaking his head despondently, "...And we haven't even seen what kinda defenses are around the Pillar itself."

As the remaining Defenders burst out of the corridor as if they were fired from the barrel of a gun, sprinting ahead at full abandon, the answer to Gabu's worry became apparent.

It was clear that only a fraction of File Island's population was giving chase. The majority of them were gathered around the Pillar. It was a sea of red eyes, snarling bared teeth, tentacles, cocks, and writhing bodies. Gato couldn't even estimate how many there were, and ignored her Brand as it beeped for her attention to give the answer.

"There's too many..." Gabu gasped, his jaw hung low in shock as he stopped running, shaking his head.

"Gabu, get your fur-coat-wearing butt MOVING!!!" Gato snarled over her shoulder at him. The wolf blinked, seeing Agu continuing to charge right beside the two felines and Sala, and made to catch up.

"What's the plan, Gato?" Agu asked, glancing over at her.

"Fire everything you got, full power, and then every 'mon' for themselves. We've got nothing left but to hope ONE of us can make it. Do whatever it takes!" Gato growled.

"I'm scared..." Sala whimpered, riding BlackGato's back.

"Me too. But if you can get to the Pillar, Sala, you know what to do. We'll go together," BlackGato said, baring her claws as she charged forward.

The Infected struck like a tidal surge, rushing forward in a wave of bodies. Agu and Gabu did as they were told, unleashing the last of their ice and fire attacks, freezing or incinerating a sparse handful of the monstrous Digimon. It wasn't near enough to even hold them back for a single step. Gato lost sight of the dinosaur and wolf almost instantly, as they simply vanished in the surge of bodies.

Gato and BlackGato did the only thing they could. They leapt as high and as far as they could. Kicking off the ground with as much force as they could, they soared high into the air, over the swarm. Gato reached out, nabbing onto a stalactite, using her claws to secure herself. Nearby, she heard BlackGato grunt as she did the same, and Sala squeak in fear. She was happy that the ceiling seemed to be one of the few places not completely coated in an inches-thick layer of the Infected's gunk, allowing her to cling to the bare rock more easily.

"Aguuuu! Gabuuuu!!!" Sala squealed, tears running down her fuzzy cheeks under her facemask.

"They're gone. Hang on tight. We have to make more jumps," BlackGato said flatly, narrowing her eyes in concentration. Gato realized she was right. There were enough stalactites that if they moved carefully, they could make it to the Pillar. It would not be easy; the stalactites were damp with condensation, and spaced far apart.

Gato made the first leap, planting her feet firmly against the stone spire, and pushing off of it at the same moment she let go with her hands. For a breathless moment, all Gato felt was the rush of warm wind over her fur as she flew through the air. She stretched out her arms, happy for the first time that her claws had become so ridiculously long. She struck the next stalactite with a solid impact, digging her claws into the stone to secure herself as she panted for breath.

"This is gonna suck," Gato called, even as she glanced out of the corner of her eye to see BlackGato grab another spire nearby.

"Faster, faster, faster!" BlackGato shouted in response. Gato glanced down and immediately saw why.

Many Digimon, like many animals, were gifted with the ability to swim underwater, climb trees, or with preternatural agility to get around. And many of them could fly. Some with wings, others with some form of levitation or another. And much to Gato's eternal chagrin, Infection had not robbed these Digimon of their gifts.

Out of the swarm below, thousands took flight, flapping wings, propelling themselves with jets of flame, or just simply defying gravity. Gato immediately broke one of her own rules of conduct and let out a stream of the most vile invective she could imagine, before leaping to the next stalactite.

The next few minutes, Gato could never really remember clearly, as they were a blur of frantic leaping, evading swooping Digimon, occasionally using an Infected as a stepping stone for her next leap closer to the pillar... or worst of all, occasionally having to kill one to get through it.

The next thing she did remember clearly, was Sala's scream of fear.

Gato had just landed from her latest jump. She was so close... She had already mapped out a path in her head, and she was three jumps away. Three more leaps, she'd be at the Pillar. She'd grab the hypospray from her belt and inject the Brain and it would all be over. She was already tensing to make the next leap, ignoring the aches and pains screaming through her chest, arms, and legs from the repeated abuse.

Then she heard a grunt of pain and Sala's scream. She turned her head fast enough to tweak her neck, sending pain shooting down her right side.

She had turned just in time to see BlackGato slam headfirst into a Hawkmon. Whether or not it was the Defender's Hawkmon, she wasn't able to tell, as she saw it so briefly. The impact stunned the beast and sent it plummeting towards the ground. But it also interrupted BlackGato's leap, killing her momentum.

"Nononono!!!" Gato screamed herself, watching her sister and Sala fall towards the swarm below.

"GO!!!" BlackGato shouted, locking eyes with Gato for the briefest moment before vanishing into the sea of bodies below.

"GATOOOOOOO!" Sala cried, before being drowned out by the snarls and shrieks of the Infected.

For a second, Gato entertained the insane thought of leaping after them, of fighting off the horde and protecting the child. But it was only a fleeting fancy, as she could no longer see either of them; just an endless, snarling ocean of mindless monsters.

Gato did the only thing she could. She focused on the mission. She tensed and leapt, tucking her legs and flipping over a Cherubmon that tried to block her path. Two stalactites left.

The next leap required her to kick off the face of a Crowmon, bending its beak, flip off the roof of the cavern, springboard off a FanBeemon's back, and land on the next stalactite. She made it, clinging on and already shimmying to the side to prepare herself for the next jump.

The moment she leapt, she knew something was wrong. Something tugged at her leg and turned her leap into a violent swing. She gasped as she saw that the FanBeemon had wrapped a tentacle around her ankle. She slashed at it on instinct, severing the tendril... but leaving her with nothing but a fifty foot drop ahead of her.

Gato did the only thing she could think. She plucked her Holy Ring off her shoulders and braced her feet on the inside. She hit the ground with a loud clang, and a jolt that shocked up her chest and back, stunning her. But she was uninjured, the Ring taking the worst of the impact for her.

She lay on her back for a moment, trying to regain her thoughts and get back to her feet, when she suddenly found herself looking into a distorted mirror.

It was BlackGato. The only trace of her hazard suit were a few shreds of plastic hanging off of her neck. Her eyes, normally the same deep, soothing green of a pine forest, had become a malevolent red. Her lips were drawn back in a snarl, foaming at the corners of her muzzle. Her pink nipples were hard, poking out from her jet black fur, which was matted down with even blacker fluid. The tar-like substance coated her body. Worse, it was spurting liberally from her three tips, spouting onto Gato's hazard suit. And even worse, it jetted from four tentacles that now sprouted from the feline's back.

"No! BG..." Gato gasped, even as she attempted to scramble to her feet. She was ready to run, ready to escape.

BlackGato beat her to it. A second impact, even harder than the jolt from her Holy Ring hitting the stone, knocked Gato senseless again and sent her sprawling on her front.

She came to, hearing her own voice growling and screeching in her ear, and a weight on her back. BlackGato had her pinned to the floor, one arm pinioned behind her back, the other tucked under her painfully.

"No! BG, don't... please, it's me!" Gato gasped as the red-eyed, black-furred cat snarled at her, shoving her down. Gato gasped as she looked up. She was mere feet from the base of the Pillar, but she could not move! She could not reach the hypospray on her belt, much less actually make it to the Pillar itself.

"BG! BlackGato, fight it!!!" Gato begged, struggling with her sister. The other feline was equal to her strength, and had her pinned without any way to find leverage to escape.

"Agu! Gabu! Gazi! ANYONE!" Gato screamed, tears streaming down her face as she was surrounded by more and more snarling, sneering, screeching figures.

"SALA!!!" she screamed, looking for something, anything, any sign of hope.

And then she saw her. Sala stood on the other side of the crowd pinning her down, approaching the Pillar. Gato gasped, scrabbling at the ground, desperate to get to the puppy, to help her do the job..

"SALA! DO IT!!!" Gato screamed. And then the crowd parted just enough for Gato to see her.

The little puppy's suit was torn to shreds. Black fluid coated her fur in messy splotches, dripping from her nipples and running down her back. Swollen, dripping penis-tipped tentacles sprouted from her bare shoulder blades. Her trio of six-inch lengths pulsed and jerked, sending sprays of black liquid flying. Worst of all, were Sala's eyes, which were pure crimson, no pupils. Her lips drew back and she screeched at the ceiling, her voice echoing through the chamber.

Gato's heart broke at the exact moment that she felt her suit tear open, and something hot, firm and throbbing shoved deep into both of her holes. She felt a hot, thick rush of fluid fill her womb... and then she knew nothing more.

******

If the Virus were capable of emotion or sentient thought, it would have been proud of itself. With Gato's Infection, its work was done. It could detect not a single uninfected Digimon in the entire Digital World. If there were any left, they were lost in the human internet (which probably was not faring well with the imminent collapse of the Digital World), in the Human World (which would fall soon enough), or still hidden in bunkers too deep to detect. If that final group even existed, they would be found and assimilated when their supplies ran out.

It was time to complete its programming. The Brain pulsated as it reached out, feeling through the network for its kin, the other Brain Pillars in the other hives around the world. Soon, all of the Infected would be united permanently.

The Gato-Drone snarled and stalked away from the Pillar, growling as she hunched over and staggered out of the crowd. She and her kind would not be allowed near the Pillar until the network was compete and irrevocable. They were still threats. The Gato-Drone complied, for she had no choice, no mind, no individuality, joining the Gazi-Drone and the Agu-Drone and the Pal-Drone and all of the others.

The Gato-Drone growled, her body hunched over with tension. Her twin-tails flicked as she humped the air needily, her penises spouting off as they pulsed repeatedly. She did not have to wait long for the BlackGato-Drone to come and fulfill her needs. With the Hivemind occupied with the task of reaching out to build the worldwide network, the Drones were free to do as they pleased. And whatever they pleased was simple and primal.

The Gato-Drone yowled in ecstasy as the BlackGato-Drone plunged two of her penises inside her. The white-furred feline's newly-grown tentacles lashed about violently as the black cat began to pump her hips. They experienced the intercourse through each other's bodies as well as their own, and as well as the billions of other Digimon around the world.

Even as the Gato-Drone ejaculated powerfully onto the floor, splattering more black semen onto the layers of gunk that were already there, she was also a Pucchiemon in the Server Continent, howling in ecstasy as she soaked herself, driving her penises into a Cutemon. A Gaomon on the Folder Continent, frantically masturbating as it slurped loudly at a Boogeymon's penises was also Gato, feeling her inner walls clench and spasm around BlackGato.

It was a Communion in the dictionary definition: a sharing of intimate feelings on a fundamental level. Every single Digimon was part of a hundred thousand others, some across the world physically from them. Yet all experienced every sensation, every spasm, every thrust, every ejaculation, as if it were their own body. It was lucky that none of them had minds or individuality to speak of, for the overwhelming amount of sensation and information would have simply destroyed them or driven them irrevocably insane.

Agumon grunted as his tentacles intertwined with Palmon's, her cape of leaves flaring out behind her with the force of her thrusts. Her upper penis was buried deep in his rump, her other two sliding below to prod at his heavy triple set of testicles, smearing the back of his scrotum with black fluid. Each of his penises was driven deep into a different person, Gabumon, an Elecmon female, and a female Terriermon. His mouth was filled with the tentacle of a nearby Candlemon, which he suckled on eagerly, cum spilling down his chin.

Guil's heavy sextet of balls bounced as he groaned, bouncing in Rena's lap. The vixen lay on her back, her tongue lavishing the fat, swollen heads of Gazi's penises as he drove between her breasts. Guil snarled, huffing as one of Rena's cocks was stuffed deep in between his cheeks, filling him deeply as his stomach swelled. Her cum filled him, sloshing around, even as she painted his back with stripes of her black spunk. Gazi huffed as he drove all three of his lengths into Rena's cleavage, one of her tentacles shoved inside him, another filling his muzzle. He splattered her face as his three lengths jumped and jerked, firing off three shots at a time.

Biyo's lengths spurted fountains of the thick tar-like fluid over her own feathers as Impmon buried his face into her downy muff, his tongue lapping deep inside her. The scamp grunted mindlessly, literally humping the floor as he came onto the ground. His spunk mixed with the older layers of hardened gunk, his penises sinking into the putty-like substance several inches with each thrust. Biyo gripped his long horns, pulling him against her vulva. Behind Imp, tangled up in his tentacles, Flora screeched as he penetrated all of her holes, his penis-tipped tendrils plunging eagerly into her mouth, her muff, and her rear. She thrust into the air, crying and screaming as her crimson eyes glowed out of her petal-helmet. Her own erections slapped against her own stomach repeatedly as she writhed in ecstasy.

Veemon snarled, his four lengths (for he already had two before he was infected) pulsing violently as he drove his hips forward. He growled and huffed, climaxing hard as he thrust into both holes of a female Mikemon and a female Burgamon at the same time, making their stomachs swell outward with the sheer amount of semen. His tentacles spouted off too, even as they drove into Armadillo and a Gumdramon. Armadillo snarled and grunted, his gigantic penises being lavished by multiple Digimon. Their tongues slid over every inch of his tripled sixteen-inch lengths, as well as the enormous balls between his legs.

Pata's lengths vibrated violently as he pounded his hips forward, driving into Lop and Terrier, his third trapped between the two smaller boys. The mouse threw his head back and screeched as he emptied himself within and over them, his tentacles flailing behind him. The twins grunted and growled, wrestling back and forth with each other, frotting their lengths together. They were both soaked in each other's cum as much as anyone else's.

While all of this was going on, there was one tiny figure who had been pulled away from the vast, endless orgy. Salamon's tiny feet padded softly against the sticky floor as she approached the pillar, growling and barking mindlessly. The child huffed, her paws stroking two of her penises as they spouted off, each ejaculation shaking her little form. She experienced everything that everyone else was doing, feeling their bodies writhe together in eternal orgasm, their hips thrusting and grinding... but she herself was not participating.

The Pillar formed a socket at hip-height for her. There was an anomaly within the Salamon's programming. A small one, barely noticeable, but enough to elicit an analysis from the Hive's systems.

The Sala-Drone plugged in without hesitation, moaning loudly as she began to ejaculate into the Pillar, rocking her hips back and forth in time with her spurts. Her tendrils waved back and forth, slinging ropes of fluid from the penis-tips. Her cum flowed into the Pillar and the Electric Digimon embedded into the mass began to surge forth with their power, and the various Digimon whose brains had been directly connected to the Brain began to process data. The Virus would overcome all threats, even minor anomalies. It was part of its very purpose.

It took only moments and a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the Hive's processing power to finish the analysis. The anomaly was harmless. The little child was released to rejoin the rest of the Drones.

But as the little puppy stabbed her hips forward a few more times into the socket, her trio of shafts spurting hard as she drooled and howled in pleasure, something shifted. A pocket of data that lay dormant had become active.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. The Drones screamed in pain. Pain. PAIN. The Hivemind writhed in agony. The Virus itself was burning. There was a total cascade failure of its databanks. The Brain writhed as the Pillar undulated, its mass wobbling like melting gelatin.

The Drones fell where they were, writhing on the ground in total seizure of their systems. Sparks flew as the Hivemind tried to compensate for the system crash, but it was too little, too late.

One by one, the screams went silent and the electricity faded... until all was still...

*****

Gato felt herself lying on her back against something hard. Then she realized that she COULD feel herself lying against something hard. A minute later, she realized that she could realize things.

About a half-hour later of realizations, revelations, and understandings of the completely obvious, Gato had managed to accumulate enough awareness to remember who she was, where she was, and that she even existed as an individual being rather than an assimilated drone to a hive mind.

It took an incredible effort, but she opened her eyes... and found herself staring back into two more pairs of eyes, one deep green, the other mismatched blue and green.

"GATO!!!" Sala squealed, hugging Gato so tightly she could barely breathe.

"Sala, let go. I need to check if she's okay and you're... kinda in the way," BlackGato said, gently pushing the puppy aside.

"Gato, speak to me," she said firmly.

"...BG, we need to give you a makeover. You're totally ripping off my style."

BlackGato's expression turned sour and she glared at Gato, before glancing over her shoulder and saying to someone Gato couldn't see, "...She's snarking at me. She's fine."

"Are we all... are we okay?" Gato asked, groaning as she forced her aching body to obey her and sat up.

"All the Defenders are accounted for. Only minor injuries. But we don't know how many have been hurt or killed due to this whole thing," BlackGato said gently.

Gato nodded and reached to her chest to adjust her Holy Ring... only to blink in surprise as it was not there. She looked around in mild, dazed confusion, only to see it around the tip of her tail... Her normal, singular, long tail. And her Holy Ring was back to its original size. She looked down at her hands. Her claws were back to their original size. Gato's paws delved between her legs in a surprised panic.

"...You only have one, Gato. With the elimination of the Virus, that also eliminated the X-Antibody. We're all back to normal. No tattoo on your forehead, no giant Holy Ring, and only ONE penis between your legs," BlackGato sighed. Sure enough, now that Gato took a closer look at BlackGato, her appearance had returned to normal as well. And so had Sala's.

"...That's still one more than normal. I wasn't born with this, ya know," Gato replied, chuckling.

"Well... I was, so..." BlackGato shrugged, "...You should hear Pal complaining about it. She's the only one who's upset."

Gato took a minute to reorient herself and figure out what was going on. She was standing in the center of the vast cavern where the Brain Pillar had been, but... there was no trace of the Brain Pillar at all. In fact, there was no trace of ANY of the Infected's black semen anywhere, so far as she could see. The stone floor was as clean as the floor of an underground cavern ever was; no layers of gunk coating it. Even her own fur was pristine and white, save for more than a few strands of what was clearly her own glowing semen. Everywhere she looked, it seemed everyone else was in a similar condition. While many of the Digimon still lay on the floor, insensate or outright unconscious, for those milling about in confusion or disorientation, there was nary an unnaturally red eye or black cum-spurting tentacle in sight.

She could spot familiar faces here and there in the crowd. Some were people she had passed in File City, some were people from villages on File Island she had contact with at one point or another, others were support staff in the Defenders Base... and then, every so often, she caught a glimpse of one of the Defenders themselves.

Biyo was flitting above the throng, chattering into her Brand as she flapped her wings, clearly trying to help coordinate some sort of response to the current situation. Agu and Gabu were too busy hugging each other in relief to be of help at the moment. Hawk was running around like a crazy person, checking as many people's vitals as he could, and stopping to administer first aid where he could.

"BG, do you know where..." Gato began asking.

"No, but I'm sure he'll turn up," BlackGato said, the vaguest hint of a smile on her muzzle, "Impy promised we'd meet again, and I believe him. It's just a matter of finding him in this mess."

"Okay, so... Um... next question," Gato said, frowning, "...How the hell are we even HERE? Who used the cure? I was the last one left, and I sure as hell didn't make it..."

"Wait, what?" BlackGato asked, her eyes wide with surprise, "We all thought you were the one who pulled it off!"

"No! I was ten feet away from the pillar, but YOU took me out!" Gato exclaimed, "I failed. I failed everyone..."

"And yet, we're still here, still individuals, and not possessed by a malevolent virus," BlackGato mused, frowning thoughtfully.

As Gato and BlackGato locked eyes, suddenly Gato felt something unlock in her memory. She gasped, enveloped by the images that surfaced...

*****

SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER...

"...Okay, explain it to me again... slowly. In simple words. As few of them as possible," Gato said, narrowing her eyes and leaning back against the counter in the quarters where Sala lay sleeping in the next room.

"The antiviral hypospray I'm handing out to everyone is a fake. None of us will make it close to the Pillar in the Hive before getting infected," BlackGato said, crossing her arms over her flat chest.

"...And... why... are you handing out fake hyposprays for a suicide mission that can't succeed?" Gato asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Because the others need to think it will succeed. The suicide mission is a distraction for the real plan... which only you and I will know. The only way to get the antiviral to the Hive is with someone who doesn't know they have it," said BlackGato, flicking her twin tails as she traced the design in her silver Holy Ring with her claw.

"...Man, it must suck to be a super-genius, not having anyone with normal brainpower able to follow your logic..." Gato remarked, shaking her head. BlackGato sighed.

"The REAL plan is that I am going to give Salamon the REAL antiviral while she is sleeping, which I programmed on a delay. She will get Infected, carry the antiviral in her system to the Brain Pillar and deliver it. It will go active, and spread through the entire worldwide network, destroying all traces of the virus," BlackGato explained, slowly, using gestures to illustrate.

"...Uh-huh. So... um... Why?" Gato asked.

"Because Sala is the only one of us that will be able to get close to the central node. The Hive already considers all of us threats. Even after we are Infected, I doubt it will let us near it, just to be safe. She'll be the only one who won't present a threat, because she'll be the first of us to be Infected, and without a fight," BlackGato explained, tapping her claws on her thigh.

"Okay, second question," Gato said, frowning, "If you're right, the Hive will know about the plan the second it infects either me or you."

"Which is why neither of us are going to remember the plan. I'll hypnotize you into forgetting, then have you use Cat's Eye Hypnosis on me to erase my memory as well," BlackGato explained.

"...Right. And final question... What makes you think I'm gonna let you endanger Sala like this?" Gato growled, placing her paws on her hips.

"The fact that I'm not giving you a choice. CAT'S EYE HYPNOSIS!" BlackGato announced, the green of her eyes suddenly swirling and turning a bright, shimmering silver. Gato gasped... and then remembered nothing more after that.

******

"YOU little bi--" Gato growled, biting off the curse in mid-word, huffing through her nose, "...If you hadn't just saved the world, I'd punch you in the face. I don't know whether to hug you or be angry at you."

"Considering we have the capacity to think for ourselves and CAN be angry at each other right now, I'll be satisfied with either," BlackGato said simply, before pausing thoughtfully and adding, "...Though I'd prefer the hug."

Gato struggled with herself for a minute, literally trembling with internal turmoil. In the end, relief, happiness, and forgiveness won out. She pulled BlackGato into a tight embrace, kissing her cheek. She knew she had made the right decision as she heard BlackGato purr for the first time, a deep rumbling in the other cat's chest.

"Um, guys, hate to break up the happy moment, but we've still got some problems," Goma said, frowning as he walked up to them. He brushed his orange shock of hair back, looking up at it ruefully, as if he missed having a full head of it.

"What? Are there still zombies somewhere?!" Gato yelped, panicking despite herself.

"What? No! They're gone! We won!" Goma said, sweatdropping, "And keep your voice down! We're in a cavern full of confused, scared, disoriented, and very stupid people! Anyone hears the 'z-word' and we'll have a stampede!"

"...Then what?" BlackGato asked, looking much calmer than her sister.

"We've got 1,350,000 Digimon down here in this cave. The entire population of File Island. We're gonna have to get 'em out of here, and that's gonna royally suck!" Goma grumbled.

"Oh... Right. Guess a Defender's work is never done," Gato sighed, taking Sala's hand and going to help.

"So, here's a question that's going to bring the mood down," Gazi growled, his hands on his hips as he caught up with Gato.

"What?" Gato asked, frowning.

"...Who made that Virus?" Gazi said sternly, "...Because that sure as hell wasn't somethin' that just happened by accident."

"...I don't know, Gazi... But we'll be ready for whatever happens next," Gato said, shivering as fear rushed through her. She suppressed the thought. Right now, she had a job to do... and from the looks of it, it was going to take quite a while to get done.

********

Somewhere far away, Arkadimon snarled and Dorumon sneered. It was frustrating. The Virus was minutes from completing its work, only to have failed.

The creature growled, even as its other selves toiled away at other projects. But with a flicker of thought that rippled across all of Arkadimon's bodies, they stopped and turned back towards its main form.

The time for schemes and plots was over. Patience had never been Arkadimon's forte anyway. It was time to handle things himself...