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<Digital World / Continent Server> <PoV - Gabumon>

'Hmph for a human he's not doing too bad' I thought as I furtively watched the self-proclaimed human, Noah, do some strange stretches. I still remember when that idiot along with Herissmon showed up at the Village gate.

That day had been particularly strange with the appearance of the other human who came straight from the sky along with a Tokomon, my first instinct was to attack the human along with the Tokomon in case it was some sort of attack on the Village but something whispered in my ear that it might not be a very good idea.

However, I decided to leave him alone as long as he didn't bother the Tunomon.

You can imagine my surprise and skepticism when another human appeared at my door, this time accompanied by a Herissmon which was a bit surprising considering how rare Digimons of his kind were.

This human - Noah, as he had introduced himself - seemed to be older than the other human in the Village and therefore more experienced. Something he proved in the following days by constantly going out hunting in the forest together with Herissmon, learning about the surrounding wildlife and helping out during meals with all the Tunomon.

His relaxed attitude that quickly disappeared when he found something to focus on was a bit disconcerting but not strange.

He reminded me a bit of... Garurumon in a way.

I grimaced angrily at the memory of Garurumon, even now I can't forget the rage and helplessness of that moment. 'That damn Ogremon...'

'Oi! Gabumon control your flames!" Herissmon's panicked voice reached my ears bringing me back to reality to realize that I unconsciously increased the amount of flames coming out of my mouth.

I quickly closed my mouth canceling the attack, I looked at Herissmon before averting my gaze as I felt the embarrassment growing in my chest. "H-Hmph! You should pay more attention to your surroundings!"

"But if you were-..." Herissmon's words suddenly caught in his throat as his eyes dilated with a blank stare.

"Um? Herissmon?" I raised an eyebrow as I approached the silver hedgehog with concern, I ran a hand in front of his eyes but got no reaction from him. "Are you ok-"

A thunderous sound echoed across the beach making me flinch as I looked in the same direction Herissmon was looking for a moment before turning my attention back to Herissmon, absentmindedly I noticed that the entire beach had fallen into its abrupt and tense silence.

I quickly turned my gaze back to the Elder Human who was also staring lostly off into the horizon with a blank expression, ignore the fact that his pocket was glowing brightly with holy energy. 

"Noah! What the fuck is-"

Another thunderous sound.

I closed my eyes as I grunted in pain and pressed my dark circles under my eyes with my hands.

"What the fuck is-" I exclaimed angrily as I opened my eyes, but quickly the words got stuck in my throat as I looked up at the sky. "...holy... god..."

The sky...it was red.

Suddenly a huge amount of Data descended from sky to earth, as if it was a blessing from God. I was about to adsorb the Data, but I realized that this Data....

They were red in color.

Before I knew what was happening I felt the Data forcibly enter my body.

[-Gabumon Dark Evolution to...]

It felt as if my head was splitting into thousands of tiny pieces before all the fragments were forcibly put back together. I ignored the whispers coming into my head from deep within my code as pain invaded all my senses.

As the information forced its way into my code a sense of relief spread through all the lines of my programming as if drinking the most exquisite of elixirs. The sensation was intoxicating...I almost felt at peace, before a thought came to my mind.

'I don't want your stupid information!' I thought as my mind went back and forth constantly, for me the world around me had disappeared as strange symbols and words filled my head. "I SAID STOP!!!"

[-CRITICAL ERROR-]

[Running: Command_072...]

[-Dark Evolution: Stopped successfully!-]

[-WARNING: DATA OVERLOAD-]

[-ERROR...-]

[-ERROR...-]

[-Order given by Administrator: Homeostasis-]

[-Starting: Safe Mode-]

[-Effect level: Global-]

Suddenly, everything stopped and I fell unconscious.

***

<Human World...?> <PoV - Noah>

"...Noah..." A voice whispered repeatedly and softly in my ear slowly pulling me out of my sleep. "Noah..."

I groaned lightly feeling rather sleepy as I slowly opened one of my eyes, I felt strangely tired as if I hadn't had enough sleep lately. "...um?" 

I was greeted by the face of a woman who looked like she had seen better days if the large black bags under her eyes were any indication. Her hair was wavy and of a dark brown color, despite looking tired her hair appeared to be fairly well cared for. The woman was dressed in casual clothes, black shorts along with a large dark green sweater and black sandals.

I looked at her confused for a moment until my gaze settled on her beautiful yellow eyes which looked at me amused and with extreme fondness.

"Get up or you'll be late for school" The woman spoke softly again as she gently ran her hand through my hair making it even messier than it already was.

My eyes widened like saucers as I finally recognized the woman.

"...Mom?" I asked in disbelief as I lifted my upper body, not even noticing she had returned to my room. It felt like I hadn't been in my room for a long time for some reason.

"You're... you're here?"

"Yeah...? And you're in your bed?" Mom raised an eyebrow as she made a confused grimace before smiling mischievously. "Did you have a nightmare....or did you dream again about when you saw Madam Naofumi on the balcony wearing a swimsuit?"

"Agh!" I felt nausea fill my stomach as the disturbing memory popped into my head. Why would an old lady pose in the middle of her balcony while wearing a bikini...just disgusting.

Oh god, the nausea is coming back....

"I didn't need you to remind me!"

"Hahaha! You're turning green! It's your fault for telling me that hahaha!" mom laughed out loud as she tousled my hair with her hand.  "Now get up the food is already served, it will get cold if you don't go fast."

"You didn't burn the stove did you?" I asked as I lifted her off the bed, I stopped dead in my tracks when she didn't respond. "...did you?"

Mom stiffened as she refused to look me in the eye. "No comment."

"Suureeee...so what's for lunch?"

"Surprise me" She replied dryly as I gave her a blank stare, my mother was cooked by many things.

Too bad cooking wasn't one of them.

"Oh little boy...you shouldn't talk to your mother with that tone!"

"It's not my fault you can't cook!"

We both stared at each other's stare for a full minute before she averted her gaze with a click of her tongue.

"Tch... yeah yeah, it's your win" Mom shrugged as she folded her arms before pointing her finger at me. "And for your information I didn't burn down the kitchen! I brought instant food!"

I simply gave her a blank stare as a smile crossed my face, I was about to respond when....

[-Safe Mode: Disabled-]

I blinked twice as I frowned hard, that voice sounded painfully familiar despite never having heard it before. "Mode... what?"

"Looks like that's it, lil sun" Mom let out a tired sigh as she bent down and looked me straight in the eyes with a sad look. "Mommy needs to work some more...don't worry about it it'll just be a few more days, okay champ?"

For some reason loneliness gripped my heart as I looked into mom's eyes, I knew better than anyone that if she could she would spend every day by my side. Even though I knew that fact, it didn't make the goodbyes any less painful every time she left for work in the mornings only to return in the evening completely exhausted

But this time something about it didn't feel right, something wasn't right.

"M-Mom?" my voice came out shakier than I intended as Mom put her hands on my shoulders.

"Don't worry about your old mom, you're doing just fine with your friends in that strange world" She spoke firmly even if her hands shook for a second before she hugged me tightly. "Just...be strong for mommy okey?"

"Mom!"

I breathed heavily as cold sweat poured down my back and forehead, I looked around only to realize I had returned to my room in the house the Tunomon's provided for us.

Letting out a shuddering sigh I tightly clutched the sheets that covered my body as I felt my eyes become more and more moist as the seconds passed.

Loneliness mercilessly assaulted me as I was reminded of the person I loved most in the world.

Sadness quickly turned to anger as I pounded the mattress with my fists in an unsuccessful attempt to unburden myself and get rid of the tears streaming down my face.

In the end I was left with an emptiness as I looked at my hands with indifference while the doubt returned to eat my mind.

There were thousands of doubts running through my head which had no apparent answer.

I closed my eyes as I ran a hand over my head feeling lost.

'What was my purpose here?'

'Do I even have a purpose?'

After a few minutes I decided I didn't care.

I was going to find my way back home whatever it took.

But now... after almost two weeks of arriving in the Digital World, I finally felt the loneliness, responsibility and fear hit me with no end in sight.

After almost two weeks... I decided to give myself a break.

'I just... I feel tired'

 

***

<Meanwhile...>

"So this is Tunomon Village...how did I not realize it was here? It's literally in the middle of a valley!"

"Get ready you damn worms! We're going to fall!"

...