-Chapter 53-

...

"Why can't you understand something so simple, Matt?"

"I would understand if it wasn't complete stupidity. You want me to bring the wig and the clown nose?! I'm sure it would look good on you!"

"At least I don't scream in the middle of the night."

"You-"

I let out an annoyed groan as I watched Matt and Sora argue again. It wasn't the first time those two had started screaming like a newlywed couple since Tai and... whatever that skeleton was got sucked into the black hole.

We had been camping in the middle of the desert for a few days after the whole Etemon debacle, the ruins weren't exactly the ideal place to rest, but it was better than nothing, I guess. Look it's been an exhausting few days for everyone. The group wasn't in the best of spirits after the whole mess happened, Tai was missing, BlackGarurumon is still unconscious, but recovering, and although Joe was awake, he wasn't in the best condition to do anything.

And as a nail in the coffin-

"You're unbearable! Agh!" With a frustrated shout, Matt turned around and walked towards TK, stomping his feet. Sora, for her part, just stuck her tongue out at him before walking towards Izzy, who was checking Garurumon, Joe, and Gomamon's wounds.

... and like a nail in the coffin, those two kept arguing over the slightest friction.

Matt would sometimes go off with his Garurumon to gather food or hunt some straggling Digimon wandering in the desert, which Sora didn't particularly like since Matt might run into a Digimon Perfect. Other times, Sora was the one trying to act as a leader, but it was clear that he had no idea how to be one; her orders were sometimes absurd errands. This obviously didn't endear her to Matt.

All this bickering and friction was only making us more and more tense than we already were. Seriously, Izzy and I had to talk Mimi out of lashing out a couple of times. I almost did the same thing myself, and if it wasn't for Herissmon, I would have joined those fights by now.

So yeah, no one was in a particularly good mood.

And things were starting to get worse and worse as the days went by.

Why do you wonder? Well...

Sora was advocating that we stay here in case Tai happened to come back to us somehow, since it was the last place he knows we were. While I could see the logic of this argument, it was rather poor and relied quite heavily on a possibility that we didn't know existed in the first place. I will at least say that in her favor she was taking into account the wounded in the group.

Matt, on the other hand, was advocating that we go elsewhere with the idea of finding Tai since it was likely that he was simply teleported away like when we got here thanks to that tsunami. Again, I could see the logic in this, but he was ignoring the wounded somewhat obnoxiously.

The only reason Matt hadn't left was because of TK, who was deeply concerned about the wounded and was refusing to make a decision until everyone was recovered from their injuries.

On the other hand, Izzy had a theory that, as Tai had fulfilled his mission as Chosen Child he was sent back home. Izzy defended his theory by explaining that the Digital World operated on a video game-like system.

Whatever the answer, no one had given up hope that Tai was still... alive.

I, however, was not so enthusiastic about it. I knew I was a person who was guided more by logic than emotion, but that didn't help take away this uneasiness that was taking root through my chest.

After all, Tai was one of the few friends I had.

"Are you okay?" Herissmon's voice made my breath hitch for a moment.

I blinked rapidly to keep the growing discomfort from spilling over the edges of my eyes. Swiping a hand to wipe my eyes, I refocused my gaze on the campfire as I continued to sharpen Herissmon's barbs with my hands shaking slightly.

"I'm... fine" I turned my gaze back to the hedgehog, trying to control my breathing. "I'm just... a little hungry."

Intellectually, I knew it was foolish to lie to Herissmon when he could feel my emotions and I could feel his. But still, I stubbornly refused to show that weakness, hourly, myself.

"You can talk to me about it...if you want to, of course!" Said the silver hedgehog with clear concern in his voice.

"I'll figure it out..." I shook my head as I stopped sharpening his quills and gave him a half smile. "I always do, don't I?"

"...I guess" Herissmon muttered reluctantly; the hedgehog jumped up as it stretched its quills, giving a show of silver and gold colors. Herissmon nodded to himself before scratching his head and looking at me for a moment and shrugging. "Whew, humans are weird..."

The hedgehog turned around as he made his way towards Tentomon and Izzy. He can't help but smile as he thinks about where the hedgehog had gotten the habit of scratching his head.

"Yeah... humans are weird" I muttered to myself as my smile turned into a grimace.

I shook my head to clear myself of the depressing thoughts, pulled out my Digivice, and finally set about catching up on the notifications I had piling up.

As soon as I opened the notifications tab, a ridiculous amount of tabs popped up around me. I blinked in surprise as I looked up to see the notifications go up to at least twice my height.

'Are you kidding me?!' I thought with eyes wide as saucers as I cursed under my breath at Etemon and Nanomon.

"Is something wrong?" a familiar voice asked.

"Just... I'm reading the Digivice notifications," I mumbled slightly dazed, before squinting to see Mimi through the dozens of holograms. "I may... have put this off too long."

The girl in the white hat sat next to me with a smile tugging at her lips. "I'm sure you have, Mr. Sleeper."

I let out a sigh at the nickname, but even then I couldn't help but smile slightly. Even if my friends could be counted on the fingers of one hand, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to meet my friends again after months of being surrounded by Digimons.

"You know, I was hoping the first thing you'd digest is that you need a bath after being out here in the desert" I commented absentmindedly as, with a thought, I closed all the tabs that said the Digivice had been compromised; there were notifications that said it was in danger, among other such things.

There were quite a few of those.

Which left me with: Achievements, Feature Updates, Updated Information and... New Information.

'I'd better get started right now...' I thought with a grim look on my face as I claimed the new achievements.

[=====]

-Bronze Achievement Obtained: Its Time to D-D-D-D-Digievolve!-

-Reward: Information Unlocked: Digivice!

-Silver Achievement Earned: Perfect Killer-

-Reward: Increased Bearer Stat: Physical Strength-

-Reward: Increased Bearer Stat: Physical Endurance-

-Reward: Increased Bearer Stat: Physical Speed-

-Bronze Achievement Obtained: The Radiant's Legacy: Part I-

-Reward: Special Attack: Strelitzia-

-Reward: Item Obtained: Tag-

[=====]

'Stat Increase?' I raised an eyebrow at those notifications and looked at my own body curiously. 'I don't feel any different-'

'I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere."

I slammed the notifications shut and looked at Mimi with a raised eyebrow only to find her looking at me with a barely contained laugh. I shook my head as we both laughed quietly, ignoring the fight going on in the background.

"You have no idea how many deserts I've already been to; it's getting boring fast, so you end up getting used to it..." Mimi shrugged as she watched Tentomon, Palmon, and Tentomon play fetch. "But I wouldn't say no to a fancy bath right now; if it has a manicure included, all the better. Also, it wouldn't hurt if there was a sushi restaurant nearby; no, scratch that, better a pizzeria. I want to eat something junk."

"God doesn't talk about food now" I replied with a gesture as I felt like my mouth had watered from "I'm tired of eating berries... and meat that grows from plants."

Turning my gaze back to the notifications, I opened Updated Information and New Information, as they seemed to be the longest notifications.

[=====]

Digivice: Devices created by Homeostasis to experiment with the emotional connections between Digimons and Humans, and how these can affect Digivolution. The Digivice has a lot of integrated functions: A precious clock, a 2D and 3D modifiable map, a system for detecting other Digivice, a Digimon analyzer, the encyclopedia with the latest information collected by the -Information Locked-, and a unique system capable of connecting with -Information Locked-

 +: The Digivice has the special characteristic of connecting the feelings of its Bearer and its Digimon, which allows a temporary -Information Locked- thanks to the emotional connection between a Digimon and a Human.

 +: When initiating a conflict between Digimons, the Digivice will make the Bearer look much more forgettable and background so that the Digimons will not actively think of attacking the Bearer. Should this occur, or should the Bearer be compromised, the Digivice will automatically send an emergency signal to the other Digivice regardless of distance.

Emblems: Powerful and mysterious artifacts forged by -Information Locked- to prevent -Information Locked- Data from disappearing into nothingness. Each Emblem is marked by a symbol which represents a unique quality. Some Digimons may carry some of these symbols on their bodies, as these Digimons embody that quality. -Information Locked-

 +: There are a total of eleven Emblems and, therefore, eleven different qualities: Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Sincerity, Reliability, Hope, Kindness, Light, Fate and Miracles.

 +: Followers can be affected by the Emblems causing rare Digievolutions, Mutations or learn unique Special Attacks.

Tag: They are used as channelers of the Emblems' energy, in addition to being their protectors. Depending on the Tag, they can glow to indicate if an Emblem is nearby.

-Information Locked-

-Information Locked-

[=====]

'This is... too much' I squinted at the huge notification in front of me. It was overwhelming to say the least, but it wasn't hard to understand; it reminded me of those history books we were given in school, but no one really paid attention to them.

Anyway, I had several questions.

First, what or who is Homeostasis?

I remember hearing about him when I got that Hazard Archive, but his information was directly blocked the second I got it. And yet, even though it gave me a little bit of information about him, perhaps, I couldn't check the direct information about him, but I could check the indirect one. Or so I think.

At least the Emblems part solves the mystery of the golden platelet.

'Maybe I should tell the others that I have it...' I thought to myself as I opened another notification. 'Even though it's been several days, I haven't really talked to anyone much...'

[=====]

Language 7D6: It is the programming language that the old and new Digital World were built with. This language is capable of manipulating everything and everyone, however, its use is incredibly limited by Administrators, not to mention its overwhelming complexity. Because of this, other Programming Languages have been created by other Digimons, but each and every one of these languages cannot function without the already established foundation of 7D6.

[=====]

'I guess this is what Izzy used to open the tunnel in the Pyramid' I wondered if Izzy could maybe teach me how to use it; of course, I had never done anything like programming, but it was never too late to learn, right?

I opened the following notification.

[=====]

Digimon Biology - Part 2: -Open to read-

[=====]

I rolled my eyes.

'I'm not going to read that last one.'

With a sigh, I closed the last Informacion notification as I turned my gaze skyward. My gaze was distracted between the hundred or so stars decorating the space and the silent presence of the moon illuminating the desert hidden among the distant clouds, which continued to move at their own pace. My gaze was lost at some point as my thoughts seemed to cloud all my other senses again.

The events of the last month circled through my head, over, and over again. My dream in the church,

But my mind was taken even further back, my mind was pulled back to my arrival in this Digital World, the forest where I met Pusurimon, the Village where I met Gabumon, the fight against Ogremon.

"A coin for your thoughts?"

I blinked twice before scratching my head embarrassedly; I had completely forgotten that Mimi was beside me.

"I think... tomorrow I'll go hunt some Digimons in the desert with Herissmon" I replied awkwardly as I coughed into my fist; it was better to say that than to say I wanted to try Herissmon's new attack.

Besides, I needed to get strong.

...

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