Author Notes:

Here's the second episode of Ghost Strife.

Once again, it's basically the same chapter as the original, but with slight changes to fit more the story I want.

Hope you enjoy!


Digimon Ghost Strife

Chapter 2: Medical Malpractice

"There goes the last train…"

I walk through the park, trying to take the quickest route now that I'll have to walk all the way home. It'll probably take me about two hours…

"Ugh, I'm so tired… Go home, sleep 6 hours… Maybe 4 today, eat a small breakfast, and go back to work…"

'Cough!' 'Cough!'

I have a coughing fit. I may be getting ill.

"…I really need a vacation… This lifestyle is going to kill me…"

Suddenly, someone… No, SomeTHING grabs me from behind.

"Wha-?!"

Ropes… No, bandages, start enveloping my body. I try to struggle, but giant claws are holding my arms, keeping me firmly in place.

Whatever it is, it's not HUMAN.

"No, go away! Release me!"

The bandages crawl upwards, restricting my body tightly until they leave me completely immobile. The only thing free is my left eye.

What-What is happening?!

What's this?!

I try to twist my neck to look behind me… And instantly regret it.

Behind me, I'm greeted by rows of sharp teeth, surrounded by putrid skin covered in bandages. A single left eye shining in the darkness.

With my mouth covered, I doubt anyone could hear my screams, as I'm taken away.

'Ring' 'Ring' 'Ring'

My heart suddenly sinks in my chest, as I suddenly open my eyes.

Is he back?!

I almost jumped out of bed, taking a moment to look around. It's only my room, the only unusual thing being the destroyed window hastily covered with cardboard and tape, a problem to deal with later. There's no signs of Clockmon.

'Ring' 'Ring' 'Ring'

I look at the source of the sound. The alarm clock is ringing, the time on it showing properly. It's not going out of control.

…I'm jumping at nothing…

Tiredly, I press on the button, turning it off. I let out a sigh, hoping to not make an habit of jumping at clocks from now on.

…Though, that's strange… I haven't slept until my clock rang in months. I slept… Well?

"…Mmm… Hiro…?"

I feel a rustle, and someone calling my name. For a moment I'm confused, until I remember everything that went on yesterday.

"…Good morning, Gammamon. Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"It's okey… The sun's already out…"

He slowly gets up from besides me. He's slowly rubbing his eyes, and letting out a big yawn. It makes me smile.

I get out of bed, put on my slippers, and make a big stretch. I go towards the door.

"Mmm, Hiro, where are you going?"

"To the bathroom…"

"Ohhh… I need to go too!"

I freeze in place.

…Wait, Digimon go to the bathroom?

They are digital creatures, right?

They need to go too…?

…Wait.

I look at Gammamon getting out of bed, with a small yawn and a smile on his face. He looks perfectly solid, real.

I take out my Digivice for a moment, and put it on the table. He's still there.

…What do I do about this?!

"Where's the bathroom?"

Gammamon is besides my feet, looking up at me.

…Everyone will see him…

Right?

…Though, I can't simply tell him he can't go to the bathroom if he really needs to go…

'Grgrgrg'

The sound of a stomach grumbling resonates through the room.

"Hiro, I'm hungry."

I let out of yawn. Gammamon appears to get infected by it, and let out one of his own.

…It's too early in the morning to worry about this, I'll leave thinking and worrying for later.

"It's at the end of the hallways, follow me."

"Ooooh!"

I get out of the room, Gammamon marching behind me. There are already a few students walking around, though half of them are probably still on bed. We walk past them, attracting some curious glances, though they simply ignore us afterwards.

…Oh.

"Good Morning Hiro. That looks cool. Is it an hologram? A robot?"

Someone calls up to me. Some black haired guy with his hair in a pigtail. His name was…

…What was it?

Tokara…

Dokara…

Ah, right.

"Good morning, Youzokura-kun."

…Wait, what do I say about Gammamon?

Hologram?

Robot?

"…Yeah, it's an hologram projected over a robotic frame."

"Oh, that's cool! Those are very expensive, aren't they? How much did it cost?"

"How much…"

A walking cat brought him home before I was attacked by a giant human clock. Dad asked me to take care of him through an holographic message sent from inside the Digital World.

"…Dad made him before disappearing. I felt like I needed him, so I brought him."

"Ahhh… Yes, I heard about what happened..."

He places his hand on my shoulder, and tries to put on an encouraging smile.

"He'll be okey, don't worry too much about it man. You know what they say, the heavens favor the idiots."

"Heh…!"

"Mmm? Idiots are favored?"

I let out a small laugh, and Gammamon looks confused.

"Oh, it has an advanced AI?"

Youzakura knees in front of Gammamon, a smile on his face.

"Yes, if something idiots have in their favor, is that they tend to be incredibly lucky!"

"Oooohhhh! I want to be an idiot too!"

"Ha, it sounds tempting sometimes, doesn't it?"

He gets up and walks away, waving a hand behind him.

"Take care of it man. If you need someone to talk, come to my room, I got the new Mario Kart."

And just like that, he disappeared in the next corner.

"…Looks like it won't be a problem."

"Mmm? What problem?"

Gammamon looks at me curiously, a hand at his jaw.

"…No, it's nothing. Let's go, we had to go to the bathroom, right?"

"Ah, I almost forgot!"

I sit down at the cafeteria, putting two trails of food over the table. I help Gammamon get up to the chair next to mine. He looks like he can barely contain himself looking at the food.

"Now, Itadakimasu."

"Itadakamasa?"

"Oh, that's something you say before eating. 'Itadakimasu'"

"Ohhhh! Itadakimasa!

Saying that, he looked the knife and fork on my hand, and proceed to take his own, and start eating. He stabbed the croquette with the knife and fork, and tried to raise it like that, but it falls off back into the plate.

"Ah!"

"Pff!"

I let a small laugh, as Gammamon tries to figure out how to grab the croquette with the knife and fork. I move over to his plate, and proceed to make a small cut on the croquette, keeping it in place with the fork.

"Here, it's like this."

"Oooooohhh! Thanks!"

He then tries to cut a piece of the croquette, ignoring the piece that was already cut. He gets a slightly too big cut, and bring it to his mouth.

"Ooooohhh! It's brave!

"Brave?

"It tastes brave!"

He said as he happily puts another piece on his mouth.

"I guess that's a good thing?"

I go to my own food, cutting into my own pork croquette. I see how people around take glances of Gammamon, surprised at seeing him eat. But most people simply go about their day, or it ends similar to the conversation with Youzakura.

Honestly, I'm surprised I was even allowed to have a second trail for Gammamon. I was thinking of giving an excuse of how dad was experimenting with one of those engines that turn biological matter into energy, but they didn't even ask anything.

…People are more carefree than I thought.

Though the guy that saw Gammamon going out of the bathroom stall looked pretty shocked, especially after me giving instructions to Gammamon on how to use the toilet and clean himself.

"Hiiirooo… How do I eat this one?"

I'm taken out of my thoughts by Gammamon, who looks sad as he has his fork and knife on his bowl of soup. I almost let out a small laugh, but I manage to keep a smile on my face as I take my own bowl. I blow on it a bit, and take a small sip from it.

"Like this. Make sure to blow at it before drinking, it's hot."

"Oooohhhh! I see!"

He leaves the fork and knife on the plate, and grabs the bowl. He panics as he grabbed it too fast and almost spilled it, but then slowly raised it to his face, carefully blowing on it, and then took a sip of it.

"Kyaaa! It's kind!"

"So soup is kind…"

I go back to my food, and we go on with our lunch.

I guess that people would rather believe it's technology they don't understand than a monster from a different world.

Who would have thought.

We walk through the street… Well, I walk through the street. Gammamon was riding on my shoulders, until he found that my backpack made a good saddle.

I feel like I became a horse, but I'll get used to it, probably.

People are looking at us… But mainly looks out of curiosity. Gammamon looks too realistic for the holograms we see normally everyday in advertisements and signposts every day. His body is not transparent, and he's physical, so the backpack moves with him. Though it's not like holograms of that quality or those over robotic frames are too rare, they are simply expensive.

Do I look like a rich kid with a very expensive toy…?

That's a thought I never thought I had.

"Hiro, where are we going?"

"Did I forgot to tell…? We are going to visit a friend of mine at the hospital."

"Hospital? What's that?"

"Eh? How do I explain that… It's a place where people go when they are hurt or ill, to be treated so they can heal."

"Is your friend ill?"

"Yeah… And I don't want him to feel alone, so I want to go visit him when I can. But anyways, can I ask you some questions while we walk? I have a ton of things I want to ask you."

"Oooohh! Sure, ask anything!"

He's really happy about that. I guess he likes being depended on?

"Where is the Digital World that my dad is in?"

"Dad? What's that?"

"Er…"

That one is harder to explain…

"Uh, that means Hokuto."

"Ohhhh, Hokuto!"

"Yes, where is he?!"

"Over there!"

Gammamon pointed over my shoulder, a smug expression on his face. His eyes were closed, and he looked very satisfied with himself.

He was pointing at the sky in front of us.

…This may be harder than I thought.

I rub my head, trying to think what that may mean, but I draw a blank. So I move to the next question.

"Then, what are Digimon? And how did they get here?"

"Mmm… The digital…"

He looks deep in thought.

"The digital?"

"…Mon!"

I drop my head.

"I don't get it."

Are all Digimon like this? Maybe it's simply hard to communicate with monsters from a different world… Wait, how are we communicating in the first place?

"How did you learn japanese?"

"Japanase?"

"…The language we are speaking."

"What's a language?"

…This will be harder than I thought.

We pass by a nurse as we enter the hospital room. She looks at Gammamon curiously, but passes by without saying anything.

I walk through the room, to the third bed on the right. There, an old man is peacefully sleeping on his bed, connected to various machines and being feed intravenously.

According to the receptionist, he hasn't woken up since yesterday.

I seat on one of the chairs besides his bed, and place my backpack with Gammamon still on it on the one besides me.

"Sups' Kotaro, how are you managing today?"

I greet Kotaro, but of course, he doesn't answer.

I grip my leg for a moment, until it starts hurting.

"Hiro, is he your friend?"

"Yes, I think I should introduce you two properly. Kotaro, this is Gammamon, my new little brother. My dad finally reappeared, just to tell me that now I have a little brother and to ask me to take care of him. Can you believe that man?"

I let out a small laugh. I try to not be too noisy, since there are a few people visiting other victims.

"Gammamon, those is Kotaro. E have been friends for about 6 or 7 years now. He's a bit of an idiot that can't do anything on his own, so he always ends asking me for help with things."

"Oh, I'm Gammamon, nice to meet you!"

Gammamon greet Kotaro enthusiastically, but slowly his expression changed. He started to look worried.

"Is Kotaro sleeping? Should we wait until he wakes up?"

"I'm not sure… When he'll wake up. Or if he'll even do it. He's… No okey."

I dig my nails into my leg. I have to keep calm in front of Gammamon, even if this situation is strange and came out of nowhere, I want to do a good job as a big brother.

Gammamon started looking worried.

"Is Kotaro ill…?"

"He… Was attacked by Clockmon."

"…Clockmon!"

Gammamon's pupils became slitted, his expression more aggressive. But after a moment, it softened up, looking around the room.

"Then, everyone in this room…?"

"…Yes. All of them were attacked too. Clockmon stole the time of everyone in those beds, and also from a few other rooms. Kotaro is only the newest victim."

I close my eyes, and inhale for a moment. I grip my leg to calm myself, and look at Kotaro's face.

"Kotaro, do your best to hang on as best as you can. I'm catching the monster that did this to you, and have him return your time, and the time of everyone else he attacked. I promise. So hang on and trust me."

I get up, and put on my backpack again.

"See ya, I'll come visit tomorrow. Let's go, Gammamon."

"O-ohhhh…"

As we get out the door, we come across with the same nurse as before, returning with a trail of medical tools I don't know, and a few towels.

"You are the same boy as last night, right?"

"Uh…? Ah, you are the same nurse of yesterday."

I didn't recognize her, but now that I think about it, she's the same nurse attending to Kotaro yesterday. I guess she has very long work hours.

"Thank you for taking care of Kotaro. If he was left alone, he probably wouldn't last half a day."

"Huhuhu, no no, I should be thanking you. It's good to see his friend come visit him. All the victims of this current incidents… Well, some aren't that lucky…"

"Yeah… I saw what happened with Kotaro's parents…"

"Yes… This has been going on for a month now, and some of the victims were left by their families… Even if we can probe their identity with a DNA test, a lot of people can't believe they are the same person."

She lets out a tired sigh. Now that I look closely, she looks to have bags under her eyes.

"Honestly, it's the same with a lot of the staff and researchers looking into this. The situation is unprecedented, nobody can find an explanation as to how this is happening. How it's even possible. The first victims had it the worst, with nobody really believing what they were seeing."

Her expression turned more somber, as if she was remembering something she would rather not. I felt like there was a bit of regret in her voice.

"…There was a bit… Of medical malpractice, when dealing with the first patients."

…Medical malpractice.

Hearing those words sent shivers down my spine, my blood went cold. The mere idea of Kotaro, in his extremely frail state, going through that…

"…Don't worry, the same won't happen to your friend. The same mistake won't happen twice. He's in good hands, until a treatment is found. So…"

Her expression lighted up, though it felt like she was forcing herself to be more cheerful. Not like I'm great at picking at emotions, but… She looks so tired that she's incapable of properly hiding them.

"Please, continue visiting him. I'm sure that when he wakes up, he'll be very happy to know that a friend has been visiting him."

"Will Kotaro… Wake up soon…?"

"Yes. It'll take around two weeks, but it takes around that for the patients to start waking up."

"Then…!"

Will Kotaro turn back to normal?

The question dies in my throat, as I know the answer. Clockmon still has Kotaro's time. The only way for him to get back to normal, is if I bring back his time.

The nurse looks at me, probably knowing what I'm about to ask. And the conflicted look on his face showing that she'll have to give me a bad answer.

"…It's nothing. I'll be going now. Please, take care of Kotaro."

"Yes, leave it to us. We'll do out best until the cause of this is found, and a treatment is developed."

I nod, and walk away. Gammamon is keeping silent. By his expression, it looks like he doesn't know if he should or not say anything right now. It amazes me how expressive and easy to understand he is.

As we get out of the hospital, we get to walking. But there is something I need to get out of my chest now.

"Sorry, Gammamon."

"Uh? For what?"

"We just met yesterday, but I'm asking you to help me fight Clockmon. Even though dad asked me to take care of you."

"Ohhhhh…! Don't worry about that! I'm strong, I can take him!"

"Even so…"

…No, that's not what he needs or wants to hear.

"…Thanks, Gammamon. I'm depending of you with this."

"Yes! Leave it to me! We'll save Kotaro!"

Yes… We'll save him. I shouldn't apologize all the time, I need to trust in him. I'm his big brother now, I have to make him feel confidence and capable of helping. And try to think carefully how we'll proceed about this, so he can do his part as safely as possible.

We stop in a near park, sitting down in a bench. I take out my phone as Gammamon gets out of my backpack, and starts admiring the park.

"Ooooohhhh! So many flowers!"

Looks like Gammamon got infatuated with the bed of flowers, jumping to the grass… But instead of falling, he grew a part of wings on his back, and flew towards them.

"Eeehhhhh!?"

He can fly!?

He starts playing in the park, looking at the flowers and chasing a butterfly. I look over him for a moment, still in shock seeing him flying, and then try to go back to my phone.

If I think about it, even Clockmon was floating in the air when I first saw him, without even having wings… Maybe all Digimon can fly…?

I open the browser, and try to think about what to type. I need to focus on the matter at hand.

'Sewn-lip Man'

A bunch of results appear, but when quickly checking them, none of them say anything relevant for me. Though, I do find a name I may need to search, so I input it next.

'Hologram Ghost'

A lot of results start appearing. All of them very recent, only about 5 months old at the oldest. There are a variety of wild titles.

'What are Hologram Ghosts'

'An Hologram Ghost kidnapped my husband!'

'The Hologram Ghost Apocalypse'

'Are Hologram Ghosts real, or a government conspiracy?!'

'Why Hologram Ghosts are a dumb rumor, and anyone that believes in them is an idiot'

'The newest Hologram Ghost incident, the Sewn-lip Man'

I check the last one, but when looking at it, it's contents are as dumb and full of crazy theories as the others. But there are some things I could learn from it.

Now, I know for sure. Those Hologram Ghosts are Digimon. And they have been appearing since about 6 months ago, but they appear to be increasing in number.

6 Months ago…

Was dad one of the first victims of a dangerous Digimon…?

Was he dragged into the Digital World by one?

…No, this isn't the time to get into that. Dad has been keeping care of himself for 6 months now. No, even more, he could even take the time to build the Digivice and even some spares for it, and deliver them to outside the Digital World. I don't need to worry about him, I can do it when I have the free time for it. Now, there is something more important.

Clockmon. His attacks are all over the place, they appear to be random. There doesn't appear to be anything that could help me track him down… On the Internet. But there may be a place where I can learn more about him. If I want to learn about a Digimon… I should ask other Digimon.

I go back to the search engine, and think about what to search next. Clockmon appears to go all around the city, but there may be some Digimon that are always spotted on the same place. They may have made a home somewhere.

So, how do I search those in specific. There may be someone tracking those cases, maybe I could even ask them through chat…

Ah, right, Lirurun!

Kotaro had been following her, and apparently she was asking her audience for information on the Lip-sewn Man. Maybe she knows something.

I open Utopi, and go to Lirurun's account.

I come across an assortment of a variety of posts of various things, from food to selfies covering her face, but a lot of them seem to be about the occult and Hologram Ghosts. There is the same 'WANTED! SEWN-LIP MAN INFORMATION!' as before.

Maybe I should send her the information I have…?

Eh, I'll do it tomorrow.

I search for the posts in her account, coming across multiple cases of Hologram Ghosts she Reutopied or asked information about. From "The Clown of the Sewers" to "The Eye-less Woman". But there is one that catches my eyes that was posted two days ago.

'Mummy Witnessed in the Museum'

It sounds obvious that a mummy would be in a museum, but there are photos attached. They are from afar and a bit blurry, like the person that took them did so in a hurry, but it's clear enough to see.

The mummy is walking out of of the museum, its body was transparent, surrounded by a white light. And it looked… Strange. It was a mummy, but it was wearing a purple cloth on it's head, and something black strapped around its torso. And it had… Claws?! It had very long claws on its arms…

This must be a Digimon!

That's it then. If I go to that museum, it's guarantee I'll find another Digimon who I can ask about-

"Hey Hiro, what are you doing?"

Gammamon suddenly jumped at me and climbed my head, almost making me fall forward from my set.

"…I'm checking on the Internet for information on where to find other Digimon. I want to ask around to see if someone knows about where to find Clockmon, and maybe how to travel to the Digital World. There are other things I would like to ask… But I can do it in the future."

"You can find Digimon on the Internet?"

"No… Maybe? I'm not really sure, but for now I found that there is a near museum where some sort of mummy Digimon may be living, so I was thinking of going there at night to ask him a few things. That's still some time away, so we got some time to burn until then… Want to play and explore the city until then?"

"Ooooohhhhhh! Yes, let's play!"

Gammamon looked really happy about that. Well, I guess this is also the job of a big brother.

I return my phone to my pocket, and get up from the bench, stretching a bit to prepare myself to play with Gammamon for a few hours.

"H-Hiro, what's that?! It's looking at us!"

Gammamon pointed at the rows of fish in the seafood section of the market. They looked pretty fresh.

"No, it's not."

"Ehhhh…? …Uhm?"

I feel my balance change as Gammamon pushes backwards, as if following something.

"Hiro, something smells good!"

"Uh?"

"Over there! Over there!"

We follow Gammamon's voice to a grill where they are preparing small pieces of meat. It DOES smell pretty tasty. The kind-faced woman in charge of looks at me.

"Have a taste! It's pretty good."

So they are free samples then?

"Gimme! Gimme!"

Gammamon is pretty willing to take on that offer.

"My, what a cutie!"

She goes very close and person with Gammamon, curiosity clear in her eyes.

This… This may be bad!

Nobody cared this morning enough to press on the issue, but that glint in her eyes gives me a bad feeling! She is REALLY curious!

"Um, this is an Ai Hologram, so it can't eat."

Gammamon looks at me sadly as I say that. Please don't do that, not now!

"Really? They are made so well lately…"

She raises a hand and tries to touch Gammamon.

That's not good!

I get out of the way, and start walking quickly far from the woman, pushing my shopping cart in a hurry.

"Sorry, maybe next time!"

"Iaaaaahhhh!"

Gammamon tries to reach out, pain in his voice and tears in his eye, to the food samples we left behind. I'm sorry, Gammamon!

The light breeze coming through the trees of the park feels nice, and the flowers sprouting here and there through the park makes the place ideal to rest and enjoy the snacks we bought.

As we finish setting up the picnic mantle and sit down, I open the shopping bag and choose some food. I take a can of salmon, and after opening us, a cut a portion with a fork and offer it to Gammamon.

With a big 'Aaaahhhhhh' he happily bites onto it.

"How's it? Good?"

After gulping down, he makes a happy face.

"Shiny!"

"Shiny? You mean the salmon skin?"

I proceed to take out all kinds of food, and get all types of different reactions. From 'This is real good' through 'Boring' to 'Scary'. He really didn't like spicy food.

He quickly gulps down the water I pass him, looking like he just escaped death.

"It was spicy, huh?"

"It was like kaboom!"

"I see, so 'scary' means 'spicy'."

I take out my phone, and write that down. Just in case, so I don't forget. This is being very useful to learn what he likes and dislikes.

"Hiro, more!"

"You sure can eat! And you're quite the adventurous type."

I go to the bag, and take the last food he hasn't tried yet. A chocolate bar.

"Then how about the opposite, something sweet?"

"Uhm?"

He bites down on the chocolate bar, as I offer it to him. And suddenly, his eyes bright up, and he jumps up from where he was seated.

"Oooooooooohhhhhhh!"

It almost looks like his jumps and wildly flail of his arms are a weird type of dance.

"More!"

"Oh, you like chocolate?"

"Champion!"

I guess he found his favorite then.

I cover my mouth as I loudly yawn. The sky is barely turning orange, and I'm already exhausted. Gammamon fell asleep in my backpack the moment we got out of the park. I'll let him sleep until-

"S-Strong! Too Strong! This is the champion!"

"Uahhh!"

Gammamon suddenly shouted from my backpack, almost giving me a heart attack.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"…Eh?"

Gammamon starts looking around confused, before slowly rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, you were dreaming."

Was he dreaming of chocolate?

I should have bought more.

We pass through the gates of the museum, about an hour left before the closing hours. It's not too late nor too early to raise brows. I check just in case if I have my lockpicks in my hoodie near my chest, and walk forward satisfied. We can still spend some time looking around first.

Gammamon looks curiously and going 'Oooooooh…' and 'Ahhhhhhh…!' as we pass through the sculptures, ancient artifacts, and paints.

"Ah, it's Hokuto!"

"Eh, what?!"

Dad?!

Gammamon is pointing at a painting of a man wearing a priest uniform while holding books and raising a spear to the sky.

…How's it dad?

No, wait!

The face is pretty similar, and he has the same hairstyle!

Though his nose is bigger, it's a pretty funny coincidence.

"He's not Hokuto Gammamon, that's only a painting someone made of a man that is similar to dad."

"A painting?"

"Yes, someone used some type of paint to give color to a blank canvas, and create that image as a result. It's a coincidence that it ended looking a bit like dad."

"Someone made it?"

He continued looking at the painting almost in a trance, a low 'Ahhhh…' coming from him.

"Hiro, can you paint like that too?"

"Paint…? Hahaha, no, I don't know how to paint, I'm not much of the artistic type. Do you want to paint Gammamon?"

"Eh? I can?"

"Sure, why not? I can get some colored pencils tomorrow."

"Ohhhh! Hiro, I wanna paint!"

"Let's get them then, so you can draw whenever you want at home."

"Yaaay!"

He looked really happy. It put me in a good mood, until I froze at the sudden realization that we were being pretty loud in a museum. But fortunately, there wasn't anyone around, so we didn't cause any problem yet. Though just in case, I walked out of the section as fast as possible.

We spent the next half an hour looking through the museum, teaching Gammamon what I knew about everything he asked. It made me feel dumb when he asked things I didn't know the answer for, and the amount of things I thought I would know but in reality I didn't. It was hard to explain how dinosaurs weren't Digimon. But in the end we had a good time.

We pass by the exhibition of mummies as we go to the bathroom. I stop as we look at them. Maybe one of them is…?

"Oiiii, is there a Digimon here…?"

I try to call out to them, in a low voice to not attract attention. But there was no answer.

"Gammamon, is there a Digimon here?"

"Mmm..? …Not sure."

"You aren't sure?"

"It smells like there was one hours ago… I think? Though I can't tell the difference between that or one being asleep."

"They don't smell while sleeping…?"

Uh… Is that how it is with all Digimon?

I'm not even sure if it's really a smell…

"Well, if it's sleeping during the day, maybe it'll wake up later."

We go to the bathroom, and enter a stall. I sit down and put Gammamon in my lap as I take out my phone. And from there, it'll be a waiting game.

'Thank you very much for visiting today. We will be closing soon.'

The announcement of closing of the museum rang through the speaker, and reached us in the bathroom stall.

"Ohh, Hiro!"

I put down my phone, seeing an utopi of Rirurun that apparently also came to this museum today, putting it back onto my sleeve, and look at Gammamon. He had covered himself in toilet paper. He looking like a tiny mummy.

"This is fun."

"You are a mummy too?!"

We wait a bit more for the lights to go out, and then I pull up my hood and get out. Outside the bathroom all the holographic displays have been turned off alongside the lights. There is nobody else here, not even a security guard. It's also a bit cold, probably because they turned off the heat after everyone left.

For what I know, the security system in places like this is mostly set to find if someone breaks anything or touches anything. So there shouldn't be a problem until I have to get out.

I walk to the doors of the mummy exhibition while holding Gammamon in my arms. I feel a bit frustrated looking at it, noticing the electronic lock, and feeling silly for not checking it before.

This… May be a problem.

I think I can force the door open, but I'm not sure if it'll activate an alarm.

I may… Not have thought this thoroughly enough…

Gammamon jumps on top of my shoulders as I mull over it.

Well, I'll have to risk it. If an alarm sounds, I'll break a window to get out.

I reach for the set of lockpicks, but suddenly, the screen of the electronic lock lights up, and the doors open.

What the…? Well…

"…Lucky me!"

…There's no way that was luck, is there?

I look up at Gammamon's face over mine.

Did he do something…?

We walk into the mummy section. Like before, all the mummies were set straight up in rows behind a long glass. And from one of them, I see a light suddenly appear.

From the head of the mummy, a large eye covered in a white light suddenly appears, and following it, a large body starts emerging from the inside of that mummy. A tall and learn body with very long limbs ending in large claws. Its body covered in bandages and belts, covering one of its eyes under a dark purple cloth over its head. He was carrying a bit… Something, on his back, completely covered in bandages.

Its body was transparent and glitchy, surrounded by a pale white light.

It passed through the glass as if it wasn't there, and stood tall over me. Then, it looked at me, its single pupil becoming a slit as it looked at me in the eyes.

"U-Uaaaah!"

I unconsciously let out a cry, and took a step back.

Damn, what are you getting scared of?!

You came to meet it, get yourself together!

Gammamon jumped to the ground and stood in front of me, almost growling at the mummy.

"I'm Gammamon!"

The mummy turned completely towards us. His single eye focused on Gammamon. I couldn't tell what was on his mind.

"I'm Mummymon."

…Makes sense.

"So you are a Digimon!"

I really found one simply following Internet rumors!

"Hey, can I ask you some questions?"

"Mmm? Sure, what is it?"

He's being… Helpful. But I still can't decipher his expression. In any case, things are looking good.

"I'm looking for a Digimon called Clockmon, do you know him? Lower body is a giant clock, upper body a humanoid form in a black bodysuit and a red cloak and hoodie. Mouth sewn shut. Holding a giant hammer."

"Mmm…"

The mummy… Mummymon, raises a claw to his jaw, clearly thinking about it.

Does he…?

"No."

He slowly shakes his head, making clear he doesn't know about him.

"I… See… Then, do you know Hokuto Amanokawa?"

He shakes his head again.

"No."

"Then, how do you get to the Digital World? Tell me please!"

He shakes his head again.

"I do not know."

I sigh.

"Thanks for your time…"

"May I ask why do you want to know? This is my first time meeting a Human that knows what a Digimon is… Or one that doesn't get scared of me. Do you need something from this Clockmon?"

"Ahhh… He stole… The Time of a friend. He's now in the hospital, turned into an old man. He may not last long, the doctors are doing their best, but unless I find Clockmon and take back his time, he…. It'll be very bad."

"I… See… There isn't much we can do if he needs his time returned to him to raise again… Mmm…"

Raise again is a weird way to put it, but it looks like he's thinking of something, rubbing a finger on his jaw.

"I don't know this Clockmon, but how about asking flying Digimon? They have the best vantage point you could ask for, and that Clockmon looks like a very easy to identify one. If they haven't seen him, then you could ask them to go inform you when they find him, or even follow him to find where he made his home. Though you may need to offer something to them in exchange of the effort."

"That… That's very helpful… Thanks…!"

"I hope your friend can be cured."

This went way better than I expected!

'Chu!'

I let out a sneeze, my nose feeling a bit stuffed.

"Ugh, did I catch a cold…?"

I wonder if I remembered to pack tissues in my backpack.

When I look up again… Mummymon's single eye is wide open, focusing on me. Do Digimon sneeze…? Maybe it surprised him?

Suddenly, Mummymon threw back his right arm, and then swings it forward, releasing bandages rapidly coming at me and Gammamon.

"Eh- Wai-!"

Gammamon jumps out of the way, but I can't avoid them, and they quickly grab and spread around me. I fall to the hard ground on my side, my arms and legs restricted, most of my body covered in the bandages that cut themselves from Mummymon.

"Agh!"

That hurts!

"What is this?!"

"Hiro!"

From the ground, I see Mummymon squint his eye at Gammamon, and Gammamon growling at Mummymon. He raises a claw towards Gammamon, his expression becoming neutral again.

"There are no problems with you."

Gammamon, doesn't lose any more time, and jumps towards Mummymon. But he simply side steps to avoid him, and as Gammamon is still in the air, swings his arm, releasing two big bandages that impact with Gammamon and smash him into the wall.

"Uaaaagh!"

"Gammamon!"

Without losing a moment, he swiftly takes a bunch of knives out of the belt at his waist, and swings them towards Gammamon.

Knives!?

"Gammamoooooon!"

The knives, instead of hitting Gammamon, pierce the bandages around him, lodging themselves deep into the wall.

T-Thank God…! No, wait, this is not good, Gammamon can't move!

With the same swiftness and precision as before, Mummymon grabs me from and starts walking.

"Wait, what are you doing?!"

"I shall grant you eternal rest and eternal peace."

"Wait, wait, wait! What are talking abo-!"

I notice how now new bandages start coming from Mummymon and spreading around my body. Slowly covering my body.

"What's this?! Let me go!"

But there is no answer, as the bandages completely cover my body, muffling my voice, and leaving only my left eye exposed, free to see Gammamon stuck to the wall before we move away.

"Pull me down! Are you listening?!"

He continues ignoring me, as we down stairs. We are far from the public area of the museum, going into the storerooms under it.

It's very dark, and from my awkward position being carried over a shoulder, and with an eye covered, I can't see very well. But as we go deeper inside, I can see something.

Bandages.

They are everywhere.

All the columns set around the storeroom are covered in bandages, connection to each other through the roof and hanging like vines in a jungle. And tied to those columns… Human-like figures, completely and tightly covered in bandages, in a pose resembling mummies.

Those… Are those…?!

No, there's no way he…!

"…e…m…"

My blood runs could, as I hear a low and muffled mumble, coming from my right.

As I twist to the side, I can see one of those figures lightly twitching… As if trying to free itself from the bandages.

And soon, all the figures started to twitch.

"What have I ever done to you?!"

"What on earth is going on?"

"Please, let me out!"

"Help me! I don't wanna die!"

"Mom! Dad! Big Brother!"

"Please…! At least… Some food…!"

"…Help… Me…"

"Why…"

A-Are you serious…?

Oi, wasn't this guy very kind and helpful just a few minutes ago?!

"Shroud yourself in darkness further. Then you shall gain eternal rest."

Mummymon's voice reverberated through the room, even as calm and low as it was.

"Let me out… Let me out…"

"Please, let us out…"

"Do not fear. This is the eternal peace chosen by darkness."

Eternal Peace…?

Don't tell me he means becoming a mummy…?!

"Stop saying such stupid stuff and let me go!"

He ignored me, and continued walking.

"Gggggghhhhh!"

I struggle against the bandages.

They are too tough!

"This darn thing…!"

I continue pushing with my neck all I can.

Just… A bit… More!

Finally, I manage to free my mouth.

"Yes!"

And I bite the darn thing!

I can barely get a small bite, but that's enough!

I tear it with my fangs, and start pulling with all I got, until it falls apart.

One bandage less!

With that one free, the rest will take just a bit more!

I have to rush, he's got Hiro!

"I… Don't want… To die… Yet…"

"I see great signs. Have hope. "

"What? What do you mean 'signs'?"

I have got a very bad feeling from this.

Whatever those 'signs' are, they can't be good!

"Am I… Done… For…?"

"You shall too. Soon, just as the blossom abloom in the heaven, your body and soul shall meet its time of resurrection!"

"Ughhh… Ugh…"

That voice sounds like…

Don't tell me…

…How long…

…Has it been down here…?

"Do not fear! Trust in my powers of purification and attain eternal peace!"

"Purification?"

Eternal peace…

Signs, body and soul, resurrection…

Is he…?

'Pump!'

"Gh!"

Something heavy impacts against the bandages thickly covering my body, and I can feel part of them tearing apart.

"Hiro's scent!"

I hear Gammamon's voice on top of me, and the bandages covering my body quickly start being teared apart.

"You!"

"Gammamon!"

I can't see it, but I can feel Gammamon on top of my body being grabbed and thrown away, but as he grabs one of the bandages, I'm pulled out of Mummymon's clutches.

'Pump!'

I'm sent flying, and fall painfully to the ground, but the bandages restricting my body have been teared apart and untangled. I'm free!

I quickly try to get on my feet.

"Th-Thanks, Gammamon!"

"Ooooo, Hiro!"

He happily waves at me. It calms my nerves.

Thank god he's okey, good thing he could free himself.

"Grrrr…!"

I'm taken out of my thinking as I hear a low growling from behind me. Quickly getting up and looking back, Mummymon looks very pissed.

But that's not what's got my attention right now. Instead, all the words he has said until now cover my mind.

'There isn't much we can do'

'Raise again'

'There are no problems with you'

'Signs'

'Purification'

…Resurrection!

He's following ancient Egyptian believes about healing and life after death, believing they work!

He thinks he's helping people!

"You little…!"

Wrath on his voice, he reaches out for the thing he's been carrying on his back, and tears it's bandages apart to reveal a…

Rifle?!

No, a machine gun?!

You can't be serious!

"How dare you take my patient!"

The end of the machine gun starts releasing red lightning.

"…Patient! That confirms it!"

"How dare you! He needs treatment!"

'Pump!' 'Pump!' 'Pump!' 'Pump!' 'Pump!' 'Pump!' 'Pump!' 'Pump!'

He, enraged, starts shooting at the ceiling, red sparks appearing alongside each bullet shot. And then, he lowers it towards us.

This is bad!

We jump behind he columns, barely avoiding the barrage of bullets. The columns shook, being slowly but steadily being teared apart.

This guy is way too enthusiastic about doing his job!

Suddenly, the barrage stops, followed by a sigh.

"Ahhh… I'm finished…"

A few seconds of silence, as Mummymon appears to recover his breathing.

Did he finally calm down…?

"Do not worry! I promise to heal you all!"

He starts walking towards us, the barrage of bullets starting again.

Damn, I need to stop him before I REALLY need healing!"

"Hey, are you a doc-!"

'Pump!'

As I try to look past the column, a bullet tears a piece of column right above my head, forcing me to go back.

Dammit, don't show your head when you are being shot at, idiot!

"Hey, you! If you're a doctor, you've got the wrong idea"

I try to shout louder, hoping it can be heard past the noise of the bullets.

"Doing this won't heal Humans!"

"I have come to the Human World and seen with my own eyes. This is the way to attain eternal life, passed down through millennia for everyone to learn. The art of medicine in the human world!"

Dammit, he thought that just because we continue teaching it for s long it's truth!

And I can't even fault him for that mistake, it sort of makes sense from his perspective, we pass down too many things we have already proven wrong long ago!

"Hey, like I said…!"

My words are cut short as I feel a tug at my knee. A bandage catched it, and more start spreading around my body.

"Uah, dammit!"

"Hiro!"

They quickly cover me, restricting my body once again.

"I have not gotten anything wrong. I properly spent months researching the techniques and rituals performed by the ancient Egyptians and passed down to this day. I will admit that I'm waiting until the patients can't feel pain anymore to take out their organs… But I feel that it would be too cruel to do it before it, it should be similarly effective even if I delay that part."

"Organs?!"

What the hell does he plan to do?!

'Pump!'

I fall to the ground. Gammamon rushes at me, but is repelled by red lightning shot from Mummymon's gun. The lightning runs rampant over my head, keeping Gammamon painfully in place.

"These Humans give of deep sighs and coughs, and they all wear signs of exhaustion. Sneezing from illness or fainting on the streets. It is my mission to cure illnesses! My oath as a doctor!"

He starts walking towards, each step feeling like death approaching.

No, I have to stop him!

"Wait a minute! But-!"

"I have no ear to lend you! Leave medicine to the professionals!"

'Crrr'

"Ughhhh!"

The bandages starts to painfully constrict around me, making me lose my breath.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Damn, talking doesn't work…!

I look back at Gammamon, still being pushed down b the red lightning. It looks very painful, but it doesn't look like it's hurting Gammamon, Mummymon may not really want to hurt him.

"Y-You okey?"

As I try to check on Gammamon, a new set of Bandages reaches for me, and start dragging me through the ground, towards Mummymon.

"Ugh, answer me, Gammamon!"

My left wrist feels warm, as I feel the Digivice turn on.

"T-Tuna… Bread…"

Tuna and bread..?

Right… Things Gammamon liked!

"Sh-Shiny…"

He starts crawling forwards, eyes and teeth tightly clenched from the pain. But he still crawls forward. New bandages reach for my face, painfully trying to make me look away.

"G-Gammamon!"

I resist the bandages with everything I got.

"Hang in there! There's still a lot… I haven't shown you!"

"H-Hiro…"

He continues crawling forward, under the pressure of the lightning.

"R-Rice… D-Daikon… And…"

"The champion!"

Gammamon opens his eyes, trying to get up.

"The champion!"

"Yes, let's eat chocolate again! There are still tons of types of champions I haven't shown you! Lots of things I want to show you! And… I still need your help to save Kotaro! So don't give up, Gammamon! This is just the beginning!"

More bandages reach up, and start dragging me faster.

"I'll… Eat more…!"

"I'll show you a lot of new things!"

"And I'll… save Hiro!"

I felt power surging from my Digivice, as an explosion of light surged from Gammamon. A giant sphere of white expanded and collapsed into a small dome around him, three streams of red, blue, and green light rotation around it, connected through black rings. The streams collapsed into the dome, turning it a radiant red.

"Gammamon, Evolution!"

As it released streams of red light all around, it was suddenly swept away by a hand surging from inside. The dome was teared into pieces, and was absorbed by the figure inside as a wave of flame expanded from him, passing through me and burning off the bandages covering my body.

"BetelGammamon!"

The figure was about a tall as me, maybe a bit shorter. His head was similar to that of Gammamon's, but his body was more humanoid, taller, with long limbs and a red body with white details. His blue scarf was a lot longer, falling behind him.

"Huh?"

Is that… Gammamon?

He transformed…?

Mummymon spread his arms wide, an ecstatic smile on his face.

"Ooooooh! You evolved?! This is an occasion to celebrate, child! No, you aren't a child anymore I guess!"

Evolved?

An Evolution?

Gammamon… No, BetelGammamon rushed forward, and words started to form in my mind. As I feel my body full of energy, I get up and face Mummymon as BetelGammamon passes by me and I shout them out.

"Sorshot!"

Black and red flames appear on BetelGammamon's hands, and he jumps over Mummymon, shooting fireballs at him. The fireballs explode into giant flames, piling up on each other until Mummymon's body can't be seen past the red and black, as BetelGammamon falls on the other side.

But suddenly, the flames are swept away from the inside, as Mummymon swings them away. He's got a serious face, completely unscathed, and raises his gun at BetelGammamon.

That didn't hurt him?!

…No, that doesn't matter!

He's taking BetelGammamon seriously now, so he may listen to us now!

"Your treatment is wrong!"

"Lies."

He almost snarls at me, looking at me in the eyes before looking back at BetelGammamon. He's not treating me as ignorant, but as a liar… As opposition. That means… He's listening to me this time!

"A doctor can't be killing their patients!"

There is no answer. There is movement. It takes a few moments until his arm holding the gun starts to tremble, and he twists back to look at me. There is a panicked expression on his face.

"What?"

I walk towards Mummymon.

"Humans don't resurrect."

I have to drill this into him, right now, it's now or never!

"After we die, we just become like those dread-up mummy displays. There is no resurrection, reincarnation, nor anything like that. We don't raise up again."

"W-What?!"

His voice is trembling. He looks to be about to panic, listening to every word and what they would mean of his own actions.

"That is an ancient Egyptian method from thousands of years ago, born from religion beliefs and not proved science, that we pass on for their cultural meaning and not to actually perform it. It's not the treatment we use today!"

"Ah…Ahhh…!"

He takes a step back, completely panicking, the words finally landing completely. Suddenly, he looks away, a despairing look on his face. He runs. He's clearly not a good runner, but he runs, almost tripping with his own legs.

"Oi, wait!"

"Don't run darn it!"

We run after him, but stop not too long after as Mummymon stops in front of a column. He reaches a hand to the figure wrapped in bandages in front of him. His hand stops, trembling, but pushes forward, and starts removing them.

We can only watch as the man inside falls to the ground. He… doesn't look good. His body appears heavily dehydrated, and his muscles were very thin. He didn't make any movement.

He… Already is…!

"Hu-Human Child… Ho-How is this man…? I'm… I'm not sure I know how to check… If a Digimon dies, their body disappears… Is like that… With Humans…?"

His hands were trembling as much as his voice.

I look at the man on the ground. He looks like he's…

…No, I-I have to check.

If he's still alive, he needs urgent help!

I walk to the man, and slowly crouch besides him. I reach my hand to his neck. I stop for a moment, my hand trembling, but I force myself to steady it and reach to his neck, to try to check for his pulse, but I can't stop my thundering heart.

…He's cold.

I retract my trembling hand, and look at Mummymon. I close my eyes, lower my face, and shake my head.

"…He's gone."

"Ah….Ahhhh….Ahhhhhhhh!"

He falls to his knees, tears streaming down his face, claws holding his head in place.

"I… I have…! To this man!"

He's having a complete breakdown.

What… Should I say…?

He… Killed this man…

He's a doctor, he was trying to help, but this…

Even if it was a mistake…!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Mummymon suddenly grabs his gun, and points it at his head.

"What- Stop!"

'Bang!'

A thunderous sound reverberates through the room.

The gun releases red sparks, following having been shot.

I hold its side, pushing it away from Mummymon, BetelGammamon pulling it from the other side.

"…What are you doing?!" "What the darn are you doing?!"

Tears continue streaming down from Mummymon's face.

"…I'm a doctor. I swore that I would heal and cure others above all else. I… I should be helping people… Instead, I… I…! I don't deserve to continue l-"

I punch Mummymon in the face.

There is a moment of silence, BetelGammamon looks at me shocked, and Mummymon looks like someone threw a bucket of freezing water at him.

I grab him by the bandages of the neck.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I… I don't deserve to-!"

"What would that change?!"

He looks at me, words stuck on his throat.

"You are a doctor, aren't you?! How many people do you think can help… Save, if you learn how?!"

What he did… Is…

But…

But!

It can't end like this!

"Learn proper medicine! Don't let this happen again! Don't make the same mistake!"

"But… But…! Even if I do, this man will not-!"

"Of course he won't! But ending yourself won't do it either! So instead, go learn, and save people like you wanted! But do it right!"

My hand is trembling. I'm not sure when the tears starting coming down my face. BetelGammamon is looking away. I release Mummymon.

"…Help me get everyone here outside. We'll call an hospital so they send ambulances. Let's save the rest."

Mummymon closes his eyes, his head falling so low it almost touches the ground.

"…Yes, I'll help…"

We stand by the river, BetelGammamon having gone back to being Gammamon. We looked from afar as the ambulances came and brought everyone to various hospitals.

That man was the first one Mummymon caught, spending down there the longest. Everyone else managed to make it to an hospital. Some may be in critical condition, but they'll surely make it with the proper help.

"I… I promised my king, long ago, that my hands would only be used for healing, and my gun only for protecting. It pleased him. He was a very wise man…"

He looks at the river, looking to be remembering the past.

"Human child… If I saved 1000 lives… Do you think it would compensate this…?"

How should I know?

I'm just a kid, and I just saw something I can't get out of my mind.

There's no way I can answer that.

"…Dunno. What do you think, Gammamon?"

"I don't know either… What do you think, Mummymon?"

"…No, it wouldn't. I'll have to live with that, I guess."

"…Makes sense."

An uncomfortable silence surrounds us again. I don't want it, so I break it.

"There are some pretty famous hospitals around this area. You can't exactly sign in as a medicine student, but there would be plenty of learning material and people working you could observe…Wait, are you visible or invisible to them? I can see you anyways, so I can't tell."

"…I can change that as will. Hospitals, eh… Human child, I swear an oath to you. The next time we meet, I'll have studied as hard as I can, and learned proper Human Medicine. I'll do everything I can to never make a mistake with a patient again."

"…In that case, if I get hurt going after Clockmon, I'll ask you to patch me up."

"…Heh, trusting me with that even after today… And giving me such a short timeframe to do it. I'll do my absolute best, so I can treat both of you properly, Human Child, Gammamon."

"…Hiro. My name is Amanokawa Hiro."

"…Thank you, Amanokawa Hiro."

He starts walking away, probably to an hospital.

"I'll become a proper doctor. I'll never forget this day."

…And I believe in you.

We walk up the stairs of the station, not too far from the museum.

"Hiro, I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, it has gotten pretty late. Let's buy something on the way home."

"Uh…?! Hiro!"

Gammamon suddenly pointed forward as a girl ran past us, a serious expression on his face.

"Uh?"

She looked… Scared, as she looked at all sides inside the station, before running for the trains. She was hiding her hand. Following her, a big yellow Digimon similar to a fat rabbit, flying with its ears.

What is happening there…?

"Oi!"

I call to the girl, but she runs into one of the trains, right before it closes its doors. The Digimon passes through the walls of the train, as it departs.

I feel like I have seen that girl somewhere…


Author Notes:

And that's it for now!

What a better way to motivate a doctor to learn as quickly as possible, doing his absolute best to become an expert on the field in record time, than him getting people killed for being an idiot when he genuinely was trying to help?

And now Hiro has to deal with the memory of what he saw!

Fun!

((For the readers, not for Hiro))

See ya next week!