Work Text:
Zhiguang sighed as the Gate closed behind his friends.
He looked at his arm that was now still lined with those fragmentations. He assumed he was not this. He guessed. Yeah.
“Say, Dorumon,” he noted, looking at his partner. “I heard this thing. That Dorumon is just short for ‘Digital or Unknown monster’. Is that correct?”
Dorumon blinked at him. He tilted his head, flicking his ear. “Dunno.”
Zhiguang chuckled. “Fair enough. I was just thinking. Maybe I am more like you now. Like, I am now part of this world, I guess.”
“But you are a human. You are not a Digimon.”
“I mean, yeah. But also…” He gestured at his hands and his arms.
“Don’t you want to go with your friends?” Dorumon asked.
“I do. But I do not think that I can. I think that whatever has happened made me part of the Digital World somehow and now…” Zhiguang sighed, before wrapping his arm around Dorumon. “Eh, means basically you are not getting to get rid of me in the end.”
“But your friends…”
“Are you saying that we are not friends?” He playfully chocked his partner just a little.
“No. I am just… It’s alright!”
Being the lone human in the Digital World was a bit strange. But Zhiguang guessed he was really an adventurer at heart. So what was a bit of adventure?
He shook his D-Cyber, while Dorumon shot attacks at the Leomon attacking them. “Dorumon! Evolution! Now!”
The D-Cyber was shining. “Dorumon – Evolution! Dorugamon!” And the new Adult Digimon was flying towards its opponent and tackling him into the wall. Dorugamon let lose another attack that was pretty much unable to miss on this short of a range, and Leomon collapsed right then and there.
“See?” Zhiguang asked. “It is a good thing I stayed. After all, you need a Tamer to take care of you and all that.”
Dorugamon turned around to him, looking just a bit confused. Though Zhiguang assumed that was just normal. Dorumon had never been quite that bright, had he?
But yeah, no matter what Zhiguang was right now, he was still a Tamer. And that was kinda the important bit. Even if he looked a bit strange right now.
Then there was groan, as Leomon raised his hand to rub his head. “What has happened? I…” He looked at Zhiguang. “Wait. You are… a human, no?”
At times Zhiguang kinda missed his bed at home. But he guessed that then again he would miss sleeping under the open sky when he was home. He was pretty sure about that. And having a fire go just next to them, while was cuddled up to Dorumon… It had its own upsides really.
The Digital World was never quiet at night. It was not the cicadas from the real world, but some other things. Probably some bug Digimon or something that were filling the night with noise. But it had something wild.
Though admittedly, when he slept he dreamt of his home.
He wondered what the others would tell his parents. And what people would say to that. Would they even believe them? Would they believe that Digimon were real and stuff like that? It was kinda hard to believe, wasn’t it? But it was all real, of course. All of it was real.
He sighed and rolled over, wrapping his arms around Dorumon and wishing the Digimon was just a bit softer. The fur was kinda soft, but the body of it was not. It was a monster after all. A Digimon. And a pillow would do better.
“I heard your other friends left,” Holy Angemon said, watching Zhiguang. Well, at least Zhiguang assumed that much, given he could not really see the Digimon’s eyes.
“Yeah. But. I mean… Look at me. It is not as if I can go home like this?”
Holy Angemon paused at this. “You need to be defragmented once more. Then your data can return.”
“Right,” Zhiguang muttered.
“What does defragmentation mean?” Dorumon tilted his head, once more confused.
“Whatever happened to your partner, his data was changed, made more efficient. But when it happened there was a mistake. Now his data must be shifted once more to correct it.”
“Huh.” Dorumon huffed.
“It is not as if… I mean, I do not even really know what happened.” Zhiguang crossed his arms.
“I understand that, human child,” Holy Angemon said. “But if you go to find one of the hosts of this world… They shall be able to help you.” The angel Digimon stretched out his hand to tap Zhiguang’s forehead, and for just a moment a path flickered up in front of Zhiguang’s eyes before he stumbled backwards.
“W-what was that?”
“The path you must follow.” Holy Angemon smiled softly at him.
“Shenglian! Hui! Mei!” Zhiguang sat up, his mind still taken by the dream. He had stretched out his hand, but there were no friends waiting for him, just the night sky of the Digital World.
His heart was beating painfully in his chest, when he realized it had just been a dream.
He sighed, skuttling closer to the fire.
He missed his friends. He missed his family as well. It was all a bit… strange in the end. But he was still more a part of this world, wasn’t he? He was no longer really a human.
He looked at his hands. Without the gloves those lines were even visible on his fingers.
The hosts. That was what Holy Angemon had said. But in the end… It was not as if he could go, right? He was…
Something pressed against his shoulders. It was Dorumon’s snout as the Digimon nuzzled him. “You could go home, Zhiguang. You should be with your friends.”
“but you are my friend too,” Zhiguang said.
“I know. I always will be. But you should be with then. Shenglian, and Hui!”
“I…” Zhiguang sighed before hugging the Digimon. “I am not even sure I can return.”
The lines were disappearing. They really were. It was a strange feeling. To have all his data be rewritten. He could feel it. It was… tickling.
Some fear was gripping him as he looked a the host. A thing that was not quite like anything else he had ever seen. Not human. Not Digimon. That much was for sure.
The tickling got worse. It made him grunt as if felt almost like a jolt of electricity. But then… The lines were gone. And he was… He was back to normal. Just normal old Zhiguang!
You should go. That was the voice of the host in his mind.
“But… But Dorumon,” he started, as he could see a flicker in the air. A flicker, just before the Gate opened once more.
He could see a sunset on the other side. A sunset over his home. And he could hear a familiar voice. A sobbing.
“Hui…” he muttered.
He got over to the Gate, looking through it.
“Wait…” They had just gotten back. They had gotten back from the Digital World right now. Even though he had been here for weeks more.
But he could not just go. Not just… like this. He could not just return before he said goodbye. He turned his head – only to see Dorumon run towards him to tackle him.
He fell through the Gate almost ending on the ground had Shenglian not caught him.
They stared him. “Zhiguang?”
Hui sniffled. “Y-you… You came after all?”
Zhiguang wanted to turn around to see Dorumon one last time – but the Gate had already closed.
So he sighed. And then he grinned. “Obviously. I always wanted come back. Though I did not expect this. To come here right after you.” He laughed.
And then all three hugged him. “Zhiguang!”
