Darkest Dreams of Shadow

Chapter 2: Intertwined Fates

Harper was at work, Between Friends was an antique shop that sold antiques,  and rare books, rare gems and other valuable things. It made her quite a bit of money but she helped to cut the fudge that they made, there were many flavors of fudge!  She enjoyed working there a lot and had always found herself enjoying the different colors and textures of each treat. Some customers came in asking about various types of chocolate, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, peanut butter, peanut butter, strawberry and more. They were nice folks who asked very detailed questions and were very respectful to her. Harper couldn't help but still think about the nightmares she's been having at night,  she'd wake up in a sweat every time and couldn't stop shaking.  For the past month or so she'd been dreaming about Digimon. Not just a bunch of Digimon, no, sometimes she dreamed she saw other Digimon and heard their voices in her head. Sometimes she felt a presence with her. She wasn't alone.
"I know you're awake," a voice said behind her
Harper nearly dropped the chocolate she was holding. she didn't see anyone and looks side to side feeling skittish,   "Who's there?"
"It doesn't matter, you won't remember me when you wake up" he says. his voice sounds familiar but she can't remember why.
Harper is frightened but she continues putting away the chocolate she had been making.  "Who are you?"
"My name is GulusGammamon," he replies with a laugh.
"What do you want!" Harper asks
He smiles, "You'll remember when you wake up, then I will tell you........" but this thing that was talking........it wasn't in sight.......he could only be speaking inside her mind, but what does he mean by he will tell her?
Harper turns and begins packing away some chocolate into plastic bags. He's gone by the time she's finished.
In the morning the nightmare was drawing to a close then she sees GulusGammamon flying above her. she hears him start laughing again, "Come little bird......wake up now......come meet me...........I'll make sure you are safe.....be careful what you say to the other humans."
Before Harper can ask anything else he disappears into black nothing. Harper wakes up, it's her day off but she immediately gets dressed and follows the aura, it's as if her soul was being beckoned  towards this being. As she nears the location of the aura she becomes aware of another presence within it; something else,  a dark shadowy figure, it was hovering above GulusGammamon, He is a bidepal black and magenta Digimon a ceratopsian-like head, white eyes with black sclera, a grey face, and a tail. It has a small black horn as a nose, thunderbolt-shaped upper horns, and a yellow drill-like horn. The black and grey parts of its head are a separated by a purple border that forms an "X" under the drill-like horn, and it has magenta accents on the tips of its head crest. It has a thin torso with visible ribs, and a redbipyramidal gem engraved on it. Its hands have three digits with red claws and its feet have four digits with golden claws. Its tail has a golden harpoon-like tip. It wears a blue cape tied around its neck with black belt with a metallic grey buckle.
Harper is startled when it speaks,
GulpusGammamon appears to be looking directly into her eyes, which gives her goose bumps, "heh, you're not as I expected huh?" he says rather smugly .
The creature is right, what did he expect?
Harper raises her eyebrows and glares at the creature who is now floating closer to her.
"Don't give me that look" he laughs "You've already seen me, haven't you?"
Harper nods
"Well don't act like your too surprised to see me" he chuckles "You were born to see me."
"What are you doing here?  How did you get here?!" Harper is shocked. "How do you even exist!?" She's confused.
"It isn't important how I exist, what matters is what you see" his voice is calm and nonchalant. "Now let me show you something" GulusGammamon turns and starts to glide downwards.  The wind is blowing in her direction and Harper 's hair flies out behind her.
Harper hesitates for a moment but follows along the creature down to a large field, the grass is long and wild and the sky is clear as it's an old field but she remembers that it used to be an old house!  The buildings that had stood here when she was a girl, were long since destroyed and the place seemed empty. There weren't any cars and people walking about, everything was silent. The only sound coming from the creature is the beating of his wings and the wind rustling through his antennae.
"Where are we?" Harper asks in confusion.
GulusGammamon pauses briefly, looking up towards the sun. "We are almost there." Then he continues on.  Harper follows him, unsure of where she's going. Finally the pair reaches a small wooden door that is located underneath an overhang. GulusGammamon flies up and knocks on the door with a claw. He waits patiently for several seconds then pushes against the door and the hinges creak open. He slowly steps in first, motioning for Harper to follow. Harper walks cautiously inside, peeking into each room as she passes them. One room in particular catches her attention, it was from one of her nightmares.....a small bedroom with a bed and dresser. There is also a desk and a bookshelf filled with books. Harper takes a moment to study the room then she turns around and looks into one last room. It wasn't the same room but something about it strikes a chord within her memory. A big poster of the Battle Lovers stands proudly on the wall. What struck her most however was the words written in black ink on the poster, "The world needs you, and the world needs your dreams."
GulusGammamon is standing quietly waiting outside the room while listening to her thoughts and memories. his tail  twitches occasionally but other than that, there is absolute silence in the air, Harper can hear birds chirping happily far away in the distance. She's so lost in thought that she hadn't realized the creature was still there.  She turns quickly towards him, she doesn't notice how he is staring back at her. He feels bad, watching her suffer. He wants to help her but he doesn't know how to explain this to her. The situation has already gotten out of hand....how was he supposed to make her see clearly?  He shakes his head slightly, this shouldn't bother him, after all she can't hurt him anyway. He sighs softly as he approaches her, he extends his arms and offers her his hands.  "Let me take care of this, for now, please" he says
A puzzled look crosses Harper's face then she stares at his offered hand and slowly accepts it. Her hand is so tiny in his own huge paw covered hand.  He leads her upstairs then down a long hallway lined with doors until they reach one at the end. He opens it and they both step inside.  Harper is astounded at what she sees.  In the center of a circle of chairs sits a round table. At one end of the table are several candles burning, on the opposite end is a fireplace, surrounded by paintings of various landscapes; they must be of places he's visited in his journeys through human history. There is a soft glow coming from one of those paintings, she walks over curiously and peers into the painting as she looks at the scene depicted on the canvas.
She recognizes some of the landscapes and people portrayed on the canvas but some she doesn't. They appear to be sitting on a beach somewhere, there are boats sailing along the shore, a group of people walk towards the sea wearing sandals and swimsuits. She looks at the others and sees them smiling and laughing. They look so happy.......GulusGammamon looks at Harper and chuckles. "I've never seen a human get so mushy over a picture" he sasses her.   Harper looks at him and blushes.  She looks back at the painting, "they seem to enjoy themselves".
"They always do, these images capture their happiest moments."
She looks back up at him and smiles "what happens here? Why would they smile like that if it's just pictures of a beach?"
"It's called a memory card" he replies with a nod,
"So this is the way that they remember the good times?"
"Pretty much...."
Harper looks back at the paintings, feeling sad.  She suddenly thinks of her family,  Harper can feel tears well up in her eyes. She misses them dearly even though she only has her mom. "I want you to be family too GulusGammamon" she says.
He smiles, "it wouldn't be the same without you"  His words strike deep inside her and suddenly Harper is overcome by a sense of sadness, a sudden loneliness and longing.  It's then she realizes something, something strange and unfamiliar, something she's felt before...but has been repressed since childhood. It is like a familiar warm sensation washing over her as she feels herself start to tear up.
"Why are you crying?" GulusGammamon asks concerned
she tries to blink the tears away but it's no use, more flow down her cheeks.
"Do you have someone dear to you?"
"you......." Harper says between sniffles   She doesn't say anything else but instead wraps her arms around him tightly.
GulusGammamon hugs her gently returning the gesture and rests his head on hers.  He knows that he will never understand her but for some reason, being near to her makes him feel better, better than he's ever felt before. As they stand there together in each others embrace, the sun gradually rises above the horizon, bathing the world in brilliant pink and orange hues, and the colours blend in with one another. As the sunlight touches them they begin to shine brighter and brighter, as does the colours surrounding the area. They stand there for minutes, absorbing the colors and warmth radiating from the sun, as Harper cries quietly.  When she calms down she pulls away from the creature, wipes the moisture from her eyes and smiles weakly. GulusGammamon looks into her eyes, seeing her beautiful green orbs fill with tears as if reflecting the sunset on the ocean.  He smiles and holds her close again.