DarkFoxKit: Alright, here's another update.
ZAFT: And it's on a Monday. :3 But writing with a cut up finger is not fun. XP
Takuya: I don't want to know… ^^'
DarkFoxKit: Well I do. What happened to your finger?
ZAFT: Cut it on a peeler peeling potatoes. XP
DarkFoxKit: Jeez, be more careful next time.
ZAFT: I will, trust me. ^^'
Takuya: Is today just an update day?
ZAFT: You will wish it was just an update day~! XD
Takuya: O_O Oh… Uh… I will go join Andy in hiding...
(Two symbols, one red, and one blue, spin before colliding and flaring with light as they do so, showing the title)
Digital Phantom!
(Shows three forms in shadow before they are revealed to be Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley)
Three worlds, connected side by side
(A swirling green portal is shown, followed by the sky cities of the living world before a computer monitor is zoomed in on, revealing another world of lush greenery through that)
Connections, with many secrets to hide
(Andy Fenton is shown with a small purple fox-like creature, Dorimon, in his arms as Takuya Kanbara appears behind him, a form in shadow behind Takuya himself)
Is one always chosen by fate?
(Danny is shown transforming into his ghost form, Danny Phantom, flying towards a vampiric looking ghost, Vlad Plasmius)
Or can one make their own destiny?
(Andy is shown looking on as his cell-phone transforms into a Digivice, the D-Arc)
Digital Phantom!
(Andy holds up his D-Arc as a heart symbol appears on the screen)
The power is deep inside!
(Takuya holds up his D-Tector before fractal code surrounds him, dissipating as fire erupts from it, revealing him as Agunimon, lunging out from the fire just as Dorimon glows and becomes Dorumon, firing off a metal ball into the distance)
Digital Phantom!
(The metal ball blasts past Vlad Plasmius as he fires off a ghost ray at Andy, who blocks it with his Fenton Rod)
Destiny is unbound!
(The Fenton Rod is smacked away by Vlad, going spinning before Sam, with a small puppy-like creature next to her, reaches up and catches it, a shadowed form with wings appearing behind her, transparent in appearance)
Digital Phantom!
(Sam throws the Fenton Rod to Tucker, who spins it before throwing it at Plasmius, a big bunny-like being with gun-hands appearing behind Tucker, transparent in appearance)
Fight on, without regret
(Shows Takuya looking up from his D-Tector as he makes eye contact with his Human Spirit of Agunimon, who give a smile back and reaches out a hand as Takuya takes it)
Two sides never rest
(Danny is shown reaching for a glowing Digi-Egg, before the light glows to reveal Patamon in front of Danny, green eyes meeting Danny's baby blue ones.)
Digital Phantom!
(Jazz is shown with the form of Lopmon beside her, a larger, shadowed form behind them both)
Never regret or look back
(Takuya is shown looking up as a ball of fractal code covers his hand, surrounding him before it dissipates to reveal his Fusion form of Aldamon)
Fight on, with victory
(Aldamon fires off a slew of fiery bullets from his cannons, each of those bullets hitting Plasmius before the ghost teleports away, revealing a shadowed form behind him)
Nothing will stand in our way!
(Andy, Dorimon, Danny, Patamon, Tucker, Terriermon, Sam, Salamon, Jazz, Lopmon, and Takuya all appear with Vlad above them, sneering evilly as all ten look on defiantly)
Digital Phantom!
Chapter 58: Vlad's Motives
Although Danny managed to invisibly get Andy back into the house, Andy was awake again, and had been spewing out nonsense.
"Careful of the red glowing light, Danny. It makes you do bad things." "You sure you want Dad to capture you?" "The house is going to explode!" "Vlad has the key, Danny! THE KEY!" "What are you doing in the Digital World, bro?" "What do you mean you don't remember who Sam is?" and Danny's all time 'favorite'; "I can't believe we're both half ghosts! This is crazy!"
Danny groaned as he winced. He wished he could put his hands over his ears, but since he was carrying Andy, that meant his hands were full so he couldn't do even that. "Yeah… that all sounds interesting, bro. But you need rest before we can talk about any of that stuff."
Danny never thought he'd missed Andy asking him if he took Amity Park out of his stomach. At least that was consistent. Andy kept changing the subject to something drastically different every 5 or so minutes. Danny put Andy in his bed. Danny felt bad for leaving Tokomon and Dorumon behind while he was carrying Andy, but he was too tired and weakened from Vlad's assault to be able to carry all of them at once. Takuya promised to take care of them until they got home at least.
Ugh… Why did that fruit loop have to come here when Andy was sick? If he had waited a few days, then things would be easier at least… Danny thought to himself bitterly.
"Okay, Andy, just lay here and try to sleep, okay?" Danny said carefully.
Andy blinked at Danny. "You're a ghost again, Danny!"
"Yes, I am, but I want you to rest now, Andy. We can talk more about me being a ghost later." Danny said, trying to get Andy to fall asleep. Please just fall asleep, bro. You need it now more than ever.
Andy started to close his eyes, looking a bit drowsy. Danny was starting to sigh in relief, seeing that. He let himself change back to human. This caused Andy's eyes to widen and made him sit up.
"You just showed the entire world your secret! I know you saved the world from the asteroid, but don't you think this is pushing it?" Andy frantically asked. "Don't you remember how the Guys in White were mercilessly coming after you? What is going to happen to us in the future now?"
Danny blinked, and blinked again at what Andy just said. "Okay… now I know you're delirious… an asteroid? And me revealing my secret to the whole world? Why would I be stupid enough to do that? Even if I saved the world, that's gotta be the dumbest thing ever."
"I agree, what were you thinking?" Andy questioned.
Danny sighed. "We can talk about it when you wake up again, Andy. Just go to sleep for now. You're too tired to stay awake now."
Andy then gave a worried look, and seemed to actually be looking at Danny instead of a far off dream Danny. "Danny? … Ugh… what's happening to me? Why do I keep seeing different places?"
Danny frowned, concerned now. "It's your fever. It's making you see things. You need rest so it can get better."
"I see… I'm sorry, Danny… I know I shouldn't have gone out like that… but you were in danger… Vlad was… is here… and I just… reacted," Andy said softly.
"It's okay. I know you were concerned. Just… take it easy now. You can worry about Vlad when you're better." Danny assured his brother gently.
Andy nodded slowly as he started to close his eyes. "Oh… change… the ecto… filter thing… don't want the house… to explode…"
Danny nodded. "I will do that. You just rest now, bro."
The younger twin closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep. Danny sighed in relief before pulling the blanket up to Andy's body. "Heh… he went out in his pajamas…"
Danny then left the room he shared with Andy. He had to get Takuya, Dorumon, and Tokomon back home now, but first, the ecto-filter had to be changed.
When Takuya got home with Tokomon and Dorumon, he noticed Jack and Maddie were in the living room. Jack was looking a little worried about something, while Maddie was flipping through the channels on TV.
"Uh… is everything okay, Uncle Jack?" Takuya asked as he entered the house. It's not that often Uncle Jack gets worried.
"I was just… wondering why that Digimon was protecting the ghost boy," Jack answered.
"It is a bit unusual, since we thought Digimon didn't like ghosts. Ghosts are usually evil and hostile," Maddie remarked. "So there must be a good reason why that Digimon protected the ghost boy."
Takuya realized his uncle had seen him in his Fusion form. Oh… crap… He raced to come up with a believable lie. "Uh… well… Digimon can sense if ghosts have hostile intentions, right? So maybe… that Digimon sensed the ghost boy had no hostile intentions and that is why he protected the ghost boy."
"But… ghosts usually are hostile, why would this ghost boy be any different?" Maddie asked. "He did kidnap the mayor and caused chaos in Amity Park with his ghost buddies."
"Remember, that was inconclusive," Dorumon spoke up. "The mayor was overshadowed by another ghost who was actually the one responsible for bringing all those ghosts to Amity Park."
Jack frowned in thought. "That is possible. There are a lot of things we don't know about ghosts, and the same goes for Digimon. Maybe some ghosts could be non-hostile towards humans, just like some Digimon are probably not friendly towards humans."
Jack remembered how his thought that Agunimon was just a wild animal he could experiment on had cost him the Digimon's trust. Now that he knew Digimon were intelligent beings, he had severely regretted his actions. He didn't want to make the same mistake again with ghosts.
Maddie was also thoughtful. "Well… until we know more about the ghost boy, we shouldn't make any decisions on if he's good or evil yet. But we will remain cautious. He is still a powerful ghost after all."
Takuya blinked. Okay… did I hit my head with that fall? I don't think Aunt Maddie and Uncle Jack would be so thoughtful on this.
"Hey, is that a new Digimon you have there?" Jack asked, pointing at Tokomon.
Takuya looked down. "Huh? Oh! You… could say this is… in a way. This is Tokomon, Patamon's lower level form."
"Oh? What happened to him?" Jack asked.
"Just got hurt in battle, it happens," Tokomon shrugged. "I'll be able to digivolve again after some food and rest."
"Speaking of rest, I'm going to go check on Andy. His fever got worse," Dorumon explained.
Maddie was on her feet in seconds. "What? I better go check on my baby!"
Maddie rushed up the stairs before Takuya could blink.
"Uh… Wow… If I didn't know any better, I would say my aunt was part Digimon…" Takuya muttered to himself.
Despite that, Jack heard Takuya's comment and chuckled. "Never mess with a mother's love for her child. Speaking of which, are you looking for Danny? I saw him go down into the lab a few minutes ago."
Takuya nodded. "Yeah, I was. Thanks Uncle Jack." He gave a grin to the bigger man before he turned and headed to go down into the lab, Tokomon in his grasp still.
When Takuya got into the lab, he and Tokomon saw Danny standing in front of the ecto filtrator, looking rather frustrated. Danny banged a fist against the filtrator as it was beeping it was getting full.
"Danny? Are you okay?" Takuya asked as he walked down to meet up with Danny. "Oh, and I brought Tokomon back with me."
"Thanks, I'm glad you were able to make it back home on your own," Danny sighed as Takuya put Tokomon down.
Danny picked up Tokomon and held him in one arm while he was still looking at the ecto filtraitor. "I've been trying to change this stupid thing, but I can't find an empty filter container to replace it with."
Takuya frowned. "I will see if I can find one in this mess." He began to look around through a random pile of parts. "Is everything okay? You seem mad about something, and I don't think it's just the ecto-filter."
"That fruit loop Vlad is here, and my brother is sick as a dog," Danny grumbled. "I don't even know why Vlad is here. All I can think of is that he's here to make my dad look like a fool."
"Well, if that is the case, it seems he is doing a good job." Takuya muttered bitterly. "But I can't help but get the feeling it is not just that. There has to be more to it than that."
"Of course it is…" Tokomon frowned. "I know Vlad. That night when he came to Axion Labs, it may have seemed innocent, but he was there to buy it out from under the original boss's nose. He succeeded by the way, Vlad is now the owner of the Axion Labs. Vlad never comes here for petty reasons. He always has several plans and motives for why he would be all the way in Amity Park."
Takuya frowned again. "But why is he here? What is his motive? That we need to know. If he is here for something, it could involve making Uncle Jack look like an idiot."
"From what I gathered, he likely wanted Danny to have to fight with those ghost hunters. Or he wanted the ghost hunters to distract Danny, keep him busy from doing… whatever it is he's doing here," Tokomon replied. "I wish I knew what he was actually doing here, but I can't think of anything… I'm not his partner anymore…"
Danny sighed. "It's fine, Tokomon. I'm sure we can figure it out on our own. There's no need to be upset over not figuring out Vlad's real motives here."
"I am upset about that, because Vlad is dangerous when he's unpredictable… he's dangerous even if he was predictable…" Tokomon frowned.
"Look, we'll worry about it when we cross that bridge," Danny said. "For now, I'd like to keep the house from exploding first."
Takuya looked around some more before he found what looked like a filter. "Hey! Is this what you're looking for?" He asked as he held it up.
"Yes, that's-" Danny frowned when he got a good look at the filter. "Cracked…"
Takuya looked at it and groaned. "Ugh… Why does everything have to be a mess down here?" He put the cracked filter back.
Danny sighed before he stood up straight and gave a smile. "I know what to do."
Danny transformed into Danny Phantom, which made Takuya flinch.
"Danny! Your parents are upstairs, what if they see you like this?" Takuya hissed.
"Relax, this won't take long. The last time I had to clean up the lab, my ghost ray seemed to be able to bounce everything into its proper places, including the trash into the trash can," Danny said. "Watch."
Danny used his free hand to fire a ghost ray at some vials. Takuya was shocked to see the vials were bounced harmlessly onto the table, without breaking it.
"W-wow…" Takuya stammered out. He was impressed, if not a bit confused. "But… how is that possible?"
"Ghost magic?" Danny shrugged.
"In a sense," Tokomon chuckled. "I've heard that complex ghosts are capable of manipulating their powers in a way that alters reality around them a little bit. Danny's ghost ray cleaning up whatever it touches in the lab might be one example of that."
Takuya blinked, but decided to just go with that explanation. "Okay… I guess I can accept that as the explanation…" But it's still weird...
"This is so cool! I should've cleaned the lab like this more often!" Danny smiled before he fired more ghost rays at the boxes and other lab equipment, putting them to their proper places while also eliminating the ecto samples.
"Wait… is this how you lost that present Uncle Jack wanted to give to Auntie Maddie that day?" Takuya asked, remembering how Danny lost that present in the Ghost Zone of all places.
Danny chuckled sheepishly. "Maybe it was…"
"Please don't do that to the filter containers," Takuya sighed.
Tokomon giggled at the comment from Takuya.
"Hey, I'm not that careless!" Danny pouted.
Tokomon then gasped and quickly tapped Danny's chest and was pointing with his stubby arm.
"What?" Danny frowned before seeing a shadow over them. "... He's… right there, isn't he?"
Takuya turned and paled himself. Crap! Crapcrapcrap! "Uh… Hi…?"
Jack was staring at the ghost boy that was floating in the lab, who had been using his ghost ray to clean the place up. For once, Jack seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Uh… It's not what it looks like…" Danny, the ghost boy, said, trying to sound innocent. Maybe I should skedaddle into the Ghost Zone and wait there for a bit…
"What… are you doing in my house?" Jack finally asked.
"Uh… cleaning your lab?" Danny asked, sheepishly. "It was a mess!"
"So it is what it looks like then," Jack pointed out.
"Hey… if I am going to use your portal, I need a clean place to drop off ghosts, alright?" Danny pouted.
"You've been using the Fenton Ghost Portal?" Jack frowned. "How? It's genetically locked! Only someone from the family can open it."
"Mr. Fenton, if I may," Tokomon quickly spoke up before Danny could dig himself a bigger hole. "The ghost boy here had been using the portal to release the ghosts he's been capturing. Otherwise the city would've been overrun with ghosts by now."
Jack blinked at that piece of information before he frowned again. "But then how can he open the Fenton Portal?"
"I help him sometimes," Takuya quickly spoke up. "I just figured if D- the uh, the ghost boy needed a place to dump all the ghosts he's been capturing, the least I could do is help him open the portal."
Jack blinked, but the explanation was a believable one. "So that's how he's been getting into our portal."
Takuya nodded. "Yeah. It's… the least I can do for what the ghost boy has done for the city."
Jack frowned. "I don't like the idea of having a ghost coming into my house without my and Maddie's knowing. If you need to find a place to dump the ghosts, find somewhere else to do it, ghost boy. You may not be evil like we thought you were, but you're still an unknown, yet dangerous entity. I don't want you near my family, are we clear?"
Danny gulped. "Y-yes, sir."
Takuya looked uneasy as well. "I-I will make sure he doesn't come back here…"
Jack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're lucky I'm not in this hunt for the money, ghost boy. You have quite the bounty on your head."
"Don't remind me…" Danny grumbled. "It's not fun to have hunters after my head…"
"I'll give you 5 minutes to leave on your own, ghost boy. Whether it's by the ghost portal itself or outside of the house, I don't care, just don't be here when I get back," Jack stated seriously before he walked back up the stairs.
Takuya blinked at what had just occurred. "Did… he just let you go without firing on you?"
Danny transformed back to his human form. "That's… definitely an improvement… though it… felt… a bit of a sting to have Dad talk to me like that…"
Takuya frowned. "Yeah… I can understand that feeling…" He muttered, remembering how his uncle had talked to him like that when Jack had captured him as Agunimon.
"Well… at least you got most of the lab cleaned up… maybe now we can actually find a usable filter container," Tokomon said, trying to look at the bright side.
Takuya sighed. "Hopefully we can find a usable filter. This place is a mess, even when it is cleaned up."
The three of them began to look around the lab, digging through boxes, and other lab equipment. Danny had to back away from some of them as they activated when he got too close. Tokomon yelped as he got buried in a box, but he managed to find something.
"Hey! I think I found one!" Tokomon announced.
Takuya looked over and made his way to Tokomon. He reached down and picked it up. "Hey… It's intact!" Takuya noted before he looked at Danny. "Danny! Tokomon found a filter! And it's not cracked either!"
"Great, bring it over here," Danny called back, standing over by the ecto filtrator.
Takuya ran over with the filter, after he took Tokomon out of the pile of stuff and set him down of course. "Here. This should do it."
"Thanks," Danny took the new filter before he pushed some buttons on the keypad.
The control panel released the old ecto filter, allowing Danny to put the new one in. With the new filter working properly, Danny could let out a sigh of relief. "There, that's one less thing to worry about."
"Should we go look for Vlad now?" Tokomon asked.
Danny frowned. "I'm not sure if we should. He may only be one ghost without a Digimon partner, but he's smart. He came prepared, so our Digimon partners would be rendered useless. Vlad knows that my friends and sister all have Digimon partners, so he had his ghost animals keep them weak while he took away their D-Arcs. Not to mention those ghost hunters out there are hungrily looking for me, and now my 'familiar' as well."
Takuya snorted at that, finding it a bit ironic. "Yeah… as funny as it is… I need to lay low for a while as well. I don't want ghost hunters after my a...err… my butt as well."
"But don't you think it's dangerous to let him roam free?" Tokomon frowned.
"If he's here just to make my dad look like an idiot, he's already succeeded in doing that, at least with the other ghost hunters," Danny grumbled. "But if he's here for any other reason, then unless he's attacking people, or he's coming here specifically, then I'd say we should leave him alone. If he's planning to buy out another business here, let him do that. If he wants revenge on Dad, or kidnap my Mom, then we'll be here keeping an eye on things."
Takuya sighed. "I guess that's the best we can do. I'm just worried about what might happen if he does attack people or make a move on Uncle Jack or Aunt Maddie."
"We won't let him," Tokomon spoke up. "He may be my former partner, but I will bite every bone in his ectoplasmic body before I let him hurt someone in this household."
Takuya chuckled. "I don't doubt it. I saw what you did to get the D-Arcs back, so I know you can do that and more if needed."
Danny laughed as well, remembering that incident himself. "Good job with that by the way, Tokomon."
"Why thank you." Tokomon smiled proudly.
Danny looked at the full container in his hand before he put it down on one of the counters of the lab. "I'll leave this here in case Mom and Dad want to study it. For now, I guess we'll just stay home unless we have school and keep an eye on things. Hopefully laying low for a while will get those ghost hunters off of our backs."
Takuya nodded in agreement, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
A few days had gone by. Danny, Jazz, Takuya, Maddie, and even Jack were helping take care of the sick Fenton in the family. They kept him relaxed and entertained so he wouldn't feel the need to suddenly go out and 'save' someone.
School usually went by fairly quickly. Someone was always at home to take care of Andy though. This annoyed Vlad quite a bit. He had been hoping the million dollar capture would get the Fentons out of the house to look for the ghost boy so he could swoop in and steal the portal, but that didn't seem to be the case. Vlad had Skulker try to hunt Danny to keep him busy, but his annoying, former, traitor partner kept helping Danny defeat Skulker faster, and even if he didn't, Takuya would always interfere with his stronger forms as well. But they usually turned back to human quickly after the fight to keep the ghost hunters off their tail, which wasn't hard to do since those ghost hunters were bumbling idiots like Jack. Vlad figured he may need to take a different approach.
Valerie and Andy were recovering from their colds after being cared for by their loved ones. While Valerie only had her father and her Digimon partner to care for her, she didn't mind it much, it was nice having them take care of her, and help her get better. She was also pretty livid when she found out about the million dollar reward on the ghost boy's head. As soon as Valerie was able to leave the house, she began patrolling Amity Park on her hoverboard to try to find the ghost boy.
Andy was just glad to finally be well enough to get out of bed, and go to school tomorrow with his friends and siblings, and cousin. However, that night, it wasn't quite the peaceful night Andy was hoping for before he had to go back to school.
Since it had been a few days since they had started laying low, and now that Andy was well again, Danny decided he, Patamon, and Takuya should go out on patrol for the night. But Danny would be calling Tucker and Sam to patrol as well, since he wouldn't be patrolling in his ghost form. He would need a lot more ground to cover, and he hoped their friends would be able to make up for that.
Andy offered to go on patrol, but Danny told him it would be best if he rested before school tomorrow since he just got better. This did make Andy pout a bit, but he didn't argue.
So the house was pretty quiet that night. Dorumon was relaxing next to Andy, happy to see his partner wasn't sick anymore. But then suddenly, a strong ghostly power entered the room. Dorumon's eyes turned to slits as he started growling and shivering, looking at something invisible.
Andy frowned, seeing his partner's behavior. "What's wrong, Dorumon?"
"A ghost is here… and a strong one no less…" Dorumon hissed out.
Andy didn't like the sound of that. He started to get up from his position in bed. Of all times for me to leave all my weapons in the lab…
However, before Andy could move, Vlad Plasmius appeared above his bed, grinning. Andy gasped, and Dorumon quickly got in front of Andy to defend him if it was necessary.
"What do you want?!" Dorumon growled out, his eyes still in their slitted form.
"I was just checking in on one of my… 'nephews', it would appear he had been sick in bed for quite some time," Vlad remarked with a grin.
"Why are you really here, Vlad?" Andy glared, trying to appear braver than he felt.
"What? You didn't think that I would be concerned for your well being, Andrew?" Vlad chuckled.
Andy just kept glaring at Vlad.
"No? Heh, I suppose it was worth a try," Vlad remarked. "You know, if you had been half ghost, that cold wouldn't have been a problem for you."
"Yeah? Well I'm not half ghost, nor will I ever be, so stuff it with the half ghost stuff already!" Andy huffed.
Dorumon gave a snicker at Andy's retort. "And put it where the sun don't shine~" He added cheekily.
Vlad gave a frown at that. "You have quite the rude little Digimon partner, you do know that, right Andrew?"
"What? You don't like Dorumon? Sorry, but that's just how he is," Andy remarked. "So why are you here? Are you planning to try to kill my dad? Take my mom away? Another scheme to force Danny to join you as your son? Or maybe you're here to kidnap me and use me as bait for the 'better twin', is that it?"
"Now why would I want to do that?" Vlad questioned. "After all, you're just the lowly human. How can you hope to keep up with your brother, the ghost boy? Daniel could decide to follow his ghostly side at any time, and you would be without him."
"Danny would never do that!" Dorumon snapped.
Vlad frowned at the little Digimon before his right hand glowed reddish pink. Dorumon was suddenly trapped in a reddish pink ecto cube.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" Andy yelled.
Dorumon tackled against the cube's walls, but this caused the ecto cube to zap Dorumon. The Digimon cried out before he fell unconscious in the cube.
"Dorumon!" Andy called out in concern.
"He's fine, just knocked out. I wouldn't hurt him too bad. But with his rudeness, I can't have him interrupting what I wanted to tell you, dear boy," Vlad purred. "Now, where were we? Ah, right. Your brother could choose to follow his ghostly instincts at any time. And where would that leave you, Andrew? You're not a ghost, just a human. You can't possibly hope to keep up with Daniel, not if you're just a human."
"And how do you know that? You're half ghost yourself, yet you still live like a person," Andy argued.
"Who says that I live like everyone else?" Vlad grinned. "You don't know what I do outside of the public eye, Andrew. You don't even know what Daniel does when you're not looking. How do you know he's not slowly losing himself to his ghost half, hmm? How do you know that he didn't just drink down the ectoplasm in the ecto filtraitor? How do you know his nightly patrols aren't just ways to get away from you and the rest of his suffocating family in order to be more free, to be more himself?"
Andy couldn't find a retort to that, because he didn't know for sure if that was the case. He didn't know what was going on in Danny's head. Danny promised that he wouldn't leave Andy behind… But how long could that promise last? How long would it be until his ghost half starts to overpower his sense of logic and humanity?
"You see, dear boy? You can't hope to keep up with a ghost. You could be holding Daniel, your own brother, back from what he truly is. You could be convincing him he is not a ghost for all you know." Vlad purred, looking more like the vampire he appeared to be, what with his fangs revealed and all. It scared poor Andy far more than he wanted to admit.
It was then Andy remembered that weird dream he had about Danny when he was sick. About Danny putting Amity Park in his stomach for it to be 'safe', and how different the inside of Danny looked. He appeared to be more part of the Ghost Zone than he would like to admit. The reminder of the dream made Andy worry if that was a possible future, no matter how strange and outlandish it was. It wouldn't be the first time his visions crossed with his dreams after all.
"Daniel should be with someone who can understand him. He will never be truly free if he stays here. In fact, he would be in danger if he stayed here, considering both Jack and even dear sweet Maddie are ghost hunting fanatics," Vlad continued. "As much as I hate to admit it, Daniel will always be in danger here. He will never feel like he could be himself here. And if he keeps having to repress his ghost half, it might come out in retaliation one day, and he would have no control over it. And trust me; you don't want to see a feral, trapped ghost, Andrew."
Andy frowned, he didn't want to think Danny like some feral beast that could just snap at any moment. But it happened with Takuya, and it happened with Paulina, who's to say it won't happen with Danny? Only… there wouldn't be a way to just knock him out and take the Digimon spirit away from him to stop him.
"And what about that Legendary Warrior that keeps hanging around here? Agunimon I believe his name was? Yes, if Daniel keeps remaining here, he will be in danger from that Digimon too." Vlad continued. "I have heard the stories about the power of these Legendary Warriors, and if even one of them is here, Daniel will forever be forced to repress his ghost half to hide from them so as to not be seen as a threat." Vlad shook his head as if in disappointment. "It is a shame, since Daniel has so much potential."
Andy could see that Vlad really thought that about his brother. He wondered if Vlad truly believed everything else he said about Danny as well.
"So, Andrew, I just ask that you do the right thing. If you truly love your brother, you would convince him to come with me. I promise to take good care of him, and allow him to bloom like he was meant to," Vlad stated, looking at Andy right in the eyes.
Andy looked at Vlad. Both of them remained silent for a moment. Vlad patiently waited to hear Andy's answer, while Andy was trying to think of what to say.
"... Maybe you are right in what you said about Danny needing to hide half of himself from the people he loves, and maybe you are right about him having a lot of potential," Andy started, which made Vlad grin more. "But… how do you know him going with you is the best possible outcome? He wouldn't want to leave his friends and family behind, he wouldn't want to leave his home behind. I don't know what will happen with Danny and his ghost half in the future, but just because you're a halfa yourself doesn't mean you know either. Neither of us knows what's going on in Danny's head, nobody does, except Danny himself. You may be the only other halfa, but you're not Danny."
Vlad frowned at hearing this last part. "So… you're not going to do the right thing then? It is a shame. I was hoping you would be the reasonable one of you two, but apparently I was mistaken."
"Reasonable? Nah… I'm just human," Andy responded before he took out a familiar looking 'baton' from his pocket. "Oh, would you look at that? I did have my Fenton Rod with me after all."
Andy shoved the 'baton' against the ecto cube that had Dorumon trapped, and the cube dissipated quickly. Dorumon groaned a little when he hit the floor.
Vlad glared at Andy. "You little… I guess I should have expected you would not be unarmed, especially since you were sick."
Dorumon got back up on his feet and growled.
Angry that this little 14 year old boy had played him, Vlad shot out a ghost ray at Andy to teach the boy a lesson. Andy, however, reacted faster and jumped to the side, off of his bed. The ghost ray ended up blasting half of the bed gone.
"Hey! You owe me a new bed!" Andy snapped.
"Oh, please. I don't owe you anything, Andrew." Vlad sneered. "Except a lesson for messing with your superior!"
Vlad shot out more ghost rays in the room, which was letting out smoke. Andy and Dorumon yelped as they were trying to get out of the way. When Vlad stopped firing his ghost rays, he stood there, looking at the smoke for a moment, before Andy and Dorumon jumped out from the smoke. Andy swung his fully extended Fenton Rod at Vlad while Dorumon slashed his claws at the older halfa. Having not expected them to make such a bold move, Vlad didn't move back quick enough, and his chest was hit by the Fenton Rod while Dorumon managed to scratch his arm and tore the suit he was wearing a bit.
"Why you little…" Vlad hissed as he bared his fangs in an intimidating manner. "You owe me for this suit and cape!"
Vlad knew that Andy was human, but at the moment he didn't care. He would like nothing more than to wring this little human's neck for trying to make him look bad. Vlad flew at Andy to grab him by the neck, which he did. However, Dorumon jumped on Vlad's back and started to slash and bite down on him to get him off of Andy. Vlad turned intangible to get the Digimon off of him.
Vlad duplicated himself, letting one duplicate take care of Dorumon while he focused on the troublesome boy. The two Vlads managed to slam Andy against the wall, while the other smashed Dorumon on the floor.
"So, Andrew, how does it feel to have your life in the balance now? I can finish you at any second, and you can't stop it." Vlad sneered.
Andy gave Vlad a challenging grin. "Maybe you can. But what do you think Mom is going to think?"
"She will just think some other ghost did you in. Don't get coy with me," Vlad hissed.
"Fine then, maybe you won't mind if I screamed then," Andy remarked.
Andy took a breath and shouted. "MOM! DAD! GHOST! A GHOST IS TRYING TO-"
Vlad shut Andy's mouth to stop him from screaming out.
"You stupid boy! Do you want to expose me?!" Vlad hissed.
Andy dropped a grenade under Vlad's feet. Vlad didn't notice until he heard a sudden beep under him. The ghost yelped in shock as the grenade exploded, causing half the room to be covered in sticky purple goop. The loud explosion was also enough to get footsteps running towards the room as well.
Vlad froze upon hearing the footsteps. He glared at Andy. "So… that was your plan, was it? Can't face me on your own so you had to get help? Relying on sneaky tactics? You really are the weak brother, aren't you?"
Unfortunately, while the goop normally trapped those who were caught up in it, it wouldn't trap a ghost so easily. Vlad phased through the goop with his intangibility, and recalled his duplicate back into him. Despite what he said to Andy, Vlad decided this was more trouble than it was worth, and teleported himself away just before the door swung open. Jack and Maddie had their bazookas in their hands despite being in their PJs instead of their hazmat suits. Jazz and Lopmon were out on patrol with Danny and the others though.
"Andy?! Where is the ghost?!" Jack demanded as he looked around the room.
"And… what are you covered in?" Maddie frowned, seeing the purple sticky substance everywhere.
"... Uh… Goop grenade," Andy answered sheepishly, he was currently stuck in the substance since it practically exploded in front of him.
Dorumon was grumbling, he had been squashed on the floor when the grenade went off, and now he was buried in the stuff.
"... 'Goop grenade'?" Jack asked as he looked at Andy. "That's what you're covered in?"
"It's not ectoplasm," Maddie noted as she looked at the sticky substance.
"No… it's just some sticky substance I got from your lab," Andy chuckled. "Uh… could you two help me and Dorumon out of here, please?"
Jack chuckled at Andy's predicament. "Of course, son."
"But what happened? Why did you use a goop grenade? And why does it look like your and Danny's room just went through a war zone?" Maddie asked as she started to pull Andy out of the sticky substance while Jack went to go pick Dorumon up.
"We were attacked by the Wisconsin Ghost," Andy answered as Maddie pulled him. "Thankfully I had the Fenton Rod and the goop grenade with me. I think it scared the ghost off, but we should be more careful in case it decides to come back."
Jack nodded. "That was clever thinking," He noted. "And I agree. If that ghost from Wisconsin is out there, it could attack again. We should put up the Ghost Shield just in case, to ward it off."
Probably wouldn't work so well on a halfa though… Andy frowned.
"Ugh… I hate this stuff!" Dorumon groaned as Jack managed to pull him up from the sticky substance.
"Maybe you should avoid the goop grenade next time." Jack chuckled. "We may have to give you a bath to get this goop out of your fur."
Dorumon groaned even louder.
"We're also gonna need to clean up your room… and replace that bed," Maddie sighed as she managed to pull Andy out of the goop.
Andy sighed. "Yeah… so much for a restful night before school…"
"I'm glad you were brave enough to fight off the ghost, Andy. But we should've been here when you were attacked. I could've lost you…" Maddie said worriedly.
"Andy's smart though." Dorumon chuckled. "He played that ghost for a fool. He made it think he was weak when he had a plan in place."
"Did you know what ghost would come?" Jack frowned.
"No… but I kept myself armed just in case it did, or any other hostile ghost," Andy answered. "Don't worry, Mom, Dad, I'm okay. The ghost didn't hurt me… my room is a big mess, but I'm okay."
"That you are." Maddie said as she hugged Andy closely. "You worried me, but I'm glad you're safe now."
Andy hugged his mother back, though a small part of him was worried about what Vlad said. Despite Danny's reassurance, he still had that small doubt about Danny's mental stability, and what would be best for Danny. He knew their mom and dad loved Danny as much as they loved him, but they were both unsure if they would still see Danny the same way if they knew he was half ghost. They may think he was diseased and want to 'cure' him. There was no curing someone of death, or half death. But Maddie and Jack would likely try, and it could end up hurting and scaring Danny more, which could push him away enough for him to want to run away from home and go to Vlad himself.
Andy shook his head. He didn't want to think about that, he didn't want to have to face a possibility like that. Right now, he just wanted to get cleaned up, and maybe get a comfortable spot on the couch in the living room to sleep on tonight.
Danny sighed, it had been a long night. Without being able to fly, patrol was such a drag. He had to patrol around on his moped. Patamon, who had digivolved from Tokomon a few days ago, was on top of his helmet. Danny wondered how Tucker, Sam, and Jazz could patrol like this. It was why he didn't always call them to patrol with him. He didn't want to keep them up for longer than they should on a school night. But it appeared that there wasn't any ghost or Digmon activity going on. So everyone decided to call it a night so they would have time to get some decent sleep before school tomorrow.
Danny, Takuya, and Jazz were taking the same route home. Lopmon was clutching onto Jazz's helmet himself.
"It's good that there was nothing going on tonight. We really didn't want another Ranamon incident so soon," Jazz commented as they were going home.
Takuya nodded. "Yeah, that would not have been good. I don't want to face her again for a long while."
Danny chuckled. "Only because you got your butt beaten by her."
Takuya blushed at that. "Hey! I wasn't at my best that day and you know it!"
Patamon giggled at the response from the Warrior of Flame. "Just be glad you didn't have to face her at her best the other night while it was raining. Otherwise you might've gotten a cold too."
"Ugh, I still can't believe you fought with the Warrior of Water in the rain right next to the ocean! That's just suicide!" Lopmon shivered at the very idea.
Takuya grimaced at hearing that. "Actually, yeah… I'm glad I missed that…"
Danny sighed. "I hope Andy is doing okay. I mean, we left him home alone. True, he is with Mom and Dad, but still…"
"Do you sense that he's in any danger?" Patamon asked. "Remember, you do have your link with Andy."
"No. I don't sense Andy in danger." Danny said. He then smiled a bit. "I guess that means he's fine if I'm not sensing he is in danger."
"There you go," Patamon chuckled.
"That must be both convenient and inconvenient," Jazz muttered. "Considering if something happens to one you, the other feels it as well."
Takuya pouted. "I wish I had a twin brother…"
"Don't you have a brother?" Danny asked.
"Yes, but he's younger than me. If I had a twin, it would be more interesting. And I would have someone my own age to play with and hang out with." Takuya replied.
"But if you had a twin brother, and he wasn't… um… 'lucky' enough to go to the Digital World, then… wouldn't he be like the Andy of your Digital situation?" Lopmon questioned.
Takuya paused as he processed Lopmon's words. He then sighed. "Yeah, he probably would." The Warrior of Flame admitted. "And it would not be fair to my twin if I had the ability I do and he didn't."
At that, Danny frowned. Takuya noticed what he said and quickly tried to reassure the half ghost boy.
"Uh… but it's not a bad thing! I mean, Andy has Dorumon and is quite smart! He can handle himself." Takuya added quickly. Geez… way to poke a scar, Takuya...
Danny sighed a little. "Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that overworked head of his…"
Jazz couldn't help but chuckle. "Funny, I remember hearing Andy saying the same thing about you."
Danny blinked. "Andy said that about me? Wow… I guess we do still think alike, despite being different species now."
"Well, I wouldn't say you're a different species…" Patamon hesitated. "A ghost, at least a humanoid ghost, is just a once living human being who no longer has the limitations of their physical body. You might be an exception to that rule, due to you having these ghostly powers while still having your human body, but you are still human in a way."
Danny chuckled here. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Patamon."
Takuya frowned a bit though. But is Danny a different species? I can't help but wonder about that sometimes...
When the three got home, they were heading off to their respective rooms to get ready to turn in for the night. However, when Danny opened the door to his and Andy's room, he nearly had a heart attack. Half of the room was covered in sticky, purple goop. Most of his stuff was destroyed, and Andy's bed looked to be missing a chunk of itself.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR ROOM!?" Danny shouted.
Patamon frowned. "It looks like a war took place here."
Danny's eyes widened in horror. "Oh-no, Andy! What happened to Andy!? Where is he!?"
Fearful for what could've happened to Andy, Danny transformed into his ghost form before Patamon could even say anything, and the ghost boy was frantically going from room to room while invisible and intangible to find his brother.
"Oh boy…" Patamon muttered.
Danny slowed down when he passed by the bathroom, and flew back in, seeing Andy and Dorumon taking a bubble bath together in the bathtub.
Danny blinked before he sighed in relief. Andy's okay… Thank goodness... He then looked back at Andy and Dorumon. But why are Andy and Dorumon covered in purple goop?
Danny accidentally released his invisibility since he was relieved.
"Danny!?" Andy yelped, suddenly seeing his ghostly brother in the bathroom.
"Could you knock next time!?" Dorumon frowned before covering himself with water and bubbles, despite always being naked anyways.
Danny chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, bro… I was… kinda worried about you when I saw the state of our room…"
Andy sighed, realizing that Danny freaking out about his safety would be natural after seeing the state their room was in. "Yeah… Vlad decided to pay us a little visit. He didn't like it when he found out I pretended to be helpless."
Danny blinked. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?"
Andy fidgeted a little. "No, of course not. I was able to handle myself."
Danny sighed. He had the feeling Andy was lying, but he didn't press the issue for now. "Okay… If you say so, bro."
Dorumon frowned a little, but he knew Andy didn't want to worry his brother.
"Just know that Vlad still wants you as his son, or apprentice at least," Andy warned. "He… really seems to believe he can bring out your potential."
Danny frowned before he snorted in disgust. "I wouldn't go with that fruit loop even if he was the last person on Earth to take care of me."
"Let's… not tempt fate, okay?" Andy nervously said.
Danny frowned at Andy's nervous tone, but he didn't call Andy out on it. "I won't, bro. But what did you do? I mean, there was purple goop all over half of the room!"
"Could we… have this conversation after my bath? Besides, you should probably change out of your ghost form soon before Mom and Dad sees you," Andy pointed out.
Danny sighed, that ring of light appearing around his torso before he reverted back to his human form and landed on the floor on his feet. "Okay. I'll let you finish your bath, Andy. But I want the story on the goop when you're done."
"As much as I hate to admit it, Daniel will always be in danger here. He will never feel like he could be himself here. And if he keeps having to repress his ghost half, it might come out in retaliation one day, and he would have no control over it." Andy frowned at the memory of what Vlad said about keeping Danny's ghost half suppressed. It had been a few days since Danny was able to his ghost form, and Danny didn't seem too happy to have to change back so soon.
"Um, Danny… maybe you should fly around Amity Park a little bit tonight," Andy spoke up. "Just to let your ghost half have some time to stretch out a bit."
Dann blinked as he looked back at Andy. "Are you okay, bro? Why would you suggest that if the ghost hunters are still out there looking for me?"
"Maybe you could do some training exercises then in the lab tonight while Mom and Dad are asleep?" Andy suggested instead of answering Danny's question.
Danny frowned. "Andy, is everything okay? Did Vlad say something to you?"
Dorumon looked at Andy in concern, knowing Vlad did say something to Andy about Danny, but he had been unconscious for the majority of that conversation.
"I just… worry about what could happen if you don't use your ghost powers for a while," Andy answered.
Danny sighed. "Andy, I'm fine with not using my ghost powers for a while. It's not like I will become malicious if I don't."
Andy sunk a little bit into the bathtub at that comment. "What if not using your powers causes them to start building up? And it gets to the point where you might end up exploding, and your powers starts to cause chaos, everything around you starts to glow and float, you might cause an ecto twister if you so much as breathe out! Or what if you scream out in pain and this loud burst of ecto soundwave energy come flowing out of your mouth, and completely destroys the house and-"
"Bro, stop!" Danny exclaimed. "You're becoming irrational again!"
Andy blinked a few times, coming back to reality, or maybe the present. Dorumon sighed, having experienced Andy's nonsense worried talks for the past few days already.
"Uh… maybe you're right, maybe I just need to relax a bit. I'm probably still feeling some effects from that fever I had," Andy sighed.
Danny sighed. "Yeah, I think you are. You really need rest."
"I'll be getting a blanket and some pillows for the couch… my… uh… bed was destroyed," Andy sheepishly stated.
Danny chuckled. "I saw that. Vlad really made a mess, didn't he?"
"He may act calm, but guy's got a shorter temper than you and Takuya," Dorumon grumbled.
"Hey! I don't have a short temper!" Danny pouted.
Dorumon chuckled. "You just snapped at me for saying that~"
Danny wanted to retort, but realized if he did, he would just be proving Dorumon's point more, so instead, he decided to change the subject. "Bro, you should take my bed for the night."
"What? No, that's your bed. And you need to sleep too," Andy argued.
"I can take the couch. You get my bed." Danny said, leaving no room for argument.
Before Andy could even try to argue, Danny walked out of the bathroom. "His stupid hero complex is really starting to grate on my nerves."
"Yeah… though sometimes you're not any better," Dorumon chuckled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Andy raised an eyebrow.
"What's what supposed to mean?" Dorumon asked in a cheeky manner.
Andy grumbled. Maybe Vlad has a point, Dorumon is pretty rude.
That night, everyone had turned in to sleep. Takuya felt tired yet restless to sleep much. After he heard the commotion of what happened to the twins' room, he was more worried about Vlad coming back, or sending in his animal ghosts again. Jack turned on the Ghost Shield for the night, but that still left the question of if that could keep a halfa out while they were in human form. Danny never tried it before, so he wouldn't know.
What is Vlad's motive? Why did he come into Andy and Danny's room? Takuya wondered. He could have kidnapped Andy if he wanted, and yet… he didn't… Why? What is he up to?
Suddenly, Takuya's computer started making strange noises. This quickly got the boy up in alarm. The computer was supposed to be off, but it was making strange noises. There was some kind of strange static appearing on his monitor.
"W-what the…?" Takuya murmured as he grabbed his D-Tector and got ready in case whatever was going on was bad news. "What is going on?"
Suddenly, a small, dark purple Digimon came flying out of the monitor while carrying an egg. It let out a yelp as it landed face first onto the floor with an 'oof!' Takuya blinked, looking at the Digimon.
"What a rough landing…" The Digimon huffed before getting its face off of the floor, still holding onto the egg.
The Digimon was a dark purple color all over save for the face, which was white, and had green eyes. It wore a red kerchief around its neck and had matching red gloves while it had a yellow almost smiley face on its stomach area. It had odd ears and a tail as well.
"Impmon, a Rookie level Virus type Digimon. Impmon is an Evil Digimon. It has an appearance like a demon's child. It loves pranks, so it enjoys seeing the embarrassed appearances of its opponents." The voice in Takuya's head informed.
Takuya blinked before he frowned. "What are you doing in my room, and with a Digi-Egg no less?"
Impmon quickly got to his feet when he saw Takuya. "Bah! What's it to you? You should mind your own business. I have no business with you!"
Takuya frowned again. He was very tempted to Spirit Evolve, but he didn't want to wake anyone with the action. "I think I have a right to know since you came into my room."
"Yeah, well, I'll be splitting this joint anyways. So whatever!" Impmon grumbled before he ran over to Takuya's door. "See ya, chump!"
"Hey! Wait!" Takuya cried as he ran after Impmon. "Get back here with that egg!"
"Leave me alone, kid!" Impmon snapped, kicking down Takuya's door to make a run for it, but Takuya was faster and grabbed onto the egg. "Hey! I'm warning you, you better let go!"
"No! You can't take that egg! It's not yours!" Takuya snapped back, feeling that flash of heat rushing through him as he glared at Impmon, that feral look in his eyes.
"Oh yeah?" Impmon glared before a dark fireball formed in his gloved hand. "Bada Boom!"
Impmon threw the dark fireball at Takuya's chest. This caught Takuya off guard, making him fall on his butt, and letting go of the egg. The attack itself didn't hurt too much because his Spirits protected him from harm, but the impact still made him let go regardless.
"Ow…" Takuya groaned before he looked at his chest. He saw no harm was done, but his pajama shirt was ruined now. "Aw… c'mon! That was my favorite PJ shirt!"
"I warned you, kid!" Impmon sneered before he ran towards the living room door, still holding onto the egg.
Getting to his feet, Takuya growled. "Okay, that little imp is asking for it…" He hissed as he then ran out after Impmon. He held his D-Tector in his hand in case things got messy.
Impmon kicked open the door and started running outside, easily going through the Ghost Shield as it didn't keep Digimon out or in. Takuya kept running after the Impmon.
Impmon frowned, getting annoyed with this persistent kid. "What are you chasing me for!? It's not like I ended up in your room on purpose, and I'm only trying to take this egg back to its owner!"
Takuya frowned, but kept chasing the Rookie-level Digimon. "And how do I know that's not a lie? How do I know you didn't just steal it?!" He snapped back.
"Well, you don't. You want to take me to court over it?" Impmon snapped back in irritation, still running. "Oh, I get it, because I look like a little demon child, you automatically assume I'm a bad guy and must be lying. No wonder humans always call each other racist pigs."
Takuya frowned at hearing that, remembering how the GiW and the other ghost hunters had assumed his Fusion form was a demon of some kind. He didn't want to let Impmon go though, because he had no idea if it was the truth or a lie.
"You're still not getting away with that egg until I know for sure!" Takuya yelled back.
"Troublesome…" Impmon muttered before looking at some street lights up ahead, and a few people walking by. "Well, kid, you can keep chasing me, or you can save those people over there from an unfortunate accident."
Before Takuya could even ask, Impmon shot out another Bada Boom fire ball at the street light. The flame caused the street light to fall after breaking off its base, and it was falling towards the people. The people that were under the street light gasped in shock.
Takuya growled, hating the Impmon for that move, but he had no choice. He turned away from the Impmon and ran towards the people and the falling street light. I hope you think this is worth it… Takuya thought to Impmon. He ran as fast as he could, hoping to get there and push the people out of harm's way.
Thankfully, there weren't that many people that were directly under the falling street light, most of them were able to move out of the way. Except for a woman with a baby in her arms. She was frozen in shock and fear while the baby was crying in her arms. Takuya ran up to her, pushing her and the baby out of the way just before the street light smashed into the ground.
Takuya sighed in relief as all three were on the ground, the woman still holding onto her baby. "That was close…" He murmured before looking at the woman and her baby. "Are you two okay?"
"Y-yeah… yeah, thank you for saving us… I don't know how I can repay you, young man," The woman said gratefully, and was also shaken up. She was also trying to soothe her crying infant.
"It was nothing. I don't need any thanks," Takuya said as he stood up. "I hope you get home safely. I need to get going before I'm missed."
"You be careful too, young man," The woman said as Takuya hurried away, trying to find Impmon.
Unfortunately for the Warrior of Flame, he didn't see Impmon anywhere. He couldn't even sense the annoying Rookie Digimon.
"Damn it… I lost him!" Takuya swore as he failed to see Impmon. "Sneaky virus type… He planned that well…"
Sighing, Takuya decided to go back to Fenton Works for the time being. He hoped that the Impmon would just be an annoyance rather than a true threat like Dogmon was. Though Takuya wondered why Impmon had that Digi-Egg with him.
When Takuya had returned to Fenton Works, he was surprised to see Lopmon and Patamon were standing in the living room, looking at him.
"Uh… Lopmon? Patamon? What's going on?" Takuya asked, feeling somewhat uncomfortable under their stares.
"You have an incoming call from Sorcermon," Patamon answered.
"We sensed something was going on in the Digital World that woke us up. I'm sure Gatomon would be here too if she wasn't at Sam's house right now," Lopmon remarked.
Takuya blinked. "Is something going on?" He took out his D-Tector, half expecting Sorcermon's voice to come out over the speakers on it.
There was nothing on his D-Tector though.
"It's nothing cataclysmic like the last few times, thankfully," Patamon replied. "But something did happen. I think Sorcermon is sending you someone now to explain it."
"Sometimes I hate being a Celestial Digimon. You get woken up whenever something happens in the Digital World. Dorumon gets to sleep in right now…" Lopmon grumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
Takuya frowned. "What happened though? I was just chasing down an Impmon who somehow wound up in my room with a Digi-Egg in his grasp. Is that related somehow?"
Then Takuya remembered that Danny was supposed to be sleeping on the couch. How did Impmon's kick to the door not wake him up?
Takuya looked at the couch, seeing there was a lump under the blanket.
"Don't bother, there's nothing but pillows under that blanket," Patamon sighed.
Takuya blinked. "What? Danny is out on patrol again?!" He exclaimed, but not so loud to wake everyone up.
"No, he decided to take Andy up on his offer and train a bit in the lab," Patamon answered. "I told him not to blame me if he was too sleepy for school tomorrow though. But I guess he felt better being able to release his ghost half after not using it for a few days."
Takuya blinked again. "Danny is in the lab training huh?" He then chuckled a bit. "I would probably do the same thing if I was in his shoes."
Suddenly, there was a bright light coming from someone's room upstairs, and a sudden surprised yelp. Shortly after, the person's door opened. Takuya looked up, seeing Andy walking out, in his PJs, with something white on his head. And a sleepy Dorumon following Andy down the stairs. Andy stood in front of Takuya and put his hands on his hips.
"Is this yours?" Andy asked.
Takuya blinked. "Calumon?" He was shocked to see the little Digimon there. "W… uh… yes?"
Dorumon looked like he was trying not to laugh.
Calumon blushed as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "The… Digi-Port I used threw me out on this boy's head… Uh… you're Danny, right?"
"No, I'm Andy," Andy sighed before reaching up and taking Calumon off of his head.
"Right, sorry, we didn't get a chance to get to know each other last time," Calumon blushed. "Danny is the one with ghost powers, right?"
"You'd be right," Dorumon confirmed, before yawning. "Mind telling us why you came through the digi-port so late at night?"
"Oh, right, sorry," Calumon apologized. "We have a bit of a situation. A Digimon who goes by the name of Impmon stole a Digi-Egg and escaped into the real world, somewhere here, in Amity Park."
"Why would Impmon steal a random Digi-Egg?" Patamon asked.
Takuya then remembered the Impnon who had come through his computer. "I saw him recently. He came through my computer monitor with the Digi-Egg. I tried to stop him, but he escaped." He then frowned a bit. "Impmon said something about taking the egg to its owner or something like that."
Calumon paled at that. "Takuya, that wasn't just any Digi-Egg Impmon took. That was Dreammon's Digi-Egg!"
Takuya paled at hearing those words. "Oh… crap…"
Everyone was silent at hearing that. Patamon hadn't been there during the Dreammon incident, but he had heard about it from Danny and Dorumon.
"The fact that Impmon took Dreammon's Digi-Egg into the real world, and claimed to be taking it back to its owner… must mean Impmon knows who created Dreammon in the first place," Andy concluded.
Takuya growled. "And I lost Impmon when he attacked a street light. His attack caused it to fall and I had to save someone from being squashed by it."
"You did the right thing, Takuya," Patamon assured.
"But now Impmon is out there with Dreammon's Digi-Egg… and who knows what could happen if its returned to the one who created Dreammon in the first place." Lopmon frowned.
Calumon and Takuya both shivered. They had experienced the full brunt of what Dreammon could do, and did do, and almost did. Neither ever wanted to have to face that nightmare again, especially if it meant fighting against their friends.
"Maybe… maybe I should go look for Impmon." Takuya suggested. "I mean, we can't let Dreammon's Digi-Egg get returned to its owner. That would be like fighting him all over again."
"Or worse… depending on what the creator will do with him." Calumon frowned.
Patamon frowned, looking suspicious about something. "No, you need to stay here and keep the house safe from Vlad in case he comes back. You're also still in danger from those ghost hunters looking for you and Danny. I think it would be better if only us Digimon, non-Legendary Warriors go to look for Impmon."
Takuya blinked. "Are you sure, Patamon? I mean, what if those ghost hunters see you guys as well? Or what if Impmon can digivolve?"
"That's the thing; Digimon can't digivolve so easily in the real world without a human partner," Lopmon explained. "Those that can digivolve without a human partner usually suck the life energy from something or someone else, like with the Devimon a while back. I don't think Impmon can do that though."
"And if we were caught by the ghost hunters, they would just think we were a bunch of strange looking animals," Dorumon spoke up. "We wouldn't show up on their scanners as ghosts, because we're not ghosts. They wouldn't be interested in us because we weren't seen with the 'million dollar ghost', unlike a certain someone."
Takuya nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He then sighed. "Just… if you go out, be careful… okay?"
"Don't worry about us. You just make sure you take care of yourself. We won't be here to help keep our partners safe while we're out," Patamon warned. "We're counting on you to help keep them safe until we get back."
Takuya nodded. "I will, don't worry." He held up his D-Tector to show he meant it.
"You guys sure you'll be okay?" Andy asked in concern.
"Don't worry, Andy, we'll be fine. Vlad and the ghost hunters aren't after us after all, you just be more careful. Maybe sleep near Takuya or Danny tonight," Dorumon replied.
"You guys might need to catch me up on a few things," Calumon said.
Takuya looked at Calumon. "Oh boy… this is going to be a long explanation…"
Calumon shook his head. "I didn't mean now. We need to hurry and find Impmon before he finds Dreammon's creator."
Takuya blushed at that. "Oh… sorry…"
"Try to get some sleep, we'll be back as quickly as we can. We might get Gatomon and Terriermon to help us out if we need to," Lopmon said before he, Patamon, Dorumon, and Calumon hurried to the front door.
With the Digimon gone, Andy stood beside Takuya. "So… what'd I miss?"
Titanic X: ZAFT: Tokomon's plan was genius indeed. XD
Sesshoru: DarkFoxKit: Indeed, considering this Andy never met with Clockwork before.
ZAFT: Season 2 will be fun. XD
ukairoenyinnaya: DarkFoxKit: I'll let you decide. :3
ZAFT: You will see~ :3