ZAFT: Well, we have a new chapter for everyone. :3
Takuya: Why do you like to torment me and Andy so much?! DX
Andy: I don't know why you're even asking at this point, Takuya.
DarkFoxKit: Besides, in the next few chapters, we'll be mostly focused on tormenting Andy.
Andy: … Takuya, can we switch bodies for the time being?
Takuya: You may have to contend with my Spirits getting angry about that… particularly BurningGreymon… ^^'
Andy: You know what? I think I prefer dying to fire as opposed to whatever sick and twisted thing Fox has in mind for me.
ZAFT: Don't worry, we will also torment you, Takuya~ :3
Takuya: … Andy, should we run?
Andy: No. Because when has running ever done us any good? I'm just going to enjoy myself until the torment starts.
ZAFT: You should take it in stride like Andy is. :3 On to the chapter~
Takuya: Me and my big mouth…
Chapter 6: A Snotty Ghost
"Wait, what happened to your Fenton Rod?" Danny asked as he was carrying Andy.
Tucker was riding on Gargomon while Agunimon was fast on his own. So Danny was flying while carrying his brother.
"They snapped it in half," Andy replied. "So… I'm not sure how much help I'll be in this upcoming battle."
Agunimon frowned as he ran beside Gargomon. "We'll figure that out when we get to it. Right now, we need to find Spectra and stop those ghost bugs."
Danny nodded. "Yeah, apparently those ghost bugs will burn out the students they infected due to the ghostly energy being too much for their bodies to handle."
"I told you that having ghost powers was deadly," Andy remarked, crossing his arms.
"Only for those who don't have a ghostly core." Danny pointed out. "Which you, by the way, do have."
"And you overshadowed Danny, I don't think you'd be able to do that if you didn't have a core," Agunimon added.
"What? You overshadowed me?!" Danny asked in shock.
"For like… a minute- 30 seconds at most!" Andy replied sheepishly.
Danny blinked before he grinned at Andy. "So you do admit you have ghost powers~?" He teased.
"Danny, everybody has ghost powers right now," Andy grumbled.
"But can most of them control their powers to the point of overshadowing someone?" Danny grinned.
"Will you stop talking about my stupid symptoms and focus on what you're going to do about Spectra!?" Andy huffed.
Danny sighed. "Way to ruin the mood, bro…" He grumbled before his ghost sense suddenly went off, but it wasn't Spectra. "Hold on… I think someone is close… a certain 'doctor' I'm betting."
"You should let us handle the small fry," Gargomon spoke up. "You should save your energy for the real threat."
"Actually, allow me. I believe I owe this doctor," Agunimon stated, punching a fist into the palm of his hand.
Danny blinked. "Are you sure?" He asked his cousin.
Agunimon looked at Danny, resolve shining in his blue eyes. "I am. He made Jazz turn into ecto-goop, and he threatened you and Andy. I owe him back for that."
Danny nodded. "Okay… just be careful…"
Agunimon nodded back. "I will." He then turned to face where Bertrand was. "Just go. I will deal with this fake doctor."
Andy paused for a moment. "Hey, if he suddenly disappears, be sure to elbow or backhand behind you. He'll likely try that gas mask trick on you again."
Agunimon looked back at Andy and gave a smirk. "Don't worry. I won't fall for it twice."
"Okay, we'll go find Spectra, we'll meet up with you later," Danny said.
"Good luck!" Tucker said to Agunimon as Gargomon followed after Danny.
Agunimon steeled himself for the fight as the others left. Okay… time for some payback… He thought as he made his way over to Bertrand's location. However, he decided to go for a more stealthy approach, opting to try sneaking up on the ghost instead.
Bertrand was sitting on a couch beside Calvin, who was watching some fat lady singing. Bertrand had no idea why he was sitting here, he felt more annoyed than anything.
"I wonder why Dash even likes this? I thought he'd only like cool shows, not this crap…" Calvin grumbled.
Agunimon saw Bertrand and Calvin before frowning to himself. Okay… there's a human here, so I can't just rush in like last time. He thought before an idea crossed his mind. But maybe I can get his attention in another way. Agunimon looked around before he saw an old glass jar on the ground. He picked it up before he looked back at Bertrand. Then, the Digimon threw the glass jar against the wall, near Bertrand. It shattered, causing a loud noise that got Bertrand's attention.
Bertrand and Calvin looked at the direction where the glass jar smashed into.
"What was that?" Calvin questioned.
Bertrand frowned as he looked at the shattered glass.
Agunimon smirked to himself as he saw he had Bertrand's attention. That's it…
"I will go and investigate. You just stay here." Bertrand said to Calvin. "It was probably another sick student who knocked it over or threw it as a prank."
Bertrand walked over to the shattered glass, wondering who could've dropped it.
Bertrand did not see the shadow behind him, at least until a hand tapped his shoulder. Bertrand turned, only to receive a fist to the face.
Bertrand yelped as he hit the wall, causing a large crack, before falling to the ground. He opened his eyes, glaring at Agunimon, who just punched him.
"That was for Jazz!" Agunimon growled, his fangs showing. He fell into a fighting stance as Bertrand got to his own feet.
"Troublesome Digital Beast!" Bertrand snapped before he transformed into a giant T-Rex-like dinosaur, though he had raptor claws instead of the tiny ones the T-Rex usually had.
Agunimon growled back, but he didn't go to his Beast Spirit form. He was not willing to use his more powerful form in the hospital, lest he cause damage that could hurt the students here if not worse. "You got bigger, so what? The bigger you are, the harder you fall!" Agunimon shouted as he ran at Bertrand.
"Aaa-ah-ah-ah!" Calvin screamed as he ran away.
Bertrand grabbed Agunimon with his teeth and began to shake him.
Agunimon kicked Bertrand in the eye with his foot; his foot guard had sharp claws on it, and that impaled Bertrand's left eye. "Let me go!"
Agunimon shot out fire into Bertrand's mouth, making Bertrand let out a pain-filled roar, letting Agunimon go.
The Warrior of Flame landed on the ground, panting slightly. "Okay, this will be harder than I thought…" He muttered. "I need to get him to not be so… monstrous…"
T-Rex Bertrand charged at Agunimon before suddenly shrinking down into a raptor, moving much faster. He jumped at Agunimon with his teeth and claws.
Agunimon grunted as he held up his left arm, feeling the teeth clamp onto his arm; thankfully his armor took the brunt of the teeth, but it still hurt to feel it. He then smirked, realizing he had the advantage. "You want to play? We'll play, but my way!" He grabbed Bertrand's mouth with his other hand, keeping it clamped shut. He then slammed Raptor Bertrand into the wall twice before letting him go.
Bertrand turned back to his humanoid form, then he disappeared, turning invisible most likely. It was that moment, Agunimon remembered Andy's warning.
Thinking fast. Agunimon lashed out with the back of his fist, nailing an invisible Bertrand right in the face. "Nice try!" He hissed. "But that won't work on me twice!"
"Ugh…" Bertrand groaned.
Meanwhile, Danny and Gargomon were still on the move.
"Is she any closer? Is she even still in the hospital?" Tucker questioned.
"Oh, I'm here, alright~" A familiar voice spoke up, making everybody stop.
They all looked up, seeing Spectra, in her new body, floating above them with a cruel grin on her face.
"... I am in a modelling agency!" Tucker smiled.
Gargomon didn't think this 'model' looked so hot with that cruel grin on her face.
"Tucker, that's Spectra." Danny deadpanned.
"It's perfect, isn't it? Smart, beautiful, deadly~" Spectra smiled before she fired eye lasers at Danny and Andy.
Danny quickly dodged before putting Andy down.
"Here, take this! Gargo Pellets!" Gargomon shouted, firing his bullets at Spectra.
Spectra just laughed as she turned intangible, the Gargo Pellets attack phasing through her harmlessly. She then fired an ecto-blast at Gargomon, who jumped back and landed away from the blast. "You can't hope to stop me! Not when I am going to become all powerful!"
Spectra then fired two purple ecto blasts, one at Danny and the other at Gargomon. Gargomon yelped as he threw Tucker off of him just before the purple ecto energy suddenly turned into a giant hand and grabbed his body. Danny was also caught in the ecto hand.
"Gargomon!"
"Danny!"
Tucker and Andy cried out.
Spectra hammered Danny and Gargomon into the walls and ground. She then snickered as she zapped Gargomon, making the poor gun bunny scream out in pain before he degenerated into Terriermon.
Tucker ran over to Terriermon as the ecto energy let go of him. "Terriermon!" He exclaimed as he reached his partner. "Are you okay?!" He picked up the smaller Digimon gently.
"I… smell… burnt…" Terriermon groaned.
Spectra was about to do the same to Danny.
"No! You leave him alone!" Andy shouted before he fired his own ghost ray at Spectra.
Spectra was caught by surprise with Andy's ghost ray, as it hit her and sent her flying back a few feet. "Ow!" She exclaimed as she felt the force of the blast.
There was a pack of Kwans there, and they ran away as Spectra landed on a stretcher. Lopmon gave a shout as he was flung into the ceiling. And Jazz's jar landed in front of Spectra.
"Hey! How dare you try to hurt my brothers!" Jazz's head snapped at Spectra.
Spectra felt a grin cross her face as she eyed Jazz's jar. "You want to reunite with your brothers? Then allow me to do just that!" She said as she then threw Jazz's jar at Andy and Danny.
"No!" Both Danny and Andy shouted as they ran to try to catch their sister.
However, one of the Kwans caught Jazz instead. "I got it! Go long, other Kwans!"
The other Kwans ran down the hallway to intercept the jar with Jazz's head in it. Danny flew down and turned intangible before running through the other Kwans towards the one that held Jazz's jar.
The Kwan with Jazz's jar then threw the jar over Danny. The other Kwans tried to catch it, but her jar was bouncing over their hands. Andy desperately tried to catch her, but he was too short.
Jazz's jar started to fall to the floor. Danny and Andy could only watch in horror as she was falling. But she ended up landing on something furry and soft.
"Ugh… how in the world did you ever survive before meeting me?" Lopmon groaned, rubbing the bump on his forehead.
"Sorry, Lopmon…" Jazz apologized sheepishly.
Danny sighed with relief at seeing Lopmon had Jazz's jar and that she was safe.
"What's wrong with you!?" Andy snapped at the Kwans. "That was o- my sister you were throwing around like a football! Dash is so going to be hearing about this!"
The Kwans had the decency to look embarrassed at Andy scolding them.
Danny then flew at Spectra, who sneered and held up a hand, zapping Danny with purple ecto energy. Danny fell to the floor as she put a foot on his chest, pinning him down.
Spectra grinned before she then grabbed onto Danny and threw him into the wall, making him groan in pain before falling back down to the floor. Andy ran over to Danny.
"Danny! Are you okay?" Andy asked in concern.
"He's not going to be for long, kid~" Spectra grinned as she began to walk towards them.
Andy glared at her, a desire to protect his brother was starting to overwhelm him. At the same time, Agunimon came running over, carrying an unconscious Bertrand over his shoulder. Agunimon saw Andy kneeling by an injured Danny Phantom, and Tucker holding onto a much more injured Terriermon.
Agunimon was about to do something, when he noticed a spark forming on Andy's torso. His eyes widened, wondering if Andy would actually transform.
Then Spectra's eyes lit up green. "Ah, there we go, Danny's DNA is finally kicking in!" Her body was now glowing. "Which means I should be all powerful in 3… 2… 1…!"
Spectra floated off of the ground and began to glow even more, making Agunimon drop Bertrand in shock. However, instead of remaining the same, Spectra's new form shifted to look like a female version of Jack Fenton. Spectra was in shock as she eyed her new form.
"What? What happened?" She asked in shock. "Why do I suddenly feel like blathering on about ghosts? And why do I feel like eating fudge, lots and lots of fudge?"
Whatever spark Andy had going earlier just fizzled out when he saw Spectra suddenly looking and sounding like his dad.
"Heh…" Danny chuckled, looking up at Spectra. "You wanted Fenton DNA, unfortunately, you got it… courtesy of our dad's nose~ I knew I'd find a good use for my grandfather's handkerchief."
Spectra stared in shock before her form changed again, this time to become covered in snot.
Agunimon and Andy both covered their mouths, about to throw up. Andy got up and rushed to the nearest room, hoping it had a trash can.
As for Agunimon, he looked away, hoping to block out the disgusting sight he had seen.
Spectra screamed in horror as she looked at her now snotty hands.
Danny was smiling. "There's a 'you blew it' pun in there somewhere, but I'd rather not."
"Whoa… talk about a gross way to screw somebody over…" Terriermon weakly chuckled.
"Gross is right, and I thought my body spray was…" Tucker paused for a moment. "My body spray… Terriermon, do you think that spray might be the key to curing this ghost disease?"
Terriermon looked thoughtful for a moment. "It might… considering you were never bitten by those ghost bugs…"
"You're doomed kid!" Spectra shouted as she tackled Danny to the ground. "And so are the other kids! Once those bugs have dug into them, there's nothing that can get them out!"
Tucker frowned. "She might think that, but if this works, we may get those bugs out yet." He said as he held up his body spray can. "I've got an idea."
"Let's hope it's better than you running away," Terriermon chuckled.
Tucker rolled his eyes before he ran to the nearest vent.
Andy groaned from the room he was in after puking. "Ugh… I never want to see Snotra again…"
"Will you please… GET OFF ME!?" Andy heard Danny shouting.
Andy looked out of the room he was in to see Danny had punched Spectra in the face, and when he pulled his hand out, he had mucus dragged out, and dripping all over the place.
Andy felt more bile coming up his throat, and he went back to puking.
Danny looked downright grossed out. "You know, if my life wasn't in danger, I'd hurl right about now." He remarked. He then kicked Spectra onto the ceiling, where she got stuck.
Agunimon decided he would join Andy in the art of puking.
Andy groaned as he came out of the room, looking up to see Spectra growling. "That's it, let's boogie!"
"See, that was the kind of pun I was avoiding with the whole 'blew it' comment," Danny pointed out.
Spectra charged at the ghost boy. Andy then got an idea on how to screw Snotra even more. He took out the syringe from his pocket and shouted.
"Hey, Snotra!"
Danny covered his mouth to keep from laughing.
"What did you call me, kid?!" Snotra demanded of Andy.
"You heard me~" Andy grinned. "But hey, if you don't want to be Snotra anymore, then maybe you'd like this~"
Andy held up the syringe with his blood in it. "It holds a Fenton halfa's DNA, isn't that what you wanted?"
Snotra lunged for Andy. "Give me that!" She demanded.
"Now, Agunimon!" Andy shouted.
Agunimon reacted as Andy instructed, launching his Pyro Punch at Snotra. "Pyro Punch!"
Snotra yelled as her mucus body boiled from the fiery punches, and she was splattered across the hallway. Agunimon's fist was also covered in snot. Andy turned away, trying not to throw up again.
Agunimon had a definitive look of disgust at what was on his fist. "Is it wrong to want to hurl right now?" He commented as he shook his hand, flinging the snot off of his fist.
The snots began to move on their own.
"Okay, this is disgusting beyond reason," Danny groaned, seeing the snots moving towards them.
Suddenly, they began smelling something weird yet familiar. "Uh… anyone else smell gym shorts and gingersnaps?" Danny asked.
Agunimon perked up before he covered his mouth. "Ugh… No… I smell gym shoes and chocolate. Yuck!"
"Sweaty shirt and cinnamon rolls… It's gotta be Tucker's body spray!" Andy realized.
Danny's eyes went wide. "Of course! Tucker's body spray repels ghost bugs!"
Andy looked back at the hallway, seeing the ghost bugs flying out of the other students. When a bug flew out of Kwan, all his duplicates immediately fused back into one Kwan. A bug flew out of Jazz's jar, and she immediately became a whole body again, breaking through the glass jar. She looked down at herself, smiling before Lopmon jumped onto her shoulder, hugging her.
Agunimon watched this with a smile crossing his face. "Tucker did it… He found the cure!"
"What? No!" Snotra cried out as she managed to pull herself back together in time to see the swarm of bugs flying away.
"I got them!" Andy called out. "Wait… I don't have a Fenton Thermos… Danny's got them!"
Danny held up the Fenton Thermos and sucked in the swarm before it could get too far away. "Time to put these bugs back to the swatter!" He quipped as the swarm was finally sucked in completely. He capped the Fenton Thermos and held it up in front of Snotra, shaking it as if in a taunt.
"It's not over!" Snotra screeched as she launched at Danny.
"Oh, whoops, clumsy me, I seem to have tossed the syringe with a Fenton halfa's DNA out the window~" Andy oh-so innocently stated.
Snotra froze before she glared at Andy. "You little brat!" She screeched as she flew at Andy instead.
Turn intangible! Turn intangible now! Andy frantically ordered.
Thankfully his body listened and Andy turned intangible, making Snotra go right through him, and right into Agunimon's fiery fist.
"Not again…" Snotra groaned.
There was a loud SPLAT that was heard, and Snotra was once again all over the walls, ceiling, and floor.
Agunimon grimaced in disgust as he shook the snot off of his hand for the second time that day. "I swear I am going to throw up if I have to do that again…"
"Don't worry, I'm on clean up duty," Danny chuckled before he began using the Fenton Thermos to suck up all the snot. "Really glad it's ghost snot… otherwise this would be one hell of a booger to clean up…"
Agunimon felt his gut twist in disgust and discomfort, but he pushed it aside for the time being. "Do you think the other students are cured now?"
As if to answer him, Agunimon was covered in fractal code before he reverted back to being a human again.
"W-what?" Takuya looked himself over. "I'm human again?" He grinned. "Sweet! Things are normal now!"
"As normal as they could be." Andy rolled his eyes.
Tucker came running over as Danny reverted back to being human himself. Tucker put Terriermon in his backpack to rest.
"Whew! Looks like we did it!" Tucker smiled. "I guess hospitals aren't so bad after all- OW!"
Sam suddenly fell on top of poor Tucker, crushing both him and Terriermon.
"Ugh… so… much… pain…" Terriermon groaned.
"Sorry! I wasn't able to keep a hold of Sam!" Gatomon apologized.
"Ow…" Tucker groaned. "That hurt…"
"Sorry, Tucker…" Sam said sheepishly.
Patamon looked up from Gatomon's paws and smiled. "Danny! Oh I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried when I woke up and you weren't there!"
Patamon flew up to Danny's head, hugging the boy.
"It's okay, Patamon. I'm fine." Danny reassured his partner. "I was worried about you when I woke up. I had no idea where you were."
Gatomon helped Sam off of poor Tucker and Terriermon.
"Um… are you two okay?" Sam asked in concern.
"Ugh… Yeah… I think so…" Tucker groaned as he made to stand up. "But my leg hurts somewhat…"
"Here, lean on me," Andy quickly suggested, putting Tucker's arm around his shoulder, only for his body to go intangible, making Tucker fall back down. "... Are you freaking kidding me!?"
Takuya groaned. "Here, you can lean on me, since Andy is still unable to control his ghost powers…" He helped Tucker to his feet, keeping the other boy steady.
"Is everyone okay?" Jazz asked, approaching the group.
"Tucker may need to go to a hospital… a real one," Sam whispered. "Don't tell him I said that."
"Jazz, I'm… really glad you're alright," Andy said to his sister. "I was worried we were going to lose you."
Jazz reached out and ruffled her little brother's hair. "You won't lose me so easily, little brother~" She replied with a grin.
"I'll also make sure of it," Lopmon promised.
Andy gave a small smile to Jazz, though despite the whole ghost pandemic being over, he was still stuck with his ghost symptoms.
"Someone should call everyone's parents to take them home…" Danny sighed.
Takuya groaned. "Well, it can't be me since I have to help Mr. Body Spray here."
"Guess we better get busy then…" Jazz sighed.
Tucker was frowning, he was not happy. He busted into a haunted hospital to save not only his friends, but the entire student body from Spectra's ghost bugs, and what did he get in return? A fractured bone, that's what. At least he had Terriermon with him. But it was only a tiny piece of good news compared to this massive horrible news. He was currently lying in a hospital bed, inside a hospital room, with his leg in a cast.
Currently, Jack, Maddie, Danny, Andy, Sam, and Takuya were visiting Tucker.
"Tucker, we just want to thank you for helping to get Jazz and Lopmon out of that awful hospital." Jack said to Tucker. "Both you and Terriermon."
"Yeah, and while we figured the authorities laughing at the whole ghost plot situation was most likely a cover up, we're not entirely sure how true the actual incident was," Maddie remarked. "I mean everyone knows humans can't have ghost powers. That's like saying you could be alive and dead at the same time, it just doesn't work."
"Tell me about it…" Andy grumbled.
Danny groaned at Andy's comment. "Not now, bro…"
Jack then looked at Tucker and Terriermon. "You said Agunimon was there to help as well? I'm kinda surprised, but I guess we owe him one for helping to save Jazz and Lopmon as well."
Takuya gave a small grin at that.
"We better get going now, we have a lot to do," Maddie said. "You kids can stay here for as long as you want."
Maddie and Jack left the hospital room, leaving the kids and their Digimon alone.
"I'm still really sorry about your leg, Tucker," Sam apologized. "I didn't know you'd be right under me when gravity decided to kick back in for me."
"At least it's a fracture and not a break…" Tucker grumbled. "That's the good news."
"At least you should be fine in a week or two." Danny nodded. "But you shouldn't do anything strenuous for a while."
"Don't worry, I'll be right here with him to make sure he gets the rest he needs," Terriermon promised.
Takuya grinned. "I don't doubt it." He then looked at Danny and the others. "Besides, we beat Spectra and everyone's back to normal."
Danny grinned. "Don't you mean 'Snotra'?" He quipped. "That was a good one, bro!"
Danny slapped Andy's back playfully.
"Don't make me think about her," Andy groaned.
"I think Niki texted me earlier, saying she'll come visit me once her parents let her come back outside again," Tucker remarked. "So I guess things aren't too bad."
"Here's your new roommate, Mr. Foley." The nurse said as she wheeled in an elderly man in a wheelchair.
"Hey there, the name's Carl," The old man introduced, looking happy to see his roommate. "No need to put me in bed, sweetie, just wheel me up to the whippersnapper so I could teach him how things used to be back in my day."
Patamon and Gatomon gave pitying looks at Tucker and Terriermon from the backpack.
Tucker looked pale. "Oh no… It just got worse…"
"Welp… looks like it's starting to get late, we should be going now," Sam quickly said.
Sam, Danny, and Takuya began to walk out of the hospital room. Andy hadn't really been paying attention.
"Wait, what? No! Don't leave me here!" Tucker begged while Terriermon had to remain silent.
"You see that television? We didn't have television when I was growing up." Carl began. "We had a radio. And you see that clicker? We didn't have a clicker. We had to use what was called a knob."
Andy blinked, looking at Carl. "Were you a farmer back then?"
"Oh yes, I would have to wake up early before the sun rises just to help with the field, and we didn't have the technology to blow the fields for us," Carl informed.
"Did you have to deal with-" Andy began to ask before someone grabbed the back of his shirt and began to pull him away. "Wah!?"
"C'mon, bro! We don't want to keep the others waiting." Danny's voice said as he dragged Andy out of the room.
Danny continued to drag his brother until they were outside of the hospital, where Sam and Takuya were waiting.
"Guys!" Tucker shouted out the window.
Danny was grinning mischievously. "Still technically not a cry for help." He joked to Andy and the others.
"HEEEEELP!" Tucker screamed immediately after.
"There goes a brave soldier," Andy saluted. "Find out how farmers had to deal with the supernatural back then!"
Danny grinned. "Nope, not a cry for help for us." He joked.
Later that night, after everyone was home, except for Tucker who was spending the night in the hospital, Andy was cuddling with Dorumon's egg.
"I wish you were with me, pal… A lot's been going on lately, but don't worry, I've been writing it down in a new journal… maybe I can read it to you when you come out of that egg someday," Andy whispered.
Dorumon's egg moved side to side slightly, as if trying to reassure Andy he would come back soon.
"It'll be good to have you back again. Mom's building up a lot of scrap metal for you to gorge on when you finally hatched, she'd figure you would be hungry. And maybe reading my previous journal will help you remember what happened before you became a Digi-Egg again," Andy said optimistically. "Heh… your younger brother… well… I guess he'll be the older brother now, will be excited to see you again too."
Dorumon's egg moved slightly again before giving one small bounce before settling down.
Andy then sighed as he thought about how he used some of his ghost po-symptoms willingly during their fight with Spectra, and when he was trying to sneak Danny out of the operating room. And how, despite all the ghost bugs leaving the other students' bodies, he still had his ghost symptoms.
Maybe it's about time I talked to Danny about this… But that would mean… accepting these symptoms… Andy frowned, looking at his hand, seeing it turn invisible. He squeezed his invisible hand. But… trying to ignore it doesn't make it go away… and saying it's just a ghost disease doesn't stop the accident from happening…
Andy sighed, he still couldn't believe how careless he was, not telling Danny to stay put while he was checking the portal. That was a completely stupid move on his part, and it cost him half his life and humanity. Andy flopped down on his bed.
Danny Phantom was flying around Amity Park, doing his usual night patrol before going to bed. He gasped as a familiar blue mist came out of his mouth, and he turned sharply into central park. He stopped as he turned invisible, landing on a branch of a tree.
"What is it?" Patamon asked, crawling up onto Danny's head.
"There's a ghost down there," Danny answered.
"Why not go after it?" Patamon questioned.
"Someone else is taking care of it," Danny replied.
Sure enough, below Danny and Patamon was Agunimon, and he was fighting the ghost at that moment. The ghost was nailed with several fiery darts from the Legendary Warrior, but the attack was quite weak and didn't do much damage. The ghost gave an angry roar as it tried to bite Agunimon's arm.
"Shouldn't you go help him?" Patamon asked.
"It's a pretty weak ghost, I'm sure Agunimon can handle it," Danny replied.
Agunimon punched the ghost with a right cross punch before it could bite his arm, fire around his fist as he made contact. It was clear the Digimon was frustrated by something, and it showed in his fighting, as his blows were harder and packed more power.
The blow sent the ghost screaming back in pain. Agunimon panted slightly as he watched the ghost to see what its next move was.
Now scared, the ghost flew up and away from Agunimon towards the tree, where Danny was. When the ghost was hidden in the tree, Danny opened the Fenton Thermos, letting it suck in the ghost as quietly as possible before he put the lid back on the Fenton Thermos.
"Are you worried about him?" Patamon asked.
"Yeah… something looks like it's been bothering him lately… I could sort of… um… feel it?" Danny replied, feeling a little sheepish.
"Feel it, huh?" Patamon sighed, likely realizing what Danny meant since he had been partners with the older halfa before.
"Yeah… It… I just want to be sure he is alright…" Danny sighed. "It's been on my mind since the whole hospital thing ended."
"You think spying on him is the best way to find out what's wrong?" Patamon asked.
"He wouldn't tell me what was wrong when I asked," Danny grumbled.
Patamon couldn't help but chuckle at Danny's grumbling. "Well, he is a stubborn boy, with equally stubborn Spirits."
"Shh, I think I can hear him mumbling…" Danny shushed before using his enhanced hearing to try to hear what Agunimon was saying to himself.
"... can never do anything right…" Agunimon muttered. "I always seem to mess something up… even Andy's plan I screwed up… Some Legendary Warrior I am…"
Danny frowned, wondering what brought this on. He remembered Andy and Agunimon arguing about something back at the hospital when Spectra had them trapped. Andy seemed pretty angry at Agunimon for messing up his plan, whatever that was. Patamon was frowning too, he didn't like seeing Takuya beating himself up like this.
"I can never seem to be able to control my temper either…" Agunimon sighed now, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I sometimes wonder if it would be best if I wasn't so hot-headed…"
Then Agunimon heard footsteps approaching him, as well as some kind of beeping noise. Danny looked at who was approaching Agunimon. It was his mother. It didn't surprise him to see Maddie out on patrol as well, since his parents usually went out on patrol at this time of night too, but what was unusual was that Maddie was out here, alone, without Jack, and not in the Fenton RV.
Maddie was holding some kind of device, and it spoke in a feminine computer voice. "Digimon directly ahead."
Agunimon froze, looking tense. "Shit…" He swore to himself. Damn it! Of all the times to be out here...
Maddie looked at Agunimon, it was hard to tell with her goggles on, but she seemed curious. She was quiet as she studied him for a moment, seeming to be contemplating something.
For his part, Agunimon backed up a couple of steps, watching his aunt warily. He was still somewhat traumatized by what his uncle had done to him, so it was understandable he would be wary and ready to bolt if he felt threatened. He was also shaking slightly.
Finally, Maddie spoke up. "Excuse me… are you this Agunimon I heard about from my kids?"
Agunimon went tense. "S-so what if I am…?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly. But he had confirmed what Maddie had asked him.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you or anything. I was just testing the Fenton Finder here… it's meant to track ghosts and Digimon, and I was surprised to find a strong signal out here, so I went to go check it out myself," Maddie explained. "But since you are here, I wanted to thank you, for helping and protecting my kids, as well as the people of Amity Park when you didn't have to."
Agunimon felt surprise cross his face before he seemed to calm down a bit. "Well…" He reached up and ran a hand through his hair. "It… It's the right thing to do. And with several Digimon here… I couldn't just sit back and do nothing…" He admitted at last. The gesture of running a hand through his hair was similar to Takuya's in many ways.
"You kind of remind me of someone when you run your hand through your hair," Maddie noted. "Ah, it's probably nothing. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything. I thought I was going to have to fight with a ghost or a hostile Digimon when I got here, so I was surprised to see you. I've heard a lot about you, but… this is the first time I'm seeing you. Oh, I should introduce myself. I'm Maddie Fenton."
Agunimon gave a nervous smile. "I've heard about you from your kids, too." He remarked.
Maddie sighed a little, but chuckled. "I suppose I should've expected that. They seem to like you a lot."
Danny couldn't help but feel a little envious. Here his mother was just talking all friendly with his cousin in his Digimon form, yet whenever he showed up as Danny Phantom, all he got from her was hostility, threats, and a lot of blasts to the face.
Agunimon gave a small smile. "Yeah, they do." He looked down a bit. "And they have been a big help in protecting the Digital World."
"I must say… I'm both proud and worried about them," Maddie admitted, which surprised Agunimon. "I'm proud that they're able to fight alongside with their Digimon partners to protect others and defend themselves. But… they're still just kids, you know? My kids… I can't help but worry about them. It's a dangerous job, fighting ghosts and Digimon… sometimes I worry they… you know… may not be able to make it out of a battle…"
Agunimon reached up and rubbed where he had been hit by Polarmon's Icicle Blade attack; the scar there throbbed sometimes when he thought about it. "Believe me, I know that all too well… I've had many close calls myself." He admitted.
"Sometimes I wonder if I'm being too lax or irresponsible as a mother by letting them fight," Maddie confessed, sighing. "But I know even if I tried to stop them, they would find a way to keep fighting. They had definitely inherited the Fenton stubbornness… and they all have good hearts, they wouldn't be able to just sit by and let the ghosts or Digimon attack when they could do something about it."
Agunimon chuckled. "I don't doubt it." He confirmed before he sighed. "And, to be honest, I do what I can to keep them safe. It's not easy, but I try my best. I wouldn't be able to stand back and let something happen to them if I could prevent it. Hell, I would even give my life for them if it meant they would survive..."
Danny frowned, not liking the idea of Takuya sacrificing himself to save one of them. Then again, Danny probably would do the same thing himself.
"It sounds like you've really grown attached to them," Maddie noted. "Maybe… I know it's not any of my business, but… is that why you seemed… stressed?"
Agunimon looked down. "In a sense… That whole hospital thing… I was trying to help get Jazz out, and well… Andy and I had a fight. My temper tends to get the better of me if someone I care about is threatened and well… it screwed up a plan Andy had in place." He admitted at last.
So that's what this is about… Danny noted.
"I see…" Maddie frowned. "Andy has… been quiet and distant lately, ever since Dorumon was turned back into a Digi-Egg. It doesn't surprise me that he's been more easily irritated lately. Though, I understand how frustrating it could be when someone messes up something you were doing because of their temper. Jack can lose his temper when he's feeling frustrated. I also know a friend… a former friend… who also had quite the temper. Anger can make us lose sight of obvious things, it can cloud our judgement, and make us lose our patience. You shouldn't try to suppress anger though, but rather try to find a way to use it instead."
Agunimon groaned. "And that's the problem… Whenever I try to do that, I just make things worse!" He slammed a fist into the tree trunk. "I messed up with this hospital thing, and I messed up with… another incident as well… involving Danny..." He trailed off, not going into further detail. "All I seem to do is mess things up…" He sighed.
Maddie raised an eyebrow, or so Agunimon assumed since he couldn't really see her eyes due to her goggles. "How bad was the mess up? Because as far as I'm aware, all the students were cured of their disease, brought home to their parents safely, including Jazz. And… Danny seems fine… well, admittedly we seem to be growing apart, and he hasn't been doing all that great in school lately, but I doubt it has anything to do with you…"
Danny rubbed the back of his head at hearing this, feeling guilty.
"I caused Andy and myself to get caught…" Agunimon admitted at last. "It… wasn't a fun time…" He rubbed his side again, feeling his scar there. "And… it almost cost us our lives… if not for Tucker's arrival..."
Maddie sighed. "Remember what I said earlier? About trying to use your anger? Well… if you losing your temper is what caused you and Andy to get caught, then you didn't use your anger, you let your anger use you. There is a difference. I use my anger when I'm hunting ghosts, for example. I don't let my emotion control me, if it did, I would've recklessly charged into battle, not caring for my safety, or the safety of those around me. The ghosts would've hurt or killed me or those around me long ago if I kept giving into my anger. But I don't, I use it. That's how I was able to fight the ghosts effectively when they were invading Amity Park at the time. I'm angry that they're invading and hurting people, and I use that to fuel my energy and determination to stop them, rather than recklessly charging at them. Do you get what I'm saying?"
Agunimon did get what she was saying, but he frowned anyway. "I do understand, but it's not that easy for me. I'm a fiery Digimon, so it's always a bit hard to channel my anger." He looked down with a sigh. "But I do get it. I understand what you're saying. I need to find a way to channel my anger so I don't fall to it."
"That's what I like to hear. I understand that it's difficult, everyone has different ways of coping with anger. And I can only imagine how hard that would be for a fiery Digimon like you. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. If you can overcome that challenge, and learn to control your anger, then you can do just about anything," Maddie encouraged.
Agunimon was starting to realize where Andy got his clever ideas and logic from.
A smile crossed the Legendary Warrior's face at hearing that. "Heh… I can see where Andy gets his logic and ideas from." He remarked.
"Was that a compliment?" Maddie asked.
Agunimon just gave a nervous grin. "Um… yes?"
"Then I'm glad to hear it. Andy and Danny both feel like they're not geniuses because they're always comparing themselves to Jazz's booksmarts. They don't realize they're geniuses in their own ways," Maddie sighed. "Danny knows a lot about astronomy. He used to talk to me all the time about what planets and stars he learned about in school, and he even once told me what time it was when we were on a family camping trip, without a watch. Do you know how he did that? By looking at the position of the sun. And he was only 9 years old at the time."
Danny was really blushing now. Come on, Mom, did you have to tell him that?
Patamon was patting Danny's head.
Agunimon gave a smile. "Andy and Danny will realize they are smart in their own way." He assured Maddie, feeling less worried now and more at ease. "You just have to encourage it."
"Yeah… I just…" Maddie sighed. "I wish they would talk to me and Jack more. They've gotten quite distant lately. I know Jazz, and even Andy, told me it's because they're just at that age. But I can't help but feel it's something more than that… call it a mother's intuition."
Agunimon frowned. He knew all too well why his cousins were distant from Maddie and Jack. He reached up and ran a hand through his wild blonde hair again. "That's… rough…" He muttered, not sure what else to say on the matter without giving away Danny's and Andy's secret of being half-ghost.
Danny gave a silent sigh to himself, wondering if there was a chance he could mend his relationship with his parents if he told them his secret. He was still afraid, however, how they would react if they knew he was half ghost. It had been something he had always been afraid of since the first accident.
"Well… what can you do, right? Maybe things will start to get better soon," Maddie spoke up, trying to be more optimistic. "Sorry for dumping all of that on you, Agunimon. I guess I didn't realize how much I needed to talk about this."
Agunimon waved it off. "I kinda had to do the same thing, so we can call it even." He reassured her.
"Well, it looks like you're feeling better. So I'm glad I could help cheer you up a bit," Maddie chuckled. "Perhaps you can try working on trying to use your temper instead of your temper using you. I should get going now, I don't want to stay out too late and worry my family."
Agunimon gave a nod. "I will try to do that." He promised her.
Just as Maddie was about to leave, something just occurred to her. "... Wait… Andy was at that hospital with you?"
Danny's eyes went wide in horror, remembering that Maddie thought Takuya and Andy were at home during the whole hospital incident.
Agunimon realized he had revealed something he shouldn't have. He mentally swore before he spoke up. "He… He was… But only to try and get Jazz and Lopmon out." He quickly added. "I went with him to make sure nothing happened to him."
Maddie looked like she was about to say more before her Fenton Finder suddenly started beeping, and there was a noise in the trees, like something just flew out of it, but was invisible.
"... I'll have to talk to Andy about this later," Maddie said. "I should go. Hope you have a good night, Agunimon."
Danny looked back, making sure Maddie was following him and away from Agunimon before Agunimon could put another foot in his mouth. Now Danny just had to find a safe place to change back, hoping that would be enough to throw the Fenton Finder off.
As Agunimon watched Maddie leaving, he felt a bit better about things. And the fact she hadn't attacked him was a bonus too. I should go as well. I don't want to worry Andy or the rest of my family either.
When Takuya walked into his room for the night, he didn't expect to see Danny there, sitting on his bed. Patamon was sitting on his lap.
"Hey, Takuya, are you doing okay? I noticed you weren't in the house," Danny said.
Takuya blinked before he sighed. "I'm okay… sort of."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Patamon asked.
"Remember, we're here for you, not only are we a team, we're also family," Danny reminded. "I know that… things have been hard lately, for you, for Andy…"
Takuys sighed as he sat down at his desk. "It's… It's Andy… True, the fight we had has been on my mind, as has my failure to control my temper, but… something has been bugging me. I… when you were fighting Spectra, Andy was in front of you and I saw a spark coming from him, like it was around his torso, similar to your rings when you transform into your ghost form."
Danny blinked, surprised to hear that. "A spark? From his torso?"
"Did it turn into rings?" Patamon asked.
Takuya furrowed his eyebrows. "No… not really. I just saw it and then it fizzled out before it could become something else."
Danny gave a thoughtful look. "It looked like Andy was using more of his ghost powers while we were at the hospital, despite his… obvious misgivings towards them. You even said he overshadowed me. The last ghost who overshadowed me was Poindexter, and… that was kinda more of a possession since he took my own spirit out."
Takuya nodded. "Andy did overshadow you, as odd as it was…" He agreed. "But… if he has been using his ghost powers, why is he still in denial about having them?"
"I don't think the problem is that he's in denial, the problem is he doesn't want to accept them," Patamon said. "Obviously he knows he has ghost powers, and that he's a halfa, heck, he used that against Spectra with that whole syringe thing. But… I guess he'll only really use his ghost powers if he feels he needs to."
"Which… isn't a bad idea…" Danny noted. "Without Dorumon, Andy can't just fight with a Fenton Rod and hope he would win. He'll have to start using his ghost powers then. Maybe… if we could just get him to transform, he'll have to stop being in denial."
"It won't be that easy." Takuya pointed out. "Andy is far too stubborn to change his mind on something, especially something like having ghost powers."
"You know…" Patamon began, looking at Danny. "Maybe it might help if you could talk to him… maybe remind him of what it was like to have you as a halfa and him as a human. Andy had expressed feelings of longing and desire whenever he saw you transform before. I think he's just afraid right now, so much so he's forgotten how hard it was for both him and you when you first became a halfa."
Danny looked down in thought. "That may be a good idea." He agreed. "It may also help Andy to accept his ghost powers if I remind him of how hard it was for both of us when I first got my powers."
"Well, I wish you luck with that," Takuya said. "Just make sure you two don't end up staying up all night, but maybe you'll be able to tell what time it is by the phases of the moon, or the constellations of the stars or something."
Danny pouted as his face turned red, remembering what his mother told Agunimon about him knowing how to tell time by looking at the position of the sun. "And why would I be able to tell time by looking at things like that?"
Danny's embarrassment of telling time during that camping trip, when he found out it wasn't something most kids did, kept him from ever doing it again.
Patamon blinked before he giggled. "That sounds like a pretty cool trick, Danny, being able to tell the time by the position of the stars." He remarked.
The boy responded by swatting Patamon with Takuya's pillow.
"Let's just say I had a little talk with Auntie Maddie," Takuya chuckled, not knowing Danny had spied on his conversation with Maddie earlier.
"Whatever she said about me, ignore it," Danny huffed.
Takuya grinned. "What, are you embarrassed by it or something~?" He teased. He couldn't resist poking fun at Danny and making him blush.
This time it was Takuya's face that got assaulted by his own pillow. Before Takuya could retaliate, the ghost boy turned himself and Patamon intangible and flew up through the ceiling. Not a second later, Takuya heard Andy screaming.
Takuya chuckled at Danny spooking Andy like that. Danny, don't you ever change~
"Darn it, Danny! Stop coming up the dang floor like that!" Andy snapped. "This is what I get for having a ghost for a brother…"
Danny was laughing as he returned himself and Patamon to a tangible state. "You are too easy to spook, bro!" He chuckled.
"Why don't you do this with Jazz more often?" Andy huffed.
Danny went red in the face. "Andy! Last time I did that, she had just gotten out of the shower! I had bruises on bruises for days!"
"Well, I guess our sister isn't a secret blackbelt for no reason," Andy remarked.
"Jazz? A blackbelt?" Patamon blinked as this was news to him.
"She once took down a vicious turkey Mom and Dad brought to life one Christmas," Danny explained. "Mom had to have trained her if she was able to do that."
Patamon blinked before he chuckled. "Well, given how crazy this family is, it only makes sense Jazz would be a blackbelt then."
After Andy had settled down from Danny's little scare, the mood had turned more somber. Danny knew he would have to try to talk to Andy about his ghost powers if he hoped Andy would ever even try to accept his ghost powers. Danny just had to figure out where to start.
Danny then noticed Andy was sitting by his desk, writing in something.
"Andy? What're you writing?" Danny asked as he walked over to Andy.
"My journal," Andy answered. "I've started keeping one about a month after the first… the original accident."
Danny blinked. "You have been? Wow… that must have been a lot of writing." He commented, looking over Andy's journal.
Andy looked back at Danny before rolling his eyes, closing his journal, then lightly bopping Danny's head with it. "It's a journal, you're not supposed to just read it, bro. Besides, I did use it to help explain certain aspects of your ghost powers to you when Desiree rearranged your memories."
Danny rubbed his head. "Well, I can see how it came in handy then…" He remarked before he perked up as an idea came to his mind. Maybe I can use this as the starting point for the conversation we are about to have.
Danny then cleared his throat. "Hey, bro? Did you happen to write down anything about how you felt after the first accident?"
"That was like the first thing I wrote," Andy admitted. "Jazz told me it would help if I had something to write down my… feelings about the accident in, and that was when I started keeping a journal."
Danny nodded. "Well… do you remember how hard it was for you, for both of us? I know I sure do."
Andy looked down, furrowing his eyebrows. "Of course I do… I was… unsure about what would happen to you in the future… what to expect with you and your growing powers… Vlad certainly didn't help ease those worries."
Then Andy looked back at Danny. "But why bring that up now?"
"I was just thinking about how afraid I was of my own powers when I got them." Danny admitted. "Well, and how you possibly felt about me having ghost powers." He then looked back at Andy. "And how you are afraid of your ghost powers."
Andy didn't say anything to Danny at first. Danny looked at his brother, hoping he wouldn't try to 'correct' him by saying they were 'ghost symptoms' again.
"I… hated that I wasn't there for you when you first got your powers," Andy confessed suddenly. "We were all worried we lost you that day, after the accident. When you wouldn't wake up, when your body was freezing cold, and you weren't breathing at first. When we heard you woke up at the hospital, we were thrilled, relieved, thinking a miracle saved you. But then you started getting distant from everyone, except for Tucker and Sam. You locked yourself in our room for hours, you wouldn't even let me in. I didn't know what was happening to you then, but you must've been scared- no, terrified of what was happening to you. Unlike now, with me, you had no idea what was happening. You only had Tucker and Sam for support, and they didn't even know what was happening to you. It took Jazz and me longer to find out what happened to you, and Takuya… well… you straight up had to tell that hot head."
Danny chuckled sheepishly at that last comment. "Yeah… I did." He then went serious. "But Andy, it's okay to be afraid. You don't know what is going on, and that's fine. But you can't keep denying it. Sooner or later, you will have to tap into your ghost powers to be able to fight back. You can't be afraid if that happens. You won't be able to control your powers if you let fear rule you."
"It's not that I don't know what's going on… I know exactly what's going on, which is why I'm scared," Andy explained. "For the longest time, I was uneasy around you when you became half ghost, even before I knew you were half ghost. You were… different. There was just something about you that wasn't… human. I had dreams, nightmares, about what you could become… Let's not even mention that whole time travelling, blood mist incident. Still, despite all of that, I wanted to help and support you. I had future visions of you crying… alone, in your ghost form… Not even Patamon was able to comfort you… I wanted to try my best to understand your ghost half, because I didn't want that vision to…"
Andy stopped, seeming to realize something. "... That… vision… it was…"
"What's wrong?" Danny asked, seeing Andy hesitating.
"I… can't believe I didn't notice it before… I haven't felt like that towards you since the second accident," Andy said. "I don't feel uneasy around you anymore, you don't feel as icy cold as you used to to me, I haven't had any nightmares about you becoming a scary, malicious ghost either. And those visions of you being alone… they're gone… I can't even see them anymore."
Danny blinked as he took in what Andy was saying to him. "You… don't feel uneasy around me?" He was surprised at this new information. "Do you think you being a halfa has something to do with that?"
Andy looked down for a moment. That… would make sense, wouldn't it? Why would a ghost be uneasy with another ghost? Is this a good thing though? All those visions of Danny being alone, troubled, curling up on the roof of some building… I can still see a few of those, but they're blurry at best. To be able to understand him, and be able to support him, so he wouldn't feel alone, or like his only other option was the fruit loop… isn't that what I had wanted?
Andy sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "This whole thing feels… conflicting…"
"How does this feel conflicting?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Andy.
"Because… I don't want to be a ghost. It's scary, and I don't know what will happen to me down the road… But…" Andy looked back at Danny. "I… now remember why I had been trying to better understand your predicament… and I suppose the best way to do that is being… what you are now."
Danny blinked before a grin began to cross his face. "I suppose that's as good a start to accepting your powers as any."
Andy raised an eyebrow. "Let me ask you something, bro…"
"Fire away," Danny prompted.
"Why are you so happy about this?" Andy asked. "I mean me… possibly being half ghost? If you remembered what happened, I wasn't supposed to be caught up in that second accident with you."
Danny furrowed his eyebrows. "Andy, why wouldn't I be happy about this? It means you are a half ghost, someone I can count on is half ghost. Vlad… he's nuts, plain and simple. I can't count on him. But you, you I can count on to be there to support me, to help me figure things out. Vlad may have the experience, but he's nuttier than a fruit loop." He replied.
Andy smiled a little at hearing Danny say that, though it made him a little sad knowing how much Danny wanted someone else to be a halfa rather than just Vlad.
"Admittedly, when I accidentally turned on the portal again with you still in it, I was more afraid for you than I was for myself," Danny sighed. "Sam only told me that I was the one who had to be in the portal when it turned on to become a 'superhero'. I thought you would die when you got caught up in the accident with me. When I saw you didn't, and both of us were… well… ghosts, I was excited about the powers, but I was also relieved to see I wouldn't be alone in all this."
"I'm… glad you don't have to be alone in this either," Andy said. "I guess I wasn't much help about it before though…"
Danny took Andy's hands suddenly, making Andy blink.
"You were a bigger help than you know, bro," Danny said seriously. "But now you can be an even bigger help. We can both figure out our ghost powers together instead of just you trying to wrack your brain on what it could be like."
Patamon was looking like he wanted to melt into a pile of goo, if that was even possible, what with how mushy things had gotten between the twins. "You two make me want to become a puddle~"
Danny rolled his eyes at Patamon's comment, but he kept looking at his brother, he didn't want to lose this track he got started on. "But that'll only work if you accept these ghost powers as your own, bro, instead of calling them symptoms."
Andy looked at Danny, seeing hope and sincerity in his eyes. "Um… well…"
Unfortunately, their moment was ruined by a loud explosion coming from the living room. Danny, Andy, and Patamon rushed out of their room to see what happened. Jazz and Lopmon were out of their room as well.
"That went perfectly!" Jack's voice boomed. "Uh… just too bad it was the couch again."
Takuya had come out as well and was shocked to see the smoking couch. "I don't want to know what happened…" He muttered as he sweat-dropped.
Maddie let out a sigh. "We really should start thinking about investing in a practice dummy so we don't keep using the couch…"
"Really… you two couldn't just test your inventions outside?" Jazz groaned.
With all the commotion turning out to just be one of their parents' antics, Andy looked over at Danny. "I'll at least think about it, okay, bro?"
Danny was mentally swearing at his father for ruining the moment. Of all the worst possible times, Dad… Way to go, you ruined the mood… "Sure, bro, take all the time you need."
"This sucks! This really sucks!" Danny complained to Takuya as he was pacing around the older boy's bedroom. "Andy was this close, this close, to accepting his powers! But then Dad just had to test out one of his stupid, ghost pulverizing inventions!"
Takuya grimaced as he sat on his bed. "Yeah… I can see why you're mad, Danny…" He muttered. Not that I can blame him for it...
"Calm down, Danny, you at least got Andy to reconsider on how he was seeing his ghost powers," Patamon spoke up, who was sitting beside Takuya on the bed. "Before, he wanted nothing to do with them. But you heard what he said, about remembering why he wanted to understand what you were going through in the first place. I'm sure he just needs some time to think before coming to terms with it."
Danny sighed. "Yeah, I know Patamon, but it's just so hard because we were so close to Andy accepting his powers, and then Dad had to ruin the moment. I mean, I love Dad and all, but sometimes he can ruin a moment at the worst possible time."
"Then you just need to help push him in the right direction," Patamon suggested. "You already planted the seed, now all you have to do is keep watering it until it grows. Keep reminding Andy why he should see his powers as a blessing and not a curse. I believe that his love for you outweighs his fear for his ghost powers. I've seen that boy going out of his way for you on multiple occasions, this should be no different."
Danny nodded. "Yeah, that might be the best course to take. But I don't want to push Andy to accept them too hard. It might backfire if I do."
"Yes, just give him a nudge, not a big push, and he'll come to terms with it eventually," Patamon agreed.
"That sounds great." Danny smiled before he picked up Patamon. "Thanks for the great talk, Takuya!"
Takuya blinked. But I hardly said anything.
Danny was feeling much better, even if his cousin hadn't said much to him.
Ah, whatever, at least he's feeling better. Takuya sighed in relief.
Over the next couple weeks, things have settled down for the citizens of Amity Park. There have been a few ghost attacks, which Danny or Agunimon took care of quickly. There had been only one Digimon attack, and it was more of a lost and confused Kuwagamon, which Agunimon was more than happy to take back to the Digital World.
The group also visited Tucker at the hospital he was staying. It would seem Tucker had corrupted Carl, because Carl was too busy listening to an iPod to pay them any mind.
The nurse allowed one of them to push Tucker's wheelchair so he could go out with them for some fresh air, which Tucker appreciated. And he was more than happy to report he would be back home tomorrow, he just couldn't be too strenuous with his foot for a while.
Takuya was more than glad to hear Tucker was going to be coming home soon. Terriermon had been very excited when delivering the news to them. And even Niki had been ecstatic at the news when Tucker told her.
Of course, Danny was continuing to gently nudge Andy into accepting his ghost powers, which, while slow going and frustrating, was getting better bit by bit each day. Dorumon's egg was a bit more active, but he still had not hatched yet. Still, the activity of the egg was encouraging, as it meant Dorumon was slowly getting stronger and recovering.
A few days after Tucker was released from the hospital, he decided to come over to Fenton Works since his parents had been smothering him a bit. It was there he saw Danny and Sam in the living room… alone… together…
"What's- mmfft!" Tucker began to ask before someone grabbed his mouth and pulled him back into the kitchen.
"Shhhh! Don't spoil the moment," Andy hissed to Tucker.
Tucker blinked, seeing Andy, Patamon, Gatomon, and Takuya standing in the kitchen together. Terriermon then smiled.
"Oooh, I think I know what's going on~" Terriermon grinned.
"Dude… keep it down!" Takuya hissed to Terriermon.
Takuya quickly took a peek from behind the wall.
"Did they hear them?" Andy whispered.
"No, it doesn't appear Danny and Sam heard Tucker and Terriermon." Takuya reported as he pulled back into the kitchen.
"Good, so the romantic moment we set up for them is still on the go." Patamon smiled.
"Sam is probably going to kill us if she knew the real reason we all came into the kitchen together," Gatomon noted.
"Yeah, but it will be worth it." Takuya grinned.
"Are you guys setting them up?" Tucker whispered.
"We got the idea when we heard Sam was coming over today," Andy answered. "I mean come on, everyone knows they like each other, except for Danny, who can be dense when it comes to Sam's feelings for him."
"If this works, we may see Danny and Sam as a couple yet~!" Takuya replied cheekily.
Terriermon had to stuff one of his large ears into his own mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
Jazz came walking in with Lopmon, and she rolled her eyes at them. "You all do realize what would happen once Danny and Sam officially become a couple, don't you?"
Takuya and the group looked back at Jazz. "Um… no?" Takuya admitted sheepishly.
Jazz was trying not to grin as she walked closer to the group. "Well, what usually happens when most people become a couple? They start to focus a lot more on each other. Their minds are too focused on the other person they're in love with. Meaning, Sam and Danny will start spending more time with each other, and less time with the rest of you. And all of you will become the 'third wheels', so to speak."
Tucker looked at Takuya, Patamon, Andy, and Gatomon. "You guys are so going to regret this if we start becoming ignored." He grumbled.
"Hey! You've been shipping them as much as the rest of us had, in fact, you often tease them about it!" Andy pointed back at Tucker.
"It's not so bad, right?" Gatomon asked.
"But they're young, they're still growing, meaning their hormones could make them not want to see anyone else except each other," Patamon pointed out.
"That's right," Lopmon agreed. "Meaning if you're not careful, all they'll ever see is each other, rather than any of you~"
"And to make it worse?~" Jazz grinned. "It could also happen to any of you."
Tucker began to feel nervous. "Um… does that mean I may ignore the rest of you for Niki? Err… not that it's a bad thing!"
"Well, you haven't ignored them yet," Terriermon pointed out.
"It's different with you two," Jazz said. "Because Niki isn't as involved with us with the whole ghost and Digimon thing. Sam and Danny are. Meaning they can spend every day with each other as much as possible."
"Come on, Jazz, Danny and Sam aren't suddenly going to start ignoring us just because they became a couple." Andy rolled his eyes.
Takuya blinked. "Wait… were you just messing with us, Jazz?" He asked, suddenly frowning.
Jazz's grin said it all to the Legendary Warrior.
"You were, weren't you?" Takuya groaned.
"Who said I was messing with you?" Jazz asked. "I've seen it happen with plenty of couples. Just a heads up before you start trying to push Danny and Sam together."
"Although, it may happen naturally anyways since they obviously love each other~" Lopmon grinned.
Tucker groaned. "You are downright mischievous when you want to be, aren't you Lopmon?"
"You have no idea," Patamon groaned.
Gatomon was trying not to laugh.
"And this is why I'm single." Andy rolled his eyes. "Tucker has Niki, and Takuya has Zoe, kind of, I think."
Takuya blushed at Andy's comment. "Err… Ahem… Anyway…" He trailed off, trying to change the subject. "What brings you down here, Jazz?"
"Lopmon wanted a snack," Jazz answered. "And you know how Digimon have bottomless pits for a stomach."
"Then we saw you guys here, trying to hook Danny and Sam up." Lopmon grinned.
"Whose idea was it to hook up Sam and Danny anyway?" Tucker asked, raising an eyebrow.
Andy, Takuya, Patamon, and Gatomon all pointed at each other.
Jazz raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? All of you had the same idea?" She deadpanned. "Whose idea was it? And don't play the blame game."
"Andy, you suggested it, didn't you? Didn't you see a future of them ignoring us?" Takuya asked.
"First of all, you were the one who asked me about it, second, I saw a future of Danny Phantom locking lips with Sam, before carrying her off into the sunset like a romantic couple," Andy answered. "I didn't see much more than that."
Takuya felt like smacking his face with his hand. "Andy… you suggested it. I just asked a question about that future thing…"
"Wait… if that was the future if Danny and Sam fell in love…" Patamon spoke up. "Would that mean Danny flying off to the sunset with her means they're leaving us alone?"
At that, the group got really quiet as they were just realizing the implication of that vision.
"Um… should we stop it, then?" Takuya asked nervously.
As if that was some kind of trigger, everyone began scrambling around the kitchen. Someone bumped Tucker, which caused him to stumble back into Jazz, stepping on her foot, which caused Jazz to yell, accidentally tossing Lopmon, who was eating some leftover ham. Lopmon landed on top of Andy's face, while the ham went flying and splat into Takuya's face. Both of them were moving around before they crashed into each other. Takuya hit the kitchen counter, causing some dishes to fall and break to the floor, while Andy fell onto the table.
Lopmon fell off of Andy's face, and landed on Gatomon's tail. Gatomon yelped and jumped before she knocked over a chair, which almost landed on poor little Patamon, who quickly flew away, but he wasn't watching where he was going, and he slammed into the cabinet, causing it to rumble, and some glass cups that were on top of the cabinets to fall down with another crash.
Danny and Sam, hearing the ruckus in the kitchen, came running over, only to see Takuya on the floor with broken plates around him, pulling some half-eaten ham off of his face. Andy was on the floor, holding his stomach in front of the table. Patamon was on the counter, showing swirly eyes as glass cups littered the floor in shards. Jazz was hopping on one foot, grumbling to herself while Gatomon was rubbing her tail and head.
"What happened here?" Danny asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Is everyone okay? Did a ghost come in here and attack or something?"
Andy gave a small cough. "... No… just a mischievous sister… and paranoid minds…"
Danny looked at Jazz, who now had stopped hopping and put her other foot on the ground. He slowly backed away from Jazz and behind Sam.
"Did you somehow do this, Jazz?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
"... Indirectly…" Jazz waved her hand. "Maybe you all should leave the kitchen before Mom and Dad see this… at least if they don't know what happened, they'll blame the mess on ghosts."
"Good idea…" Takuya groaned as he wiped the ham juice off of his face. "Let's scram…"
Danny looked out the window, smiling at all the stars. Tonight was the night, he was excited, it was also something he was talking to Sam about earlier, before Sam accidentally called him cute, and it got really hot in the living room after that. He was actually pretty thankful for that mess in the kitchen, things were about to get really awkward between him and Sam if that conversation had gone on any longer.
"Come on, Andy! We should go to the roof with the new telescope, we'll be able to see all sorts of stars tonight since tonight is a new moon." Danny smiled. "Tucker is bringing the snacks, and Sam is bringing the music."
"Oh…" Andy looked over at Danny. "That's tonight, huh?"
Danny blinked, noticing the nervous look Andy was giving him. Danny frowned, wondering if this had anything to do with his ghost powers. Since Danny had the most experience between the two of them, Danny needed to be there to help Andy with his ghost powers.
"Andy? Is there something wrong?" Danny asked, hoping that Andy would actually tell him what was going on instead of lying about it.
Andy tapped his fingers together, finding this awkward to bring up, but he felt he needed to know. "Say… you and Sam ever got together… would the rest of us become third wheels?"
Danny went red in the face. "Andy! It's not like that!" He protested. He groaned. "Ugh… I like Sam as a friend, not in any other manner…"
"Sure, you and Sam blushing at each other, and getting up close to each other's faces was totally you two acting as friends," Andy sarcastically said.
Danny groaned. "Andy… Sam and I would never see you guys as third wheels… We're all a team, so the answer to that is no."
Andy gave Danny a look, and Danny grumbled. "I'm serious, bro! Besides, you know my dream girl is Paulina."
Andy rolled his eyes at that. "If you really wanted Paulina, why not tell her your secret? She'd fall head over heels for you then."
Danny paused, considering Andy's words. "Would she?" He asked, feeling like something about that was wrong. "Because something about that suggestion feels like it would be the wrong kind of love."
"Besides… you've sort of experienced what it would be like when Kitty was overshadowing Paulina," Patamon spoke up, putting some cream on his forehead that had a big bruise on it.
"Yeah… I did, didn't I?" Danny admitted before he realized what he was saying. "But that doesn't count since it was Kitty and not actually Paulina!" He added quickly.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find out how you really feel about Paulina and Sam." Andy grinned. "Though you're going to be so confused. Love is so complicated. Glad I don't have to worry about that for a while."
Danny grumbled. "Yeah… Lucky you…" He muttered.
Patamon was grinning at Andy's comment.
"Anyways! Isn't there anything else you wanted to talk about that isn't as embarrassing?" Danny asked. "Like maybe anything about your ghost powers?"
"Nope," Andy replied. "Now come on, Mr. Astronaut, let's go get your telescope so you can gaze at the stars all night."
Danny nodded, relieved the topic had changed. "Sure, bro!" He exclaimed eagerly. He stood up and ran to his closet, pulling out the telescope. "Here we are!" Danny looked at Andy eagerly. "Let's go to the roof! I don't want to miss a single moment of this night!"
Andy looked at Danny before giving a mischievous grin of his own.
CT7567Rules: ZAFT: Yes, yes you do have to catch up, but it will be worth it. :3
Titanic X: ZAFT: Glad you liked it! The whole 'Snotra' thing was too funny to avoid putting in. XD
DarkFoxKit: I don't really find 'Snotra' funny, I find it really gross. Honestly, I would've preferred it if Spectra had succeeded in getting Danny's DNA, that would've been a really epic showdown in the show.
ZAFT: Ok, fair point. I would have liked to see that too now that I think about it.
DarkFoxKit: Only reason I didn't go for it here is because I wanted to follow the episode, and this wasn't meant to be an hour long special, so I guess I can give it a pass to why they chose to go with Snotra instead of showing how truly dangerous Spectra could be had her plan worked. At the very least, they showed how smart Danny can be.
1eragon33: DarkFoxKit: Only reason we didn't label it as a crossover is because not many people know about crossover stuff like that, and we wouldn't really be getting anyone to read this, and most of the story is set in Amity Park. Although we have been starting to go into the Digimon side of things a lot more later, so… it's debatable if this story should be labeled as a crossover.
ZAFT: I will consider putting it in the crossover section at the very least, but for now, it will stay where it is. Once it is complete, it will go to Crossovers.
DarkFoxKit: I'm glad you really like Andy, he's an original character of mine from My Brother's a Ghost and We Are Phantoms. Digital Phantom is more of a reimagining of those series but with Digimon.
ZAFT: And I was considering crossposting on AO3, but I will only do that if DarkFoxKit is okay with it, because this is also involving her character, so she deserves a say in it as well.
Dp-Marvel94: ZAFT: Glad you liked Jazz's melting scene! That was so much fun to write out! :3
DarkFoxKit: I always thought it was weird that the show played Jazz being nothing but a head for laughs. Danny was actually pretty horrified by it, though we don't get to see him interact with the bodiless Jazz because Sam screamed, even though Sam screamed out of frustration rather than because she was in any danger, so that was a wasted opportunity.
ZAFT: And doing Andy's POV of the hospital was pretty fun too. I liked seeing how Andy was reacting to it myself as we were writing it. :3
DarkFoxKit: Andy actually does know what happened to him, he is very well aware that he is a halfa just like Danny, but he is afraid of being a halfa, and he also doesn't know if he's actually stable or not. Andy knew Danny surviving the portal accident was a miracle, and there was always a chance his blood could've turned against or reject the ectoplasm in his blood, which was what Andy was fearing for himself, he didn't want to assume he was safe just because Danny was safe. Though Andy in this series has less of a reason to be afraid of being a halfa than the Andy from We Are Phantoms due to the fact Andy doesn't have the crippling fear of Corrupted Danny. He is still in denial of his powers, however, because it's natural to be afraid of something like that.
As for Agunimon ruining Andy's plan, yeah, that was pretty bad on Agunimon's part, he was rushing through without thinking due to his worry, stress, and anger.
ZAFT: But Agunimon will get better about that as the story goes on. His isse with this will remain, but it won't be as bad as it was this time. XD And yes, Tucker to the rescue~ I felt it was kinda sad Tucker got the short end of the stick with his leg being broken, 6-8 weeks in a cast, so we changed it so his leg was only fractured, not a full on break. Less time to heal, and less time in his least favorite place. ^^'
DarkFoxKit: That thing you said about the twins overshadowing the other is a good way to look at it with them working together, I'll have to keep that in mind for future reference.
ZAFT: Me too. There are more possibilities now that we have that idea in mind. :3
DarkFoxKit: And since this is Spectra, of course she's going to pick at Andy's insecurities once she senses them, even though she doesn't know what's going on with him.
Mystery889: ZAFT: We aim to please with Dorumon~ :3
DarkFoxKit: Do you mean you like Dorumon as a character or you like Dorumon's species? Funnily enough, originally Andy was going to have Agumon as his partner before I decided on Dorumon. The Digimon they faced that would eventually return to its Digi-Egg form and become Andy's partner was originally a SkullGreymon, however, I realized this meant Andy may potentially get an Agumon as his partner, and while I like Agumon, I find it to be too common of a partner Digimon, and wanted to use someone else. I liked Dorumon and I never really saw it in the anime, so I decided to use Dorumon as Andy's partner.
ZAFT: And Dorumon seems to be a fan favorite here, so it seems to have worked out. :3 But please clarify if you just like Dorumon's species or if you like him as a character in this story, okay? ^^'