ZAFT Convoy: Chapter 6 is here! Sorry about the delay. Writing can do that sometimes. :P
DarkFoxKit: Well… it was more like we forgot to update it yesterday.
Andy: Yes, yes you two did. Shame on you.
ZAFT: I couldn't help it. Yesterday's writing session was so intense and fun I didn't want to stop! ^^' Anyway, the chapter is going up today, so I hope that satisfies you, Andy.
Andy: Just don't be late again. Also… why did you put this bracelet on me?
DarkFoxKit: Why not? It looks cute on you~
ZAFT: What bracelet? *looks at Andy* Oh… That one.
Andy: It's stuck on me!
ZAFT: *looks at DFK* Should I remove it or leave it~
Andy: Remove it, of course!
DarkFoxKit: Nah, leave it on him so others know that he's already taken~
ZAFT: Okay~ It stays!
Andy: *Grumbles to himself* I'm going to find a way to get this off!
Chapter 6: Dash On a Long Road
When the morning sun started to rise in the sky of Amity Park, Andy woke up to growling. He blinked open his eyes, and groggily looked at the foot of his bed. Andy saw Dorimon there, growling at something near the door, his fur all bristled up like a hissing cat.
"Dorimon…? What's wrong?" Andy groggily asked.
"Danger!" Dorimon hissed as he glared at whatever was in the room with them.
Andy's eyes opened more, and he was wide awake. Andy couldn't see anything, but if there was a ghost here, and Dorimon could sense it, then that didn't mean it wasn't there. Ghosts could turn invisible after all. Andy quickly grabbed his blanket and pulled it off him. He was in his blue PJs.
"Who's there!?" Andy demanded.
There was no response, but Andy didn't doubt it was possibly that ghost Skulker. Andy's heart was beating fast, he knew he had to get Takuya before Skulker decided to attack. But seeing how Dorimon was glaring at the door, Andy knew trying to get out that way would just put him in danger. Andy looked over at his nightstand, where his cell phone was. Andy carefully reached an arm to his cell phone while keeping his attention on the door and Dorimon.
He gripped his phone as carefully as he could while pulling it to his chest slowly. If I can contact Takuya, then I think we stand a chance of beating that ghost… but I have to be careful, if the ghost realizes what I'm doing, it may try to strike at me before I can call Takuya...
Andy kept his eyes peeled for any sudden attack or movement. He then, slowly and carefully, started to dial a number on his phone. So far, so good. Maybe the ghost doesn't know what I'm doing.
However, just before Andy could put in the last digit, the bedroom door suddenly opened up. This startled Andy enough to drop his cell phone and scream, Dorimon shot out metal beads at that scream, and the metal beads hit the 'air' with a CLANG. The person at the door looked to be alarmed and confused, before a familiar green flaming mohawk robot ghost appeared at the doorway, with its back turned to Andy and Dorimon, facing the boy who opened the door.
It was Danny who had opened the door. "Um…"
"Hello… ghost child." Skulker grinned.
Ghost child…? Andy blinked. What does that mean?
Then Skulker shot out a glowing blue net at Danny, and yanked him in, much like how he did with Andy last night. Andy noticed Tucker and Sam were outside, looking just as shocked and startled at this.
Andy realized this would not be good for him or Takuya if Danny, Sam, and Tucker realized Dorimon was a living being. Dorimon, upon seeing the threesome, had gone still, but his instincts were screaming at him to defend Andy.
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Were you trying to sneak up on my brother?" Danny demanded Skulker, not sounding as scared as Andy thought he would be.
"Why, he would have been perfect bait." Skulker purred out. "And I am the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter, Skulker. As for why I am here, well, it is because of you, ghost child. You are too rare and unique to pass up as rare prey."
Danny looked shocked and worried at what Skulker said, though it could be for several reasons. Andy deduced that if Skulker seemed to know Danny, then it was very possible Danny did have a secret similar to Takuya's, otherwise why would this ghost be interested at all in him?
Andy didn't want this to be a repeat of what happened with him and Takuya. He quickly picked up Dorimon and moved a little closer to Skulker while Skulker was distracted with Danny. Andy remembered Dorimon's bubble attack, and how it seemed to be able to eat at Skulker's armor a little. If I could distract him enough, and get out of here… that should give Danny enough time to transform or whatever and get out. If I'm wrong though, Tucker and Sam could at least get Danny out of here, and get Mom and Dad.
Andy looked down at Dorimon and whispered to the little guy. "Can you do that acid bubble attack again? It may help my brother."
Dorimon looked up at Andy and whispered. "I thought you said not to move with other humans around."
"They're not paying attention, and you need to do this before that big mean ghost attacks us again," Andy whispered. "Think you can do it?"
Dorimon frowned a little, but nodded.
Dorimon opened his mouth, and whispered. "Acid Bubbles."
Pink bubbles floated over to Skulker before popping on his back, and started to slowly eat away at the metal.
Skulker growled as he felt the pain of his suit being eaten away. "Again?!" He glared back at Andy and Dorimon, the latter of which had gone still again.
"What's the matter? Too distracted with your prize? What a lousy hunter you are!" Andy taunted.
Skulker growled, not wanting to focus on the human behind him because of his prey in front of him, but that human was so annoying with that accursed Digimon in his grasp.
"That's it, I'll be finishing you and your little Digital Pet first!" Skulker snapped before he turned his hands into cannons.
"Time to go!" Andy yelped as he ran past Skulker and out the door.
"What the!?" Sam shouted when she suddenly saw Andy barreling out the door.
"Andy!?" Tucker said in shock.
"Outta the way!" Andy yelled as he all but ran them over in his haste to get away from Skulker.
Skulker was too focused on Andy to care about Tucker and Sam, he was angry, his title was insulted by a mere human, and he was not going to let him get away with that.
Andy ran, hoping to lose Skulker somehow. Or at least hoped Takuya was awake and evolved by now to counter Skulker.
Skulker shot out ecto blasts that caused the walls to have big holes in them.
Jeez, where are Mom and Dad? Aren't all these loud explosions waking them up? Oy… Dad was always a heavy sleeper, and Mom probably put her Fenton Earplugs in… Andy groaned to himself. And here I am, running around the house from a military ghost lunatic, in my pajamas, holding a little Digimon in my arms. Either this is a very vivid dream, or this is just the norm these days!
Andy ran past Takuya's room, only for said door to open in front of Skulker. With a CLANG, Skulker groaned as he fell to the ground from colliding with the door.
"What's going on?" Takuya groaned as he rubbed one of his eyes sleepily, not even seeing the ghost on the floor beside him.
"Takuya…!" Andy panted. "Boy… am… I glad… to see… you…"
"Why?" Takuya asked with a yawn, not even aware of what was going on.
Before Andy could answer, Skulker stood up and had the cannon right behind Takuya's head, which caused Andy and Dorimon to scream in alarm. Takuya raised an eyebrow at their sudden reaction before he turned around, only to see the cannon right in his face. Takuya screamed and jumped back, knocking down Andy in the process.
Just then, before Andy, Takuya, and Dorimon were blasted away, a black and white blur came in and turned all three intangible so the blast would go right through them.
Takuya blinked as he, Andy, and Dorimon returned to tangible form, only to see Skulker sneering at seeing the ghost boy, Phantom, in front of the three.
"Hey, you leave these kids alone! It's me you want!" Phantom snapped at Skulker, clearly not happy.
Skulker laughed. "Of course! That's all part of why I'm the greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone!" He then aimed his arm at Phantom and fired off a glowing blue net at him, catching the ghost boy before turning intangible and flying down into the lab.
Andy, Dorimon, and Takuya all stared at the floor the two ghosts just went through, blinking for a moment. Tucker and Sam came rushing towards them.
"Hey! What happened!? Where are the ghosts!?" Sam asked as she and Tucker caught up with them.
"That hunter ghost took the ghost boy and went through the floor!" Takuya exclaimed as he looked at them with worry. "This was after the ghost boy saved me and Andy."
"Down the lab?" Sam frowned.
"You don't think…" Tucker looked worried.
"The Ghost Portal… he's going to take D- the ghost boy away!" Sam cried out in alarm. "Come on, Tucker!"
Sam grabbed onto Tucker's arm and all but dragged him with her into the kitchen, hurrying down to the lab.
Takuya looked at Andy. "Should we follow?" He really wanted to see what would happen if those two ghosts fought. It could give me some ideas for our training...
"What is going on down there!?" They heard Jazz yelling, and her door opening up.
"You go on ahead, Takuya. You'd be a better help than I would anyways since you can spirit evolve," Andy said. "I need to go check on Danny, and make sure Jazz doesn't come down to the lab."
Takuya frowned, but nodded. "Okay…" With that, he stood up and ran off, but only after he grabbed his D-Tector in case it would be needed.
Andy didn't see Takuya or Danny again until he got to school. He didn't see them in the lab or in their rooms, and he worried something had happened to them. Andy decided to go to Casper High to see if they decided to just book it to school after their fight with Skulker. Andy had Dorimon in his backpack, in case he needed the little guy.
When Andy got to school, Takuya was waiting by the doors. "Oh! Hey, Andy!" He gave a wave to his cousin.
Andy went over to Takuya before frowning and glared at his cousin. "'Hey Andy'? You left for school without me after I had to deal with a worried older sister, and all you can say is 'hey Andy'? I oughta slap you for that!"
"Hey, I didn't want to, but I saw Danny, Sam, and Tucker booking it quite quickly after the fight! I wanted to make sure they were alright." Takuya explained quickly.
"I was worried! I thought that Skulker took you and Danny away into that Ghost Portal or something!" Andy huffed. "You could've called me."
Takuya gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry… I just forgot." He then saw Andy's backpack move slightly, and out popped Dorimon's face. "You brought Dorimon with you?"
"Yeah, because I thought I was going to need him in case I ran into Skulker again or another ghost," Andy grumbled. "I mean what could I do? Rely on you while you were 'missing'?"
"True…" Takuya admitted. He then looked around. "That ghost left the fight in a hurry though."
Andy sighed as he calmed down. "Why don't you tell me what happened then? We still have some time before classes start."
Takuya sighed as he looked at Andy. "Okay. Basically, when I went down to the lab, I saw Skulker had Phantom caught and was about to take him to the Ghost Zone. But Sam then intervened and told Skulker off. And then Tucker tried to control Skulker with his PDA it looked like, but Skulker hit Tucker so he dropped his PDA, and then Skulker placed the PDA on his arm, getting a big power boost. Don't worry though, Tucker's alright, he only slapped Tucker away. Then, Skulker seemed to take off suddenly, and he didn't want to leave his prey, but it was like he had no choice." Takuya took a breath to get some air after explaining it. "Wow...that was a long explanation."
Andy blinked a little. "Skulker is using Tucker's PDA to get stronger? And… then he just left like he had no choice?"
"Yeah, it was kind of weird. At least that meant I didn't have to spirit evolve," Takuya answered. "After that, Phantom, Tucker, and Sam were just as confused as I was about it, then Phantom turned intangible before flying through the ceiling. Tucker and Sam then started leaving. I hid myself before following them, then Danny suddenly showed up out of nowhere, and said that they needed to get to school before they were late. It was weird, it was still early though, but Danny seemed worried about something. I didn't want them going alone in case they got attacked again, so I followed them."
Andy sighed as Takuya finished his explanation. "I really wish you called."
Takuya just gave that sheepish grin again. "Sorry, Andy. I just wanted to make sure Danny, Tucker, and Sam were alright."
"That's not the only reason you followed them, is it?" Andy said, looking at Takuya. "You wanted to know more, what they're hiding, what Danny's secret could be, and if it was possible if might be dangerous."
Takuya sighed. "Nothing can be hidden from you for long, can it?" He then looked at Andy. "Yes, I was trying to find out Danny's secret, but as you can probably guess, I got nowhere with that. All I got was that Danny looked a bit paranoid, like he was worried something or someone was hunting him."
Andy frowned. "... Well… Skulker did say he was hunting the ghost boy. Though I don't know how he could've mistaken me and Danny for the ghost boy. I mean sure we kind of look a bit similar to the ghost boy, but come on, the differences are staggering, we don't look like ghosts, we don't have white hair, or wear a hazmat suit, or glow, or have glowing eyes. It should be pretty obvious we're human."
Takuya frowned at that as well. "I remember last night Skulker seemed to call you 'ghost child', which is unusual. Maybe Danny's secret has something to do with that?"
"You… may be right… it's possible that Danny might have some kind of relation to that ghost boy. That accident might be key to figuring this out," Andy mumbled.
Then the warning bell rang, startling the two boys. Dorimon buried himself back into the bag.
"C'mon, don't want to be late!" Takuya called as he turned and ran into the building. "Class starts soon!"
"Just what we need in the morning after being attacked by a ghost, more school!" Andy grumbled as he ran along with Takuya.
During lunch, Takuya was standing in the serving line, waiting to get his food, when he noticed Andy was sneaking into the janitor's closet.
Confused, Takuya made his way over, figuring he could get some food later.
"Andy?" He poked his face in to see what was going on with his cousin.
"Takuya!" Andy hissed. "Shut that door!"
The older boy quickly came inside and did just that. "What?"
Takuya noticed that Dorimon was out of Andy's backpack, and was gorging himself on a tray of food.
"Yummy!" Dorimon smiled.
"Oh… Now I see." Takuya remembered. He smiled at seeing that. "I see you're taking good care of the little guy."
"Yeah, well… I couldn't let him starve, and I was getting worried he might start complaining in class," Andy chuckled lightly.
Takuya chuckled as well. "Maybe have some chocolate on you to keep him happy when in class."
Andy sighed. "Maybe, but this means we'll have to take him everywhere with us, otherwise our family will find him and then try to experiment on him. But if he gets bigger, that's going to be hard to do…"
Takuya frowned at that. "Well, when we get to that, we'll deal with it. For now, let's just worry about keeping him in your backpack and out of sight."
"Yeah… By the way, Danny has been acting squirrely today. He kept fidgeting around, like he was expecting to be attacked at any moment. He, Tucker, and Sam even went to eat outside today, even though nobody else is going outside to eat their lunch today," Andy said. "Something must be up, or he suspects Skulker is… stalking him."
That made Takuya gain a nervous look. "Really? That's odd. Why would Skulker hunt a human? Is it because Danny knows something about Phantom?"
"Maybe… Phantom doesn't seem like an easy ghost to find… then again, what ghost is? Perhaps Skulker wants to use Danny as bait," Andy theorized. "Maybe we should go out and check on them, just to be sure."
Takuya nodded. "Sure. This way we can see what Skulker is up to as well."
"Hey, Dorimon, you finished eating yet, buddy?" Andy asked the little In-Training.
Dorimon smiled as he was already eating the metal tray.
"Uh…" Andy looked at Takuya. "Is it normal for some Digimon to eat metal?"
"Um… I can't really say since I only evolve using Spirits, but I would have to guess since he has metal attacks, probably?" Takuya replied uncertainly. "I remember some Digimon were able to eat literal batteries."
"Oh jeez… I guess there's no limit to what Digimon can eat then," Andy chuckled.
Takuya chuckled as well before he looked at Andy. "Okay, get Dorimon in the backpack so we can go see if Danny is okay."
Andy nodded as Dorimon finished eating the tray. "Someone's not getting their tray back…"
When Takuya and Andy walked outside, they frowned.
"Danny, Tucker, and Sam aren't here…" Takuya stated.
"I can see that… they must've left already," Andy noted. "Maybe we should head ba- hey, is that Dash over there?"
Looking over, Takuya saw it was indeed Dash. "Yeah, it is." He then frowned. "But who is he with?"
Andy looked at the person Takuya was pointing at. It was a short looking man, he wore a suit, and appeared to have gray hair, and a gray mustache, his eyes were an eerie green though.
"Oh, that's Bertrand. He's our school therapist's assistant," Andy answered. "He doesn't usually say much though… I wonder why he's out here with Dash."
Without being aware of it, that feral look was back in Takuya's eyes. "I don't know… but I'm getting a bad feeling from that guy." He hadn't felt the flash of heat, but he wasn't liking this at all.
Andy frowned before he felt his backpack vibrating a little, Dorimon's head stuck out of it and was growling a little. "Not right… something's not right…"
"You… think Bertrand might be a ghost…?" Andy asked. "Or at least possessed by a ghost?"
"Hard to say… he doesn't feel ghosty… but still weird…" Dorimon answered.
Takuya frowned. "Yeah. It's odd. I can get a bad feeling, but it's not in a ghostly manner. Or it could be, I'm not too sure myself."
"I wonder what he's saying though… Dash looks nervous," Andy noted.
"I don't know, but it's not any of our business, let's just get out of here," Takuya said.
Andy frowned. "Hold on… I need to check this out."
Before Takuya could say anything, Andy started hurrying over to Dash and Bertrand, but he kept himself hidden from them.
Takuya sighed before he followed Andy. "Wait up!" He caught up, staying close to Andy's side.
Andy put a finger to his lips, indicating for Takuya to keep quiet, before turning his attention back to Dash and Bertrand. Now that they were closer, they could hear what was being said.
"-hurt Penelope's reputation by fumbling that last game, you know," Bertrand snapped. "She promised them that you were our star player, and you go and make a fumble like that? You should've known better than to make Penelope look back like that."
Dash frowned. "But I did the best I could!" He said nervously. "My aunt and uncle are putting immense pressure on me, and the stress got to me!"
"That's no excuse. If you can't handle the pressure, then you're not fit to be the football captain of Casper High!" Bertrand hissed.
"Please, just give me another chance!" Dash pleaded. "I will do better! I promise!"
"Why should I? So you could break under pressure again like a little baby?" Bertrand snapped. "Penelope wanted me to personally give you a message for making her look bad like that."
All of a sudden, Dash was on the ground, in pain, with Bertrand's shoe on his head. Andy and Takuya gasped at that.
Bertrand then socked Dash in the face as soon as the jock stood up, only to then kick him in the stomach. Dash groaned as he felt the pain of the punch knocking him to the ground, and then the wind was pushed from his lungs by the blow to his torso.
Andy was shocked at what he was seeing, he had heard about school brutality before, but he never saw one in front of his own eyes before. Why? How could someone beat up a child like that? Even if it's Dash…
Takuya was about to say something, but he was surprised when Andy suddenly ran forward as Bertrand was about to punch Dash again. Andy ran in front of Dash, which stopped Bertrand, who was shocked to suddenly see someone else here.
"Stop! Stop beating up on him!" Andy demanded.
Bertrand blinked, certain he was seeing the older of the twins for a moment. Then he realized this was the younger twin and sneered. "So, you want some revenge on him?" He pointed at Dash. "Hasn't he made your life miserable enough to want it?"
Dash was looking quite beaten up, but still conscious, he was looking at Andy, not sure what to expect.
"Why would I do that to him? Dash… Dash may not be my friend, but I can't just stand by and watch you beat him to a pulp just because he messed up!" Andy shouted with more bravado than he felt. Oh crap, what am I doing? Why am I doing this for Dash of all people!?
Takuya stared in surprise at what Andy was doing. Is Andy defending Dash, his bully?!
Bertrand didn't look too happy at the response he was getting. It showed on his face clearly. "Is that so?"
Bertrand walked closer to Andy, who stood his ground despite his fear and worry. "In that case, then I'll give you some of the same."
Andy let out a gasp when he was suddenly kicked in the stomach, then punched in the side. Dorimon jumped out of Andy's backpack, angry that this man would dare to hurt Andy.
"Metal Drop!" Dorimon shot out little beads of iron at Bertrand's face, who was shocked and caught off guard, and he let out a yell as the iron beads slammed into his face.
Takuya saw that and slapped his face with his hand as he groaned. Way to go, Dorimon… He thought before he ran out to join Andy. "Andy, you okay?"
"Ugh… got… the wind… knocked out… of me…" Andy groaned.
Takuya looked at Dorimon, not bothering to hide the feral look in his eyes. Dorimon knew the Warrior of Fire was disappointed in him, but didn't do anything else. Takuya then looked back at Bertrand. "I would leave these two alone. They've learned their lesson."
Bertrand was looking quite angry, however, his eyes almost glowed for a split second. "What is that… that THING doing here!?"
Bertrand glared at Dorimon like he just added insult to injury to him.
"It's Andy's pet, and very protective of him." Takuya replied. "It followed him to school."
Bertrand growled before he turned around. "You're not worth the trouble. I've got my message across. Dash Baxter, if you make Penelope look bad again, don't expect these two to keep you safe a second time."
As Bertrand left to report to Penelope, Takuya looked back at Dash and Andy. He held out a hand to Andy and helped his cousin to his feet before doing the same for Dash, holding out his hand at least. "You alright, Dash?"
"Ugh… why…? Why did you… try to help me?" Dash asked, mostly at Andy.
Andy had to lean on Takuya since he was hurt a little bit. "Why…? Well… you were getting hurt…"
"But I… hurt you… and many others… all the time… why try… to help me?" Dash asked again.
"Because… it was… the right thing to do," Andy answered, not really sure why he did it himself.
Takuya looked at Dash. "That's Andy for you. He's not one to sit back when others may get hurt." He shrugged. "And for the record, I wasn't going to let that happen either."
Dorimon bounced over to Andy, letting Dash get a good look at him. "What… is that…? Some kind of… dog?"
Takuya had an idea come to his mind. "Uh...yeah! It is. He's a puppy Andy found." Dorimon does look like a puppy...
"You know… we're not… supposed to bring… pets to school… right?" Dash remarked.
"I couldn't leave him at home… Mom and Dad don't exactly know about him," Andy admitted. "Are you… going to be okay, Dash?"
Dash nodded. "Yeah… I'll live…" He looked himself over. "I'll be fine."
"That's good… we should get out of here before lunch is over…" Andy said.
Takuya looked at Andy. "Good idea," He then helped Andy away, but before giving a look at Dash. "You coming too?"
Dash pushed himself up to his feet. Andy had to admit, those muscles must be good for something, since Dash took that beating and could still stand. "Yeah… um… thanks, by the way… for standing up for me."
"Heh… I'm sure you won't mention it," Andy chuckled lightly. "Let's just get back to the building, then we can pretend it never happened."
"Why?" Dash frowned. "This isn't something I could just sweep under the rug. You stood up for me. Kids at the bottom of the popular scale don't usually stand up for a jock."
"Aren't you worried this will make you seem soft to the others? Or that it could tarnish your reputation? That you were 'saved' by a loser kid?" Andy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Takuya blinked as he took in the whole thing between the two boys. "Dash… are you saying you want to start over? Become friends with Andy?" If that's the case...
Dash scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Uh… yeah, I guess that's what I was going for… I know I bullied you and your brother and friends for… a few years since middle school, but…"
Andy sighed a little, before he shook his head. "I understand. While I can't say I liked that you constantly stuff us in our lockers on a daily basis whenever you were in a bad mood or got a bad grade… I don't mind starting over if you don't. Just… as long as you don't change your mind later that is."
Takuya looked at Dash, who gave an awkward smile. "I guess that's a good way to start…" Dash admitted. "And I promise I won't go back on my behavior. I… just needed an outlet to release my stress, you could say. Not a very good one, I will admit too… my uncle was a very tough teacher… he always told me that the weak should always be stamped out for the strong… among other things. My aunt was no better, she wanted me to be a prodigy, and an athlete… but… I'm good at sports, but I'm not exactly a genius when it comes to booksmarts. In fact, the only reason why I'm even passing at all is because I had to get a nerd like Mikey to help me out."
Then Takuya had a thought. "Hey, if you want help with school, maybe Andy and I can help." He looked down at Andy. "Andy here is good at biology, and I can help with the math and history." He added as he looked up again.
"I'm also pretty good at literature," Andy added.
"R-really? You… would both help me with school stuff? Even… even after all the things I did to you?" Dash asked, surprised.
"Well, sure," Takuya shrugged. "I mean, it would be better than getting a nerd to help you out under pressure of being beat up."
"Besides, a nerd can't help you for actual tests, right?" Andy pointed out. "You would need to do those on your own after all."
"Right… I always dreaded tests, since I know I'll flunk…" Dash sighed. "That caused even more stress… and I ended up needing more outlets."
"Then we'll find a better way for you to release your stress without hurting others," Andy promised. "As long as you remain as our friend and cooperate with us."
Dash smiled. "I guess it wouldn't hurt…" He admitted.
"But… if you don't mind… could you do me a small favor?" Andy requested. "Don't… tell anyone that we're friends. I don't want the other popular kids to suddenly want me into their group, nor do I want my brother and friends to know that I just befriended someone who bullied us for years…"
Dash blinked, but felt it would be worth it. "I guess I could do that…" He then gave a look to Takuya and Andy. "As long as you don't go back on your word either."
"Well, I certainly don't plan on it," Takuya chuckled.
"I might need to go to the school nurse though… I think Bertrand cracked a rib…" Andy groaned.
Takuya looked down at Andy at that point, remembering when he had cracked his own ribs. "I think that would be a good idea."
Thankfully, Andy didn't have to stay in the nurse's office for long. His ribs weren't cracked, but he would be sore for a while. The nurse was used to this, however, having had to check on students who got bullied in this school.
Takuya looked at Andy with a relieved look. "Well, I'm glad your ribs were alright."
"Yeah, me too. But dang, that Bertrand can hit hard," Andy sighed.
Takuya nodded. "I saw that." He then frowned to himself. "But where were Danny, Sam, and Tucker?"
It was true. The threesome had not been seen at lunch outside and Takuya was worried about them. Did that Skulker get to them? He thought with worry.
"You worried about them?" Dash asked as he walked over to them. "I didn't see Manson, but I did see Fenton and Foley running laps out in the track during P.E. while you were in the nurse's office, and Takuya was in his own class."
Dash then sighed, rubbing his head. "But then the weirdest thing happened while we were in the locker room. Fenton asked me to open his locker because he was feeling tired, and… well, I am trying to change for the better, so I went to go open it, and… the next thing I knew, I was blinded, and was unable to move. I heard a voice, saying that I was an average human, destined for an average life after high school. I didn't know if Fenton pulled a prank on me or what, but then suddenly it disappeared, and so did Fenton and Foley."
Takuya blinked before he frowned. "That… doesn't sound like a prank my cousin Danny could pull." He then had a thought cross his mind. What if Skulker attacked?! He looked at Andy. "Andy, is it possible that… 'hunter' showed up again?"
Andy frowned, likely already getting the same idea as Takuya. "Hmm…"
"What's wrong? Do you two know what's up?" Dash asked.
"We… have a guess…" Andy hesitated. "Something's been hunting my brother today. That thing probably set it up in his locker, but it got you instead."
"What? Something is hunting your brother? What is? And why?" Dash asked, feeling alarmed now.
"We're not sure yet, we only have theories right now, but the important part is that he is being hunted," Andy said in a serious tone. "I don't think Danny will ever be safe unless we can put an end to this hunter once and for all."
Takuya then looked at Dash. "There has been a ghost boy floating around and defeating other ghosts. We think Danny and his friends are somehow connected to that ghost boy, and thus, Danny might be the bait to lure out this ghost."
"Wait… ghosts? But ghosts don't exist… do they?" Dash frowned.
"Do you remember that giant meat monster that attacked the school? Or that ghost dragon that attacked the mall?" Andy asked. "Those were ghosts, and you saw firsthand that they're no joke. Danny is in danger if this ghost hunter is hunting him."
Dash started to shiver. "B-b-but… I'm… I… I'm seriously not… good with spooky stuff like ghosts…"
Takuya hadn't expected that from Dash, but he sighed, putting a hand on Dash's shoulder. "To be honest, I don't like ghosts either, but then again, who does?" He then looked at Dash again. "However, if you can't stand up to your fears and act even when you are scared, then you won't know just how brave you can be."
"It's okay," Andy spoke up, getting Dash and Takuya's attention. "We just became friends, Dash, and I know you don't really like my brother yet. You don't have to come with us. I'm sure we can handle it ourselves."
Takuya then looked back at Dash. "It's alright." He then grinned. "If you think being scared of ghosts is bad, try being scared of clowns."
Dash blinked at that, before shaking his head. "W-we're friends… so, I'll come with you. That's… that's what friends do… right?"
Takuya blinked before he smiled. "It sure is." He grinned. "And don't worry, Andy's parents know what they are doing when it comes to ghosts. They have all sorts of equipment to handle ghosts."
"I can go get what we need, but I'm only getting what I think we can use. Neither of us have any experience or training with any of Mom and Dad's weapons, so it'll be too dangerous to use the more powerful ones," Andy stated. "And we need to figure out where this ghost hunter is before we can do anything."
Takuya frowned at that. He put a hand to his chin in thought. "That's true…" He rubbed his chin a couple of times. "We would need to keep an eye on Danny to see if that hunter ghost shows up again."
"So… how about we use Fenton as the bait?" Dash asked.
Takuya and Andy looked at Dash.
"Uh… I guess that's… too mean?" Dash frowned.
"No… I think that's probably the best idea we have," Andy said. "That ghost is going to hunt Danny, so we might as well see where Danny goes, then wait until the ghost decides to attack him, then we make our move."
Takuya sighed. "I guess…" He didn't like it though. "But I don't know where Danny could have gone. None of us do."
"Actually…" Dash spoke up. "I remember hearing that voice, the one who called me an average human, saying something about the gorilla exhibit at Amity Zoo. If that helps any…"
Takuya looked at Andy. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That we're going to the Amity Zoo?" Andy asked.
"Yep." Takuya replied before he gave Dash a grin. "Thanks. That helps a bunch!"
Dash smiled. "So we're going to the zoo? Awesome! I… uh… like animals."
Andy chuckled a little, but he looked troubled. "We haven't been able to get any training in yet… I don't know how well we'll be able to handle Skulker this time."
"Skulker?" Dash asked.
"That's the name the ghost hunter gave himself," Andy informed.
Takuya then looked back at the two boys. "Well, even if we can't do so well this time, we at least have to try to help Danny."
"Yeah, I may not not like Fenton that much, but even I can't just let a kid get himself killed by a ghost," Dash said as he punched his fist into the palm of his other hand.
"Heh, glad to see you do have a heart under that tough guy exterior," Andy chuckled.
"You sure got fast with the teasing already!" Dash pouted.
"Heh… sorry, it's just… something new to me with you," Andy said with a small grin.
Andy met up with Takuya and Dash at the entrance to Amity Zoo. It was already getting late by the time they all got there.
"So I brought some extra Fenton Rods, a spare Fenton Thermos, and a couple of wrist rays for long range. They're small, but they can pack a punch, so be careful with them," Andy informed.
Dorimon stuck himself out of Andy's backpack.
"Why did you bring your puppy to a battle?" Dash asked.
"He… has some special powers that Skulker doesn't like," Andy said. "So he'll be useful."
Takuya then took a Fenton Rod. "This will be useful." He extended it and grinned. "Very cool."
"But there isn't enough wrist rays for the three of us," Dash pointed out.
"It's fine. Takuya is pretty good at close combat anyways, so you and I will wear the wrist ray," Andy stated. "But I could only find one spare Fenton Thermos, so we need to decide who will be handling it to catch Skulker in."
"I could," Takuya said as he held out a hand. "I am the close range person anyway, and I would need to be close to Skulker to get him so… Makes sense."
"Okay, but be careful. Mom and Dad hadn't quite refined the Fenton Thermos yet, so if you drop it after you caught Skulker, you'll end up releasing him," Andy warned before handing the thermos to Takuya.
"I'll be careful," Takuya assured his cousin as he took it from Andy.
Just then, he felt that flash of heat, meaning only one thing. Skulker is here...
Dorimon was growling, likely sensing Skulker as well. Andy looked at Dorimon before looked at the entrance of the zoo.
"Okay, looks like it's now or never," Andy said.
Dash gulped, looking very nervous.
However, when Takuya looked over, he saw the lights flickering and that was not a good sign. He had a feeling what was coming instead was not a ghost. Or not...
Dorimon looked up, sensing the same thing. "Digimon…?"
"Did your puppy just talk?" Dash blinked.
Andy frowned, but didn't have time to answer as a thick fog suddenly began to cover them up and the area around them.
"What is going on? Where did this fog come from?" Dash squeaked. "Is it the ghost!?"
"No, it's not a ghost…" Takuya growled, his eyes darting around now. He knew this fog had materialized Dorimon before, so it had to be one thing. This fog is where Digimon come from here in the real world.
"I think this is a Digital Field," Andy said. "I remember seeing this fog was made of data last time."
"What?" Dash was completely lost.
"Think of this as a… artificial ghost zone." Takuya clarified.
"A… what now?" Dash blinked.
"No time to explain!" Andy yelled as two large figures suddenly popped out of the ground.
There was a giant snowman looking Digimon, and a tall humanoid creature that was literally on fire.
"Meramon is a Flame Digimon. It is shrouded in crimson flames over its entire body. As a Digimon generated from the defensive "Firewall" which prevents illegal entries from the Internet and the like, it possesses a violent temperament like the flames that envelop its body, and tries to incinerate everything it touches."
"Frigimon is an Icy Digimon. An Icy Digimon whose body is covered in ice and snow crystals. Behind its cold appearance lies a warm-hearted, gentle personality. Frigimon dislikes fighting, and its sweet behavior warms the hearts of those who watch it in action."
Takuya glared at the two Digimon, not sure why there in the real world, but it wasn't good. "Okay...this is not what I expected when we came here…" He backed up a few steps as he said that. His hand was on his D-Tector now, not sure if he should risk evolving with Dash around. And that Frigimon doesn't look very gentle or kind hearted to me right now.
"W-w-what are those things!? A snowman brought to life and some kind of fire man!?" Dash screamed.
"Back up, Dash! We can't handle these things!" Andy warned.
Takuya noticed Andy was getting Dash away from him, so the fog would cover his evolution up from Dash. Meramon and Frigimon were looking at Takuya. Then Frigimon began to look at the other two that were trying to walk away.
Taking the chance, Takuya knew what to do. He pulled out his D-Tector and the blue form of his first Spirit appeared on the screen of it. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. Red armor formed and latched onto his body as his hair changed to blonde and became long and wild. His height increased, as did his strength and agility. His eyes snapped open, now a brilliant blue instead of brown, and his teeth were sharper than a human's as well. He landed, crying out his name. "Agunimon!"
"Warrior of Fire, I challenge you!" Meramon suddenly declared at Agunimon. "We will see who the true warrior of fire is!"
"Oh please, I will melt if you two hack it out right here. I'm going to go play with the others that won't look like they'll melt me in an instant," Frigimon huffed before running off to where Andy and Dash went.
Agunimon growled to himself, realizing he had to accept, or risk both Digimon going after Andy and Dash. At least it will keep one of them occupied while Andy deals with the other one. I just hope they'll be able to… I better beat this guy fast. "Fine! I accept!" He got into a fighting stance.
Agunimon hoped that Andy and Dash will be alright, but he had to focus on Meramon. Meramon held out his fiery hand.
"Fireball!" Meramon threw a ball of fire at Agunimon.
Agunimon didn't waste any time calling on his own fire attack. "Pyro Punch!" He let loose a fireball himself, causing the two to explode in mid-air. But he used that to his advantage to rush through the smoke towards Meramon in a tackle move. Being the Warrior of Fire, he had some defense against his own element.
"Heat Knuckle!" Meramon shouted as his arms were blazing with digital fire and punched at Agunimon.
Agunimon matched it with his own Pyro Punch. So far, they were at a stand still.
Gritting his sharp teeth, Agunimon decided to mix things up a bit. When Meramon tried to do another Fireball attack, he instead round-kicked the fireball, detonating it and then using the momentum of his round kick to land another kick to Meramon's face.
Meanwhile, Andy and Dash were trying to find a way out of the fog. Dorimon was running beside Andy.
"Is there any way out of here!?" Dash yelled. "I was prepared to fight a ghost, not… a living snowman and a living man made of fire!"
"I don't know, it doesn't feel like we're getting any further away from the fog." Andy frowned.
Frigimon continued to stalk towards the two boys and in-training Digimon. He was looking forward to see how the humans could stand up to his power. "I hear you humans are quite weak. I want to see if that's true."
"Snow Ball!" Frigimon suddenly called out.
Andy, Dorimon, and Dash suddenly found themselves being walled in by snow. Dash tried to punch through the snow, but the snow was so thick that all it did was freeze his hand.
"I don't think we can bust our way through this snow…" Dash frowned.
"We've got bigger problems," Andy hissed as he turned his direction to the snowman that was approaching them.
Dorimon looked like he wanted to attack, as he was growling at Frigimon's form. His fur was standing on end, making him look like a mini-porcupine.
"Don't run away, our battle has just begun. Come on, I don't even mind if all three of you attack me at once!" Frigimon declared.
Andy frowned at hearing that. Does this thing really think we are that weak? Well, given Takuya's ability, it makes sense… Dorimon is still a baby… Dash and I don't exactly scream super magical monster powerhouses...
Dorimon looked at Andy. "We attack?" He wanted to defend Andy, but would Andy let him?
Andy grabbed onto his Fenton Rod and extended it. "Well… Dash, we either fight or fall. I'd rather fall fighting if it's okay with you."
Dash was shaking, but he took out his own Fenton Rod and did the extending of it Andy did. "Yeah… I guess I'd rather go down fighting than look like a coward."
"Dorimon, get ready to attack!" Andy declared.
"Now that's more like it!" Frigimon started to run towards them, pulling back a fist. "Subzero Ice Punch!"
"Block it!" Andy quickly said to Dash.
Without a moment to hesitate, both boys lifted up their Fenton Rods and held it horizontally, barely blocking the freezing ice punch. Dash was stronger than Andy, so he was doing most of the push back, while Andy struggled not to let the punch freeze both his arms.
Dorimon saw a prime chance to attack. "Acid Bubbles!" He opened his mouth and the pink bubbles came out, floating towards Frigimon. They then made contact, popping in front of his face and sending acid all over, blinding the snowman-like Digimon.
"Gah! Now that's just dirty!" Frigimon shouted, rubbing both of his eyes.
"Attack now!" Andy shouted.
Andy and Dash ran at Frigimon and swung their Fenton Rods as hard as they could. Dorimon joined in as well, using his Metal Drop to add in the damage.
"Wah?" Andy's eyes widened when he saw that their Fenton Rods got stuck in Frigimon's body.
Dash looked at Andy. "Um...I don't think this was a good idea…"
"No… of course not. These rods were made to battle with ghosts, not Digimon…" Andy frowned.
"Digi-what now?" Dash questioned.
"Subzero Ice Punch!"
Andy and Dash yelped as they quickly scrambled away, barely avoiding the punch. The Subzero Ice Punch hit the ground, and instantly turned it to ice.
Andy looked worried now. How will we be able to handle the snow-man like Digimon if the ground is frozen? It's not like we can skate on it…
"This is way too easy," Frigimon sighed. "Oh well, might as well finish you two off."
"No!" Dash squealed.
Frigimon took a deep breath. "Icy Breath!" Frigimon blew out a freezing cold breath at the two.
"Andymon! I'll protect you!" Dorimon shouted as he jumped right between the two boys and the Icy Breath.
"No!" Andy screamed out when Dorimon got hit by the attack. "Dorimon!"
Andy ran over to Dorimon's limp and cold form and knelt down. "Dorimon… Please… wake up…"
"What an idiot. Didn't expect a little in-training to just jump in front of the attack like that," Frigimon grumbled.
"I-is he… okay?" Dash asked in concern, not sure what else to do.
"No…" Andy shook his head, tears starting to fall from his eyes. This is just like when I found Danny lying lifeless on the lab's floor after the portal turned on… he was so… cold… so lifeless… why can't I save anyone?
Andy had only felt this helpless once, when Danny was lying still and cold in his arms just after the accident. I couldn't save Danny, and now Dorimon… He felt himself feeling sick of being helpless, but he was just a human.
Suddenly there was a bright glow in Andy's pocket, and it was giving off a high pitched noise. Dash and Frigimon backed off, surprised and shocked. Andy raised his head, before he reached into his glowing pocket and took out his cell phone. "What…?"
There was something appeared on the screen of his phone. It looked like a sketch of an eye, with four lines around it. It almost looked like a targeting scope. Then a female voice spoke up. "It is time."
"What… time for… what?" Andy softly asked, confused as to what was going on.
Then, his phone glowed and changed shape. It became bulkier up top, while becoming more pear-shaped, but upside down. There was a screen that was circled in dark navy blue with a matching strap from the top, while the bottom half had matching buttons. The whole device was silver in color save for the strap, screen edge, and the buttons.
As soon as the device had transformed, the screen on it glowed a green light. It was soft, unlike the harsh lime green that the Lunch Lady's skin had, or the fiery mohawk Skulker had. As if knowing what to do, Andy pointed the device at Dorimon. The green light shot out to Dorimon.
"Digivolution." The device suddenly said.
Dorimon's body glowed, and purple light began to surround it. Fractal code began to surround it as well.
"Dorimon digivolve to…" With a bright flash of light, the fractal code dispersed, and the purple light faded. "Dorumon!"
Andy looked on in shock as Dorimon - no, Dorumon - stood before him. He stood on two legs, and was covered in purple fur over the majority of his body. He had a fox-like tail, and small black bat-like wings on his back, and a red gem in the center of his forehead. His feet and clawed paws had white fur on them, just as his tail tip did. His mouth still had the white fur around it, but he now also had white fur on his stomach area too. His eyes were still the same yellow and black Andy had come to know as well. His ears now had darker stripes on them, and looked like a fox's or cat's ears almost too.
Dorumon looked a lot better as well, he was no longer injured. He stood in front of Andy. "Andy… are you hurt?"
"No… I'm alright, thanks to you," Andy said softly, still surprised and a little shaken up by the experience. Hey, he didn't add 'mon' to my name.
"I'm glad you're alright then. Don't worry, I promise I'll protect you," Dorumon said, glaring at Frigimon.
Dash and Frigimon were still in shock at what had just happened.
"Did… what just happened?!" Dash questioned now. "Did your dog just turn into some kind of… talking, fox, cat thing!?"
"Guess I have a lot of explaining to do after this…" Andy sighed.
With Agunimon and Meramon, they suddenly stopped in their fight, having sensed something happening. Looking back, Agunimon could only wonder if Dorimon was alright.
"What is that energy?" Meramon questioned. "It feels like… a digivolution…?"
Hearing that, Agunimon had a thought cross his mind. Did Dorimon… digivolve?
However, before he could ponder it further, he found himself sent sprawling by another punch from Meramon. "Some Warrior of Fire, getting distracted by something like that."
Agunimon growled as he got back to his feet and charged at Meramon, the strange energy now forgotten.
"How can this be? How did you digivolve? Why? To protect this human?" Frigimon questioned, looking at Dorumon.
"Yes," Dorumon answered back. "I won't let you hurt him!"
Dorumon took a deep breath. "Metal Cannon!"
Dorumon shot out much bigger iron spheres from his mouth, these iron spheres had a lot more effect on Frigimon than the little iron beads that he fired out as Dorimon before. Frigimon stumbled back from being hit by the metal balls.
For once, Andy felt a bit of hope coming out of seeing that. "Way to go, Dorumon!"
Dorumon fired out more Metal Cannon attack, but Frigimon slammed them away with his Ice Punch.
"You may have gotten stronger upon digivolving, but our levels are still vastly different. I'm a Champion, while you're only a Rookie," Frigimon informed.
"Well, a Rookie can beat a Champion if they have help," Dorumon snapped back. "And I have Andy on my side, as well as Andy's friend!"
Andy realized that he couldn't just rely purely on Dorumon to fight against Frigimon. From what he could gather, Frigimon was at least a level higher than Dorumon was. Andy looked back at Dash. "Dash, listen to me. I know that things are really confusing right now, but we have to help Dorumon. He got bigger now, but I don't think he can take on this snowman alone."
Dash frowned, but nodded. "Okay, but you owe me an explanation when this is over." Looking at the Fenton Rods in the snowman's body, Dash realized close range was not going to work. His fist felt the metal of the wrist ray, and then he had an idea. "Hey, we can use the wrist rays, right?"
"Yes, it should still pack quite a punch even if this snowman isn't a ghost. Dash, you run to the left side of the snowman, I'll take the right. When I give the signal, fire the wrist ray," Andy instructed.
Dash nodded before he turned and ran to the left as Andy had told him to. He was hoping this plan would work.
As soon as Andy was at the right, Frigimon noticed that the two humans were doing something, but since they were weak, he didn't pay them much attention. He wanted to attack the annoying Rookie Digimon that dared to digivolve. Frigimon began to charge at Dorumon, while Dorumon stood his ground.
"Subzero Ice Punch!"
"Now!" Andy shouted as he fired his wrist ray, with Dash firing his a split second later.
The green lasers hit Frigimon's head, which caused Frigimon to lose his balance as he let out a sharp yell of pain.
Andy smiled as he saw the Digimon fall down. "Yes!"
Dorumon saw his chance to attack as well. "Metal Cannon!"
The iron spheres slammed into Frigimon's forehead, causing the snowman Digimon to scream out before a ring of data appeared around it.
"Hey, what's that?" Dash asked.
"Data, I think…" Andy said, just as confused.
Andy heard the device that his phone became beeping like crazy. He frowned as he looked at the unknown device. What does it want?
Andy looked up at the ring of code, and back at the device. I guess it wants me to swipe it around the data?
Andy wasn't sure if he was doing this right, but he decided to try it anyways. There appeared to be a slot for something, so Andy guessed that might be what he had to scan the data with. Andy began to swipe the device on the code, and it surprised Andy that he felt a physical force on the code itself. The device's screen glowed as he scanned the code. The fractal code soon disappeared into the device, and the Frigimon had turned into an egg.
Andy stared as he saw the egg on the ground. "Okay… that was weird…"
Then suddenly, the slot in his device created a card. Andy blinked in surprise at this, he took the card out and saw it had a picture of Frigimon on it.
Just then, an explosion of fire made Andy look back as he saw Agunimon having trouble with Meramon. The Warrior of Fire looked like his armor was getting singed here and there, but Meramon wasn't doing so well either. They appeared to be evenly matched.
"Guess we don't have time for explanations just yet," Andy noted, seeing that Takuya was in trouble.
"I can help Takuya," Dorumon said as he walked up to Andy.
"You can? How?" Andy asked as he looked down at his partner.
"That card you got from scanning Frigimon's fractal code, you can probably use it on that device you have. I can probably use some of Frigimon's ice powers, that should weaken Meramon enough for Takuya to take it out," Dorumon suggested.
"Oh? Really? How do you know it will do that?" Andy asked.
"I… I'm not sure… I just do," Dorumon said with a shrug.
"Hold on… Takuya?" Dash asked, having heard Dorumon calling Agunimon Takuya. "I don't see Takuya, I just see two weird fire monsters duking it out with each other!"
Andy sighed. "I'll explain later. Right now, Dorumon's right." He then looked at his partner. "Let's go!"
Andy and Dorumon started running towards Agunimon and Meramon's battle. Dash sighed.
"Why am I doing this? This is nuts… well, I can't let the little guy go off on his own and get hurt," Dash chuckled a little before he hurried after Andy and Dorumon.
Agunimon managed to throw Meramon back, but Meramon was still coming at him just as strong as ever. The battle felt like it would never end, and Agunimon was getting more worried about Andy, Dorimon, and Dash the longer the battle went on.
Andy reached the battle's edge and looked at Dorumon. "Ready?"
Dorumon nodded. "Yes."
Andy then held up the device and his card. The card spun before Andy caught it in two fingers, looking up from the shadows. He then held the device over his head, the card slot facing down towards his head. He stuck the card's edge into the slot and dragged it through, the card being pulled towards the right side of his body and the device towards the left side of his body. "Digi-Modify!" Andy called out. He pulled the device and card apart from each other. "Frigimon's Icy Breath activate!"
Dorumon opened his mouth. "Icy Breath!"
A blast of cold ice and wind shot across the battlefield and slammed into Meramon's side. Meramon let out a scream of pain.
"AAAHHHH! COLD! S-SO C-C-C-COLD!" Meramon wrapped his arms around his torso, shrinking a little.
Seeing his chance, Agunimon ran towards Meramon and leapt up. He spread his arms wide, fire coming from his form as he did so. "Pyro Tornado!" He began to spin around, becoming enveloped in a vortex of fire. The fiery tornado came up on Meramon, only for Agunimon to come out of the fiery twister and kick Meramon in the chest hard enough to draw out his Fractal Coding. Agunimon landed as Meramon went dark in color, becoming just a silhouette of blackness. "Meramon, it's time for the flames to claim you."
He held up the D-Tector, pressing the button on the side as the symbol of Fire appeared on the screen. Then, Agunimon dragged the D-Tector across the coding. "Fractal Code, Digitize!" The coding collected, all that was left of Meramon now was an egg.
"Whooooaaaa! That was so cool! And so weird!" Dash yelled out.
The battle won, Agunimon finally collapsed to his hands and knees, panting as he felt the exhaustion coming up on him.
"Agunimon! Are you alright?" Andy and Dorumon rushed up to the fallen Legendary Warrior of Flame.
Agunimon gave a glance back over his shoulder, seeing Andy and Dorumon running towards him. He couldn't believe Andy was there, and alright. Against his better judgement, the Legendary Warrior hugged Andy. "Yes… I am now, knowing you're alright…"
When Agunimon looked at Dorumon, it was the first time he had seen this Digimon. "Dorumon is an Animal Digimon and carrier of the X-Antibody. Because it has an old-style interface on its brow, it is presumed to be an experimental "Prototype Digimon" from before Digimon were discovered."
He looked at Andy, confused. "What happened? Where's Dorimon?"
"This is Dorimon, or he was, he… uh… digivolved into Dorumon to save us from Frigimon," Andy informed.
"Hey, looks like you've seen better days," Dorumon chuckled lightly.
Agunimon just rolled his blue eyes at the jab, but there was a smile on his face nonetheless. "Yes, it does, doesn't it?"
"So…" Agunimon's eyes widened as he heard Dash's voice, he had forgotten they had another person with them. "Want to explain to me what's going on?"
Andy and Agunimon looked at one another before the Warrior of Flame sighed as coding surrounded him and he turned back into Takuya.
"HOLY SWEATSOCKS! Takuya? You were that fire armor guy!?" Dash shouted in shock.
"Yeah… I was…" Takuya confirmed. "But it's a long story."
The fog around them dissipated, showing the zoo around them again. The two eggs of Frigimon and Meramon laid there.
"We… should do something about those eggs first," Andy stated. "But I don't think our house can take another digital baby right now."
"Hey, I wasn't that bad, was I?" Dorumon pouted.
Takuya walked up to Meramon's egg and looked at his D-Tector before he held it out and the egg was sucked inside. It showed up on the screen before fading. "I think we can store the eggs in my D-Tector."
"Whoa, that is so cool!" Dash squealed.
"Heh… congratulations, Dash, your life is now an anime," Andy laughed.
Takuya had just finished storing Frigimon's egg in his D-Tector as well, coming over. "Sorry. Had to collect Frigimon's egg too."
Andy looked at Takuya's D-Tector, and remembered his own device that his phone turned into. But it didn't look anything like Takuya's D-Tector. Maybe I'll ask Takuya about it later. We still have to explain things to Dash, we should deal with one new problem at a time.
Andy wasn't sure how much time had passed since Takuya begun his explanation to Dash, but it certainly felt like hours. Dash was constantly stopping Takuya in the middle of his story to ask more questions. The sun had long since gone down. Andy was surprised that the zoo was still open at this time. Dorumon was content with just sitting there, likely to recover his own strength.
"So, you think you got it now?" Takuya asked after finishing his explanation.
"Sort of… I'm still in shock at the fact there are real monsters, digital or not, and that you can turn into one! And that Andy's 'dog' was one of them!" Dash exclaimed.
"Well, get used to it, because our lives have just gotten crazier." Takuya chuckled. "Whether you like it or not."
"Isn't it just my luck I ended up befriending someone who can turn into a fiery dragon!" Dash shouted, still in shock.
"Better befriending then become their enemy," Andy pointed out.
Dash sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I'm just trying to get used to this still."
"Aren't we all?" Andy chuckled. "I didn't expect this little guy to digivolve in the middle of battle."
"I'm just glad I was able to, otherwise we'd probably be ice cubes by now," Dorumon stated.
Takuya laughed. "And I would have been a fried human." He then sighed. "But I think we should head home now. That took a lot out of me."
"Yeah, totally. I've had enough excitement to last me a whole year," Dash agreed.
"... Wait a second, didn't we come here for another reason?" Andy asked before Dash and Takuya could leave the zoo.
The four of them stood in silence for a moment, before they remembered exactly why they came here. All four of them let out a scream.
Takuya looked back at the zoo's entrance. "We have to get in there!" He was cursing the fact he had forgotten all about Danny and Skulker. Stupid Digimon!
"We might already be too late!" Andy shouted as they began to knock on the closed doors. Darn, they're not open this late at night after all!
"Stand back!" Dorumon shouted before taking a deep breath. "Metal Cannon!"
Dorumon shot out a lot of iron balls at the door, creating several holes before the door finally got knocked down.
Looking at the doors on the ground, Takuya blinked. "Okay… I don't think the staff would be too happy about that, but if it works, we'll just go with it…"
"Come on, let's go, Danny could be in danger!" Andy frantically shouted before he began running in, Dorumon quickly followed.
"H-hey, wait up!" Dash called before running after Andy himself. "Did you even pick up the Fenton Rods!?"
Takuya sighed before he grabbed the rods and ran after them himself. "Wait up!"
By the time the four of them got to the gorilla exhibit, they were all out of breath. Their battle against the two Digimon had wiped them out. But what they saw was also surprising. Danny, Tucker, and Sam were all inside the gorilla's exhibit, with the gorilla standing right behind Danny. Though Sampson didn't seem to be bothered by their presence. Danny was picking up the Fenton Thermos.
"I… hate… how… out… of shape… I am…" Andy panted, leaning against a wall.
"It… does… kind of… suck…" Dorumon agreed, panting beside Andy.
Takuya didn't see any sign of Skulker. "Huh… I don't sense… or see Skulker anywhere." He then looked at Andy as he too panted, which was expected given how he had been the one to fight Meramon. "Do you think Phantom… defeated him?"
"Who… is… Phantom?" Dash asked, who was mostly tired due to all the stress and fright he had to go through.
"The ghost boy we were mentioning…" Takuya explained as best as he could.
"It… was either… Phantom… or Danny… somehow… caught Skulker… with that… thermos…" Andy said, still trying to catch his breath.
"So… what… we came here… for nothing…?" Dorumon groaned as he and Andy sank down to the floor.
Takuya looked back at Danny, Sam, and Tucker as he panted still. "I...don't think so…" He looked thoughtful. "But… those Digimon… held us up…"
"You know… I'm glad we… came… despite the terror…" Dash spoke up. "If we hadn't… those Digimon might… have come and… torn apart the zoo… you know?"
Takuya looked back at Dash before he smiled. "Yeah… Good point…"
Danny suddenly shouted something. "Oh my gosh! Sampson is a 'she'!"
Takuya jumped at the sudden shout as he looked back at the gorilla exhibit. "Okay… not what I expected to hear…"
"How… are they… standing… that close to the… gorilla without… getting mauled?" Andy groaned before facepalming. "Oh… I'm sure… the zookeepers would… be happy to hear about… that… maybe they have… a chance to repopulate… the purple-back… gorilla."
Takuya looked back at Andy, Dorumon, and Dash. "I think… we should get… home now…" He looked back at the exhibit again. "I think Danny… Sam and Tucker… will be fine…"
"Yeah… they managed… to take care… of themselves… without us…" Andy agreed. "And… don't want… them to see… Dorumon…"
Takuya and Dash nodded in agreement. Then, Takuya had a thought. "Wait… how will we hide Dorumon now…?"
Andy and Dorumon looked at each other before they both groaned.
Titanic X: ZAFT: Glad you are excited!
DarkFoxKit: I think you're mistaken, Dodomon didn't poop in Andy's room, he pooped in Takuya's room.
ZAFT: She didn't read it that clearly it seems, but it happens.
DarkFoxKit: Well then read it more carefully. XP
GirlFish: ZAFT: It will be interesting indeed.
DarkFoxKit: It's going to be a while before we get to Frostbite. So it's hard to say what his knowledge will be on Digimon.
ZAFT: As for Lilithmon, we will see. It all depends on how the story goes. :P
DarkFoxKit: I'm not sure what will happen if or when Zoey comes to Amity Park herself. We haven't thought that far ahead yet. But you did give us some interesting ideas.
ZAFT: As for the GIW, well… It will be hard to say since they have yet to appear. But again, an interesting idea was given to us, so thanks!
DarkFoxKit: The Box Ghost is… kind of a strange one. Season 3 Box Ghost was more silly than he really should've been. He can actually be a threat to humans, seeing how he was able to defeat Danny that one time when he was still trying to control his powers at the beginning of Splitting Images.
ZAFT: But we will see. It all depends. That would be interesting though.
Irusha the Kitsune: DarkFoxKit: Glad to know that you like it, and that this story is starting to gain more fans. :3
ZAFT: Yep~ I hope you will like this chapter as well~