ZAFT: *Looks at reviews* Eh, stupid bug. Not my problem. Only boosts review count~

DarkFoxKit: But it's stupid because it gets your hopes up for nothing.

ZAFT: Yes, but one way to disarm such a person is to look at it in a positive light, even if it is just a false hope for others.

DarkFoxKit: And for us since I look forward to reviews. But anyways, I hope everyone is surviving this rough time with the whole virus thing going on.

ZAFT: Stay safe, and listen to the health experts, not the news media who propogate the idea of a supervirus that is incurable. Human Vaccine trials start today.

Andy: Why must people always treat every unknown virus like it's some kind of zombie virus about to end the world? Jeez, couldn't even get food today.

ZAFT: Don't worry, Andy. That will die off soon.

Andy: Yes, I do hope people's paranoia will indeed die off soon. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to wash my hands.

ZAFT: Well, chapter is up now, so enjoy~!

Chapter 7: A Party Invitation

After Andy, Dorumon, and Takuya said goodbye to Dash and split off, they were more than happy to rest on a park bench.

"So… we have an issue… we can't come home unless we can hide Dorumon. I doubt my sister would believe he's just a plushy anymore, and Mom wouldn't fall for that either. Dad… uh… maybe… but not good enough," Andy grumbled.

"Yeah…" Takuya agreed. "I don't have any ideas really. And we can't have him remain outside either because others would find him."

Andy looked at Dorumon's little bat-like wings. "Hey Dorumon, can you actually fly with those wings or are they just for look?"

Dorumon looked back at his wings for a moment before he began to flap them. His wings moved as fast as a hummingbird's and he lifted up off the ground. "I can fly, yeah, but not for long periods of time, nor can I fly very high either."

That gave Takuya an idea. "Hey, maybe we could sneak him into my room through the window and he could stay there. I can keep my door locked, so if someone wanted to come in, they'll have to knock first."

"It seems like a good idea," Andy agreed.

"Aww… so does that mean I can't sleep with you anymore?" Dorumon frowned as he looked at Andy.

"Well, I share the same room as my brother. He's bound to get suspicious if he suddenly sees a big fox creature in our room," Andy informed.

"It's for your safety," Takuya said. "Andy's parents are a bit… excitable when to comes to new creatures." He then corrected himself. "Mainly ghosts."

"But I'm not a ghost, I'm not even a ghost type Digimon," Dorumon pointed out.

"It doesn't matter, to them you're a strange new creature, and it's likely you could be a ghost, so…" Andy cringed at the thought of what would happen if his parents got their gloved hands on his partner. "It's best if you remain hidden from them."

"But Andy can come and visit you before bed," Takuya suggested. "This way you know he is safe."

Dorumon sighed. "Fine… if that's the way it has to be…"

Takuya put a hand on the little guy's head. "I wish it wasn't that way either, but until then, this has to be done this way."

"Then come on, let's get home before our family worries," Andy said, standing up from the bench.

Takuya and Dorumon followed Andy back to the house, where Takuya looked up at the window to his room. "Okay, that window there is my room. Once I get inside, I can open the window and let you in."

"Okay," Dorumon acknowledged. "Don't take too long, or I'll think something's wrong."

"We won't take long," Andy promised.

Takuya and Andy went into the house, using Andy's spare key. Andy looked around the living room to make sure they were alone while Takuya went straight to his room and made sure to open the window. "Okay, you can get in!"

Dorumon took a minute to fly up to the window, and squeezed himself inside. He managed to land, but made a bit of a thunk on the floor.

Takuya gave a slight cringe at the sound, but there was no one coming up at the sound, well, except for one.

There was a knock on Takuya's door. "Takuya? Open up, it's me Andy."

Takuya opened the door. "Good." There was relief on his face.

Andy was glad to see Dorumon got in safely, despite the rough landing.

"Okay, looks like this will have to work out until we can find a better way to hide Dorumon… when he gets bigger. I'm sure he'll get at least as big as when he was that big dragon Digimon," Andy sighed.

Takuya looked at Andy. "Well, when I evolve, I can switch between my Human Spirit and Beast Spirit. And when I have won a fight or something like that, I revert back to my human form. I think it would be similar with Dorumon." He then corrected himself. "Um… turning back to his Rookie form I mean. My human form is like the Rookie form of my other forms."

"What about his earlier forms?" Andy asked.

Dorumon gave a look of concentration, then he shut his eyes, looking like he was trying to use the bathroom for a moment, before he shook his head. "I… can't seem to revert back to my earlier forms…"

Takuya groaned. "Great… forget I said anything…"

"Maybe it works differently with real Digimon?" Andy questioned.

"Maybe…" Takuya sighed. "But for now, let's not worry about it. We can figure this out later."

Takuya took out his D-Tector, studying it for a bit at Meramon and Frigimon's egg, when a thought occurred to him. Wait… how did Frigimon turn back into an egg if I never scanned his fractal code?

When Andy saw Takuya's D-Tector, he was reminded of the strange device his phone had turned into. Andy dug into his pocket to see if his phone turned back to normal, but no, it was still the strange device it turned into.

"Hey, Takuya…" Andy spoke up, though his cousin's attention remained on his D-Tector. "Uh… something happened during our battle with Frigimon. Before Dorumon digivolved, my phone suddenly turned into this weird device that kinda reminds me of your D-Tector, but it looks really different. It caused Dorumon to digivolve, and I was even able to scan Frigimon's code thing with it."

That made Takuya look back in shock. "What?" This was new to him. A human can scan fractal code?!

He then saw the device. "Okay… that's new."

"What is it?" Andy asked. "Is it some kind of new model of your D-Tector?"

Takuya looked at the device and compared the two. "I wouldn't say it's a new model… Although I can see where the scanner is for scanning fractal code." Sure enough, it was located on the top of the device, opposite the card slot.

"Oh, and another thing that happened," Andy spoke up. "After I scanned the… code, this came into existence."

Andy pulled out the Frigimon card and showed it to Takuya. "When I swiped this Frigimon card into this device's card slot, it gave Dorumon the ability to use Frigimon's Icy Breath attack, and that was how we were able to weaken Meramon for you to finish it off."

Takuya frowned at that. "I've never heard of that happening before." Unless this is something new that is happening… "Did you hear a female voice or anything when this happened?"

"Yeah… a voice that said 'it is time' before my phone turned into this thing," Andy replied.

Takuya paused as he heard that. He had a look of recognition on his face. "Andy…" He trailed off before he looked at his cousin. "I think that you heard one of the Celestial Digimon, Ophanimon."

"Oh… I remember you telling me about her, and Seraphimon, and Che… Cherrymon?" Andy frowned a little.

"Cherubimon." Takuya corrected. "The last of the Celestial Angels."

"... Are these Japanese names?" Andy deadpanned.

"Um… no." Takuya replied with a sweatdrop on his head. "They are based on the Archangel tiers."

"Right… but why would Ophanimon be interested in me?" Andy asked. "I wasn't a part of your big, grand Digital adventure. And why turn my phone into a… a different D-Tector? I doubt there are any Digimon Spirits out here."

Takuya frowned at that. "I don't know… but if Ophanimon found an interest in you, it is likely for a good reason." He then looked at the device again. "And the fact your 'D-Tector' had an effect on Dorumon, it's likely that he's supposed to be your Digimon partner or something… maybe she wants to have you help in a different manner. And I think Dorumon is key to that."

Andy blinked before he looked at Dorumon for a second. "Did she send Dorumon to us?"

Dorumon shrugged. "I don't remember a lot of my past incarnation's life, but I do remember seeing an angel-like Digimon, before I was suddenly overcome with pain and agony, and I ended up in this world somehow."

Takuya frowned at that. "I see…" He put a hand to his chin in thought. "If that is the case, then someone probably attacked the Village of Beginnings and claimed you before she could send you here."

"I don't think I was in the Village of Beginnings," Dorumon said. "I… don't remember where I was, but… I remember there was a town… and a lot of wind… that's about it."

Takuya sighed. "Well, regardless, you're safe and fine now, so we can just make the most of the situation." Then he looked at Andy. "I think we need some sleep. I can't stay awake much longer…" With that, a yawn escaped him.

"Right, okay… I guess we'll try to figure this out tomorrow," Andy said before he walked to the door. "Goodnight, Takuya, goodnight, Dorumon."

Takuya gave a hug to Andy. "Goodnight." He then pulled away and went to his bed, not even bothering to change into his pajamas, he was so tired.

Andy chuckled a little before he closed the door.

Andy sighed as he walked into his own room. He saw Danny already there, at his desk, writing something down.

"Hey, bro, haven't seen you much today," Andy stated.

"Ah… sorry, Andy," Danny apologized. "Was doing a lot of research on… Sampson. I managed to get close enough to him, to realize 'he' was a 'she'. Mr. Lancer has to give me a better grade for this!"

Andy blinked at hearing that. "Really? Didn't anyone bother to check the gender?"

Danny shrugged. "Either the zookeepers were too lazy, or just wanted to respect her privacy, I guess. When I told Mom and Dad about it, Mom kind of freaked out a little, Dad was proud of me, and Jazz… she ended up calling Genius Magazine back, even though I'm not a girl, or a woman."

Andy chuckled at Jazz's reaction. "Of course Jazz would do that."

"I just think she's determined to get our family onto the front cover of Genius Magazine, one way or another," Danny chuckled.

"Heh, yeah. Well, don't stay up too late, bro, don't want to be too tired for school tomorrow," Andy said.

"I promise I won't," Danny answered back.

Andy didn't know what he expected, but Mr. Lancer, despite Danny making the front cover of Genius Magazine with his discovery of Sampson's gender, all Danny got was a 'C'. While it was a passing grade, Danny had been expecting an 'A', or at the very least, a 'B+'.

Andy and Takuya decided to leave Danny to sulk about it with Tucker and Sam when class let them out for the day.

Takuya gave a look to Andy. "Well, Danny certainly wasn't too happy about his grade."

"Nope. And it was best we got out when we did, otherwise Danny would be complaining all day," Andy chuckled.

"Got me there," Takuya chuckled as well. "And when Danny complains, he complains."

"I also wanted to get home as soon as possible to check on Dorumon. I'm sure he got pretty lonely waiting for us in your room all day," Andy said.

Takuya nodded. "True. And that's a good thing you're worried about him." He then gave a grin. "It means you care about him."

Andy felt a blush rising to his cheeks. "Well… h-he's my partner!"

Then suddenly, boxes came flying by them. Andy and Takuya yelped when they were buried in cardboard boxes.

"HAHA! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT THE BOX GHOST!" They heard someone shouting in an echoey voice.

Takuya felt that rush of heat as he clawed his way out of the boxes and looked around, trying to find the self-proclaimed 'Box Ghost'.

"Ugh…" Andy groaned, climbing his way out of the boxes.

Both of them saw what looked like a short, chubby man with blue skin, he wore overalls, and gloves, he almost looked like a worker of some kind.

This man was also glowing and floating like a ghost was. "I AM THE BOX GHOST! FEAR ME!"

"The heck…?" Andy blinked in confusion.

"I CAN CONTROL ALL THAT IS CARDBOARD AND SQUARE!" The Box Ghost declared.

"Ah, shut up!" Another voice shouted in annoyance, before the Box Ghost was punched into the wall.

Takuya realized that Phantom was in the area, and most likely had this under control. "Nice one, Phantom!"

Andy looked up at the ghost boy, surprised to see him here, at their school.

"Ah… yeah, thanks," Phantom greeted sheepishly.

"What the!?" The Box Ghost managed to recover quickly from the punch, and was staring at Andy, and then at Phantom in confusion. "Impossible! Two ghost kids? Unless… yes! I will not fall for your duplication tricks, ghost kid! You cannot hope to distract me, the BOX GHOST!"

"You are annoying! And what are you talking about? 'Duplication'?" Phantom questioned, but was still very annoyed.

Takuya blinked as he heard that. Andy is mistaken for the ghost boy...again?! What is going on with that?

The Box Ghost didn't answer Phantom's question, and opted to raise the boxes that had Takuya and Andy buried. They yelped as the boxes started to float, and fell to the floor. The Box Ghost threw the boxes at Phantom, who simply went intangible, and the boxes went right through him.

Takuya and Andy had to dive to the ground as the boxes flew over their heads. Takuya cursed not being able to evolve, but figured it was best he saved that for the stronger ghosts and the Digimon.

Phantom pulled out a Fenton Thermos from his belt. "Alright, that's enough."

Phantom held the Fenton Thermos out at the Box Ghost, which shot out a blue beam of light that quickly ensnared the Box Ghost. Box Ghost yelled as he was pulled into the Thermos. Phantom sighed as he put the lid back on the Fenton Thermos.

The two boys dared to peek up, only to see the Box Ghost was gone. Takuya was a bit surprised to see Phantom with a Fenton Thermos, but he didn't press the issue. But where did Phantom get that?

"Sorry if that annoying Box Ghost caused you two any trouble," Phantom said to Takuya and Andy. "I'll make sure to take him back to where he belongs."

"Um… yeah, sure," Andy said, feeling a little awkward. Why does it feel like Phantom is familiar to me?

As Phantom flew off, turning intangible before flying through the ceiling, Takuya pulled Andy to his feet. "C'mon, we don't want to worry Dorumon anymore than he probably is."

"Yeah…" Andy agreed, though his thoughts were on other things. I wonder...

At Fenton Works

"I just love chocolate, it's now the best food in the world!" Dorumon smiled as he cheerfully ate the chocolate bar Andy brought him, as well as some other foods that Andy brought to Dorumon to eat.

But Andy's mind was on other things. He wasn't too concerned about what Dorumon was eating right now because he was wondering about the ghost boy.

Takuya noticed Andy's distraction. "Penny for your thoughts? Heh, been awhile since I used that one since Japan uses yen, not pennies."

Andy blinked before he looked at Takuya for a moment, and sighed. "Well… it's just… that ghost boy… Phantom. I didn't notice it before, because of the whole dragon issues, and the meat monster attacking, and Skulker… but I can't help but feel like I might know Phantom somehow. Then there's the fact these ghosts kept mistaking me for him for some reason."

Takuya blinked before he frowned. "Yeah, I noticed that too." He ran a hand through his hair. "But I can't figure out how that is possible, especially since he is a ghost and you are not. And then you throw in Danny's secret, and this whole thing becomes one big mystery."

"Yeah… that's what worries me," Andy said.

Takuya tilted his head. "What does?"

"Danny's secret… and the fact these ghosts were mistaking me for Phantom," Andy replied. "What if… the two things are connected? There has to be a reason why these ghosts kept mistaking me for Phantom, right? What if… what if Danny is involved with Phantom somehow?"

"That is what I was thinking, but if Danny is involved with Phantom, then how come those ghosts keep calling you and Danny 'ghost child'?" Takuya frowned here. "It's not like Danny has any sort of ghostly abilities, right?"

Andy frowned as he thought back on those times Danny would suddenly gasped in alarm and shove him or someone else away, slamming his bedroom door in his family's faces. Then those times Tucker and Sam would stand in front of Danny as if to hide him before pushing Andy away. And those times one of them distracted him and Takuya whenever Danny suddenly yelped again. Then there were the facts that Danny never seemed to be around whenever Phantom was, and vice versa. Tucker and Sam seemed too calm and too trusting towards Phantom as well.

"... What if there's something going on between Danny and Phantom?" Andy wondered, catching Takuya and Dorumon's attention. "Phantom does appear to have a very similar appearance to Danny at the very least, the same hairstyle, the same body height, weight, and face structure. It can't just be coincidence. Even their voices sound similar, minus the echo in Phantom's voice. What if… that accident… caused this Phantom to form around Danny's body? Mom and Dad did say that Danny was likely blasted by ectoplasm as well as electricity in the portal accident."

Takuya blinked. "So you think Phantom is connected to Danny, like a parasite almost?"

"I'm saying it's entirely possible. Perhaps Phantom is living inside Danny's body, needing a human host to keep him… existing on this plane. But Danny has trouble controlling the ghostly powers that comes with it, so he would phase into the ground, or suddenly turn invisible without much control. And when a ghost attacks, perhaps Phantom takes over Danny's body to fight back," Andy theorized.

"Makes sense in a way." Takuya agreed. "Like my Spirits need me to tap into their power. But the thing is, with my situation, it's different. Phantom could need Danny to stay safe and hidden, while Danny is given the power to fight ghosts."

"But it sounds creepy. I mean having another being living inside you? That's just… uuuugh…" Dorumon shivered at the thought.

Takuya winced a bit. "Yeah… it does sound creepy…"

Andy frowned, he couldn't help but agree. "And… we don't know what Phantom is doing inside my brother, for all we know, ghostly abilities aren't the only side effects he's giving Danny either."

Takuya noticed Andy's frown. "What do you mean?"

"Mom and Dad had always pounded it into our heads that ghosts are evil and all that, but they're also dangerous. Ectoplasm is deadly to humans. The fact that Danny lived through that accident was nothing short of a miracle. But if Phantom is living inside Danny, there's a chance he's also spreading ectoplasm in Danny's system. This… could make Danny really sick, and even kill him for real one day. If not that, then Phantom might be slowly eating away Danny's soul or psyche. Ghosts can also consume emotions from what Mom and Dad told me… so it's very possible… and that's what scares me…" Andy explained.

Takuya had to admit, that thought was scary. That could be what is going on, but we can't be too sure yet. But if it is, then we have to be careful…

"So… what do you think we should do?" Dorumon asked. "Call an exorcist?"

"... I'm surprised you even know what that is," Andy remarked. "But… I might be jumping the gun. I don't know for sure if that is what's happening, and Phantom has been helping us. Though he could just be doing it because of the fact that my brother is his host, it might be important to keep his host happy. But whatever the case may be, this raises another problem."

"Yeah? What would that be?" Takuya asked.

"If the ghosts thinks Danny and Phantom are the same person, then it's no wonder why they keep mistaking me for Phantom," Andy pointed out. "Which means… I'm very likely to get targeted by more ghosts, thinking I'm Phantom."

"I'll protect you from those ghosts, Andy," Dorumon promised.

"That's brave of you, Dorumon, but I would like to be able to defend myself as well, not just rely on you," Andy said. "We're partners after all, we should be able to rely on each other. I think it's about time we finally start training ourselves, to face both Digimon and ghosts."

Takuya gave a nod at that suggestion. "Then we should do that as soon as possible." He then gave a glance to Andy. "When do you want to start?"

"Perhaps after Dorumon finishes eating. I already did my homework during study hall in school," Andy replied. "And… do you think we should call Dash and see if he wants to train with us? He is involved now after all."

Takuya frowned a bit, but he had to admit, his cousin had a point. "As much as I don't want Dash to get hurt, I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea." He then ran a hand through his hair. "We could use any help we can get."

"Yeah… considering your fellow Digimon friends are on the other side of the world, you'll have to rely on me, Dorumon, and Dash to back you up," Andy chuckled. "We're not exactly Legendary Warriors, but hopefully we'll be good enough."

Takuya gave a weak grin. "Heh… you're right." He then grabbed Andy and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "And that is what this training is for."

"I'll work hard to be as strong as a Legendary Warrior one day myself!" Dorumon promised as he bit into a large bread loaf.

Takuya chuckled at hearing that. "Well, that will take lots of training, little buddy!"

After calling up Dash, the group of four were walking into the outskirts of Amity Park. Andy was wearing his own white and navy blue hazmat suit, while Dash was wearing a red tracksuit with white stripes.

"Considering we don't have any training attire, these would have to do. I'd rather not come back home with my normal clothes all torn up." Was Andy's reasoning for why he was wearing his hazmat suit.

Takuya had to agree with that reasoning, since it made sense. He was wearing his normal clothes, though that would change once he evolved.

Once they reached a far enough point, where they can't see the town, but not too far that they would have trouble getting back, Takuya decided this big open place was perfect for their training session.

"Okay, I think this is perfect," Takuya said as he came to a stop. "This is far enough we are out of sight, but close enough so we can get back if we need to in a hurry."

"A-alright…" Dash still looked pretty nervous. "So… how do we go about training? I've only practiced for sports, but not anything like martial arts or wrestling."

"You might be good at wrestling with those abs," Andy chuckled.

Takuya chuckled as well. "If you need some help with the martial arts, my Digimon form you saw last night is skilled at it. I can help with that."

"For now, I think the best way to do this is by sparing and experience," Andy suggested. "Working on techniques, and how to fight better will have to come after we've learned how to fight a little more."

Takuya nodded. "Okay, Andy. We'll do it your way."

"I'm ready to start when you are." Dorumon smiled.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that Digimon talking," Dash replied.

Takuya took out his D-Tector as the blue form of his first Spirit appeared on the screen as fractal coding appeared around his left hand. 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!"

Now evolved, Agunimon waited to see what Andy and Dash would do.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that either!" Dash stated.

"Well, better get used to it, cause we'll likely be seeing it a lot," Andy said.

Agunimon just rolled his eyes at the comment. "Yes, I know it's odd, but it's normal for me."

"Yeah, for you." Dash pointed out. "The rest of us, not so much."

"Come on, let's just fight!" Dorumon said, getting impatient to begin.

Andy took out his Fenton Rod and extended it. There were only a few Fenton weapons he could use at his current skill level, so he only brought the rod and the wrist ray. He also wanted to work on how to move quick so he could dodge an enemy's attack.

Dorumon rushed at Agunimon. "Metal Cannon!"

Dorumon shot out iron balls at Agunimon.

Taking the initiative, Agunimon was quick to react. He jumped to the side and landed before he then turned and kicked another iron ball back at Dorumon. I can't risk using my fire attacks in this place. Therefore, physical will have to do for now.

Dorumon yelped before one of his own iron balls hit him in the chest, sending him back a few feet.

"Dorumon! Hey… don't try to run headfirst into the battle, we need to work together since we are supposed to be partners, that includes on the battlefield," Andy suggested to Dorumon.

Agunimon nodded. "Andy's right. Just rushing in will get you in trouble." He then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I… uh… had to learn that the hard way…"

Dash took this opportunity to run to Agunimon's side, then fired his wrist ray at the human-turned-Digimon.

Agunimon didn't even notice so it wound up hitting his side, knocking him down. "Ugh…" He got to his feet, thankful for his armor that protected his side, at least, to an extent.

"Takuya, you should let us know if these ghost weapons hurt you, alright?" Andy spoke up. "I don't know what kind of effects they have on Digimon, but it did seem to hurt Frigimon quite a bit."

Agunimon nodded. "Right… I will do that…" He looked down at his side, relieved to see the wrist ray hadn't done any damage. It just singed his body suit it seemed.

Andy then started to run in, Dorumon followed him. Andy was intending to do a close range combat with Agunimon. Likely not to find a way to win, but to see how well he would do in close combat. Andy swung his Fenton Rod at Takuya.

Seeing that, Agunimon brought up his right arm and blocked the blow with his forearm armor. He winced a bit at the impact, but he didn't show it to Andy. Then, the Digimon did a low sweep kick towards Andy's legs, intent on knocking him down.

"Beast Attack!" Dorumon shouted as he clawed at Takuya's legs, he was shorter than Andy, so he saw the legs coming in to knock Andy down.

Agunimon saw that and actually wound up having to roll to the side, although the way he landed was somewhat awkward. "Ow…" He had never had to contort his body like that before, so it was sure to hurt. "Okay… Not bad…"

"Looks like working together is making you sweat, Takuya," Andy teased a little.

Agunimon just sighed at the teasing before he got to his feet and rushed at Andy again. He had a hand drawn back in a punch, not wanting to risk hurting Andy with his attacks. Andy did try to block it with his Fenton Rod, but Agunimon was able to push him away. Dorumon tried to attack, but Agunimon was able to kick the little Rookie back as well. Dash started to come in with his own Fenton Rod, and he hit a heck of a lot harder than Andy did.

Agunimon felt that hit on his shoulder, but again, his armor protected him. He smirked. "Heh… not bad." He then spun around and kicked Dash's Fenton Rod away. "But you'll have to do better~"

The training went on for a while, and the afternoon sun started to move, shifting into late noon. By this point, Dash, Andy, and Dorumon were exhausted, and covered in bits of bruises and dirt. Andy's hair was all messy as well.

As for Agunimon, he too was covered in bruises and dirt, but not as bad as Andy, Dash, and Dorumon. Although that could be attributed to his higher level and his experience. He sighed and let his evolution go, returning to human form. Takuya winced as he touched a bruise on his arm. "This will be sore in the morning…"

"Any… thoughts?" Andy asked, panting a bit.

"I'm… strong… but slow… I can't dodge… a lot of attacks…" Dash answered, panting as well.

"Then it seems we will… have to work on… Dash's dodging…" Takuya mused as he too panted a bit. "And Andy is more… about dodging and agility… it seems…"

"I… I'm going… to need to do more… than just dodging… I'll have to… see if I can… get Mom and Dad… to work on more… Fenton weapons… that I can use…" Andy suggested.

"Makes sense…" Takuya agreed. "I just meant… you can use smaller and… lighter weapons more easily…"

"This was… a good training… session. It was fun… working with… and backing Andy up," Dorumon added.

Takuya grinned. "Well… we should do it… again soon…"

"But… then when…?" Dash asked.

"Perhaps… once a week until… our bodies get used to… this kind of training," Andy suggested. "Until then… we can work on our… own way of… training. Like getting… into better shape…"

Takuya nodded. "Yeah… That would be a good idea…" His stomach then growled. "Uh… And I think we need to get something to eat too…"

"Want to go… to the Nasty Burger then?" Andy suggested.

Takuya nodded. "Sure. I just hope that I can eat enough, considering my evolutions leave me starved when I return to human form."

"Not for me. I need to get back home. I haven't done my homework yet, and pops will yell at me," Dash sighed.

"That's fine," Takuya said.

"Wait… what about me?" Dorumon asked.

"Hmm…" Andy gave it some thought.

"I still can't believe that idea worked," Takuya muttered as he and Andy were walking out of the Nasty Burger with Dorumon.

"Yup, a guy in a costume works every time~" Andy smirked.

Takuya shook his head. "I sometimes wonder if people just don't pay attention to the unusual things."

"They usually don't. Ignorance is bliss after all, if something out of the norm happens, it's usually something mundane just trying to show off, that's how people choose to see it," Andy remarked.

Takuya sighed. "I guess…" He then looked at Dorumon. "This little guy ate way more than I did, and that is saying something."

"I'm guessing Digimon have naturally bigger appetites," Andy said. "Between him and Dad, I hope they don't eat us out of house and home."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Dorumon pouted.

Takuya laughed. "Yeah, I know. But Uncle Jack can really pack down the food."

"Speaking of Dad, we should head back home. I need to change out of this hazmat suit before I get more eyes staring at me, it's already strange enough that I'm walking with someone wearing a 'costume'," Andy chuckled.

"True. And I don't want to get scolded again if I can help it." Takuya added with his own chuckle.

Fenton Works

Although Takuya was nice and relaxed when they got back home, he noticed that Dorumon wasn't with him. It was already evening by the time they got back, he wondered where Dorumon went.

Jack and Maddie were out of the house this evening. Jazz was in the kitchen, reading a book. Takuya didn't know where Danny was, as usual, he was likely outside hanging with Tucker and Sam. Or fighting a ghost if our theory is true.

Concerned about Dorumon, Takuya got up from his room and made his way down the stairs before heading into the kitchen and down to the lab. There, to his relief, he saw Dorumon with Andy. "There you are."

Dorumon and Andy looked over to see the older boy there on the stairs leading into the lab.

"What are you two doing down here?" Takuya asked before noticing something. "And… why are you still wearing your hazmat suit, Andy?"

"I wanted to test a few things out while Mom and Dad are out of the house," Andy answered.

"What kind of things?" Takuya asked as he titled his head to the side.

"I wanted to study Dorumon and his metal spheres," Andy replied. "The metal spheres are made of metal, but they are also made of data and code. Which fascinates me to no end. I'm starting to wonder if we could use some of that data, and maybe have a programmer like Tucker to change it, and make it become something else entirely."

"Um…" Takuya trailed off. "I don't think messing with digital code of a Digimon is a good idea…" He had bad memories of when Cherubimon was corrupted, along with Koichi's own brainwashing under the corrupted Celestial's control.

"I'm not planning to mess with Dorumon's data, but I'm talking about the digital data from his attacks," Andy clarified. "Like say, what if I added something to this metal ball and change it into a bomb for example?"

"Oh, you mean find a way to integrate the attack's data into something, or even use that data for something else." Takuya reasoned.

"Yup. It also goes with my theory on how the attacks Digimon use goes, from how fractal codes work and my own D-Tector," Andy said.

"Why don't you show him, Andy?" Dorumon suggested.

"Right. Takuya hasn't really seen it in action yet," Andy realized.

"Show me what?" Takuya asked, confused now.

"You know how Dorumon can only use metal or physical attacks right now?" Andy asked.

"Yeah?" Takuya nodded.

"Remember that Frigimon card I got from scanning Frigimon's code?" Andy reminded. "I did tell you about the Icy Breath attack, but I haven't shown you how we did it. I think I should, so you at least have an idea on what I was talking about."

"Sure." Takuya shrugged. "Can't be too bad, right?"

"Let's see… ah… Dorumon, aim for the Ghost Portal, that way you won't damage anything," Andy instructed.

Dorumon nodded before facing the open Ghost Portal. Andy took out his 'D-Tector' as well as the Frigimon card.

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 car 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!"

Takuya was a bit surprised at how Andy's 'D-Tector' reacted to the card, he could sense the data being transferred to Dorumon.

"Icy Breath!" Dorumon shot out the icy and snow breath attack that went straight into the Ghost Portal.

Takuya was surprised. "Wow…" He couldn't believe it, and he was seeing it himself. "Now I get what you were talking about." He gave a look at Andy. "That card modified Dorumon's data to use an ice attack."

"Yeah. I'm guessing if I scanned more fractal codes from other Digimon, some of their abilities can be used on Dorumon as well. But my main interest is being able to manipulate the object data and turn it into something else, like possibly another weapon I could use in the middle of battle, or maybe for something practical, like firewood in the middle of an open field," Andy explained.

Takuya blinked. "But how can you do that if it is data?" He scratched his head here. "It's not like you are a programmer yourself, you know."

"That's… true… if only I knew how to mold data, or make it easy to mold, I might be able to change it a little," Andy sighed.

Then, Takuya felt a flash of heat rushing through him, and Dorumon suddenly growled as he and Dorumon glanced at the Ghost Portal. Out of the portal came a ghost that had green skin, wore a white lab coat and had white hair.

The ghost didn't look too happy, and there were bits of snow and ice on his green skin. "WHO DARES TO ATTACK ME, TECHNUS, MASTER OF ALL TECHNOLOGY, DIGITAL AND ANALOG?"

Andy, Takuya, and Dorumon all stared at the ghost, unable to say anything due to the shock. The ghost looked at them for a moment, before looking at Dorumon.

"Digital Creature! Are YOU the one who attacked me?!" Technus boomed as he began to hover over to Dorumon.

"Hey! Stay away from him!" Andy snapped, extending his Fenton Rod already.

Takuya got out his Fenton Rod as well. "You had better do as he says."

"Wha? CHILDREN! Why do you dare to attack me? TECHNUS! MASTER OF ALL ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY!?" The ghost who called himself Technus shouted.

Hearing that this ghost could manipulate technology made it clear to Takuya that he would be better off fighting as a human this time around. Okay, I think it's safe to say evolving would only make me more vulnerable against this ghost.

Technus held out a hand at Dorumon. Dorumon let out a cry of pain as electricity started to course through his body. This caused an imbalance in his digital structure, so his body was starting to blur.

"STOP IT!" Andy demanded before he slammed his Fenton Rod into Technus's side, forcing him away from Dorumon.

Takuya lunged forwards as well, his eyes holding that feral look again. "And don't you dare to come back!" He swung his own Fenton Rod towards Technus, aiming to smack him into the Ghost Portal like a fast ball.

Technus turned intangible just before Takuya could hit him with the Fenton Rod, and the rod went through the ghost, hitting the floor instead.

Andy was looking Dorumon over while Takuya was keeping Technus busy. Dorumon opened his eyes. "I-I'm… okay, Andy."

"Can you stand up, Dorumon?" Andy asked in concern.

"Y-yeah… that ghost just took me by surprise is all," Dorumon answered as he got back up on his feet. "Come on, let's fight him together."

Andy nodded before he and Dorumon rushed towards Technus. Takuya managed to get a good hit in with his Fenton Rod, enough to distract Technus from another attack.

"Beast Attack!" Dorumon slashed at Technus with his claws, causing some ectoplasm to drip.

"Take this!" Andy slammed his Fenton Rod into Technus's head.

Technus hissed as he shot electricity at the two boys, shocking them. Dorumon managed to escape the electrical attack, however, and opened his mouth. "Metal Cannon!"

The iron ball slammed into Technus's chest, which pushed him back into the wall, releasing the two boys from the electrical attack.

"A-are… you… okay, Andy?" Takuya asked in concern, he had more experience with getting hit by electric attacks than Andy did.

"Y-yeah… that hurt… but… compared to what Danny had to go through, this… is nothing," Andy said, determination filling his eyes as he pushed himself up.

"You are all so much more trouble than you're worth!" Technus growled as he floated above them. "I shall gather all the technology in this lab and use them to take over the world!"

"Oh no you don't!" Takuya shouted as he jumped at Technus, Fenton Rod in hand.

"You'll have to get through us first!" Andy snapped as he jumped at Technus with his Fenton Rod as well.

"We'll stop you before you even get the chance!" Dorumon agreed as he joined in on the jumping. "Dash Met-"

"What's going on down here?" A voice asked from the stairs.

This caused everyone to lose their concentration, Andy and Takuya swung way too hard and early, and Dorumon's metal attack crashed right into Technus. The next thing they knew, they, as well as the lab, was covered in glowing green goop.

"What the? What happened in here!?"

Takuya, Andy, and Dorumon jumped at hearing Jazz's voice. They looked over, and there was Jazz at the top of the stairs. Luckily, Takuya was in front of Dorumon, so he was unseen by her.

"What did you two do in here!?" Jazz demanded. "Everything is covered in… in… I don't know, goo! And so are you two!"

Takuya looked nervous. "Uh… well… we uh…" He was not sure how to explain things without sounding like he was nuts.

"We were messing around and somehow made the lab covered in goo?" Andy lied, although the lie came out like a question instead of a statement. What am I doing? I should know better than to lie with a question! It has to sound like a statement!

Jazz frowned. "I would say you need to clean this place up before Mom and Dad come home, but it might be too dangerous since there are a lot of weapons here. You two better go get yourselves cleaned up."

"Yes! We'll go do that!" Andy quickly said.

Takuya made sure to stay in front of Dorumon as he and Andy made their way up the stairs to the main level. "It won't take us long!"

Jazz sighed as she crossed her arms. "Now those two are definitely hiding something. First Danny, now Andy and Takuya?"

Takuya was sighing as he and Andy had to bathe Dorumon like a dog in the bathroom. But Dorumon was acting a little weird since their battle with Technus. Dorumon looked more tired than usual, and seemed to be coughing a bit.

By the time Andy and Takuya got Dorumon back in Takuya's room, Andy was looking at Dorumon in concern. "It's like he's got a cold. Can Digimon get sick?"

"I'm not sure," Takuya admitted. "But I think they can if what we're seeing is right."

"I don't like ectoplasm… it's gross, it makes me feel all funny…" Dorumon whined.

"What about when Technus shocked you earlier? Your data was looking… off balance back there," Andy questioned.

"I'm not… really sure. It felt like that Technus ghost was trying to hack into my fractal code or something… but I couldn't tell what he was trying to do," Dorumon answered.

Takuya frowned at that. "That doesn't sound good." He put a hand to his chin in thought. "But… if he is able to manipulate technology, it makes sense that Technus would be able to mess with Dorumon's data."

"So there are ghosts that can manipulate technology, and by extension, Digimon as well…" Andy observed. "I'm going to take some samples of that ghost's ectoplasm to study with Dorumon's metal ball data and see how that reacts. If a ghost has the ability to be able to manipulate data, then maybe I can use that to make the iron ball more… malleable."

"Interesting theory," Takuya noted. "I never thought of it like that before."

"But… Dorumon, will you be alright? I hope that Technus didn't do something that messed you up," Andy asked the Rookie in concern.

Dorumon just sneezed twice. "Ugh… I think… I'm okay…."

"Your sneezes says otherwise," Andy sweatdropped.

"Let's let him sleep for the night and see if that helps," Takuya suggested.

Andy could only nod in agreement. I hope Dorumon will be alright...

While Takuya took care of Dorumon, Andy went back down to the lab to get some samples of Technus's ectoplasm, he put them into empty vials he found in the lab. He still had Dorumon's metal ball, though it was in the lab when Technus exploded, so it was covered in ectoplasm. When Andy looked at it, he noticed something interesting. The metal body was flickering between its metallic appearance, and data code.

Andy reached out and touched it, only to note it felt sort of...gooey almost. Like ectoplasm did when it was touched by a human. But it was not like a liquid either. No, it felt more like putty almost. Huh… That's interesting.

If this thing works like a code, and it's as malleable as clay right now… Andy began thinking for a moment. I'm no expert on computers like Tucker is, but from what I know, code can be re-written, but that's too advanced for me. But… I can add something.

Andy quickly started to look around the goo-covered lab for something to write with. He opened a drawer and was glad to find a silver pen, and a sticky note. Okay, time to test my theory.

Andy wrote something on the sticky note before he put it on the metal ball that was flickering. As soon as he did, Andy watched for a moment before the ball suddenly transformed into a metal box.

Andy was pleased with what he saw. It meant that he could mold the metal ball into something else if the need arose. Not a bad first test run.

However, the sticky note wasn't sticky enough, and it fell off of the metal box. As soon as it did, the metal box reverted back to its original metal ball form state.

Unfortunately, it needs to have the written data stay on for it to be effective. I may have to work something else out for a more permanent transformation, but for something temporary… I could work with it. Andy smiled.

Takuya yawned as he rolled over out of his bed in the morning. Dorumon was looking much better now.

"Takuyaaaaaa… when is breakfast? I'm hungry," Dorumon whined.

Takuya groaned at that. "Hang on… I'll get you something once I am awake…" Another yawn escaped him.

"But I wanna eat now!" Dorumon whined some more.

"I said later, Dorumon," Takuya grumbled.

"Hmm… this alarm clock looks tasty, maybe I'll eat that," Dorumon remarked.

"Okay! I'll get you something!" Takuya protested. "Just don't eat the alarm clock! I need that to get up for school."

Dorumon gave an innocent smile as Takuya got out of bed and grumbled as he walked out of the room. "Hee, hee, hee, works every time~"

Takuya went down the stairs into the kitchen and opened the fridge, looking for anything that Dorumon would like.

"Takuya?" Takuya nearly bumped his head when he heard Dash's voice.

Looking back, Takuya saw Dash was in the kitchen. "Dash? What are you doing here?"

"I came here because Jazz wanted to tutor me before school started today," Dash answered. "That's why I brought all these books."

Dash was indeed carrying some text books under his arms. He put them all down on the table.

"Okay, that explains it then," Takuya noted before he went back to looking for something for Dorumon. "Gotta find Dorumon something to eat before he eats my alarm clock."

"The little guy can eat your clock?" Dash asked, surprised.

"He ate a food tray at school once." Takuya's voice replied, almost like it was a normal thing.

"Wow… he must have some pretty strong teeth," Dash shivered before he looked at Takuya curiously. "... Can you eat metal trays too?"

Takuya looked at Dash. "Dash, I might be able to become a Digimon, but my Spirits are different. I don't need to eat unusual things like that because my Spirits take energy from my human form."

"But wouldn't it be pretty awesome if you could eat metal? You'd be all intimidating with the next ghost or Digimon we face." Dash grinned.

Takuya rolled his eyes, but he had to admit, it would be cool if he could do that. "I'll give you that, but sadly, I can't."

"Aww, too bad…" Dash sighed before he perked up. "Oh, hey, while you're here, I might as well give you this."

Dash walked over to Takuya before taking an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Takuya.

"What is it?" Takuya asked as he opened it up. Dash's grin said it all.

It was an invitation to a party at Dash's house. It was called the Big Dash Bash party.

"'Dash Bash'?" Takuya raised an eyebrow at the name.

"Yeah, well, you know how when you have an advertisement, it's good to have a slogan like that. It catches people's attention," Dash shrugged. "It's been a while since I last threw a party at my house though, my parents finally gave me permission since I've been doing better with my tests lately, thanks to you and Andy, though I do still need help with other subjects neither of you are great with, that's why Jazz offered to help me with those."

"And you're inviting me and Andy?" Takuya was surprised. "Wow, that's… a bit of a nice surprise to wake up to."

"Well, yeah, why wouldn't I? You two are my friends, and we're like the three Digimon warriors or whatever… we need a name for our group, something cool and awesome!" Dash smiled.

Takuya chuckled at that. "That's true, we do need a name." He then looked at Dash. "I'll see what Andy and Dorumon think, after I get some food to Dorumon."

"You go do that. It'll be great if Dorumon could come as well, he'd be like the party's mascot," Dash chuckled.

"Well… He needs to remain secret. You know how people would get if they saw something like him. Panic and all that." Takuya said with a shrug.

"Couldn't we just say he was a guy in a costume?" Dash shrugged as well.

Takuya remembered what Andy had said about that and chuckled. "Well, Andy pulled that once when we went to the Nasty Burger, and they bought it. So sure, we could try it."

"Sweet!" Dash smiled.

Jazz started walking into the kitchen. "Oh, hey, you're up early today, Takuya. Finally decided to become a morning bird?"

"No. I just… got hungry." Takuya lied. "I'm going to go up and get ready, once I get some food first." He went back to raiding the fridge for anything that he could grab, namely meat and even a bag of apples. "I'm really hungry today…"

"Takuya, that's a lot of food…" Jazz sweatdropped.

"Ah, Jazz, hey, can we get started? The sooner the better, right?" Dash quickly spoke up, distracting Jazz from Takuya's food raid.

Takuya gave Dash a nod of thanks before heading back upstairs to his room. Once inside, he shut the door and turned around. "I got the food, Dorumon."

"Took you long enough, were you eating some yourself or something?" Dorumon asked as he walked over to Takuya, drooling as he looked at the meat.

"No, but Dash helped to distract my older cousin Jazz so I could get this to you." Takuya replied as he set down the food. He took a step back as the Rookie pounced on the food pile.

"Dash is here?" Dorumon asked as he began eating.

"For some help on his school work." Takuya replied. "Jazz is helping him right now."

"Ahh." Was all Dorumon needed to say before he began to gorge himself on the food.

Takuya sweatdropped, he knew Digimon liked to eat, but he certainly didn't remember Bokomon and Neemon eating nearly this much.

"Okay… I'll… just let you eat up while I get dressed and ready for school…" Takuya said before he grabbed a fresh change of clothes and his D-Tector. He left the room and made sure to shut the door before locking it and going straight to the bathroom.

By the time Takuya got dressed, he headed into the kitchen for some real breakfast, and saw Andy there, sitting beside Dash while Jazz was tutoring him in geometry. Andy was looking rather sleepy, like he didn't get much sleep last night. He was munching on some cereal.

Takuya took a seat and poured himself some cereal too, not that Jazz would see it since she was too busy helping Dash with his geometry. Takuya then glanced at Andy. "Did you have a rough night last night?"

Andy yawned a little. "Well, more like I stayed up late experimenting… um, in a video game."

Takuya realized Jazz was there and that was why Andy had added that part about the video game. "Oh… I see. Did you find out anything interesting when doing this video game experiment?"

"Hehe… I found out how I could weaponize an iron sphere after it's been used, and turn it into a bomb. The explosion can be big or small depending on how I write out the code, it would certainly take the enemies by surprise, in the game." Andy grinned.

Takuya blinked at that. "Interesting discovery."

I never thought Andy would make such progress on this. Takuya thought to himself. He had to admit, Andy never failed to impress him.

"Of course, there's only so much I can do. I only know the very basics of how coding works," Andy sighed. "But it'll be good for a trial period, to see how well I can work with what I've got."

Takuya nodded in agreement. "Makes sense."

He then remembered the invite Dash had given him. "Oh! Dash gave me this." Takuya took out the invite. "We're invited to his big party."

"Hmm?" Andy looked at the invitation with curiosity. "Oh wow, a popular kid party, huh? Guess that means you're popular kid material already, cuz."

Takuya looked at Andy with a bit of disbelief. "Um… I said we were invited, Andy. Not just me."

Andy yawned a bit. "Huh?"

"I think his mind is still sleeping," Dash chuckled.

"Hey Jazz- wah, Dash!?" A surprised voice said suddenly.

Everyone turned to see Danny had walked into the kitchen.

Takuya looked around between Dash and Danny. This wasn't what he had expected to see this morning. Okay… I hope things don't get out of hand here...

"H-hey, Dash…" Danny greeted nervously as he leaned against the table. "What… are you doing here?"

Dash frowned a little. "What does it look like? Your sister is tutoring me."

Danny looked at Andy, blinking.

"... Ah! I shouldn't be sitting this close to him, cause he's… uh… Dash, yeah," Andy quickly said, scooting out of his chair so fast that he almost fell.

Takuya sighed as he saw Andy almost fall. Why do I bother…?

Dash was confused as he scratched at his head at Andy's reaction.

Suddenly, Danny's arm became transparent, and he yelped as his arm went through the table, which caused the papers to go flying all over the place.

Takuya frowned. He had seen that, which was unusual. Or is it because of Phantom living within Danny right now?

Andy stared at Danny's arm, he had likely just seen it too, the worry grew on his face as it was starting to look like his theory of Phantom living inside Danny was right.

"Watch it, Fenton, you're on thin ice right now." Dash glared in irritation since some of the papers got on his face.

"Uh… right. I'll… just be leaving now…" Danny said as he got up and backed away.

Danny quickly ran into the lab. "... WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THE LAB!?"

"Isn't it great, son? Look at all these ghost samples!" They heard Jack shouting in excitement. "Here, help me carry some of these boxes!"

Takuya groaned as he realized the explosion from that Technus ghost had still left ectoplasmic goop all over the lab. Great… I forgot all about that Technus ghost we fought last night...

Andy sighed as he sat back down on his seat. "Well, at least Dad will keep him busy for a while."

"I don't see why you're trying to hide the fact you and Dash are getting along from him," Jazz stated.

"How did you know I was getting along with Dash?" Andy asked.

"You're sitting right next to him," Jazz pointed out.

"Ugh… stupid sleepy brain…" Andy grumbled.

Dash then grinned. "I know what will wake you up~" He handed out two invites to Jazz and Andy. "An invite to the Dash Bash!"

Andy felt the last holds of sleep vanish from his brain at seeing the invite. "What?!"

"You see, cuz? I told you we were invited," Takuya laughed at seeing Andy's reaction.

"I thought I was halfway in dreamland when you said that," Andy admitted, staring at the invitation like it was going to disappear at any moment.

"Well, you aren't~" Takuya teased as he elbowed Andy in the side jokingly.

"Ah, this is really nice, Dash, but I don't know… I don't usually like getting together with the popular kids," Andy said after getting over the initial shock of being invited.

Dash frowned. "But… you're one of my friends. Why wouldn't I invite you?"

"Hmm…" Jazz was looking at her own invitation, she had no interest in parties herself, but she did want the twins to have fun together with how separated they were lately. "Are you planning on inviting Danny too, Dash?"

Takuya looked at Jazz, a bit surprised at hearing that. He had completely forgotten about Danny for a moment.

"No way, why would I want to invite him?" Dash asked. "He may be Andy's brother, but he's not a friend of mine."

"Um… I think it would make Andy happy if you did." Takuya pointed out. "I mean, he has been separated from his twin for a while now. And it might give him the incentive he needs to go to your party."

Dash gave a thoughtful look at that.

"Hey, why are you speaking for me? I'm right here," Andy grumbled.

"Alright, I'll invite Fenton if it'll make you happy, Andy," Dash decided.

Andy blinked, not expecting Dash to actually take the compromise, they have only been friends for about a week now.

Takuya gave Andy a grin. "It would be good for you to spend time with Danny at the party anyway. You two have been split for quite some time, so it's about time you two had some quality bonding time."

"Right… I guess I haven't been paying attention due to everything that's been going on lately," Andy admitted. Not that I'm complaining. I'd rather be distracted from the pain than wallow in it.

Takuya looked at Andy. "So, we'll go to the party and see if we can have some fun."

"And be sure to bring Do-" Dash stopped when he remembered Jazz was here. "Uh… the mascot for the party."

Takuya looked at Andy, who had a confused look. He mouthed 'Dorumon' to Andy, making sure the younger boy could get the message.

"Ah, right. I'll bring the 'costume'," Andy chuckled. "I'm sure the mascot would enjoy it." And not be stuck in Takuya's room all day and night.

Takuya grinned as he saw Andy got the message. It will be good for the little guy to get out and about.

The Nasty Burger

"I think you've become addicted to this place, Takuya, this is the third time this week we've eaten here," Andy chuckled as they were standing in line at the Nasty Burger.

"I can't help it if the food is good here!" Takuya almost whined. Looking around for an empty booth, his eyes landed on Danny, Sam, and Tucker in the restaurant. "And I see Danny, Tucker, and Sam are here too."

"And… Paulina, Dash, Kwan, Star… I think most of Casper High are here today. Must be because Dash is handing out the invitation to his party today. Dash is the captain of the football team, so when he hosts a party, it's one of the 'hottest parties of the year' as most students call it," Andy informed. "It's just… odd, it's the first time that I'm seeing the invitations being handed out… by a friend of mine."

Takuya had to agree. "I guess I can agree with that." He noted how happy everyone was looking at the invitations they were receiving.

"I mean I was used to always seeing it from the other perspective. A popular jock or girl hands out the invitation to the popular kids, they all cheer, while the rest of us just watched on, in jealousy," Andy admitted. "So this… is quite a new experience for me."

"Well, you're not alone in that," Takuya admitted. "I didn't really have any popular parties I went to when in school while in Japan, so this is new for me too."

"May I take your order?" Takuya snapped his attention to the cashier, seeing that he was now at the front of the line.

After Andy and Takuya got their orders, they walked to an empty booth that was behind the booth Danny, Tucker, and Sam were sitting in.

As soon as they took their seats, the two boys could hear what the three were talking about.

"Great, it's the hottest party of the year, and Paulina is going, and I'm not, again," Danny sighed.

"I thought you didn't like Paulina after she dumped you at the school dance," Sam remarked.

"Well… her personality needs some work, but she's still pretty hot," Danny chuckled.

Takuya couldn't help but roll his eyes at Danny's comment. Understatement of the century…

Then Takuya looked over at Andy, who was eating his fries. "Hey, why aren't you smitten with Paulina's hotness like your brother? I mean Danny just saw how nasty Paulina could be, yet he still likes her because she looks pretty."

"Because Danny didn't grow up with Paulina being nasty to him, like I did. It's pretty hard to like someone for how they look when you grow up with their nasty attitude," Andy answered. "Whenever Paulina and I see each other, we would always give each other our best death glares."

Takuya frowned at that, but he had to admit, Andy had a good point. Reminds me of when I would argue with Koji. We would give each other death glares too, but we could also count on each other in battle. Paulina is just shallow, unlike my friend.

They saw Paulina getting a 'Mighty Mini Meaty Cheesy Melt', whatever that was.

"You're right, she's a goddess," Sam sarcastically grumbled.

"Why don't we get invited to the really cool parties? We've got charm, good looks, charisma, at least I do," Tucker muttered.

"You know how it is," Sam sighed. "We're just as… well, you know what I mean…" She then gave a smile, "But at least we'll have each other in ten years."

"Uh-huh…" Andy rolled his eyes sarcastically, feeling a little bitter from that comment, likely because they had pushed him out of their group and didn't seem to realize it.

Takuya gave a worried frown to Andy. Was sitting here a good idea? Because it seems to remind Andy of his friends and what they have done.

Suddenly, Dash walked over to their booth. He did give Andy and Takuya a friendly wave, before he put on his annoyed face when he came to Danny's booth. "Here."

Dash slapped an invitation in Danny's face. "Your sister made me invite you. And just you, not your two geeky friends. All you have to do is show up, shut it, and nobody gets hurt."

Takuya wasn't sure how he felt about Danny going, but he reminded himself it was for Andy's sake. Dash is doing this for Andy. Just get through the party, and things will be fine. Andy and Danny will have fun. What could go wrong?

Suddenly, Takuya got an ominous chill when he thought that.

"I've actually been invited, to a popular party!?" Danny said excitedly and in shock, much like Andy did earlier.

Takuya looked on as suddenly the popular kids started to talk to Danny, like he had just been noticed for the first time in his life. So much for this being low-key...

"See you Saturday, Danny~" Paulina waved with her fingers at Danny, who gave a large grin.

Andy glared heatedly at Paulina. Paulina, as if sensing Andy's challenge, looked over at Andy, before glaring back at him. Takuya could feel the hostile electricity from between their glares.

"Oh boy…" He muttered.

"Swell… send us a postcard from Popularityville…" Sam grumbled sarcastically.

"I will!" Danny smiled as he got up from the booth and started rushing out of the Nasty Burger, likely not noticing Sam's sarcasm or Paulina's heated glaring competition with his brother.

Takuya groaned as he sunk down in his seat. This… is going to be a long week...

Titanic X: ZAFT: You will see when it comes to Dash~

DarkFoxKit: Indeed. I always wanted to see a crossover between Tamers and Frontier.

ZAFT: Same here!

Kilikani: DarkFoxKit: Watch Digimon Frontier, that's where Takuya came from, and that explains why and how he can turn into a Digimon.

ZAFT: You will understand more then.

DarkFoxKit: Now if you're asking how can Takuya STILL change into a Digimon, you would need to be more specific, because we don't know if that's what you're asking, and if you don't know Digimon Frontier, if we answer that question, we'd be diving into heavy spoiler territory for the show.

ZAFT: If you are asking HOW he can still turn into a Digimon, that is spoilers for the story, so we can't delve too deep into that either. Sorry… ^^'