DarkFoxKit: Seems we're a little late on the update.
ZAFT: Yeah, that was my fault. I forgot. ^^'
DarkFoxKit: We both forgot, so it wasn't just you. Andy, why didn't you remind us?
Andy: *Is playing on his Switch* Hmm? Did you say something?
DarkFoxKit: Hey! That's my Switch!
ZAFT: *Stares* Uh… Okay… We'll just get to the chapter I guess… While DarkFoxKit get her Switch back
Chapter 8: The Power of Popularity
"So we get to go to a party this weekend?" Dorumon asked, looking excited. "Including me?"
"Yeah, apparently," Takuya replied with a shrug. "You just have to pretend to be a person in a costume, like you did at the Nasty Burger that one time."
"That's great! Because I've been getting soooooo bored waiting in here," Dorumon whined. "Can't I go out once in a while if I'm really, really careful not to get seen by anyone?"
Takuya looked at Andy. "What do you think? Should we let him if he is careful?"
"It would still be too risky. Dorumon is still too new in Amity Park, there's a good chance someone will see him, or a dog sniffs him out or something," Andy said. "But maybe we could find a better hiding place for him, or have him learn how to… uh… 'de-digivolve'."
Dorumon seemed to pout at that as Takuya frowned. "I guess you do have a point…" He looked down at the floor, trying to come up with some kind of a plan. Dorumon doesn't need to remain here all the time, and yet Andy has a point. Where could Dorumon stay if he had to find a better hiding place than my room?
"I think I might know a good place to hide Dorumon," Andy said. "But I'm not sure if Dorumon would like it."
"Where is it?" Dorumon asked.
Andy led Takuya and Dorumon on the outskirts of town. There was a small, abandoned cabin in the woods. "Remember when we came out here to train? I couldn't help but notice this abandoned cabin here. Do you think it might be a good place for you to stay while we're out, Dorumon?"
Takuya had to admit, it was a good idea. "I think it's a good idea, but, again, Dorumon makes the choice."
"Well, there's a lot more room to run around out here," Dorumon noted. "But it's kind of lonely."
"Well, that is kind of the point, not a lot of people come out here," Andy said. "That way you don't have to worry about other people seeing you as much. You can stay here until we can figure out how to keep you in the house without you getting into trouble by my parents."
"How would you explain Dorumon to your parents?" Takuya asked.
"That… he's a… brand new species?" Andy shrugged.
Takuya groaned at that. "Of course…" But it would make sense… He thought to himself. Maybe we could come up with a story later on, as long as Dorumon doesn't talk when around the rest of the family.
Dorumon was looking around the cabin, sniffing at the area, before he poked his head inside. "WAH!"
Dorumon's sudden scream caused Andy and Takuya to jump.
The two boys ran over to check on Dorumon. "Are you okay?!" Takuya asked in concern.
"What is that?" Dorumon asked, pointing at something that was glowing green.
Andy and Takuya looked at what Dorumon was pointing at, and saw a glowing blue flower growing out of the cabin's floor.
"I… don't know…" Takuya murmured, not sure of what to make of it. This was new to him.
"It's glowing," Andy noted, eyeing the flower. "... Do you think it might be some kind of ghost flower?"
Takuya looked at it, but he didn't get any bad feelings. He just thought it was strange to see a glowing blue flower. "Odd…" He wanted to reach out to touch it, but he wasn't sure what would happen if he did.
Dorumon touched the flower with his forehead, the gem on his forehead glowed a little before data surrounded Dorumon. Andy and Takuya gasped a little, before the data got smaller, and Dorumon was suddenly Dorimon again.
"What just happened?" Andy asked.
"I don't know," Takuya replied. "It's just… one second he's Dorumon, and now he's back to his in-training form!"
"Whoa… that was weird," Dorimon said in a bit of a daze.
"Are you alright, Dorimon?" Andy asked his partner in concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine… I just suddenly felt weaker when I touched that flower, so much so I must've reverted back to Dorimon," Dorimon answered.
"It must have siphoned off energy," Takuya mused as he eyed the flower.
"Hey! Then maybe Andy could pick this flower and use it on me whenever I need to de-digivolve, at least until I can learn to do it on my own," Dorimon suggested. "At least this way I can stay with Andy."
"I don't think I should be picking this ghost flower," Andy said. "But you do make a good point about it being useful so you don't have to stay in Takuya's room all the time."
Then Andy's 'D-Tector' started to beep and flash. "Hmm?"
Andy took out the little device. "Takuya, what does this mean?"
"I'm not sure," Takuya frowned a little before he saw it flashing near the flower. "Hold on… Try holding the scanner to the flower."
"Huh? Okay…" Andy held the device closer to the glowing flower, the screen suddenly let out a scanner on the flower.
Andy, Dorimon, and Takuya were watching in curiosity until the device finished scanning the flower. Then a card appeared on the card slot.
"What…?" Andy took the card out, seeing a picture of the glowing flower on it, and the words on the bottom. "'Degeneration'."
"I think your device copied what that flower did." Takuya noted, seeing the words on the bottom of the card.
"Oooh, so now you can just swipe that card in your D-Tector to make me small whenever you want." Dorimon smiled. "It's a win-win!"
Dorimon then jumped onto Andy's head. "Which is good, because I'd rather stay with you than out here in the lonely forest, where wolves could eat me."
Takuya chuckled at that. "And you get to ride on Andy's head, too."
"That's a bonus~" Dorimon smiled.
"Great, glad you two can enjoy this so much," Andy groaned. Still, I wonder what this flower is and what it's doing here… I hope it doesn't become something dangerous later on.
At Casper High
"I thought lunch would never come, it feels like the classes are getting longer," Takuya grumbled.
"You're only saying that because you had to stay in Mr. Lancer's class for extra tutoring on your literature today," Andy chuckled as they were walking outside of the building, where, surprisingly, a lot of the popular kids were right now.
Dorimon popped his head out of Andy's backpack and sniffed the air. "Smells like a lot of food."
"Don't worry, Dorimon, we'll find a place to sit and eat soon," Andy chuckled quietly. "But don't move around so much, we're in a public area."
Dorimon just pulled his head back into Andy's backpack while Takuya chuckled. "He knows when to keep quiet, huh, Andy?"
"Yeah, at least we know we trained him well in the art of stealth." Andy grinned.
"KWAN! LOOKING GOOD!" A familiar voice suddenly shouted that caught Andy and Takuya's attention.
Takuya looked over, only to see Danny getting it on with the popular kids. He sighed. "And it seems Danny has been getting chummy with the popular kids lately too…"
"Fentonmister! Whoo-hoo!" Kwan acknowledged back.
"Wow, how easy it is to sway the popular kids when you 'become one of them', it's kind of sad really," Andy sighed. "People should just see you as people, not what 'rank' you are."
Takuya sighed. "I guess…" I can't help but agree with Andy on that. It does seem somewhat lame that people are judged on their social status or their likes and dislikes.
Andy noticed Tucker and Sam were beside Danny, and looked to be trying to talk to him. Though they were a bit too far away to hear what they were saying to Danny. Danny didn't seem to be paying attention to them however, he was too busy waving and acknowledging the other popular kids that were walking by.
Takuya blinked. "Huh… it looks like Sam and Tucker aren't being noticed by Danny." Then he had a thought. I wonder if this experience will make them realize what they are doing to Andy...
Takuya couldn't tell what Andy was thinking, Andy was just looking at them with a hard to read expression. Andy didn't look happy, but he didn't look angry or sad either.
"Um… Andy?" Takuya asked as he poked Andy's shoulder. "You okay?"
"... Yes, I'm okay, Takuya," Andy answered, but looked at the trio for a little bit longer before he turned to his cousin. "Maybe we should go look for a place to-"
"Yo! Andy, Takuya!" Dash greeted happily as he approached them.
"Dash, we're in public, are you sure you want to be calling us by our first names?" Andy hissed.
Takuya had a bit of a frown on his face at Andy's words, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at Dash and gave a wave of his own.
"Right, right… well, then… Ahem, Fenton and Kanbara," Dash corrected himself, but only half heartedly, before he held out a magazine to them, it showed a hip looking guy wearing a white jacket, white pants, and a white hat. There was also a cool looking necklace. "I'm planning on this being the dress code for the party. What do you think? Looking very hip and Dash?"
Takuya noticed the price right away. "And very expensive." He wasn't sure if he would be able to afford that outfit.
"I'm not even sure if I would look good in that. Takuya might be able to pull it off, but not me," Andy chuckled sheepishly.
"Really?" Dash frowned a little. "Hmm… well, I suppose we don't have to use this."
"Are you sure? Wouldn't it ruin your big jock party if you don't have something hip and cool for the popular kids to wear?" Andy asked.
Dash chuckled. "Nope. I can have them wear anything and they would still think it's cool, like I could have them all wear ugly rags and they'd think it was cool because we're making it work for us. Or they would just find ways to enjoy it because it makes fun of those who do wear them."
Takuya gave a frown at that, but he didn't say anything. It seems like the popular kids just get kicks out of making fun of the less popular kids. I can see why Andy has no interest in being a popular kid.
"Maybe to keep things easier for you two, you can just come to the part wearing what you're already wearing. It might be interesting to try on clothes that aren't considered hip or cool," Dash stated, looking at the clothes Andy and Takuya were wearing.
Andy looked down at his black T-shirt with the blue triangle on his chest, and his red baggy pants. "I don't know, I consider these clothes to be timeless."
Dash looked at Andy. "Well, it would mean you don't have to spend a lot on those sweats." He pointed at the image to make his point.
Then Dorimon popped his head out, Dash blinked as he saw Dorimon.
"Hey! I wanted to thank you for inviting me too!" Dorimon smiled.
Dash chuckled here. "It's no problem." He then realized something. "Hey… you're back to your small form again!"
"Yup! We found some weird flower that helped me out with that, so now I can stick with Andy and not be stuck in Takuya's room all day." Dorimon grinned.
"I'll tell you more about it later," Andy said. "This isn't a place for this type of conversation."
Dash nodded, remembering what Andy and Takuya had told him about keeping Dorimon a secret.
"By the way, I couldn't help but notice that your brother has been getting along with the other A-List kids," Dash noted.
"A-List kids?" Takuya asked.
"It's basically what the popular kids call themselves, they have their own list and benefits in school, like having a pass that the hall monitor stamps and they get a free pudding or something," Andy explained.
Takuya frowned at that. He didn't like hearing that, but he figured it was the school culture here, so he had to accept it for now. "Okay… I get it… I think…"
Dash looked at where Danny was talking with Kwan. "Well, if your brother's going to be part of the A-List, he might need a little 'help', if you get my meaning." He gave a slight wink at that.
"Is he?" Andy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sure he going to the party you're hosting, but would that make him an A-List material?"
"That depends on how he does at the party," Dash explained. "And even though I had to invite him, that doesn't mean I'm going to be all buddy-buddy with him. Now watch this… Hey, Fenton, come over here!"
Danny snapped to attention and quickly hurried over to Dash.
Andy started to back away before he grabbed Takuya's shirt by the back and pulled him with him.
"Yes, Dash?" Danny asked as he reached his bully's side. Andy and Takuya were now hiding behind a tree to see what would happen next. Dorimon poked his head out of Andy's backpack, curious as to what was going on.
"You know, I've never really gotten a good look at your twin, Andy," Dorimon whispered. "He really does look a lot like you."
"Well, we are twins," Andy whispered back. "And twins do look alike, depending on if they are identical or fraternal. The latter meaning that we don't look alike even though we're twins."
"Oooh," Dorimon acknowledged.
"If you're going to come to my party, you'll have to look the part," Dash said to Danny, showing him the magazine. "This is what we'll be wearing. It's very high end, very hip, very Dash. You do have one, don't you?"
"Uh… yeah. I have two… uh, one for me and my twin." Danny lied.
"Well, wear one. I might have had to invite you, but if you embarrass me..." Dash said as he held up a fist to Danny's face. "Your sister will be doing a thesis on your bruises!"
"R-right! I'll be sure to keep that in mind!" Danny quickly said before Dash walked away.
Andy, Takuya, and Dorimon saw Tucker and Sam walking up to Danny after Dash left.
"Wow, I didn't know how mean Dash could act, he always seemed so friendly whenever I see him," Dorimon noted.
"Well, he has to keep up the act because Andy doesn't want our friendship to be revealed yet." Takuya pointed out.
"Why not?" Dorimon asked curiously.
"I don't want people to start treating me like a popular kid just because I'm friends with the football captain, I rather want them to like me for me, you know?" Andy explained. "Besides, I've seen what people would do just to get in close with the football captain. They try to suck up to you, then leave you to rot once they get what they want."
Takuya sighed. "And that is why I don't like this popularity chain here…"
"Aw man… this stuff must cost a fortune!" They heard Danny groan since they were still nearby. "How am I going to get the money by Saturday?"
"Oh… my gosh…" Andy paled suddenly.
Takuya looked at Andy. "What? Something wrong?" He was hoping it was not a ghost or a Digimon. "Is it a ghost? Or is it a Digimon?"
"I don't sense either nearby," Dorimon said, looking concerned.
"No, it's not that," Andy said before looking at Takuya. "What if our theory is right and Phantom is inside my brother? How would the ghost react to Danny's desires? What if the ghost takes over Danny's body and make him steal from a bank or something so he'd get the money he needed for those sweats?"
Takuya paled at that thought while Dorimon looked a bit confused, but also worried. "Oh… I see what you mean…"
"But why would that Phantom boy make Danny do that? Isn't Phantom a good ghost?" Dorimon asked. "I mean he has been helping us, hasn't he?"
"From the few times that we saw him, yeah, but he could've just been doing that because Danny desired to him to keep us safe," Andy pointed out. "I remember my parents telling me that ghosts have obsessions, and they tend to react to certain emotions, like greed and desire. So what if Phantom might react on Danny's desire to get the money he needs on Saturday? I mean he's a ghost, we don't know how he thinks!"
Dorimon was still confused, but since this worried his partner, he decided to try to reassure Andy. "Phantom has helped us. He can't be all that bad." He then grinned. "Think of it in a positive manner! Anyone who helps out can't be all that bad, right?"
Andy tilted his head back a little to look at Dorimon. "... Right… I guess I shouldn't jump to conclusions yet." Mom and Dad were always telling us ghosts were evil, all of them… but… maybe, hopefully, they were wrong about that.
Takuya then looked back out from behind the tree. He was observing Danny, wondering if Andy's theory would be correct. I don't want to have to fight Phantom, but if he does react to Danny's desires in that way, we'll have to take action.
Whatever conversation Danny was having with Tucker and Sam was interrupted by Paulina, she was sitting on a picnic blanket, holding up a CD with a CD player beside her. "Hey Danny! Want to listen to my new CD? It's really kronk!"
That made Danny dash over to her side eagerly, as though he wanted to be accepted by her. Which in a sense, he did.
Takuya looked over at Andy, and could swear, if Andy could set things on fire with his mind, the entire tree would be burning right now with how intense his glare was at the moment.
Okay, this makes me glad Andy doesn't have my ability to Spirit Evolve. Otherwise… that tree would be a burning mess… Takuya thought as he sweatdropped. "H-hey, calm down, cuz. I think I found us a great place to have our lunch and cool off for a bit!"
"One of these days…" Andy hissed.
Dorimon sweatdropped, but he already knew why Andy didn't like that girl, because his partner told him a lot about her. Dorimon already didn't like Paulina, she had not only been rude and nasty to Andy, and his brother, but he could already tell how fake she was with her false, sweet smile, only wanting Danny because he was considered 'popular' for now.
Takuya pulled Andy away from the tree. "C-C'mon, Andy. We don't want to miss our spot by the school."
That night, at Fenton Works
Jazz and Andy were watching their parents trying to cook hot dogs in their new invention.
"Are you sure about this, Mom? I think the microwave is a better… safer way of cooking hot dogs than this… contraption," Andy said in an uncertain tone, holding Dorimon close to his chest.
Takuya was also in the kitchen, standing more against the wall and watching what was going on. He had a feeling something was about to go down, and he didn't want to be caught off-guard.
"Of course we're sure!" Jack smiled. "We've invented a way to cook them ten times faster than a microwave, no more needing to wait for endless minutes just to eat!"
"Not to worry, this is perfectly safe," Maddie promised before the contraption went DING. "Oh, they're ready!"
As soon as she opened the top, the hot dogs came out biting and nipping, which caused Jazz to flinch back, Andy to yelp and jump away while tightening his hold on Dorimon, and Takuya gasped. Maddie quickly shut the lid with a surprised and disturbed look on her face.
"Great, you managed to put the Frank back in Frankenstein," Jazz grumbled.
"What did you use to cook the hot dogs with?" Andy asked, backing away from the contraption and the table.
"We did use some ectoplasm to have the Fenton Cooker heat up faster, but I guess some of it leaked out into the food, and brought them to life… well, not to life exactly, but gave them enough ghostly properties to…" Maddie stopped before sheepishly grinning. "I guess it's a good thing they did 'come to life' though, so we know they're not safe for human consumption."
Takuya groaned as he smacked his head with his open hand. "Way to go, Aunt Maddie…" He grumbled under his breath.
"Weird… I thought it was brilliant…" Jack pouted. "Hey, maybe I can train those mad hot dogs as a defense mechanism!"
"How, by making them attack ghosts when they are ghosts themselves?" Takuya asked in a sarcastic manner.
Jack looked at Takuya for a moment, before grinning. "I was just going to have them wrap around us like actual meat shield, but that is a great idea, Takuya! You can help me train them to attack ghosts!"
Takuya groaned out loud as he slammed his head against the wall. "That was something called sarcasm!"
Andy walked over to Takuya. "You really shouldn't use sarcasm around Dad…"
Jazz sighed. "I'm going to my room, obviously I need to order take out tonight."
"Don't we all…" Takuya muttered to himself. He was so not hungry after that little display from the hot dogs.
Then Danny walked into the kitchen, studying the magazine Dash gave him, and didn't seem to even notice Takuya or his twin brother. Andy frowned a little at this.
"Hey Dad, could you give me some extra cash? I really need to buy these clothes by Saturday," Danny asked when he walked up to Jack.
Jack looked at Danny. "Now, Danny, you know, your mother and I have plenty of money since we are inventors."
What? I've never seen them sell any of their inventions. Andy raised an eyebrow at that comment.
"But we wouldn't be very good parents if we just give you the money, Danny," Maddie spoke up. "If you want money, you gotta earn it."
"Like… get a job?" Danny frowned.
Jack nodded. "Either that or sell something. Like your old comic books, or Andy's old manga collections-"
"No! Do you know how hard it is to gather the entire volume of a manga series? I'm not selling that," Andy quickly spoke up.
"But do you even read those anymore?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.
"They're a collector's set," Andy grumbled.
Takuya looked back at the lab. "What about some of the old junk in the lab, uncle Jack?" He looked back at his uncle. "Some of that looks like it needs to be sold."
"What? No! Maddie and I had worked hard on each and every device we've made in that lab," Jack quickly said.
"Honey, do you even remember what most of the stuff did?" Maddie asked with a frown. "Not to mention they're also covered in ectoplasm."
Takuya mentally winced as he remembered the fight with Technus. Yeah… that was not a good time…
Jack furrowed his eyebrows for a moment. "I… don't remember, but I know each of them are important, so it'll be off to the shed. Boys!"
Jack suddenly turned his attention to Danny, Andy, and Takuya. "Help me gather up the boxes."
"What? Do we have to?" Danny frowned.
Takuya wasn't sure what to say other than one word. "What?!" He hadn't expected this at all.
"It's off to the shed with this stuff!" Jack declared as he dropped the boxes into Andy's, Danny's, and Takuya's arms.
Andy was forced to put Dorimon down on the table before he was given a box, just so he didn't hurt the small little guy. "Uh, Dad? Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Of course, Andy!" Jack exclaimed. "Now, off to the shed!"
Andy looked at Dorimon with a look of 'stay there and don't move' before he hauled the box full of junk outside with Takuya, Danny, and Jack.
Jazz looked at Dorimon curiously, and so did Maddie.
"I wonder what this creature is supposed to be… it looks like a fluffy cat, or maybe a furry purple pig?" Maddie wondered as she studied Dorimon, who was trying not to move or appear nervous.
Jazz also studied Dorimon. "It could be a little stuffed dog as well." I wonder where Andy got it.
"Perhaps you should take it to your brother's room then, Jazz. We don't want him to leave it on the table where it could get messy," Maddie suggested.
Jazz picked up Dorimon and brought him upstairs to Andy and Danny's room, setting him on Andy's bed before leaving and shutting the door. "That should keep it safe from ectoplasm and food."
Dorimon couldn't help but look at Jazz.
"You know… you feel a bit… too real. I could've sworn I felt you breathing while I was bringing you up here, and it almost looks like you're looking right at me," Jazz muttered.
Dorimon was trying not to sweat.
Jazz just shook her head. "Maybe I'm beginning to make myself think this thing is alive. I'll have to remind myself it's just a toy."
With that said, Jazz left the room. Dorimon let out a sigh of relief and he could finally relax. "That was a close one… the big sister is way more observant than I thought she'd be."
Meanwhile, Jack opened the tool shed, allowing the boys to walk inside to place down the boxes. Jack looked around, seeing how cramped the tool shed was before he dropped down his own boxes.
"You know, maybe I should get rid of this junk," He muttered before he smiled and brushed his hands together. "Well, that's a job for another day." With that, he left the shed, leaving the three cousins together inside.
Danny had a thoughtful look on his face at that last remark from his dad. "Saturday is another day…" He mused as he looked around at the junk again.
"Bro…" Andy spoke up. "You're not thinking of selling this stuff on Saturday, are you?"
"I need the money for those sweats, Andy." Danny pointed out. "Besides, it's not like Dad is really going to miss this stuff, right?"
"But if you sell them without permission, you're going to get in trouble," Andy pointed out.
"Danny, I think you should listen to Andy on this one," Takuya added, but Danny just brushed him off.
"It's fine, cuz." Danny assured him.
Andy hesitated for a moment, before he spoke up. "Danny… maybe you shouldn't try getting those sweats. You really… don't need them for the party."
Danny looked at Andy. "I don't?"
"No… listen… Dash is going to change the dress code, so you would look like a complete idiot when you show up at the party," Andy explained.
"How… did you know that?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Takuya and I overheard Dash saying that," Andy answered, sort of lying.
"Wow… I guess I owe you one, bro." Danny said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You saved me from looking like a total moron."
"Heh… well, I am still your brother, so it's still my job to look after you," Andy chuckled. "But… we should probably still do something with all this stuff in here. Mom is right about one thing, the shed is getting cramped with all of Dad's inventions that he and Mom never use."
Takuya looked back at the twins. "Yeah. I can't really see any other place where stuff can be placed."
Danny gave a look to his cousin. "Still want to have that sale on Saturday?"
"We'll get in trouble," Andy said.
"But maybe Uncle Jack will be grateful once he realizes how much more space we'll have here," Takuya pointed out. "And we could always use the extra cash, right?"
Andy sighed. "I guess…" He wasn't liking the idea, but he knew when he was outvoted.
"Great, we'll have a big garage sale on Saturday afternoon, when Mom and Dad go out on their patrol," Danny decided. "I can call Tucker and Sam to help out as well."
"Heh, were you feeling a little guilty for pushing them away, bro?" Andy asked.
Danny blinked. "Have I been doing that?"
"Ever since you got that invitation, yeah." Takuya replied as Andy folded his arms and nodded.
"Oh yeah, big time." Andy agreed.
Danny frowned. "Right… I guess I have… I better apologize. But this party… it's a once in a lifetime opportunity for me."
"For you to what exactly, bro? Be a part of the popular kids?" Andy asked.
"Well… you can't deny the popular kids do have certain power in school," Danny pointed out. "It's hard to not want that."
Takuya frowned. "Yeah, but is it worth the way they treat the other kids?"
Andy gave a look to Takuya before he glanced back at Danny. "Danny, bro, I don't think it's worth the pizazz they have. I will admit, they do have a lure, considering the benefits they get at school, but I've seen how they treat others, even each other. They wait for you to mess up, and when you do, they'll pounce you, and make sure you never forget it, before pushing you back down to the 'lower ranks'."
"They… really do that?" Danny asked.
"They try to hide it. The only reason I know about this is because they never notice when one person, sitting far away, is watching them," Andy explained. "After watching them for about a month, it's easy to see how they would cannibalise each other. They aren't real friends, not like Tucker and Sam."
Takuya looked at Andy, surprised he had picked up on something like that so quickly. Well, more like after a month, but still…
Danny looked down, suddenly feeling guilty about how he had been treating them. "Oh…"
"Hey, cheer up, bro," Andy said gently. "It's not too late to apologize. Tucker and Sam do want you to have a good time at the party, that's why they haven't said anything to you about you ditching them."
Danny gave a weak grin. "What did I do to deserve friends like them and a brother like you?" He then hugged Andy, who gave a chuckle as he hugged his brother back.
Takuya grinned as he joined in on the hug. "Don't forget your cousin~" He couldn't help but laugh as he hugged both of his cousins.
Andy was surprised when Danny suddenly hugged him, he didn't expect Danny to do that, but he couldn't help but enjoy the hug. It felt like it had been a lifetime since he was able to hug Danny without Danny suddenly going stiff, or going through him somehow.
I didn't realize how much I missed hugging my brother… Andy thought to himself as he savored the group family hug.
Takuya then looked around at the junk. "So… are we going to sell this or what?" He had forgotten about the idea when the group hug had occurred.
"Right… well, I think it might be good to sell this stuff. The extra money would be nice for future investment," Andy finally relented, though he was reluctant to release the hug. "Just… don't tell Dad when he realizes the tool shed is empty."
"That sounds like a great idea!" Danny smiled.
When the boys came back into the house, they were relieved to see Jazz had ordered them take out for dinner tonight due to Maddie needing to keep the living hot dogs from attacking the family.
Andy noticed that Dorimon was gone, however. "Jazz… uh… didn't I leave a plushy on this table?"
Jazz looked at Andy. "Oh, yes, you did. I brought it upstairs so it wouldn't get messy from food or ectoplasm."
"Oh, so the plushy is on my bed?" Andy asked for clarification.
"Yup," Jazz answered. "How much did it cost? It seems so… lifelike."
"Ah… it um… wasn't too expensive… I guess I just got lucky," Andy chuckled a little nervously.
"Well, it felt like the plushy was staring at me. I know it's just a toy, but it was still weird." Jazz noted as she looked down in thought. "Maybe our parents' obsession with ghosts is starting to get to me too if I am beginning to think an inanimate object is staring at me."
"Maybe I should take a look at it to make sure a ghost isn't possessing the toy," Maddie suggested.
"NO! N-no, no, it's fine, there's nothing ghostly about Dor- my stuffed animal," Andy quickly insisted. "It's just really, really well made."
Takuya had felt relief flood his body when Andy came up with that lie. He was worried about Dorimon for a moment. Nice cover, Andy. He thought. "Yeah… uh, it's a… replica of a… famous movie monster from Japan!"
"Oh, is it now?" Maddie said with a bit of interest.
"Yeah. And it was the last one on shelves, so they probably don't have anymore," Andy added.
"Where did you get it from?" Jazz asked curiously.
"At… one of the toy stores at the mall… I can't remember which one exactly, we were just looking around when I saw it," Andy shrugged.
Maddie frowned a bit, but didn't question it. Toy stores sold all kinds of toys all the time, so it made sense that Andy wouldn't know which one it came from. "Well, take better care of it and don't leave it around the house like that next time."
"R-right… sorry… Dad just kinda sprung the box on me," Andy apologized.
"What toy?" Danny asked curiously.
"Oh… just a plushy I bought from the mall. I figured it was better than a demonic teddy bear," Andy shrugged.
Danny blinked. "You're still afraid of Bearbert?"
"Do not bring up that demonic bear!" Andy hissed. He shivered at the thought of what that bear could do to him.
Jazz frowned, looking guilty. Takuya didn't know what the story was, he just knew Andy always had this weird fear of teddy bears, especially Bearbert, Jazz's personal teddy bear.
Takuya then sighed. "I don't think I want to know about that…" Although I am curious…
"You've gotta show me this plushy then, bro," Danny said. "I'm curious to see what it is."
"... Uh… sure… yeah, there… shouldn't be any reason why I can't show you…" Andy gave a nervous grin. Oh… this might be bad. If ghosts can sense Digimon, what if Phantom senses Dorimon while inside Danny?
Takuya also had a nervous look. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea. Aw man… I hope Phantom doesn't sense Dorimon is a Digimon…
Danny, however, noticed their nervous looks, it was the same look he got whenever he was trying to keep his secret from them. "Is… everything okay?"
"Everything is perfectly fine, bro!" Andy laughed. Maybe it's not as bad as we think. I mean we still don't have a confirmation that Phantom is indeed inside my brother, it's only speculation after all...
"Yeah, it's all fine." Takuya replied with a nervous grin.
After eating dinner, Takuya followed Andy and Danny into their room. He wanted to be there in case things went south. Andy opened the door to their room, wanting to block Danny from seeing the inside right away in case Dorimon was moving around.
"Hey! There's my STUFFED ANIMAL," Andy said, emphasising on 'stuffed animal', because he saw Dorimon pacing on the floor.
Dorimon quickly fell to the ground to look as lifeless as possible before Andy walked inside to let Danny see the room.
Takuya watched with apprehension, keeping an eye on things as Danny saw the 'toy' on the floor.
"Wow, that does look life-like." Danny noted as he walked over to 'it'. "Wonder why Jazz left it on the floor though."
"She probably left it on the edge of the bed, and it fell down," Andy shrugged, watching carefully as Danny bent down to pick up Dorimon.
There was no sign of Phantom reacting to Dorimon's presence, which was a relief to Takuya and Andy. It seemed the ghost, if it was inside Danny, wasn't picking up on him.
"Wow, I like how they made the fur, it really feels real," Danny complimented as he stroked Dorimon's head and back, feeling the fur.
"Uh… yeah, that's how well made it is," Andy lied. He could see Dorimon was trying hard not to let out a small purr of pleasure. "Um… I'll take my toy back now."
"Heh, feeling a little protective of it, bro?" Danny chuckled as he handed Dorimon back to Andy. "You know, maybe I'll try to buy one myself."
Takuya looked a bit surprised. "Um, well… it was the last one, and it was a limited offer too. We can't be sure they are any more left."
Danny pouted at that. "Fine, then you'll have to share this one, bro. Cause I wanna be able to cuddle with it too."
Andy sweatdropped, he knew Danny liked to cuddle with his own stuffed animals at night, but he didn't think he would want to do it with Dorimon, especially if they were right and Phantom is inside Danny. "Uh… well…"
Dorimon gave a look of 'I don't mind' to Andy, likely because he was enjoying Danny's petting.
Andy noticed the look before he sighed. "Okay… just… don't try to hog it." He handed Dorimon back to Danny.
"Don't worry, bro, I wouldn't do that. And I promise to take real good care of it." Danny smiled.
Takuya couldn't help but chuckle at how this situation turned out. I think this turned out better than we could have hoped. He noted.
On Saturday, outside of Fenton Works
Danny, Tucker, Sam, Andy, and Takuya had made a big garage sale after cleaning up the ectoplasm from their parents' junk. Sam was a pretty good salesperson, and Takuya had a few experiences with handling customers, so they were in charge of bringing in the customers. Tucker and Andy worked with the products more, figuring out what each of them were, what they did, and put them in different categories on different tables, so the buyers would know what to look for. Danny did a mix of both inventory and customer service.
"This is a perfectly good vacuum motor, Mr. Lancer." Danny said as he handed the motor to his teacher. "Ten bucks."
"It looks to be in fine shape," Mr. Lancer noted before he smiled. "This should replace my Hair Hornet very nicely." He handed Danny a ten dollar bill.
"Hair Hornet? As in those crazy hair cutting machines you see on TV? Don't you need hair for that?" Tucker asked when he heard what Mr. Lancer said, pointing at the bald head.
"Very funny, Mr. Foley," Mr. Lancer grumbled. "I'll remember that on Monday, when I'm grading tests."
Takuya gave a look to Tucker. "I don't think he meant his head, Tucker. Hair can grow in other places than the head."
Tucker shivered. "Eew, I don't need to know that."
Takuya chuckled at that. "Shows what you know~"
Sam then came up with another five dollar bill. "Just sold a toaster." She then looked at the pile. "You know, I'm surprised your dad's letting you sell all this stuff." She gave a bit of a smirk. "He's such a packrat."
"Yeah, well, he's been meaning to get rid of this stuff for a while, he won't even miss it! … I hope," Danny said.
"He probably will overreact at first, but once he calms down, I think he'll be fine," Andy shrugged. "Considering how much he and Mom make on a daily basis, that shed will be filled back up with junk in no time at all."
Takuya chuckled. "Ain't that the truth?" He gave a silly grin before he opened up a folded mirror to have the sun reflect off his face.
"Where did you get that?" Andy asked.
"Hey, that's mine!" Tucker pouted when Takuya stole the mirror.
"You snooze, you lose~" Takuya teased.
Andy rolled his eyes at his cousin's antics, before he turned around and was surprised to see Dash was here. Andy looked back at Danny and Sam, they were talking to each other. Takuya was keeping Tucker distracted with his mirror, so Andy decided to go see what Dash was doing.
"Hey Dash, are you looking for something?" Andy asked his former bully.
"Your sister has given me so much extra schoolwork, my computer is overloaded." Dash replied. "I need something to make it work."
"Hmm… what kind of software are you running?" Andy asked.
"I think my Dad called it Portal XL," Dash answered.
"Ah… well…" Andy looked around for a moment, he remembered he had something that Dash could use, then he found it.
Andy held up a box and a jewel case that had a disc inside it. "You can install this latest edition to Portal XL, it should help your computer to run much faster and easier, as well as give it extra room on your harddrive. It comes with a new motherboard. But I should warn you, you might want to find a different software for your computer eventually, there's always a gigantic hole in the latest edition to Portal XL's security system, the last thing you would want is for someone to hack into your computer. I'll also throw in the upgrade disc if your computer is still moving too slow for you."
"Okay, that all sounds pretty good, but how much do they cost altogether?" Dash asked.
"Tell you what, I'll give you a discount. Twenty bucks will be enough to cover it all," Andy answered.
Dash nodded at the deal. "Okay, I guess I'll take it then." He then handed Andy a twenty dollar bill. "I'll see you-err… your brother tonight."
"That's okay, there's not much point in hiding the fact that I'll be there since I'll have to tell my brother that me and Takuya will be there as well tonight," Andy admitted.
Dash gave a sheepish grin. "Right, sorry about that. But I'm looking forward to seeing you and your cousin there."
"Good luck with your homework," Andy chuckled.
When Dash left, Andy walked over to Danny before giving him the 20 dollar bill he got from Dash. "I just sold the Portal XL to Dash."
Danny turned to Andy, taking the 20 dollar bill. "Oh nice, 20 dollars."
"We should probably pack it up soon. Mom and Dad will be home in an hour," Andy suggested. "We may not have sold everything, but we sold enough to make a lot of room for the shed."
Takuya nodded. "Yeah. That we did." He looked around; lots of stuff was gone now save for a few boxes that still had junk in them.
Dorimon was off sleeping in another box, hidden from view. It was a nice, cool yet warm day, and Dorimon enjoyed listening to the background noise of people, it made him feel like everything was right in the world, no ghost or Digimon attacks, just people going on about their day.
"So, are you still planning on going to that party tonight, Danny?" Sam asked as they started to clean up. "You know, you're welcome to come to my place tonight. I was planning on a movie marathon since it's the weekend and all."
Andy looked at Sam in surprise. "Wait, really? I don't think we've ever been invited to your place, have we?" Then Andy paused for a moment. "Or is that offer just for Danny and Tucker?"
Sam then paused as she looked down. Guilt crept onto her face as soon as she heard Andy ask that. "Sorry about that, Andy…" She then looked up at him. "But you and Takuya can come too… err… if you want."
"Well… I did still want to go to the party, if nothing else, just to see what it's like. If you want, I could probably bring a camera with me so I could show you two later what it's like," Danny offered, wanting to make up for not hanging out with his friends tonight.
Sam frowned. "Okay, if you're sure." She then looked at Andy and Takuya. "What about you two? Are you interested or not?"
"Be sure to get a lot of pictures of the ladies while you're there, Danny," Tucker winked.
"We actually do have plans tonight," Andy answered. "But thanks for the offer, Sam, it was… thoughtful."
There wasn't much Andy could say that wouldn't make Sam feel more guilty. If he had said 'generous' or 'nice', it would imply that it was nice of his supposed friend for including him on the invite to hang out with her. Takuya realized this when Andy had to pause before he settled on saying 'thoughtful'.
Takuya looked at Andy, wondering if he was feeling bitter towards Sam and Tucker for pushing him away still. I hope you don't feel bitter towards them still, Andy… maybe I should talk to him about it later.
"So, it looks like it'll just be you and me at your place tonight," Tucker chuckled at Sam.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Sam smiled.
Later, that evening, after everyone finished cleaning up, and packed up the rest of the stuff that they didn't sale back to the tool shed, Tucker and Sam headed home, while Danny, Andy, and Takuya went back into the house.
"What do you think I should wear for the party if not those sweats?" Danny asked Andy as they were in their room, and Danny was checking their closet.
Andy was sitting on his bed, with Dorimon on his lap. "Why not just wear what you always wear? Besides…"
Andy saw that Danny's closet was full of the same white t-shirt with the red oval, and blue baggy pants. "It's not like you have much of a choice. We really should try buying different clothes."
Danny sheepishly chuckled. "Yeah… we probably should." He then looked at Andy's own closet. "Your closet is not much better than mine." Sure enough, Andy's closet was filled with the same black t-shirt with the blue triangle and the dark red baggy pants.
"Mom and Dad aren't much for clothes shopping, so they've just been buying the same clothes for us because it works, I guess," Andy shrugged. "What are we, living inside a cartoon TV show where the characters rarely, if at all, change their outfit?"
Danny rolled his eyes. "Go ahead and think that, bro. Maybe I could ask Jazz if she has anything..."
"I still think you should just wear what you usually wear," Andy shrugged.
"But it's my first party with the popular kids, I at least want to look good." Danny frowned.
"You look fine in what you usually wear, bro, and if anyone has a problem with it, well then, it wasn't worth sucking up to them, now was it?" Andy remarked.
Danny sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Oh, there's one more, little thing that I should tell you," Andy spoke up.
"Hmm? What is it?" Danny asked curiously.
"Takuya and I were also invited to Dash's party," Andy revealed.
Danny blinked before it hit him what Andy had just said. "WHAT?!"
"Did I forget to tell you that?" Andy smiled innocently.
"Yes, yes you did!" Danny revealed. "How could you forget to tell me something like that?"
"I didn't forget, you goober, I just didn't want everyone to know I was going until I got there," Andy answered. "You already know my opinion on popular kids and how they suck up to you."
Danny sighed. "Yes, I do. Which is why I'm surprised that you got invited. Did Jazz convince Dash to invite you and Takuya as well?"
"You… could say that," Andy hesitated.
Danny blinked, but accepted the explanation. "Are you going to go though? This party doesn't really seem like your… kind of thing."
"I'm going," Andy confirmed. "Since you're going. I was hoping to go there to spend some time with you."
Danny was surprised, but a bit touched as well. "That's touching."
Danny then looked at the 'toy' on Andy's lap. "Are you leaving that home?"
"No, I'm bringing him," Andy answered.
"Oh? You assigned a gender to it already?" Danny noted.
"... Yes," Andy replied. "I also gave him a name; Dorimon."
Danny blinked. "That's an odd name."
Andy shrugged. "Hey, it works for me, so I'm sticking with it."
"Alright, whatever floats your boat, bro," Danny chuckled. "But don't blame me if the other popular kids make fun of you for bringing a stuffed animal."
"If anything, I think most of the girls would go ga-ga over him~" Andy smirked.
Danny pouted at that. "That's unfair."
Andy just laughed at that. "I was just teasing, bro."
Danny blinked before giving a small smile at that. "It… felt like it's been too long since we just teased each other."
"Maybe…" Andy sighed. "Hey, let's get you into one of your nicest clothes, even if it looks no different from your other clothes."
Danny chuckled again. "Sure, bro."
Now that Danny and Andy were dressed, even though they wore the same exact thing, they headed into the kitchen. Andy had Dorimon in his backpack again, since it was a comfortable spot for Dorimon, and Andy didn't want to have to carry Dorimon in his arms everywhere.
Jazz groaned as she slammed the refrigerator door shut. "Guess we're getting more takeout…"
Takuya had come down as well, wearing his usual outfit. "What, those hot dogs still rabid?"
"Yes, and I'm pretty sure they just contaminated the rest of our food," Jazz grumbled. "Or ate them. Better get the grocery shopping list…"
Takuya then looked at Danny and Andy. "You ready, Danny?" He was trying to keep the fact he was invited a secret, not knowing Andy had already told Danny about them going as well.
"Aren't you coming, Takuya?" Danny asked.
Takuya blinked before looking at Andy in confusion.
"I told him. Might as well let him know before we leave," Andy shrugged.
Takuya sighed. "Well, I guess I am coming then." He then glanced at Andy. "I wasn't expecting Danny to know, but I can't complain."
"What were we going to tell him then? That we were just following him to Dash's party?" Andy chuckled.
"That would be creepy." Danny grinned playfully.
Takuya gave a playful shove to Danny. "You are the son of ghost hunters. What is creepy to you?"
"Hey, ghosts may be creepy in one way, but humans can be creepy in their own, different way," Danny replied.
"Danny is right, just because you can't be creeped out by one thing doesn't mean another type wouldn't creep you out," Jazz added. "Not that there are any ghosts in real life."
Seriously? How blind do you have to be to not have seen those ghosts in the past 2 weeks? Then again the media have been trying their hardest to cover it up. Andy inwardly sighed.
Takuya frowned at Jazz's comment, but he didn't call her out on it. It's not her fault she doesn't know about ghosts yet. But it's only a matter of time… not even Jazz will be able to stay in the realm of denial forever if ghosts keep popping up.
"So are you going to change soon, Jazz?" Danny asked.
"Nah, I'm not going," Jazz answered. "I have a lot of homework tonight, and also gotta get the grocery shopping list done for tomorrow. After I convince our parents to remove those rabid hot dogs out of our fridge."
Takuya just sighed. "Okay, we'll just let you get to that then." He grabbed Andy and Danny's arms and pulled them out of the kitchen. "We'll just be on our way now."
"Be sure to come home before it gets too late," Jazz said.
"WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!" They all heard Jack screaming out.
"And you three better get going before Dad gets here. I think he actually trained those hot dogs," Jazz quickly said as she walked out of the kitchen quickly.
Takuya paled at hearing that. "I… think we will." He then proceeded to get behind the twins and push them out of the house.
Danny and Andy didn't struggle as Takuya quickly pushed them out before Jack came barrelling into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and shouted, "COVER ME BOYS!"
They heard growling and barking before they closed the door behind them.
"Good thinking there, cuz." Danny said once they were away from the house.
"I don't want to know how Uncle Jack was able to train the rabid hot dogs, let alone be in the same room as those things." Takuya shivered. "Thinking about it makes me shiver with the chills."
"It's Dad, he could train anything," Danny chuckled sheepishly. "I once saw him train a fish to jump and tail whip a ball."
Takuya blinked. "Okay, that sounds like something he would do."
Andy chuckled as well. "And the fish hit the ball onto a target too."
"You know, it would be pretty scary if Dad actually trained a ghost instead of trying to hunt them. Can you imagine what it would be like if Dad had an army of trained ghosts?" Danny asked.
"... Yeah, I'd rather not picture that, thank you," Andy quickly said.
Takuya nodded in agreement. "That would be creepy."
The three of them walked down the street, heading to Dash's house, they were just chatting away, excited to see what the party will be like, even Andy was starting to get excited. Then suddenly, a light blue mist came out of Danny's mouth, Andy could feel Dorimon shivering in his backpack, and Takuya felt a sudden heat inside him.
Looking around, Andy suddenly heard what sounded like a buzzing noise. When he looked up, he saw what looked like a glowing green shaver coming at them. "Um, guys? Hit the deck!"
Takuya heard Andy's exclamation and dove to the ground as Andy shoved his brother down with him.
However, as the flying shaver came down at them, its cord wrapped around Andy's waist and pulled him up into the air. Andy yelped as he was pulled up. Then the shaver pointed its claws at him, intending to slice through Andy. Andy hissed as his reflex saved him, he sandwiched the cord between his feet, stopping the shaver short from reaching his face, but it did struggle to pull itself from Andy's feet.
"ANDY!" Both Takuya and Danny screamed as the shaver was trying to get at Andy's face.
Titanic X:DarkFoxKit: I'm glad you liked it.
ZAFT: Same here!
Luna Lillyth:DarkFoxKit: I'm surprised you got into this fanfic without knowing anything about Digimon since the story is written in a way that kind of assumes that you know something about Digimon. ^^'
ZAFT: Hey, if it got them into it, then we can consider that a good thing! ^^