DarkFoxKit: *Is groaning in bed with a Switch* I hate… this stupid… on and off… nauseous feeling… then I have to keep waking up at 5 AM just to go down there every. Single. Day.
Andy: *Pets Kit* All of these early mornings are also starting to get to me considering I come from you...
ZAFT: It will be over soon. Just hang in there. *Hugs Kit*
Takuya: I wish I could just burn it away from you… But I can't… *Pouts*
DarkFoxKit: Thanks, but hopefully soon this will all pass and I can finally recover without needing to go back.
Andy: And that this incident will just be something you can tell stories about. I mean Danny kinda does it with his series. *Frowns* And Takuya… and Vlad…
Takuya: Don't bring up that jerk… *Grumbles*
DarkFoxKit: Alright, let's get to the chapter so I can rest and the readers can enjoy.
Chapter 34: The Shadow of a Boyfriend
It was Sunday night. After yesterday night's ghost hunting, everyone was more than happy to get to the carnival without incident today. When Jazz had told Danny and Andy about who was responsible for letting all those ghosts out, they weren't too happy about it. Danny went outside and actually punched a hole in the concrete sidewalk. But now that Jack wasn't super excited about showing off the fingerprint scanner, they didn't have to worry about Jack releasing more ghosts into the world, at least for now.
"So you actually got a real date?" Sam asked Tucker as the group were walking into the carnival, and carrying their Digimon partners.
Tucker nodded with a grin. "Yep! She decided to give me a chance, despite me being called a techno geek." He then frowned. "But I wonder who has been calling me that."
"You haven't noticed? The jocks have been calling you that for the past week and a half," Takuya pointed out.
"But I'm glad that you're able to get a date, Tucker." Andy smiled. "Just don't go scaring her off. Only show her your passion for technology when she's gotten comfortable with you."
"And your obsession with meat," Sam added.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Terriermon winked.
Tucker pouted. "Aww…" However, it wasn't meant to be taken seriously.
"By the way, guys, there was one ghost who got away last night," Danny spoke up. "He seemed to use some kind of shadow ghost that may cause bad luck, but I'm not completely sure on that."
Tucker looked back at Danny. "A shadow ghost? That's unusual."
"Maybe you can look up shadow ghosts on your D-Arc," Jazz asked. "It used to be your PDA, right? Does it still have your PDA's functions?"
"Oh, yeah," Tucker remembered before pulling out his D-Arc from his pocket.
As soon as Tucker took out his D-Arc, Kwan's hand lashed out and snatched it. "Hey! Look at me! I'm Tucker Foley, styling large with the latest in techno geek fashion!"
Dash, who was next to Kwan, gave him a look. "Dude, you pulled that off a little too well."
Kwan looked startled before he dropped the D-Arc back into Tucker's hands. "Ah! Techno geek! It's contagious!"
As soon as Kwan ran away, Dash let out a sigh. "Sorry about him. You just go on about your night."
Danny, Tucker, and Sam all blinked in shock at Dash's politeness.
As Dash walked away after Kwan, Danny blinked. "Okay… That was weird…"
"Yeah, what was all that about?" Sam asked.
"What's wrong?" Salamon asked.
"It's just Dash usually isn't… nice to us," Sam answered.
"Hey, maybe he's just in a good mood," Andy spoke up. "Let's not look at a gift horse in the mouth."
Takuya gave a nod. "Yeah, and besides, we have a night to enjoy ourselves, so let's make the most of it!" The group was passing by a booth that had clown paintings and Takuya gave a slight cringe at seeing the images. "Preferably away from the clowns…"
"I don't know, I feel like those paintings would be underappreciated," Jazz muttered.
Tucker was grumbling to himself as he put his D-Arc away in his pocket. "You know, I don't like being labelled as a 'techno geek'. I need to find a way to change my image, and maybe Niki would be less likely to dump me later."
Takuya looked back at Tucker. "Are you sure? It would be like losing a part of yourself if you did that."
"Besides, what's wrong with techno geek? I think it makes you sound smart with technology," Terriermon added.
"You just go a bit overboard with the technology part." Danny pointed out.
Tucker pouted. "I know that… So I'm going to see if I can get a better label."
"Hey, how about we split up from here?" Jazz suggested. "There are some things I'd like to look at, while I'm sure you guys would rather get on the thrilling rides."
Takuya looked back at his older cousin. "Sure. You do… what you do, with those clown pictures… that are staring at me…"
Danny looked at Takuya. "You know, you sounded like Andy there a bit, cuz."
"I do not sound like that!" Andy huffed, having heard his brother's comment.
"You do with teddy bears~" Danny pointed out in a teasing tone.
"That's because they're actually alive," Andy hissed.
"I agree, teddy bears are evil," Dorimon mumbled.
Takuya looked at his cousins and Dorimon. "And clowns want to take over the world in some way, I'm sure."
"Heya kids!" A tall clown suddenly came up to their faces. "Want to see a nice tri-"
Takuya already ran away somewhere else.
"Huh, wasn't there more of you?" The clown asked.
Andy sweatdropped. "I better go check on Takuya."
Danny looked at Andy. "You go and do that, bro. Sam and I will see if we can help Tucker with his… uh… 'image problem'."
"Good luck with that," Andy remarked before he ran to where Takuya ran off to.
"Why do I suddenly feel like this is going to be a long night?" Sam frowned.
"Best take heed of your inner warning, Sam," Salamon noted.
Sam sighed. "I probably should…"
Andy found Takuya near the carnival's rollercoaster ride. There was already a long line for it, as rollercoasters often had. Takuya was grumbling to himself.
"Stupid clowns…"
"Uh… Takuya?" Andy spoke up.
Takuya looked up. "Huh? Oh, hey Andy." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about running off like that…"
"Are you afraid of clowns?" The younger boy asked.
"Not… really afraid of them…" Takuya said. "I just… find them… really creepy…"
"Why? They look silly to me," Dorimon questioned.
"It's not that uncommon for people to be afraid of clowns actually," Andy remarked. "Clowns are supposed to be seen as these funny entertainers, but they also have something about them that seems off. You never know what they could be thinking, they're always smiling, and sometimes, in movies anyways, they can lead children away from their parents, and those kids are never seen again."
Takuya shivered at that last comment. "Yeah… And the way they laugh can be unnerving to say the least…"
"Are you afraid of clowns too, Andy?" Dorimon asked.
"No, not really," Andy shook his head. "Although if I do see a killer clown, I might have to reconsider that."
Takuya looked at Andy. "Pray you don't. I know what I would do if I met a killer clown."
"Wait, didn't you ever face with Piedmon?" Dorimon asked.
"What?" Takuya frowned.
"Oh… uh… nevermind!" Dorimon quickly said, chuckling sheepishly.
"Uh… Okay…" Takuya brushed it off., deciding it was best to not ask who this Piedmon Digimon was.
"Well… we're here, so, you want to get on the rollercoaster?" Andy asked.
Takuya blinked. "I thought you hated rollercoasters."
"I do." Andy nodded.
"So… why do you want to ride this one then?" Takuya asked.
"Well, there might come a time I may have to ride on Dorugamon in a quick, loop-de-loop manner. I need to get used to a rollercoaster before such a time comes. Besides, if I can survive a rollercoaster, I can survive whatever ghosts or Digimon might throw at me," Andy stated.
Takuya shrugged. "Sure. I think it would be fun to get away from the 'you-know-what' too."
Dorimon looked at the rollercoaster, seeing how fast the cart was going, and how loud the people were screaming. "Uhhh… you sure it's not some kind of torture ride?"
"No, in fact I'm about 90% sure it's meant for torture," Andy replied. "So, what better way to survive it than to get on?"
Takuya looked at Dorimon. "Some humans get a kick out of riding these things, but I'm not sure how they can handle it."
The boys stood in line for the rollercoaster.
"Look at this way, Dorimon, once we survive the death coaster, I'll get you a really nice treat as a reward," Andy promised. "There's all sorts of sweets here you haven't tried yet that I'm sure you'll love~"
Dorimon grinned. "I want a really big treat!"
While the boys stood in line, Jazz and Lopmon were admiring the clown picture, telling the painter, who seemed like a depressed clown, that his painting really speaks to her. It did cheer up the clown a little at least. Then Jazz went to get some cotton candy for Lopmon to try out.
Meanwhile, Tucker, Sam, and Danny were looking for a ride to try out. Though Tucker was more focused on how to change his image.
"I want Niki to not regret the chance she gave me," Tucker mumbled. "So… maybe I could be the smooth guy, no, the romantic guy. Charismatic guy?"
"Maybe you could be known as the guy who holds a stuffed rabbit everywhere," Sam joked.
Tucker then walked under a ladder. "No, that's not the image I want. I want something that will speak to the girls."
But Tucker didn't get the chance to get far before he smacked into Calvin's fist. Kwan and Calvin were smiling at this revelation. "Hey, he walked under a ladder, and right into your fist!" Kwan noted with a smile at the irony.
"Hey, yeah!" Calvin sneered. "Maybe we should call him 'Bad Luck Tuck'!" The two jocks then smacked their hands into their fists as they looked at poor Tucker.
"What? No! I'm not bad luck!" Tucker countered as he backed up a bit.
Danny frowned, seeing that Tucker had indeed walked under a ladder. Wait, who put a ladder there?
"Guys, really? Don't you have better things to do than to pick on a few wimps?" Dash asked, walking over to Calvin and Kwan.
Tucker was backing up to a truck that was behind him.
Calvin looked at the other jock, completely ignoring Tucker now thanks to Dash's intervention. "Says the one who doesn't pick on the nerds much anymore."
Dash didn't care what Calvin said. "That's because I have other things to worry about than picking on the nerds. I've been getting better grades recently because I actually put my time to being practical and actually studying. I see you're barely scraping by because you're too busy pushing nerds into lockers, or giving them swirlies in the bathroom!"
Calvin and Dash got right up to each other's faces while Kwan was awkwardly stepping back, unsure of what to do.
"You've gotten soft, Dash, can we even trust you to be our football captain anymore?" Calvin hissed.
"I haven't let our team down yet, have I? In fact, I'd say I've been improving since I'm actually able to use my brain for once and plan out proper strategies before a big game," Dash argued. "Can you do that?"
Danny blinked. "Okay… this is officially getting weird…" He whispered to Sam and Salamon.
"No kidding? And we're used to weird stuff. Are we sure that Digital Portal didn't send us to some kind of parallel universe?" Sam whispered back, looking just as shocked.
Salamon looked up at Sam. "No, that portal took us back to your world."
Tucker was about to relax since the attention was off of him, but the truck he was leaning against suddenly seemed to have disappeared. Blinking, Tucker turned to see what happened to the truck, and his eyes went wide with horror when he saw it was rolling down the hill.
"Uh… did somebody forget to put the breaks on that truck?" Terriermon asked.
"No… I don't think so…" Tucker moaned as he smacked his own face with his hand.
Meanwhile, Andy, holding onto Dorimon, and Takuya just got on the cart of the rollercoaster. Andy closed his eyes for a moment, trying to brace himself. However, when he opened his eyes again, he suddenly felt something shaking. He was somehow already at a high point on the rollercoaster. The tracks broke off in front of the cart they were riding on. Andy's eyes went wide as the cart began to fall with the people still on it. He had no time to digivolve Dorimon, they were falling too fast. Likewise, Takuya didn't have time to spirit evolve either. Andy could only stare numbly as they were approaching their death on the ground.
As soon as the coaster crashed, Takuya hit Andy's back to get him to snap out of it.
"Andy, stop staring! You okay?" Takuya asked.
Andy blinked, realizing whatever he just witnessed wasn't real. But he had a terrible feeling that this rollercoaster was going to lead them to death. "We have to leave, now!"
Suddenly the bars came down on them, and the coaster started moving.
Takuya looked at Andy, who looked nervous. "Um… this might be a bad time to ask, but… did you have some kind of… dream vision thing?"
Dorimon perked up. "Did you?"
Andy shivered as the coaster was starting to move up on the tracks. "... We're all going to die…"
Takuya felt the blood rush from his face at hearing that. "Um… Just calm down Andy. I'm sure it's just your dislike of rollercoasters that is making you say that." However, his hand was in his pocket on his D-Tector, just in case.
As the coaster was getting higher, Dorimon could feel Andy hyperventilating a little. "Andy, maybe I should digivolve and get you off of this thing…"
Before Andy could answer, the coaster was already at the top of the tracks, and it went down at a fast pace. It would be too hard to speak while the coaster was moving so fast, not to mention all the screaming the other people were doing. Some had their hands raised in the air.
Takuya gripped his D-Tector with one hand in his pocket while he reached for Andy's hand with his other hand and gripped his cousin's hand.
"HEY! IS THAT A TRUCK DOWN THERE!?" They heard someone shouting in surprise.
"WHO'S THE IDIOT DRIVING THAT TRUCK!?"
"I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT'S ABOUT TO CRASH INTO THE RAILS!"
Andy turned his head, seeing a truck was indeed moving towards the rollercoaster tracks. His eyes went wide just as it smashed into the coaster, causing the tremble he felt in his vision earlier. And, just like in his vision, the track ahead of them broke into two, meaning the cart had nowhere safe to go. The cart was also moving too fast for emergency brakes to stop it.
As for Takuya, he felt his pulse quicken as he saw that the tracks broke. It was then he realized that Andy's visions were also accurate, as the broken tracks meant that the cart would not stop and they would go flying off the tracks towards their deaths. His face was scarily pale now, and he knew there was no way he could Spirit Evolve to BurningGreymon to escape.
Dorimon was panicking as well, seeing the tracks were broken. He knew he could possibly survive the jumping of the tracks or get reborn as a Digi-Egg, but the humans would not be so lucky. And even if he could digivolve, it was unlikely he could save all the humans.
Time seemed to slow down for Andy. Is this it? Is this how we die? Not in battle, but by rollercoaster? No… surely there's a way to change this fate. Could Danny stop this? Could he save us? Would he be able to?
A flashback of Andy's life flashed through his head, then he shut his eyes and let out a scream. "DANNY!"
The cart went flying off the track and into the air.
Just then, as the cart flew through the air, a familiar ghostly form flew up and managed to catch one of the kids, a big fat kid. The fat kid grabbed onto another two kids, just as Takuya and Andy then grabbed onto the fat kid's legs, with Takuya holding onto Dorimon with his free hand.
"Oh my gosh!" Andy yelped, just realizing they weren't currently falling to their doom.
"Wah!" One kid that Danny didn't catch was falling .
"Dorimon!" Andy yelled.
"Got it! Throw me, Takuya!" Dorimon called.
Takuya looked at Dorimon before nodding. He threw Dorimon as fast as he could. "Fire one!"
Dorimon hit the kid with his nose, changing the kid's landing that would have been a painful concrete ground, to a large ball pin. The kid and Dorimon fell into the ball pin safely. The kid came out, smiling, while Dorimon swam out of the ball pit, climbing out on the edge and sighed in relief.
Takuya saw what Dorimon did and sighed with relief as well. "That worked…"
Danny sighed in relief himself. "I think that's enough excitement for one-"
The ghost boy was interrupted by a familiar scream. "Oh-no… Jazz!"
Takuya and Andy looked at who screamed, seeing their older cousin/sister was standing right in front of the cart that was about to crash directly into her and Lopmon. Lopmon was holding onto a cotton candy, which he was enjoying until he saw the cart coming at them. Lopmon dropped the cotton candy, looking in shock horror. He had no time to react, but he was about to jump at the cart in an attempt to try to shield Jazz as much as he could with his small body. However, before Lopmon could jump, there was a sound of a motorcycle, before something blurred past Jazz and Lopmon, grabbing them seconds before the cart crashed into the fence that was behind Jazz.
Takuya had felt his heart in his throat at seeing Jazz in danger, but then the blur had come and then the cart crashed into the fence. Looking down, the goggle-wearing boy could see Jazz's savior, and Jazz on his motorcycle, looking shook up, and her hair was a mess, but no worse for the wear.
Danny, seeing this, was relieved too, but both he and Andy couldn't help but get a bad feeling about the guy who just saved her. In fact, Danny realized this 'man' was the ghost he tried to talk to the other night. Danny flew down to put the kids down somewhere safe, as well as his cousin and brother.
Meanwhile, Jazz was looking around, gripping onto the man's shoulder who just saved her life, while her other hand was wrapped tightly around Lopmon. "What just…? Did you…?"
The man smiled at her, making Jazz smile back at him. He seemed nice enough, and he had saved her from being crushed to death after all.
Lopmon was looking at the man. There was something off about the man, but he couldn't deny the gratitude he felt right now for the man who just saved not only his life, but his partner's life as well.
Before Jazz could ask the man's name, Danny, who had turned back to human, along with Takuya came running over to them. Though Andy wasn't with them. Andy had went back to the ball pit to get Dorimon.
"Jazz! Are you okay?!" Takuya and Danny exclaimed at the same time.
"I'm fine." Jazz smiled. "Thanks to…"
Jazz looked back at the man, silently asking his name.
"Johnny. The name is Johnny." The man, Johnny, introduced himself to Jazz.
Jazz gave a smile at that. "That sounds like a nice name."
Lopmon wanted to say something, but he had to remain silent due to his promise to act like a stuffed toy in public.
Johnny smiled at Jazz before he looked at Danny and Takuya. "Shouldn't you two be somewhere else?"
"No. Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" Danny countered. He didn't like the way this ghost was getting close to his sister, not only that, but the man who called himself 'Johnny' was somehow hiding his aura and his ghostly presence. If Danny hadn't been looking for it, he wouldn't have been able to tell Johnny was a ghost.
"Jazz is our family, of course we would be here after she nearly got ran over by a freaking rollercoaster," Takuya added.
"Hey, guys, don't be rude. He did just save my life after all," Jazz softly lectured her brother and cousin, though she also meant Johnny saved her and Lopmon's life, she couldn't act like Lopmon was alive around Johnny.
Jazz then looked at Johnny and shook his hand with her free hand. "Hi, I'm Jasmine, or Jazz as other people call me." She then looked at herself in the mirror on Johnny's motorcycle. "Ugh… Look at me! I look like I was almost run over by a rollercoaster!"
"We- I mean excuse me, I mean I think you look perfect, Kitten." Johnny smiled before he reached into his coat. "But it is a cold night, so here, why don't you put this on?"
Johnny held out what appeared to be a purple scarf, though Danny and Takuya could've sworn they saw it glow green for a split second.
Jazz took the scarf, as it was a bit chilly out. "Thank you, Johnny. But my name isn't Kitten."
"Don't call her Kitten," Danny huffed.
Lopmon frowned a little as he looked at the scarf before Jazz put it around her neck. For a split second, Jazz's eyes glowed green, but it was so fast that nobody noticed, except for Lopmon, who raised an eyebrow at that. Jazz then glared at Danny before she elbowed him on the side a little too harshly. Danny grunted before rubbing his side, frowning at his sister.
"But you can call me that if you want." Jazz said to Johnny.
Takuya, for some reason, felt this instinct coming up on him and he growled a bit, clenching his fists. Who does this guy think he is, coming up and trying to act all cozy with Jazz?!
"Ride home, Kitten?" Johnny grinned.
There's no way Jazz would ever ride home with a strange- Danny began thinking to himself before Jazz suddenly ran over to Johnny and got onto the back of the motorcycle. "What the- Jazz!"
Takuya also stared. "What… Jazz, wait!"
Jazz didn't hear the two as she put on a helmet before Johnny drove off with Jazz and Lopmon, leaving behind smoke at the two boys.
Meanwhile, Andy just fished up Dorimon from the ball pit and was currently walking with the little Digimon under his arm. "I swear… if it weren't for the fact you had fur, I would have never found you in that ball pit… Why did you go back into it?"
"It was fun…" Dorimon pouted.
"You could've gotten stomped on!" Andy scolded.
"Um… excuse me…" The kid who Dorimon saved earlier spoke up from behind Andy. "That stuffed animal is yours, right…? Thanks for… uh… saving me."
Andy looked back at the kid, before shaking his head. "I'm just glad you're okay. You better get back to your parents before anything else happens, alright?"
The kid nodded before running off to his worried parents.
Dorimon smiled at Andy. "Can we get a treat now? You did promise a big treat if we survived, and we did."
Andy groaned. "How could you think of food when we almost died back there?"
"Well… we almost die on a daily basis, don't we?" Dorimon questioned innocently.
Andy let out a sigh, he decided it wasn't worth explaining the difference between being close to death in a battle to being close to death while being helpless on a freaking rollercoaster. "Fine. But we better make it quick, they're likely going to shut down the carnival after that incident with the rollercoaster."
Dorimon was both happy at getting a treat and disappointed at the carnival being shut down. "Okay, I guess."
As Andy was walking, he couldn't help but wonder to himself. I'm sure of it… we would've died or at least been seriously injured back there if Danny hadn't come. But why didn't I see Danny in the vision? How did he know to come save us before it was too late? Was it because he noticed I was in danger due to our link? … That link needs some studying…
"Bad Luck Tuck! Bad Luck Tuck!" Andy heard some jocks chanting.
"Um… Do I want to know why those students are taunting Tucker like that?" Dorimon asked.
Tucker was groaning, hiding his face with his berrett. Terriermon gave Tucker a concerned frown while Sam and Salamon gave Tucker a look of sympathy.
"Well… at least they're not calling you Techno Geek anymore," Sam said, hoping to try to cheer up the boy a little bit, it didn't work.
Tucker groaned. "I know what you're trying to say, Sam, but please… just drop the label thing for now…"
Andy frowned as he walked over to Tucker and Sam. "Hey… let's pick up some snacks to help cheer you up. Plus, I have a hungry 'stuffed animal'."
Tucker looked up. "Good idea… Let's get away from these jocks… And my new label…" He stood up, holding Terriermon and walking off with a sullen look on his face.
Dash frowned as well, he was the only jock among the group who wasn't chanting Tucker's new label. Then he got an idea. "Hey guys, Bad Luck Tuck may not be the best label for him. He's holding a rabbit, their feet are known to be good luck. Perhaps we should call him Rabbit Foot?"
Calvin looked at Dash. "You know, that sounds like a better nickname anyway, since he mostly runs from us! Then again, most nerds don't since we can catch them, but it is still fitting."
"I don't know, Bad Luck Tuck has a better ring to it," Another jock muttered.
Andy gave Dash an appreciated look, Rabbit Foot did sound better than calling one of his best friends 'bad luck'. Though the three of them walked away from the jocks to get some food before the carnival would shut down.
Sam looked at Andy. "Are you okay? What happened? Danny just took off for something."
"Let's just say you came very close to having an Andy Phantom, who would've been all ghost instead of half," Andy answered.
Sam paled at the implications of that statement. "Oh… Are you alright?"
"I'll tell you and Tucker about it while we get some food," Andy sighed tiredly.
Danny and Takuya decided to go home early while Andy, Tucker, and Sam decided to get some food at the carnival before the cops would come to shut it down for the crashed rollercoaster, and having 'unsafe equipment'. While Takuya knew that Andy was more lax about what almost happened with Jazz, since he and Danny went to check on her after she almost got run over by a rollercoaster, he wished Andy would've come with them. Dorimon would've been fine on his own.
"Are you okay, Takuya? I can't help but notice you seem a little more… agitated than usual," Danny noted as they were walking home.
Takuya sighed. "It's just that man who saved her. Something about him sets me off, you know? I mean, I can't help but get this feeling he is hiding something…"
Danny frowned. "Well, he was that ghost man I saw the other night…"
Takuya's eyes went wide when he heard that.
"What?!" Takuya was worried now. "And Jazz is getting all chummy with him?!" He gritted his teeth in frustration. "That man's a ghost… and he is all chummy with Jazz…? What is he up to?"
Danny wondered if Takuya's Spirits might be acting up, he seemed a little more feral as he hissed. "I don't know, but I'm sure Jazz is fine. She has Lopmon with her after all."
Takuya took in a deep breath and let it out, calming down as soon as he did so. "Yeah… You're right. I shouldn't be so worried." However, he was worried, despite what he said.
The two of them came to Fenton Works, and both of their eyes went wide when they saw the familiar motorcycle parked outside of their house.
Takuya's eyes narrowed as he saw the motorcycle. "Oh great…"
Danny frowned. "That Johnny guy is here? This can't be good…"
Meanwhile, inside the house, Jazz was sitting on the couch in the living room right next to Johnny. Lopmon was currently on Jazz's lap.
"You do have a last name, don't you?" Jazz asked.
"Yes, yes, I do." Johnny replied. "Although, everyone calls me Johnny 13. You see, I have a bit of a reputation for being… unlucky."
"Well, you were pretty lucky for me tonight." Jazz smiled.
"Heh, yeah…" Johnny chuckled before he looked at Lopmon. "So… is that a stuffed animal you have there?"
Jazz looked down at Lopmon, who was still pretending to be a stuffed toy. "Yeah, it is." She confirmed. "I've had it for a while now."
"I see…" Johnny noticed the D-Arc sticking out of Jazz's pocket and grinned. "Here, why don't you try this on? I think it would look nice on you."
Johnny gave Jazz a nice looking red jacket. Lopmon noticed it glowed green for a second, but he did nothing to stop Jazz from putting it on.
Jazz put on the jacket, only for her eyes to glow green for a second again before they returned to normal. Lopmon gave a smile at Jazz and Johnny.
"You should kiss him," Lopmon whispered to Jazz.
Jazz grinned at Lopmon before she and Johnny leaned in to kiss. However, before they could, there was a door slam that stopped them. In came Takuya and Danny, both looking mad, but in Takuya's case, he was glaring at Lopmon as well for some reason.
Without saying anything, both Danny and Takuya walked into the kitchen.
Johnny frowned, realizing those two boys were going to be a problem. "Hey, do you have any place where we could be alone? Like maybe a basement or something?"
Jazz smiled. "Actually, there is a place. C'mon." She grabbed Johnny's hand and stood up, taking him down to the lab.
Lopmon hopped onto Jazz's head, not seeming to care anymore if Johnny knew he was alive. Johnny could only grin, it was the first time he actually saw a real Digimon, but he was, ironically, lucky that this girl he chose had one as a partner.
From behind the wall, Takuya frowned. "C'mon. Something tells me this needs to be nipped in the bud." He said to Danny.
"I agree, but what's with Lopmon? Why isn't he trying to stop this?" Danny wondered as he and Takuya started heading upstairs where Jack and Maddie likely were.
I'm wondering that myself… Takuya thought. Is it possible Lopmon got corrupted again? Or was he pretending to be good the whole time? I don't want to think of that possibility, but I can't rule it out either…
Finally, Takuya decided to reply to Danny. "I'm not sure myself…"
In the lab of Fenton Works, Jazz showed Johnny around. Lopmon whispered to Jazz to show him the Ghost Portal. Jazz smiled as she went over to the control panel that was hooked up to the Ghost Portal. Jazz put her thumb on the fingerprint scanner, it only took a second for the doors to the Ghost Portal to open up. Thankfully, it would appear all the ghosts that were waiting in line before were gone, as no ghost came out of the Ghost Portal when Jazz opened it.
"Cool…" Johnny said with a grin as he looked at the portal. This will do nicely...
"No, it's not." Jazz said sheepishly. "But at least my brother and cousin can't bother us down here."
"By the way, would you mind introducing me to your little rabbit friend?" Johnny asked, pointing at Lopmon who was still on Jazz's head.
Jazz looked at Johnny. "Sure. This is Lopmon, my partner."
Lopmon hopped down from Jazz's head. "It's nice to meet you. I'm glad Jazz was able to find someone like you."
Lopmon twirled around a bit, showing off his ears. "I mean as her partner it's my duty to protect her, but it's nice to know she could count on someone like you to keep her safe as well."
Johnny grinned again. I even got the Digimon under Kitty's control! This day couldn't get any better!
Johnny looked at Jazz's D-Arc, seeing the screen was glowing green.
"Well then, how about we pick up where we left off, Kitten?~" Johnny smiled.
But before they could get back to kissing, a deep booming voice echoed from upstairs. "JASMINE FENTON!"
Jack Fenton came down the stairs to the lab, looking pissed off. "You know you're not allowed to bring unauthorized personnel down here!"
Standing at the bottom of the stairs were Takuya and Danny. Danny was standing against the wall with a smirk, arms folded across his chest. As for Takuya, he was glaring at Johnny and Lopmon, but each one of them for a different reason.
"You know better!" Maddie scolded.
"You were about to let some strange punk activate the Fenton Portal!?" Both Jack and Danny said at the same time, which caused the two of them to look at each other.
"Hey, lay off! We weren't doing nothing, pops!" Johnny scoffed.
"His name isn't pops!" Takuya and Maddie exclaimed at the same time, with both of them looking at each other.
"Yeah, whatever, I was just about to leave. This place is too cramped for my style anyways," Johnny grumbled as he started walking past the Fentons and Takuya and headed upstairs.
"I'll walk you out, Johnny," Jazz called over him as she picked up Lopmon before she pointed at Danny and Takuya. "And could you two be anymore like our parents?"
Danny and Takuya winced just as Jazz ran up the stairs after Johnny.
The foursome peered after Jazz and Johnny. "I am not like him/her!" The four exclaimed at the same time, but Danny broke the awkward streak.
"Wow, this is awkward…" Danny muttered.
Just as Johnny and Jazz got into the living room, they stopped when someone else just walked through the door while holding another 'stuffed animal' in his arms.
"What the!? How did you get back up here so fast!?" Johnny yelped, seeing 'Danny' closing the door behind him.
"Wah?" 'Danny' looked at them in surprise himself. "Who are you?"
"Don't play dumb with me, kid! I just saw you downstairs!" Johnny hissed.
"I've… literally never seen you before in my life," 'Danny' remarked.
"Hey! Just because you changed your clothes doesn't mean you're a different person, punk!" Johnny snapped.
Jazz frowned a little. "Um… actually Johnny-"
"Hey! Don't you go yelling at my brother!" Danny snapped, having come upstairs and seeing Johnny yelling at his younger brother.
Johnny looked surprised. "Your brother?" Looking at the boy before him, the one with the 'stuffed animal' he could now see some differences, namely the eye color. This boy's eyes were green, whereas the other boy's eyes were blue, there was also the fact this boy in front of him didn't have the same hidden ghostly aura as the other one did. "Huh… so he is."
"May I ask why you're in our house?" Andy questioned. "And who are you?"
"I'm the one who saved your sister from being killed by a runaway rollercoaster." Johnny said to Andy.
"Oh yeah, that was you?" Andy noted.
"Andy, this man was just leaving," Takuya spoke up, coming up the stairs as well. "Let him leave."
Andy frowned a little, noticing the edge in his cousin's voice. "Oh… uh, alright."
Andy stepped away from the door.
Johnny walked past Andy, with Jazz right on his heels.
Dorimon frowned at seeing the new clothes on Jazz. "Andy, do you see the clothing on Jazz?" He whispered to his partner.
"Yeah… what about those?" Andy asked.
"They're filled with a ghost's ecto-signature…" Dorimon whispered.
Andy frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means that as long as Jazz is wearing those clothes, then whoever that ecto-signature belongs to, will influence her mind," Dorimon informed.
It was 12 that night, Andy was scrambling around for something on the computer. Danny yawned as he looked at his brother.
"Bro, it's midnight, why are you still awake?" Danny asked. "We have school tomorrow."
"Just… looking for certain information," Andy said. "Go back to sleep, Danny."
Danny yawned again. "I can't seem to go back to sleep now that I woke up. What're you looking for?"
"Information on how ghost possession works," Andy replied.
Danny blinked, feeling more awake when Andy said that. "What? Why are you looking up information about that? … Look, if this was about that time I overshadowed you when we were fighting Technus, I-"
"No, don't apologize for that, Danny. I wanted you to do that," Andy sighed. "And this is for something else entirely."
"What would it be for?" Danny asked as he stood up and walked over to Andy's computer. "Does it have to do with why Jazz was acting so strangely?"
"Yeah… Dorimon said that he felt an ecto-signature on the scarf and jacket she was wearing," Andy informed. "I'm guessing that man she was with is actually a ghost?"
Danny's eyes went wide at hearing that. "Y-yeah… That's… that would be it. I saw that man the other night, and he definitely had a ghostly aura around him. But this time it seems it was hidden."
"I see… that's why I didn't notice anything ghostly about him…" Andy noted. "I guess that means ghosts can hide their ghostly aura and appearance. Spectra and Bertrand did that too actually…"
Danny frowned. "So what does Jazz wearing those clothes have to do with ghost possessions?"
"Hmm…" Andy hesitated for a moment. "Well, I only have theories from what I know about ghosts right now, so they may not be all accurate. But from what I could tell… there is actually a difference between overshadowing and possessing someone."
Danny blinked. "There is? I didn't know that."
"The two are very similar, but they're not exactly the same," Andy remarked before he picked up his notepad he had on the table beside him. "When a ghost overshadows a person, they temporarily take control of their body, usually putting their host's consciousness to sleep while they do so, so the host would have no recollection to what happened. There are some rare cases where the host is strong enough to fight back, however, like when Dad fought back against Vlad's overshadowing. But basically, overshadowing just means a temporary meat puppet."
Danny nodded before Andy continued. "However, possession is… more permanent. If a ghost reforms around a person, changing that person's body into the ghost's body, then they have been possessed. Or if a ghost fuses with their host while overshadowing them, that too is a form of possession. What's happening with Jazz right now, from what I could see, is that those clothes she's wearing are likely for another ghost to reform on her. If Johnny is a ghost, he might have a ghost girlfriend, or a lost sister, or someone he cherishes that he left behind in the Ghost Zone, and they can't come out for whatever reason. So he's using Jazz to get her back."
Danny felt this rush of anger at Johnny now. "That's… I can't believe that guy would do something like that!" He then had a thought. Wait… could Takuya be sensing something off with Jazz? Is that why his Spirits are acting up?
"Again, bro, I don't know if this is what's happening, it's just a hunch," Andy sighed.
Danny then looked at Andy. "Hey, um… bro? I think you should know this, since it concerns Takuya." He steeled himself for what he was about to say. "Have you noticed how… aggressive he was today around Johnny?"
"Not really, since I only saw Johnny for like a few minutes," Andy answered. "Though I guess he did seem… on edge when he told me to let Johnny leave."
Danny nodded. "That's what I mean. I think his Spirits might be acting up around Johnny, but I'm not sure."
"Hmm… that makes sense, he likely subconsciously senses something is wrong with Jazz, and Johnny is likely the cause of it," Andy noted. "Dorimon sensed it as well, that was the only reason why I was even aware of the ecto-signature on those clothes Johnny gave her. But… that doesn't explain why Lopmon isn't all that… concerned…"
Andy then paled. "Oh… oh no… I think I know why Lopmon isn't concerned."
Danny looked at Andy. "What? Why? Why is Lopmon not concerned?"
"Because Lopmon is Jazz's partner," Andy said.
Danny blinked. "Uh… I… wasn't expecting that kind of answer."
"Danny… Do you remember what happened to Dorimon when Tucker overshadowed me when he was turning into a ghost?" Andy asked.
Danny nodded. "Yeah. I do. He turned into some kind of evil-looking Digimon. Why?"
"He only turned out that way because of what was happening to me," Andy explained. "Digimon partners are linked to their human partners. If something happens to the human partner, it's likely going to affect the Digimon partner as well."
Danny frowned. "But remember with Ember and her power? Lopmon didn't appear to be affected by Ember's music." He pointed out.
"Because what was happening there was external," Andy replied. "What's happening to Jazz right now, and to me when Tucker overshadowed me, was happening from the inside of us. Which messed with our partners as well."
Danny then felt his face grow pale. "Oh… Oh no… No, that can't be! That… that's not good! Imagine what Takuya would think if Lopmon continues to be influenced by the ghostly clothes!"
"We can't worry about what Takuya will think right now," Andy sighed, tapping on his table. "We need to find a way to remove those clothes from Jazz."
Danny nodded as he seemed to calm down. "Yeah… Yeah, you're right. That should be our priority. Maybe I could go ghost and remove those clothes from her while she's sleeping?"
"You could try," Andy said. "That might be our best bet actually."
Danny then frowned as a thought crossed his mind. "But what about Lopmon? If he is affected by the ghostly clothes as well, he may try to attack me and prevent me from removing them."
Andy frowned as he thought of something else as well. "We also don't even know if it's safe to remove them directly. For all we know, it might hurt us if we touch it, and maybe only Jazz or Johnny can remove those clothes."
Danny groaned, rubbing his head. "What should we do?"
"Calm down, bro," Andy sighed. "For now, I think our best bet is to keep an eye on Jazz. If Johnny tries to put anything else on her, we need to stop him."
Danny sighed as he considered Andy's words. "That… sounds like the best chance we have for now. It shouldn't be too hard, but we can't assume it will be so easy."
"Yeah, I know…" Andy frowned before he stood up. "I guess that's enough research for now. We should get some sleep."
Danny sighed again. "Okay… I'll try to get back to sleep, but… I don't know if I will be able to now."
"Dorimon," Andy said, tapping his sleeping partner on the table.
Yeah…?" Dorimon yawned.
"I think Danny may need your kisses to help him sleep tonight," Andy stated.
Dorimon grinned. "I want to help Danny sleep!"
Danny looked at the little Digimon. "Uh… no… No, that's okay! I will get to sleep on my own, thank you!"
Andy smirked as he watched his brother quickly getting into bed. Works every time~
The next day at school, things were relatively normal. Though Tucker was now sitting next to Niki more, both of them appeared to be trading notes with each other. When it came for lunch, Tucker and Niki were walking together with their lunch trays.
"Would you guys mind if I sat with Niki today?" Tucker asked Danny, Andy, Sam, and Takuya.
"I promise I'll only borrow him for today," Niki chuckled.
Danny blinked. "Sure?"
Sam smiled. "Enjoy yourself, Tucker."
As Tucker and Niki walked away, Danny looked at Sam. "Tucker has a date?"
Sam smiled again. "Yep."
"Since when?" Danny questioned.
"Since Saturday night, I believe," Salamon said from Sam's spider backpack.
Takuya looked surprised. "I thought being a Techno Geek would have worked against him for that."
"He's known as Rabbit Foot now," Andy chuckled.
"Huh?" Takuya was confused.
"You can thank Dash for that one," Andy remarked.
"Why is Dash being so… so nice? I thought he would've gone for the Bad Luck Tuck label," Sam wondered.
Takuya sweatdropped. I'm like 75% sure Andy would've made Dash's next training a living hell if he did...
Danny shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm not complaining about the change in Dash's behavior. If anything, it's been better for me lately, as I'm not shoved into lockers as much. And if I am, Dash seems to find me and let me out."
"Which is ironic since he used to be the worst of your bullies," Sam noted.
"That might be why he's been extra nice to Danny," Andy said.
"He was your worst bully too," Sam reminded.
Danny looked at his brother. "She has a point, bro. But, I guess we can chalk it up to Dash maturing more."
The group of four found an empty table and sat down, putting their trays down. The trays were made of metal, so Andy made sure to have extra food for Dorimon so they wouldn't be another tray short after lunch.
Danny looked down at Dorimon. "I think you mentioned Dorimon ate a food tray from school once?"
"Yeah," Andy sighed. "That's why I always make sure to pack extra food for him. I can't have him eating all of the food trays."
"Hey, I have some self control. I was just a baby back then," Dorimon pouted.
Takuya chuckled. "And yet you try to eat anything metal in the lab, namely the scrap metal."
"Well nobody's using it, and it's a good way to clean up," Dorimon said proudly.
Takuya chuckled again. "Waste no, want not~"
Danny laughed at that.
Sam took Salamon out of her backpack since nobody was sitting near them. "Here, Salamon, I made sure to get some food for you too."
"Thank you for your kindness, Sam." Salamon smiled before she tasted a piece of candy Sam put on the plate.
Salamon's eyes sparkled when she tasted the candy. "That's good! It's so sweet, and bursts into flavor when I chew it!"
Sam laughed at the reaction. "That's the point of a Starburst! It bursts into flavor when chewed and eaten."
"I remember the first time I tasted a Starburst…" Dorimon smiled dreamily.
"You ate the entire pack," Andy grumbled as he took out his fork.
Dorimon giggled. "I was a baby back then~"
"It was last week!" Andy pointed out.
"Yeah, and I was currently in this form, which is technically a baby~" Dorimon retorted.
Takuya tried to keep in his laughter, but he couldn't for long, and he lost control of his laughter.
Sam also laughed, but not as hard as Takuya. Salamon was enjoying more Starbursts, wanting to taste more of it. Danny rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but laugh as well.
Unfortunately, their laughter couldn't last very long. Andy was about to dig into his lunch when suddenly, something smacked his arm with the fork up high, which caused him to lose his grip on his fork, which sent the fork flying right into a big wasp's nest that just so happened to be hanging on the tree above Andy. As soon as they heard buzzing, they all paled.
Andy made a dive to Danny, tackling him to the ground. "Go intangible! Go intangible!"
Sam grabbed Salamon, Dorimon jumped off the table, and Takuya scrambled away. All three of them made a beeline to Danny, grabbing him too.
Danny turned all of them intangible, making the wasps miss them and go through their intangible forms. Because the wasps were going berserk, the other students were too busy running for their lives to notice four kids and their two stuffed animals were currently see-thru.
After the wasps chased off the other students, they went back to their nest, just as Danny and the others with him crept away, still intangible. Once they were away from the wasps nest, Danny released his intangibility.
"Wow… that was close…" Danny muttered, looking back at the wasps nest that still had the fork lodged in it. "I wonder what made that fork flip into that wasps nest."
"Talk about bad luck…" Takuya frowned.
"Something hit my arm," Andy said. "I don't think it was bad luck, I think it was sabotage or a really bad prank. And someone needs to remove that wasp nest."
"Preferably relocate them," Sam added.
Danny nodded. "We could ask Mr. Lancer to ask someone to remove that nest, if not relocate it."
By the time school let out for the day, Andy noticed that most of the students had wasp stings all over their faces. He shrunk a little as they were walking by these poor students who couldn't get away from the wasps.
Really hope nobody knew that fork was mine… otherwise I'm going to be labelled the Wasp Boy or something… Andy frowned to himself.
Thankfully, no one seemed to know it had been his fork, so the students just seemed to ignore him, which was a blessing to Andy. Andy gave a small sigh of relief. However, there was another student who got caught up in the stinging, and it was Tucker.
"Uh… I'll see you tomorrow, Niki… hopefully we can get rid of these stings by then," Tucker said to the girl beside him, who was also covered with wasp stings.
Niki sighed. "I hope so. That was so not fun…"
Tucker hurried after Danny and the others. Andy groaned, looking down, knowing he caused poor Tucker's face to be like that.
As they were walking, Danny's ghost sense went off. Andy and Takuya quickly took notice of the blue mist coming out of Danny's mouth.
"Uh oh…" Danny said as he looked around.
Takuya tensed up as he felt the hot flash of his Spirits reacting.
"There's a ghost near here," Salamon spoke up.
"I feel it too." Dorimon frowned.
"Over there!" Terriermon lifted up his ears.
Then they heard a motorcycle engine. They looked in the direction Terriermon pointed at, and saw Johnny on his motorcycle passing them by, with two extra passengers with him.
Takuya frowned at seeing Johnny going by with Jazz and Lopmon.
As for Danny, he groaned at the sight. "Darn it, Jazz…"
"What should we do?" Tucker asked.
"You need to get home and take care of those wasp stings," Sam sighed. "And as much as I hate to say it, but we wouldn't be able to go after Jazz."
"You guys go on home, I'll make sure Jazz and Lopmon are okay," Danny said quickly before he ran off.
Takuya frowned, he knew that Danny would let Phantom take over so he could fly after Johnny, but he didn't like the idea of Danny going alone.
He looked at Andy. "Andy… do you think…?" Takuya's voice didn't show his plan, but his eyes were asking the question. 'Should I go with Danny?'
"Go on… maybe you might even be able to have a talk with Danny while you're at it," Andy said.
Takuya frowned, but nodded. He then looked at the others. "I… will go and see if I can catch up with Danny. You guys go on ahead." Takuya then turned and ran off where Johnny had driven off down the road.
"Andy, aren't you and Dorugamon going after them?" Sam asked. "I mean Dorugamon can fly."
"We could…" Andy looked at her. "But I get the feeling this is something only for the two of them right now."
Sam frowned. "If you think they can handle it, I won't argue. But Jazz is your sister."
"Sometimes the way you think just doesn't make much sense," Tucker agreed.
Andy sighed. "Maybe. But I believe Jazz is in good hands right now."
"Regardless, I'm also worried about Lopmon. I don't understand why he's letting his partner get close to a ghost," Salamon remarked.
Terriermon frowned to himself, but didn't say anything.
Dorimon blinked as he looked at Andy. Is Andy going to explain what is going on with Jazz and Lopmon?
"Have you guys heard about ghost possession?" Andy asked.
Danny, in ghost form, was flying after Johnny while he was driving them up a hill. Jazz was holding onto Johnny, not noticing Danny at all. Lopmon was clinging onto Jazz's head.
Above them, and above Danny, BurningGreymon was following as well. Thankfully, he was able to keep the foursome in his sights from a higher distance. The Digimon used the clouds as cover to stay out of sight from humans if they tried to look up as well.
Johnny noticed Danny flying over them with the mirror of his motorcycle. Not wanting the ghost boy to interfere, he whispered to his shadow. "Shadow, defend."
The shadow ghost came up from Johnny's shadow and flew up at Danny. Danny flew back, barely avoiding a claw to the face by the shadow ghost. Danny frowned, about to go after Jazz again, but the shadow grabbed his boot and threw him back. Getting frustrated by the shadow, Danny fired a ghost ray at the shadow's stomach. The shadow just smirked as the hole in his stomach reformed easily.
"Gah, suffering spooks, it can regenerate," Danny groaned, before realizing the curse he used. "Wait… 'suffering spooks'? Oh no, I am becoming like my dad! Gaaaaah!"
BurningGreymon heard Danny screaming, and quickly flew down lower from the clouds to get a better look as to what was going on before he saw the shadow ghost eat Danny.
When BurningGreymon saw that, he could only stare in horror for a moment that seemed to stretch into hours. It was the longest second of his life before something inside him seemed to just… snap. There was no reason, he just acted, seeing only red. Without thinking at all, the Beast Warrior of Flame flew in, fire coating his body. He let out a roar before he impacted the shadow ghost in where its stomach would be, forcing it to vomit up Danny. But the fiery Digimon didn't see Danny get vomited up. His mind was more focused on the shadow ghost. BurningGreymon let his instincts guide his attack. He roared again, swiping at the shadow ghost with his claws. The claws created slash marks on the shadow ghost, but it just regenerated.
That didn't stop BurningGreymon though, as he coated his claws in fire and began slashing at the shadow ghost without any mercy. Flaming slash marks were left on the shadow ghost, and BurningGreymon's blue eyes were focused solely on the ghost before him.
Danny just stared in surprise, and a bit of fear, at what he was seeing. He knew BurningGreymon was Takuya, but Takuya wasn't acting like himself, in fact, he was acting more like the beast that he currently was. He was attacking mercilessly at the shadow ghost, like a wild animal.
"BurningGreymon! Please stop!" Danny called out.
But BurningGreymon didn't stop. Instead, he turned his attention to Danny, not realizing it was his cousin in his ghost form. No, all he saw was a ghost, one that had been causing trouble for his family in recent months. He roared again, charging right at Danny, thus allowing the shadow ghost to get away, albeit quite weakened from the beatdown it had been given.
Danny gasped, seeing BurningGreymon was now charging at him. Danny flew away, trying not to get caught up in his rage filled cousin's fire. "BurningGreymon! What are you doing? It's me, Danny! Calm down!"
BurningGreymon seemed to stop for a moment, giving Danny some hope, but it didn't work for long, as in his rage, BurningGreymon came to the conclusion that Phantom was only using Danny to try and get him to drop his guard. He didn't stop his attack, instead flying up and over Danny before coming to a hover in front of him, his blue eyes filled with uncontrolled rage.
Danny was thankful he was so quick and nimble as a ghost, it was his saving grace from his cousin's fire. He managed to dodge most of the flames, though a few did manage to burn his back a little. Danny then stopped when they got too close to the city. BurningGreymon didn't seem to care that there were innocent people nearby, he just saw that Phantom had stopped in front of him and it was the perfect chance to strike him down.
He flew at Danny, hoping to get rid of the ghost once and for all.
Danny, out of self preservation, as well as to protect the innocent people from the fire dragon, put up an ecto-shield as BurningGreymon rammed into it. The shield protected Danny from the brunt of the attack, but the flames were quickly gathering around the shield to burn his very being.
Danny let out a scream that sounded familiar to BurningGreymon. BurningGreymon planned to burn Phantom away in hopes of getting his cousin out of the ghost. But then, something happened that would shock him to his core; Danny called out his real name.
"STOP IT! TAKUYA! STOP!" Danny cried out.
Hearing that cut through the rage like a knife. BurningGreymon's eyes lost the uncontrolled rage as they went wide in shock and realization. Did… Was… Oh… Oh no… No! He… What… am I doing?! The flames cut out, leaving Danny's shield somewhat intact.
Danny dissipated the shield, his body looked a bit burnt. He weakly looked at BurningGreymon with a small smile. "Hey… Takuya… glad you're… back."
Danny then began to fall from the air.
Thinking fast, BurningGreymon flew down as fast as he could and caught Danny. Fractal coding surrounded him as he reverted to his Human Spirit once he had landed on the ground. Now as Agunimon, he looked at his cousin. "Danny!? Danny! Say something!"
Danny coughed a bit. "You… sure do know how to… tackle someone… ever thought about… trying out for football, cuz?"
Agunimon couldn't believe it. He had assumed that Phantom had been a ghost living inside Danny, but now, having heard Phantom, or rather, Danny say something only he could know… That threw that perception out the window. The Warrior of Flame felt bad and guilty, not only for attacking his own cousin, but because Danny was… Here, Agunimon lowered his head, his eyes becoming hidden by his wild blonde hair. Tears ran down his cheeks as he tried to keep himself from losing control of his emotions.
"Takuya…?" Danny asked in concern.
"How… long…" Agunimon rasped out. "How long have you…" He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"How long have I known it was you?" Danny misinterpreted what Agunimon was trying to ask. "Uh… since the Ember thing. I mean I accidentally saw you evolve into-"
"How long have you been dead…" Agunimon finally forced himself to say it.
At that, Danny's neon green eyes widened. His eyes looked so much Andy's and Danny's at the same time, it was painful for Agunimon to look into them. "N-no, Takuya, you got it all wrong. I'm not dead, not at all!"
"Don't deny it… you're a ghost. People who are still alive don't just become ghosts, Danny," Agunimon pointed out, before realization hit him. "It was… it was that accident with the Ghost Portal, wasn't it?"
"Takuya listen to me," Danny spoke up in a serious voice before he looked around, making sure they were alone. "Do dead people have heartbeats?"
A ring of light appeared on Danny's torso, splitting horizontally, changing him back to his human form. He hissed a bit in pain from the burns he got earlier.
Hearing Danny hiss in pain made Agunimon's heart clench with guilt. "Danny… I… I'm sorry…"
"Don't say anything," Danny said. "Just listen to my heartbeat. No actual ghost can fake that."
Agunimon hesitated, unsure about the request. So, Danny took the Digimon's hand and placed it on his own chest gently. Agunimon's eyes went wide a bit as he felt the heartbeat that was Danny's. It was slow yes, but it was there. Looking back at Danny, fresh tears formed in Agunimon's eyes as he then hugged his cousin, trying to be as gentle as he could given Danny's burns. "I'm sorry, Danny!"
All Danny could do was give Agunimon a slight hug, trying not to irritate his burns. "Don't worry, Takuya… I've already forgiven you."
Agunimon kept crying, fractal code surrounding him before he turned back to his own human form.
Danny smiled at seeing his cousin was finally in the know of his secret. He hugged Takuya a bit more, trying to keep his cousin calm.
"But… I don't understand… how can you… be alive… and a ghost at the same time?" Takuya asked.
"I don't know how exactly," Danny sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I just know that the accident didn't kill me… well… fully anyways. I'm half human, half ghost. A halfa as other ghosts like to call me."
Takuya then remembered Skulker calling Danny, or rather, Andy, 'ghost child' before when he first revealed his secret to Andy. "Wait… Other ghosts know what you are?"
"They can sense someone's ghost core, even if it's hidden," Danny admitted. "I can't exactly hide that from other ghosts. You probably also noticed there had been something off about me too since you came back to Amity Park."
Takuya looked down. "I did… but I was under the impression a ghost was living inside of you."
"Yeah… Andy told me that when I found out about your Digimon forms," Danny admitted. "I didn't want to tell you until you wanted to tell me. And I thought it would be fine letting you believe Phantom was a separate entity from me, but… well, that didn't turn out so well…"
"That was my fault." Takuya sighed. "I lost control of my Beast Spirit. I mean, I saw you fighting that shadow ghost and then… when it ate you, I just… snapped and lost control. Normally I have better control than that…"
"I have noticed you've been a little more… aggressive lately," Danny stated. "I just couldn't talk to you about it because… well… you weren't supposed to know that I knew about you."
"It's that Johnny guy. He's… been giving off a bad vibe to me…" Takuya admitted. "I assume it's my Spirits acting up, but I don't know why."
That was when Takuya remembered what Calumon had said to him, about how he should try to communicate with his Spirits more. With so much going on, Takuya had forgotten about that advice. "Ugh!" He smacked himself with his hand. "I can't believe I forgot about that advice of communicating with my Spirits…"
Danny chuckled a little. "You know… I'm actually relieved that we don't have to keep secrets from each other anymore. It was getting rather exhausting."
Takuya chuckled as well. "Yeah… I guess it was." He then frowned to himself. "Hmmm… Maybe I could try and communicate with my Spirits to find out why Johnny is making them act up."
"Wait… aren't we forgetting something?" Danny asked.
Takuya racked his brains, but there was nothing that came to mind, at least until he got an odd niggling from his Spirits, like they were screaming at him to go to the end of that road. "Um… is there something we have to do that involves the road we were following?"
Danny's eyes went wide as he paled. "JAZZ!"
Titanic X: ZAFT: I know, right? :3
Unknown user: DarkFoxKit: I won't say if Paulina will get her own spirits or not, let alone Ranamon's spirits.
ZAFT: You will find out soon enough… :3
Luna Lilltyth: DarkFoxKit: Yes, yes they are. And glad you enjoy Dorumon's adorable antics. XP
ZAFT: He can be handful, but he is so much fun to write~! X3
Guest: ZAFT: I'm glad you found the story and like it. :3
DigiGuest: ZAFT: Shinya will be mentioned from time to time. :3 And we never even considered the holy water blessing Andy… ^^'
DarkFoxKit: Shinya is the little brother who is living back in Japan, and we do mention him a few times, but he really isn't important to the story. As for the holy water incident, it was mostly for a gag, but I guess you could say it might've blessed Andy enough to gain a resistance to ghosts overshadowing him.