Digital Phantom

by ZAFT Convoy

Three worlds coexist side by side yet never interacting; one of life, one of death, and one artificial. Twins Andy and Danny are roped in when an accident occurs and a relative returns from Japan. But the twins are on opposite sides; Danny on the world of death, Andy on the artificial. Can they find out how the three worlds rely on each other? Or will they fall to an enemy in wait?

43. Time to Wake Up

DarkFoxKit: So… what do you plan to do for Christmas?

ZAFT: Just visit my family and have a relaxing Christmas otherwise.

Takuya: Sleep in… I'm feeling run ragged myself now…

Andy: At this point in time, Danny still hates Christmas, so… yeah, that's gonna be fun…

DarkFoxKit: He won't hate Christmas forever. As for me, well, we'll likely just be staying home. Maybe we'll be able to write some more. Who knows.

ZAFT: I hope so. That would be a fun Christmas present to each other. XD

DarkFoxKit: But for now, let's get into the story.

---

(Two symbols, one red, and one blue, spin before colliding and flaring with light as they do so, showing the title)

Digital Phantom!

(Shows three forms in shadow before they are revealed to be Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley)

Three worlds, connected side by side

(A swirling green portal is shown, followed by the sky cities of the living world before a computer monitor is zoomed in on, revealing another world of lush greenery through that)

Connections, with many secrets to hide

(Andy Fenton is shown with a small purple fox-like creature, Dorimon, in his arms as Takuya Kanbara appears behind him, a form in shadow behind Takuya himself)

Is one always chosen by fate?

(Danny is shown transforming into his ghost form, Danny Phantom, flying towards a vampiric looking ghost, Vlad Plasmius)

Or can one make their own destiny?

(Andy is shown looking on as his cell-phone transforms into a Digivice, the D-Arc)

Digital Phantom!

(Andy holds up his D-Arc as a heart symbol appears on the screen)

The power is deep inside!

(Takuya holds up his D-Tector before fractal code surrounds him, dissipating as fire erupts from it, revealing him as Agunimon, lunging out from the fire just as Dorimon glows and becomes Dorumon, firing off a metal ball into the distance)

Digital Phantom!

(The metal ball blasts past Vlad Plasmius as he fires off a ghost ray at Andy, who blocks it with his Fenton Rod)

Destiny is unbound!

(The Fenton Rod is smacked away by Vlad, going spinning before Sam, with a small puppy-like creature next to her, reaches up and catches it, a shadowed form with wings appearing behind her, transparent in appearance)

Digital Phantom!

(Sam throws the Fenton Rod to Tucker, who spins it before throwing it at Plasmius, a big bunny-like being with gun-hands appearing behind Tucker, transparent in appearance)

Fight on, without regret

(Shows Takuya looking up from his D-Tector as he makes eye contact with his Human Spirit of Agunimon, who give a smile back and reaches out a hand as Takuya takes it)

Two sides never rest

(Danny is shown reaching for a glowing Digi-Egg, with a shadowed form above it just as an evil version of the shadowed form appears beside Vlad, both transparent in appearance)

Digital Phantom!

(Jazz is shown with the form of Lopmon beside her, a larger, shadowed form behind them both)

Never regret or look back

(Takuya is shown looking up as a ball of fractal code covers his hand, surrounding him before it dissipates to reveal his Fusion form of Aldamon)

Fight on, with victory

(Aldamon fires off a slew of fiery bullets from his cannons, each of those bullets hitting Plasmius before the ghost teleports away, revealing a shadowed form behind him)

Nothing will stand in our way!

(Andy, Dorimon, Danny, Tucker, Terriermon, Sam, Salamon, Jazz, Lopmon, and Takuya all appear with Vlad above them, sneering evilly as all ten look on defiantly)

Digital Phantom!

---

Chapter 43: Time to Wake Up

Aldamon, Tommy, and Danny were all on the ground, the Warrior of Flame still holding onto Tommy gently. "So, what exactly happened?" Aldamon asked as he sat down on the ground. For some reason, he was feeling a bit tired and he didn't know why.

Danny took a deep breath and let it out. "Alright… I'll tell you what I know about what's been going on…"

---

Meanwhile, Andy and Dorumon were checking up on the others. Dorumon was still a bit injured, but nothing he couldn't handle at this point. Jazz and Tucker managed to find their injured partners and picked them up. Sorcermon and Gabumon were tending to Biyomon and Agumon.

"I must say… I really didn't expect things to turn out like they did…" Bokomon frowned. "All the Legendary Warriors turned against us…"

"We don't know that for sure. Maybe Danny was able to wake Aldamon up from his nightmare," Sam said, hoping to be optimistic. "... Jeez, things must be bad if I'm being optimistic…"

"There's nothing wrong with being optimistic," Salamon said. "It helps bring hope to even the bleakest of situations."

Tucker looked down at Terriermon's limp form before sighing. "I hope so. He is one Digimon I would rather avoid fighting in the future."

"Yeah… I think we all do…" Andy sighed tiredly.

"Are you okay, Andy?" Jazz asked in concern, hugging Lopmon close to her chest. "I noticed you passed out a couple of times earlier."

"Yeah… I was just… helping someone out," Andy answered.

"But it seemed to have drained you quite a bit," Dorumon noted.

Jazz looked at Andy, but didn't press the issue. She had a feeling it had to do with Danny, so she let it slide.

"Compared to you though, I have nothing to complain about," Andy pointed out. "Look at those burns on your fur."

"Hey, I'll recover. You're human, you're more likely to get sent to a hospital if something happened to you," Dorumon pointed out.

Andy sighed at that. "Yeah… only human…"

"Do you think that the plan will work though?" Sam asked, feeling worried. "Or… would Danny also…"

"Don't think like that, Sam, let's keep thinking that Danny succeeded, and that Aldamon will come flying back here with Kumamon at any moment," Tucker spoke up.

Jazz nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure they are probably fine."

"I should've done more. He was right there… and all I could do was beg…" Andy frowned, sounding rather angry at himself.

Jazz put a hand on Andy's shoulder, holding Lopmon in her other hand. "Andy, you did what you could. That's all we can ask. So don't feel bad about it."

"Besides, if anyone should be angry at himself, it should be me. If only I hadn't lost consciousness…" Dorumon frowned.

"It wasn't your fault, Dorumon…" Andy sighed. "Aldamon was too strong for us…"

"If anything, I think Aldamon would be mad at himself for what he did when he wakes up." Jazz pointed out. "He seems to be the type of Digimon who would blame himself and try to right his actions if he did something bad."

Andy frowned, he could easily see Takuya doing just that. He rubbed his face and groaned. "Uuugh… Jazz… you might have some patients to practice on for your future as a therapist soon…"

Jazz blinked. "What? Really?"

Dorumon groaned. "Oh great… Now she's getting ideas again…"

I just wonder how Takuya's taking it… Andy sighed.

---

At some point during Danny's story telling, Aldamon had reverted back to his human form. He was too tired to keep holding his fusion form, and he didn't really want to anyways. His lap and chest was much softer for Tommy as a human. Tommy refused to let him go, seeming to be scared that Takuya would disappear on him again.

"I don't know what happened after I went into your body to wake you up though… you'll probably have to ask one of the others, or… that kid… Tommy, was it? Yeah, you might have to ask him about that," Danny finished.

Takuya sighed as he put his head in his hands. "Ugh… I can't believe it… I just… I could have really hurt someone!" He groaned. "I acted like a freaking tyrant!"

"It wasn't you, Takuya!" Tommy spoke up, finally having calmed down enough to speak again. "You weren't yourself."

Takuya sighed again. "Yeah but… I still feel like I did something that a Legendary Warrior shouldn't be doing."

"It doesn't matter. Dreammon had you under his control, there wasn't anything you could've done to prevent that," Tommy said. "I saw you fighting them… our friends… you did your best to ward them off, but in the end… they were able to take you down, and force a Nightmare Syndrome on you. I knew when that happened, you weren't you anymore. You were gone… I don't want that to happen again."

Takuya sighed once more as he placed a hand on Tommy's head gently. "Tommy… I will try to make sure it doesn't happen again. And… I'm sorry… you had to see that…"

Tommy then let out a sigh. "There's… more that I need to tell you of what happened. The parts Danny wasn't there for or didn't hear… and… you might not like what you'll hear, but… this is important. It has to do with Dreammon's real goal."

Takuya blinked as he looked at Tommy. "What? You know his real goal?"

Tommy nodded before he started recounting what happened. Tommy told Takuya about what Aldamon had told him. About how Dreammon planned to unite all 10 Legendary Warriors to become Susanoomon, so he could use the Nightmare Syndrome he implanted into each Legendary Warrior to fuse with Susanoomon. The only reason why it didn't work when Dreammon called for them before, was because they were missing one; the Warrior of Ice. So Aldamon was trying to bring Tommy to Dreammon. Tommy then told Takuya about the chase and the fight he had with his cousins and friends, as well as some of the Digimon as well.

After hearing this, Takuya felt even worse about himself. "Did… Did I… hurt anyone… when I fought them?" He asked quietly.

Danny sighed. "I don't know. I'm sorry…"

"Wait… Tommy, is that why you're hurt?" Takuya asked, looking at Tommy's injuries. "Did I do that to you?"

Tommy hesitated to answer that, which was all the answer Takuya needed. Tommy realized his hesitation confirmed it, so he quickly said, "You weren't yourself, Takuya!"

Takuya looked down. "But I… I still… I still hurt you…"

"Takuya… would you blame me if I hurt you even though I was under the control of Dreammon's Nightmare Syndrome?" Tommy retorted.

Takuya looked at Tommy. "No, I wouldn't!" He exclaimed. "I would blame Dreammon, not you!"

"Then do that now, Takuya," Tommy lightly flicked Takuya's nose. "It's not your fault, it's Dreammon's."

"The kid's got a point, Takuya," Danny agreed. "Do I need to give you that speech again that I gave you in that nightmare?"

Takuya sighed. "No, no you don't." He gritted his teeth. "But… when we find Dreammon again, he will pay for what he did, not just to the Digital World, but to you guys, and what he made me do to Tommy!"

"Don't worry, Dreammon will be getting what's coming to him," Danny promised. "But first, we need to get back to the others and regroup. All of us are drained and hurt right now, and we need a plan before we go storming into Dreammon's lair or castle or whatever."

Takuya sighed. "Okay. I guess we should." He agreed. "I'd better arrive while in my Fusion form though, since that's the one everyone saw me in last…"

"I should… also be Kumamon too," Tommy said.

Danny frowned a little. "Are you sure you don't want to tell the others about… you know… you?"

Takuya shook his head. "No. If they knew… Well, I'm just not ready yet…" He sighed. "I'm sorry…"

"I understand," Danny sighed. "Alright, if you two can hold your forms then, go ahead and change and we'll get back to the others."

Tommy and Takuya nodded.

---

Tapirmon opened her eyes. "I have good news. Danny succeeded in waking Aldamon up."

Everyone was currently staying in Bokomon's house. Bokomon set up futons for the injured to rest, while making some tea for the others to try to help relax them.

"Really?" Sam asked, looking relieved and happy. "Danny actually woke Aldamon up?"

Tapirmon gave a smile and nodded. "Yes. The plan was a success. It apparently took some time, but it worked nonetheless."

Andy gave a sigh of relief. "I'm glad they were able to make it out."

Dorumon was laying beside Andy. "Why do I get the feeling you were involved somehow?"

"What makes you say that?" Andy grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, maybe because you passed out a couple of times?" Dorumon remarked, his tail twitching lazily.

"That could mean anything," Andy pouted as he sipped his tea.

"Sure it could…" Dorumon trailed off, giving a smirk to Andy, indicating he was just teasing his human partner.

"Well, since Danny was able to wake Aldamon up, then that means they'll be coming back here soon, and Aldamon will be on our side again, right?" Tucker asked.

Tapirmon nodded. "Yes, he will."

"I'm glad… I was worried for my little brother. I hated feeling so helpless." Jazz frowned. "Too bad I couldn't go into the dream myself and help him that way, right Andy?"

Andy nearly choked on the tea he was sipping from that comment.

"Andy? Are you okay?" Jazz asked as she saw Andy's reaction.

"Y-yeah… yeah… swallowed too fast," Andy coughed. "And… and anyways… yeah, it's… too bad we couldn't go into the dreams ourselves."

Jazz looked thoughtful. "I wonder how that would have been. Being able to see a Digimon's dreams and how they think. That would have been quite interesting."

"Please don't start, that just sounds weird," Dorumon grumbled.

Jazz blinked. "What? It would be interesting from a psychological point of view!"

"Well, if you do somehow find a way to be able to go into a Digimon's dream, you stay away from mine, okay?" Dorumon remarked.

"I wonder what Aldamon is actually like when not under the influence of the Nightmare Syndrome," Tucker muttered. "Maybe he'd be more like a stiff bodyguard who protects the important people. Or maybe he's more like a gentle hero, who tells kids they can do it too if they believe in themselves."

"He's not a comic book hero, Tucker." Sam rolled her eyes.

Tucker pouted. "Hey! I can wonder, can't I?"

Dorumon snickered.

"Since Aldamon has woken up, then that means our cure is a success, and hopefully we can do the same for the rest of the Legendary Warriors, and finally put a stop to Dreammon," Sorcermon spoke up.

"Yeah, but they won't let us get near them if they knew we had the cure," Tucker pointed out.

Andy began thinking. "Then… maybe they don't have to know."

Jazz looked at Andy. "And how do you think we could hide it from them?"

"Unless Dreammon felt Aldamon waking up from the nightmare, we might be able to use him to sneak Tapirmon and Danny to the other Legendary Warriors and wake them up," Andy proposed.

"Would Dreammon be able to tell?" Sam asked.

"I don't think so. Dreammon's attention is divided into several other Digimon, including the Legendary Warriors, I doubt he'll notice he suddenly lost control of one Digimon, at least right away," Salamon said.

Jazz contemplated Salamon's words. "That does make sense. With his attention so divided, it would take awhile before he noticed a missing Legendary Warrior."

"Let's just hope that's the case then. It would work in our favor if we can catch the others and Dreammon off guard," Sorcermon agreed.

"I like the way you think." Bokomon smiled. "Dreammon will pay for making my friends fight for evil like that!"

Jazz looked at Bokomon. "You sound like you really care for the Legendary Warriors, Bokomon."

"Of course I do, they are friends of mine after all," Bokomon admitted.

"They helped us when we needed it the most," Gabumon added.

Jazz smiled sadly. "Well, I hope we can save your friends then. And if Aldamon can be woken up from this Nightmare Syndrome, then we have a chance of doing the same for them as well."

There was a sudden knock on Bokomon's door.

"Now who could that be?" Bokomon wondered as he went to the door.

Bokomon made his way to the door and proceeded to open it. When he did, he saw Aldamon standing before him. "Wah!? Aldamon!"

Everyone nearly knocked over their chairs or spilled their tea from Bokomon's sudden exclamation.

The Legendary Warrior looked down. "Hey…" The way he spoke said much about how he was feeling. No longer was his voice so arrogant or even filled with mocking. His voice was now rather quiet and unsure, which was surprising given how powerful he was.

Tucker, Sam, and Jazz didn't seem to know how to react to that, they hadn't been expecting the powerful Legendary Warrior to be so… quiet and guilt ridden.

"Hey everyone! We're back!" Kumamon said happily.

"It was a success!" Danny smiled, who was currently in his ghost form.

Tucker looked at Danny. "Really?! That's great!" He grinned.

"Oh thank goodness that's over…" Sam sighed in relief.

"Yes, it looks like hope has returned now." Salamon smiled.

Andy walked up to Aldamon. "Hey… maybe you should go back to being Agunimon? I'm sure it must be tiring to have to keep that form on."

Aldamon smiled weakly. "I suppose so…"

Fractal code surrounded Aldamon before he had dispelled his fusion form, but keeping Agunimon's form. His Human Spirit took way less energy to maintain.

Now as Agunimon, the Legendary Warrior still looked unsure before he finally fell to his knees and bowed his head. "Please… Accept my apologies. I didn't mean to do what I did…"

"It's alright, Agunimon, we know you were under the spell of Dreammon's Nightmare Syndrome," Sorcermon assured.

"Yeah, man, we know you wouldn't do something like that otherwise!" Tucker spoke up. "But man! You were Aldamon? I didn't know that! But I guess you do look kinda like Aldamon now that I think about it."

Agunimon sighed as he sat up. "That's because that's my Fusion form. It's a very powerful form that I don't normally use unless things get really bad…" He gritted his teeth in anger. "I just can't believe I acted like that!" He then punched the floor in anger. "I shouldn't have been like that!" His form was shaking as he spoke; it was obvious that he was torn up about what he had done.

"Agunimon…" Kumamon frowned.

"Listen…" Jazz spoke up calmly. "You've had a long day. How about you come in, rest and relax a bit? We can talk about what to do after."

Agunimon looked down, hesitating. "Are… are you sure you want me to… be around you… after what I did?"

"We know that wasn't you, Agunimon," Andy spoke up. "And now that you're you again, we know you won't hurt us."

Agunimon gave a weak smile. "Thanks…" But deep down, he was still unsure if anyone would want to be around him after what he had done.

"Come on, sit down, I can make some tea for you," Bokomon offered.

Agunimon nodded before he sat down, before noticing the injured Digimon sleeping on futons, Digimon who had been brave enough to fight him in order to keep Kumamon from being taken away.

Guilt pierced his heart, or was it his Digi-Core, at seeing those Digimon hurt, all because of him. Agunimon looked down at the floor, not wanting to see the results of his attacks on them.

Danny frowned at seeing how distraught his cousin was at the moment.

"Are you going to be okay?" Danny asked in concern.

Agunimon looked up. "Yeah…" He then looked down at his hands, which were clenched on his legs. "I'll be fine. I just… need some time to… you know… process what has happened…"

"Take as much time as you need," Andy said quietly.

Kumamon gave Agunimon a concerned look. "Please don't keep beating yourself up for what happened, Agunimon…"

"I know, Kumamon. It's just…" Agunimon closed his eyes tightly. I almost hurt Andy and the others… "It's just… I…" His voice trailed off, not able to say anything more due to the emotional turmoil he was showing.

"Hey… whatever happened to Calumon?" Sam asked. "Didn't Sorcermon say he was a doctor? Maybe he could help the injured recover faster."

Jazz perked up. "Hey, yeah! He could do that, couldn't he?" She then frowned. "But where is Calumon? Last I heard, he went to find the Warrior of Ice. Is he alright?"

Kumamon was starting to sweat a little.

"I'm sure Calumon is alright, he's likely just waiting to make sure everything is clear," Sorcermon said.

"Though we would like his help," Salamon remarked. "Kumamon, could you go get him? You were the last one to see Calumon after all."

"Uh, yeah, sure!" Kumamon nodded. "I'll go get him right now!"

Kumamon rushed out of the house before anyone could say anything else.

"What's got him in such a hurry?" Jazz questioned.

"I don't know, but I think we should just let him get Calumon." Tucker replied. "Kumamon may need to go into hiding again, so if Calumon is the only one who knows where he is, I think it's best we just let him do his thing."

"Why would Kumamon go into hiding though? Wouldn't it be better to stick together?" Sam asked.

"Not necessarily… keeping the Legendary Warriors close together would make them easier targets. Dreammon would essentially be able to kill two birds with one stone," Andy spoke up.

Sam nodded. "Ah. I see. So if we keep the Warrior of Ice hidden, we can use him as bait again should the need arise."

Agunimon gave a slight flinch at Sam's words, not that he knew why. "I'd rather we didn't use Kumamon as bait…"

"We may not have to use him as bait," Andy said. "But… you should take some time to recover before we discuss what we're going to do for the rest of the Legendary Warriors."

Agunimon nodded, but he seemed to be distracted mentally, like he was losing focus and consciousness. "Yeah… we probably… should…" He trailed off as he finally fell unconscious and to the floor, most likely due to the stress and how hard he had fought earlier while under the control of Dreammon.

Everyone quickly gathered around Agunimon, calling out his name in concern.

---

When Agunimon regained consciousness again, the first thing he saw was Calumon's face looking down at him. Calumon gave a smile. "Hey, welcome back to the land of the living, Agunimon."

"Calumon…?" Agunimon rasped as he finally regained his senses. "W-where were you…? And… what happened? Did I… pass out or something?"

"Yeah, you did," Calumon answered. "You had everyone worried. You overexerted yourself, and I can imagine the emotional turmoil you're going through didn't help much either."

Agunimon sighed. "I always seem to worry someone, don't I?" He then looked back at Calumon. "What about the others? Are they going to be okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. They're all just sleeping right now. It has gotten pretty late," Calumon informed.

"So I was out for a while, huh?" Agunimon mused.

"Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't reverted back to human. I guess your Spirit wanted to help keep your identity a secret," Calumon stated.

Agunimon gave a weak smile. "It seems something good happened then…" He then sighed again. "I just hope I can get over what I've done…"

Calumon gave a thoughtful look for a moment. "Takuya, do you remember how Tommy attacked you and your friends when he was under a Tapirmon's Nightmare Syndrome?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I do…" Agunimon answered.

"Do you think Tommy should blame himself for what happened back then?"" Calumon questioned.

"No… No, I couldn't ask him to do that." Agunimon replied. "It wasn't even his fault!"

"But why not? Even if he wasn't in control of his actions, he still did them. He still hurt his friends," Calumon retorted. "Why shouldn't he blame himself or feel guilty about it?"

Here, Agunimon hesitated. Not because he didn't want to answer, but because he wasn't sure how to answer.

"Tommy didn't know what he was doing, he wasn't in control. He didn't even really remember what happened either. You say he shouldn't blame himself of course," Calumon summed up. "So why then… when the same thing happens to you, you do the opposite of what you told Tommy to do?"

Agunimon sighed here. "It's because I was told what I did…" He admitted at last. "And…" He trailed off here, his unspoken words saying it all. I almost hurt my family...

"Listen, Agunimon… you're not the only one who's going to go through this. The other Legendary Warriors… what are they going to think once they finally wake up? They were the ones who hurt you, but… you wouldn't blame them for it, would you?" Calumon asked.

Agunimon looked back at Calumon. "No… No, I wouldn't. I would blame Dreammon for what he made them do."

"Then take all that guilt you're feeling right now and aim them at Dreammon," Calumon said. "Blaming yourself isn't going to help anyone, you're just going to make others worry about you more. We need everyone to be ready to take on Dreammon and the other Legendary Warriors, and we're going to need you to be at your best."

At hearing Calumon's words, Agunimon felt his heart get a bit lighter, like a heavy weight had been removed from it. He gave a solemn nod. "You can count on it."

Calumon smiled. "There's the Takuya I remember."

"Huh? I know we've been friends for a little bit, but you're talking like we knew each other for years," Agunimon blinked.

"Uh… well I… it uh… it just feels like I knew you for years," Calumon quickly said. "Besides, you usually seem to be the type to be ready to go to defeat a bad guy is all I'm saying."

Agunimon gave a chuckle at that. "I guess I do, don't I?"

"Yup! And don't sweat it, bad guys turning good guys evil temporarily is likely part of the territory," Calumon chuckled. "Oh… maybe watch out for that with the halfa boy then."

Agunimon frowned at the idea of Danny suddenly being turned evil.

"Anyways, now that you're up, I can finally wake up everyone else," Calumon remarked.

Agunimon nodded. "That's fine. I think they would want to know anyway."

Calumon nodded as he started waking up the others. Agunimon noticed that those who were injured looked to be all better now. Calumon was quite amazing at his job, when it came to physical wounds. Then Agunimon noticed that Kumamon was gone.

Wait… Where is Tommy? Agunimon wondered. Fear briefly filled his body, but he realized that worrying would only bring back the feelings of guilt he had felt earlier, so he forced it from his mind for now.

Andy, Dorumon, Danny, Jazz, Lopmon, Tucker, Terriermon, Sam, Salamon, Calumon, and Sorcermon gathered around Agunimon. Calumon decided to let the other Digimon sleep.

"Hey guys…" Agunimon said softly.

"Hey, are you feeling any better, big guy?" Terriermon asked.

"At least he's finally woken up from the Nightmare Syndrome," Lopmon sighed in relief.

"Yeah… I'll be fine…" Agunimon sighed. "And I'm glad I'm out of that Nightmare Syndrome too."

"Do you think you'll be okay to listen to the plan I have, or do you need more time to recover first?" Andy asked in concern.

"No, I'm rested enough." Agunimon replied. "It would be good to hear the plan you have." He made to sit up, but his body wouldn't let him get up much, much to his dismay.

"You might be sore for a while, since you…" Calumon hesitated. "Weren't in your… weaker form when I healed you."

Agunimon sighed. "I guess that explains why my body aches then…"

Danny looked concerned. "I think you should just rest for a while. We could do this without you, you know."

"Admittedly it would be harder without him." Dorumon frowned.

Agunimon shook his head. "Let's hear it, what is this plan?"

"Well… have you met with our Tapirmon?" Sorcermon asked.

Agunimon felt his body tense. "Tapirmon?" He looked ready to take action, even in his weakened state.

"Calm yourself, Agunimon," Sorcermon spoke up, placing a reassuring hand on Agunimon's shoulder. "This Tapirmon is on our side, it was with her help that we were able to wake you from Dreammon's Nightmare Syndrome."

Hearing that seemed to calm the Legendary Warrior a bit, but he was still wary. "She helped you… wake me up…" He repeated, just to be sure. Then, Agunimon sighed. "I guess that she can be trusted then. But wait… why isn't she a part of Dreammon's hivemind?"

"You can come out now, Agunimon knows you're with us," Sorcermon called.

A Tapirmon shyly floated up from under the table, showing Agunimon herself. "H-hello…"

"She was apparently in the real world when Dreammon came into the Digital World, so she was able to escape his hivemind," Danny explained.

That surprised Agunimon. "She was?" Now that he could see her, Agunimon could indeed see this Tapirmon had her holy ring on her arm still. "I see… So that's why she still has her holy ring…"

"Yes, but we may have to paint over her holy ring if we want to have her and you infiltrate Dreammon's lair," Andy spoke up.

"What?" Agunimon asked.

"Right now, Dreammon has no idea you've been released from his control. If he did, this place would be swarmed with Tapirmon and Legendary Warriors by now," Andy explained. "We can use that to our advantage."

"But only if you're willing. You've already been through enough," Danny added.

Agunimon had to admit, it was tempting to say 'no' to the offer, but at the same time, he felt that guilt still gnawing at his heart… Digi-Core… whatever, and he knew he had to find a way to release it. He looked back up at the group gathered around him. "Count me in."

"Great, I'm glad you're on board, it would've been much harder if we had to find an alternate way to do this," Dorumon remarked.

"Tucker, do you still have that data of the Digital World map Salamon, Lopmon, and Sorcermon gave you?" Andy asked.

Tucker nodded. "I do." He took out his D-Arc, which showed the map data Andy had been talking about.

"Whoa… this would've been so much easier if we had that 4 years ago…" Agunimon muttered.

"Well, I wasn't helping you 4 years ago," Lopmon chuckled sheepishly.

"And I was… well… playing the damsel in distress," Salamon admitted.

Agunimon gave a bit of a wry smile. "I see you're picking up someone's habits." He made a point to look in Sam's direction with that comment.

"What? It's not my fault she's picking up on how I speak," Sam grumbled. "You don't expect me to talk like a high authoritarian angel, right?"

Said Legendary Warrior just gave her a goofy grin. "Hehe…"

"Let's focus here," Jazz spoke up.

"Right, well according to what we know, Dreammon's lair is likely somewhere at the Rose Morning Star. Kumamon told us you were heading in that direction before Danny woke you up," Andy informed.

Agunimon frowned at hearing the location of Dreammon's lair. "That used to be Cherubimon's domain last time I was trying to save the Digital World. It seems Dreammon must have taken it over for his own uses."

"What!?" Lopmon shouted. "I spent the past 4 years redecorating that castle! I put my heart and soul into tearing down all the evil and darkness that the castle was when I was corrupted! You wouldn't even recognize it anymore, because I turned into a garden paradise!"

Danny sewatdropped. "Um… Let's worry about what happened to the castle after we defeat Dreammon, okay Lopmon…?"

Lopmon was grumbling. "I swear, if Dreammon touched even one blade of grass…"

Jazz began to gently pet Lopmon in hopes of calming him down.

"Anyways…" Andy continued. "If Dreammon's lair is indeed at Cherubimon's castle, then we know where he is. We could have Danny use his invisibility to follow you, while Tapirmon follows you like a fellow Tapirmon follower. When the other Legendary Warriors reunite to talk about the Warrior of Ice or whatever, that's when Danny and Tapirmon can start trying to wake them up. The problem is they can only do it one by one, so there's a high possibility that as soon as one of the Legendary Warriors wake up, the others will start to notice."

Agunimon frowned at this problem. "That is going to be an issue. It's not like we can…" He trailed off as a plan began to form. "Wait… what if we use trying to wake the other Legendary Warriors up as a distraction?"

Everyone looked at Agunimon.

"How would that work?" Sam questioned.

"We can have Danny and Tapirmon go about the plan, but we make it obvious that is the plan. This way, we can take on Dreammon directly. He apparently can keep his mind on only so many Digimon before he gets overwhelmed or begins to lose control of them. If he is distracted by trying to keep the other Legendary Warriors under his control, then I could take him on directly." Agunimon explained.

"Are you sure you can take him on alone?" Calumon asked in concern. "He might still be too strong for you alone."

Agunimon sighed. "I'm not sure I can, but I have to give it a try. As it is, Dreammon may be getting suspicious about why I am not back yet. We need to take that chance." He then looked down. "I know I did something that may have made you distrust me, but I ask that you put your trust and faith in me for this."

"This isn't about trust, dude," Tucker spoke up. "This is about whether or not you can handle someone like Dreammon on your own."

"There's no guarantees that he won't use his Nightmare Syndrome on you again, and we'd be right back where we started," Dorumon added.

"Maybe you should let one of us go with you as back-up… just in case," Jazz suggested.

"I can't bring any of you. Dreammon will easily trap you or have one of the other Legendary Warriors knock you out or… or worse. I know you have all gotten stronger since you've gotten your partners, but… you're not ready to take on the Legendary Warriors… they have more experience than you do when it comes to fighting," Agunimon sighed.

Andy nodded. "We understand. But Jazz does have a point… you do need to have some back-up at least. Danny and Tapirmon will be too busy curing the other Legendary Warriors to help."

"Perhaps I should-" Sorcermon began to say.

"No, let me go with you," Calumon suddenly spoke up.

Agunimon looked back at Calumon. "Are you sure?" He wasn't too sure about the idea, but Jazz did have a point as well.

"Yeah. Dreammon might deem Sorcermon as enough of a threat to either trap or… well… turn him back into a Digi-Egg," Calumon said. "But he doesn't have much interest in me. If anything, he would see me as a dumb little In-Training Digimon who wandered into his castle lost. And with me there, I can help heal your wounds quickly."

Agunimon looked down in thought. It did have merit, the idea. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." He then looked back up at Calumon. "But if things start to get nasty, if I tell you to run, do so. Please."

Calumon frowned a little, but nodded.

"Are you sure about this, Calumon?" Sorcermon asked worriedly. "After all, if you go…"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine… but I'd like some payback on Dreammon too, I refuse to just stand aside to stay 'safe', especially after what he did to my- to… Agunimon and his friends," Calumon said, seeming to have slipped up on his words a little.

Agunimon cocked an eyebrow at hearing the slip-up, but he brushed it off for the time being. Worrying about a speech slip-up was not important at the moment, not when a plan was in place and needed to be put into action.

"I'm not going to lie… I wish Dorumon and I could go with you as well, but… it would be dangerous if we did," Andy said. Especially after that butt kicking we had from you, not that I'm going to bring that up.

"We'll be on standby in case something does happen…" Tucker frowned.

"Try to make sure nothing happens," Terriermon groaned. "I've had enough of good guys turned bad for one night thank you very much."

Danny nodded. "We won't let anything happen."

Agunimon nodded. "Don't worry. We'll be careful."

"Are we doing this now?" Tapirmon asked.

"Yes, the sooner the better. It's why I told Calumon to wake us up when Agunimon was awake, if we waited until morning, Dreammon would be very suspicious," Andy informed.

"I suggest that you tell Dreammon you were held up by these 'newcomers' or something, make it a little believable at least… and it is technically true anyways," Dorumon snickered.

Danny reached over and bopped Dorumon on the nose, gently of course. "No need to rub it in."

Agunimon chuckled at the sight. "Well, he's not technically lying so…"

"Tucker, can you get your D-Arc to sync up with Agunimon's data?" Andy asked. "If I'm right, we'll be able to watch what's happening through your eyes through Tucker's D-Arc, Agunimon. This way if something does happen, we'll know right away and what action to take."

Agunimon blinked at the request. "Is that even possible? I-I mean, if it is, I don't see why not."

"Is it possible?" Calumon asked, sounding just as surprised.

"Maybe, we'll see," Tucker said. "I've been finding out all sorts of very handy and interesting things with Digimon lately after all."

"We infiltrated a government facility through the cameras," Lopmon spoke up. "Now that was something I totally didn't know we could do, and I'm a Celestial Digimon!"

Agunimon sighed. "I guess we'll have to give it a try then." He then looked at Tucker. "You think you're willing to try it?"

"Yeah, just let me try…" Tucker held up his D-Arc to Agunimon and began furiously tapping its buttons in a sequence. "I'm going to be pretty much… uh… 'hacking' into your core, you might feel a little funny, but try not to put up a fight or you might set my D-Arc on fire."

Agunimon nodded, and tried to relax so he didn't do anything to Tucker or his D-Arc.

Agunimon did feel something reaching into his Digi-Core, but he held himself back from lashing out at it. After about another minute, Tucker smiled.

"Alright! Looks like it worked," Tucker said as he showed Agunimon his D-Arc's screen, showing Agunimon looking at himself.

"Wow… That's a bit freaky…" Agunimon muttered. But at the same time, he was glad it had worked out.

"Yeah, let's just hope it keeps it this way even when you're far away," Terriermon spoke up.

"It is a test run too after all," Tucker admitted.

"Okay… I think that's about everything…" Andy said. "The rest is up to you guys."

"We'll be here, watching, and cheering for you all." Dorumon smiled.

Agunimon nodded, getting to his feet, Of course, he was a bit dizzy upon standing up, but the feeling faded quickly, although his body was aching pretty much all over. "Okay… Let's go then."

Calumon looked at Agunimon for a moment.

"I'm ready when you are," Danny stood up.

Sorcermon used a bit of his magic to put an illusion over Tapirmon's holy ring, making it look like it was just a part of her arm. "There, that should keep your holy ring hidden."

"Thank you, Sorcermon," Tapirmon said gratefully.

Agunimon sighed before he let fractal coding surround his body, and he turned into his Beast Spirit form of BurningGreymon. They would need to fly there anyway.

---

BurningGreymon was flying through the night sky with Calumon, Danny Phantom, and Tapirmon following him. BurningGreymon noticed that Calumon had been sending his healing energy since they had took off in an attempt to try to help take away his soreness.

"Calumon, I appreciate what you're doing, but you need to save your energy in case I would really need your healing powers," BurningGreymon stated.

Calumon frowned. "Right… are you sure you'll be okay though?"

BurningGreymon nodded. "I will. I've been through worse." Of course, it was a lie, but he wasn't about to let Calumon worry about him.

Danny frowned as well. "I would say you should rest more, but…"

"Yeah… we can't afford to right now…" BurningGreymon sighed.

"Hopefully this whole nightmare will be over soon…" Tapirmon sighed. "Tapirmon are supposed to prevent bad dreams, not cause them. This is an insult to our race."

BurningGreymon nodded. "Yeah, I suppose it is." He then growled lowly in the back of his throat. "And it is an insult that the Legendary Warriors are being used as puppets of some sadistic false Digimon!"

"I agree." Calumon frowned. "He came close to getting what he wants, but he won't win. He's going to pay."

"Try to save the bloodlust until we get there, guys," Danny chuckled. Just glad it's not on me this time.

After a while of flying BurningGreymon could see they were coming up on the Rose Morning Star. Lopmon was telling the truth though, it was very different from how it was 4 years ago. There was a large lush field, filled with fruit trees and flower beds.

If it were not for the fact they were on a mission, BurningGreymon would have stopped to admire the scenery below him. But they would have to do that another time. The mission was first.

"You better go invisible now, Danny, we can't risk Dreammon or anyone else seeing you here," Calumon spoke up.

"Right." Danny nodded before his form disappeared from view.

Calumon then flew on BurningGreymon's head. "Maybe you could say you brought me along as a gift since you couldn't find the Warrior of Ice." Oh the irony of that… Takuya would be laughing if he knew… then again he wouldn't let me come if he knew.

BurningGreymon chuckled. "I guess I could."

Tapirmon gulped. "Ooooh… I hope I can pull this off…"

"Don't worry, you did great before when you spoke with Aldamon, just keep that up and you'll be fine," Danny's voice encouraged.

BurningGreymon winced at that, but he gave Tapirmon a reassuring look. "Just act like you did then. It won't be easy, but I know you can do it."

"Okay… you can count on me," Tapirmon saluted.

As they flew closer to the castle, BurningGreymon saw hundreds of Tapirmon floating around. He cringed, his instincts telling him to fly away as fast as he could, but he made himself calm down. The Tapirmon looked at him and the good Tapirmon, but they kept flying on after about a few seconds.

"Seems they're ignoring us… so far so good then," Calumon sighed in relief.

BurningGreymon nodded. "It seems so. This may be pulled off yet…"

BurningGreymon then felt something go off inside him. He frowned, realizing that meant he was too far from Tucker's D-Arc, and the connection shut down. I guess there is a range limit after all… this might be for the better now that I think about it… I'll likely have to go back to being Takuya while I'm here.

Once within range of the Rose Morning Star, BurningGreymon flew down low before coming in for a landing at the castle. "Get ready Calumon. I'm gonna revert back to human form."

"Okay!" Calumon called out.

Fractal code surrounded BurningGreymon as he landed. Takuya had never felt so relieved to finally let go of his evolved forms. The soreness was starting to fade faster. He sensed Danny was still nearby, but invisible and quiet. The Tapirmon that was on his side was still floating beside him. Takuya held Calumon with his arms, hoping their excuse would be enough to throw Dreammon and the other Legendary Warriors off his trail.

Takuya walked into the castle, trying to look as menacing as possible, complete with the evil sneer. I hope I can act all evil and stuff… I'm not exactly the best with acting or hiding my emotions…

As soon as Takuya walked into the castle, he immediately saw his friends… the ones who were in Dreammon's control. It was then Takuya remembered all their eyes were glazed, he really hoped they wouldn't notice his eyes weren't glazed. Thinking fast, Takuya grabbed the goggles on his hat and brought it down to his eyes, hoping it would obscure his eyes enough to not be noticeable.

Walking in, with his goggles now hiding his eyes, Takuya made sure to put on the evil sneer again. He gripped Calumon tightly, but not too tightly as to hurt him.

Danny's eyes widened when he saw the kids who were the Legendary Warriors, there was only one who shocked him. DASH!? Is that actually Dash Baxter!? What the absolute trippy mushrooms of the Ghost Zone!? When did he become a Legendary Warrior!? … Takuya's got some explaining to do when we're done here.

"Hey, Takuya, you took a while to get back here," Dash stated.

"What were you doing? Playing around with a baby?" JP asked, looking at Calumon.

"Well, I had fun playing with baby Digimon. The Warrior of Ice wasn't there, but that didn't mean I couldn't investigate while playing around. Aww, I should've thought to bring one back with me." Zoe pouted.

Koji rolled his eyes. "So I take it this means you couldn't find the Warrior of Ice either, Takuya?"

Takuya shook his head. "No. I was close, but he slipped away. These newcomers, calling themselves 'Tamers', appeared and put up a fight, so I had to defend myself. If I hadn't fought them, I would have gotten my hands on the Warrior of Ice."

"Tamers? Who are these 'Tamers'? They must've been pretty crafty or strong to get Tommy away from you, Takuya," Koichi asked.

"They were strong, yes, but it was more of them being crafty that beat me." Takuya shrugged. "And I don't know their names. I just know they had partner Digimon and had no problem fighting back."

"I see… so Tamers train Digimon then…" Koji noted.

"I believe I know who you're talking about. To think that they would follow us all the way here," Dash muttered. "What should we do with them? Should we go after them?"

"They could prove to be really troublesome," Zoe agreed.

Takuya tensed, but he did his best to hide it. "Even if we did try to eliminate them, others could come, and Master wouldn't want us to waste our time hunting down some measly Tamers when we should be looking for the Warrior of Ice."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Taky's got a point. The Master only wants all 10 Legendary Warriors, and we're only one short," JP remarked.

"By the way, Takuya, I've been meaning to ask…" Koichi spoke up. "First of all… why do you have that little Digimon with you? I thought we all agreed that it's useless in Master's plans. And… why are you wearing your goggles?"

Takuya had a clever lie in place. "One of those Tamers used an attack that affected my eyes, so I have blurry vision in certain light conditions right now. And this little guy I thought would be a good replacement offering because he can make others digivolve." I hope that is believable...

"While it's a good idea to try to get a gift for the Master to calm him down, he doesn't want another Digimon to control right now. He wants the Warrior of Ice. So put that Digimon down, we're going to need to talk to the Master and figure out how to find the Warrior of Ice," Koji said.

Takuya inwardly gulped, if they went to see Dreammon now, Dreammon would know for sure Takuya didn't have that piece of him inside him anymore.

Still, he had to go along with the plan. Takuya nodded. "O-okay. Let's go then." He made sure to hide his stammer when he spoke. Danny, I hope you and Tapirmon can act soon… This plan may be blown before we can do anything else...

Tapirmon then flew in front of the group. "Before you all go see the Master, there is a message I must deliver to you."

"What is it?" Koji asked.

"There is a traitor among you," Tapirmon stated as Danny waited for Tapirmon to choose a target.

"What?! Who?" JP demanded.

"Look among yourselves and see," Tapirmon said.

The group immediately turned to look at each other, trying to figure out who the 'traitor' is.

"It's gotta be you, Zoe, you're acting too light hearted to be under Dreammon's spell," Dash accused.

"Excuse me? I've always been like this! Maybe it's JP, he's been a bit too chummy!" Zoe pouted.

"Me? I think it's Dash!" JP accused back. "He's in possession of the traitorous Warrior of Wood's Spirits after all!"

"Whatever the Warrior of Wood did in the past has absolutely no bearings on what I do now!" Dash snapped.

"What if it's Takuya? He is the one who came back late, and carried a Digimon with him," Koichi stated.

Tapirmon slowly flew behind Koichi, and subtly used her pink Nightmare Syndrome that stealthily went into Koichi's ear while they were all distracted and accusing each other. Danny took that as his cue and flew into Koichi's body.

Koichi suddenly gasped as he felt this chill enter his body and he didn't know why, but it felt… odd. He shivered, but then returned to his normal 'evil' self.

Takuya had seen that and smirked mentally. Danny was already in motion. Time for phase 2…

Takuya smirked. "You may be right, you may be wrong. Which one is it?"

"How can we tell for sure?" Koji asked.

"I know, Dreammon will be able to tell who's the traitor," Zoe proposed. "Let's go to him and he'll figure it out."

"Good idea, and anyone who hesitates will be suspicious." Dash grinned.

Takuya inwardly gulped, but at the same time, he was eager to get to Dreammon. It was time for some revenge...

Calumon looked nervous, but kept quiet.

"Takuya, put that Digimon down, the Master wouldn't want you bringing pets," Koji snapped.

"Oh, I will, but once I show Master what Digimon I brought. He might find this little guy useful." Takuya smirked.

Calumon shivered, acting scared.

"Fine, whatever, don't blame me if you get in trouble," Koji grumbled.

The group began to walk towards the castle. Takuya was getting nervous, he hoped Danny would be able to wake Koichi up soon. They were inside the castle, already heading for the throne room. Takuya could feel his heart racing.

Finally, Koichi grunted, and shut his eyes, stopping.

Takuya looked back. "Is everything okay, Koichi?"

"Koichi! What's wrong?" Koji asked in concern for his twin brother.

Takuya could feel Danny flying out of Koichi's body, and Koichi blinked open his eyes. Koichi was confused, and his eyes weren't glazed over anymore.

"What… what's going on? Where am I?" Koichi asked.

JP scowled. "You! So you were the traitor!"

"Don't be an idiot! The traitor did this to him!" Koji snapped at JP.

Poor Koichi looked around, confused and worried now. "Um… Should I just run or…?"

Koichi's mind caught up to him. "Wait… Zoe, JP? Weren't you guys… oh…"

Koichi's eyes widened in horror when he saw Dash and Koji's eyes were glazed as well. "Oh no…"

Takuya felt bad, Koichi looked like he was about to throw up.

"We should report this to Master!" Dash exclaimed.

"Grab Koichi! We can't have him run away!" JP shouted.

Koji quickly grabbed his brother's arms. "Sorry, Koichi. But don't worry, we'll get you back soon."

"Koji… this isn't right. I don't know what happened exactly, but I can see you're under the influence of the Nightmare Syndrome!" Koichi shouted. "Please, you have to fight it, Koji!"

Takuya didn't even twitch at Koichi's pleas to his brother. Just hang in there, Koichi. Things will become clear soon...

Tapirmon floated to Zoe next, since the others' attention were on Koichi and Koji at the moment. She released her Nightmare Syndrome into Zoe, and Danny flew into her next.

"How did this happen? Who took away the Nightmare Syndrome Master gifted Koichi with!?" Koji growled.

Zoe gasped as she felt this odd chill enter her body before it faded. She groaned before standing up as well. Her eyes were hidden from view.

"Hey… that little Digimon in Takuya's arms… its forehead thing is glowing," JP noted.

Takuya looked down, seeing Calumon's triangle was indeed glowing.

Dash frowned. "Maybe that little Digimon is behind the release of Koichi then."

Koji looked back and growled. "If that is the case, then I think Takuya did the right thing by bringing it here. Master can eliminate it himself then."

Takuya gritted his teeth at that. Calumon frowned, knowing what he had to do. "Takuya, listen… you need to tell the Spirits to not attack Danny. I've been doing that, but I guess it was showing on my forehead a little. I'm going to make a break for it."

Takuya looked at Calumon through his goggles. "O-okay… But be careful, please…" He hoped his Spirits would be able to contact the others' Spirits in Calumon's place. Wait… how is Calumon able to talk to the other Spirits…?

Calumon then scratched Takuya's arm. The scratch didn't hurt Takuya, but he understood what Calumon was trying to do. He pretended that his arm hurt and 'accidentally' let Calumon go. Calumon then made his triangle glow brightly to temporarily blind the other Legendary Warriors before he flew quickly into the throne room. Takuya, the only being to wear goggles that had enough tint to them to protect his eyes from Calumon's flash attack, saw where Calumon was going. He thought Calumon was leaving, not heading straight to Dreammon himself.

Oh no… No! I won't let him take on Dreammon! Takuya thought as he ran from the room, trying to catch Calumon. I won't let him take on Dreammon alone!

"Ugh…!" Zoe stopped moving.

Takuya stopped and looked back, realizing that if he didn't stay and help Danny, then this whole plan would fall apart. Koichi and Zoe were too confused to fight back right now, so they would all be easy targets to the Tapirmon once they realized what was going on.

Growling to himself, he decided to remain behind. He ran back into the room. "I lost the little Digimon. I think he was fleeing for his life."

"Whatever, we can deal with it later, we need to get the Tapirmon to put the gift of Master back into Koichi," Koji grumbled.

"Huh…?" Zoe blinked, her eyes no longer glazed, Danny flew out of her body while still invisible. "What's… going on…?"

Takuya felt his heart leaping for joy at Zoe being freed from Dreammon's control, but he kept it restrained. He hoped his Spirits would contact the Spirits of the next Warrior to be freed to not attack Danny.

"What? No, not Zoe too! What is going on!?" JP growled.

"I have no idea, but we must make sure both Zoe and Koichi get Master's gift back!" Dash hissed.

"Guys? Why are you talking so weird? Who's this 'Master'?" Zoe asked, very lost right now.

"Zoe! I don't know how but you snapped out of the Nightmare Syndrome!" Koichi called.

"What? Nightmare Syndrome?" Zoe frowned.

Takuya didn't even answer. He looked around, acting like he was looking for the source of the releasing. "I can't see anything!"

"Tapirmon!" Koji snapped, looking at the good Tapirmon, who flinched at the sudden call.

"Y-yes?" Tapirmon timidly asked.

"Release your Nightmare Syndrome on these two. They need to regain Master's gift!" Koji demanded.

Tapirmon hesitated. Takuya and Danny both gulped silently, knowing this was a very bad thing.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and do it!" Koji snapped.

Tapirmon nodded before she took a breath. "Very well. Nightmare Syndrome!"

Instead of aiming at Koichi and Zoe, she spread out her pink Nightmare Syndrome at Koji, JP, and Dash.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Dash snapped.

Takuya lifted his goggles, revealing his very vivid eyes. "We're doing what we should have done from the get go!" He exclaimed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his D-Tector.

"Takuya!?" All the Legendary Warriors looked at him in shock.

Takuya held up his D-Tector, forming the familiar ball of fractal code around his left hand. He scanned it through the D-Tector's light, swiping his hand up as he did so. "EXECUTE NOW! FUSION EVOLUTION!" he cried. The fractal code surrounded him, transforming into a blue-white cocoon of light. Within it, he felt the familiar transformation sweep over him. His body grew in height and became more muscular as a tugging sensation near the bottom of his spine transformed into a tail. A slight pain accompanied the growth of his wings and a sharp pain filled his mouth as his teeth elongated. Armor formed on his body and his hair turned yellow, becoming long and wild as his eyes turned a sharp, icy blue color. The light finally shattered and he flared his wings, landing and shouting out his name as he did so. "ALDAMON!"

"Zoe, Koichi, I'll explain everything later, but for now you need to help me fight off Koji, JP, and Dash, they're under the control of the enemy right now," Aldamon said to his two now awake friends. "Will you help me?"

Koichi blinked, but nodded. "Of course we'll help." He said as he held up his D-Tector.

"No! Koichi, you can't!" Koji spoke up. "You must let the Master give you back his gift!"

"I don't serve anyone, Koji," Koichi spoke up. "And you shouldn't either. I'm sorry to do this…"

Koichi elbowed Koji in the stomach to make him let him go.

Koji backed away with a cough, allowing Koichi to escape and race back towards Aldamon's side.

Zoe saw Dash and JP coming towards her and kicked up dust in their faces before she ran over to Aldamon. "Okay, I may be in the dark here, but even I can tell something definitely happened to them."

"Let's just say that they're being controlled by someone called Dreammon, he's the real enemy here," Koichi stated, being a bit more in the know of what was going on.

Aldamon nodded. "That's right. And Dreammon is after the power of Susanoomon, which is why he was after us Legendary Warriors." He explained.

"It's an honor that we all wanted, how dare you try to fight back against it!" JP growled.

However, Aldamon wasn't fazed by the attempt to guilt him into joining back up with Dreammon. "It is not an honor, and you know it! He would just take us over and we would lose everything that makes us… us!"

"If we must fight to give you back Master's gift, then we will!" Koji growled, feeling quite angry and hurt that Koichi was turned against him.

Koji held up his D-Tector. Both Spirits of Light appeared on the D-Tector's screen as a ball of fractal code formed on his left hand. Koji then slid the D-Tector across the code. "Execute now! Fusion Evolution!" As soon as he said those words, the coding surrounded his body and he cried out as his body grew in height and his strength increased. A white bodysuit formed on his body as his hair grew short and became platinum blonde in color. His eyes turned red as he gained the chest armor and lower leg armor of KendoGarurumon, along with the left paw. His right hand gained armor on it, and the helmet of Lobomon appeared on his upper face. Landing, he grabbed a twin-bladed sword and swung it around before firing off a slew of missiles and a laser from his paw-like gauntlet. "Beowolfmon!"

Koichi gulped when he saw Beowolfmon approaching.

"Koichi, don't worry, I've got this," Aldamon promised.

Koichi nodded, realizing it was better if he and Zoe focused on JP and Dash.

"Then I'll take you on myself," Dash hissed.

Dash took out his D-Tector as the dark green Beast Spirit roared before appearing on the screen of the tan and brown device. He invoked the ball of fractal coding on his hand before swiping the D-Tector across the coding. "EXECUTE! BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" Dash cried out as the coding surrounded his body. He could feel his skin becoming bark, with the leaves forming on his back. A tail sprouted from his spine as his body took on a quadruped form, and the leaves around his neck formed as well. Finally, the coding vanished as he landed, swishing his tail around before calling out his Beast Spirit name. "PETALDRAMON!"

"You ready, Zoe?" Koichi asked.

"Yeah, let's kick some butt!" Zoe nodded.

Koichi then held up his own D-Tector as the purple outline of his own Beast Spirit roared and appeared on the screen. He held up his left hand and a ball of fractal code formed around it before he brought it to his D-Tector, running the code across the scanner. "Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution!" As soon as he cried that out, coding surrounded the older twin's form. Koichi cried out as his body became more quadruped like his twin's, only his body became more feline in appearance, with dark armor forming on his body. Emitters of some kind appeared on his armor as well before he landed, crying out his name. "JagerLowemon!"

JP growled. "I'm not letting you get away with this!"

Zoe glared at JP. "Forget it! I won't let you take me back to that again!" She held up her D-Tector as the pink outline of her Beast Spirit appeared on the screen of her lavender and pink D-Tector. She held up her hand as a ball of fractal code appeared around it. Zoe then slid the D-Tector over the fractal code. "Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution!" As soon as she said that, Zoe cried out as fractal code surrounded her. Her body became tan and her hair shortened and became light blue in color. A purple bikini-like outfit appeared on her body, revealing even more skin than her Human Spirit did. Light brown and brown wings appeared on her back as she gained armored claws over her hands. Her feet became talon-like as well. A face mask covered her mouth, leaving her eyes visible. She landed and cried out her name. "Zephyrmon!"

JP held up his D-Tector as the green outline of his Beast Spirit showed up on the screen. He held up his hand as a ball of fractal code appeared around it and he slid the D-Tector over the code. "Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution!" As soon as he said that, the code surrounded his body. JP felt his skin become metal as his legs became tank treads. His skin turned a combination of blue and grey with hints of yellow as well. A tug from his head indicated he was gaining his cannon and his arms became cannons as well. His eyes became green and he landed, crying out his name. "MetalKabuterimon!"

Danny gulped as he saw everyone turning into these powerful Digimon. And I'm supposed to go into three more of these guys!? It was easy when they were just human, but going into them while evolved… that's a different story...

Tapirmon flew back, she already set up for Danny, but even so, it would be difficult for Danny to go into them while they were evolved. Danny just hoped Takuya, Koichi, and Zoe would be able to hold them off until he could wake them up. Uuuugh, now would be a REALLY good time for me to know how to freaking duplicate myself!

Aldamon got into his fighting stance as he faced down Beowolfmon. Something tells me this isn't going to be so easy… He thought to himself. But… at least this time we've evened the odds a bit.

---

Calumon knew what he was doing was incredibly risky, but he wasn't going to run away, not anymore. Dreammon nearly took all his friends and turned them into an evil Susanoomon just for his own goals. The only thing that had saved them was the missing puzzle; him. If Calumon hadn't been the missing puzzle, they all would've ceased to exist. No, I won't allow that to ever happen again. Please Teacher, be with me for this fight.

Calumon finally made it into the throne room, there he saw Dreammon sitting on the throne. The little Digimon glared before he landed. The crystal matrix on his forehead glowed white for a moment. "There you are, Dreammon."

Dreammon looked over at the small Digimon before him. "Hmmm? What do we have here? A mere insect of a Digimon? Please, go away. I have no time to deal with such low riff-raff."

"You better watch who you call a low riff-raff," Calumon stated. "I understand you're looking for the Warrior of Ice, weren't you?"

Dreammon perked up at that. "Ah, so you know where the Warrior or Ice is, then?"

"Of course… why don't I introduce myself?" Calumon said before fractal code surrounded him, reverting him back to his human form. "My name is Tommy Himi."

Dreammon felt his eyes widen in shock. "You were that small Digimon?! The Warrior of Ice?!"

"Yup," Tommy confirmed.

Dreammon frowned. "Why show yourself to me then, knowing that you are the last piece I need for my goal?"

"Because you're not going to live long enough to use me, let alone tell anyone else," Tommy said as he held up his D-Tector, his Beast Spirit showing on the screen. "I'll make sure of it!"

Tommy held up his D-Tector as a ball of fractal code appeared around his left hand. He ran the code through the scanner of his D-Tector. "Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution!" As soon as he said that, coding surrounded his body as he cried out. His body grew in size and strength, with white fur covering his skin. He gained gloves that had the symbol of Ice on them and his hair grew long before becoming braided together in long locks. His face became more beast-like, and he opened his eyes to reveal them as a blackish-brown color. He landed, crying out his name as twin axes came down and he grabbed them, swinging the blades. "Korikakumon!"

"What…" Dreammon hesitated. "What makes you think you can beat me on your own? You saw what I was capable of."

"I'm not here to talk, I'm here to take you out," Korikakumon growled.

"Not so fast! If you want me, you'll have to deal with my Tapirmon!" Dreammon said before snapping a finger.

Hundreds upon hundreds of Tapirmon appeared over Korikakumon and Dreammon. Korikakumon looked at them and narrowed his eyes a bit, but he didn't seem frightened.

Dreammon noticed how the Beast Warrior of Ice didn't even look intimidated. "What's wrong? Aren't you scared at all?"

"Do I look like I'm scared?" Korikakumon asked as he started to approach Dreammon, his hands gripping the hilts on his two axes.

Dreammon didn't show it, but he was now becoming a bit afraid of the Warrior of Ice. He knew the Legendary Warriors were powerful, yes, which was why he tried to use his Nightmare Syndrome on them. But facing them directly was a whole different matter.

"Hurry! Hit him with your Nightmare Syndrome!" Dreammon commanded.

The Tapirmon shot out their black clouds of Nightmare Syndrome at Korikakumon. However, there was some kind of white barrier protecting him from the Nightmare Syndrome.

"W-what is that barrier?!" Dreammon demanded, feeling not so brave now. "How did you summon it?!"

Korikakumon smirked. "Didn't you notice the crystal matrix on my forehead when I was Calumon- sorry, the 'lowly riff-raff' Digimon earlier? It glowed white. I've learned how your Nightmare Syndrome worked thanks to one of the Tapirmon who escaped your hivemind. And I now know how to protect myself from it. Why do you think I decided to come here alone? It wasn't intended to be a suicide mission after all. I intended to destroy you once and for all."

"WHAT!? How could any Digimon create a barrier from the Nightmare Syndrome!?" Dreammon shouted.

Korikakumon chuckled. "Like I said before, 'be careful who you call a lowly riff-raff'."

Korikakumon's arrows began to glow a bright white blue. "Now prepare yourself… Frozen Arrowhead!"

Dreammon quickly teleported himself a few feet away from the incoming extending arrows that easily ripped through the throne like it was made of wet toilet paper. The Tapirmon flew back, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

"What's the matter? Are there any other attacks you can use other than Nightmare Syndrome?" Korikakumon asked. "I thought you were supposed to be this big strong Digimon… but it looks like without your dream powers, all you can do is dodge! Avalanche Axes!"

Korikakumon ran at Dreammon with his axes.

Dreammon flew up and away from Korikakumon's attack, but he just barely escaped. Korikakumon threw one of his axes, catching Dreammon off guard. Dreammon quickly tried to fly away, but the axe did manage to cut through his shoulder. Korikakumon glared when he noticed the cut was regenerating itself.

Dreammon sneered. "What? Didn't you know I can regenerate myself? It is quite the handy technique, isn't it? And believe it or not, I do have other attacks."

---

"Hurricane Gale!" Zephyrmon shouted as she hurled feathers that were as sharp as pointed arrows from her hair and wings at MetalKabuterimon.

MetalKabuterimon took the hit with his armored-like body. "Oh, was that supposed to tickle?"

Zephyrmon growled to herself. "Okay… let's see if this will work! Plasma Paws!" Red energy formed around her hands and feet as she flew at MetalKabuterimon directly, the heated energy actually doing some damage to his armor this time.

"Okay, that did hurt a little, but not as much as this is going to!" MetalKabuterimon remarked before he aimed his cannon-like arms at Zephyrmon. "Bolo Thunder!"

Zephyrmon gasped as she quickly flew to dodge the incoming balls of electricity.

"Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon shot out a tornado of leaves at JagerLoweemon.

JagerLoweemon jumped back and landed on the ground, skidding back a bit before he looked up at Petaldramon. "Let's see you stop this!" He hissed as dark energy began to form around his body. "Dark Master!"

JagerLoweemon pushed off the ground and lunged at Petaldramon, that dark aura still surrounding his body as he made contact.

Petaldramon growled as he tried to hold his ground with JagerLoweemon's attack. JagerLoweemon was pushing Petaldramon back a few feet before Petaldramon decided to dig his two tails into the ground.

"Thorn Jab!"

Vines came up and grabbed JagerLoweemon while also trying to penetrate the lion's armor with their thorns.

Danny was watching and waiting, he needed one of them to be weakened before he could go inside them, otherwise their resistance would just shove him back out. He had tried with Beowolfmon earlier, but there was a wall of data that kept him from going in any further even while intangible. He frowned as he looked at Petaldramon.

I still can't believe he's Dash. I also should do something, but… I can't give away my position or this whole plan will fail… Danny frowned, feeling torn on helping or staying hidden to wait for an opportunity.

As Beowolfmon attacked with his twin swords, Aldamon had to block with his arm cannons. The Warrior of Flame grunted at the impact, but he held his ground. Thinking fast, he swung his tail at Beowolfmon's gut, landing a hit that forced the other Fusion Evolved Warrior away from his personal space. Aldamon panted a bit, still feeling the after effects of fighting so many battles one after another.

"What's the matter, Takuya? You feeling tired?" Beowolfmon asked, seeing Aldamon panting. "Well don't worry, soon you can go back to sleep!"

Aldamon eyes widened as he heard that, but he was quick to counter. "Not this time!" His cannons turned to firing mode and opened up, gathering their charge. Upon his cannons reaching maximum capacity, Aldamon let loose with his attack. "Atomic Inferno!" A slew of fireballs was let loose at Beowolfmon.

"Cleansing Light!" Beowolfmon countered with missiles that cancelled out Aldamon's fireballs with a large explosion.

Zephyrmon, who was able to escape MetalKabuterimon's Bolo Thunder attack, flew towards JagerLoweemon and Petaldramon. "Plasma Paws!"

Zephyrmon slashed through the vines that held JagerLoweemon.

"Thanks," JagerLoweemon said gratefully as Petaldramon stumbled back from the sudden cut from the vines.

Zephyrmon gave him a smile from behind her face mask. "No problem." She said before looking back. "What do you say we swap opponents? I think I can handle Petaldramon better than you can."

"Yeah, good idea," JagerLoweemon agreed as Zephyrmon went after Petaldramon and the lion warrior ran towards MetalKabuterimon.

JagerLoweemon knew he would be able to match MetalKabuterimon more evenly than Zephyrmon could, which was why he had agreed to the idea. "I'm sorry, JP, but this has to be done! Ebony Blast!" JagerLoweemon let loose a black sphere of dark energy at MetalKabuterimon once he was within range.

MetalKabuterimon saw the dark sphere, but because he was a tank, he couldn't dodge it very easily and was hit. Because it was a spirit energy, his armor did nothing to protect him from it. MetalKabuterimon let out a cry of pain, but he wasn't giving up yet.

"Not half as sorry as you're about to be, pal!" MetalKabuterimon growled as he crouched himself down, aiming his cannon horn at JagerLoweemon. "Electron Cannon!"

MetalKabuterimon fired a position laser at JagerLoweemon.

Seeing this, JagerLoweemon jumped back and ran to the side, causing the attack to miss, but it was too close for the comfort of the Warrior of Darkness. JagerLoweemon gulped at seeing how close it had been to him. "That was close…"

"Bolo Thunder!" MetalKabuterimon fired the two balls of electricity while JagerLoweemon was a little distracted.

JagerLoweemon yelped as he was hit, his body being shocked by the electricity. He roared out in pain, but he tried his best to ride through it, he knew he needed to strike hard and fast.

Regaining his senses, JagerLoweemon looked back before he turned to face MetalKabuterimon head on. That dark aura began to surround his form as he readied his attack. "Dark Master!" Pushing off the ground, JagerLoweemon lunged towards MetalKabuterimon, shoving off the rest of the Bolo Thunder attack as he did so.

JagerLoweemon tackled MetalKabuterimon in the chest, and while he was this close to him, he did another attack. "Ebony Blast!"

The dark sphere of spirit energy slammed right into MetalKabuterimon's chest, causing him to cry out in pain. JagerLoweemon jumped off of MetalKabuterimon's body. Shortly after JagerLoweemon jumped away, MetalKabuterimon's fractal code began to appear, showing he had been weakened.

That's it! That's my cue! Danny realized before he shot into MetalKabuterimon's body.

A gasp escaped MetalKabuterimon as he felt this chill enter his body, but he didn't know what it was. All that he knew was that it was there and then it was gone. He grunted as he felt something was off, but he ignored it.

"MetalKabuterimon, can you still fight?" Beowolfmon asked as he pushed Aldamon back.

There was no answer from the Warrior of Thunder.

"MetalKabuterimon!" Petaldramon shouted.

"Hey, your fight is with me, big boy!" Zephyrmon spoke up. "Hurricane Gale!"

Zephyrmon shot out arrow-like feathers at Petaldramon, making him hiss in anger. "Leaf Cyclone!"

Zephyrmon was quickly caught up in the tornado of razor sharp leaves.

Zephyrmon cried out in pain as the leaves bit into her body. Seeing this, JagerLoweemon was quick to react. "Air Black King!" Dark energy surrounded his form as he rushed at Petaldramon, slamming into the Warrior of Wood from the side while in mid-air.

Petaldramon let out a cry as he stumbled back.

"Are you okay?" JagerLoweemon asked Zephyrmon.

Zephyrmon nodded. "Yeah… thanks. That would have been nasty if you hadn't intervened."

"Well I did owe you one," JagerLoweemon chuckled.

MetalKabuterimon groaned as Danny flew out of him, and he looked around confused. "Eh? What's going on? Where am I? … Why… am I in my beast form…?"

"JP!" JagerLoweemon called out. "How do you feel?"

MetalKabuterimon groaned as he shook his head. "Like everything is coming out of a haze. I last remember saving Takuya from a Nightmare Syndrome, but then everything is blank."

"Good, looks like we have you back," JagerLoweemon said in relief.

"Oh… I guess that means I fell, huh?" MetalKabuterimon sighed.

"Well you're here now, so that means whatever's going on, it's working!" Zephrymon spoke up.

"Zoe? You're not under the Nightmare Syndrome anymore?" MetalKabuterimon asked in surprise.

Petaldramon growled as he looked at the three. "Seems we're outnumbered now, Koji."

Beowolfmon noticed the turn of events and growled himself. "It would appear so." He noted.

"Hey! Eyes on me!" Aldamon snapped as he flew at Beowolfmon and gave him a nasty uppercut punch to the jaw.

Beowolfmon yelled as he stumbled back from the uppercut. "That was a cheap move! Frozen Hunter!"

Beowolfmon charged at Aldamon with his beo saber glowing a bright white. Aldamon blocked most of the attack, but his armor was starting to weaken, and so was he.

Aldamon managed to withstand the majority of the attack, but the last few seconds finally threw him back against the wall, leaving an impact crater. "GAH!" He stayed there for a moment before he fell down to the ground, groaning as he did so.

Beowolfmon began to walk over to Aldamon, intending to knock him out this time. Zephyrmon was using her Hurricane Gale to keep Petaldramon away. MetalKabuterimon began to move, but he suddenly turned back to JP.

"Ugh… sorry guys… I guess I'm completely wiped out…" JP apologized.

JagerLoweemon looked back. "You just rest. We can handle things from here." He told JP.

Aldamon managed to get to his feet, but he was now panting heavily. I… I don't know if I can beat Koji like this… but… I need to try. I just need… one strong attack, that should do it. But do I have the energy for it?

"Cleaning Light!" Beowolfmon shot out more missiles at Aldamon.

Aldamon tried to counter with his own attack, but he was too tired to bring up enough fireballs to cancel out all of Beowolfmon's missiles and some of them managed to hit Aldamon. Aldamon fell to the ground.

"Aldamon!" JagerLoweemon cried out.

"You're finished now, Takuya. I don't know how you did it, but your little 'cure' is going to be destroyed," Beowolfmon growled.

JagerLoweemon jumped at Beowolfmon suddenly, biting at his arm that was holding the beo saber.

Beowolfmon yelped at the sudden bite and he was forced to turn his attention from Aldamon to his own twin brother. "How dare you!"

"Koji… you don't really want to do this, do you?" JagerLoweemon frowned. "You're being controlled, you know that, right? Dreammon sees you as nothing more than a pawn in his game!"

Beowolfmon hissed as he looked at his twin, red eyes meeting red. "Master's will demands I do this!"

JagerLoweemon could see his brother wasn't willing to listen to reason, and he sighed. "I'm sorry then, Koji… but if this is what we must do, then I will do it!" Dark energy began to surround his form again. "Ebony Blast!" He shot the sphere of dark energy at his own brother. Given how it was at point blank range, it was a guaranteed hit.

Beowolfmon let out a cry of pain before he shoved JagerLoweemon off of him.

---

"Darkness Veil!" Dreammon shouted before his wool began to cover the entire area into darkness with white specks like stars.

Korikakumon looked up, frowning. "What's going on?"

"I've covered the area in darkness. You likely can't tell where anything is right now, can you? Let me ask you something, little boy; are you afraid of the dark?" Dreammon asked.

Korikakumon growled. He never liked the dark, though he came to realize it wasn't the darkness itself he was afraid of, but what could be lurking inside it. This is bad… Dreammon may not know this yet, but my barrier can only stay on me for 2 minutes. Meaning if I don't finish this quick, I'm going to be vulnerable to his Nightmare Syndrome.

"Do you think you can win against me now, little boy?" Dreammon mocked.

"I won't let you toy with me! Avalanche Throw!" Korikakumon threw his two axes into the darkness. It seemed to cut through it for a second, but the tear quickly mended itself. Regeneration...

Dreammon's laughter echoed all around Korikakumon, who was looking around for his location. "You can't hit what you can't see!"

While Korikakumon was blind, Dreammon could see the beast just fine. He smirked in the darkness, knowing he just had to knock out the Warrior of Ice, and even his barrier wouldn't keep him safe from his Nightmare Syndrome.

"Dream Stars!"

The stars around Korikakumon began to glow a bright yellow and started to move around him. Korikakumon frowned before the stars began to move at him. Korikakumon gasped as some of the stars hit him, his barrier started to crack.

Oh no! Korkikakumon gasped. Do these things put me to sleep like the Nightmare Syndrome?

Korikakumon tried to dodge or use his axes to counter the stars, but the stars kept cracking his shield the more he touched them, even with his axes. This is no good. I'm too easy a target like this! Alright then, guess I can't defeat Dreammon as Korikakumon as long as he has me in here.

Fractal code surrounded the beast. "Korikakumon slide evolution!"

A familiar white bear took Korikakumon's place. "Kumamon!"

The stars started to move at Kumamon. Now that he was smaller and had better mobility, he was able to jump away from the stars, then he used his Launcher to shoot out snowballs at the other stars. "Blizzard Blaster!"

The stars were hit and deflected by the snowballs. Dreammon smirked. "Sneaky little bear~ Too bad it's all you can do to stay away from me…"

The stars then disappeared, leaving no light whatsoever, and leaving Kumamon in complete darkness. Dreammon smirked, knowing how complete darkness plagued the mind of many people, especially human children. Dreammon made some whooshing sound to put Kumamon on edge.

"Where are you!?" Kumamon demanded, starting to get flustered in the darkness.

Dreammon sneered. "Awww, is the little bear getting scared now?" He taunted Kumamon.

"I'm not scared of you!" Kumamon snapped.

There was a small sound from behind Kumamon, making him jump and attack. "Blizzard Blaster!"

Kumamon shot snowballs into the darkness, but it didn't sound like he hit anything.

"You missed~" Dreammon taunted. "Care to try again?"

There was a pair of glowing eyes in the corner of Kumamon's eyes, which made him shoot out his Blizzard Blaster in that direction, but once again, it didn't sound like he hit anything. Kumamon could feel his Digi-Core hammering against his chest.

Dreammon sneered at the sight before him. He could see the small bear was getting worn down, which was what he wanted. Soon, I will have the Warrior of Ice, and then my plan can be put into motion!

Kumamon rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath before letting out. Calm down… if I keep attacking like that, I'll just wear myself out. I can't let this darkness get to me. I just-

There was a sudden echoey laughter that made Kumamon jump and aimed his Launcher in that direction, but he stopped himself before he attacked again. No… no, stay in control… it's just Dreammon, he's just messing with your head.

Though Kumamon could feel himself shaking, if he could see in the dark, he would see his Launcher was shaking.

Dreammon almost purred to himself, feeling quite smug with how well his plan was working out. But he knew he could not afford to get too confident, because then his plan would fail. He decided to up the ante.

"Warped Illusion." Dreammon whispered.

There was a sudden being in front of Kumamon despite it being in complete darkness. Kumamon blinked, seeing it was Takuya. Takuya's back was to him, however.

"Takuya…? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping the others…?" Kumamon asked, confused.

"Tommy… you disappoint me you know…" Takuya said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kumamon frowned.

"You've just been getting in everyone's way. And now…" Takuya turned around, Kumamon nearly forgot to breathe when he saw Takuya's face. "... it's too late."

Takuya's eyes were completely black with two red dots, blood was running down his eyes. His nails had grown out long, long enough to break through his gloves, and were bloody. Takuya's teeth looked sharp, as well as chipped.

Kumamon let out a scream as he fell on his butt. "W-w-w-what happened to you!?"

Dreammon sneered. "Your friend is disappointed in you, can't you see?"

"I hate you, Tommy," Takuya growled.

Those words broke Kumamon's heart. Then Dreammon began making more illusions of Takuya appear around Kumamon, making them all say how much they hated Kumamon and how useless he was. The barrier around Kumamon had disappeared.

Each of the illusions began to taunt Kumamon, making him feel even worse than before. Unable to hold on to his will to fight, fractal code surrounded Kumamon's body, turning him back to human. Back into the scared little boy that nobody wanted.

Yes, he's mine now~ Dreammon grinned.

Dreammon began to drift towards Tommy, who was curled into a ball. He sneered as he began to reach for the boy, but as he did so, Tommy's D-Tector began to glow and a light erupted from it, driving Dreammon back with its brightness.

As soon as the light enveloped Tommy, it seemed to calm him down, as it was soothing to him.

"Huh…?" Tommy blinked open his eyes, seeing his Spirits, Kumamon and Korikakumon standing before him.

"Tommy… do you remember what Master said when you were alone in the dark?" Kumamon asked.

"He said… 'when you're alone in the dark, your biggest enemy is yourself.' You know what that means, right?" Korikakumon asked.

Tommy nodded. "It means… my fear and imagination is what will take me down before any beast or murderer lurking in the darkness would…"

"Exactly. You know that warped being that looks like Takuya isn't really Takuya, but you're letting it get to you," Kumamon stated. "It's time to stop holding back."

"And finish this nightmare once and for all," Korikakumon added.

"It's time we united," Kumamon said.

"And wake everyone up from this nightmare!" Korikakumon finished.

Tommy's eyes widened in awe as his two Spirits started to come together right before him, creating a bright light as well as a blizzard around him, protecting him from any sneak attacks from Dreammon. The D-Tector appeared in Tommy's hand, glowing brightly.

A ball of fractal code appeared on Tommy's hand as he ran it through the scanner of his D-Tector. "Execute! Fusion Evolution!" The code surrounded Tommy as he cried out. He could feel his body gaining white fur and small bits of ice began to stick out of his back. He gained a few ice bits on his head as well, and slight light grey accents appeared on his fur as well. His eyes turned blue as he opened them, the symbol of ice appearing on his hands, which now became paws with black claws. The same went for his feet, and a tail appeared as well. "Polarmon!"

Dreammon stared at the newly fusion evolution Digimon, before he started laughing. "Are you kidding me? That's your fusion? You look even cuter than your Kumamon form!"

Polarmon let out a pout. "Oh yeah!? Well you'll see soon that just because I'm cute doesn't mean that I'm harmless!"

Dreammon snickered at the claim. "Then show me your power, if you are stronger that is."

First I need to get out of this darkness. Polarmon frowned before feeling his Calumon data inside him. And I think I know how.

Dreammon began creating illusions around Polarmon. This time, Polarmon closed his eyes and put his claws together like he was praying. The red upside down triangle appeared on his forehead, then it let out a bright flash of light. Dreammon let out a cry from the light as it weakened his Darkness Veil. With the Darkness Veil fading away, Polarmon smirked.

"Now it's my turn." Polarmon grinned.

"Not so fast! Your barrier is down, so I can have my Tapirmon trap you in a Nightmare Syndrome!" Dreammon shouted.

The Tapirmon quickly surrounded Polarmon. Polarmon raised his claws. "Ice Ball!"

Hundreds upon hundreds of balls of ice suddenly appeared around the Tapirmon, and trapped them inside.

Dreammon blinked in surprise. "What is this?! How did you do that?!"

Polarmon turned to face Dreammon before taking a deep breath. "Blizzard Wind!"

Polarmon shot out a powerful blizzard from his mouth, instantly freezing and coating the area in ice and snow as the attack passed by. Dreammon teleported to get out of the way, but a small part of him was completely frozen before he could completely dematerialize.

Dreammon felt the cold feeling and looked back at the frozen limb in horror. "NO! This can't be!"

"I'm going to end you, Dreammon," Polarmon growled. "You will never trap us in your nightmares again!"

---

Titanic X: ZAFT: You will see how they free the other Legendary Warriors as well. :3

Luna Lillyth: DarkFoxKit: Dreammon can sense his Nightmare Syndrome, but that doesn't always mean he pays attention to it. If he thinks he already has a Legendary Warrior under his control, he doesn't bother to check if he lost his hold on them unless they give him a reason to believe he did.

The nightmare thing was inspired by a lot of horror games and movies. Maybe we went a little too far with the gore though, but it is a nightmare, they're usually exaggerated.

ZAFT: We will try to tone down the gore if we do another nightmare like that though. ^^'