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?

46. Seeing Things in a New Light

ZAFT: Another week gone by, another update. :3

Takuya: Yeah. I'm feeling sore from last week's writing… *Rubs shoulders*

DarkFoxKit: Don't rest just yet, we've got more writing to do once we update.

Andy: What do you mean you have more writing to do? Isn't this just an update day?

ZAFT: Apparently we can write today~ :3

Takuya: Oh no… *Groans and puts head on desk*

DarkFoxKit: So have fun with that~ Let's get the readers into the chapter, and let's go have some fun.

Andy: *Pulls up a sign that says 'help' as he was being dragged away*

(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 46: Seeing Things in a New Light

Please, please, PLEASE let this be a nightmare that Dreammon trapped me in! Agunimon begged as he was completely strapped to the lab's table, his powers not working due to the rings around his wrists and ankles. Jack was grinning at him hungrily, wearing his white lab coat, something he hadn't worn in a long time, and holding up a scalpel.

How this had happened, Agunimon didn't want to recount, but he felt his life flashing before his eyes, which included that very instance.

And to think it all started with me just trying to keep Jazz and Lopmon safe… Agunimon thought grimly.

Thinking back, Agunimon remembered that Jazz had gone upstairs to get a hazmat suit to better suit her for battling with the ghosts, especially after her shirt was torn up. Jazz had Lopmon stay with Agunimon, not knowing Takuya could Spirit Evolve.

A ghost wolf with two heads came through the wall, a giant bat with split wings came in, a huge boar with spikes growing from its back, and a giant one eyed tentacle mole came through. All of them had razor sharp teeth and claws, growling, and ready to feast on human flesh. They stopped, however, when they saw Agunimon there instead of their target.

While one of the ghost animals, the one-eyes tentacle mole, had fled, Agunimon had dealt with the other three, relying on his fighting skills instead of his attacks. It had worked, with him driving off two more ghosts, the boar and the ghost wolf. before he finished the last one, the ghost bat, with the Fenton Rod.

Of course, that had been when things had gone downhill, with Jack coming down instead of Jazz. Lopmon quickly plopped himself to the ground to act like the stuffed animal that he wanted Jack to believe. Not that it mattered, since Jack's full attention was on the armored man in front of him. Agunimon's eyes widened when he saw his uncle staring right at him, and it was at that moment, he remembered Andy's warning about him being careful with letting Jack see his Spirit Evolution.

Of course, Agunimon had seen another ghost creeping up on Jack, the ghostly wolf, only for him to attack it with one of his fire attacks, and that had been what sealed the deal. Jack had exclaimed he was a ghost.

I was such an idiot! Agunimon cursed to himself.

Jack wasted no time trapping Agunimon in his Jack-O-Ninetails. It squeezed Agunimon, but thankfully because he wasn't actually a ghost, it couldn't make him explode. Instead it just made it hard to move. Jack frowned, seeing that the Ninetails didn't seem to have much of an effect on the armored man. It was then Jack realized he may not be a ghost, but one of those unknown creatures that had attacked them at the Reunion in Wisconsin. Jack had been preparing for this day. He took out some rings from his pocket.

"I've got you now!" Jack threw the rings at Agunimon while he was struggling to get out of the Ninetails without burning it, because he feared he would hurt Jack if he burned it.

Agunimon gasped as the rings clamped around his wrists and ankles. He suddenly felt his power shutting down, but he couldn't quite revert back to human either. He fell to the ground, having trouble staying standing. Lopmon gasped, watching this all happen in front of him.

Now that he had been left helpless, that meant Jack could easily pick him up with no trouble, and that was how Agunimon now found himself in this predicament.

"You're obviously not a ghost," Jack said, which surprised Agunimon enough to have him return to the present. "No ectoplasm, except for the stuff that was splattered onto you of course. You don't have that ghostly glow either. Your powers seem to work differently than ghosts, you don't have a ghost core either."

"Please… let me go…" Agunimon pleaded, feeling his form shaking with fear. He could feel his Digi-Core racing with fear as well.

Agunimon hadn't felt this afraid since Duskmon nearly killed him and his friends. It was something he never wanted to tell Koichi about, Koichi dealt with enough guilt as it was.

"Not until I find out more about you," Jack stated in a hard tone. "You came to my house, for all I know you could've hurt my family. I won't allow any harm to come to my family, whatever you are."

Agunimon felt his Digi-Core's pulsations pick up upon hearing the harsh tone from the older man. His breathing picked up a bit as well as sweat began to run down his exposed lower face. "Please… let me go…" His voice was shaking with fear now as well.

Jack frowned. "That voice… why does that voice sound familiar?"

Suddenly, Jazz came racing down into the lab, wearing a familiar teal hazmat suit, while holding onto Lopmon. Lopmon had likely gone to get Jazz after Jack brought Agunimon down into the lab.

"Dad! No! What are you doing to him!?" Jazz shouted, pushing Jack away from Agunimon as she stood between him and her father.

"Jazz, stay back. This… thing… came into our house, possibly with cruel intentions!" Jack retorted.

"Dad! He isn't a thing! He's Agunimon, he's one of the Legendary Warriors who saved another world. He's a good guy, he probably came here after sensing so many ghosts attacking our house! He was likely trying to protect us!" Jazz yelled.

Jack blinked before frowning. "Jazz… you do realize what you are saying sounds unbelievable at best and like something out of a fairy tale at worst, right?" He then frowned even more. "Did a ghost overtake you?!"

"No, Dad, a ghost did not overtake me. I just happen to be a decent human being towards another sentient being!" Jazz snapped. "I don't care if you don't believe me, Dad. Nobody believed you or Mom about ghosts until recently, not even me. So you have no room to talk about fairy tales. I'm releasing him, Dad."

Jack was surprised at Jazz's tone of voice; never before had Jazz ever raised her voice towards him or her mother!

Before Jack could react, Jazz pushed a button on the control panel that released Agunimon from the table. "Get out of here, Agunimon. We'll be fine on our own."

Agunimon looked quite shaken up, as he was somewhat pale looking and his breathing was somewhat heavy and hard. He sat up and looked at Jazz gratefully. Without another word, Agunimon fled from the lab. However, he didn't stop and run outside. No, he ran to his room and held out his D-Tector to the computer monitor before he was sucked into the computer. As he went through the vortex, he closed his eyes tightly as tears escaped from his eyes. I'm sorry… I can't remain there right now...

With Agunimon gone, Jazz looked at her dad. "Dad… listen… we need to talk."

Jack frowned as he looked at Jazz. "Why… did you let him go like that?"

"Because he was scared, and you were scaring him," Jazz said calmly. "And if I'm right… you were terrifying a child no less."

"What?"

Before Jazz could go into details, more ghosts started to appear in the lab.

"We'll talk after we get rid of the ghosts," Jazz stated, putting up her hazmat suit's hood, covering her hair and her face, making her look like a shorter version of Maddie.

Jack, upon seeing that, felt pride swell in his chest, despite the disappointment he felt as well. "My little girl… you've finally begun to become more like your mother than you know."

"Don't ever mention this to her," Jazz grumbled as she grabbed onto a Fenton Bazooka, and put Lopmon down. "Lopmon… try to find Takuya… I'm worried about him. I haven't seen him around lately."

To Jack's surprise, the small rabbit spoke up. "I will try to, but I don't know if I will."

Then the small rabbit ran up the stairs. "What the-"

"No time for talking, Dad!" Jazz spoke up before firing the Fenton bazooka at the ghosts.

Jack nodded before he grabbed a baton, and green glowing spinning blades appeared. "Fine then, let's do this!"

---

Andy was running through the woods. It was dark and hard to see. He was thankful for the light of the moon, but it wasn't enough for him to see easily. Without ghost eyes, or Dorumon to guide him, he tripped over a tree root that was sticking up from the ground. He could hear ghosts roaring not too far away. Andy crawled into some bushes to hide.

I left him… I left Danny like a coward… I thought I was better than that… but I'm nothing more than just a coward running to save his own skin… Andy cried to himself. Vlad was right, I'm not a ghost… I'm not a halfa… I'm not a Digimon… I'm not a Legendary Warrior… I'm just human…

Andy could hear the ghost animals growling nearby, stomping around, looking for him. Andy remembered all those times Danny risked himself since he became half ghosts, as well as Takuya's bravery. They didn't hesitate, they always put their safety at risk just to help people. Andy wished he could be more like them. If he had an ounce of their bravery, he would've stayed with Danny instead of being out here, hiding like a scared animal.

"You just ran out there to help those kids when that meat monster attacked." Takuya's voice said from Andy's mind. "That took real courage."

"It's okay to be scared, bro. It's not a bad thing." Danny's voice added from Andy's memories.

I may have been brave back then… but not now. I left you, Danny, I left you to Vlad. I'm no better than a sniveling coward now. I relied too much on Dorumon, the Fenton Rod, and having friends to back me up. But alone… I'm nothing… I'm powerless… I'm useless… Andy cried.

"You're not useless." Danny's voice said from inside Andy's mind. "Ghosts underestimate humans, which is just as well, because it means we can take them by surprise when we fight back." In fact, that didn't sound like a memory...

What can I do then? I have no weapons, I don't have Dorumon with me… Andy questioned, feeling like his brother was there beside him, which comforted him a little.

"Use that smart brain of yours." Danny's voice encouraged Andy. "You can do it. Look around you, you're not weaponless. You just need to know how to fight back with only what you have. Vlad forgets that because humans don't have such powers, they instead adapt, and make things work for them. You can do that same, bro."

Andy looked around the environment. From what he could see with the little light he was provided with, there were thorns, sticker bushes, flowers with pollen, sticky tree sap, the river, rocks, pointy dry tree branches. Nature itself could be used as weapons. Although they weren't made specifically to fight ghosts, he could still give them a run for their ectoplasm. He also had a slight advantage for being the only being here that didn't glow, so his position wouldn't be as obvious to them, even with their ghost eyes. Because there were so many of them together, their own glow would make it hard for their eyes to adjust in the dark enough to see him clearly.

Andy moved his fingers on the dirt below him, before he swiped his fingers on his cheeks, putting mud marks on his cheeks. Alright, Vlad, you want a sporting prey? I'll give you a sporting prey.

Some of the ghost animals began to look around the area Andy was in earlier. The big grizzly bear from earlier sniffed the human boy nearby. It gave a smirk before moving the bushes, only to see… nothing. It frowned in confusion.

"Surprise~" A voice said.

The bear turned to face the voice, only to suddenly get a small sticker bush right in the face, and its eyes, blinding it. Andy had a small branch in his hand that had the sharp, prickly leaves on it. The bear let out a roar of pain, Andy quickly moved to another tree while the other animal ghosts started to approach the roaring bear.

The next animal, a ghostly beaver with twin tails and four heads was sniffing the air, trying to pick up Andy's scent. The beaver grinned upon getting the scent and followed it to the tree, beginning to climb up the tree.

When the beaver ghost almost reached Andy, the boy smirked as he held up a large rock. The beaver ghost blinked in surprise before Andy dropped the big rock on its face before it could even think to go intangible, making it fall off the tree.

The beaver fell to the ground looking dazed. It saw stars in its vision, as well as multiple images of the boy running from the tree into the bushes now.

A ghostly moose with three eyes and six legs plowed through the bushes to find the boy, sniffing the air to get the scent of the human. Upon finding the scent, the moose ghost charged at a certain bush that was near a certain tree, not seeing Andy in the tree.

The moose frowned before he saw the boy near another tree, sticking his tongue out at him. The moose growled as it charged at Andy. Andy moved to the side as the ghost moose's horns hit the tree. It moved, but realized its horns were stuck by tree sap. Before the moose could even think to go intangible, Andy was holding a stick that had thorns. He stuck the thorny stick into the moose's side, causing ectoplasm to bleed from it. This attracted the other ghost animals.

The ghost wolves looked at the bleeding moose, and became hungry. Unable to resist their instincts, they jumped at the moose and started trying to eat it. Andy walked away.

Guess Vlad shouldn't have told me ghosts liked to eat each other. Andy thought to himself as he went into another bush.

A ghostly hawk, but with gorilla legs, came walking around, using its sharp eyesight to try and spot the boy, but to no avail due to the glow of the other ghost animals being in the area. Instead, it relied on the sense of smell, barely picking up Andy's scent due to the somewhat overpowering smell of ectoplasm.

Andy began to grab onto any vines he could get his hands on, and started doing something with them. The ghost hawk began to dive where it smelled Andy's scent. No human was going to get the best of ghosts, especially a weaponless one. The ghost hawk found Andy and managed to slash at him with its talons. Andy yelped as his cheek was bleeding now. The ghost hawk smirked before trying to grab onto Andy's arm.

Andy hissed before he threw the vines around the hawk's talons, tangling them up, then Andy pulled hard. The hawk yelped as it was pulled right into a large rock, causing half its head to go splat. "Not even ghosts are immune to being banged on against a hard rock. I guess I should be grateful that Danny's body is more durable than that, or that he never landed on his head when bashed against a building or a road."

The ghost hawk's form faded from losing so much ectoplasm, but the grizzly ghost from before came back, having recovered from its eyes being blinded. Or rather, it was still blinded, but it was relying on smell to find the boy now. It sniffed the air again, following the scent of Andy's blood to his hiding spot.

Andy had a handful of flowers. A giant squirrel ghost with sharp teeth lunged at Andy. The boy threw the flowers into the squirrel's face, causing pollen to spread all over the place. The ghost squirrel started sneezing uncontrollably while Andy started running.

But Andy couldn't keep avoiding the ghosts forever. A ghost mountain lion jumped on him, sinking its claws into his shoulders. It rolled with Andy near the river bank. Andy yelled as he kicked the ghost's stomach, grabbed onto a nearby rock and bashed it against the lion's head over and over until it was too disorientated to keep its claws on Andy, and fell into the river, getting washed away. Now Andy's shoulders were bleeding, attracting the other ghost animals. The bear smirked as he was standing before the weakened boy. Andy glared up at the bear.

"You won't take me. I'll beat you and your pack, and I'll save my brother from Vlad. We're going home together, all of us! You're not going to stop me!" Andy snapped before he threw the rock at the bear's snout, which was a very sensitive spot, even for a ghost bear.

The ghost bear shouted as it raised its claws at its face, then in a desperate move, seeing how the other ghost animals were starting to approach him, Andy jumped at the screaming ghost bear, tackling it. Despite its size, its mass was pretty low, making it easy for Andy to knock it into the river, with Andy himself along. The two splashed, and started getting washed away. Andy's shoulders were in a lot of pain, he could hardly move his arms to swim or flail around. The bear was trying to grab him, its claws slashed his leg, ripping that part of his pants easily. Andy responded by kicking at the bear.

Andy's kicks hit the bear, but it wasn't enough to dissuade it from attacking him. But before it could hurt him seriously, Andy had a save in the form of an iron ball that came from the trees just beyond the bear, and the iron ball hit the bear right on the back of the head, hard.

The bear turned to face the trees, only for a small, fox-like dragon to come charging out and slam into it, knocking the bear away from Andy.

With the bear away, Maddie grabbed onto Andy's arm and pulled him out of the river. "Andy! Are you alright? Oh my poor baby, you're hurt!"

Maddie could see the gash marks on Andy's cheek and leg, she could also see his shoulders were bleeding from some puncture holes. Maddie immediately began using a first aid kit, which she somehow kept in her pocket as well. Andy decided not to question it, he was just glad she had it with her.

"Andy? Are you okay?" Maddie asked as she began to patch up his wounds.

"I'm okay, Mom. Just a little banged up is all…" Andy answered, smiling a little. "Glad you and Dorumon could make it."

"You mean that fox-like thing that led me to you?" Maddie asked as she looked back at Dorumon. "Yeah, he just followed you like a magnet to its opposite side."

Dorumon rushed over, looking at Andy worriedly. "They hurt you…"

"Yeah… but I'll be okay, Dorumon. Thanks for helping Mom find me…" Andy smiled a little, rubbing Dorumon's head.

"You know this creature?" Maddie asked, surprised.

"Y-yeah…" Andy sighed. "I… well… it's a long story, Mom…"

Maddie sighed before she took out Andy's D-Arc and his cards from her hazmat suit. "I… saw your little gadget and cards were on the ground earlier."

"Oh, thanks Mom… these are important to me," Andy said, gratefully taking his D-Arc and cards back.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, young man." Maddie said sternly. "But, that will have to wait until we can find your brother. Where is he?"

"He's…" Andy frowned. "He's back at Vlad's cabin. That… that Wisconsin ghost was there. I don't know where Vlad is, he might be sleeping through all this."

Maddie frowned before nodding. "Well, then we have to go back there and help your brother." She then frowned some more. "But why would that ghost take you and your brother there?"

"I don't know…" Andy lied, but it was easy to sound convincing considering that he was shaken up, or rather he could excuse that he was too shaken up to answer. He'd never had an injury that bled before, but he did have quite a few bruises and aches from his battles with ghosts and Digimon before.

"Well, we can worry about the 'why' later. Getting back to Vlad's place won't be easy given how those ghostly animals are out there." Maddie noted as she observed the animal ghosts across the river from them.

"I'll take them all on. How dare they hurt you, Andy," Dorumon growled, his forehead gem glowing with his anger. "I won't let them hurt you anymore."

Maddie stood up, holding a Fenton Rod. "The same goes double for me. They hurt my child, they're going to pay in ectoplasm."

Mom is… very scary when she's angry. Andy gulped.

Dorumon looked at Andy. "Andy, we will need to fly fast to outmaneuver those ghosts."

"But…" Andy looked at his mother.

"It'll be okay, Andy… maybe some secrets just aren't meant to stay as secrets, they're what could get people killed after all…" Dorumon said softly.

Maddie frowned upon hearing that. Just what has Andy been involved with these past months?

Andy took a deep breath before letting it out. "Mom… brace yourself for this… and please, no matter what… remember that Dorumon is my friend, okay?"

Andy then began to lift up his D-Arc. "These ghosts will no longer be a threat to me or anyone else. We will save Danny, and we will go home together!"

Despite the pain in his shoulder, even with the first aid, Andy lifted his D-Arc over his head, and the screen glowed brightly. Maddie could hear a voice coming from the D-Arc. "DIGIVOLUTION!" "Dorumon, digivolve to…" Dorumon was surrounded by fractal code as he felt the energy of Andy's will fill him. His skin began to peel away from his face and head, then his stomach and his tail was last to lose the skin. But as he regained his skin, his claws and legs came back first, then his wings came back with skin, flaring open to reveal their larger size, his tail swung around once as it regained the skin, and then his head and face were last to regain their skin. "Dorugamon!"

Maddie was in shock at seeing the small fox-like dragon become this larger beast that looked like it could carry more than one person on its back. It looked ferocious, with its claws, and intimidating glare at the ghosts, this thing that called itself Dorugamon looked far scarier than even those mutated ghosts. And yet, here was her injured little boy standing next to it, petting its furry neck like it was his little puppy.

"Andy… Are you sure we can trust this… Dorugamon?" Maddie asked, but something was telling her it was not a threat to her.

Although Dorugamon had been glaring at the ghosts, when he looked at Maddie, he suddenly gave her a sweet smile, and his eyes looked gentle and happy rather than angry and intimidating. "I'm Andy's partner. I would never hurt him."

"And he can fly really fast, Mom. He can get us to Vlad's cabin in no time at all," Andy added with a smile, his eyes full of trust with this giant fox dragon.

Maddie sighed before nodding. "Well, you did lead me to my baby boy, so I can give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Thank you." Dorugamon smiled.

"Mom, do you still have that Fenton Marker with you?" Andy asked.

Maddie took out said marker. "I do." She replied as she handed it to Andy. "Why do you want it?"

"You'll see." Andy grinned. "Call it a bit of payback."

Dorugamon, knowing what Andy was planning, spat out an iron ball on the ground. Andy normally used sticky notes, but he didn't have any paper with him, so he could only hope this would work if he put in the words directly. Andy used the marker to write out the words. Maddie was surprised that the fox dragon just spat out a large iron ball from its mouth.

"Did he just spit out an iron ball?" Maddie asked in amazement.

"Yeah," Andy answered, still writing out the words.

"How?" Maddie questioned. "If anything, I would think he spits out fire since he looks draconic."

"He's special," Andy chuckled. "Maybe I'll explain later, Mom, for now… Dorugamon, can you put this back in your mouth?"

"Yeah," Dorugamon answered before he grabbed the iron ball back in his mouth, then he lowered himself to let Andy and Maddie on his back.

"Come on, Mom, let's get on his back," Andy said.

"You… sure?" Maddie asked, a little skeptical.

"He's not going to bite or buck you off, Mom," Andy chuckled.

Dorugamon wagged his tail like a giant puppy to show he was friendly.

"Well… alright then," Maddie relented as she carefully and cautiously got onto Dorugamon's back.

Dorugamon's wings spread out once Maddie and Andy were on his back, then he flew up into the air. Some of the ghost birds flew up after him.

"Mom, you'll probably have to keep those birds off of us," Andy instructed.

Maddie looked back and frowned. "Those spooks don't know when to quit!" She growled as she took out her Fenton Rod from her belt and extended it.

Maddie's battle skills were nothing to be scoffed at. While it was her first time riding on Dorugamon, she was able to stand up on his back and began to easily bat at the flying ghosts, slamming them into submission or back into the ground, or even into each other.

Dang, Mom is really skilled at combat, no wonder she's better on the field. Andy sweatdropped.

Andy looked down to see the cluster of ghost animals gathering around. "Alright, Mom, hold on tight, Dorugamon is about to unleash quite an attack."

Maddie sat back down and held onto Dorugamon's fur. "I hope you know what you're doing, Andy…" She sounded unsure, but she decided to trust Andy on this one since he knew this creature better than she did.

"Time to dive, Dorugamon! These ghosts are about to be obliterated!" Andy called out.

Dorguamon began to make a nosedive, tucking in his wings to fall faster, and he was also making a whistling noise as he was diving. Maddie was surprised at how fast Dorugamon was going, she was worried they might hit the ground at this rate. She had flown before, but with machines, never with a living creature before.

"HEY GHOST ANIMALS!" Andy shouted, getting the ghost animals' attention. "SURPRISE!"

Dorugamon shot out the iron ball. As soon as it hit the ground, it exploded, causing a shockwave to go across the forest, quickly disintegrating the ghosts, though it only knocked the trees back a bit rather than causing a forest fire. Dorugamon flew back up into the air after the explosion.

Maddie blinked beneath her goggles at the site. She hadn't expected that to work, but it had. Looking back at Dorugamon, Maddie felt a bit of awe fill her body. This creature… It's so ferocious towards ghosts and yet so gentle when around Andy. And it can fight ghosts so easily… What is this creature? The scientist in her was more interested in learning about this being, but Maddie had the feeling Andy wouldn't like it if she just started poking and prodding his… partner. So, observation would have to do for now.

"Alright, that got most of them!" Andy smiled. "Now let's head straight to Vlad's cabin!"

"You got it!" Dorugamon agreed as he began flying through the sky towards Vlad's cabin.

Any remnants of the animal ghosts that tried to follow them were either outmaneuvered, or beaten by Maddie's Fenton Rod. She was not going to let them near her son again.

---

While Maddie and Andy were on their way to rescue Danny, and Jack and Jazz were defending their home from ghost animals, Takuya, who had reverted back to his human self, was in the Digital World. Takuya was alone on the snowy mountains. He was in a cave somewhere, so he wasn't freezing his butt off in the snow, though it wasn't exactly warm either. Takuya didn't care though, he just wanted to be left alone right now.

He shivered a bit, sniffling slightly. He curled into a ball, hiding his head in his knees. Everything caught up with Takuya and he finally broke down crying. He had never imagined that incident would happen again, and while he was Spirit Evolved no less! I… I thought I was over that… How… How could it happen again?! If not for Jazz I would have...

Takuya just sat there crying. He knew he shouldn't be, but it was just too much and he couldn't help it. The trauma had come back and how he was scared of his own family members! It was like a nightmare, which didn't help him because he remembered Dreammon and his attack on the Digital World not too long ago, and his guilt at what he had done to his own family came back as well. Why does my life turn out to be one big mess…?

"Ah, finally, a cave where I can warm up my scales," An unfamiliar voice spoke up, catching the crying boy's attention. "'Come to the snowy mountains' they say. 'There would be all sorts of rare plants up here' they say. Last time I ever listen to-"

A big, almost human sized red dragon-like Digimon came into the cave, and stopped mumbling to itself when it saw Takuya. "Oh! Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was someone else here… uh… are you… okay?"

Takuya sniffed as he wiped his eyes. "Why do you care? My life's just a big mess right now…" He then sighed. "I was brainwashed into attacking my family members, and then one of them tried to hurt me… again…" He curled up into himself again.

The Digimon walked up to Takuya, and moved his face a little with its claws. "Hmm… you're pretty cold… let's get you warmed up first."

The Digimon walked further into the cave, gathering up some stones and dried wood. At first, Takuya was just going to ignore the Digimon, but when the Digimon finished setting up, it took a deep breath.

"Pyrosphere!" The Digimon shot out a fire ball from its mouth, burning the woods, making a campfire.

With the light of the fire, Takuya could see the Digimon better.

The Digimon had red scales on its body with black accent scales along its neck, arms, and under its eyes. Its stomach scales were white with what looked like a familiar symbol on it, but the triangle in the center was black and had three more triangles that were of a matching color around it. The same symbol was on its snout in between its golden eyes. The Digimon also had three white claws on its paws and feet as well. The ears looked almost like Patamon's and Tsukaimon's, but more draconic in appearance too.

Takuya then heard a voice in his head. "Guilmon is a Reptile Digimon. It has an appearance like a dinosaur that still retains its youth. Although it is still a Rookie, its potential as a "Combat Species", something which all Digimon naturally possess, is very high, and it hides the ferocious personality of a carnivorous beast. It is a Rookie level Digimon, and is a virus type."

So this Digimon is called Guilmon, huh? Takuya thought to himself. "So… uh… what brings you up here?"

"I was looking for some rare herbs up here. There were rumors that a particularly rare type grew up here, but I haven't seen any," Guilmon answered. "I'm hoping to make some good medicine so I can become a doctor at Seraphimon's castle one day."

Takuya gave a small smile. "That's a good idea." He then looked down at the campfire. "I know of a few Digimon who are stationed there as well…"

"Why don't you come sit closer to the campfire? You look pretty cold sitting there all by yourself," Guilmon invited. "Don't worry, I'm not going to bite."

Takuya stood up and walked over before sitting down next to Guilmon. "Thanks…"

Takuya had to admit, it did feel better to be sitting closer to fire, both physically and emotionally.

"You sounded like things have been really bad for you," Guilmon spoke up. "You're a human child, aren't you? I've read about your kind, but this is the first time I'm seeing a real human before me."

Takuya sighed. "Yeah, I'm a human…" He trailed off, going quiet. But Uncle Jack didn't see me as such… Just like that day when I was sick...

"Would you like to talk about it? It was pretty hard to understand you earlier with how much you were blubbering," Guilmon asked.

Takuya clammed up. He didn't want to talk about it, it was still so raw. But, after some thought, he decided to explain it as basically as he could. "I just… someone took over my mind and made me attack my family members and then one of them tried to…" He trailed off. "... really hurt me…"

Guilmon was quiet for a moment, trying to process what Takuya said. His tail moved around a little. "Sounds like you went through some pretty rough stuff. I don't blame you for being upset."

Takuya nodded. "Yeah…" He went quiet again, retreating into himself again.

"Are you hungry?" Guilmon asked. "I got some fish to cook if you want."

Takuya was about to decline, but his stomach growled. It was then Takuya remembered he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast that morning, and it was night.

Takuya sighed. "That would be nice…"

Guilmon, Takuya noticed, had a satchel around his body. Guilmon took out some raw fish and began putting them on sticks so they could be cooked near the fire.

"While my family life isn't as dramatic as yours, I have my share of someone wanting to hurt me there too," Guilmon suddenly said.

Takuya looked over. "You do?" He hadn't expected that comment.

"I think I was close to someone in my previous incarnation, but I can't remember who it was. When I was hatched, I was taken in by a family who weren't my own kind. I don't remember why they had me adopted instead of taking me to a family of my own kind, but there appeared to have been a reason for it. This family of Digimon were of the Vaccine type though. While my parents loved me just fine, my siblings didn't like me, because I was a Virus type Digimon. They didn't trust me, they always think I'm going to do something bad. My oldest sibling even attacked me once," Guilmon recounted. "When I digivolved into my Rookie form, I decided to leave home to make my own life. I decided to become a doctor when I heard about the Digimon looking for good doctors at Seraphimon's castle. I've been studying herbal medicine for the past few months."

Takuya sighed again. "That must have been rough, being a Virus type in a family of Vaccine types. As for me, the one who tried to hurt me… He… isn't really a bad guy, he just gets… too caught up in his own world and can't see the reality of what he is doing sometimes. The thing is… he is almost like a gentle giant, and that is what makes what happened to me all the more shocking and upsetting…"

"My siblings aren't bad Digimon, they just misunderstood what a Virus Digimon actually was. They thought we were inherently evil. Children don't tend to understand the areas of gray," Guilmon sighed. "But that doesn't mean they don't deserve forgiveness. I don't know what your family is like, but I can tell you still love him, the person who tried to hurt you. But why was he hurting you?"

"He got caught up in his own interests too much…" Takuya replied, going with the simple version. "He's a bit of a ghost nut… and assumed I was a ghost. It wasn't the first time it happened either. But he regrets it after, so I can't say I blame him for it."

"Have you talked to him about that?" Guilmon asked. "From what I know about family, it's important to communicate. Misunderstanding leads to conflict, and sometimes that can escalate if nobody stops it… and sometimes, it's too late to stop it."

Takuya flinched at that. "Yeah… I think I will try that…" But how can I explain I was a Digimon to my uncle?

Guilmon then took the cooked fish from the campfire, and handed one of the sticks to Takuya. Takuya took it gratefully, and started to eat it.

"Trying is the first step," Guilmon said. "I think I remember saying that before in my previous incarnation, but I just wish I could remember who I said it to."

Takuya gave a small smile. "You may remember who it was one day, if you keep looking and getting stronger."

"That's why I want to become a doctor at Seraphimon's castle," Guilmon admitted. "It isn't just because I wanted to make something of my life. I think there's someone there I might have known in my previous incarnation. At least that's what my gut is telling me."

Takuya laughed a bit. "Well, go with your instincts then. They tend to be right more often than not."

"Heh, I hope you're right," Guilmon chuckled as he bit into his fish. "Hey, you're smiling. Looks like I was able to help you feel at least a little bit better."

Takuya nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I guess I did need to talk about it a bit."

"A memory of my past incarnation remembered a crying child too. I guess that's why I felt compelled to try to help you feel a little better," Guilmon remarked.

Takuya blinked. "Huh… That's interesting. Do you know who this child was or is that memory gone?"

"It's still fuzzy, but I think they were a Digimon…? Or… maybe they were human…" Guilmon scratched his cheek with one claw, trying to think. "I'm not sure if they were human or Digimon, but I know they were a child."

Takuya chuckled a bit. "Well, I'm sure you'll find them one day. The Digital World holds many possibilities."

"Yeah, you're right. I got to meet you after all." Guilmon smiled before he dug out a small container from his satchel. "This is an herbal medicine I made a few days ago. It was meant for a test, but you can have it if you want. I have more. If you spread it on a wound, it will heal quickly, even on a human. But there's also something else. Try not to eat it. Consumption would lead to memory loss. I suppose you could use that as a weapon though. Or you could use it to try to forget the pain. I wouldn't advise it though."

Takuya took the medicine and nodded. "I wouldn't think of using it like that." He then smiled a bit. "Thanks for this."

Guilmon smiled. "If my medicine does help you or someone you care about, then that means I'm one step closer to being a doctor. Do you think you'll be able to go back and face your family again?"

Takuya sighed. "... Well… maybe later… would you mind if I stayed here a little longer with you?"

"You can stay with me for as long as you like… um…" Guilmon looked at Takuya, realizing he never said his name to him. "What would you like for me to call you?"

Takuya froze before he sighed. "Just call me Takuya."

Guilmon blinked for a moment. "Okay then, Takuya. I'm Guilmon, it's nice to meet you."

Takuya smiled a bit. "Nice to meet you too, Guilmon."

---

Jazz needed a break. She, Lopmon, and Jack had been fighting with countless ghosts since this afternoon. Ever since Jazz revealed that Lopmon was alive to Jack, Lopmon had been fighting with them. Jack had a lot of questions, but they didn't have time for interrogation while they were being attacked. Now, there seemed to be a lull in the attack, allowing them a break. Of course, Jack decided to pounce with the questions as soon as they were deemed to be safe for the time being.

Jazz was very tempted to call Sam so Salamon could erase Jack's memory of Lopmon, but she couldn't bring herself to disturb Sam from what should be a relaxing weekend. And a part of her wanted to see where this would go if her dad knew about Digimon.

"Alright, Jazzypants. I want to know exactly why you let that creature… err… whatever you called him, go." Jack said sternly, not intent on letting Jazz get out of this one.

They were in the living room, Jazz and Lopmon were sitting on the couch. Jazz pulled down her hood and sighed. "It's a bit of a long story."

"But one we're willing to tell if you're willing to listen, that means no jumping to conclusions until you've heard everything," Lopmon spoke up sternly. His voice was full of authority, despite not being in his Mega form.

Jack was surprised at how much authority the small 'rabbit' had in its… no, his voice. "I will listen."

"Okay, Dad. Now… I know this might sound unbelievable… but… there are three worlds, not just two. Our world, the Ghost Zone, and the Digital World," Jazz began. "The Digital World, from what I understand, was made from both this world and the Ghost Zone. Creatures made of data are called Digimon, short for Digital Monsters, live in the Digital World. But despite being made of data, they are as much alive as we are, Dad. They are sentient, they feel things as we do, they eat, sleep, talk, and have dreams. They have powers, and different forms, they can evolve into bigger and stronger forms. They're not ghosts, they're not mindless… well, most of them aren't. In fact, ghosts and Digimon appear to be natural enemies of each other. The Digital World also has its own history."

---

"History?" Maddie asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I know it's almost unbelievable, but the Digital World has become its own world too," Andy said as Dorugamon was flying.

Maddie just smacked another bird ghost out of the sky. "So, do you know anything of this Digital World's history?"

"From what I've been told, the Digital World has gone through several histories. Due to a phenomena, it had a completely different time speed compared to our world. One year here could be hundreds of years in the Digital World," Andy explained. "So it has been through some… cycles, I guess you can say. But the history I'm most familiar with is the latest cycle."

"And what is the history of this cycle?" Maddie asked as she smacked yet another ghost bird away from Dorugamon's tail; it had been about to bite down on the limb.

"Thanks," Dorugamon said gratefully.

"In ancient times, there was a war between two different types of Digimon, the human types, and the beast types. Then a powerful angel-like Digimon called Lucemon put a stop to the war," Andy began. "But the peace didn't last for long. Lucemon soon grew mad with power, and tried to take over the Digital World with an iron fist. Ten brave Digimon with amazing power banded together and rose up to take down Lucemon. These Digimon were known as the Legendary Warriors. After they defeated Lucemon and sealed him away into the Digital World's core, the ten Legendary Warriors hid their Spirits throughout the Digital World in case they are needed again someday. After that, three Digimon were chosen to keep the peace of the Digital World. Ophanimon and Seraphimon, two angel human types, and Cherubimon, a rabbit-like beast type."

Maddie blinked as she took this in. "Spirits? Like ghosts or these Spirits something else?"

"These Spirits aren't ghosts exactly, but they are spirits of the Legendary Warriors. Any Digimon that comes into contact with these Spirits will inherit the Legendary Warrior's form," Andy explained. And humans, but Mom doesn't need to know that bit.

"So it's like a digital remnant, like old data that is necessary for a computer to run." Maddie guessed. "That's quite a feat to pull off."

"Yeah, I guess that's one way to put it, though they do still have minds of their own," Andy said.

---

"They do?" Jack blinked, surprised.

"Yeah," Jazz confirmed. "I don't know everything about these Spirits of the Legendary Warriors, but the ones I came into contact with seem to know what they're doing, and they've been helping us out, especially Agunimon."

"Agunimon is… the one you released, right?" Jack asked, feeling a bit of guilt coming into his very being.

"Yes." Jazz nodded. "He… had been going through some rough times after an incident in the Digital World recently. I don't know why he was back in the real world so soon, but I guess he sensed we were in danger from all the ghosts that were attacking."

Jack looked down, his guilt showing on his face clearly. "And I attacked him…"

"Now you see why I reacted the way I did when I saw what you were doing," Jazz pointed out.

Jack felt absolutely horrible for what he had done. One of these Legendary Warriors, one of those brave defenders of this Digital World, was probably scared of humans now, and all because of what he had done to the poor Digimon.

"But we should take our share of the blame," Lopmon spoke up, surprising Jack. "If we hadn't kept this a secret from you, maybe this wouldn't have happened in the first place."

Jack smiled a bit before he became stern towards Jazz. "And your Digimon is right. You should have told us about this."

"It wasn't easy to tell you or Mom, Dad… you two have… well… been known to overreact to creatures we don't know. We were worried you would think our friends, our partners, were ghosts, or too dangerous to stay with us. We were worried you were going to hurt them, lock them up and experiment on them. You really can't blame us for thinking that, Dad," Jazz pointed out. "The only reason I'm telling you this now is because I felt it was necessary to get you to understand that these Digimon are just as much as people as we are."

Jack had to admit, Jazz was ever the logical one, and her words made sense. It also reminded him of what he had almost done to Agunimon. The fear-filled look of the Legendary Warrior's face would no doubt haunt his dreams for the next few nights if not longer. "I hope I can get the chance to apologize to the Legendary Warrior at some point…" Jack sighed. "I really scared him…"

"I don't know, he might've returned to the Digital World after that experience… I don't know when we'll see him again, or if we ever do," Jazz sighed. "But… I do appreciate you trying to make this right, Dad. Maybe we can try to convince Agunimon to come back and hear you out."

Jack smiled sadly. "Thanks, Jazzypants. It means a lot to hear that from you. So how does time work in the Digital World? Would he be there for a long time but it would only feel like a few days to us?"

"No, not this time," Lopmon sighed. "Ever since the current Legendary Warriors took down Lucemon for good, that seemed to have caused the barrier between the Digital World and here to weaken enough for time to become in sync with both worlds. And after you made the Ghost Portal and turned it on, that weakened the barrier between all three worlds."

Jack frowned at hearing that. "Is that why these Legendary Warriors are here in the real world? Because of our Ghost Portal weakening the barriers?"

"I don't really know," Jazz admitted.

Lopmon knew, of course, but he couldn't say anything for the sake of Takuya. "It is why Digimon and ghosts have been appearing in this world."

"But that doesn't have to be a bad thing," Jazz added. "After all… I got to meet Lopmon."

Jack frowned before he remembered that other stuffed animal Andy had with him. "Wait… does Andy have a Digimon partner too? Is that 'stuffed animal' of his really a Digimon?"

---

Andy sighed, he knew it was only a matter of time before Maddie asked him about Jazz's 'stuffed animal' being a Digimon as well. "I'm not sure if I should be the one to tell you that… but… well, I guess it's pretty obvious that Jazz's 'new favorite stuffed animal' isn't really a stuffed animal. Bearbert… ugh… will always be her favorite stuffed animal."

Maddie had to admit, it was logical Jazz's 'stuffed animal' could be a Digimon. "So, what about these Celestial Digimon? Do you know anything about them? Are they friendly or were they like this Lucemon?"

"They were chosen because of their pure hearted nature. They were holy Digimon, which made them inherently good… but then again so was Lucemon. Anyone can be good or evil, anyone can be corrupted to do the wrong thing," Andy sighed. "For a time, the three Celestial Digimon did rule in peace… but… well… even that had to go wrong at some point. I should mention that there used to be Royal Knights as well, they were these crazy powerful Mega Digimon whose job was to protect the peace and the Celestials. I don't know how many there were, but there were quite a bit of them. But they mysteriously disappeared one day, nobody knows why or how. Two of them recently showed up, but they were… corrupted, brainwashed, by Lucemon."

Maddie frowned at hearing this. "This Lucemon sounds like he was a bad Digimon. I'm not one to normally say something like this, but I'm glad these Legendary Warriors defeated him."

"Yeah, everyone is," Dorugamon remarked. "I have never seen Lucemon myself, but he certainly sounded like a horrible Digimon."

"Anyways, about the Celestial Digimon," Andy spoke up, remembering his mother's initial question. "One of them, Cherubimon, began to disagree with Ophanimon and Seraphimon's way of ruling. Because they were human Digimon, they wanted to have more order and law in the Digital World. But Cherubimon is a beast type, beasts prefer to run wild and free, and have some chaos in their lives. Because Cherubimon was the only beast type Celestial, he was quickly outvoted, and this frustrated him. He apparently overheard Ophanimon and Seraphimon talking about what to do, but he misunderstood their intentions, so… he called for war. He became corrupted, turned evil, and rounded up the beast type Digimon to attack Ophanimon and Seraphimon."

"So, Cherubimon started another war? How was he stopped?" Maddie asked, intrigued. She was learning so much, and found it fascinating.

"That's a long story in it of itself, but basically, Ophanimon had to call in 5 people to help, they became the current Legendary Warriors, and they stopped Cherubimon. Cherubimon was reborn as…" Andy paused for a moment. "When a Digimon is reborn, they usually have no memory of their past incarnation, though sometimes their memories can retain or be returned. But they will always start on a clean slate, so no matter who or what they were before, it doesn't affect who or what they are now."

"So Cherubimon was reborn, huh?" Maddie noted. Something bugged her though."But, how did Cherubimon become corrupted?"

"Well…" Andy sighed.

"It was Lucemon again," Dorugamon sighed as well. "Yeah, he pops up a lot in the story. Shows how strong his influence was even after he was sealed away."

"So the first time he was defeated, the Legendary Warriors only sealed him. But the second time he fought them, they defeated him for good." Maddie summarized. "He sounds like he was a crazy strong Digimon if it required for him to be fought twice to be defeated for good."

"Yeah, at least we don't have to worry about him anymore… I hope anyways," Andy said.

"Wait… earlier in the story, you said Ophanimon had to call in 5 people… as in… humans?" Maddie questioned.

Andy looked down and sighed in relief. "That'll have to be for later, Mom, we're here."

Maddie looked down as well, surprised and impressed to see Vlad's cabin below. "Wow, that was fast flying!"

"We weren't that far from it, but yes." Dorugamon smiled proudly.

"Okay… I don't think V- uh, that ghost from Wisconsin knows we're here yet. Take us down quietly, Dorugamon, and I'll have to degenerate you so you don't bring more attention to us," Andy said quietly.

As Dorugamon flew down slowly and quietly, Maddie had to wonder what Andy meant by the 'degenerate' thing, but she decided to just watch what Andy did, just in case she learned about it from watching.

When Dorugamon landed near the trees, Andy and Maddie got off of his back. Andy then pulled out a card and swiped it on his D-Arc. Maddie blinked, wondering why Andy was swiping a card on that device of his.

She got her answer when a shimmering ribbon appeared around Dorugamon and the cocoon of the ribbon shrank down to a smaller size. When the ribbon dispersed, Maddie was surprised to see Dorugamon was now Dorimon, the little 'stuffed animal' Maddie always saw him as. Andy picked up little Dorimon, and Maddie couldn't help but stare. This little tiny creature could become that big fox dragon that they had just rode on all the way here.

"Andy… I don't know whether to be impressed or surprised at what I have been learning tonight." Maddie finally admitted. "This is going to be a lot to process for me."

"Yeah… yeah, I figured it would be," Andy sighed. "Trust me, I've… had to process a lot too. It can get pretty overwhelming sometimes." And you don't even know half of what I know...

Maddie laughed a bit. "I know that very well." She ruffled Andy's hair and patted Dorimon on the head. "But I will come to adjust to this. And it may be helpful down the road too."

Andy gave a small smile. "I hope so too. Maybe it is for the better that you know about the Digimon at least."

"And I can stop pretending to be a stuffed animal. I get very stiff after a while," Dorimon remarked.

"Say, what do Digimon eat anyway?" Maddie asked. "I hope it's nothing we can't find."

"They eat the same things we eat, well most of them do anyways," Andy reassured. "Though… Dorimon also eats metal, so I would suggest keeping silverware and other important metal stuff away from him. He doesn't eat Fenton gadgets though, because they have too many ghostly properties to them."

Maddie sighed with relief at that last comment. "Good. I don't want to have a sick Digimon to deal with." She then looked at Dorimon again. "But a metal eater… Maybe he could help clean up from invention creation by eating the excess metal scraps we don't use. Of course we'll purify them of any ecto remnants so you can eat them."

Dorimon smiled at that. "That sounds like an all-you-can-eat buffet to me~"

"But first, let's focus," Andy chuckled before getting serious. "Mom, I think that we need a way to distract Vlad. He'll have every right to call the authorities on us if we just go barging in there like maniacs. We need to have him let us in."

Maddie frowned. "You have a point, Andy. We do need to get inside by Vlad's own choice." She shivered at the thought that crossed her mind as a plan. "I can't believe I am thinking of this, but I may need to… charm our way inside."

"Charm your way… you don't mean…" Andy paled.

Dorimon just looked confused at the reactions of the two humans.

"Yes, I'm afraid I do." Maddie sighed. "But we have no choice. We need to get inside to find Danny and save him from that ghost from Wisconsin."

"I suppose if that's the easiest way…" Andy sighed. "Well, while you're at it, maybe you can find a way to get us out of here and back home. Maybe ask Vlad if he has a plane or something we could take."

"Vlad isn't going to be all that willing to let us go, he seemed pretty set on us staying with him." Maddie frowned.

"Then while you keep Vlad distracted, Dorimon and I will look for Danny, as well as any transportation we can use," Andy suggested.

"As long as you do it before Vlad gets the wrong idea." Maddie hissed. "I don't plan to have a make-out with him, not after what he said to me back there."

Andy was about to say something, when suddenly images came into his head.

I could see me and Dorimon wandering around the giant cabin, looking for Danny. We found all sorts of rooms, all sorts of vehicles as well, but no Danny. Dorimon and I came back to the living room to see Vlad had seduced Mom, she was kissing him. But when Mom opened her eyes, I could see they were glowing red. Vlad likely created a duplicate to overshadow Mom so he could have his way with her.

Andy heard Maddie calling him in worry as he came out of the vision.

"Andy! Are you okay?!" Maddie asked as she shook his shoulders.

Andy blinked for a moment, trying to regain his composure. "Y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Mom. Sorry, I… must've spaced out there for a moment."

Dorimon looked at Andy in concern, he likely knew Andy had another vision, but Andy didn't seem to want to reveal that to Maddie. Not that Dorimon could blame him, Maddie was still taking in the big bomb about Digimon's existence after all, and Andy still hadn't quite accepted the fact he might be a seer after all himself.

"Are you sure, Andy?" Maddie asked, concerned for her boy now.

"Yeah, don't worry about me, Mom, I'm fine," Andy reassured her. "But… I think… maybe once you… charm our way into the cabin, I should keep Vlad entertained while you go look for Danny and a way out of this place. After all… you do have more experience with fighting with ghosts than I do."

Maddie frowned, but nodded. "That's acceptable."

I hope Vlad doesn't kill me… Andy thought worriedly. But I owe it to Danny for running away earlier like a coward. "Okay… let's do this."

"I'll act like a stuffed animal then," Dorimon said. "Can't have the man knowing about Digimon." Even though he already does.

Maddie nodded. "You do that, Dorimon." Maddie then steeled herself for what she was about to do. She stood up and made her way to the front of the cabin and knocked on the door.

Andy stood beside Maddie, holding Dorimon close to his chest. Vlad soon answered the door, still wearing his fancy white robe. He was surprised to see not only Andy, but Maddie as well. Though he did notice the bandage on Andy's cheek, as well as the holes in his shoulder's sleeves, and the bandage on his torn pants. Vlad frowned a little, he had told the animals not to hurt the boy.

Still, Vlad put a smile on his face. "Ah, Andy, Maddie! So nice of you to come back to me!"

Andy and Dorimon were both glaring at Vlad. Vlad just grinned at them. "And not a moment too soon~"

Vlad likely meant that Danny either hadn't woken up yet or did wake up already, but Andy wasn't sure which, though it did still sound like a taunt.

"Andy, go somewhere else while the adults talk~" Maddie said as she gave Vlad her flirting eyes.

Dorimon felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw the way Vlad was looking at Maddie in an eager manner. I don't think I want to know what that look is about...

"Oh sure, you two get cozy. If you need me, I'll just be at the door… barfing," Andy remarked.

Vlad opened the door for Maddie. "C'mon in, Maddie."

Maddie followed, not liking this, but it had to be done. Though Andy said he was going somewhere else, he stayed close to Vlad and Maddie. He was not going to let this vision come true.

Maddie noticed Andy was following her, but didn't question it. She just pretended he and Dorimon were not there. She and Vlad walked into the cozy living room with the animal heads and pelts on the walls and floor.

Andy stood by the door, leaning against the doorframe, still holding onto Dorimon. I wonder where Tsukaimon is…

"You must be exhausted, Maddie, carrying that mistake you made years ago," Vlad said sweetly to Maddie as they were sitting on the same couch.

"We all make mistakes, Vlad." Maddie said just as sweetly, although it felt forced. "Maybe I'll make one now." She added in a flirty manner before tensing up as she saw Vlad spritzing his mouth with mouth spray. The look he gave her was like a predator having cornered its prey.

Maddie noticed Andy was waving to her with one of his arms, he pointed at the door, signalling her it was time for her to pass the baton to him.

Maddie then took a clever lie out of her hat, so to speak. As Vlad leaned in to kiss her, she backed up. "Ah, I couldn't possibly! I was in the woods all night! I need to… freshen up a bit…" She said that last part sweetly, even if she had no intention of returning. She then stood up and walked off to 'freshen up'.

"I shall await with bated breath!" Vlad smiled.

Maddie stopped in front of Andy and whispered to him. "Keep old bait breath entertained until I can find Danny."

Andy nodded to her before she left through the door.

"Okay… now what?" Dorimon whispered to Andy as Vlad was pulling out a book. The title of the book was interesting as it said 'Romance for Rich Creepy Dimwits'.

Did… did Vlad just… indirectly admit he's a creepy dimwit…? Andy blinked. "Well… first we try diplomacy… no offense, Dorimon, but I'm not very confident in our chances of fighting with Vlad one-on-one even without his Digimon partner."

Dorimon nodded. "That may be the best route to go."

Andy approached Vlad cautiously, trying to think of the best way to approach this. He knew that Vlad had an obsession with making Maddie his wife, and Danny his son, so Andy might be able to use that in some way.

Deciding family flattery was the best way to go, Andy sucked up his dignity and gave Vlad what he hoped was a friendly smile. "Hey… Uncle Vlad?"

Vlad looked up from his book. "What do you want, Andrew?"

"Well, I was just thinking about what you said earlier, about how halfas are the superior beings and all," Andy started, carefully analyzing Vlad's expression. "And I think you're right about that."

"Oh? Did your little 'excursion' into the woods show you that? Or did you come to that revelation on your own?" Vlad asked, looking a bit surprised.

"Well I didn't really appreciate being chased by ghost animals, it did make me realize that if I had been half ghost, it wouldn't have been a problem," Andy said. "I mean look at Danny, he can fly whenever he wants, he can go invisible, and go through solid objects like they were nothing, he can shoot pretty much lasers from his hands. And who knows what else he could be capable of in the future, especially if your powers are any indication. I think Danny could learn a lot from you, and I'm glad he has someone who can understand what he's going through."

Dorimon wasn't sure he was liking this plan, but he kept his mouth shut.

Vlad scoffed. "Of course, Daniel does. And he will, once he comes around to his senses of course. He still has a bit of… that teenage rebellion in him."

"Maybe if you didn't have to make him renounce his father, he might be more willing to work with you. Maybe you can just train him without that kind of price?" Andy suggested cooly. "Think about it; you'd have a half ghost child you could train under you, you can teach him the ropes, and he'd be more willing to cooperate with you. Isn't that worth the small price of not making him renounce his father?"

Vlad actually looked like he was considering the offer, which gave Dorimon a bit of a surprise. Then Vlad frowned. "Wait, why are you making this offer anyway? You seemed to be just as against me training Daniel as Daniel himself was."

"That was before I realized that you were right… that you are the only person who could understand what Danny is going through, what he will go through in the future as well," Andy said softly, and he sounded so sincere that Dorimon could've sworn he meant it… and maybe he did. "I may be his twin brother, but we couldn't be anymore different. I'm only human after all. While I don't mind that, I can't help but worry about what Danny will go through. So… maybe if you're willing… you can teach him how to be a halfa without the price of making him renounce his father? I'm sure Danny would be more willing to cooperate then."

Vlad frowned. "Sadly, I cannot. The hatred I have of Jack is too deep, and I can't let Daniel continue to address that man as his father. Daniel needs a half ghost as his father, not a mere human."

Andy frowned at that. "Why? I know that Dad caused the accident that made you half ghost, but… you said it yourself; halfas are the superior beings. So shouldn't you be… a little happier about what Dad did?"

"You don't understand what I had been through because of what your buffoon of a father did, Andrew," Vlad hissed. "I was hospitalized for years. I was left to rot when my own family stopped visiting me. And the next time I heard from Jack was an invitation to his and Maddie's wedding. I felt betrayed by my so-called best friend! He knew I loved Maddie, yet he took her away from me, while leaving me to rot in that hospital! I had no idea what was happening to me at the time. I thought I was dead."

Andy frowned.

"So no, there is no forgiving Jack for what he had done," Vlad stated. "And Daniel must be my son in order for me to fully bring out his potential."

Andy shook his head as he backed away a bit. "I'm sorry that you can't let your hatred for my Dad go… but you'll never be happy if you keep holding onto the past. You should focus on what you have now, what you could have. Danny may not want to be your son, but he could be like a nephew to you. You could still train him. You could still visit us to see Mom. Maybe even try to reconnect with Dad."

Vlad frowned. "You just don't get it, boy. I can't reconnect with your idiot father! Not after what he did to me. And don't try to pull that routine of trying to appeal to me. I can see now you don't intend on letting Daniel renounce his father."

"Honestly, I'd be a terrible brother if I did," Andy sighed. "And I meant what I said, you know, about you training Danny. I don't want my brother to suffer, not knowing what he is, and not having anyone to understand what he's going through. But if you insist on still wanting to kill our dad… I can't… I can't let you do that. Not to our dad. And not to my brother."

Dorimon looked up at Andy. "I take it things didn't work out?"

"Unfortunately no…" Andy sighed.

"It doesn't matter anyways. There isn't much you could do to stop me, Andrew. Even you admitted to that, since you are only human," Vlad remarked cheekily. "And Maddie has already come around. It's only a matter of time before your brother does as well."

"Oh yeah, sorry that I'm not half dead to be considered worthy in your books," Andy snapped.

"Please, a mere human can't stand up to a half ghost, and you have experienced that yourself. You are a mere insect to me." Vlad taunted. "I could bat you aside like a fly if you took me on."

Dorimon growled. "You are really a nasty human, aren't you?"

"I'm not a mere human, little Digimon." Vlad grinned.

"No… you lost most of your humanity in your 20 years of bitterness," Andy hissed. "You want to know what separates humans from ghosts, Vlad? It's our humanity. I understand not all ghosts are evil, but they are less compassionate, and more impulsive beings. Ember wouldn't have tried to take over the world with her music if she was human, she'd just take the sane route and become a rock star from her music alone. You are more ghost than human, Vlad, you've become too obsessed with what you don't have, and what you didn't get."

"Wow, bro! Talk about fighting fire with fire!" Danny's voice spoke up from inside Andy's mind as there was a tug of sorts that Andy felt on a deep, almost spiritual, level.

Andy nearly jumped, completely startled from Danny's sudden voice and the tug feeling, he had not been expecting it. Super cookie on cake frosting! What the hell, Danny!? Is that really you or have I finally lost it!?

"Be careful of what you say, Andrew, I may stop feeling merciful after a while," Vlad threatened, not seeming to have a retort to what Andy just said. "But you know, it really is a shame you're not half ghost. I could use someone with your kind of brains on my side."

"There's no way you would go along with that, right bro? Oh, and yes, it is me. You have not lost your sanity, bro." Danny said over their link.

Andy decided not to question it for now, he still needed to know more on how their link worked, but if this was really Danny, he could use that to find out where Danny was. Nevermind that now, Danny. Where are you? Mom is scouring the cabin looking for you right now.

"I'm on the top floor. Vlad used a device of some kind that shorted out my ghost powers for a while. He calls it the Plasmius Maximus, and because I don't have my powers, I can't escape." Danny replied over their link. "And for the love of all that is ghostly, please no princess jokes…"

Well… you better be glad I'm not Tucker or Takuya then… but I am still your brother, Princess Danny~ Andy inwardly laughed, though a smile was showing on his face without meaning to.

Danny's emotions over their link were felt strongly, and it felt like Danny was blushing or was embarrassed. "BRO! I said no jokes like that!"

"Are you amused by something, Andrew?" Vlad asked, noticing the amused smile on Andy's lips.

Andy blinked and quickly recomposed himself. "Oh don't mind me, I just have a bit of an imagination. Probably just thinking about what I would be like if I was a halfa myself." I have to find a way to tell Mom, but I can't just leave Vlad on his own! He might try to find Mom and… well, I'd rather not say what he'll do to her then.

Andy then looked at Dorimon. I'm going to hate myself for this… "Well, Vlad, since I'm obviously not a threat to you, is it okay if I let Dorimon run around for a bit? He's been pent up all day, pretending to be a stuffed animal around my Mom and all."

Vlad looked amused, but decided to humor the boy. "Well, I don't see why not. After all, what can he do to cause trouble?"

"Indeed," Andy agreed, but was inwardly flipping the man off.

The boy put Dorimon down before whispering to him. "Go find Mom, and tell her that Danny is locked somewhere on the top floor."

Dorimon nodded and ran off, acting like he was all hyper from being carried around all day. But he had a mission and he would carry it out.

---

Maddie was running through the hallways of the cabin. It was far bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, and Maddie was quickly getting tired. She also wasn't sure how long Andy could keep Vlad busy before Vlad started to wonder what was taking her so long. She also knew that man had been very… excited to take her, not that Maddie would ever let him do that, especially in front of her children, but if she didn't hurry, there was no telling what Vlad would do to Andy. She didn't think her old friend would hurt Andy, but then again, she didn't think he would try to propose to her despite being a married woman.

When Maddie had seen Andy injured, she had been worried and scared for him. The boy had never battled against ghosts, at least, that was what she thought until she found out about Digimon. She didn't know what Andy had been up to since he obtained his so-called 'plushy'. He didn't seem all that shaken up from the injuries, not as much as she thought he would've been. But she couldn't worry about Andy right now, she had to find her other baby boy, unlike Andy and Jazz, she never saw Danny with his own Digimon 'plushy', so he could be in real danger.

Shaking her head, Maddie knew she had to find Danny, but the only question was where was he? She had no idea of where to begin looking, and the place was much larger than she had imagined, so it was hard to narrow down possible locations. Still, Maddie pressed on and began to open a few doors to see if Danny was in any of the rooms.

Did Danny know about these Digimon? Is he involved somehow? What about Takuya? This started shortly after he came back to Amity Park. It might just be coincidence though, because I didn't see him with a plushy that could've been a Digimon either. Maddie wondered to herself. What have our children been up to? How could Jack and I not have seen they might have gotten themselves involved with something dangerous?

Maddie shook her head. She couldn't worry about what was going on now, she had to find Danny!

Maddie opened another door, there were ATVs in this room. Maddie wondered why Vlad put these in a room and not in the garage or outside. Maddie sighed before running down the hallway again.

Though as Maddie ran, she was starting to realize something odd; there weren't any ghosts around. Andy claimed that the Wisconsin ghost had the ghost animals kidnap Danny here, and yet there hadn't been any sign of the Wisconsin ghost or those ghost animals. Maddie would've thought the building would be filled with ghosts, but there hadn't been a single one since she and Andy came in.

Frowning, Maddie had to wonder if it was because Dorimon was in the area before she shook her head. No, it can't be that easy. There is no way a small Digimon would drive off so many ghosts. But then why are there none here? Is it because the ghosts have fled, or is it a trap?

"Maddie!" Maddie stopped when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

Turning around, she saw Dorimon running up to her quickly. He was panting, tired from the long run.

"Dorimon? What's going on? Why are you here and not with Andy?" Maddie asked, frowning. Andy wouldn't send Dorimon to find me unless he was in trouble or something related, right?

"Andy… message… Danny… top floor…" Dorimon panted.

Maddie blinked. "Andy thinks Danny is on the top floor?" She was a bit skeptical, but given what she had recently learned tonight, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Then again, maybe it's a twin thing.

"Thanks," Maddie said gratefully. "You should get back to Andy."

"Wait!" Dorimon ran after Maddie again. "It's not safe to go alone!"

---

Tsukaimon was looking through the window of the room Danny was in. He flew over to the nearest tree branch to watch him. Danny looked tired, but also determined to escape. He had been closing his eyes and seemed to be focused on something. Tsukaimon didn't think Danny was meditating, nor was he sleeping, it looked more like he was trying hard to think of something. It was obvious the boy didn't want to be here.

Tsukaimon frowned to himself. He didn't like what his partner was doing, but then again, he couldn't do much against Vlad because of that partnership. And yet, he felt that urge to help Danny come back, which was bothering him.

If this child is going to be a distraction for Vlad, it might be best to get rid of him. But when I had the chance, I just couldn't do it for some reason. Tsukaimon frowned as he remembered he had the ghost kid in a perfect position to drown him in poison, yet he didn't do it. What happened? It's not like I cared about human children before. I'm not one to show mercy either. Is it because I've been watching this boy and his brother? That couldn't be it. I was more annoyed watching their goodie-two-shoes act.

"If Vlad prefers to have a half ghost son than continue with our plan, that would be a big issue for me…" Tsukaimon frowned.

"Or maybe you'll just get jealous," A voice stated.

Tsukaimon growled a little before he turned to face the other voice. "I told you not to talk to me unless you have news worthy of talking, DemiDevimon."

DemiDevimon shrugged. "What can I say? You never get deep in thought unless something is bothering you."

Tsukaimon rolled his eyes.

"I wonder, do you have a soft spot for that human ghost child?" DemiDevimon asked with a smirk. "Or are you jealous that he's getting all of your partner's attention instead of you?"

"I would advise you watch what you say. I am still your superior after all," Tsukaimon growled.

DemiDevimon smirked some more. "Yes, you are. But if you are so attached to that human ghost boy, why do you stick with your partner? Your bond is not helping you much after all, and your bio-merge is unstable at best."

"There's more to my goal than just simply bio-merging," Tsukaimon stated. "And why would I want to break off my partnership over a child with such childish beliefs?"

"Uh-huh, I'm sure that's the only reason," DemiDevimon said sarcastically. "So why did you order us to stop hunting down Cherubimon?"

"He's already partnered with the Fentons, it would only put my subordinantes in unnecessary risks to go after him now," Tsukaimon explained.

DemiDevimon smirked again. "Are you sure it's not because of that Legendary Warrior too? He has been a thorn in your side for a while now, even getting Gargomon to defect."

"Gargomon had always been too soft, I should've just gotten a more capable Digimon to go after Cherubimon," Tsukaimon growled.

"You know, without Cherubimon, your little grand master plan can't be completed, right? You need a beast type Digimon to work with too, after all, a strong one," DemiDevimon pointed out.

"I don't need Cherubimon. But perhaps that Dorumon might be able to give me what I need…" Tsukaimon noted. "Though he's already partnered with Andy."

"Heh… Cherubimon and Dorumon are partnered with two of the Fenton kids. And that ghost boy is the only other halfa, the only other key to your grand plan. Sounds to me like he's probably the better partner for you then. So why stick with this stiff?" DemiDevimon asked.

"Because Vlad will cooperate with me. This child would not, nor would his brother. I don't have the patience to deal with children," Tsukaimon hissed.

DemiDevimon just smirked at hearing that. "Oh? Or is it because you're afraid of the children? Lucemon was defeated by human children after all, so it makes sense you would be too, am I right?"

Tsukaimon glared at DemiDevimon. "Friendly Fire!"

DemiDevimon yelped as Tsukaimon shot purple flames at his face, making him hit the trunk of the tree pretty hard. "I fear no child. Certainly not the Legendary Warriors. Forget this kid, I'm going back to my partner."

Tsukaimon flew off of the tree, leaving the DemiDevimon lying there, though he was grinning. "You can't… keep lying… to yourself… forever."

---

"When is Maddie getting back? Surely she didn't have enough to eat to be using the toilet for as long as she is," Vlad said, starting to get impatient.

Andy knew he had to do something before Vlad decided to send a duplicate after his mom. "What is your plan after you successfully… 'seduce' Mom and make Danny your apprentice anyways?"

Vlad paused at hearing that. "Hmmm? Why do you want to know?" Does he know something?

"I'm just wondering what you plan on doing after you got what you wanted," Andy shrugged. "What would happen to Jazz and me? And Takuya? I already know you plan to either lock up Dad, or kill him."

Vlad frowned, as if pondering something. "Why, I would take you and Jasmine in, as well as your cousin. After all, it would keep your dear mother happy. I…" He noticed something happening with Andy, and his voice trailed off.

I see Takuya and Jazz, they appear to be talking about something. They're somewhere in a dark house, it looked spooky. Takuya looked troubled about something. Then suddenly green and black skeletons began to attack them. Jazz gets stopped by a sharp bone.

Andy gasped as he came out of the vision. Jazz! Oh… was that a vision…?

Vlad looked like he had an intrigued look on his face as he stared at Andy. "Hmmmm…" Could it be…? Vlad wanted to confirm something, and he knew how to do that. The black rings appeared around his torso before traveling upwards and splitting. He turned into his ghost form before sneering at Andy.

Andy looked at Vlad, shocked that he suddenly transformed into his ghost form. Andy backed away. "W-what are you doing?" Did I do something to threaten him?

"Don't worry, my dear boy." Vlad Plasmius said, seeing the worried look on Andy's face. "I just merely want to confirm something."

"And what's that?" Andy furrowed his eyebrows.

"That spaced out look you had on your face, and your sudden expression of shock," Vlad stated. "I've done a lot of research on the supernatural things. That includes psychics, Andrew. You just showed symptoms of seeing a future vision. Though, I must confirm if that is the case or not."

"You're being silly, there's no such thing as seers!" Andy denied, backing away more.

"No such thing? You never know what the supernatural world can hold." Vlad replied before he turned intangible and then flew right towards Andy.

Andy let out a scream when Vlad went into his body. He fell to the ground, writhing. At the same time, Tsukaimon flew into the living room. He came in just as Vlad flew into the child's body. "What the…?"

Tsukaimon flew closer to the struggling boy. "Vlad, what are you doing?"

Inside Andy, Vlad flew towards the boy's soul to take over the boy so he could look through his memories of any future visions, but when he saw the boy's soul, he was surprised. "Daniel…?"

Andy's soul gritted his teeth as he opened his eyes, seeing the intruder.

Vlad blinked as he saw the soul had purple eyes instead of the green eyes he had been expecting. A smirk crossed Vlad's face at this revelation. "Well now, isn't this interesting? Perhaps you are not useless after all, Andrew."

Andy's soul, having had enough with ghosts overshadowing him, blasted Vlad with a purple ray of data at Vlad. Vlad yelped in surprise at the sudden attack, and was forced out of Andy's body. Tsukaimon was surprised to see Vlad being pushed out of the boy's body.

Vlad looked up, surprised and in shock. He hadn't expected the sudden attack from the boy's soul like that. Vlad frowned at realizing this meant the boy was not going to come so willingly. "So, you want to put up a fight, Andrew?"

Andy groaned a little before getting back on his feet. "I'm not some meat puppet you could just take over whenever you want!"

"Vlad, what is your reasoning for trying to take over this child?" Tsukaimon questioned.

Vlad looked back at Tsukaimon. "It seems Andrew here may have the ability to see future visions. But I could not confirm it myself. However…" Vlad trailed off as he looked at Andy with a smirk. "It would appear I found out something else that could be of use to me…"

Andy frowned, not liking that smirk Vlad was giving him. Did he see the link between me and Danny? Is he going to use me to get to Danny? Where the hell are you Dorimon?

Vlad then suddenly grabbed Andy's arm and started to pull him. "You're coming with me, Andrew."

"Gah!" Andy yelped as Vlad was pulling him by the arm, and his shoulder's wounds started to open from the rough treatment. "Let me go! What are you doing!?"

"You are too full of potential to let go, Andrew. Yes, I think I can use you. You have the potential to become much more than you are. I can make you just like me and your brother." Vlad replied with a sinister grin.

"What!?" Andy gasped before Vlad turned them both intangible and he flew them under the floor.

Tsukaimon frowned, knowing where Vlad was going. It's not my problem. Let Vlad do whatever he wants. As long as he cooperates with me, I don't care.

When Vlad was in his secret lab, he flew the struggling boy to one of the glass containers he normally used to keep certain ghosts inside. But the container was empty right now, which was perfect to place Andy in at the moment. Vlad grinned as he tossed the boy into the container before closing it.

Andy banged against the glass. "What are you doing!? This is crazy, even for you!"

"Is it, Andrew? I will make you like me and your brother. You can become a half ghost like us, and you will then be a superior being as well." Vlad replied, giving a toothy grin that made him look like a real vampire.

"Me? Become a half ghost?" Andy frowned, shocked by Vlad's claim. "But I'm not half ghost! You might just kill me!"

"Oh no, my dear boy. If you have the potential to be a half ghost, it is likely you may just survive it instead." Vlad grinned. His toothy grin was looking quite unnerving to say the least.

"What are you talking about? How would you know if I had the potential to be a half ghost!?" Andy questioned, terrified out of his mind of what this man was going to do to him.

"Your soul. It looks just like Daniel's ghost form, save for the purple eyes that were glowing." Vlad replied evilly. "The soul appears as what it actually is, not what it appears to be."

Andy remembered Takuya and Danny telling him that his soul, for some weird reason, resembled Danny's ghost form. But he didn't think much of it since it didn't affect his day to day life, he didn't appear to be getting any sudden ghost powers of his own, other than maybe the future visions if that counted as a 'ghost power'. Andy just figured it might have had something to do with the link he and Danny shared, but nothing more. Vlad saw it, and likely came to his own conclusions, however, dangerous conclusions.

"You don't know that, Vlad! You could just end up killing me! A half ghost means to be half dead! I don't know how you or Danny survived it, but that was likely a 1 in a billion chance! I don't want to take that risk! I also don't want to be half ghost!" Andy shouted.

"Oh, don't worry, Andrew. You will be a half ghost soon~" Vlad purred. His grin made him look positively predatory, so much so that it felt like a horror film.

Vlad then floated to a control panel. Andy noticed that there was a ghost portal here as well. The lab itself looked very similar to the lab at Fenton Works, only it was more lavender for some reason, and more organized. Andy's eyes widened when he suddenly saw a hologram of his own mother greeting Vlad.

"Welcome back, dear heart~" The holo Maddie greeted the older halfa.

"It's good to see you too." Vlad replied as he looked at the holo Maddie. "Can you be a dear and get some things set up for me? I need some supplies for helping Andrew here become a half-ghost too."

Andy quickly knelt down, digging his D-Arc out of his pocket. He frantically began pushing the call button, trying to get a hold of someone, anyone really. His first instinct was to call Takuya, his cousin had been there since he first got his D-Arc after all.

"Takuya! Are you there?" Andy called, pushing the buttons, but only getting static on the screen. "Takuya! Pick up! This is an emergency, please!"

There was still nothing but static on the screen. "Why isn't he answering!? Is this lab jamming the signal or something? Too many ghostly properties?"

Vlad looked back at Andy and saw him with his D-Arc out. He sneered. "Ah, it appears you have your D-Arc. Well, no digital signals can get out of this lab, because if they could, I would be able to use mine as well. This way no one can intercept my location, and now yours as well."

Andy found himself shaking. He had felt scared before, but never to this level. The only other thing that could rival this feeling of fear and helplessness was when Danny 'died' at the accident. Andy didn't know what was going to happen to him, or what Vlad was going to do to try to make him a half ghost.

The fear and anxiety likely triggered another vision, because Andy felt more coming to his head. He put a hand over his face to try to cover up his 'space outness' in front of Vlad.

I could see Vlad injecting me with all sorts of chemicals from vials he kept in this lab. I was strapped on a table, unable to move. I was crying out in pain, but was ignored. I could see Vlad drugging me to keep me quiet and calm though. I heard him speaking to that holo version of Mom. He's going to try to inject me with his DNA in hopes of my body taking it and transforming me into his true half ghost son. It would be torturous for me. The result could end with me dying, or me becoming a monster.

I could feel the chemicals working on me, and Vlad then injected his DNA into my body before throwing me into his Ghost Portal and activating it. The pain was unlike anything I had experienced, like I was burning up from the inside out. The pain ended and I stumbled out to see Vlad grinning at me. Then I felt something off. I looked down, and saw my feet melting into a puddle of ectoplasm, and a scream escaped me.

Andy came out of his nightmarish vision of his future. Andy held his D-Arc to his chest, the only thing he had to even try to bring him comfort at this point. He could hear Danny's voice calling out to him in worry at the back of his mind, but Andy didn't answer back.

Vlad had no idea of what Andy had just seen, he was too focused on his task at hand.

"Vlad, you will kill me if you go through with this," Andy tried to reason. "I'm not meant to be a halfa."

Vlad looked back at Andy. "You don't know that for sure, Andrew. Unless you had another future vision about that, I doubt it will kill you."

Andy was about to retort when suddenly the lights went off.

"Oh butter biscuits! What happened?" Vlad growled before he flew through the darkness to get the generator working.

Andy blinked, unable to see in this complete darkness, but he felt the glass container he was in suddenly opening up. He came tumbling out of it. "Oof!"

"I can't believe I am doing this…" A familiar voice muttered. "But I couldn't just let him do this to you."

"Huh?"

A small furry hand grabbed onto Andy's. "Just trust me if you want to get out of here, boy."

Deciding it was better to trust this voice than sticking here with the crazy half ghost obsessive man, Andy let the being guide him out of the dark lab.

Once Andy was out of the lab, the being that guided him out was revealed to be none other than Tsukaimon himself.

"Tsukaimon?" Andy blinked.

"Shh!" Tsukaimon hissed.

They were currently in Vlad's study room.

"Come on, follow me," Tsukaimon said quietly.

Andy was unsure if he should follow Tsukaimon, he was, after all, Vlad's partner. But since Tsukaimon did just lead him out of Vlad's lab, he decided it would be better to take his chances with this Digimon than with Vlad. Andy hurried after Tsukaimon.

---

Maddie was, actually, pretty glad Dorimon decided to go with her. The Wisconsin ghost started appearing, but there had been more than one flying around. It would appear the ghost was powerful enough to create multiple duplicates. Dorimon was able to keep most of the duplicates off her by tackling them or spitting out those little metal beads.

"Thanks, Dorimon. I never thought I would be glad you came with me." Maddie admitted as she watched another duplicate flying off.

"Andy was afraid this might happen…" Dorimon muttered.

"Did Andy know this ghost could duplicate?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah… but this isn't the time for questions," Dorimon said frantically. "I… I get the feeling that Andy might be in trouble."

Maddie frowned. She knew they should go back to help Andy, but they had to find Danny too. She sighed as she ran a hand through her short hair. "Well, this is quite the predicament then…"

There was a sudden banging noise coming from one of the doors. "Hello!? Is anybody out there!?"

Maddie turned at hearing the voice. It sounded like… "Danny?!" Maddie ran to the door where she had heard the voice coming from. "Is that you in there?"

"Mom!? Yes, it's me!" Danny called out frantically. "Hurry and open the door!"

Danny sounded worried and scared. He didn't sound like he was in pain, but he definitely sounded like he was about to be crushed or eaten by a giant monster.

Maddie tugged on the door, but it was locked. She frowned before she looked at Dorimon. "Hey, Dorimon, you eat metal right?"

Dorimon blinked, before nodding. " Yeah."

Maddie then pointed at the doorknob. "You think you could eat that? It may unlock the door, or barring that, could you eat the hinges?"

"Yeah!" Dorimon smiled before he jumped and bit down on the doorknob, munching it down quickly.

The door was quickly shoved open by Danny, nearly hitting Maddie and Dorimon in the process. Danny looked at his mother and Dorimon for a moment. "Mom! Hurry! I think Andy's in danger!"

Without saying another word, Danny started racing down the hallway.

"Danny! Wait!" Maddie shouted as she ran after Danny, making sure she had Dorimon in her arms after picking him up so he would not be left behind. "Danny!"

Danny didn't slow down though, he felt it, he had felt his brother's fear and anxiety. Andy hadn't answered back to him through their link. Something was definitely wrong. Danny cursed that Vlad had short circuited his powers, he would've revealed his secret to his mother in a heartbeat if it meant saving Andy from whatever sick, twisted plan Vlad had for his brother.

---

Titanic X: ZAFT: You will see what happens next~ :3 This chapter starts on a tense note. :3

Luna Lillyth: DarkFoxKit: Nah, we don't like doing memory wipes if we don't have to. It was necessary for Salamon to do it with Maddie that one time, but we don't plan to use it much. And I do hope this doesn't disappoint.

ZAFT: You will love how this chapter goes down. XD