ZAFT: Been having a very busy time trying to get ready for a wedding for my cousin. It's annoying looking for clothes, shoes, etc. XP
DarkFoxKit: I can imagine. But at least we're able to update today. It's a chapter I've been waiting to get to, it was perhaps one of my favorites in the whole series.
ZAFT: Oh, it was one of my favorites as well. XD So, let's not keep the readers waiting! I'm sure they will want to read it as well!
DarkFoxKit: Of course, you guys have fun.
(Two symbols, one red, and one blue, spin before colliding and flaring with light as they do so, showing the title)
Digital Phantom!
(Shows several forms in shadow before they are revealed to be Danny Fenton and Patamon, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Takuya Kanbara, Andy Fenton and Lopmon, and Jazz Fenton)
Falling into destiny
(A swirling green portal is shown, followed by the sky and cities of the living world before a computer monitor is zoomed in on, revealing another world of lush greenery through that)
Reaching across new boundaries
(Andy Fenton appears with Jazz beside him. Takuya Kanbara appears behind him as well, the form of Agunimon appearing behind Takuya himself)
Let our stories come together
(Andy is shown with the form of Phantom beside him, his twin brother Danny Fenton behind the ghost boy)
Growing stronger
(Andy looks on at Phantom fighting before running to help the ghost boy by taking out his Fenton Rod)
Our pasts intertwine
(Six glowing orbs of light are shown, each of a different color (red, teal, lavender, dark purple, white, and yellow) before the red orb speeds towards Takuya)
Showing our future
(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 as Plasmius fires off ecto-rays at him, only for a glowing orange orb to appear around Agunimon and deflect the beams)
As we evolve
(The blasts speed past the screen as Tucker is shown with a Fenton Wrist ray being fired at a ghost, Kokuwamon shown behind him)
Let's go… EVOLUTION
(Sam is shown with her Fenton Lipstick, firing it at a different ghost, with Biyomon shown behind her)
As our worlds collide
(Jazz is shown beside Andy, the form of Lopmon behind Andy while a shadowed form is behind Jazz)
We stand as one
(Jack and Maddie Fenton are shown, with the Fenton Works logo behind them as it glows green)
Growing strong
(Ghosts are shown flying all around Amity Park as the shadowy form of Walker is shown atop a building and sneering down)
As we move along
(Danny is shown walking down the street with those closest to him appearing one by one; Andy and Lopmon, Patamon, Tucker, Sam, Takuya, and Jazz)
CHOU… SHINKA!
(Fractal code is shown before it dissipates to reveal Agunimon lunging out of the dissipating data, fire around his left fist)
Let's go… EVOLUTION!
(The group is shown facing down Plasmius, who looms above them with hands outstretched as a dark form appears behind Plasmius himself)
Nothing will stand in our way!
(Andy, Lopmon, Danny, Tucker, Sam, Jazz, and Takuya all appear with ribbons of fractal code streaming out from behind them, a swirling green orb behind the ribbons of fractal code)
Digital Phantom!
Chapter 54: The Reality of a Nightmare
Tommy slowly opened his eyes when he didn't feel any pain from whatever just launched at him, finding himself back in the forest, but… something was different. The campfire was still there, but everyone else was gone. He appeared to be alone. What… just happened? Did I black out?
There was no one else except for him in the forest. Tommy began to feel a bit freaked out now. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Was this a prank by the Legendary Warriors? It had to be… right? Were they trying to see if he would freak out and run away?
"Takuya? Koji? Someone?" Tommy called out nervously. "Where'd you guys go?"
Tommy heard a sound in the bushes. He turned around, ready to jump away, but was relieved to see it was only JP. "Oh, you scared me for a moment there. Where'd you guys go?"
"We had to take care of important Legendary Warrior business, half pint," JP responded in a rude tone.
"O-oh… I… guess that's important… but aren't we supposed to stay together?" Tommy replied nervously, not sure why JP suddenly got a bit of an attitude.
"I guess, as long as you don't get in our way." JP grumbled, obviously not happy with the arrangement.
JP began to walk away, Tommy running after to catch up. "Where are the others?"
JP was walking pretty fast, and Tommy had to move faster to keep up. "They're waiting for me to get back to them."
"What about Jazz?" Tommy asked.
"Who cares about her?" Tommy heard Koji's voice as he walked creepily out from the bushes as well.
"What? Isn't that why we're here?" Tommy frowned.
"We're only here because of your whining," Zoe's voice grumbled as she too walked out creepily from the bushes.
Why are they walking out so creepily? And what's with their attitude? Tommy frowned in worry.
"Yeah, we could find Jazz at any time we choose." Takuya's voice added as he came out of the brush just as creepily as the others.
Tommy started to feel like his friends were acting more like scary monsters lurking in the dark. No… that's silly… they're not monsters… technically.
"Um… weren't you worried about her? She is your cousin," Tommy pointed out to Takuya.
"She is. But she isn't here, it turns out that the information we got was wrong, what a waste of time," Takuya grumbled.
"We should get you home to your mommy, but then again, you don't belong in the real world either," Koji hissed. "You're nothing but a dangerous bandit!"
"W-what?" Tommy paled, feeling like his heart just dropped to his stomach.
"We know who you really are, Kumamon! You tried to trick us, and made us think you were just an innocent kid, when you've been Kumamon this entire time!" JP pointed accusingly at Tommy.
"N-no! How… why would you think I'm Kumamon?" Tommy asked in shock and fear.
"Of course you are! Why else would you try so hard to fit in with us?" Takuya hissed in a sinister tone. He looked positively evil now. "I swore that I would make sure to make you pay the next time I saw you! And now is that time!"
"This is what you get for lying to us Legendary Warriors, you lowly scum!" Zoe growled.
The 4 of them began to gang up on Tommy, trying to hold him down.
"N-no! Please, stop! You guys, you're hurting me!" Tommy cried out as he felt their hands grabbing him and pushing him down harshly.
"Oh, is that so? Then good~" Koji sneered at Tommy in an evil way. "A bandit like you deserves it! Trying to deceive us and worm your way into our hearts. You deserve to suffer!"
"We hate you, Kumamon!" JP growled.
"You will never belong here," Zoe hissed venomously.
"And you know what? I never cared about you," Takuya harshly said to Tommy. "I was using you to get stronger. You weren't chosen by a Legendary Warrior, you were chosen by a lowly bandit. And that's all you are, and ever will be. So we might as well save ourselves the trouble and kill you now."
Tommy's eyes went wide in fear as Takuya's hand was reaching for his face. "N-no, no… NO! STOOOOOP!"
Takuya, Koji, Zoe, and JP had been relaxing when they saw Tommy had seemingly fallen asleep. They decided to let the boy rest since he was likely tired. But then he suddenly shouted and that got them all worried. Tommy reached out and grabbed one of the burning sticks in the campfire.
"W-wha… T-Tommy?" Takuya asked in concern. "Are… Are you okay?"
"That's dangerous! You could burn yourself doing that!" JP scolded.
"You all tried to kill me…" Tommy stated in a calm but ominous tone of voice. "I won't forgive you…"
"W-wha…?" Takuya blinked. "What are you talking about?" What is he going on about? That doesn't make any sense…
"Yeah, we never tried to kill you." Zoe agreed, but she was getting a bad feeling about what was going on now.
Tommy's grip on the burning stick tightened as he glared at the people who were trying to kill him. He suddenly ran at them, swinging the burning stick. The other kids yelped as they tried to get out of the way, not wanting to get hit by that burning stick.
"Tommy! What's wrong with you!?" Koji shouted.
Tommy ran at Koji, Koji quickly moved away, and pushed Zoe to the side before Tommy could hit her as well.
"I will not forgive any of you!" Tommy growled.
"Okay, something's seriously wrong here!" JP exclaimed. "This isn't like Tommy at all!"
"Do you think… that strange phenomenon hit Tommy?" Takuya wondered. "I mean… It's the only thing that could have him acting like this…"
"Great! What do we do now? I knew bringing him would be a bad idea!" Koji hissed.
Tommy finally stopped running and was glaring at them. That was when they got a good look at his eyes. Tommy's eyes were glazed over. "You're going to pay… for hurting me… for trying to kill me… for hating me when I only wanted to help!"
Takuya began to get a sinking feeling in his gut. "Tommy… we don't hate you! You need to stop this! You need to snap out of it!"
"Yeah, you're not making any sense!" Zoe agreed. "We only want to help you!"
"Stop it right now! Don't make us have to tie you down!" JP warned.
Tommy could see that he wasn't going to be able to defend himself from them if he tried to fight them off as a human. Very well then, since they already knew who he was, no point in hiding it anymore. Tommy tossed the stick aside, thankfully the embers on the stick had already died down when Tommy had been swinging it.
Tommy reached into his pocket, taking out a very, very familiar looking device.
Time seemed to stop for Takuya when his eyes saw the D-Tector in Tommy's hand.
Oh… no… No, no no! This… Tommy has a D-Tector… The same one Kumamon had… Takuya felt like he had received a punch to the gut at this realization. Tommy… Kumamon… They're…
Now he felt just awful… Takuya felt the sting of guilt rush through his chest. I… I didn't… Tommy… I…
The others were gaping when they saw the D-Tector in Tommy's hand. A ring of code appeared on Tommy's hand before he had his D-Tector scan it. The others noticed Tommy wasn't quite as energetic or happy about spirit evolving like the rest of them usually were. He was doing it quickly and quietly. The fractal codes surrounded the boy, transforming him into a familiar white bear before their very eyes.
"Kumamon."
Now as Kumamon, he fired an icy wind at the campfire, quickly killing the flames and turning the firewood into ice wood. With the flames now dead, the forest bathed in darkness once more, Kumamon turned his attention back on the group and began to approach them.
"Tommy… was Kumamon… Tommy was Kumamon?!" JP exclaimed in shock.
"I… really… didn't see this coming…" Koji muttered, almost speechless.
"Tommy…" Zoe murmured, not sure what to make of this. But whatever it was, this sure threw things for a twist for them all.
Takuya was shaking. He had accused Kumamon of trying to drown Tommy… He had threatened Kumamon in front of Tommy… I really hate that I have the Fenton gene right now…
"What do we do?" Zoe asked, concerned and confused. "We have to stop him, but…"
"I'm tired of you all hating me. But if you want to hate me that badly, then I'll give you something to hate me for!" Kumamon hissed venomously before taking in a breath. "Crystal Breeze!"
Kumamon blew out a powerful icy wind. The group quickly made a run for it as Kumamon's attack hit a tree, completely turning it into thick, solid ice.
"Aw man! I knew Kumamon was a Digimon, but his power is on par with that of ours in our Human Spirit forms!" Takuya exclaimed. "But… why? Why is he showing this kind of power now?"
"He thinks he's fighting for his life, I guess? It could be an instinct to survive," Koji guessed. "He's definitely been afflicted by whatever causes players and Digimon to become violent towards their friends."
"But are we really his friends? Considering we've been harassing him as Kumamon, and… we really haven't said the nicest things to him either…" Zoe frowned, feeling guilty for those times she hurt Kumamon with words, accusing him of being a rogue Warrior and being dangerous.
Kumamon was walking forward, his eyes looking dead on at them, wanting to hurt them just like how they hurt him.
Takuya felt his heart racing. If Kumamon was really intent on hurting them, hurting him… "We… I don't know if we can fight him though… I don't think I can… That's Tommy… He's just a kid…"
"I'm really sorry, Tommy," JP apologized.
Kumamon looked like he didn't hear JP, instead, when he got close enough, he took another breath. However, he didn't shout out the name of his attack this time as he blasted out another icy wind attack at a pretty big tree. The ice attack didn't freeze the tree solid like the last one did, but it did cause the base of it to freeze.
"Some of his attacks aren't as strong?" Zoe blinked.
However, that appeared to be part of Kumamon's plan, as only freezing the bottom part of the tree caused it to snap off of itself, and making the large tree fall on top of them.
"Look out!" Koji shouted.
The group scattered in four different directions. Zoe went one way, while JP went the opposite way. Takuya dove to the right while Koji went to the left. The tree crashed where the group had been standing mere seconds ago.
"That was close…" JP said in relief that they all dodged that. "Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah… though I think I scraped my knee a little…" Zoe replied.
Kumamon walked up a small hill, looking down at the group.
"He's coming! Look out!" Takuya warned.
"Crystal Breeze!" Kumamon shot out a much more powerful icy wind than the last one, freezing a good chunk of the ground as the group ran away to avoid getting hit.
"One hit from that and we'll be frozen solid ourselves!" Koji hissed.
"Maybe we should Spirit Evolve and knock him out or something." JP frowned.
Zoe paled. "But we could seriously hurt Tommy if we do that!"
"In case you haven't noticed, Tommy is trying to seriously hurt us!" JP snapped back.
Takuya frowned, knowing he had to make a decision for the group. "Only in self-defense should we Spirit Evolve. If Kumamon targets one of us, then that person should Spirit Evolve, but only to defend themselves."
"I will never forgive you!" Kumamon growled.
"We still need to do something!" JP said. "If we just keep running, he's going to turn the entire TV Forest into an Icy Forest!"
"We better split up a bit, see who he favors going after instead of being clumped together like bowling pins!" Koji quickly said as Kumamon was starting to approach them again.
The rest of the group nodded, feeling like it was the best plan they had at the moment.
The group quickly scattered. Kumamon stopped for a moment, watching them all scatter. Is this a distraction? To try to attack me from all directions?
Takuya and Koji were a little closer together as they looked at Kumamon from behind some of the trees.
"What's he doing?" Takuya asked.
Kumamon began to turn his head over at Takuya and Koji. "You wanted to destroy me the most. You say you cared about me, but you don't. The moment you found out I was Kumamon, you only wanted to hurt me."
"I think he's talking to you, Takuya," Koji warned.
Takuya paled at Koji's words, and at Kumamon's words. He looked down, feeling guilt coming back to him. It was making him shake. He didn't like how things had turned out. And it's all my fault…
However, before Takuya could stew in his guilt, he heard a rustling sound nearby. It wasn't just him, but Koji heard it as well. JP and Zoe went in the opposite direction, so it couldn't have been either of them.
"Did you hear that?" Koji asked.
"Yeah, I don't think we're alone here," Takuya replied.
"Okay, that's it. We need to shed some light on this," Koji said before he took out his own D-Tector.
Koji held up his D-Tector and the white digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen as he formed the familiar fractal coding on his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the energy of the Spirit entered his body. His eyes became red as his hair shortened and turned almost platinum in color. A white helmet covered his head as white and blue armor covered his body. He grasped the familiar beam sabers and swung them a few times before clasping them around his waist and firing off his arm laser. "Lobomon!"
Now evolved as Lobomon, the Warrior of Light knew he had to light up the area. He drew out one of his swords and the blade ignited. He held it up, invoking the power of his element. "Light up this area!"
The blade began to shine brightly, throwing the area into light.
That's really bright. But I can't look away from him, or he could strike me down. Kumamon thought to himself as he kept his eyes on Lobomon.
"What's going on?" JP asked.
"I think Koji knows something we don't," Zoe guessed.
Takuya quickly scanned the area as Lobomon was lighting it brightly. And he saw something moving deeper into the forest.
"There! Something's moving that way!" Takuya exclaimed before he took out his own D-Tector. Takuya then got ready. He held out his D-Tector and the blue digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen of his D-Tector as he formed the familiar fractal coding on his left hand. Takuya swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. Red armor formed and latched onto his body as his hair changed to blonde and became long and wild. His height increased, as did his strength and agility. His eyes snapped open, now a brilliant blue instead of brown, and his canine teeth were sharper than a human's as well. He landed, crying out his name. "Agunimon!"
Now evolved as Agunimon, the Warrior of Flame took off into the forest, chasing the fleeing figure.
"Okay, what is going on? Why did they both Spirit Evolve?" JP questioned. "Darn it, we have to make sure they don't hurt Tommy!"
Zoe frowned as well before she looked over at Lobomon. "Lobomon, don't you dare harm a hair on that bear."
Lobomon had no intention of harming Kumamon now that he knew that was Tommy, but Kumamon didn't seem to be feeling as merciful right now.
Kumamon jumped up high over Lobomon, melting his body and turning it into a giant icicle. "Frozen Tundra!"
The icicle was much bigger than it usually was, as well as thicker than it had been ever before, even more so than when he had used it on WaruMonzaemon.
Lobomon tensed up before he brought his sword up to block the tip of the icicle that was Kumamon. He's… strong… much stronger than he looks… Lobomon thought as he narrowed his red eyes, grunting as he strained to keep the icicle back from his own body.
Using most of his strength, Lobomon barely managed to throw Kumamon's icicle body off of him. Kumamon landed a few feet away, stabbing the ground. Kumamon melted his body once more, returning it to normal. Though Kumamon didn't take his glazed filled eyes off of the Warrior of Light. He's tough. I expected as much from a Legendary Warrior. But I won't let a Legendary Warrior finish me off, not when I still have a promise to keep to someone who actually does care about me.
"Kumamon… no… Tommy, you have to stop this!" Lobomon begged. "This isn't like you! You have to wake up!"
"I have woken up. I've woken up from the delusion that any of you cared about me!" Kumamon hissed.
"Incoming!" Agunimon yelled as he grabbed onto the fast moving creature.
"Get off of me, you big lug!" The creature shouted as it dragged Agunimon across the ground.
"What the heck? What's he riding?" Zoe asked, surprised to see Agunimon was on something.
"No way!" Agunimon snapped. "Not after what you've done!" He instead tightened his grip on the fast moving creature, trying to pull it to him.
The creature, however, managed to get loose from Agunimon's hold and fly towards a tree.
"That's…" JP blinked when he got a better look at the creature. "That's a Tapirmon!"
"A Tapirmon? Wait… aren't they capable of using an attack called Nightmare Syndrome…?" Zoe questioned.
"Yeah, but… aren't they supposed to eat bad dreams?" JP questioned. "The Nightmare Syndrome is supposed to give good dreams… despite its name."
"No time to be wondering about that! This thing is responsible for this, I'm sure of it!" Agunimon shouted as he ran at the Tapirmon.
Lobomon smirked to himself. "If it is, then we can end this strange phenomenon once and for all."
Lobomon was then hit by the Crystal Breeze, freezing half of his legs.
"Don't you know it's careless to take your eyes off of your opponent? Some Legendary Warrior you are," Kumamon stated.
Shit… Lobomon thought in disgust at lowering his guard. He knew he had to get free, but this wasn't going to be some easy Digimon to fight if he did.
Agunimon chased after the Tapirmon. I need to stop this thing… It's probably what made Tommy turn against us!
Tapirmon flew towards Agunimon. "Nightmare Syndrome!"
A thick black and dark purple mist surrounded Agunimon.
"Oh-no! It got Agunimon!" Zoe gasped.
"Great, does this mean we're going to have two Legendary Warriors we have to worry about now?" JP groaned.
Takuya blinked, finding himself in the forest. But the others were gone, and he appeared to be all alone.
"Where is everyone…?" Takuya questioned.
"Takuya! Is that you?"
Takuya jumped as he turned around, shocked when he saw Andy running up to him.
"A-Andy!? W-what are you doing here?!" Takuya asked, confused and surprised. "I thought you went after Valerie and Salamon!"
"I did… but it looks like I somehow ended up here," Andy said, looking confused himself. "I seem to have lost Lopmon too… I guess we got separated. Where is everyone else?"
"I don't know… I just remember chasing down a Digimon and then… I found myself alone." Takuya admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That's weird… Also, that green fog seems to be filled with ectoplasm. I hope I didn't get too much on me… would that be bad for the Digital World?" Andy questioned.
"Yes, it would." Koji spoke up, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
"We can't have any ectoplasmic being brought into the Digital World," Zoe said, appearing out of nowhere as well.
"It's our job as Legendary Warriors to purge ghosts, or someone affiliated with ghosts, before they mess up the Digital World," JP stated, coming out of the shadows.
Andy looked around nervously. "Takuya… what's going on?"
"Guys! Calm down! Andy's fine! He's not a ghost or anything!" Takuya exclaimed as he got in front of Andy, trying to stop the others from hurting him.
"Why do you care about him, Takuya?" A familiar voice spoke up that sounded like a needle going through Takuya's heart.
Tommy appeared from Takuya's shadow. "After all, you didn't care about me."
Takuya paled. "T-Tommy… I… That's not true… I do care about you… It's just… I jumped to conclusions…" He murmured.
"If you're going to protect this ghost, then you're against us," Koji growled.
"Get them!" JP shouted.
Takuya gasped as they all charged at him, grabbing him and holding him down. Tommy looked down at Takuya before he walked over to Andy, and grabbed the boy's arm. Tommy had a large, pointy icicle in his hand, ready to stab Andy.
"N-no! Let me go!" Andy yelled.
"NO! Don't do it! Don't hurt him!" Takuya exclaimed, feeling his heart racing. Aw man… of all the times I reverted back to my human form…
That was when something clicked in Takuya's mind. Wait a minute… what is going on? Why is everyone suddenly against me? Why is Andy here without Lopmon? The last thing I remember was going after a Digimon called Tapirmon and… No… it's not real. I was hit by that Digimon's attack!
Takuya gritted his teeth. "It's… not real… This isn't real! My friends would never hurt me, or Andy! Andy is not here, because he's out looking for a friend of his!" He exclaimed. "Get out of my head!"
Takuya managed to shove the others off of him, and as soon as he did, they all turned into shadows on the ground. Tommy and Andy looked at Takuya as well before Tommy sank into the ground as a shadow as well.
Andy gave Takuya a small smile. "Way to go cuz, I knew you had it in you."
Takuya blinked before he smiled. "Thanks, Andy." Then something else clicked in his mind. Wait… if this is a nightmare… then… is Tommy having one as well? Tommy's a smart kid though, why hasn't he figured out he's in a nightmare?
Takuya then remembered Kumamon's words as he was attacking them. Because to him, this is real. We made him believe we truly would hate him if we ever found out he was Kumamon.
"Then go out there and end this nightmare," Andy said to Takuya.
"Yeah… wait, aren't you a part of Tapirmon's nightmare?" Takuya asked.
"Maybe, or I could be your subconsciousness fighting back the nightmare too," Andy replied before he walked away into the woods. "I'll see you later, cuz."
"Weird…" Takuya murmured before he shook his head. "But he's right. I need to get out of this nightmare and stop Kumamon as well as Tapirmon."
Agunimon stood up, having gotten out of the nightmare. He quickly turned to Lobomon and Kumamon. "It's only a dream! Tapirmon has convinced Tommy we're trying to hurt him!"
Lobomon's eyes widened a bit when he heard that. He looked back at the slowly advancing Kumamon, concern visible on his face. "Tommy, you have to stop, please!"
Kumamon reached for his blaster. "I'm Kumamon, the one you all hate so much. I'm not listening to your hurtful words anymore!"
"Wait!" Agunimon exclaimed to Kumamon. Agunimon slowly began to approach Kumamon. He wasn't going to just run at Kumamon, because that would only make Kumamon more likely to attack. "Please… don't hurt him. I'm the one you really want… I was the one who said I hated you, not Lobomon, or any of the others here."
Kumamon slowly turned to Agunimon. "And is that what you're here for then? To finally make me pay and finish me off?"
Agunimon swallowed nervously, but he shook his head. "No… I'm not…" He said. "I… I want to… apologize to you… for… assuming you were trying to kill Tommy…"
Kumamon didn't give a response as he looked at Agunimon.
"You never did anything wrong. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. We didn't know you weren't a bad guy, Tommy. We never would've accused you of doing those bad things if we knew," Agunimon explained. "And I promise, I really do care about you, and that will never change, even now!"
Kumamon wasn't sure how to feel about those words, if they were safe to be trusted. Takuya… Are you really not trying to hurt me?
Agunimon bit his lower lip nervously. "If… if it makes you feel better… you can… I will surrender to you…"
"What are you doing, Agunimon?" JP asked in shock.
"Tommy could really hurt you!" Zoe spoke up in worry.
Agunimon got down on his hands and knees, to show he really meant what he said to Kumamon.
"Don't be an idiot!" Lobomon shouted.
"Please, Tommy, do what you must!" Agunimon begged, waiting for Kumamon to strike him down.
The others looked at Agunimon in worry as Kumamon held up his blaster at Agunimon.
"Please, guys, don't interfere! This is between me and Tommy," Agunimon requested to the others.
Kumamon looked at the Warrior of Flame on his hands and knees as he held his blaster at Agunimon. This feels… familiar…
Kumamon saw a flash of Lunamon before his eyes, the same Digimon he had almost finished off when he had been working for Sir Michael. Agunimon was in the same position as Lunamon was back then.
What am I doing…? Kumamon asked himself. Am I really going to hurt someone who's not even fighting back? Why am I attacking him? No… this isn't right… even if they knew about me, I shouldn't be attacking them like this…
Kumamon lowered his blaster. I… I was afflicted by the phenomenon, wasn't I? That has to be the only explanation why I'm standing before Agunimon like this…
"Agunimon… please stand up… I don't like seeing you like this," Kumamon said softly.
Agunimon's head snapped up, surprised at what he had heard. "W-wha…?" Agunimon slowly blinked.
"You… T-Tommy…?" He asked softly, daring to hope for the first time since this whole thing began.
The glaze that had been over Kumamon's eyes seemed to have disappeared, and Kumamon's eyes were normal. Kumamon gave Agunimon a small smile before he held out his hand for Agunimon to take.
Agunimon slowly smiled back and took Kumamon's hand. "Good to have you back, Tommy…" He said softly as he got back up to his feet. Then, Agunimon's expression slowly changed into one of regret as he closed his blue eyes tightly.
"I… I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry…" Tears began to run down his cheeks as well.
"Hey… Takuya?" Kumamon spoke up. "I… know we have a lot to talk about… but isn't there something we need to do first?"
Agunimon's eyes shot open at the question, which caused him to remember Tapirmon. His eyes became focused as he remembered that Digimon. "Yeah, there is. We have to deal with Tapirmon first."
"But where is Tapirmon?" Lobomon wondered as he looked around for the Digimon in question.
"I got him!" JP shouted as he was sitting on the Tapirmon. "No way was I letting this guy go after all the trouble he caused!"
"Way to go JP!" Zoe smiled.
Agunimon chuckled at seeing that. "Nice work." He complimented. Agunimon then made his way over to JP and the Tapirmon.
Agunimon knelt down in front of Tapirmon. "Now, care to explain what you did this whole thing for?"
"Hmph, like I'm going to answer to you," Tapirmon huffed.
"Just watch out for his Nightmare Syndrome, we don't need another incident," Lobomon warned.
"Aww, they caught you… I knew it was only a matter of time." An unfamiliar voice grumbled.
The group turned around to the unknown voice, surprised that someone else was in the TV Forest with them. But to Agunimon, the voice was not one he had been hoping to hear. That's not Jazz…
They saw a man who had brown hair and wore a white coat. He had on a blue shirt with a black and dark blue patterned tie and he wore khaki pants with white sneakers on. He had dark brown eyes and also wore black rimmed glasses on his face.
The group was surprised to see an adult man here, while it wasn't impossible, it was usually teens or kids who preferred playing the Ruler of the Digital World rather than adults.
"I'm sorry, Maxwell… I should've tried harder to stay hidden," Tapirmon apologized.
"Ah, well… I suppose I should be the one apologizing," The man the Tapirmon had called 'Maxwell', replied sheepishly. "I didn't realize you kids were… um… Digimon?"
At once, Agunimon became tense. The last few times a few people had found out, it hadn't really ended well for him. "So what if we are?" He asked, his voice filled with wariness.
"My apologies, it wasn't my intention to cause all this trouble for you," Maxwell replied, pushing up his glasses a bit. "You see… Tapirmon and I are trying to help the sick and the weak Digimon in a place that's hidden in this forest. But we kept getting players coming here, trying to hunt for them. They had hurt more Digimon, and tried to enslave many of them. So Tapirmon and I decided to come up with a way to keep those players out. I began to work on Tapirmon's Nightmare Syndrome in order to scare the players away from here. Of course, we did have to practice on some Digimon as well to make sure it wasn't fatal to players. I'm not proud of having to do that, but we made sure to snap them out of it if it got too dangerous. But it seems the Nightmare Syndrome seems to have unintended effects on players."
Maxwell took a moment to take a breath before continuing his explanation. "It seems Tapirmon's Nightmare Syndrome works a little too well. We don't control what the players see in these nightmares, the Nightmare Syndrome picks at what it is they're afraid of, and forces them to experience it. We only wanted to scare them to leave the forest, not traumatize them into trying to hurt their comrades. But… it did work though, since it kept the players away from this place. When we saw you guys, we thought players were becoming more bold, and were sending in groups to try to find the hidden place we've been protecting, so Tapirmon tried to scare you away by making the youngest of you have a bad nightmare. It looked like he didn't have a Digimon partner, so we thought he wouldn't be able to do much to hurt you if he became violent… we… didn't know he could turn into a Digimon. That was really our bad."
Agunimon frowned a bit, but it did seem like this Maxwell regretted his actions.
Lobomon grunted as he managed to slash his feet free of the ice with his light swords at last. "Well, at least we know what the strange phenomena was now… and who was behind it." He grumbled, not exactly happy about the revelation.
"Why would you do that though? Weren't there better ways to keep players out than to make them turn against each other?" Zoe asked.
"If we made up a scary story about a really strong monster being in here, wouldn't that only invite more players to hunt this Digimon down than to deter them?" Maxwell asked. "If we made signs to keep out, wouldn't that only make the teens more eager to go in to see why they should keep out? Believe me, I didn't want to stoop to that level, but I had to keep those Digimon who can't defend themselves safe at all cost."
"So, where is this place for the Digimon?" JP asked. "Surely, if you're here, then we must be close by, right?"
"Yes, it is close by," Maxwell confirmed. "What do you think, Tapirmon? Should we show them?"
"Well… they seem to be trustworthy. I'm not sure how they're able to transform into Digimon, but I don't sense any ill will in them. And it's the least we can do after what happened," Tapirmon answered.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. They did get pretty injured during the fight we ended up causing," Maxwell sheepishly said. "Okay, if you 5 really want to see this place, then follow us. I trust you won't tell any players about it though?"
Agunimon shook his head. "No, we wouldn't dream of it." He replied. "Not if it would expose them to more players coming after them."
"Very well then. And… if you need to talk amongst yourselves, don't keep quiet on my account," Maxwell replied.
JP stood up, letting Tapirmon go, and allowing the Digimon to fly next to his partner. Maxwell and Tapirmon began walking ahead. Agunimon, Lobomon, and Kumamon all reverted back to their human forms before they started following after Maxwell. Zoe and JP followed as well.
Takuya frowned as they walked in silence. He looked down at Tommy, who was walking in front of Takuya. Tommy was also frowning. He knew there was going to be a lot of explaining to do between them. Though to be fair, he didn't know this was going to be how his Kumamon form got revealed to the group.
Tommy had been hoping to find a way to prove Kumamon wasn't as bad as they thought, or at least show them he wasn't a bad Digimon if he was in the past. But that had severely backfired on him when he literally attacked them all when he got hit by Tapirmon's Nightmare Syndrome. He wasn't sure what the others were thinking right now, and he had been afraid to bring it up.
Koji, Zoe, and JP also walked in silence, their minds also thinking about how Tommy was Kumamon. This was not what they had expected to experience, and it really shocked them badly. They were each not sure what to make of this revelation.
"Who knew Tommy would be Kumamon…" Zoe murmured softly. "I… really don't know what to think about that…"
"Tell me about it." Koji agreed. "The one we thought was a bad Digimon wound up being a kid."
"Shouldn't we… say something?" JP asked.
"What can we say?" Zoe frowned.
"I can hear you whispering," Tommy said.
The three speaking froze.
"Um… Yeah…" Zoe tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth.
"Tommy, we didn't expect you to be Kumamon. This has thrown us all for a loop, and it will take some time for us to process it fully." JP explained at last.
Tommy gave a sigh. "I didn't expect you all to find out… at least not like this…"
"Why didn't you tell us?" Zoe asked.
"I didn't know how I should tell you," Tommy replied. "I didn't know you could turn into Digimon at first. I thought I was the only one. But then you saw me 'attacking' a player, and thought I was a bad Digimon. It became harder and harder to tell you because you thought I was evil. And I began thinking maybe the Digimon I turned into was evil."
Takuya frowned as he listened in. "And then I made things worse when you almost drowned…" He continued. "By saying Kumamon tried to drown you, when in fact you had been Kumamon all along…"
"I… don't know how to swim…" Tommy admitted softly. "When I was running from you and Kazemon, I tripped and fell into the water. That's how you found me almost drowning in the river."
Takuya felt guilty and it made his heart ache when he heard that. "And I misread the whole situation…"
"... I think we all did…" Zoe admitted at last.
"We all jumped to conclusions," Koji sighed.
"I hadn't been sure myself," JP admitted. "I thought he didn't seem like a bad Digimon. I should've followed my gut."
"But that also explains a lot," Takuya said. "Why Tommy and Kumamon were never seen together, why Kumamon would suddenly appear and Tommy would disappear, why Tommy seemed so upset after our encounter with Kumamon… and why Tommy didn't have a Digimon partner even after all this time."
The other three had to admit, that did make sense.
"I think that should've been something we should've paid more attention to, at least the Digimon partner thing." Zoe admitted. "I mean, only those like us wouldn't have a Digimon partner."
"And why Tommy and Kumamon never appeared in the same location together." JP added.
"In my defense, this was my first time meeting both Tommy and Kumamon," Koji grumbled.
Tommy had been pretty quiet while they were talking about this. Not that he had much to add to the conversation, he wanted to give them time to come to terms with him and Kumamon being the same person. It was what would come after they wrapped their head around that, that worried Tommy.
Takuya sighed as he looked down, feeling bad now. He didn't want to go through that whole thing with Tommy and Kumamon again. It would take some time for him to wrap his mind around the revelation, but he was fairly certain he could accept it. After all, I did accept Danny being Phantom.
Zoe knew it would take some time to accept Tommy was Kumamon, but it was just a shock to her. She didn't want to jump to conclusions all over again. That had made things really bad for Tommy, and she wanted to give her past self a big scolding for just assuming Kumamon was a bad Digimon.
JP hadn't known Tommy and Kumamon for that long, though he felt bad for making any comments that made Tommy doubt himself, and his own Digimon self. It never felt good to be doubtful of oneself. Honestly, he was more worried about Tommy than him being Kumamon.
Koji admittedly had been hasty himself when he attacked Kumamon before, truly believing he was a rogue Warrior like the others were. He was a Legendary Warrior he hadn't seen before, and his first thought was that he was a rogue Warrior. Not to mention the others had told him Kumamon was dangerous. But maybe he should've listened to the hothead when Agunimon was trying to talk to Kumamon before. But the damage had already been done. There wasn't much they could do about what happened before now, all they could was hope they weren't too late to mend this in the future.
"Here we are," Maxwell spoke up, pushing past some bushes. "There's a clearing here that gives Digimon plenty of room to run around in."
The five kids were surprised to see the village in the forest, which had structures built in a semi-circle around the clearing itself.
"Whoa… I had no idea this place was even here…" Takuya murmured.
"None of us did, not just you." Koji pointed out.
"Does anyone else live here?" JP asked.
"Not as far as I know," Maxwell answered. "I mean Digimon live here, but I've been the only player to have discovered this place and decided to stay here to help take care of the Digimon."
That was a nice big pond in the clearing, which allowed for Digimon to drink and swim in.
"It's pretty late though, unless you kids… Digimon…? Rather sleep outside, you're welcome to sleep in some of the cabins here," Maxwell said. "Just hope you don't mind having roommates if you do."
Takuya nodded. "Yeah, some sleep may be good… especially after the whole nightmare thing we went through."
Tommy looked like he wanted to fall asleep himself.
"We'll sleep outside. We were intending to anyway," Koji said. "I would rather not deal with other Digimon right now."
"As you wish, it's a nice night out anyways," Maxwell agreed.
"We will be in our own cabin if you need us," Tapirmon said.
Maxwell and Tapirmon walked to one of the houses and went inside. Leaving the group of 5 alone.
"I'm not sure if I could really sleep right now though," JP said. "We kind of have a lot to talk about."
"Yeah, we kinda do…" Zoe agreed. "But… How can we go about it? I mean… It's so awkward right now… What with Tommy being Kumamon and how we all feel about it…"
"Well, we have to start somewhere…" Koji sighed.
Tommy yawned as he sat down on the grass. He was anxious, but he was also tired. The nightmare thing didn't make for any restful sleep.
"Um… well to start on a less awkward conversation, we at least solved the mystery of the phenomena that made others turn violent against each other," Takuya started, not sure if he was ready to face his guilt with Tommy yet.
"Assuming he was telling the truth about not having any malicious intentions behind it," Koji grumbled. "I mean he's done it enough times to cause a nasty rumor about it."
"Yeah, but it has kept this place safe from players." Zoe pointed out. "But I do agree. The fact it was done so many times is not exactly a good thing."
JP sighed. "Even if we did solve the mystery, I don't know how to really feel about it. I mean, yes, it's good we proved it was not a curse on TV Forest, but the fact it was a Digimon is a bit unnerving to say the least."
"And apparently he doesn't plan to stop doing that to any players who come into the TV Forest either if he wants to keep them away from this place," Koji pointed out.
"Is that a bad thing though?" Takuya asked.
"Of course it's bad! It's bad because it could cause them to get hurt, not to mention it messes with their psyche, which isn't good no matter how you slice it," Koji pointed out. "Look at almost what happened when Tommy got hit by the Nightmare Syndrome."
Takuya grimaced. "Yeah… good point…" He admitted. I guess Koji is right… I mean, I also got hit with the Nightmare Syndrome and could've done something similar to the others…
"We do need to address the… well… the more… awkward issue though too…" Zoe said slowly. "It… has to be addressed at some point… The more we put it off, the more difficult it will become…"
Takuya gave a wince. "Yeah… I understand that all too well…"
They began to turn to Tommy to see what his input was… however, when they looked at the kid, he had passed out on the grass, already asleep.
"Ah… he fell asleep…" JP muttered.
"Who could blame him? He's already been through a lot for a little kid," Zoe sighed.
"Actually, this might be a good thing," Koji spoke up quietly.
"Why's that?" Takuya asked.
"It gives us time to discuss about Kumamon without Tommy being aware," Koji explained.
"But what can we talk about concerning Kumamon? We know Kumamon is Tommy, and that Tommy is Kumamon! We accused him of doing bad things and he tried to attack us because he thought we wanted to hurt him." Takuya pointed out. "Isn't that enough already?"
"Yeah, we have enough to feel guilty about when it comes to Kumamon." Zoe agreed.
"I think there's something you guys are missing that's kinda obvious," Koji sighed.
"And what would that be?" JP asked.
"The fact that he doesn't know what he is," Koji pointed out. "From the way he was acting, he didn't seem to consider himself as one of us, a Legendary Warrior. He could've argued about Kumamon being a Legendary Warrior too, but he didn't. And he even asked us what the Legendary Warrior of Ice had to do with Kumamon."
Takuya's eyes went wide. "Tommy doesn't know Kumamon is a Legendary Warrior… He must think Kumamon is some kind of bad Digimon or something else…"
"How would he not know though? Doesn't he see the symbol of Ice whenever he uses his D-Tector?" JP asked.
"He's never seen the symbol before…" Takuya frowned. "I remember reading a book about the Legendary Warriors to Tommy, but he wasn't looking at the picture when it showed all the symbols of each Warrior. He probably thought the symbol was just some kind of decoration."
"And we didn't help when we kept accusing him of being a bad Digimon, or a rogue Warrior. He was probably more confused about that last one." Zoe frowned as she remembered Kumamon's reaction to her when she spirit evolved in front of him for the first time. She thought he was acting in disgust about a human turning into a Legendary Warrior like a rogue Warrior would, but in reality he was just in shock that there was someone else like him who was attacking him.
"We really made a mess of things for poor Tommy, didn't we?" JP muttered.
"I guess… when Tommy wakes up… we have to explain that Kumamon is a Legendary Warrior, not some kind of evil Digimon." Takuya sighed. "It would clear things up for him at the very least."
"Poor Tommy… He's been through so much… And we didn't help at all." Zoe said somberly.
"Yeah, but we can start by trying to make things right." Takuya said seriously. "At the very least, we owe Tommy an explanation as to who, and what, Kumamon is. That should be our first priority for him."
"Do you think it would be a good idea to tell him he's a Legendary Warrior right off the bat?" Koji asked. "What if he doesn't take it well?"
"No, I mean we ease him into it. It's not like I would just say it right away. We would have to do some explaining, but I think he needs to know." Takuya replied. "It's… It would reassure Tommy he is not a bad Digimon, that Kumamon is not a bad Digimon. At least, I hope it does…"
"He's been here for months too… and he said he was being hunted…" JP frowned. "Do you think… whoever is hunting him knows about him being Kumamon?"
At once, the other Legendary Warriors grew pale in the face, each of them. Takuya looked really uneasy. "Tommy did say that… but he… he never explained what led to that… If… Do you think that really is possible? Someone knowing Tommy was Kumamon I mean…"
"Why else would a player be hunting him down? As far as I know, there's no black market for selling human kids in the Digital World," Koji pointed out.
Takuya had some flashbacks of his previous battles with players come to mind. "Maybe… Maybe the person who is hunting Tommy down thinks he is a Digimon that can hide as a human…" He realized. "I mean… when I had some past encounters with players… they would think I was a Digimon disguised as a human."
Koji frowned as he thought back on his first encounter with Tommy, when the boy had been with that group of people he helped a while back. "It could be someone in that group Tommy had been with. If I had known then he was being treated like a slave, I would've gotten him out of there in a heartbeat."
JP frowned. "That's disturbing. But I can see why some players would think Tommy is a Digimon hiding as a human. It's… not exactly normal for humans to become Digimon."
Takuya nodded. "Yeah, I know. But that's what's been happening with me, and most likely Tommy."
"But why did this happen?" Zoe questioned. "The 3 of us had been Legendary Warriors for a while now. I guess I can understand Takuya finding the Warrior of Flame in the real world and all that. But why did the Warrior of Ice pick Tommy? Why didn't it form on its own when Cherubimon gave the other Spirits a job and their own forms?"
"I know I said out of the original 10 Legendary Warriors, the Warrior of Steel and the Warrior of Ice were the most intelligent. Though the Warrior of Steel was more cunning, while the Warrior of Ice was more about intellect and tactics. I don't have any proof or anything solid, but my theory is that the Warrior of Ice figured there was no point in answering Cherubimon's angry call. Either that, or it knew the human of its choosing would arrive soon," Koji theorized.
"I think the last theory is the most probable." JP mused.
"Either way, it seems the Spirit of Ice was probably in hiding and Cherubimon couldn't find it." Takuya noted. "That's the only explanation as to why it wasn't found."
"We'll need to hear more from Tommy to get more information about that," Koji sighed.
"Now the question is… now that we know Kumamon has been Tommy all along… what do we do with him?" JP asked. "The fact is that he's a Legendary Warrior, whether he knew it or not, means he's been one of us this whole time. We can't just leave him alone after knowing that."
"And I doubt he'd want to just stay in the real world. He has a strong sense of duty here due to inheriting a Spirit," Koji added. "That would explain why he had been adamant about going back to the real world too. He was worried he wouldn't be able to get back here."
"Yeah… I guess we have more to explain to Tommy than we first thought." JP sighed. "Of all the things that could've happened, this is the last thing I think any of us expected."
"And… since he is one of us, it's our responsibility to teach him," Zoe added.
"Let's just hope Tommy takes all of that well, the last thing we need is for him to run off on his own again," Koji sighed.
"For now, let's get some sleep. It's already late and we have a big day tomorrow," Takuya suggested, hoping some sleep would help clear his own mind a bit.
JP, Zoe, and Koji all nodded.
"Some sleep would be good." Zoe agreed.
"Yeah, maybe we will be more used to this revelation tomorrow." JP agreed.
"I'm just about to fall asleep myself." Koji grumbled.
Takuya laid down on the grass. He looked over at Tommy who had fallen asleep next to him. He really couldn't help but feel terrible about what this poor kid had to go through because of the misunderstandings.
Tommy… We'll make things right with you tomorrow as soon as possible… I promise. Takuya thought before he closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Digital World, Dash was using the raft to lead the others to where he last saw Andy. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Labramon were sitting on the raft while Biyomon and Kokuwamon were flying ahead to scout things out.
"So Takuya is able to transform into a Digimon that's a Legendary Warrior…" Dash noted after the others explained the story. "I didn't know it was possible for humans to become Digimon."
"It really shouldn't be. I guess those chosen by the Legendary Warrior's Spirits are the exception," Labramon said. "I've heard stories that even Digimon would be capable of turning into these Legendary Warriors themselves if they were able to use the Spirit's powers."
Danny chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, I kinda found out about Takuya being a Legendary Warrior by accident, maybe like a few weeks after he got his Spirit. At the time, he didn't know what he was able to become, so… it was pretty awkward trying to find out what he was at the time." Especially with the theory that he was a ghost like me. Although it was kinda fun trying to see if Takuya could use ghost powers…
"I wonder what it would've been like if we could've turned into Digimon ourselves," Tucker remarked. "That would've been so cool!"
"I have to admit, it does sound pretty cool, especially if we could become something strong," Sam agreed. I'd be able to do more to help Danny with ghosts too.
"Hey!" Biyomon called as she and Kokuwamon were coming in.
"Hey, how much further until we see the fog?" Sam asked.
"That's just it," Kokuwamon spoke up. "We saw the Continent of Light, but…"
"But what?" Tucker frowned.
"We didn't see any fog," Biyomon finished.
"Then… did the fog just… disappear?" Danny frowned. "That's… very odd…"
"Yeah, Andy, Lopmon, Labramon, and I all saw the fog before, and it was very thick, like so thick we could not see anything beyond it." Dash added.
"I can vouch that there was thick fog here earlier," Labramon agreed.
"What could've caused the fog to disappear then?" Tucker questioned.
"If the fog is gone, we might as well turn back." Danny frowned.
"What will you do now?" Sam asked, concerned about Danny.
"I don't know yet… but I'm hoping Takuya and Tommy at least found Jazz, maybe she might know something that we don't…" Danny replied, trying to keep himself calm.
Dash looked at Danny, and thought of something to try to keep the boy's mind off of things. "So… we all each have our own Digimon partners. What about you, Fenton?"
Danny gave a sheepish grin. "I actually do have my own Digimon partner, but… we're just kinda… having a bit of a rough patch right now. He's… elsewhere at the moment."
"Oh, I see." Dash frowned, he hadn't been sure if a Digimon partner could leave their partners, but apparently they could.
"Let's hope he's alright," Biyomon said.
"I'm sure he's fine…" Danny said. "Right now I'm more worried about Andy and Jazz."
Valerie had been flying through the Ghost Zone for a while. She had been trying to find the way back to the Ghost Portal. But she didn't know where they were, and the place seemed endless. She also didn't know how much longer Andy could last out here with no protection. She would offer him her helmet, but her suit wouldn't let her remove the helmet while she was in the Ghost Zone, probably for safety purposes.
Where could that portal be!? Valerie stressfully thought to herself. How are ghosts able to find their way in this confusing place!?
Andy opened his eyes for a moment. He didn't know how much ectoplasm he already breathed in, but he was getting worried he would keel over soon. He put a hand on Lopmon's ear that was over his mouth and nose. He tapped on Valerie's shoulder.
Valerie looked down at Andy. "What is it, Andy?"
Andy pointed in a certain direction.
Valerie looked ahead of them, but she didn't see anything. "You want me to head in that direction? Are you sure? I don't see anything ahead of us for quite a ways."
Andy gave a nod. Valerie sighed, well, it wasn't like she had any better idea on where to go. Maybe Andy may know, he did say he had been in the Ghost Zone before. Valerie also wanted to get Salamon and Lopmon out of here as soon as possible.
"Okay, Andy… But you had better be right about this, Andy. I'm worried about you and our Digimon partners." Valerie said before she turned her hoverboard in the direction Andy had pointed in.
Andy didn't really know where to go either, he had never been in this part of the Ghost Zone himself. But he just had a feeling that the portal was in that direction. If he was, by some miracle, right, then he could probably chalk it up to either being extremely lucky, or maybe it had something to do with his apparent 'seer power'.
Valerie kept following wherever Andy pointed. She didn't know if the boy actually knew where to go or if he was just delirious. They passed by a lot of floating doors, though Andy warned her not to go through those doors.
After what felt like aimless wandering, Valerie was surprised to see something swirling in the distance.
"Hey… I think I see something… It looks like a swirling entry to some place." Valerie told Andy. "Is that the portal?"
Andy looked up at the swirling thing. It's either the portal or a vortex… let's hope it's the former.
Andy gave Valerie a nod.
"Okay then… we're going to go through it." Valerie informed Andy. "Just… try to hang on for a bit longer, Andy…"
Valerie increased the speed of her hoverboard and flew towards the swirling opening in the distance. C'mon… almost there…
Suddenly, there was a green tunnel, and then Valerie found herself, Andy, Lopmon, and Salamon all in what looked like some kind of lab.
As soon as they saw this, Andy and Lopmon removed Lopmon's ears from their mouths, and both of them started to cough out as much air as possible, hoping to get as much of the ectoplasm out of their system as possible.
"We… made… it…" Andy panted.
"So this is your parents' lab, huh?" Valerie noted as she had her hoverboard come in and land on the tile flooring.
"Yeah…" Andy confirmed. "Sorry about the mess… they rarely clean up…"
"I'm just glad to be out of that creepy Ghost Zone," Lopmon said. "I thought we'd be stuck in there forever."
"Me too." Valerie grumbled. "I'm glad to be out of there as well. Being hunted down by a ghost for a week is not fun."
"Do you need… any food or water…?" Andy asked, despite looking like he was sick, and about to drop dead, he was still trying to be a polite host to Valerie.
"I… think I can manage until I get back to the apartment-" Valerie began but her stomach growled in disagreement. "Okay… maybe a bit of food and water would be nice… Might have to feed something to Salamon too…"
"Kitchen's… upstairs…" Andy pointed at the stairs. "Parents should… hopefully… be out… or asleep."
"Do you know what time it is?" Valerie asked.
"No… can't remember…" Andy frowned.
"Not to mention… we've been in the Digital World for days… and the Ghost Zone for a while…" Lopmon added.
It was also difficult to tell time in the lab due to the lack of windows.
"Okay… let's just get you upstairs so you and Lopmon can rest." Valerie said as she folded up her hoverboard before helping Andy to his feet once the hoverboard was back in her boots. "Is there any… medicine or something you could take to get rid of the ectoplasm in your system?"
"Not that… I know of…" Andy frowned. "But since we're… not in the Ghost Zone… anymore. Some rest should… do me some good."
Valerie helped Andy by having him lean on her while she carried the still unconscious Salamon in her other arm. They went upstairs to the kitchen. It was… day time outside. Looked to be morning.
"Ah… it's…" Andy frowned as he looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. "7 AM now…"
"Well, some breakfast is in order then." Valerie joked back. Then she frowned. "I hope I can find a way to explain why I was gone for so long to my dad… He's probably worried sick about me…"
Then Valerie realized something… this was the first time she brought Salamon with her into the real world. That was gonna be awkward to explain too.
"I think it's… Saturday today…" Andy mumbled. "So parents will sleep in a little today… just set me at the table."
Valerie brought Andy into the kitchen and helped him to sit down at the table. "Are you sure you'll be okay, Andy?"
"Yeah… I'll be fine… I haven't died yet, so… my body should be able to flush out… the ectoplasm…" Andy replied. I hope at least… or I could be dying from ectoplasmic poisoning right now… but uh… best not to think about that.
"Okay… I hope you're right about this, Andy." Valerie said, unable to help the worry in her voice.
Lopmon hopped down from Andy's head, looking up at his partner in concern. "You sure you're okay?"
"Hey… I need to purify your fractal code too…" Andy grumbled. "I'm not sure if your body can handle having too much ectoplasm in your system either."
Lopmon pouted, but agreed with Andy. "Yeah… that would be a good idea…"
Valerie stood up and made her way to the fridge, removing her helmet as she did so. "I think a bit of food would help us all right now."
"Don't take the ham… Dad's saving it," Andy warned. "Everything else is fine."
Valerie raised an eyebrow. "Your dad is weird if he thinks a ham will be kept in good condition for some special occasion or whatever down the road."
Valerie was glad to be out of her suit for a while after a week of having it on. She put Salamon down on the table before she opened up the fridge to get something. She found some microwave dinners in the fridge, which would probably serve as a decent meal until Valerie could get back to her apartment.
Valerie put the microwave dinners into the microwave, and waited after setting up a time. While waiting, Valerie was unsure of what else to talk to Andy about since the boy seemed to be too tired to do much else at the moment. She bit her lower lip, trying to figure out what to say, or even do. Then a thought crossed her mind.
"Hey, Andy? How did you know the way to the Ghost Portal?" Valerie asked as she looked back at Andy. "The Ghost Zone seemed to be going on for… well… forever."
"To be honest… I'm not really sure myself…" Andy replied. "I just had a feeling, that was all…"
"A feeling?" Valerie blinked.
"Andy might be able to see into the future, so that could have something to do with it," Lopmon informed.
"Lopmon!" Andy snapped.
"What? It's true, isn't it? You were totally thinking that too, weren't you?" Lopmon pointed out.
"That isn't something you just tell someone!" Andy groaned. "Humans don't normally see into the future!"
"What about that human in that TV show we were watching?" Lopmon asked.
"That was a cartoon…" Andy huffed. "They're not real people."
"And yet you are a real person, and you can see into the future." Lopmon pointed out.
Valerie was watching the argument between Andy and Lopmon with some amusement on her face. While she was confused on whether Andy seeing the future was true or not, the way he was arguing about it so casually with Lopmon was more than enough to make her smile.
"You two are almost like brothers," Valerie chuckled.
"Please, I already have one brother, and a cousin, they're more than enough to deal with," Andy huffed.
Valerie shook her head at Andy's comment. "Yeah, I know, but you arguing with Lopmon is like you having another brother."
Lopmon grinned. "I'm just that lovable~"
Andy rolled his eyes a little. "I'm not 100% on board with the whole seer thing. I might've had some visions or images of the future, but… those could just be coincidences."
"Maybe, but those 'coincidences' have saved our butts on more than one occasion." Lopmon replied with a grin.
"I'd say it's… possible… you could see the future…" Valerie began. "But I will admit, that does sound a bit out there, and I'm having a hard time believing that myself."
"Though it is the only explanation with have as to how he was able to point you in the right direction while in the Ghost Zone," Lopmon pointed out. "Either that or he's a ghost."
Valerie raised an eyebrow.
Andy flicked Lopmon's forehead. "He's joking." Though I did have a theory that ghosts would innately know how to maneuver in the Ghost Zone. It is their environment after all. Makes me wonder if even half ghosts could do that, like Danny…
"Well, if it was a joke, that wasn't very funny." Valerie retorted.
"What? It's just a theory I had." Lopmon replied. "It's not like Andy really is a ghost."
The microwave dinged, which thankfully saved them from having an awkward conversation. Valerie took out the microwave dinners, handing one to Andy. She also picked up a fork for them to use. Andy gratefully took the fork and began eating. Valerie started to scarf down the food, she was hungrier than she thought.
"Do you think Salamon would wake up soon?" Lopmon asked as he looked at Salamon in worry.
"I hope so… That was… really scary… what she… what I made her turn into." Valerie murmured, shivering at the thought of what Salamon had turned into because of her rage and hatred towards ghosts.
Valerie had made a promise to herself, and to Andy, that she would do her best to overcome her hatred towards ghosts. And the first step was to try to talk to the source of her hatred, the ghost boy, the one who ruined her life and started her down on this path. But that would be after she got back home and got settled in. And hopefully Andy would feel better by that point.
After they had both eaten, Valerie drank a cup of water to quench her thirst. "That's a lot better…"
"Yeah, that did help a bit," Andy agreed.
"What will you be doing now?" Lopmon asked.
"I will be heading back to the apartment." Valerie replied. "Salamon needs rest, and I need to reassure my dad I'm alright since I was gone for a long time."
She then grimaced a bit. "And… try to come up with a cover story for why I was gone for so long…"
Valerie picked up Salamon. "I… also hope Salamon will…"
"... Va…lerie…?" Salamon stirred.
Valerie looked down at Salamon. "S-Salamon?!"
"Are… we… safe…?" Salamon weakly asked.
Valerie nodded. "Yeah… we're safe… We got out of the Ghost Zone, thanks to Andy and Lopmon."
"That's… good…" Salamon said before closing her eyes again.
"Salamon?" Valerie asked.
"She must be tired," Lopmon noted.
"Yeah…" Valerie sighed. "I'll take her back home with me. Hopefully I can pass her off as a stuffed animal or something. Will you two be alright?"
"We'll be fine," Andy said as he stood up a little tiredly. "I'm feeling better already… see?"
Valerie looked back at Andy in concern. The boy did seem fine, but she had a feeling he was not being honest with her. Still, she didn't press the issue. "Okay… Just… don't push yourself, Andy."
"I'll keep an eye on him," Lopmon promised.
After Valerie walked outside, taking in a breath of fresh air, happy to be home, she put her suit back on in order to summon her hoverboard. She waved goodbye to Andy and Lopmon before taking off into the air.
Andy closed the door as soon as Valerie was out of sight. He was too tired to walk upstairs, so he flopped onto the couch in the living room instead.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Lopmon asked in concern.
"Yeah… I'm fine… just gonna take a nap…" Andy replied, not even lifting up his face to talk to Lopmon.
"Okay. But I'm not leaving your side." Lopmon informed. "And if something happens, I'm gonna wake you up."
"Thanks, buddy…" Andy said as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off.
Lopmon sat beside Andy, keeping an eye out for anyone coming so he could wake Andy up if he had to.
I was looking up. The sky was dark, there were some stars in the sky. It must be a new moon tonight due to how dark it was. However, despite the peaceful looking sky… down here, it was anything but peaceful.
I found myself on top of a running train. I never thought I would be on the roof of a train, yet here I was. I wasn't sure where Tucker or Sam were. It was me, Lopmon, and…
"Look out!"
I gasped as I barely managed to duck away from a fire attack. I looked up, seeing a familiar face walking towards us.
"No… please stop, you wouldn't want to do this!" I called out in desperation at the figure approaching us.
Sharp fangs glinted as the figure grinned in a sinister manner. The figure's eyes, normally a calm, gently blue color, were a sinister, vile red color, the color of blood. The rest of the figure was otherwise very familiar, from the wild blonde hair down to the red and gold armor the figure wore.
"Why not?" The figure asked. "The master wants it done~"
"Agunimon, stop this!" Lopmon called out in desperation.
"Or what? You shouldn't have come here. Now the master wants you gone!" Agunimon shouted before he started to charge at us with his fist burning with fire.
I gasped, there wasn't much room to move on top of a moving train. One false move, and I was strawberry jam.
Lopmon jumped in front of me and digivolved into Turuiemon, he held out his hands, blocking the incoming Pyro Punch. Me and another quickly moved out of the way as Agunimon pushed Turuiemon back a bit, though Turuiemon hung on strongly.
"Please stop, this isn't you!" Turuiemon begged.
"The master is who commands me, no one else!" Agunimon growled, showing his sharp fangs in his anger. "You can't tell me otherwise!"
"It's no good, trying to talk him down will just waste our time."
I looked at the one who spoke… it was… Patamon. Patamon was next to me.
"But what can we do?" I frowned.
"You already know what we have to do," Patamon said. "We need to get rid of the source."
"Oh, I think not." An unfamiliar voice spoke up.
Patamon and I turned, seeing… a dark figure coming up from the train's cart through a hatchet. The dark figure was holding some kind of staff with a crystal ball on top of it. There was some kind of red swirling light inside the crystal ball. It felt… sinister.
"I don't think my minions would appreciate that~" The dark figure stated. "Isn't that right, ghost boy?"
As if on cue, which it probably was given what was going on, Danny Phantom phased up from the roof and landed in front of me and Patamon. Normally, I would be happy to see Danny Phantom. However… like with Agunimon… instead of the familiar, soft, friendly green eyes, they were sinister, blood red eyes. They only had the look of maliciousness. Something that I never thought I would see on Danny Phantom… or maybe… something I had always been afraid of seeing on Danny Phantom.
"I will do as you obey, master." Danny said in almost a monotone. He grinned sinisterly. "I will revel in this boy's demise~"
"Danny, you can't let this guy control you!" I shouted in distress.
Turuiemon was busy with Agunimon. All I had left to protect me was Patamon, and a Fenton Rod. That didn't make me feel very comfortable, especially since fighting on top of a moving train was far from ideal.
"The master wants you gone. I will carry out his orders." Danny stated as he held up a glowing green hand at me.
"Danny…" Patamon said softly, looking to be worried himself.
I didn't know what happened next, at one moment I was about to have to confront Danny, the next, 3 more ghosts showed up. I felt like I was in a daze before I was pushed back by something or someone, and suddenly… I found myself falling off of the train.
Titanic X: ZAFT: You will see what it is~ X3 And yeah, the campfire scene was cute! XD
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, it was about time they talked a little more with each other.
pokemon fan 1991: ZAFT: You would be right with the Tapirmon. XD
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, it was Tapirmon, though for some reason, the show used the Japanese name Bakumon. But I'm sticking with the English name. As for the fog, we'll let you see what it's about.
DawnBreaker23: ZAFT: No, no he can't. XD We love to torment poor Tommy~ X3
DarkFoxKit: It's not that we love to torment our characters, we like tearing them down before we build them up. That's what makes characters so great and memorable in stories. As for Jack and Maddie, they'll definitely be a little more involved soon. We try not to make them as monsters who really can't see ghosts as anything but evil, and that's about all their character traits, or make them into callous scientists like the Guys in White. They are still humans after all, and they do care about their children. They just get a bit too passionate about ghosts.
Ed: DarkFoxKit: Well, the chapter pretty much answered your first question. As for the second, that's too spoilery for us to answer.