ZAFT: Glad to be loafing around today after my cousin's wedding. X3 A loaf day is what I needed.
DarkFoxKit: Meanwhile, I had to take another cold shower. My water heater's been busted for a week now, it's not fun. On the plus side, at least we got another chapter on time this time.
ZAFT: Oooof… that's not fun. Hope it gets fixed soon.
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, same here.
(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 57: A Trip Gone Wrong
The group went through the vortex back to the real world. As they did, Sam regained her old clothes of her tank top, skirt, and combat boots. Tucker regained his beret, yellow shirt, army green pants and brown boots. Jazz's clothes became her usual black shirt and blue jeans. Danny regained his usual white T-shirt with the red oval and blue jeans with red and white sneakers. Andy regained his clothes of his black T-shirt with the blue triangle, red jeans, and blue and white sneakers. Lopmon was at his side. Takuya's clothes didn't change, so he just had on his usual outfit.
The next thing the group of 7 found themselves in a pile on Danny's and Andy's bedroom floor as soon as they were ejected from the computer monitor of Danny's laptop.
"Okay… okay… that's it… I'm going to bring a lot of pads… the next time we go into the Digital World… I just feel a lot of pain and regret now…" Danny groaned.
Takuya felt he had it worse, as he was at the bottom of the pile. This was probably why Danny wanted him to be the one to initiate the Digi-Portal.
"I think… I'm going to get crushed…" Takuya grumbled. "Can you… all get off of me?"
"Sorry, Takuya…" Jazz said as she began to worm her way out of the pile. "We need to work on not landing in a pile like this…"
"Tell me about it…" Danny grumbled. "I hate the pile-ups we experience…"
"Danny… can you…?" Andy began to ask as he was in the middle of the pile.
"R-right…" Danny groaned, knowing what Andy was getting at.
Danny used his intangibility to get everyone untangled from the pile.
"That ghost power comes in handy," Lopmon noted when everyone was finally off of each other.
"Well… speaking of ghost powers, maybe you can get Sam and I out of the house before your parents come in?" Tucker suggested. "You know… so we don't have to awkwardly try to explain why we're here?"
Danny nodded. "Sure. I can do that."
Sam sighed. "We'll see you later, guys."
Danny grabbed Tucker and Sam's arms, turning them all intangible before he flew out of the room with the two of them.
"Well, that's certainly handy." Takuya remarked.
Jazz stood up and stretched out. "Well, while Danny's taking care of that, I'm going to be heading to my own room to take a nice, warm shower."
Andy nodded. "Yeah. I smell Mom's already almost done making breakfast, but I can let her know you'll be a little late to join us." Better than trying to hide the fact Jazz was missing.
Jazz nodded. "Okay. I won't take too long." She said before she then made to leave Andy and Danny's room.
"I wonder what Aunt Maddie and Uncle Jack have planned for us." Takuya mused as Jazz left.
"Should we tell him?" Lopmon asked.
"Oh, now you ask me…" Andy grumbled, remembering all those times Lopmon just blurted something out. "And I think it's best you just hear it from the man himself." To be honest, I'm just happy I got everyone back in time.
Takuya raised an eyebrow, but he didn't press it any further.
Danny then came back into his and Andy's room, returning to his tangible form. "Well, Sam and Tucker are heading back to their own homes now." He reported.
"Great, now we can relax…" Andy sighed in relief.
"Kids!? Are you awake yet? Andy, you didn't fall back asleep, did you!?" Maddie's voice called from the stairs.
"Now we can go have breakfast…" Andy groaned.
"... Didn't we just eat in the Digital World?" Danny asked.
"I can eat your portions if you can't," Lopmon volunteered.
"Do you have a bottomless pit, Lopmon?" Andy grumbled.
"What? I'm a growing Digimon!" Lopmon pouted.
Takuya snickered.
"... I'll just eat my breakfast so you can't…" Danny grumbled.
Lopmon pouted again. "Awww…"
Andy, Danny, and Takuya joined Maddie and Jack for breakfast at the table. Lopmon was sitting under the table so Andy could slip him some food.
"Jazz will be down soon. She slept in a bit, so she's taking a shower first," Andy informed.
"I'll say… maybe you kids should've slept in yourselves, you all look kinda tired," Jack remarked. "Or is that just me?"
"No… I think we all had a rough night's sleep…" Takuya yawned.
"I just had some trouble sleeping, but nothing too major." Danny replied, trying to cover his own exhaustion.
Andy, who was probably the most exhausted despite his short nap earlier, tried to cover up his tiredness by chewing on his pancakes. Maddie made good pancakes, when she wasn't using a Fenton invention of course. Andy didn't need the pancakes coming to life and trying to bite his nose off.
"I'm sure it was a bit difficult to sleep after going through that nasty ghost invasion," Maddie remarked. "Which is why I think this little vacation will do us some good~"
"So… what is this vacation? Andy only mentioned you wanted us to go on a mother and son vacation, but not much else," Danny asked.
"I've been given an invite to a science symposium in Florida, and I wanted to have you two come along with me." Maddie replied. "Just think of it as a bonding trip between us."
"And Takuya and Jazz will stay here with me, so I can give them some quality bonding time as well!" Jack grinned.
Takuya groaned as his head plopped onto the table. Oh no… This is going to end badly…
Danny frowned. He really didn't want to have to take a flight to Florida on some trip he didn't plan on going to. He was tired, and he would like to sleep in his bed for a while.
Not long after Maddie and Jack explained their plans, Jazz finally joined them. She looked to be in better shape than the rest of them. Jack explained the plan to Jazz, and Jazz suddenly decided she wasn't that hungry anymore.
A bit later, after Danny and Andy had packed up their things, they were standing in the living room with Jazz and Takuya. Maddie and Jack were just getting their things ready.
"At least you two are going somewhere. Takuya and I are doomed to spend family time with Dad…" Jazz grumbled.
"As much as I love Uncle Jack, he can get a bit… excitable when it comes to things like this…" Takuya muttered before he looked at the letter Andy had shown him and Jazz. "'Dalv Group'? Never heard of any group called that before…"
"Are they legitimate?" Jazz wondered, also confused.
"Who cares? We're going and that's that," Danny grumbled. "Though I think our time is better spent sleeping or in the Digital World."
Andy was holding onto Lopmon in his arms with his bag of things next to his feet. "Well… look on the bright side, you always wanted to go to Florida to check out their space station, didn't you?"
"During the summer, when it's open," Danny pointed out.
"Still, maybe you might learn something about space at this science symposium," Andy said back, trying to look at the positives.
"Maybe… but that letter never said what they would be talking about at the symposium." Danny pointed out. "That sounds fishy to me."
"Maybe what they're talking about is a surprise?" Takuya offered up.
"Not helping…" Danny grumbled.
"I thought the whole thing was fishy from the start," Andy admitted. "Who sends a last minute invite and expects us to go on the very same day? Seems quite unprofessional."
"Then why'd you say 'yes'?" Jazz asked.
"Mom's puppy dog eyes…" Andy answered.
"Ooof… I can see why you said 'yes' then…" Takuya muttered with a wince of sympathy. "Be glad it wasn't Uncle Jack who did it… he's the master of the puppy dog eyes…"
"I have a feeling he'd do that on you two to get you to spend time with him," Lopmon whispered.
"Unfortunately, you'd be right…" Jazz sighed.
Jack was smiling as he held out a metallic looking belt with a green looking lock on the buckle part. "Now to make sure you're protected from any rogue ghost attacks on the road, sweet cakes, I made you this. The Specter Deflector. As long as you wear this, it's guaranteed to weaken and repel any ghosts that try to come in direct contact with you. So you won't have to worry about getting overshadowed or taken by those ghosts. Although, if I had more time, I'd make Specter Deflectors for the boys as well."
Danny grimaced at the thought of having to wear a Specter Deflector when he was half ghost. Yeah… that would be like being tased all the time… No thanks, Dad…
Maddie smiled. "Thanks, hun!" She exclaimed before she gave Jack a kiss on the cheek, making the bigger man smile at the response to his invention. "Oh, and Jack? Please try not to trash the house while I'm gone."
"Come on, Mads, the machine malfunctioned only once!" Jack whined.
"Yeah, and the last time a machine malfunctioned, it caused a ghost to take over most of our old stuff and terrorized the town," Maddie pointed out.
Jack pouted.
Takuya sweatdropped, wondering if his uncle was going to do the puppy dog eyes. Wow… I feel bad for Uncle Jack, he looks like he kicked a literal puppy…
Maddie walked over to Danny and Andy. "Alright you two, pick up your bags and let's get going!"
"Yeah, sure…" Danny sighed. Better not touch Mom, or I'm gonna get hurt.
Andy and Lopmon frowned.
That Specter Deflector might be trouble. Andy decided before he picked up his bag and followed after Maddie and Danny.
Jazz and Takuya waved to them as they left.
"So Jazz, Takuya, ready for a family bonding time?" Jack smiled.
"This is going to be a long weekend…" Jazz groaned.
"I really don't think this will end well…" Takuya groaned in agreement. Makes me wish I had stayed in the Digital World…
Maddie, Danny, Andy, and Lopmon were riding inside a private jet plane that was supposedly taking them to Florida. At some point on the plane, however, Andy had fallen asleep. He had been exhausted since his trip in the Ghost Zone, and he hadn't had any time to get any proper rest since then, not to mention Lopmon was very warm. So that mostly left Danny with his mom as Lopmon couldn't exactly interact right now.
"C'mon, Mr. Pouty pants, this weekend is supposed to be about us." Maddie said with a smile. "Those Dalv people sent this private jet, just for us. How perfect is that?"
Danny was looking like quite the grump as he sat in his plush seat. "Do you want the truth, or one of those little white lies that doesn't hurt your feelings?" Danny snarked back.
Maddie sighed, she had been hoping to bond with her boys. But it looked like Andy got bored enough to fall asleep, and Danny wasn't exactly thrilled about this trip. "Oh, nevermind. How about you just relax, and look out the window at the warm, Florida coastline?"
Danny began to look out the window, kind of wishing he could join his brother in dreamland. Andy hadn't really talked about in detail what exactly happened when he and Lopmon ended up in the Ghost Zone. The only thing he knew was that Andy found Valerie and Salamon on Skulker's Island. And that they apparently beat Skulker somehow. Considering the Digimon were at a disadvantage in the Ghost Zone, he'd like to know how they did it. Though Andy was a bit too tired to talk much about it, and unless there was an emergency, he wasn't going to disturb Andy.
However, as Danny looked out the window, he noticed something was off. Instead of a coastline, there were mountains and trees outside. "Uh… did we take a wrong turn?"
"What do you mean?" Maddie asked as she too looked out the window, only to see what Danny was seeing, mountains and trees. "What? That can't be right…"
"Folks, this is your captain speaking. If you look out the window on your left, you'll see the cold, Colorado Rockies," The pilot announced on the intercom, almost sounding like he was condescending them.
"The Rockies? That's nowhere near Florida, what gives?" Danny frowned.
"And if you look out the window on your right side, you'll see me, bailing out of the plane before it careens out of control and crashes!" The pilot continued, as if enjoying this whole event.
Maddie and Danny ran over to the window, seeing the pilot was indeed bailing out of the plane. Danny clenched his fists. "If this is how a good vacation is supposed to start, I'm not enjoying it!"
The plane started to take a nose dive without a pilot controlling it.
Andy yelped as Danny grabbed onto his arm. "Come on!"
"Wah!? Waz happin'!?" Andy slurred, coming out of his sleep suddenly as Danny was dragging him with Maddie to the cockpit.
Andy was glad he was holding Lopmon right now.
Sure enough, when Maddie threw open the cockpit door and saw the cockpit was empty. "Oh, c'mon!"
"We're somehow in the Rockies instead of Florida," Danny said to Andy.
"Wah!?" Andy frowned.
"And our pilot just bailed on us, jumping out of the plane to leave us here to die," Danny added.
"WHAT!? Why didn't you start with that!?" Andy shouted, more awake now as Maddie rushed to the pilot seat to try to pull up the controls.
Maddie grunted as she tried to pull up on the controls, "Darn it! The controls are jammed!"
Danny frowned as he tried to think of how they could get out of the plane safely. Danny lowered himself from the seat to transform into Danny Phantom.
"W-wait!" Andy spoke up as he saw the ring of light flashing on Danny's torso. He won't be able to take her out, not with that belt on her.
"What?" Danny frowned.
Andy looked around quickly before Lopmon tapped his arm and pointed at two parachute backpacks with Maddie and Danny's names on them. Why… do they have… oh, nevermind.
"Mom! Parachutes!" Andy called out as Danny dissipated his transforming ring.
Maddie looked over and saw the two parachutes. "Nice work, Andy!" She said before she saw there were only two parachutes and she frowned. "Andy, you'll have to be strapped to me since there are only two parachutes."
"Uh, n-no need, I have my own parachute!" Andy spoke up.
"What?" Maddie blinked.
"Just hurry and put on your parachutes!" Andy said as he grabbed Danny's parachute bag and tossed it to him.
Maddie and Danny quickly put their parachutes on, though Maddie was worried for Andy since he didn't put on any parachute bag. But Andy didn't seem to be worried.
Maddie realized there was no time to argue, so she opened the door so she, Andy, and Danny could jump out of the falling plane. "Okay, boys! Jump!"
All 3 of them jumped out of the plane. Maddie and Danny deployed their parachutes, but Maddie was really worried for Andy. He didn't look like he had any parachutes on him, but…
"Hey, nice day for a flight, huh?" Andy said, gently falling beside them.
Maddie blinked when she saw Andy holding onto his rabbit toy, which suddenly had its ears all poofed up.
"Andy… How… Oh, never mind… I'm just glad you're okay." Maddie said in relief.
"Yeah… just one of the functions this toy has, quite the cutting edge, huh?" Andy chuckled. I think I'm getting way too used to falling from heights if this feels normal to me.
Maddie chuckled. "That is quite the toy, I didn't think such a function could be installed in a stuffed rabbit."
Danny, despite the trick the pilot pulled, couldn't help but grin at seeing Andy just drifting down slowly using Lopmon's giant ears. Heh, and he calls me a show off.
"Folks, I'd like to inform you that you've been the victims of a cruel hoax," The pilot announced as he suddenly seemed to have floated up to them.
The pilot then shifted and changed before them, turning his skin neon green, his eyes turned pupiless red, his gray hair stuck out, and his legs had turned into a ghostly tail.
"A ghost?" Maddie frowned.
"Thank you for flying Air Evil Plot!" The ghost sneered before flying back up into the plane and taking control of its systems, flying away from the slowly falling threesome.
Danny, now even more bummed out, folded his arms in a pout. "I knew something was off…"
"Well that… was unexpected… but come on, don't be glum. Look at the view!" Maddie said, trying to find some kind of silver lining to this.
"Oh, if only we could fly like a ghost, wouldn't that be nice, hmmm?" Andy remarked, giving a bit of a teasing grin towards Danny.
Danny just stuck out his tongue in a childish manner at Andy.
Before long, Danny, Maddie, Andy, and Lopmon landed in the forest. Maddie took out a machete to cut through the trees and bushes.
After a few hours of cutting through the bush, Maddie wiped away some sweat from her forehead. "Whew… Good thing I carry the Fenton Machete in my boot, otherwise we'd be stuck in the woods with no way through the thick bushes and trees."
She'd be quite scary in the Digital World. Andy noted. But I just noticed something. We're not even in the Digital World and we're still walking… uugh…
"You carry a lot of stuff Mom," Danny pointed out. "Do you not have a cellphone so we could call for help?"
"Don't we have cellphones?" Andy asked before something occurred to him. "... Oh… no…I left most of my stuff on that plane! My games, my consoles, my new mangas! I was gonna read those on the way to Florida!"
"All of us left most of our stuff on that plane, bro…" Danny grumbled. "You're not the only one who is upset over that…"
The only things they kept were their D-Arcs due to keeping them in their pockets.
Andy glared darkly. "Whoever set this up is gonna pay."
"Well, that will happen once we get out of these woods." Maddie said as she began cutting down more bushes. "Besides, I'm perfectly comfortable roughing it in the woods until we can find some help."
"The woods suck, there are too many bugs, too many poisonous plants, not to mention we lack the knowledge of what's edible out here," Andy listed off. The Digital World at least had bugs bigger than dogs, those I could take on. And edible rabbit food that tasted like meat or pizza. But the real world's outside world sucks!
Maddie looked back at Andy. "Calm down, Andy. It's not like we will be out here for days and days, I'm sure."
"Says the one who made us go on this trip…" Danny muttered under his breath.
"We don't even know where we are, we're in the middle of nowhere. Who's going to find us without being able to call for help?" Andy asked. "And who would be out here to-"
Maddie just cut through some bushes, and she, Andy, Lopmon, and Danny stopped short when they saw what looked like a fancy looking cabin. It was rather large to just be an ordinary cabin.
"Or… we could just stay at this ritzy mountain chalet and call for help." Maddie said with a grin.
Danny felt like facepalming himself. This is definitely a set up of some kind…
"But… who'd let a few lost people come into their fancy chalet…?" Andy asked.
"I mean maybe they'd let us call for help at the very least, or call for rangers to take us somewhere safe until we can get home," Maddie suggested. "No need to be pessimistic, Andy."
Before Andy could respond, he felt Lopmon shivering a little in his arms. He frowned, wondering why Lopmon was suddenly shivering. Before he could try to guess, however, someone driving in a golf cart drove up to them and stopped in front of them.
Danny frowned when he saw who it was that was in the golf cart.
"Oh, Maddie and… her two boys, Danny and Andy Fenton! What a complete surprise!" Vlad said as he greeted the foursome. "What are you three doing up here at my cozy cottage?"
There was something in his tone of voice that made Andy and Danny especially suspicious of this just being a surprise to Vlad. Though Vlad seemed to be glancing at Andy a little, he kept his smile.
"Oh, Vlad, I didn't know you have a cottage here," Maddie said in surprise before smiling. "This is perfect then, you can help us! We thought we'd have to rough it in the woods."
"Oh, really? What led you three to being here, if I may dare ask, hmm?" Vlad asked curiously, although he already knew.
"Would you mind if we talked inside?" Maddie asked. "There might be ghosts around here, waiting to jump us."
I don't think it's the ghosts out here you have to worry about… Andy frowned as he looked at Vlad. I had Vlad all wrong before… now that I know the truth about Danny… then Vlad must be a halfa like Danny is. That explains his interest in Danny. He's in love with Mom, and he's interested in Danny. I guess that just makes me the third wheel.
"Of course, just take a seat and I will drive us back." Vlad said with a smile that made the twins uneasy. He glanced at his wrist, and tapped his watch a few times.
"Is there room for all of us?" Danny asked, not willing to leave his mother alone with this man.
"Why, yes, there is." Vlad replied. He didn't show it, but he didn't like the idea of Andy and that digital beast riding with Maddie and Danny, but he couldn't just say no, that would be too rude.
"Oh good, though there's a bag of golf clubs in the way, so let me just move that off for ya," Andy said before he threw the bag of golf clubs to the ground. "There, that should be plenty of room."
Vlad felt his left eye twitch when he saw that, but he didn't lose the smile on his face. "That's fine. I can afford new golf clubs if those get ruined."
Danny sat behind Maddie and Vlad, while Andy and Lopmon sat behind the golf cart.
"This man… he feels strong…" Lopmon said to Andy quietly as Vlad was driving them towards his cottage.
"He's also half ghost, like Danny," Andy explained to Lopmon quietly. "But he has more experience than Danny does, and is a lot stronger."
"I can feel it… He's not one to take lightly… We… had best tread carefully when around him…" Lopmon warned softly.
"Yeah…" Andy frowned. "Though that golf club thing was a bit of pay back for our stuff on the plane."
"What? You think he's responsible for that?" Lopmon asked.
"It's pretty obvious," Andy sighed. "He's a very cunning man, he also has a lot of money, more than enough to set up this scheme of his."
Lopmon frowned. "I… think I can see why then…" He admitted, not exactly very happy with the turn of events either.
"He's interested in Mom and Danny, though I guess he wasn't expecting Mom to take me and you on this trip," Andy explained. "Whatever he's planning, we're not part of the equation. So, while it's small, we may have a slight advantage because of that. Vlad doesn't know what you're capable of yet. And we'll probably want to keep it that way."
Lopmon nodded. "Sounds good. We just lay low and wait until we have to strike back if it comes to that."
Before long, Vlad parked the golf car near the entrance to his cottage. He gently led Maddie off of the golf car, and led her, Danny, and Andy into his cottage. The cottage had some animal pelts on the floor, and animal heads mounted on the wall.
I can see why Skulker gets along with Vlad so well… Andy noted. Sam would have a conniption though…
Danny shivered at seeing the animal pelts on the walls. Oh, c'mon… Way to remind me of Skulker, even if unintentionally, Vlad…
Maddie didn't seem too bothered by it, she looked to just be happy to be with her old friend. "So you'll never believe it…"
Vlad was checking himself in the mirror, wearing a new white suit with his name on it. Danny and Andy noticed the letters of Vlad's name were in reverse in the mirror, and it spelled out 'dalV'.
Of course… I should've seen it sooner. Andy groaned.
"Our pilot forced us out of the plane, landed in the woods, and we ended up right at your doorsteps," Maddie explained.
"Yeah, it's like it's one, well-planned coincidence." Danny grumbled, not exactly happy with the trick Vlad had pulled on them. "Almost like a villainous plot."
"Danny, stop antagonizing the dangerous man, please," Andy hissed at his brother.
Danny grumbled, but kept his mouth shut otherwise. He didn't want to stay quiet, but Andy had a valid point, since Vlad was stronger and had more experience as a half-ghost.
"That would be an oxymoron," Vlad remarked to Danny. "Oh, and speaking of 'morons', how's your old man?"
Since Danny tried not to say anything, his anger at the comment about his dad ended up making his eyes glow green from his ghost side. Although Lopmon had seen Danny Phantom before, and he knew about Danny's secret, it was just so creepy to see the human version of Danny showing such ghostly traits. Andy, on the other hand, already had time to get used to it, so it didn't seem to bother him as much.
Vlad just grinned sinisterly. "Ooooh, the scary eyes!" He taunted, as if enjoying riling up Danny.
Vlad's own eyes glowed before he shot out ecto-beams at Danny, making Danny dodge them with a small yelp. The chair Danny had been sitting on now had a smoking burn mark on its back. Andy and Lopmon jumped as well even though they weren't the ones he had been aiming for. Vlad may not like having Andy here, especially since he was holding a digital beast that was posing as a stuffed animal, but he knew if he did hit Andy and that digital beast, it would seriously harm the boy, and well, that wasn't going to win him any points with Maddie.
Maddie blinked when she heard a noise, and turned around. But Vlad was already up in her face.
"Maddie, I'm so glad you're here. It gives me the chance to apologize for Jack's behavior at our college reunion," Vlad smoothly said.
Maddie frowned. "That was not Jack's fault though. A ghost had overshadowed him."
Danny got up from the ground behind Vlad. "Yeah, a lonely, putrid, single ghost." He quipped.
"Seriously, bro? Do you just like playing with fire?" Andy hissed.
As if to prove Andy right, Vlad, who had his hands behind him, fired a small ecto blast from his finger at Danny. Danny yelped as he quickly dodged the little finger blast. Andy jumped back too since he had been close to Danny when Vlad fired that attack.
"Good dodge…" Andy whispered.
Danny gave Andy a sheepish grin. "Thanks to your dodge training." He whispered back.
"But please, stop antagonizing him. We don't have Agunimon to back us up if he decides to go on the attack," Andy warned.
Danny frowned, but nodded. "Sorry, bro… It's just… like I can't help but do so. I mean, he messes with me, so I have to mess back…"
I wonder if it's a natural ghost rivalry that's causing this? Or if it's just Danny's personality… Andy deadpanned. He never really had a rival before. We only had either friends or bullies, but no rivals. Hmm… kinda makes me wonder how I'd act to a rival of mine…
"What was that sound?" Maddie asked.
Vlad interrupted Maddie's train of thought by closing the book she was looking at. "Well, if Jack hadn't been so weak, maybe that ghost wouldn't have overshadowed him in the first place."
Maddie frowned before she walked past Vlad while speaking. "Now, Vlad, Jack may be a bit of a bumbler, but he means well."
Vlad didn't like how Maddie still seemed to see Jack in a positive light after the college reunion incident. It seems my efforts haven't turned her away from Jack as much as I would have hoped…
While Vlad was focusing on Maddie, Danny noticed Andy was looking around. He was pulling out drawers, and looking into some bear pelts' mouths.
"What are you doing?" Danny asked.
"Just exploring," Andy replied before he walked over to Danny and whispered. "Be quiet, I'm trying to see if there's any secret doors, or buttons, or bugs, or whatever else Vlad could have hidden here. A cunning man like him who rigged this entire trip for us to arrive here must have a few things hidden in this 'oh-so-lovely' cottage of his."
"So you think Vlad is up to something?" Danny asked as he decided to join Andy in looking around. "What are you hoping to find, bro?"
"I mean Vlad being up to something is a given at this point," Lopmon whispered as well. "As Andy said, he's a very cunning man, and powerful too. That's a deadly combination."
"Like I said, I'm just looking for anything suspicious and abnormal. He could've gotten the plane to end up at Wisconsin where his house is, but why did he choose to come out here in the woods? It's far from civilization. There must be something he's doing way out here," Andy replied.
"Like a villain of some kind? Why do I feel like we're in a comic book?" Danny deadpanned.
Andy rolled his eyes. "Okay, think outside of the superhero vs villain world for a moment, please? We both know Vlad isn't… all right in the head. But that doesn't mean he isn't smart. He went to the same college as our parents, and look at the inventions they could come up with. Since Vlad is a ghost himself, what kind of inventions do you think he could come up with? He can think outside of the limitations of human perception and imagination after all."
Danny paled. "I… don't want to consider the implications of that…" He whispered. "That's… chilling to think about…"
"Personally I'm surprised you haven't started making crazy inventions yourself yet," Lopmon remarked.
"I'm not a genius like my parents," Danny grumbled. "Tech stuff is mostly for Tucker to solve in our group anyways."
"I guess Jazz inherited most of our parents' genius," Andy chuckled sheepishly. "But regardless, even if we're not as smart, we should still try to think with our brains for this if we don't want to get caught in Vlad's trap."
Danny nodded. "Yeah. I mean, if Vlad is all the way out here, he must have some kind of… well… he must have another lab here. His house… castle… in Wisconsin did, so I think it's safe to assume he has one here as well. Out in the woods, far from civilization… perfect spot for a secret lab, right?"
"You may be right, bro, but the question isn't whether or not he has a secret lab… but more… why out here? Since he already has a working lab at his castle in Wisconsin, why go through the trouble of making another one way out here? That just seems to burn a lot of money and time for no particular reason," Andy noted with suspicion. "And if we know Vlad, he always has a reason to do something like that."
"Maybe… Maybe Vlad is working on something that he doesn't want anyone to find?" Danny suggested, feeling an odd sense of unease twisting in his stomach.
"Then… what could that be?" Lopmon frowned, getting a tingle of dread going through his fur.
"-Maddie, you could alway see right through me. I'm just going to come right out and say it. Dump Jack and stay here with me. You and Danny… and Andy can. What do you say?" Vlad asked Maddie as he got down on one knee like he was proposing to her.
"Wait, I feel like we just missed an important conversation between Vlad and Mom," Andy noted in surprise at Vlad's sudden bluntness.
Danny grimaced. "I… don't think that's the way to win a girl's heart…"
Maddie stared in disbelief before she did something she never thought she would do; she slapped Vlad hard across the cheek.
"And that is my answer!" Maddie said sternly before looking at her boys. "Andy, Danny, come on! We're getting out of here!"
To say Andy was shocked at this turn of events was an understatement. He honestly couldn't believe someone as intelligent as Vlad would actually be dense enough to tell a woman, who was married, and actually still loved her husband, to not only cheat on said husband, but to divorce him so he could take her instead. While Andy was glad his mother, of course, rejected such an… 'offer', that made things harder because now Andy wouldn't be able to find out what Vlad had been hiding in this cottage of his.
But Maddie wasn't going to stick around any longer. She was already storming out of the cottage. Danny and Andy had to hurry behind her. Andy was glad he was holding onto Lopmon, he was not leaving his partner in that cottage alone, even if Lopmon could possibly try to find what Vlad was hiding. Vlad would vaporize the poor Digimon since he obviously knew about Digimon.
The sun had already gone down as it was dark when they got outside. Danny looked back at Vlad as they were walking out, and he couldn't resist a chance to rub this in Vlad's face a little more.
"Bye, Vlad! As a lonely, single man in his 40s, mightI suggest internet dating, or even getting a cat?" Danny taunted Vlad as they were leaving his cottage's premises.
"Am I going to have to gag you?" Andy groaned.
Vlad stood in the doorway, looking quite furious, and sporting a nice, red mark on his cheek courtesy of Maddie. "Mark my words, Maddie, nobody says 'no' to Vlad Masters! You will rue the day you spurred my affections, and I. Will. Not. Get. A. CAT!"
Since staying with Vlad was an obvious bust, the Fentons now had to find their way through the woods, at night. It wasn't an ideal situation, Andy was still not a fan of roughing it out in the woods unless it was the Digital World. It was a cool season, but still warm enough for bugs to come out, which was what bothered Andy the most.
Maddie was still steaming about what happened with Vlad, so this gave the twins to talk in private as they were a few feet behind her where she wasn't likely to hear their quiet conversation.
"What do you think Vlad was hiding in that cottage of his?" Andy quietly asked.
"Who cares? We're out now, so it doesn't matter," Danny replied.
"I think it does matter," Andy said. "By leaving Vlad alone, he's able to continue doing whatever it is he's doing with no obstacle to stand in his way."
"So, you think it's that bad?" Danny asked quietly. "Err… whatever he is hiding?"
"It may be if Vlad is out here and no one is looking to see if he is up to anything." Lopmon replied quietly.
"But if he's up to something that secretive, why'd he want us to be here?" Danny questioned. "He should know that if he brings us here, we're likely going to interfere with whatever it is he's doing, right?"
"I doubt he'd think we'd be smart enough to think about these things, let alone try to look for it," Andy remarked. "He seems to think we're too young, naive, and stupid to have any of this cross our minds if our last encounter with him was any indication. I mean come on, he insulted you for being 14 years old and not able to drive or be in college yet."
"You're 14 years old too," Lopmon pointed out.
"He ignored me because I'm not a special halfa like he and Danny are," Andy said. "But the insult is the same regardless."
Danny grinned. "So, maybe Vlad is the stupid one, because he thinks he's so smart."
"I wouldn't say he's stupid, but he does have a superiority complex. He thinks Dad is dumb and beneath him. He thinks you're too naive to see through his plans. He thought Mom would actually say yes to his idiotic proposal. I'd say if anything, that is going to be his biggest downfall," Andy remarked.
"You only met with Vlad once, and you already know all that about him?" Lopmon asked. "Whoa, your analysis of his character is scary."
"What's that supposed to mean? I mean it's pretty obvious with how he talks and acts," Andy grumbled.
Danny grinned. "Well, I think we can use that to our advantage next time we encounter Vlad."
Lopmon snickered. "I'd like to see that~"
"That encounter may be sooner rather than later. You heard what he said, he's not going to just let us go that easily," Andy pointed out. "And Vlad probably knows this neck of the woods way better than any of us do, so there's a chance he might attack us out here when we least expect it."
Danny frowned. "If that's the case… we'd have to be careful. I mean, I have my ghost sense that can let us know if a ghost is in the area, but… what if Vlad can hide his ecto-signature from me?"
"I mean he can use his human form, isn't that already enough to hide his ecto-signature from you?" Lopmon pointed out.
"Good point…" Danny sighed.
Andy frowned as he was thinking. He didn't know what Vlad was doing out here in the woods, but he had a sinking feeling the truth may be a lot darker than they realize. It had to be something really big if Vlad went through all that trouble to make a lab out in the woods, far from civilization after all. While Vlad made that mistake of proposing to Maddie, and treating Andy like nothing more than an insignificant fly on the wall, Vlad was still a cunning, smart man if his little trick to bring them here was any indication of what he was capable of. Andy may not be all that smart, but even he realized that the minute Vlad stopped underestimating him, they would be in serious trouble. They only had a slight advantage as long as Vlad didn't think much of Andy, and Andy was lucky Vlad didn't appear to have learned that in their last encounter.
Maddie finally stopped at a clearing. She calmed down after a while of walking, and realized it was dark and traveling through the woods like this would be dangerous for them. She looked back at her boys and sighed. "Let's set up camp here for the night. We've probably walked far enough away from that man to be able to sleep comfortably tonight."
"Are we going to have to make beds with leaves or something?" Danny asked.
"No, silly, I actually brought a tent, and the Fenton Sleeping bags~" Maddie smiled.
"Wah? Did you think we were going camping when we got to Florida?" Andy questioned in shock.
"Well… It doesn't hurt to have some outdoor camping stuff in case of emergencies…" Maddie admitted with a sheepish grin.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Of course you did…"
Maddie took out 4 pill looking things before she dropped them to the floor. She then took out a dropper that had some water in it. She squeezed the rubber thing at the end of the dropper to let out 4 drops of water onto each of the pills. As soon as the pills were touched by the water droplets, the pills shook for a second, before turning into 3 sleeping bags, and one tent.
"... Fenton technology is amazing…" Andy whispered in awe. "Why haven't our parents started selling these?"
Danny sweatdropped. "Maybe because it isn't ghost related?"
Lopmon was staring with his mouth hanging open at what he had just witnessed.
"They don't sell those either," Andy pointed out.
"Come on, boys, let's set up a campfire," Maddie spoke up. "We need something to keep us warm on this chilly night."
Back at Fenton Works…
Takuya was bored. He thought about going back to the Digital World, but since Jack was staying at home today, and he didn't plan to work on anything in the lab while Maddie was away, he would definitely notice Takuya's absence if he just left all of a sudden. Jazz looked like she felt the same as Takuya. They could be spending their time helping out the Digital World right about now, but were instead stuck at home with Jack.
"Come on, you two, why the long faces?" Jack asked. "You haven't even tried to knit anything, come on, it's fun and relaxing."
Takuya groaned. "No thanks. I'm not into knitting. I'm more of a sports kinda kid."
Jazz was looking at the mess of yarn before her. "I'll pass, Dad. Thanks, but no thanks…"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "I tried suggesting ghost hunting drills, but neither of you two wanted that either."
"I'm not into ghost fighting, Dad," Jazz grumbled.
And I had more than enough drills from Sergeant Andy… Takuya groaned.
"Maybe we should try going out?" Takuya suggested. "Do something other than sitting at home?"
Jack gave it some thought. "I guess so. It probably wouldn't do to stay home all day. It's a beautiful day, we might as well take advantage of it!"
Jazz smiled. "That would be nice, actually. Maybe a walk or something would be fun."
Takuya grinned. "Awesome!"
Jazz grabbed her purse, she was glad to get out of the house for a while. She was definitely going to talk to Floramon on her computer later tonight though.
"Just be careful, sometimes danger lurks in every corner even on peaceful days," Jack warned. "And let me tell you, some boys can be like wild animals. Except for you, of course, Takuya. But not everyone is as calm and collected as you."
Takuya grumbled to himself. And yet I have a literal beast as my second Spirit, which I can't control yet… Way to be ironic, Uncle Jack…
Jazz couldn't help but roll her eyes. "We'll be fine Dad. We're just going on a walk around town."
However, as soon as Jazz opened the front door, she was greeted with a large, neon green, monstrous rabbit. It growled at her as it leaned into the door, its pupiless red eyes glowing, its sharp teeth clenched together. If Jazz hadn't fought with dangerous monsters in the Digital World before this, she would've stood there, frozen in fear. But she managed to quickly jump back before the unnatural giant, monstrous rabbit could bite down on her.
Jazz landed on her feet after jumping back. "A ghost?! What the heck?!"
Takuya cursed to himself. Damn it! How did I not sense this ghost?! I should've gotten those chills and heat down my spine! How did it hide from me?!
Jack was quick to jump into action to defend the two kids. "Back off! She's a minor!" He exclaimed as he took out one of his new inventions and fired it off. It looked like a green and silver tube with a green button on it. Jack pushed the button and out came what looked like a small net folded in on itself before it expanded to show an image of Jack's face with 9 metallic claws around it. The device wrapped itself around the ghostly rabbit before squeezing hard. Then the ghostly rabbit monster exploded into green ectoplasmic goop that covered Jack, and also Takuya.
"Eew! This is disgusting!" Takuya groaned.
"Ah, sorry about that," Jack apologized as he pushed a button for the staff he was holding to retrieve the metallic claws and put it back inside. "We're going to have to clean up and make sure to decontaminate ourselves."
"How did that ghost get in here?" Jazz asked. "Didn't you have a Ghost Shield installed in our house?"
Jack's face said it all. "In retrospect… maybe I shouldn't have gutted the Ghost Shield to make that Specter Deflector for your mom…"
"You did what!?" Jazz yelled.
"It was on short notice, and I thought there wouldn't be a lot of ghosts to worry about after the invasion ended." Jack frowned. "I wanted to make sure Maddie was safe."
"Who cares about that now? What if more ghosts come?" Takuya asked.
Of course Takuya could fight them as Agunimon, though he may need to get those Fenton Ghost Gloves back on him since he took them off after the invasion as he didn't want to risk bringing too strong of a ghost weapon to the Digital World, and he didn't want his Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie to wonder what happened to the Ghost Gloves.
Jack gave it some thought. "Let's go get cleaned up first. Then let's worry about what we're going to do."
After Jack, Takuya, and Jazz took a thorough shower to scrub off all the ectoplasmic goop off of them, Jack handed Jazz the device he used on the rabbit ghost earlier.
"Here, Jazzypants, you might be able to use this with your skills. That's the Jack-O-Ninetails. Just push that button at the ghost, and the device will grab them and squeeze them with the 9 metallic claws," Jack explained.
Jazz took the Jack-O-Ninetails from her father. "Thanks, Dad."
Takuya looked down at the Fenton Ghost Gloves he was holding. "I guess I'll get these then, huh?"
"Of course. The only other option would be the Fenton Rod, though you don't seem to be much for swinging a stick around. You seem more like a puncher, so the Fenton Ghost Gloves would be perfect for you," Jack pointed out, which surprised Takuya as that sounded like something Andy would say. To hear that from the normally goofball Jack Fenton just sounded wrong.
Okay… I think I may need to get used to hearing Uncle Jack making sense… and sounding serious… Takuya thought with some unease. Although, thinking about it, Andy had to get his smarts from somewhere. It's just… I didn't expect it to be from Uncle Jack.
"What about you, Dad?" Jazz asked.
"Not to worry, Jazzypants. I've got a lot of weapons under my arsenal," Jack replied. "I have the Fenton Bazooka for the heavy damages. And… if we have more ghosts coming… we need to get you two into a hazmat suit."
"Why?" Takuya frowned.
"Fighting ghosts is dangerous business, even if Maddie and I make it look fun," Jack answered. "We could also get more ectoplasm on us. That would ruin your clothes, and it would seep into your skin. The hazmat suit will help protect you from that. Plus, they come with hoods and goggles to protect your head and eyes as well. The goggles can help you see through the ghost's invisibility too."
Takuya and Jazz frowned, but they couldn't disagree with Jack since he knew more about ectoplasm and its dangers than anyone else.
"Okay… I'll get our hazmat suits…" Jazz sighed.
Jazz was in her room. She hesitantly put on the hazmat suit she had kept in her closet for a long time. It looked like a replica of Maddie's hazmat suit, only smaller to fit Jazz. Jazz was looking at herself in the full body mirror before she put the hood on over her hair. She thought it would be uncomfortable, but somehow her hair fit just fine in the hood, and she had the goggles covering her eyes. Despite the goggles' lens being red, she could see clearly through them without any red tint. She was a bit disturbed by how much she looked like a shorter version of her mother.
There was a knock on her door.
"Who is it?" Jazz asked.
"It's me, Takuya. Can I come in?" Takuya's voice asked.
"Yeah, I'm already dressed," Jazz replied.
Takuya opened Jazz's door, showing he was in his red and orange hazmat suit. He blinked when he saw how she looked. "Oh, wow… you look just like Aunt Maddie in that thing."
"Please don't say it like that," Jazz grumbled. "It's just the suit that looks like Mom's, not me. Jeez, I didn't think I had to wear this thing again after Mom and Dad wanted to show us turning on their Ghost Portal for the first time."
"I'm wondering where that ghost rabbit came from though." Takuya mused. "I mean, I should've had those chills and heat run down my spine, but I didn't get that feeling at all."
"I've also noticed something else that was kind of strange," Jazz remarked.
"What's that?" Takuya questioned.
"When Dad grabbed that rabbit ghost with the Jack-O-Ninetails… The ghost just kinda popped like a balloon, right?" Jazz pointed out. "Isn't that kinda weird though?"
"What do you mean weird?" Takuya asked.
"Like… Why didn't the ghost reform itself after a while? Didn't you guys tell me how that Technus ghost was able to reform himself after his… ectoplasm got everywhere and even took over the appliances?" Jazz pointed out. "Is it just gone now? Or is it going to reform itself later?"
"That is weird…" Takuya frowned. "I… I don't know if that was a ghost like Technus or not, but if it is, then it's safe to assume it may reform again." He then shivered. "I'd hate to face down more ghosts like that… One ghost invasion was bad enough…"
"I'm just wondering, since you couldn't sense it, and the ghost's body was easily disposed of…" Jazz frowned for a moment. "I mean I don't know as much about ghosts as Danny or Andy probably do, so I can't say for certain. But from the files I read on Andy's computer-"
"Andy has a file like that on his computer?" Takuya blinked.
"He keeps everything he notes down on his computer too," Jazz explained. "He's trying to keep a profile on every ghost they have met so far in case we'd have to face them again. He's been having Tucker help keep track of Digimon too. It's best to prepare against a familiar enemy after all. He also thought it'd be good for us too, so we can review whatever we might need in case he or Danny aren't available."
Takuya chuckled. "That's Andy for ya. He's always thinking ahead."
"Anyway, as I was saying before, Andy did write down his own thoughts and theories on ghosts too. Not all of them have been confirmed though, he's only giving theories and speculations on what he had seen," Jazz explained. "But according to Andy's theories, ghosts should have a core inside themselves somewhere, and the core should be the essence of the ghost rather than the physical body we see. Additionally, if something were to happen to the physical body, as long as the core is fine, it can either regenerate the physical body, or make a completely new one if there's enough ectoplasm in the area. Halfas are the exception, because Andy believes they have a core and a physical body due to their half human selves."
"So… maybe what I'm sensing is the core of a ghost…" Takuya mused as he looked down in thought. "Digimon have cores as well, but unlike a ghost, can't really reform. They can only be reverted to Digi-Eggs as long as the core is intact."
Then a thought crossed Takuya's mind. "But if I didn't sense that ghost… Maybe it lacks a core…?"
"That's what I was thinking too," Jazz replied. "But I'm not sure how that ghost was able to move around and even have a body at all if it lacked a core. It seemed unstable. Maybe it's not a true ghost, but some kind of mutated, pseudo-ghost?"
Takuya frowned. "But, who could create a pseudo-ghost like that? It doesn't make any sense." He then folded his arms and looked down in thought. "And why send it here? This is a house of ghost hunters, not a house of normal civilians."
"I can't say that I know either," Jazz sighed. "The only candidate I could think of is that Skulker ghost, the one who's apparently a ghost hunter in the Ghost Zone? Andy mentioned that Skulker hunts other ghosts too, which may include animal ghosts. But… he's a hunter, right? Not a mad scientist, so I doubt he would make those pseudo ghosts."
Takuya groaned. "We'd better get back downstairs to Uncle Jack. He's probably waiting for us."
"Yeah, let's hope that rabbit is the only mutated ghost we'll have to see," Jazz said before she and Takuya left her room to head downstairs.
"Jazz, honey, and Takuya, I've got some-" Jack began saying before he saw Jazz. "Oh… my… Jazz, if I didn't know that was you under there, I would've thought you were Maddie."
Jazz blushed, her cheeks a bright pink. "Dad! This is the only time I'm wearing this thing!"
Takuya was laughing his head off. "This… Oh gosh! Danny and Andy would love this!"
"Shut up, you!" Jazz grumbled.
"Seeing you two in these hazmat suits… it brings tears to my eyes," Jack said as he rubbed his eyes. "I just knew ghost fighting is in your blood! And while you're not technically a Fenton, Takuya, you have the Fenton genes in you!"
Takuya blushed at that reminder. "Uncle Jack!" He squeaked out, feeling his own cheeks burning with his blush. I guess I do have the Fenton genes…
"Come on, Dad! Takuya and I aren't like you and Mom!" Jazz pointed out. "We're only doing this because we have to, not because we want to. As soon as this house is secured from ghosts, these suits are coming off! I'm not a fighter, or a ghost hunter. I'm a brilliant, reasonable, sophisticated girl."
"Who looks great in a hazmat suit~" Takuya said cheekily.
"Who looks… Takuya!" Jazz exclaimed. "This is not the time to be acting funny!"
"On the contrary, now is the perfect time to be acting funny." Jack smiled. "Laughter helps relieve us of a stressful situation. It's not good to be stressed out all the time, you're more likely to make mistakes in battle."
Okay, it is scary how much he sounds like Andy now. Takuya sweatdropped. I think I know where Andy gets some of his smarts from…
"Since when were you an expert on human psychology, Dad?" Jazz asked, likely thinking the same thing as Takuya right now.
"You'd be surprised at the things I know, Jazzypants~" Jack grinned.
Before any more questions could be asked, several animal ghosts began to phase through the walls. There was a four eyed wolf with saber-like teeth. A one eyed ram with large black, curled horns and sharp teeth. A large green bear with sharp teeth and four arms. A big looking moose with huge black antlers. And a giant cougar with saber-like teeth. All of them were neon green with black on them. Takuya's eyes were starting to hurt from all the bright green.
Okay… this is getting ridiculous! One ghost animal was bad enough, but I'm starting to think this isn't normal… Takuya groaned as he rubbed at his eyes. And I'm going to be seeing green for a while… literally!
Takuya then shook his head to return to the situation at hand. "Something tells me we're in for a long weekend if this is any indication…" I hope we don't get overwhelmed… otherwise… The only safe place Jazz and I can go is the Digital World, and we would have to take Uncle Jack there as well…
"Alright, it's time for action!" Jack called out as he began to blast a couple of the ghost animals with the Fenton Bazooka.
The ram and the cougar got hit by the bazooka. Instead of being blasted away, their bodies just vanished upon being blasted. The ghost animals didn't seem to be very strong as their bodies couldn't last long against the attacks.
Takuya got the Fenton Ghost Gloves on his hands and powered them up. He slammed his fists together before he punched at the big moose, green electricity crackling over the gloves as he did so. The green moose was hit in the face, and it exploded into green goop that barely missed Takuya, who had ducked to avoid getting covered in green ectoplasm. "I got the moose!"
The wolf ghost launched itself at Takuya, intending to pounce on the boy. Luckily for Takuya, he had an older cousin ready to protect him. Jazz shot out the Jack-O-Ninetails at the wolf, grabbing it with its 9 metallic claws.
"AYE-AYE-YAAH!" Jazz shouted as she flung the wolf around and slammed it into the ground, causing its body to just disappear, and the ectoplasm to splatter.
Wow, she's really getting into it. Takuya noted.
Jack beamed with pride at seeing how easily Jazz took to the ghost-hunting. "Note to self, make Jazz and Takuya action figures."
Of course, that was only wave 1, a second wave of animals began to appear as well. A couple of four legged eagles floated in, a large python with two heads slithered inside. And a giant boar with spikes on its back came in as well.
"This is going to be a long night…" Jazz hissed.
"Let's hope Mads, and the other boys are doing better than us," Jack remarked.
"Something tells me they may be in for a long night as well…" Takuya muttered.
Thanks to the Fenton Lighter Maddie had on her, conveniently, they had a campfire going on. Danny and Andy helped collect the firewood, something they had done before in the Digital World.
Jeez, this is really reminding us of our time in the Digital World. I hope that when the Trailmon station is open, camping out like this will be a thing of the past… Andy grumbled to himself.
Danny sighed. "I wonder how the others are doing back at home right now. Surely they must be having a better time than we are."
"You know, when someone says that, usually the opposite happens," Lopmon whispered.
"You think they're having a worse time?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I… don't know, but it's just something I noticed," Lopmon replied.
"Let's hope it's not a thing this time," Andy sighed. "I doubt Danny will be able to sit still if something bad was happening back home."
Danny grumbled. "I'm not that bad…"
"Last time Andy was missing, you were pacing around nonstop." Lopmon pointed out with a grin.
"S-shush…" Danny hissed. "He's my twin brother, of course I'm gonna worry about him."
Maddie walked over to them and she sat down on the log the boys were using as a bench. She tried to be optimistic about all of this. She pulled out a dry piece of jerky from her suit.
"Fenton Jerky?" Maddie offered.
"Do we not have any… actual meals to eat?" Andy asked.
"Not really…" Maddie admitted before she sighed. "I'm sorry boys… This weekend isn't turning out like I thought it would."
Maddie then gave them both a soft smile. "But we're spending it together, and that just means the world to me."
Since Danny was sitting in the middle between Andy and Maddie, Maddie put her gloved hand on Danny's hand. This caused the Specter Deflector to activate a little, enough to give Danny's hand a shock.
Andy quickly noticed this and pulled Danny away from Maddie. This surprised Maddie, as she didn't expect Andy to suddenly do that. Andy blinked for a moment before coming up with an excuse.
"I want some Fenton Jerky, Mom! Don't just give them all to Danny now, I'm pretty hungry," Andy said.
Maddie blinked before she smiled. "Sure, Andy. I can give you some."
Danny blinked before he sighed in relief at Andy's quick thinking. Thanks, bro…
"Maybe I should sit next to Mom," Andy whispered to Danny.
"Yeah…" Danny agreed before they both got to their feet and swapped their sitting places.
Maddie held out the dry jerky for Andy. Andy took the dry jerky.
"Maybe later we should look for some food," Andy suggested as he took a small bite out of the jerky, and tried not to scrunch up his face. I think those meat apples spoiled my taste buds, this taste horrible…
"Yeah, I think it would be a good idea." Maddie agreed. "I'm not sure how long we'll be out here, so food and water need to be a priority."
Andy rubbed his mouth before spitting in the opposite direction from Maddie so she wouldn't see him do that. Danny only sweatdropped as Andy was trying not to puke.
"We should turn in early for the night," Andy suggested as he put the jerky onto Lopmon's little hands. "So that way we can have an early morning head start."
Maddie looked at Andy and smiled. "Great idea, Andy. The sooner we get moving, the better."
Lopmon ate the jerky while Maddie's attention was on Andy. Lopmon didn't seem to have an issue eating it, but then again, Digimon… weren't usually picky with their meals. Besides, Andy wanted to make sure Lopmon had some food in his belly since he may need to fight sooner or later.
"Do you mind if Andy and I sleep outside the tent?" Danny requested. I'd rather not get shocked by that stupid belt. And I don't want to sleep outside alone. "I'd like to be able to watch the stars until I fall asleep."
Maddie blinked before she smiled a bit. "Of course, Danny." She then looked up at the sky above. "You can see so many stars from here, can't you?"
Danny smiled back. "Yeah, you certainly can."
Andy smiled. He knew the real reason why Danny wanted to sleep outside of the tent, but at least his brother was using his love of space and stars as an excuse to sleep outside so he wouldn't hurt their mother's feelings.
"Alright, Danny… are you okay with this, Andy? I know how much you don't like sleeping outside," Maddie asked.
"It's fine. The cold night should keep the annoying bugs away," Andy replied. "And I should probably try to sleep outside a little more often so I don't keep complaining about camping."
Maddie sighed. "I guess so. You were never one for camping out, but I can see why you would want to change that. Well, the tent is open for you boys if you decide you want to sleep in here with me."
Even though Danny and Andy had good excuses to not sleep in the tent, it was pretty clear Maddie was hoping to sleep with them tonight. But Maddie wasn't going to force them to if they didn't want to. She pulled her sleeping bag into the tent.
"Goodnight, Danny, and Andy, I hope you both sleep well," Maddie said.
"Goodnight, Mom," Danny replied.
"Yeah, goodnight, Mom. And we both love you," Andy spoke up, which caused Maddie to pause for a moment and gave a smile.
"Jeez, how cheesy can you be, bro?" Danny rolled his eyes.
"What? It's not a sin to say you love your mom," Andy grumbled.
Lopmon smiled. "I think that is sweet to say to your mom~"
"Yeah, and… I think she needed that," Andy quietly said as Maddie was now in the tent, leaving the boys, and Lopmon, alone. "She only wanted to go on this trip because she wanted to bond with us. She felt like we've been drifting apart lately…"
Danny frowned. "Is that why she took us out on this 'trip'? I… hadn't thought about, or even considered, that…"
"I didn't either, until she talked to me about it before she got that fake invitation," Andy replied with a sigh. "I guess we got so caught up with the ghost invasion, and what to do with the players in the Digital World, that we've sort of forgotten about our parents."
Danny grimaced. "Yeah… I think we need to do something about it… but… how we do that is going to be difficult…"
"I've thought about it before," Andy admitted. "I was going to tell her about the Digimon and the Digital World."
"You were?" Danny blinked.
"Is that a good idea?" Lopmon questioned. "What if she saw us as bad as ghosts? Wouldn't she want to vaporize us?"
"No, I don't think so. Mom and Dad already have this preconception about ghosts," Andy explained. "And that preconception only solidified due to the ghost invasion. They've never really met a true friendly ghost to say otherwise. But with Digimon, their only exposure has been Agunimon so far, and he hasn't done anything to make them think he's evil. They only started doubting him because of Walker's reveal of him working with the ghost boy. I think it's best to nip this in the bud before they start thinking Digimon are no better than ghosts."
Danny sighed. "I guess so. But how can we do that? I mean, it's not like we can take Mom and Dad to the Digital World and hope they see Agunimon there, defending it."
"Well… it doesn't have to be Agunimon they see," Andy said. "I have Lopmon here."
"You want to use me to expose Digimon to your mom?" Lopmon blinked.
"Well… sure, why not? You're a good Digimon, and you're cute to boot, that should win you some brownie points with Mom." Andy smiled. "And this means we won't have to keep our Digimon partners hidden from our parents, or the Digital World. Maybe they can even help us."
Danny blinked before he grinned. "Maybe that can work. And it would give us a load of weight off our shoulders since we won't have to hide where we go anymore when we go to the Digital World!"
"That is assuming they'll even let us go though… I'm not sure if a lot of parents would be happy to know their kids have been going to this dangerous world filled with monsters." Andy frowned. "I suppose that, and the fact you may not be able to use your ghost powers while in the Digital World with our parents, are the only downsides to this."
"Yeah, that is true…" Danny admitted. "But… even if Mom and Dad give us a hard time about going to the Digital World, at least we wouldn't have to hide our Digimon partners from them anymore."
Danny then grimaced. "I hope Patamon is doing okay… It's just so weird not having him here, and yet I know he still needs some time to… accept my ghostly status…"
"Yeah, me too…" Lopmon frowned. "But… you don't really use your ghost powers anyways in the Digital World, so I don't think that's really going to be a problem, is it?"
Danny paused for a moment. "I guess not. I was always worried I would end up hurting the Digital World if I used my ghost powers. So I've been trying my best to just solve things as a human."
"Which may not be all bad. It means you're able to use your human form for more than just blending in with society," Andy pointed out. "So if, for whatever reason, you lose your ghost powers, you're not completely defenseless."
Danny smiled. "Heh… I guess that's true. And it would surprise many of my enemies if I could fight as a human~"
"That's a great way to look at it!" Lopmon agreed.
"We'll probably do some more training when we get back home. I need to train with Lopmon, I haven't had a real chance to yet," Andy said.
Danny chuckled. "I feel sorry for Lopmon."
"Should I be worried?" Lopmon frowned.
"No, no need to worry, Lopmon." Danny reassured. "Just… be prepared for a long training session."
"Don't go scaring him," Andy grumbled.
"When do you plan to let Mom and Dad know about Digimon then?" Danny asked.
"Probably after we get back home," Andy said. "I'd rather show both Mom and Dad. But if I need to, I'll tell Mom first if she's there when Lopmon needs to fight."
"Sounds like a plan then." Danny nodded.
The twins, and Lopmon, laid back on their sleeping bags. Lopmon was snuggling with Andy in his sleeping bag. Danny wished he had Patamon with him to snuggle with. The cold didn't bother Danny, but he wished he could've gotten closer to Patamon before Patamon found out about his ghost half.
Danny looked up at the night sky, looking at the stars. A worrying thought occurred to him. If Patamon reacted that badly to Danny's ghost half, he wondered how the others felt about him. Tucker and Sam seemed to be okay, for the most part. Though Tucker had gotten jealous of Danny's ghost powers, enough to where he wished to get ghost powers and Desiree granted it to him. That was a pretty big disaster. He wondered how the other Digimon felt since ghosts and Digimon appeared to be natural enemies of each other. Lopmon didn't seem to mind, neither did Takuya. Biyomon and Kokuwamon didn't seem to care either. It was only Patamon who seemed to have an issue with it.
Then there was Jazz and Andy, the two people who discovered Danny's transformation. Jazz was shocked, but she seemed to take it well enough, though Andy… he was pretty upset about it at first, not that Danny could really blame him, since he pretty much took Phantom the friend away from Andy at that time. It had been a while since then though, and Andy didn't ever bring it up again. Still, Danny didn't want it to simmer in case it became a problem later like with Tucker and Patamon.
"Hey, Andy?" Danny spoke up.
"Hmm?" Andy replied. "What's up?"
"Um… Andy… how… How do you feel about me having ghost powers? I mean… Tucker got insanely jealous for a while, and… well, we know how that turned out…" Danny said hesitantly.
"Why ask me that now?" Andy asked. "Like I said to Phantom a while ago, if he was someone I knew, I would accept him. That hasn't changed, you may have ghost powers, and half ghost yourself, but you're still Danny."
"Yes, but…" Danny frowned. "I'm glad you accept me, bro, but I was more asking how do you feel about these powers in general?"
Andy paused for a moment. He knew Danny wanted to be reassured that Andy had no problems with Danny having these powers, and he didn't. That Andy wasn't envious like Tucker was, or that Andy was just fine being the full human between the two of them. But… that wouldn't be the truth.
"If you want the truth, bro…" Andy hesitantly said. "... I can't say that I'm not envious of you and the powers you have."
Lopmon looked at Andy in concern.
"In fact… sometimes it eats away at my self confidence to the point I would sometimes subconsciously sabotage myself," Andy admitted.
Danny frowned, feeling guilt eating away at this… thing in his chest, making it twist uncomfortably. "Andy… I… I had no idea…"
"It's unfortunate, but it's true. I had trouble digivolving when we were facing against Megadramon, and when Takuya lost control of his Beast Spirit," Lopmon vouched.
"Ironically, it was thanks to Tucker I was able to get Lopmon to digivolve again," Andy chuckled before he turned in his sleeping bag a little to better face his brother. "But, Danny, don't blame yourself for this. This isn't your fault. It was pretty inevitable really. The heroic brother with the powers of beings not of this world, while the completely ordinary brother isn't really anything special is in his shadows. Whether it's you, or me, or Jazz, or Takuya, it's just human nature to want to be as special as the other person who has such powers, you know?"
Danny blinked before chuckling. "You're right, bro. I guess I just never thought about it; since I have these powers, I just assumed you were okay with it. But wanting to be special… I get that. It's normal."
"I'm aware of that too, but still, sometimes I still… well, you know… I'm a teenage boy myself. I want to try to prove myself since I don't have such powers like you or Takuya do," Andy admitted. "And it's not easy for me to realize that myself unless someone else points it out to me. It's why Tucker was able to help me get out of that funk. He's been through the same thing himself."
"But in a way, it also makes you stronger." Lopmon smiled. "Sometimes you have to be pulled down in order to reach new heights."
"I suppose that's one way to look at it," Andy chuckled. "Admittedly, it would've been really nice to have ghost powers when Lopmon and I were stuck in the Ghost Zone with Valerie and Salamon though."
"Yeah, but then Skulker would've been hunting you down as well, and it's bad enough he is hunting me down." Danny grumbled. "I wouldn't want that kind of fate on anyone, even you, bro."
"He still mistakes me as you," Andy grumbled. "And he was hunting me down on his island thinking I was you."
Danny paled at hearing that. Andy never really told him what happened on Skulker's Island, so this was news to Danny.
"Before you start freaking out," Andy spoke up quickly. "I used that knowledge against Skulker. Since he couldn't tell I wasn't you, I was able to use Lopmon to trick him into thinking I duplicated myself and was using some sort of ice powers to freeze him. Which he seemed to think you have, despite you never using ice powers before."
Danny blinked. "Wait, really? That's… odd. I don't have ice powers or anything like that. In fact, the only ones with elemental powers are the Legendary Warriors, and they are not ghosts."
"Hmm… I wonder though…" Lopmon said. "I don't know too much about ghosts other than what Andy has told me, but didn't you guys fight some ghosts with elemental powers before?"
"Yeah. Ember and Technus." Danny replied. "Ember seemed to have fire powers, and Technus has power over electricity, meaning all electronic devices as well."
"Did Vlad have any elemental powers?" Lopmon questioned.
Danny looked down in thought. "Not… that I know of…"
"Hmm… it's possible he never saw a need to use it on you…" Lopmon frowned.
"You think that Vlad and Danny have elemental powers?" Andy asked.
"I'm not sure, Halfas are a whole other can of Wormmon," Lopmon chuckled sheepishly. "I'm just saying it's possible."
"Well, if it is possible, then we have to be very careful." Danny said with a frown. "Who knows what Vlad would be capable of if that is the case…"
"And we better keep an eye on your powers too, just in case you really do have ice powers," Andy added. "It might explain why you're usually so cold too. It might have to do with more than just you being a ghost. And if that is the case, Kumamon might have to help you with your ice powers."
Danny blinked before chuckling. "Being trained by a Legendary Warrior? That would be the day! I'd be honored if that ever happened."
"Were you being sarcastic?" Andy grumbled.
Danny paled. "N-no! I… I didn't… Andy, I didn't mean…"
"Ah, nevermind, I guess I'm just a bit stressed out," Andy sighed. "I do want to help you figure out your powers too, as well as our Digimon's. Doing that will definitely help us in the future when we have to face off against stronger enemies, but…"
Andy suddenly had a flash of Danny with red eyes as he was smiling with malicious intent at Andy going through his mind. That dream… Why am I thinking about it now all of a sudden?
Danny blinked. "Andy, are you okay, bro?"
Andy paused for a moment, he had honestly forgotten about that dream until now. It only crossed his mind because he thought of a possibility where Danny could accidentally use his powers against them.
"Andy?" Lopmon frowned, getting concerned as well.
I don't… know if Danny would suddenly turn evil or not due to his ghost nature… Andy frowned to himself. I don't think ghosts are naturally evil like our parents believe, but… the way Danny looked in that dream… that felt too malicious… too real… But then again, Danny wasn't the only one who looked like that, right? There was Agunimon too… I think someone else was there… wasn't that person controlling them? The way they spoke, it seemed to heavily imply that's the case.
"Hey! Earth to Andy!" Danny shouted. "Do I need to get Bearbert!?"
"Knock it off!" Andy snapped. "You don't need to shout, what if an animal heard you?"
Danny chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, bro. You just seemed too lost in thought again."
Andy let out a sigh. "I just remembered something. I don't know if I can really see the future, but if this dream I had was some kind of premonition, then that does worry me…"
"Oh yeah… you had that nightmare," Lopmon remembered. "You're thinking about that now?"
"What was it about?" Danny asked.
"Hmm…" Andy didn't seem to want to talk.
"What? Don't go 'hmm' on me!" Danny grumbled. "What if that was the future you saw? Shouldn't you tell someone?"
"Well, if it was the future, I don't know when, or how, we'll get there," Andy sighed. "And for all I know, telling you could be what caused it to happen… what will cause it to happen? What could cause it to happen?"
Danny paled. "Uh… good point, bro… But how do you know not telling me would cause it to happen?"
"Jeez, there seems to be no right answer for this!" Lopmon grumbled.
"Okay, look, I would rather not tell you in detail because I… don't want you to worry too much," Andy sighed. "But… um… just know that… it may be possible that something, or someone, could potentially control ghosts or Digimon."
Danny frowned. "If… if that is possible… I don't want to think about it…"
"It's best to at least have it in your mind, so you know what to potentially look out for," Andy said. "But otherwise, we probably don't have to worry about it any time soon. Let's just focus on the here and now. After we sleep, we need to figure out how we're going to get home."
Danny nodded, feeling somewhat better now. "Yeah, and how to get away from that fruitloop named Vlad."
Lopmon was snickering. "Fruitloop… that's a pretty funny name for such a scary man."
"Let's just hope he doesn't try to come after us while we're out here," Andy said. "For now, let's try to get some sleep."
"Yeah… goodnight Andy, Lopmon," Danny said as he tried to get comfortable in the sleeping bag.
"Goodnight, Andy, Danny," Lopmon said as he snuggled with Andy.
"Sweet dreams you two," Andy said as he snuggled with Lopmon.
A being was just outside of Fenton Works, watching it getting overrun by ghosts. More and more of those ghost animals kept coming.
Perhaps 'ghost' isn't the right word. They're more… like experiments… The being noted to itself.
The being flew over to the OP Center, landing on it. Hmph… I suppose the Legendary Warrior could handle it… but maybe not alone… Of course, of all times for him to be gone…
The being looked down, looking at a window. It flew closer to the window, his reflection looking back at him. Patamon had looked better. His orange fur was pale, and he looked a lot thinner than before. I guess I should do something.
Patamon expanded himself before he shot out a large air bubble. "Boom Bubble!"
The Boom Bubble broke the mirror, allowing Patamon to enter the room.
Titanic X: ZAFT: Thank you! Yeah, the guild creation will be fun, and the name will be revealed soon.
pokemon fan 1991: ZAFT: Thanks! The Fenton family needs a reunion for sure. XD
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, considering how often our Digimon characters meet up at the castle, and now our main DP characters are planning to meet there too. There's a lot going on, like with the rogue Legendary Warriors, and then there's the entire world playing in the game, and you know how a lot of them can be very hardcore gamers that it might be impossible to deal with them without proper planning. That's what Andy's worried about, but he also can't let himself think it's too impossible or it will never work. He's got his friends, and the support of the Legendary Warriors by his side, so it's not like he's without any good help either.
ZAFT: Don't worry, Vlad will have some more excitement coming up soon! X3 It will be a while, but you will like when Vlad shows up next, trust me. XD
DarkFoxKit: About how the beta copies worked, and the Trailmon being the only way into the Digital World, it was something we had to come up with for a reason why the Celestial Digimon shut down the stations. I realized it'd be too petty for them to have shut it down just because one station got destroyed.
ZAFT: Well, it definitely worked out I think, and it makes sense too.