Digital Phantom

by ZAFT Convoy

DP Rebooted: Twins Danny and Andy have their lives torn upside down when Danny gets into an accident with the Fenton Ghost Portal. Takuya Kanbara just wanted to have a normal high school life until he found an odd figurine. The three boys have to navigate high school, ghosts, and Plasmius's plans while trying to master their unique powers.

58. Returning to the Cottage

ZAFT: So many new story ideas coming my way it seems. XD

DarkFoxKit: No sharing the ideas until we get them all written out.

ZAFT: I'm not that stupid… ^^' I was just saying so many are coming my way. That's all.

Andy: Then why mention it? And why do I feel like I'm about to suffer more?

Takuya: You're not the only one getting that feeling, Andy…

ZAFT: Onto the chapter now~! X3

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(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 58: Returning to the Cottage

Danny was quickly woken up when a large, neon green, glowing, hairy pair of legs stomped down in front of him. Either Mom or Andy need to shave their legs, or this is really bad news.

Danny slowly looked up, seeing the being before him was a large, furry ghost bear. It had pupiless red eyes, and four arms with large, black claws. The bear let out a roar, quickly waking up Andy and Lopmon.

The boys quickly rolled away from the giant ghost bear before it could grab either one of them. Danny phased out of his sleeping back, but Andy and Lopmon were having some trouble scrambling to get out of theirs.

"What the heck? Where did this ghostly bear come from?!" Danny exclaimed in shock. "My ghost sense didn't even go off!"

Danny took a quick glance at the tent to see if Maddie would come out to hear what all the ruckus was about, but she wasn't coming out. Don't tell me she's actually wearing the Fenton Earplugs right now!

"Look out!" Andy warned.

The ghost bear was swinging its claws at Danny.

Danny yelped before he jumped to the side. "Whoa! That was too close!"

"Let me at that bear!" Lopmon shouted.

"You're going to tear up the sleeping bag!" Andy yelped as he was hopping in the sleeping bag before losing his balance, and both he and Lopmon fell down.

Danny sweatdropped, but he knew he needed to fight off this bear. "I'm going-"

A pair of talons grabbed Danny from behind, digging their claws into his shoulder. "Gah!"

"What the heck?" Andy yelped before he and Lopmon finally wiggled out of the sleeping bag. "Help him out, Lopmon!"

Lopmon jumped at the four legged eagle that grabbed onto Danny. "Tiny Twister!"

Lopmon spun around, turning himself into a small twister, smacking the ghostly eagle until it let go of Danny.

Danny landed on his feet, looking up at Lopmon. "Thanks, Lopmon!"

"Don't thank me yet, Danny!" Lopmon warned as he was drifting down to earth with his giant ears poofed out.

Andy was cursing himself for leaving his Fenton Rod in his bag with his other stuff. He was going to have to rely on Lopmon a lot more than he would've liked.

More ghostly animals began to surround them.

"Where are these things coming from?" Andy frowned.

"I'm not sure. I can't even sense them!" Danny hissed.

"You can't?" Andy blinked.

"I can't sense them either," Lopmon pointed out.

"Hurry and transform, Danny! More are coming!" Andy quickly said. "I think Mom has the Fenton Earplugs on."

Danny nodded as he then called forth his transformation rings. The white rings appeared around Danny's waist before they then split vertically. When the rings parted, Danny Phantom was left in Danny Fenton's place.

Now as Danny Phantom, he quickly punched some of the animal ghosts away before firing his ghost rays at them. He was surprised that the ones he fired at just vanished into thin air instead of being pushed back like most other ghosts would.

"They seem to be… weak?" Danny frowned. "Why are they disappearing?"

Andy raised up Lopmon. "Now!"

"Blazing Ice!" Lopmon fired out his icy wind at the incoming animal ghosts, freezing some of the smaller ones, while slowing down the bigger ones.

Andy was turning around while holding up Lopmon, who was still using his Blazing Ice attack.

The ones that got frozen eventually shattered.

"I wonder… are these creatures actually ghosts?" Andy questioned.

"Why do you ask that?" Danny asked as he blasted another ghostly animal away with his ghost ray. "They're green, they're glowing, and they have red eyes. Doesn't that make them ghosts?"

A deer ghost ran over at Andy, trying to pierce through his body with its black antlers. Lopmon, of course, wouldn't allow that, and fired a Blazing Ice at its hooves, freezing it in place. Andy looked at the ghost deer before he kicked its chest, causing it to fall over. Lopmon finished it off with his Tiny Twister, causing it to vanish.

"That ghost could've easily phased out of Lopmon's ice," Andy noted. "And I was able to kick it when that normally shouldn't be possible."

"How do you know that? I'm always punching and kicking ghosts," Danny asked.

"Because you're a ghost," Andy pointed out. "If a human kicked you, their foot would just go through you, like Sam's book did when she threw it at you."

Danny grimaced as he rubbed at his stomach, remembering that well. "That felt weird when it happened."

Then Danny frowned a bit. "So… if these things are not ghosts, then what are they?"

"I don't know exactly…" Andy frowned. "Mutations? Experiments? Whatever they are, they have traits of a ghost, but they're not real ghosts either. Their bodies disappear or fall apart way too easily. Real ghosts are much more durable than that."

Danny frowned, remembering how many times a ghost was impacted by his punches and ghost rays, only to get back up and resume the fight. "Yeah… All of my other previous enemies have gotten back up from my attacks, but these things aren't."

"Then these things are much easier to handle." Lopmon noted. "But they have the numbers against us."

"There's just no end to them!" Andy frowned as every ghost animal they took down, more would take their place. "Why are they so relentless? What do they want?"

Danny punched away another four legged eagle ghost, causing it to disappear. "I don't know, but if this keeps up, Mom is going to come out eventually and see this."

Andy frowned. "If these aren't real ghosts… someone had to make them, right? They could've sent them here to either kill us, or… maybe take us? Or one of us?"

"But… who? Who would these ghost… things… take? And who would send them after… us…" Danny trailed off, remembering Vlad's warning to them as they left his cottage. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

"What?" Lopmon asked before he used another Tiny Twister to keep the ghost animals away from Andy.

The ghost animals seemed to be focusing on either Danny or Andy. They seemed a bit confused, some of them would randomly change targets in the middle of fighting Danny or Andy's Lopmon. Andy noted it didn't look like the behavior of animals trying to go for both, but was trying to get one or the other.

"I think I know who sent these ghost animals after us…" Danny groaned. "And he got a slap from Mom…"

Andy frowned. "I don't think they're after Mom, or maybe they can't tell where she is. They might be after you then, Danny, but they keep confusing me for you, so they keep trying to attack both of us."

Andy was dodging some of the ghost animals while he was talking. He kicked a ghost snake's nose before it could bite him. At least he didn't need his Fenton Rod to fight against these things, but it would be really helpful.

"But why would these ghost things be after me?" Danny asked as he dodged another ghostly eagle. "Is that fruitloop that messed up in the head he wants to kidnap me?"

Andy frowned, if this kept up, the ghost animals were going to exhaust them and they would both get captured and brought to Vlad. Andy could run to the tent to get his mom up, but unless Danny de-transformed, which was risky since there were so many ghost animals attacking them, Maddie would likely aim for Danny instead of the ghost animals. There was one other option, but Andy really didn't like it. Well, technically it was two options, but with similar outcomes.

"We can…" Andy hesitated.

"We can what?" Danny asked as he fired another ghost ray.

"We can let them take one of us back to Vlad," Andy said.

Danny's glowing green eyes went wide. "Wait, what?! Are you nuts, bro?!"

"I have to agree with Danny, Andy, isn't that just going to make things worse?" Lopmon frowned.

"At this rate, we're going to get overrun by these… things," Andy replied. "Even if you digivolved, that would only tire us out faster. If Vlad really was the one who sent these things to take Danny, then the best thing we can do is to give them what they want. The one who gets taken can see what Vlad's up to, while the other wakes up Mom and tries to save the one who got caught. And this would also give one of us a chance to see what's going on in Vlad's cottage."

"But, who will get taken then?" Danny asked, not really sure he liked this plan, but if they wanted to see what Vlad was up to, then it was the best chance they had.

"I would volunteer, but if I go, Vlad will know instantly they took the 'wrong twin', and he'll send the animals out again anyways," Andy said. "And I don't know what Vlad would do to me if these mindless beasts took me to him. So it has to be you, Danny. I doubt Vlad will try to kill you, since he seems to want you alive."

Danny frowned, but he knew Andy had a point. "I… Okay… I'll… I'll go along with this plan… I don't like it, but we have no choice."

"Is this really the best option we have?" Lopmon frowned, not liking this either.

"Believe me, I hate this idea too. I don't want to put Danny in danger like this, but…" Andy frowned before a ghost wolf jumped out of the bushes and pounced Andy to the ground. "Gah!"

"A-Andy!" Danny exclaimed, firing off a ghost ray at the ghostly wolf, blasting it off of Andy and making it disappear.

But despite that, the wolf managed to do some damage to Andy. Andy was holding his arm. The wolf managed to get quite a scratch on Andy's arm.

"Y-you're hurt!" Lopmon noticed in concern.

"It's only a scratch…" Andy tried to reassure, though that scratch really hurt.

"Bro…" Danny said softly, worried about Andy now.

"Hey, don't worry about me. It's not like I'm going to turn into a ghost werewolf," Andy replied. "But more are going to come soon. If you don't go now, Danny, I'm going to get more than just a scratch."

Danny frowned, but nodded. "Okay… I'll… I'm counting on you to come and get me when you wake up Mom, Andy."

"Yeah… and good luck, Danny," Andy said back.

Danny nodded before he transformed himself back into his human form and looked at the bear with four claws. "Hey! You wanted me, don't you? Then take me. But don't you dare hurt my brother!"

The bear with the four paws looked at Danny before it grabbed Danny in its paws and began to run away from the campsite with him.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Andy…" Lopmon said in concern.

"I hope so too, Lopmon…" Andy frowned, still holding his arm. "But Vlad is going to regret this. I'll make sure of it."

Andy turned over to the tent and rushed over to it to wake Maddie. "Mom! Wake up!"

Andy shook his mother with his non-injured arm and hand.

Maddie stirred at the sudden shaking and sat up, rubbing at her eyes. "Andy…?" She asked sleepily as she removed the Fenton Earplugs.

Maddie's eyes went wide in alarm when she saw her baby had an injury. "What happened to your arm!?"

"We had some ghost animals attacking us, and they took Danny!" Andy quickly said.

Maddie's eyes went even wider. "What?!" She almost shrieked. "Why didn't you come and get me right away?!"

"We were under attack, I didn't have time to go into your tent to wake you until they ran away with Danny!" Andy replied.

Maddie frowned. "I shouldn't have worn those earplugs… Let me take a look at your arm, sweetie. We'll go after your brother as soon as I make sure you're not infected with ectoplasm."

Despite Maddie's desire to save her other baby as soon as possible, she needed to make sure Andy wasn't going to die from ectoplasmic poisoning first.

Maddie quickly took out a first aid kit, which made Andy wonder how she had just about everything stuffed into her suit except a freaking spare phone. Maddie began to check Andy's wound, and frowned a little.

"There's some traces of ectoplasm, but surprisingly… you don't seem to be reacting badly to it," Maddie noted. "The cut should be feeling like acid to you right now, and eating away at your skin, but it's more like a normal cut."

"W-wah? Really?" Andy asked in surprise. Oh gosh that sounds like it would've been extremely painful!

"Yeah, but… that shouldn't be possible…" Maddie noted with a frown on her face. "Ectoplasm reacts badly to organic substances."

Maddie was rather confused, but also fascinated by this strange phenomena. She wondered if maybe living near the Ghost Zone may have caused some slight immunity to ectoplasm for her family. But she didn't have time to dwell on this. She had to save Danny.

"I'm going to quickly disinfect this cut, put some medicine on it, then put a bandaid on you, then we're going after your brother," Maddie said.

Andy nodded. "Okay." I really hope Danny's doing okay.

Maddie got out some antiseptic wipes and began to clean the cut before putting some ointment on it. Then she put a bandaid on the cut. "There, that should do it. But as soon as you feel any pain from the ectoplasm in the cut, let me know."

"Thanks, Mom… um… you didn't happen to bring a Fenton Rod with you, did you?" Andy asked.

---

Danny wasn't surprised when the animals had brought him to Vlad's cottage. Just as Andy had mentioned before, the ghost animals didn't seem to use any of the basic ghost powers. They weren't flying unless they naturally had wings. Some of the more monstrous looking animals appeared to be capable of intangibility, like the big bear with four arms, but the smaller ghost animals looked like they had to remain solid.

The bear was able to use intangibility to bring Danny into the cottage, then it threw Danny into a large chair.

Danny grunted as he landed in the chair. The animal ghosts all stood around Danny, keeping him boxed in. Wow… trapped like a rat in a cage… Why am I reminded of Skulker with that line?

Danny cleared his head of such thoughts, he needed to focus now. It didn't take long for the animals to part ways to create a path for someone. Danny saw Vlad Plasmius, the ghost form of Vlad Masters, floating there with a big grin on his face. Danny glared at Vlad, but he held still. Without Andy, Agunimon, Patamon, Lopmon, or anyone else to back him up, he couldn't be reckless. He had to remind himself that Vlad was a dangerous man, and while he may be dense when it came to women, apparently, he was still a very cunning, powerful ghost.

"Did you send these animals?" Danny asked.

"Oh, now why would I do that?" Vlad taunted Danny with a smirk. "I'm just a lonely guy who, according to you, needs a cat, or internet dating."

Guy can really hold a grudge. Danny grumbled. "What does that have to do with you not sending out your petting zoo to come after me? Did… you make these animals?"

Vlad raised an eyebrow. "Make them? Why would you say that?"

"Because they act less like ghosts, and more like mutated monsters," Danny replied. "Some of them can't even use ghost powers, they just appear ghostly and have ghostly strength."

"I'm actually surprised that your tiny, teen mind was able to notice such a thing," Vlad commented. "And here I thought you see all ghosts as the same."

Danny frowned. "I don't see all ghosts as the same. I mean… sure, I'm not as experienced as you in terms of ghostly stuff, but I am capable of learning what ghosts are like." Danny then corrected himself. "But it's not like I would join you, not after you messed with Dad and nearly made him look bad!"

"Oh, I'm sure you may change your mind if you're put on the ropes, Daniel~" Vlad grinned before he took out some kind of device that had two green prongs that had green electricity crackling between them.

Danny's eyes went wide, sensing danger. He jumped out of the seat just before Vlad could jab the machine at his torso. Danny tried to turn ghost, but one of the cyclops, giant rabbit slashed at his back, breaking his concentration. Vlad grabbed onto Danny's arm and held him tight. Danny tried to go intangible to get out, but Vlad was quick as he jabbed the machine onto Danny's ribcage, shocking him with the electricity.

While Danny hadn't been in ghost form, he felt like something in his chest disappeared. Something he hadn't noticed since he got used to his ghost form, but now it was very noticeable when it was gone. To try to test something, Danny attempted to turn into his ghost form… however, he couldn't transform. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his body to change into his ghost form.

"W-what did you just do to me!?" Danny shouted in distress.

"Oh, this little beauty is called the Plasmius Maximus, and it just shorted out your powers for the next three hours or so, give or take~" Vlad grinned, showing off his sharp fangs without any remorse. "That's going to be until midnight. I tell you this because I've seen your grades, and I know you're bad at math."

"I am not!" Danny huffed. "I've actually been doing better in math, and- … Wait, you've seen my grades? With what? Your invisible eyes? Don't you have anything better to do than to spy on me?"

"What can I say? I have my ways~" Vlad sneered at Danny.

Danny grimaced. Okay… this guy is seriously a messed-up fruitloop… I need to ask Andy, Jazz, and Takuya to help me look for anything that may be like a camera in our house when we get back home…

"So, what you said before about these animals, you were correct, Daniel," Vlad remarked as the animals gathered around behind him. "These are my latest experiments. What do you think? … Oh, that's right… who cares what you think? So, Daniel, you have a choice to make. Either you join me, and help convince your mother to stay with me, or I can give you 5 minutes to run away before I send my experiments to destroy you. The clock's ticking, Daniel, on you and your father if you choose to run."

Danny wasn't about to stay with this man, but he wasn't stupid either. He didn't want his dad to get killed, but he also didn't want his mom to stay with Vlad, and he himself didn't like that idea any more than Maddie did.

Darn it… what do I choose to do? Both choices are bad… And both of them have worse consequences! Danny thought in frustration. I know Andy said I should look around the castle to see what Vlad's up to. But Vlad isn't going to just let me look around on my own, and it'll be especially hard to do without my ghost powers.

There was no choice for Danny, he would rather die for real than join the man. So he took the chance to run past Vlad and out of the cottage's door. Vlad frowned, he was disappointed that Danny chose to run instead of joining him. He thought the boy was smarter than that, especially since Danny figured out these ghost animals weren't true ghosts. But the boy's heroics kept him from being smart.

"I suppose I should go through with my end of the bargain then," Vlad remarked solemnly. "Oh well… if you're able to get his blood, be sure to bring it to me. Now go get him!"

The ghost animals didn't hesitate to run after Danny, all roaring and growling as they did so.

Danny was running through the forest, trying to get away from the ghostly animals. He was moving aside tree branches and even branches from shrubs as he ran. Aw man… I knew not having ghost powers was probably hard on Andy. but now I'm really starting to understand how it feels to be in Andy's shoes!

Danny had gotten used to fighting ghosts as a ghost himself, that it had become natural to him to fight ghosts as Danny Phantom. However, now that he no longer had access to his ghost powers, and he had these ghosts chasing after him… it was rather frightening. A human didn't stand a chance against a ghost on their own.

Danny tripped over a root that was sticking out of the ground, and he fell on his face. He groaned a little before he pushed him up, trying to reach for a tree branch. A ghost wolf with four eyes was about to jump at Danny, when suddenly a Fenton Rod smacked the wolf on the head, causing it to whimper and jump back.

Danny blinked as he saw Andy standing between him and the incoming ghost animals, holding onto the Fenton Rod.

"T-thanks, bro…" Danny panted as he got to his feet. "I was sure those things would catch me…"

"Don't thank me just yet," Andy replied before he tossed a retracted Fenton Rod at Danny. "Mom brought a few spares."

Danny blinked as he had the rod in his hand. "Where… is Mom?"

Andy frowned as he looked to the side for a moment. "... Nearby…"

The ghost animals looked at them curiously. There was a lot of noise behind the pack, but the animals were more focused on the two boys.

"Better hope your training as a human pays off, bro," Andy said. "Here they come!"

Andy and Danny gripped onto their Fenton Rods. Danny wanted to ask where Lopmon was, but now wasn't the time for questions. The ghost animals launched at them. Andy and Danny began moving as they swung their Fenton Rods at the ghost animals.

"That's it, Danny, keep moving! Remember your training, don't let the ghosts touch you!" Andy encouraged as the two were practically dancing around the ghost animals.

Danny was clearly doing well, remembering his training. It also felt a lot like the dance classes he had been in when the twins had been younger.

"I won't, bro!" Danny said, unable to help the grin that crossed his face.

A fang bite down, claws swiped, tails lashed out, two normal human teenage boys were able to dodge or counter with the Fenton Rod. Once the ghost animals were hit enough times, their bodies ended up disappearing. More ghost animals kept coming, so the boys had to keep moving.

"So what happened after you were taken?" Andy asked as he slammed the Fenton Rod into the eye of a rabbit cyclopes, destroying it quickly.

"I was brought to Vlad's place, like you thought I would be." Danny explained as he dodged a bear's claws before smacking the bear back with the Fenton Rod. "While there, he… used this device that shorted out my powers, so I can't go ghost… And on top of that, Vlad mentioned the animals are his experiments…"

Andy frowned. He thought Danny didn't go ghost because their mom was nearby, but he actually couldn't go ghost because of Vlad. He actually made something that took away Danny's ghost form?

"Did Vlad say it was temporary?" Andy asked as he barely jumped away in time from a ghost raccoon's four claws. "Or… did he somehow seal away your ghost powers for good?"

"I'm as human as you are for now… at least until midnight…" Danny revealed. "It's… I'm kinda glad it's only temporary, but still… being just a normal human is… kinda… nice… for once."

"I can barely hear you, bro, we'll talk more about this later," Andy replied as he blocked a large moose's charge with the Fenton Rod, digging his heels into the ground to try to keep from being pushed back, but he was dealing with a moose that had ghostly strength.

Danny noticed this and quickly slammed the Fenton Rod into the moose's back, causing it to disappear.

As they got rid of this wave of ghost animals, Danny was surprised to see Maddie nearby, already taking care of the majority of the pack with her own Fenton weapon. Though her weapon was more of a double energy sword rather than a rod. One hit from those energy blades, and the ghost animals disappeared. Maddie was really good at fighting off the ghosts, and she had to deal with more than Andy and Danny.

"Wow… I knew Mom was good at ghost fighting, but I didn't think she was that good…" Danny whistled before he dodged a snake ghost and hit it in the mouth with his Fenton Rod, making the snake ghost disappear.

Danny also noticed Maddie was wearing some kind of backpack with Lopmon's head sticking out of it. Well, now he knew where Lopmon was, and why he couldn't help them fight right now.

Maddie finally took out the last of the ghost animals, at least the ghost animals Vlad had sent after them. With the immediate threat gone, Maddie took a moment to catch her breath before she turned to the boys, who were also trying to catch their own breaths.

"Oh, Danny, are you okay? Andy told me that these ghosts kidnapped you," Maddie asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Mom…" Danny said, feeling much better now that the ghost threat had passed. "Thanks for helping me… with those ghosts… I was sure Andy and I would be overwhelmed… But man, you were awesome, Mom! I didn't know you could fight ghosts like that!"

It was true, usually Danny was careful to avoid his parents whenever he had to go out in his ghost form, and he usually only saw them in their Fenton Assault Vehicle to chase down a ghost, or use their bazookas to fire at ghosts. This was the first time he saw his mom fight with ghosts up close and personal.

Maddie smiled when she saw Danny was in awe of her.

"Yeah, you never told us you could fight like that, Mom." Andy smiled.

"Oh, honey, thank you!" Maddie smiled as she hugged her two boys.

Danny stiffened as he braced himself for a shock from the Specter Deflector… however, after about a minute passed, and there was no pain, Danny realized that with his powers short circuited, the Specter Deflector didn't see him as a ghost.

"But I'm surprised too," Maddie admitted as she finally stopped hugging her two sons. "I didn't know you boys could move like that, and fight the ghosts yourselves. I only gave Andy the Fenton Rods to try to defend yourselves with, but I thought you would try to hide while I took care of the ghosts."

"Well… we can't hide every time there is a ghost attack, right? I mean, what if a ghost found our hiding spot?" Danny replied. "We need to be able to defend ourselves." Which is true… to be blunt…

"Even so… how long have you two been fighting ghosts? It looked like you were used to it," Maddie noted. "Those weren't the moves of amateurs."

"It was my idea, Mom," Andy admitted. "When I saw we were getting attacked by ghosts after the giant meat monster incident, I wanted us to be better prepared in case something like that happened next time. We've been… using your lab to help us with dodging, and used some basic Fenton weapons to try to attack some of the dummies so we'd be better prepared in case we had to face ghosts ourselves."

Maddie blinked before she sighed. "So that's why you've been using the lab's training equipment? Don't you know it's dangerous to be in the lab without permission? I'd appreciate it if you had been honest about why you were interested in it, but…" She then smiled at the twins. "I'm so proud of you both for handling yourselves so well out there."

It was difficult to tell if Maddie was angry about them using the lab for training, or happy that they actually trained to fight with ghosts. Maddie herself wasn't really sure how to feel. She knew she was supposed to scold them for using the lab for training without permission, but at the same time she couldn't feel angry about it because not only did her boys prove they could handle themselves against ghosts if they had the equipment to do so, they were following in her and Jack's footprints. How could she not be proud about that?

"I'm glad I kept your stuffed animal safe then, it wouldn't do to have it ripped up because of those ghost animals," Maddie remarked.

"Yeah…" Andy sweatdropped, he could see Lopmon was pouting in the backpack.

Their little peaceful moment was interrupted when they heard howling noises in the distance.

Maddie frowned. "We'd best get a move on. I don't want us to get ambushed by more of those ghost animals."

Danny nodded. "Yeah… good idea…"

Maddie led Danny and Andy through the woods, hoping to get further away from the ghost animals.

While they were moving, Andy decided to take this time to quietly talk to Danny while their mother was busy scouting around the area.

"So you're just… human for… you said 3 hours, right?" Andy asked.

"Yeah. It's odd that Vlad could create a device to short out my powers for a specific amount of time, but that's what happened." Danny replied. "It's… kinda nice to be a full human again, but also kinda… unnerving to say the least due to being so used to my ghost powers just being… within me."

Andy frowned a little as he touched Danny's hand for a moment. Danny blinked, but didn't pull away.

"... You're warm again…" Andy noted. "And the Specter Deflector didn't shock you earlier…" It's as if he's fully alive again, but…

"Andy? Is something wrong?" Danny asked.

"Sorry… it's been… a while since you felt… warm," Andy answered softly before letting go of his brother's hand. "I… won't lie, while I've accepted your ghost half, it's… nice to have you just feel like a human again, even if it's only for a short time… and even if it's only an illusion."

"What do you mean, only an illusion?" Danny asked with a frown.

"Vlad doesn't have the technology to bring the dead back to life, Danny, nobody does. When he short circuited your powers… all he did was put your ghost half into a dormant state… so that's why you're not showing a lot of ghostly traits right now. But that doesn't mean you're not still half ghost…" Andy explained softly. That you're not still half dead…

Danny frowned. "So my ghost half is sealed away, but not permanently? That's… oddly comforting… the way you describe it…" But why do I feel bad for feeling relieved? Does Andy… want me to be fully human again? Does he really miss me being a full human that much?

"It's pretty obvious when you think about it," Andy replied. "Vlad is half ghost too, so he likely has a few ways to lock down your powers safely if he needs to. And by that I mean lock your powers away without killing you for good."

Danny shivered. "That doesn't make it any better, bro." He admitted. "In fact, it reminds me of how much of a creep, and stalker, Vlad is. He knew about my grades in school."

Andy frowned. "I agree with you on him being a creep, and a stalker. But… I guess he just wants someone who can understand him. He's probably been the only halfa in existence for a while, until you came along. I guess… anyone would go a little crazy after feeling like they didn't belong anywhere. Not in the living, nor the dead…"

"But no one can get a student's grades if they aren't family, bro." Danny pointed out. "And the fact Vlad knew about my grades in math… I think he may have some kind of hidden cameras in our house…"

"I already said I agreed with you on that… I'm just trying to see from his perspective," Andy sighed.

Danny raised an eyebrow. Andy didn't seem to care about Vlad that much before, so what made him start thinking about how Vlad felt now? Maybe Andy was trying to figure out what Vlad was up to, and so he was trying to see it from his perspective? But Andy made it sound like he was, sort of, emphasizing with the man. Then it clicked for Danny. Why Andy said what he said…

"Andy… are you… worried about me?" Danny asked. "About feeling lonely? Like nobody could really understand me?"

Andy didn't give a response to that.

"Andy… Bro?" Danny asked. "That's it, isn't it?"

Danny frowned. "... What about you? Do you… miss me just being human? Do you… sometimes wish you could've gone back and stopped the accident?"

Andy let out a sigh. "To tell you the truth… I do sometimes think about that. Things… sort of changed between us after the accident, whether we noticed it or not. You've gotten pretty strong over these past few months. Your flying is getting faster, your agility is hard to keep up, you're able to go through the most secured places with your intangibility, and disappear on a whim from any eyes. Your ghost rays are able to hit through steel no problem, and you can use it to push ghosts out of someone's body. And while I'm glad you're able to get stronger to take on the stronger ghosts… I guess I just feel like I'm being left behind more and more. I'm only human after all, my only greatest strength is my Digimon, and how well I can dodge an attack. I wished I could be… more like a hero, like you… no, maybe that's not the right word. I guess what I'm trying to say is… I wish we could be equals again, be like how we were before the accident. And right now, this is the most equal we've been since that day."

Danny felt tears wanting to fall from his eyes, but he pushed them down. He didn't need to cry, not in front of Andy. "I… I get it… To be honest, bro…" Danny looked down before continuing. "There are some days I want to be human again too. Whenever Mom and Dad say bad things about my ghost half… when Skulker hunts me… I find myself wishing I was fully human again too… And… I wish I could be like you again, just a normal human… That we could be close again… not just as twins, but as the same species as well…"

"Hey, don't be silly, Danny," Andy chuckled suddenly. "I wouldn't want you to be just a normal human again after all this time. Come on now. I've made friends with Phantom, and I still treasure those memories even when Phantom turned out to be you. Those times we spent together still feels real, and if you never became half ghost, or if you got rid of your half ghost entirely, that means Phantom is gone too. I would be pretty upset if you made Phantom disappear, bro."

Danny blushed red like a tomato. "A-Andy! Do you like making me become a Christmas tree?! I feel like you do…"

"That seems to be a common thing that happens to you whenever I try to compliment you, that's not my fault," Andy replied. "And anyway, while I do miss being equal to you, there's nothing we can really do about it but try to move on and work with what we have. We need you as Phantom and as Danny, just as we need Takuya and Agunimon. But… perhaps we should get off of this emotional topic, there's something else I need to discuss with you."

Danny nodded, feeling glad that Andy had spoken to him about his own issues with wanting Danny to be human again. "Okay… And… thanks… For being honest with me about wanting me to be fully human again and not bottling it up."

"I guess you can thank Lopmon and Tucker for that," Andy said. "They helped me realize why I've been trying too hard lately that I ended up shooting myself in the foot, so to speak."

Danny chuckled. "I guess I owe that technogeek friend of ours something for doing that."

"But anyways, getting on to the important topic… I know you said that Vlad used that device on you to lock you out of your powers, and that he apparently knows your grades, but… what else did he say?" Andy asked. "I was surprised to see you running outside instead of being in his cottage."

"Vlad… he wants me and Mom to stay with him…" Danny replied with a shiver. "And… he wants to get rid of Dad, although we already know that part. There was no way I was going to stay there and be bait to lure Mom into his grip…"

"So… why did he have those animals of his to chase you down?" Andy asked. "I may not have read the book of what to do if you're a villain and you want the hero to join your side, but doesn't it seem counterproductive to have those animals try to rip you apart when he wants you to join him?"

"I don't know why he sent his animals after me! Maybe it was to get me back at his side, maybe it was to capture me to use me as bait to lure Mom into a trap, but whatever the reason is, it can't be good…" Danny sighed, feeling stressed out now.

"Calm down for a moment and think about it," Andy said. "Was he really trying to kill you? If so, then maybe he thinks he doesn't absolutely need you. Or maybe he doesn't need you alive, or half alive. Considering what he did to those animals, I wouldn't be surprised if he could do something to you if you were a full ghost. Like mess with your memories or something."

Danny paled. "Then… Vlad is even more messed up in the head than I thought!" He exclaimed, but in a quiet tone. "Or…" Danny trailed off as he looked down in thought. "What if he doesn't want me per say, but something from me? I don't know what Vlad could want from me, but… thinking about it… I suddenly feel very disturbed…"

"Huh… if we look at it where he doesn't want you, exactly, but wants something from you, there's only so many directions we could go. Other than Mom, what do you have that he would want? He's a billionaire, he's also half ghost himself. There isn't anything you have that he wouldn't already have himself," Andy remarked. "He clearly doesn't care for me as he didn't mention me at all in his little ultimatum to you. Nor does he seem interested in Jazz or Takuya. So… what could it be, I wonder? What is it that's unique only to you that Vlad wants, hmm?"

Danny grew pale in the face again as he looked somewhat sick as well. "He wants either my ectoplasm or my blood… I have both ectoplasm and blood due to being half ghost… But… that's absurd, why would he want any of that? The only thing I could think of is cloning, like in the media. But… that's ridiculous, right? I mean does anyone, even Vlad, have the technology to clone someone?"

"Danny, look at the life we're living in. We have two people who are both alive and dead at the same time, we're fighting against ghosts on a daily basis, we're going to 2 different worlds separate from our own. Is it really that farfetched for someone to be able to clone you?" Andy asked. "Although, before you start panicking, we should try to see if we can confirm this. We don't know for sure if that's what Vlad is after, we're only making speculations."

Danny took in a shaky breath and let it out before nodding. "Right… we investigate, then we take action based on what we find."

Danny then wondered about how they came to that conclusion. It wouldn't be the first time Andy figured something out that most wouldn't, like the ghost animals not being actual ghosts. Vlad seemed pretty surprised when Danny mentioned that, but in truth, Danny himself didn't figure that out.

"Hey, Andy… you said before you wished you were more of my equal, right? I think you're selling yourself short," Danny said. "After all, I may have power, but you seem to have the brains between the two of us."

"Why do you say that?" Andy asked. "Everything I pointed out could be absolutely wrong after all, it's not like I know what a fruitloop like Vlad is up to."

Danny grinned. "Yeah, but it's not the first time you have come to conclusions that were right or close to being right. And you come up with our battle plans, so I'd say you're just about my equal, but you do it in the brains."

Andy chuckled sheepishly. "I think you give me too much credit."

"We've been walking for a while now," Maddie spoke up suddenly, getting the boys' attention. "I haven't heard any howling or growlings lately, so we might be safe for now to rest."

"Great," Danny said before he sat down. Jeez, it's pretty tiring having to walk everywhere…

Andy sat down as well, and Maddie sat down between them.

"We need a plan," Andy said. "Just walking out here in the middle of the night, with ghost animals looking for us, isn't exactly… an ideal situation."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but the only place that we could go to is Vlad's… and he said nasty things about Dad. He's a bit of a creep if you ask me."

"As much as I hate to say this… we probably do have to go back to Vlad's," Maddie sighed. "And yes, he is a creep. But he's a creep with transportation, and food. That Fenton jerky just isn't a decent meal."

"Is it wise to go back to Vlad's cottage?" Andy asked. "Would he let us in after that rejection you gave him, Mom?"

Maddie shivered. "I… don't like it, but if I have to flirt with that creep to get us in, I will. I could always just tell him I was so shocked I just reacted in that manner."

Danny felt a pang of sympathy for Maddie upon hearing that. Wow… If Mom is willing to flirt with the guy who just asked her to dump Dad to get us out of here, I feel bad for her…

Maddie sighed. "Please, Danny, Andy, don't tell your father about what I'm going to have to do. It's the only way we can get out of here and get back home."

"We promise we won't," Danny promised.

"Hmm…" Andy looked at the Specter Deflector on Maddie's waist. That's probably not going to help if Vlad can't touch her. And… there's likely going to be a fight if things go wrong. I have a feeling that belt might come in handy for us if we use it right. "Hey, Mom, maybe one of us should wear the Specter Deflector? You can handle yourself just fine, but Danny and I aren't as good as you when it comes to fighting with ghosts. There could be more ghost animals near the cottage."

Maddie frowned. "That is true." She agreed before looking down at the Specter Deflector she was wearing. "Okay. I don't like it, but if it will help you two be safe, I will give it to one of you to wear."

Maddie took off the belt and put it around Danny's waist before securing it with the key and locking it on him. "Here you go, Danny. You need this more since Andy is more of a planner and can think of tactics to use in battle against ghosts."

Danny paled a bit. Oh… crap…

Andy sweatdropped, he didn't mean for Maddie to put the belt on Danny, and locking it to boot. "A-are you sure, Mom? I mean… I'm not as good as hitting stuff hard or running as Danny, I might need it more."

"My mind's already made up," Maddie said. "Don't worry, it shouldn't be too long until we can get to safety."

"Uh… so what time is it?" Danny asked a little nervously.

Maddie looked down at her wrist for a moment. "It's… well… I don't have a watch…"

Danny sighed before he looked up at the stars for a moment. "I'd say it's somewhere between 11:20 to 11:30 right now."

Maddie looked at Danny and smiled. "I still get amazed when you tell time by the stars like that, Danny."

Danny blushed a bit. "It's… not that special…"

"And you said I was the smart one. I can't even tell what constellation any of those stars are," Andy teased.

"H-hush!" Danny huffed.

But that means we roughly have about half an hour until Danny gets his ghost powers back, and the Specter Deflector starts zapping him. Andy noted with some worry. "We should get going now, the sooner we get to Vlad's cottage, the sooner we can leave."

Maddie and Danny nodded.

"Okay, let's go." Maddie said as she began to walk in the direction of Vlad's cottage.

Danny and Andy followed after Maddie, not wanting to be left behind. Lopmon gave Andy a smile, likely having heard their little conversation with each other due to his big ears. Andy decided to pretend he didn't notice the smile on Lopmon.

---

After a while of walking, the Fentons made it out of the woods, and were back on the path leading to Vlad's cottage. Maddie had memorized the way to the cottage, which impressed Danny and Andy.

"I guess our parents aren't a family of geniuses for nothing," Danny commented.

"Wish we could've gotten some of that genius," Andy grumbled.

"Come on, you two, I'm sure you're geniuses in your own right, you've probably hadn't realized it yet," Maddie chuckled.

Danny and Andy both grumbled.

"Sure, if you say so Mom…" Danny sighed.

"Both of you are smarter than you think. You don't need grades at school to tell you that," Maddie pointed out.

Lopmon just crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and gave a silent nod in agreement to Maddie's statement.

As they were getting closer to the cottage, Danny looked up at the sky again. "10 to 12… Mom, are you sure you want to do this?"

Maddie nodded. "If we're going to get out of this, we'll need Vlad's help. I don't like it, but if we have to ask for his help, we have no choice."

Danny groaned internally. Great… I hate my life right now…

Andy looked at Danny for a moment, then at the Specter Deflector, and then at the key to the said belt on Maddie's belt. If they wanted to get the Specter Deflector off of Danny before midnight, they were going to need that key, and according to Danny, that was less than 10 minutes.

"Danny, distract Mom for a minute, okay?" Andy whispered to his brother.

Danny nodded secretly at Andy before turning to Maddie. "But before you… um… flirt our way out of this place, I just want to say I love you!" He then hugged Maddie.

Maddie smiled at the hug. "Thanks, Danny…"

Andy smiled as he walked over and joined in the hug. "I love you too, Mom."

Though while Andy was hugging Maddie, he sneakily took the key from her belt. After he did that, he put the key into his pocket, then he used his free hand to slowly take Lopmon out of Maddie's backpack.

"I love you both too." Maddie smiled. "And while things didn't turn out the way I had hoped, I'm glad we could bond together as a family again through these hard times."

Danny chuckled. "That sounds so cheesy, Mom." Now I know where Andy gets his tendency for the cheesy speeches.

Maddie chuckled as well. "I know it sounds cheesy, but it's the truth."

The two boys let go of their mother, and Maddie approached the door to the cottage. Andy was holding onto Lopmon.

"Did you get the key, bro?" Danny whispered.

"Yeah," Andy confirmed.

Maddie rang the doorbell, and they waited until Vlad answered.

Vlad opened the doors, only for his face to brighten up upon seeing Maddie and Danny, but his smile became strained when he saw Andy there as well with his Digital Beast of a pet. "Maddie, Daniel… and Andrew! You've returned to me!" Although I wish the human brother and his Digital pet had been lost in the woods still…

Danny gave a cheeky grin.

Maddie then put on her best bedroom eyes. "Yes, well… We didn't really have much of a choice, what with those ghost animals out there. And… I did overreact by slapping you when you sprung your… sudden… question on me. However, would you mind it if we talked for a bit, Vlad?"

Vlad looked pretty surprised, but he wasn't about to turn down an opportunity to speak with Maddie, especially the look she was giving him. Even if he must allow the human brother and the beast he had with him into his cottage.

"You and Vlad get cozy, my brother and I will be at the corner, barfing," Danny muttered.

Maddie gave Danny and Andy a nod before Danny took Andy's hand and led him away. "C'mon, bro. Let's get out of here before we see something we shouldn't."

"Yeah, sure," Andy replied.

Vlad eagerly invited them into his cottage. Vlad and Maddie sat down on the couch together by the roaring fireplace. It had been a chilly night, so Maddie was grateful for the fire, but she would rather throw herself to the ghosts than be next to Vlad like this right now.

While Maddie was talking to Vlad, Andy gave Danny the key to the Specter Deflector. "Here."

Danny grinned. "Thanks, bro."

They had to be quiet so they wouldn't alert Vlad to what they were doing. Danny was about to use the key to unlock the Specter Deflector when something crossed his mind.

"Wait… I'll bet I can use this on Vlad," Danny realized. "It would be the best way to weaken him if a fight broke out."

"Oh, really? That's a pretty good idea, bro," Andy remarked.

Danny looked at Andy. "Wait, is that why you had Mom put this Specter Deflector on one of us?"

"You could say that. Think of it as more of a back-up plan, I'd rather avoid a direct confrontation with Vlad if at all possible," Andy replied.

"Yeah, I have to agree." Danny muttered. "It's just the two of us, Mom, and Lopmon. We don't have any of the others with us, so we can't count on the power of Agunimon, or even Sam and Tucker's own skills. Avoiding a fight is best if we can do so."

"Okay. You stay here and keep an eye on things. Since Vlad thinks I'm pretty much a non-entity, he won't pay much attention to me," Andy said.

"Wait… what are you doing?" Danny asked.

"I'm going to look around and see what I can find," Andy replied. "I'll have Lopmon with me if things go bad."

"I promise to keep him safe," Lopmon whispered.

Danny frowned, but nodded. "Yeah, okay. Just… be careful, bro."

"And you try not to let yourself get easily provoked into a battle with Vlad," Andy replied.

Danny nodded. "I'll try. I can't make any guarantees, but I will definitely try to avoid it."

"We'd better go and look around now, Andy." Lopmon whispered.

Andy nodded before he went down the corridor, leaving Danny to watch Maddie and Vlad. He could already hear the strain of his mother's voice as she spoke with Vlad.

"Maddie, you must be exhausted, carrying the weight of that mistake you made years ago," Vlad remarked in a soothing voice, though it was clear that his malice was showing when he mentioned the 'mistake'.

Danny wondered if Vlad even noticed, or cared, to hide that malice while he was talking to Maddie about her husband, someone she still loved very much.

"We all make mistakes, Vlad." Maddie said, trying to act all flirty, even if it made her feel uncomfortable. "Maybe I'll make one now…" Her eyes widened at what she had just said. Oh crap… I can't believe I said that!

Vlad was smiling at her. He held up some mouth spray and sprayed his mouth so it was minty fresh. He then leaned over and was about to kiss Maddie, much to her unease. Thankfully, a plan came to mind and she knew how to throw Vlad off for a few moments.

"Ah… I couldn't possibly!" Maddie said in a flirty tone. "The boys and I have been in the woods all night. I need to go… freshen up…" She said as she stood up and put on her best bedroom eyes before she looked away from Vlad, feeling very disgusted at herself.

As Maddie left to go 'freshen up', Vlad looked after her eagerly. "I shall await with bated breath!"

Maddie walked over to Danny. "Keep old bate breath entertained until I can find a phone… Wait, where's Andy?"

"Oh… He… went to look around. He'll be fine." Danny replied.

"Seems he's already thinking ahead. Then I'll go help him out. Think you can keep Vlad busy?" Maddie asked Danny.

"Oh, don't worry. I can do that easily." Danny said with a grin.

"Great, hopefully it won't take us too long to find a phone," Maddie said before she hurried down the corridor.

Now it was just Danny and Vlad. Danny looked over at the grandfather clock to check the time real quick. He only had about a minute until midnight, and his powers came back. He looked over at Vlad to see he was reading a book that was titled 'Romance for Rich Creepy Dimwits'.

Who makes a book with that title? Or did Vlad pay them to make that title? Danny couldn't help but wonder.

Danny shook his head and returned to the matter at hand. He then decided to unlock the Specter Deflector around his waist and remove it. Danny inserted the key and turned the key, causing the Specter Deflector to come off. He grinned. "Now to spend some quality time with 'Uncle' Vlad…"

Danny made sure to hide the Specter Deflector on his person so he could use it in a hurry if he had to. He also reached up at the grandfather clock before pushing the minute hand back to '9'. This would throw Vlad off, he hoped. Although if Vlad was as smart, and cunning, as Andy, this little trick may not work so well.

Danny walked up to Vlad and gave a friendly smile. "Hey… um… Uncle Vlad?"

Vlad looked up from his book. "Oh please, Daniel, don't try to butter me up. Especially with your powers shorted out for another 15 minutes. You're barely a threat to me with them. Without your powers, I wouldn't even need 15 seconds, now would I?"

Danny kept himself calm as Vlad showed his red ghost eyes. He wasn't going to fall for the taunting, not without Andy and Lopmon, or Maddie, around. It was just him, and no backup. Okay, I can do this… I'm not going to fall for his tricks…

"How can you say that? Do you really think Mom made this decision to come back on her own?" Danny asked. "Remember what you told me? That I had the choice to join you and try to convince Mom to join you as well? After thinking about it, I've decided that I do want to stay with you as well."

Vlad's eyes went wide in surprise before he felt tears coming to his eyes. "Really? You don't mean…"

Danny grimaced mentally at what he was about to do. Ugh… I can't believe I have to do this, but I have to make him believe I want this…

Danny forced himself to smile. "Yes, I do…" I think I'll need to bleach my mouth after I say this… "C'mon… Give me a big hug… new 'Dad'!" Ugh… Yep, I need to bleach my mouth…

Vlad, despite all of his cunningness, completely fell for this. Danny almost felt bad when he saw how happy Vlad looked as he got up from the couch and reached out his arms for a hug from Danny. When Vlad got close to him, Danny pulled out the Specter Deflector he had hidden behind him, and quickly strapped it around Vlad's waist, making sure to lock it before Vlad even realized what was happening. The belt immediately began shocking Vlad.

"Gah!" Vlad grabbed the belt and glared at Danny. "You little rat! You tricked me! You do know what this will mean for you, don't you?!"

Danny felt that cold feeling in his chest return, and his body heat lowering once again. It was a strange sensation as he felt his ghost half returning to him. He knew he could fight Vlad now, since he had the advantage with that Specter Deflector on Vlad, however, he also promised his brother he wouldn't get too reckless. Vlad was still strong even with the Specter Deflector on him.

"I can take the belt off at any time," Danny stated. "But I put it on you to make sure you won't do anything while we're here."

Vlad glared at Danny. "Thinking about how to outwit me? Clever, but it won't be enough."

"Hey, I outwitted you enough to put the Specter Deflector on you," Danny pointed out, deciding to bluff his way through this. "And I figured out those animals of yours were made by you, and not actual ghosts. And I also figured out how to get out of that box you had Skulker trap me in. What I lack in strength and experience compared to you, I make up for with my brain. Are you sure you really want to mess with me, Vlad?"

Danny hoped by using his brother's ability to figure things out rather quickly, he would intimidate Vlad. After all, as cunning as Vlad was, Andy had been able to figure out his plans relatively quickly, the only reason Vlad hadn't really considered Andy much was due to him just being human. But if someone had power and brains, that was quite the dangerous combo, and Danny knew Vlad knew this.

"Surely you're bluffing, boy," Vlad hissed. "You may have had outside help with that box."

"Can you prove that?" Danny countered.

The two halfas glared each other down.

Meanwhile, Maddie was running through the hallway, looking from room to room. She saw a garage with vehicles in them. She saw a room with ATVs. And she saw a luxurious bedroom with… pictures of her plastered on the wall, she quickly shut that door. "And Danny and Andy think I'm a nut?"

"What about that one?" Maddie heard a voice she had never heard before, it sounded like a child's voice.

"No, it's just another empty room…" Maddie heard Andy's voice say.

Maddie looked over. "Andy?" She made her way in the direction of the voices.

"What about here? This looks like a huge library," The unfamiliar child's voice asked.

"Hmm, maybe, he could've put a hidden switch around here…" Andy's voice muttered with some thought.

Maddie hurried over to the voice, wondering who else was with Andy. She didn't think Vlad had any children.

Maddie stopped when she saw Andy walking into another room.

"Andy?"

Andy stopped and looked back at Maddie in surprise. He had that stuffed rabbit he always carried around with him on his head.

"Ah… Mom?" Andy asked, looking surprised. "I thought you were… talking to Vlad?"

"I… had to get away from him using the 'freshen up' excuse. He made shivers run down my back with his moves towards me…" Maddie admitted, shivering slightly. "I asked Danny to keep him distracted while I searched for a phone."

Andy's eyes went wide. "You left Danny alone with Vlad?"

"Yes, I…" Maddie frowned. "You seem worried about that. Is there something you know about Vlad that I don't?"

Andy looked a little uneasy. "I just… don't know if we could trust him to be alone with a child, considering how much of a creep he is…"

Maddie's face went a bit pale. "Oh… Oh no… I left Danny alone with him…"

Maddie shook her head, while she couldn't believe her old friend would try to marry her, and seemed to harbor an unhealthy grudge towards Jack, she didn't think the man would stoop that low.

"I'm sure Danny's fine," Maddie reassured, to herself and Andy. "But I'm looking for a phone, and… I heard you talking to someone."

"You did?" Andy replied a little nervously.

"Yeah… they sounded like a child… was there someone else with you, Andy?" Maddie asked.

"Uh…" Andy hesitated, knowing that he couldn't just play dumb as that wouldn't work so well since Maddie was sure she heard someone with him. "Well…"

Andy thought about making up that there had been someone with him, but that would just make things awkward because Maddie would want to know who was here, and if they should get them away from Vlad. And if he said it was a ghost, of course, Maddie would be incredibly upset that Andy talked to a ghost, and would want to hunt it down. They just didn't have time for all of that.

"Maybe I can tell you later? We don't have much time right now," Andy decided to say.

Maddie frowned, but she knew Andy was right. "Okay, but when we get out of here, on the way back I want the whole explanation, young man."

"I was considering telling you and Dad at some point…" Andy admitted.

"And why do you have that stuffed animal on your head? You'll lose it if you had to run or fight," Maddie pointed out at Lopmon.

"Ah… it's fine, Mom. The toy is able to clip onto my head so it won't fall off so easily," Andy assured Maddie, mostly not wanting her to remove Lopmon and put him back in the backpack.

Maddie frowned some more, but nodded at the explanation. "Okay. Now, let's see about finding a phone in here."

Maddie and Andy walked into the library, or rather, Vlad's study room. The room was so big, and there were so many books that it was easy to mistake this as a library. There were desks with high tech computers on them. It made Andy a little jealous, though he wondered if these computers would give him access to the Digital World if he needed to escape there for whatever reason while they were here.

"I wonder why Vlad would need all these books if he's the only one here…" Maddie commented. "I didn't take him for a bookworm."

"Maybe it's mostly aesthetics?" Andy guessed. "To make it look good because he's rich and all, might as well go all out on the interior decorations."

Maddie looked around. "I guess. It's just strange to see all of this stuff here. And these computers look high tech, like a bit too advanced. I wonder if Vlad has access to tech that is not on the market yet…"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Andy replied. "Money gives you access to things most people wouldn't have access to yet."

While they were chatting, Andy was looking at every shelf and decorations meticulously, trying to find a secret switch or something that could lead into Vlad's lab. I'm sure he has one here.

Lopmon was also looking around, trying to use his sharper eyesight to spot anything out of the ordinary. He wasn't seeing anything right away, but he did see a few places that looked like they could hide a switch or button.

Andy stopped when he saw a pedestal of miscellaneous objects. But there was one object that stood out to him, a golden football statue. Surely that can't be it, it's too obvious.

But just in case, the boy reached out to the golden football statue and pushed it. There was a clicking sound as the statue moved a bit to Andy's push. The wall began to open up, which shocked Maddie as Andy stepped back.

Maddie blinked in shock. "W-what… is this?" She muttered in disbelief. A hidden staircase? But… why?

Indeed, after the wall opened up, it showed a staircase heading down.

"... Well, Mom? Should we go check it out?" Andy asked.

"Andy? Aren't you… surprised by this?" Maddie asked, wondering why Andy didn't seem all that shocked.

Andy frowned. "I am a bit surprised, but… I figured Vlad might have some hidden rooms in this place. I mean why wouldn't he? He has lots of money, why not put some things you want to keep private from other people in a hidden room?"

Maddie frowned. "I suppose… but what could Vlad be hiding then? This… is a bit too much for me…"

"Then you can stay here and try to find a phone. I'm going to check this place out," Andy said as he started to go down the stairs.

"Wait, Andy! You shouldn't go into such a place alone, what if it's dangerous?" Maddie frowned.

"Then come with me, Mom," Andy replied. "I'm sure you're just as curious as I am about what Vlad has hidden here."

Maddie frowned, but she did have to admit, she did want to know what Vlad was hiding. "Okay, then let's go."

Maddie followed Andy down the staircase, keeping an eye out for any dangers. It was rather dark the further down they went. They soon came into a dark corridor, with some torches on the wall keeping the corridor light enough for them to see. Though Maddie noted the flames on the torches were a soft green color as opposed to the normal red and orange flames. It gave the place a creepy vibe.

Lopmon frowned as he sensed something was off. What is that?

Andy heard the D-Arc in his pocket beeping, he quickly reached into his pocket to take it out. Maddie blinked when she saw the device in Andy's hand.

"Andy? What is that? Did you get one of those digital pets that were all the rage back in the 90s?" Maddie asked curiously. "I think I used to have one of those…"

"Um…" Andy sweatdropped. "Sure… yeah, let's go with that."

Andy was checking the screen on the D-Arc, wondering what was making it beep. Wait… is Lopmon seeing something I can't?

Andy held the D-Arc up in front of him, using the screen to see what was Lopmon seeing. There were some kind of weird glitchy blocks in front of him. It wasn't… a ghost that was in front of him.

"What is that…?" Andy frowned. It looks like it could be a Digimon, but… it's just a bunch of glitchy data.

"What's wrong?" Maddie asked.

Lopmon frowned. That was a Digimon at one point… but it was destroyed here… since it was destroyed here… the leftover data had nowhere to go. It couldn't create an egg to be reborn at Primary Village.

Andy walked forward, the corrupted data didn't seem to do anything to them. It was likely nothing but air now, which worried Andy if that could happen to Lopmon too if they weren't careful.

They soon reached an opening, and stopped when they came across a metallic door. Andy wondered if Vlad kept the door closed with no way to unlock it since Vlad could just phase through the door or through the floor whenever he wanted. That was what Andy would've done. Or maybe there was high security to keep the door closed where only Vlad could open it.

"Looks like we may have reached a dead end…" Maddie sighed.

There's gotta be some other way in… Just what is Vlad doing in there? Andy frowned.

Meanwhile, Danny and Vlad were still glaring at each other.

"So what do you plan on doing now, Daniel?" Vlad asked. "Try to fight me? Is that going to solve all of your problems and magically take you back home?"

"No. I know you're strong, stronger than me, even with that Specter Deflector around your waist. Fighting is not going to solve anything." Danny replied. "I just need to keep you here, and the Specter Deflector makes that easier."

"Keep me here for what?" Vlad asked. "What are you plotting, hmm?"

"I know you have a hidden lab in here somewhere. You're planning to do something bad," Danny replied. "Like maybe cloning me?"

Vlad's eyes went wide, but he quickly started laughing. "Where ever did you get such a ridiculous idea, Daniel?"

"Why else would you want those animals sent after me? If it wasn't to kill me, then why?" Danny retorted.

Vlad frowned a little, thinking to himself. Danny didn't know what Vlad was thinking, but he could see Vlad seemed a bit worried about something.

"It was just to scare you, my boy. Of course I wouldn't actually want you to be killed," Vlad responded. "However, even with this accursed belt you have on me, I can still transform."

Danny frowned before he held up a familiar device. "Maybe, but what if I used this on you?"

Vlad went pale when he saw the Plasmius Maximus in Danny's hand. "When did you get that?!"

Danny then grinned at Vlad. "Maybe you shouldn't just leave things lying around where curious teenagers can get at them."

I'm wondering if Andy's rubbing off on me? Then again, we are twins. Danny chuckled to himself.

"Interesting, perhaps you're not as uneducated as I had thought, Daniel," Vlad remarked. "Or maybe I really am teaching you something. However, have you considered my pets?"

As if on cue, the room was quickly filling up with the ghost animals, all roaring.

"One thing I should mention, they're like zombies. You can defeat them easily, but they will always come back after some time," Vlad explained. "You may have noticed that they lack a core in their bodies. However, if their bodies were to disappear, they can regather themselves as long as there is ectoplasm in the air."

Danny felt his face growing a bit pale. Oh… crud… Then all those ghost animals we defeated will come back…? Shit… Vlad really is cunning! I hadn't considered if reforming from ectoplasm alone was possible!

However, Danny wasn't about to back down right away. "Yeah, well, at least I don't make their pelts into my wall art."

The ghost animals took a moment to look at the pelts on Vlad's walls and floors, as well as the stuffed bodies. They looked at Vlad for a moment.

"Do you really think that you can get my experiments to turn on me, Daniel?" Vlad grinned. "They may not be true ghosts, but they behave like ghosts. You should've used the Plasmius Maximus while you had the chance, Daniel."

Vlad transformed into his ghost form, though the belt zapped him more, Vlad powered through the pain and let out a command. "Get him! Find Maddie and bring her to me! As for the other human boy and his Digital Beast, you're free to do whatever you want with them!"

Danny yelped as he saw the ghost animals coming at him. "Crud! I'm outta here!"

Danny turned and ran. I have to find Mom, Andy, and Lopmon! We can't fight this many ghosts! We have to get away from here! Aw man… if only I knew where they were!

Danny knew he could use his ghost form, but he didn't want to risk running into his mom while he was flying away from the ghost animals, and he was certainly not going to leave his mother and brother to the mercy of these animals.

The boy closed his eyes for a moment to try to calm down. He knew he could find Andy, they shared a twin link with each other. While twin links were seen as just myths people make up, Danny knew it had to have some truth to it, since he and Andy sometimes seemed to know where the other was without any real explanation.

C'mon, bro… where are you? Danny thought, trying to find out where Andy could possibly be as he opened his eyes. He followed his instincts, running into what looked like a library or study of some kind. Danny blinked. Is this where Andy was earlier? I get the feeling he was. But where…

As Danny looked around, he saw an open area in the wall leading to a staircase that seemed to head down. Oh… Of course Vlad would have a hidden staircase just in this room…

Danny took in a deep breath before he let it out and began to descend down the staircase to whatever awaited him deep inside.

Danny heard footsteps rushing towards him, surprising him. "Huh?"

"Run!"

"They're everywhere!"

Danny saw Andy and Maddie running towards him quickly. Behind them was a hoard of neon green chasing after them. Not even Maddie would be able to fight off that many of them, not to mention it looked like those animals were mixed in together, creating that giant amalgamation.

"Danny! Run!" Maddie shouted when she saw Danny ahead of them.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Danny yelped as he turned and ran after his mom and brother. "Geez! This is like a madhouse! A madhouse of ghostly, zombie-like animals!"

They ran up the stairs, and into the study room. They stopped when they saw more ghost animals coming in. They were getting surrounded rather quickly.

"They're blocking the only way out of here!" Andy noted in worry.

Maddie looked back, seeing the amalgamation ghost was coming up the stairs. She had no idea where these ghosts came from, how they got here, and where Vlad was, but all she knew was that she and her two sons were in danger.

Danny was considering telling Maddie his secret, and using his ghost powers to phase them out of the cottage, when Andy suddenly had an idea. He rushed over to one of the computers and booted it up.

"Andy? What are you doing?" Maddie asked.

"Trying to connect to the Digital World," Andy quickly said.

"The… what?" Maddie blinked, not sure if what she had just heard was correct.

"What Andy's trying to say is he may have a way to save us." Danny replied. "But it… may be kinda crazy how to get there."

"How's a computer going to save us?" Maddie asked.

The ghost animals were getting closer.

"Andy, we don't have much time!" Danny quickly said.

"I'm trying my best!" Andy replied. "The computer may be high tech, but it looks like it hasn't been used in a while. It's taking its time booting up."

"Then we stall them!" Lopmon suddenly said, jumping off of Andy's head, shocking Maddie in the process. "Alright you big lugs, take this! Tiny Twister!"

Lopmon turned himself into a brown and pink tornado, hitting the animals back as much as he could.

Maddie was shocked at what she was seeing. "Is… that really a toy? Or… did a ghost overshadow it?"

"Don't worry, Mom." Danny said calmly. "Lopmon is definitely not a toy overshadowed by a ghost. He's more than capable of fighting off these ghosts, even if it's just to stall for time."

"Any time would be nice, Andy!" Lopmon exclaimed as he landed on the ground in front of Maddie, Danny, and Andy.

Danny quickly got out his Fenton Rod, and he used it to bat away the ghost animals that were trying to get at them. Maddie was using the energy dual swords on the other ghost animals. But they could only do so much against the amalgamation. It was huge, and the Fenton Rod and the dual swords didn't seem to be doing much to it.

"Blazing Ice!" Lopmon fired out an icy wind at the amalgamate.

The digital ice did cause some pain for the amalgamate, enough for it to stagger a little and let out a strange sound.

Andy managed to get the computer to full boot up, and he quickly clicked on the icon that would open up the internet. He quickly typed in 'Ruler of the Digital World'. Come on, connect… I just need you to connect to open the Digi Portal.

'Welcome to the Ruler of the Digital World. To sign in, please put in your account name.'

Gah! I don't have time to sign in! Andy groaned before he quickly began typing in the name and the password to his account.

'Welcome back!' The screen showed Andy's account, which was what Andy had been hoping for.

Okay, that's it! Andy saw this was their chance.

A tiny part of him was concerned about this, because Andy knew if Vlad saw this, that would expose that Andy, at least, had been here. And it could show Vlad they know about the Digital World, which was also dangerous. But considering the situation they were in right now, Andy really couldn't afford to take the time to cover his tracks. They had to go now.

Maddie hissed as she got scratched, and Danny's arm was bitten by a wolf. Lopmon pushed Danny away before he could get impaled by a moose's antlers.

"I'm in! Hurry, gather around me!" Andy instructed to the others.

Lopmon was already moving to Andy's location. Danny was right behind him, and Maddie was behind her son. The three reached Andy's location. Danny grabbed onto Andy, and Lopmon grabbed onto Andy as well. Maddie hesitated, but she put a hand onto Danny's own hand, seeing this may be a chance to escape, or at least spend her last moments with her sons.

The ghost animals launched at them as Andy quickly held up his D-Arc to the computer screen. "Hurry, Digi-Port open!"

Andy didn't have time to think about the location, or to call out, he only had time to open up the portal. The monitor flashed brightly before it sucked Andy, Lopmon, Danny, and Maddie into it. The ghost animals ended up hitting each other, and were very confused about what happened to the humans and Digimon that were here a second ago.

---

At Fenton Works, the onslaught of animal ghosts had not let up. In fact, it was slowly getting worse, not better. Takuya couldn't believe they had been fighting ghost animals for… who knew how long? It felt like forever, what with how many he, Jazz, and Jack were taking out.

Every time one is taken out, two or more take its place! This is crazy! Takuya thought as he bashed in the face of a ghostly tiger with three tails with the Fenton Ghost Gloves.

Jazz blasted two more ghost animals, twin ghost rabbits with one eye each, with the bazooka she was using. "These things don't stop!"

Takuya's eyes went wide when he noticed some of the ectoplasm on the floor and walls began to move on their own. The ectoplasm began to gather, creating a messed up looking creature. He started to pale when more of the ectoplasm that had been scattered around the house began to gather on that creature, making it bigger.

"W-what is that thing?" Jazz gasped.

"It seems… these ghosts are able to reform themselves after a certain amount of time…" Jack frowned.

"But why do they look like that?" Jazz asked.

The amalgamation began to open a large mouth and was about to bite down on Jazz.

"Boom Bubble!"

An air bubble slammed into the creature, causing it to stumble back and cry out.

Takuya's eyes went wide when he heard that voice. "That's… Patamon…" He murmured.

Jazz blinked, remembering the little orange Digimon. "Wait, he's here? I thought he wanted some space from Danny."

"I don't know why Patamon came back, but I'm glad he's here." Takuya replied as he looked up, smiling when he saw the small orange Digimon coming in to them.

"What is that?" Jack blinked. "That's clearly not a ghost… except for maybe the eyes?"

Patamon frowned as he looked at them. "You have to get away from here! They'll keep coming!"

Jazz frowned. "But where can we go? It's not like we can just leave! Those ghosts could follow us into Amity Park, and we'll put more people in danger!"

"Then go somewhere where the ghosts can't follow you!" Patamon quickly said as Jack was trying to blast the giant amalgamation away from them.

"Where can we even… go…" She trailed off as she remembered the one place ghosts could not go. "Oh…"

Takuya caught on to what Jazz was getting at. "Of course!" He exclaimed. "The Digital World!"

"The what now?" Jack asked.

"Quickly, Uncle Jack, follow us!" Takuya quickly said.

Takuya and Jazz ran to Takuya's room, with Patamon following them. Jack, not wanting to stay in the same area as so many ghosts, quickly followed them.

Takuya looked back as Jack made his way into the room as well. "Look, it's going to be weird, but this is the only way we can escape these ghosts." He said as he then booted up his computer. It had the website of Ruler of the Digital World up and running.

"What?" Jack frowned. "Does it relate to this… thing?"

"I don't have time to explain myself to you," Patamon said. "But you will listen if you want to live."

Takuya's door was being busted down by the amalgamation of all the animal ghosts they had defeated.

"Just do it, Takuya!" Jazz quickly said as she grabbed onto his arm, and then onto her dad's arm.

Patamon quickly landed on Takuya's head.

Takuya took out his D-Tector with his free hand and held it to the monitor. "Take us to the Forest Terminal in the Digital World!"

The monitor glowed brightly before the light then sucked in Takuya, Jazz, Patamon, and Jack.

The door was busted down completely as the light faded away, the ghostly amalgamation wondering where its targets had disappeared to.

---

Vlad was finally able to rip the Specter Deflector off of him. "Accursed belt!"

One of the animal ghosts flew over to him. It was a parrot with fiery hair. It was one of the smaller ones, but perhaps the most intelligent as these were used for scouting purposes and to report back to Vlad.

"Well? Are Maddie and Daniel captured? Did the rest of my pets finally kill Jack off?" Vlad asked the little fire parrot.

"I'm afraid not, Master," The parrot answered. "Both parties appeared to have mysteriously disappeared. They no longer seem to be in the vicinity."

Vlad's eyes flashed red in his anger. "WHAT?! How is that possible?! You know I do not tolerate failure, do you?"

"I apologize, Master, however the failure is not the fault of mine," The parrot replied. "The targets had just simply vanished."

Vlad frowned. "They simply vanished? That's not possible unless Daniel used his ghost powers, and he wouldn't do something so risky with Maddie around. But that doesn't explain how that oaf Jack just vanished."

Vlad began thinking. "Where was the last place you saw Daniel and Maddie?"

"They were in your study room, Master," The parrot answered.

"Then I shall take a look there and investigate," Vlad grumbled before he flew off to his study room, getting there in record time thanks to his ghost powers.

"The wall is open… someone found my secret lab… or at least the entrance to it," Vlad mumbled. "Who could be smart enough to do that? Maddie?"

Vlad wasn't under the impression Maddie would've been looking for his lab, or that she even knew he had one. She was smart, but he doubted the thought ever crossed her mind. It was more likely Daniel would've been looking for it. But Daniel had been with him for the most part, and he doubted his pets would've given Daniel any time to look for his lab, let alone find the entrance while being chased.

Then Vlad looked back at his computer, only to see something he hadn't expected. It was that website for that 'game' Ruler of the Digital World. And the one signed in was… "Well now, what do we have here?" Vlad mused with a sinister smirk. "So that's how they did it…"

Vlad frowned to himself. "But Andrew… hmm… admittedly I've always ignored that boy… but… what if he was the one who found the entrance to my lab? And he used this computer to escape my pets… Perhaps I shouldn't be completely dismissive of him."

I wonder if Jack disappeared into the Digital World as well? … No, he's too big of an idiot to think of that if he somehow knew about it… It must be something else. Vlad frowned to himself. Looks like I'm going to have some work to do.

---

Titanic X: ZAFT: Yes, the brotherly moments between the twins are fun, and can't forget Takuya and Jazz bonding either~ XD

pokemon fan 1991: ZAFT: I think you'll like this next chapter then. XD And nope, Vlad certainly wasn't that smart this time. XD Love can make people do funny things, or in Vlad's case, obsession. XD

DarkFoxKit: I always thought it was weird that Vlad in the show would just make that hasty proposal to Maddie like he did. It just seemed out of character to me. But since it was important for the plot, we had to add it in. And don't worry, Andy isn't going to keep Digimon a secret from his parents forever. Digimon aren't as difficult to reveal to his parents than revealing Danny's ghost half, since his parents don't have this preconceived hatred towards Digimon.

ZAFT: Jazz in a hazmat suit would definitely look like Maddie to a degree. XD She is a Fenton after all, and Fentons have to look good in hazmat suits! XD

DawnBreaker23: ZAFT: The bonding is fun, and the awkward moments make it even more fun I think. XD And yeah, poor Danny can't catch a break, and nor can Andy for that matter! X3

DarkFoxKit: We have a lot of things going on for Maternal Instincts. Like a lot more than even we anticipated. But yeah, if Danny got an actual break though, there wouldn't have been an episode. So poor Danny, he was destined to have to suffer. And yes, we love our angst and fluff scenes.

ZAFT: As for the Digimon, you'll see what happens here. :3 I think you'll like it. XD And yes, the fluff and angst seem to be melding well this time around. XD