DarkFoxKit: Hello, don't have much to say this time, just enjoy the story. Happy 4th of July if you celebrate it.
ZAFT: And my dad's birthday is this week as well!
DarkFoxKit: Happy birthday to your dad then. Hope you guys have a good time.
ZAFT: We will. Now, let's get into the chapter. I have a busy evening tonight… ^^' Birthday dinner for my dad and all that.
(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 42: Friend or Enemy?
Back in the real world, Danny, Patamon, and Takuya had to keep an eye on the 'ghost kateers' while they were in their house.
"This is so unnerving…" Danny muttered. "We have overshadowed people in a house where a ghost hunting family lives, and said ghost hunters are not even aware of it."
"Well, if those ghosts do try anything, at least we can prevent it from happening." Takuya replied, trying to reassure Danny as well as himself.
"The problem is we don't know if or when they plan to do something. Why risk coming into a house of ghost hunters?" Patamon questioned. "That'd be like if I tried going into the Ghost Zone."
"Maybe to keep an eye on my parents?" Danny wondered. "Try to figure out what makes them tick? I have to thank Dash for this information later, if he hadn't told us his friends got overshadowed, I wouldn't even be considering any of this."
"Yeah, but even with Dash warning us, we still have no idea what is going on or what Walker plans to do." Takuya admitted, running a hand through his hair. "For all we know, he may be planning to use Aunt Maddie and Uncle Jack for something."
Danny wondered to himself. "Hmm… it might be good to try to confront Walker as soon as possible. That way we can stop whatever it is he plans to do before he can do it."
"How are you going to do that?" Patamon asked.
"There's a Fenton Ghost Catcher in the lab. If we can get that out, we can use that to force the ghosts out of everyone's bodies," Danny said.
"Yeah, but I don't think they'll let us get close to the lab for that. I think that's part of why they are here." Takuya pointed out. "They know this is a house of ghost hunters."
"I doubt Walker would know about its existence… and he probably doesn't realize we're aware that he and his goons are here, let alone overshadowing these people," Danny said. "We could probably use that to our advantage."
"True…" Takuya conceded. "But we'd have to be careful about this if we are to try using that thing, or even getting to it for that matter."
"It's our best chance at taking Walker by surprise," Danny said.
"But how do we go about this without seeming suspicious?" Patamon questioned. "Saying you want to get something in the lab is going to set off alarm bells for them."
"I can just casually say I'm feeling hungry and want something in the kitchen. After all, the lab's entrance is in the kitchen," Danny replied.
"Yeah, that may work." Takuya agreed. "And if you need a distraction or something, I can do that easily."
"Okay… you stay here and keep an eye on things, Takuya," Danny said. "I'm going to see if I can get to the kitchen. If things go south, you know what to do."
Takuya nodded, but then chuckled a little.
"What?" Danny questioned.
"Nothing, just… you sounded like Andy," Takuya replied.
Danny blushed a bit. "I… I did not!" He squeaked out.
"I think he meant that as a compliment," Patamon said. "After all, you're being smart about this, something Andy would do."
Danny blushed even more. "I… I'm just trying to not get caught… I don't want Walker to know we're onto him either…"
"I think your brother's rubbed off on you," Takuya chuckled.
I wonder if not being able to use my ghost powers made me think like this. After all, having limited options means I have to get more creative with my tactics. Danny wondered before he realized what he just thought. Oh no… first I almost turned into my parents, and now I'm turning into Andy!
Danny shook his head. He had to focus! "Okay, let's see if we can pull this little plan off without a hitch…" He muttered, trying to stay on task and not freak out at how he was now thinking like Andy in a way.
"What about me then?" Patamon asked. "Should I stick with you or stay here with Takuya to keep an eye on things?"
Danny nodded. "I think it'd be best if you stuck with Takuya. The ghosts may be able to sense you're a real Digimon, so it would be risky to pull the 'you're a plush toy' trick on them."
"Heh, you really are using your brain, impressive," Patamon remarked.
Danny couldn't tell if that was an insult or a compliment, but he decided to ignore it. "Okay, I'm going in."
Danny casually walked down the stairs. His parents, and the ghost kateers noticed him.
"Hey, Danny! Did you finish your homework early?" Maddie asked. "I did say this is a good chance for you to learn how to fight ghosts."
"Oh! No, I'm still working on my homework." Danny replied. "I'm just going to get a snack, then I will be back working on that load of homework."
"He doesn't have to keep emphasizing that he has a lot of homework," Patamon muttered.
Takuya watched nervously as the overshadowed people were watching Danny.
"Aww, are you sure you can't do your homework later, Danno?" Jack questioned. "I've been waiting for an opportunity to teach you some of our moves."
Danny sweatdropped. "Y-yeah, I'm sure. I'd rather get the homework done before anything else." He replied. Aw man, Dad… Really?
"No, he's right, Jack. As parents, we want to make sure education and school comes first for our kids," Maddie said with a small sigh. "We'll have time to train them later, I'm sure."
"Of course!" Jack agreed. "Better get that homework done, Danno!"
"Yeah, of course," Danny replied before he walked to the kitchen, trying not to look tense or like he was in a hurry. "You, uh… just have fun with the other Ghost Kateers."
Jack and Maddie smiled before turning back to face the Ghost Kateers.
Takuya sighed as he saw Danny was able to make it to the kitchen without arousing suspicion. "So far so good…"
Danny noticed that 'Mr. Lancer' was looking at him though.
"Do you need help, Danny?" 'Mr. Lancer' asked in his normal voice.
"Uh, nope! I'm good." Danny replied, trying to act like everything was normal. "I don't need help at all. I mean it's not that hard to find food in my own kitchen."
"I meant with your homework, Danny, since you apparently have 'so many' to do," 'Mr. Lancer' corrected.
"He better watch himself, I don't think Walker would be so easily fooled," Patamon whispered.
Takuya frowned. "I don't like this… Danny is pretty much playing with fire here… um… no pun intended of course…" He added.
Patamon rolled his eyes.
"Oh, uh… no, um… that's fine. It'd be weird for my… teacher to do homework with me at my own house," Danny chuckled sheepishly. "Besides, if I really need help, I have Jazz. She's really good at this stuff."
'Mr. Lancer' frowned a bit before he spoke again. "I see. Well, I won't keep you from getting your snack then, I suppose."
Danny didn't like the way 'Mr. Lancer' said that though and felt a bit nervous. Crap… I may be in over my head here…
Danny shook his head. I can't back down now, I've already come this far.
Danny walked to the fridge to open it, to make it seem like he was getting a snack. He took a moment to rummage through the fridge before he closed it. He looked back in the living room to see if anyone was paying any attention to him.
None of the 'popular kids' were paying attention to him, but 'Mr. Lancer' was looking back at him every so often, but it was not frequent enough to make Danny worry about his chances of getting to the lab.
Danny slowly moved towards the entrance to the lab, he just pretended to be looking around in the kitchen whenever he saw 'Mr. Lancer' looking in his direction. Finally, when Danny was close enough to the entrance of the lab, he ran down the stairs.
"He's made it to the lab," Patamon noted.
Takuya nodded. "Good. Maybe we can pull this off after all." He said in a whisper to Patamon. Then why do I have this feeling something is going to happen?
"Hold on… That teacher is looking in the kitchen again," Patamon pointed out.
Sure enough, 'Mr. Lancer' looked back in the kitchen and noticed Danny was gone.
"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, if I may be excused, I'd like to get a snack myself," 'Mr. Lancer' requested.
Jack and Maddie both looked at 'Mr. Lancer' and nodded. "Of course." Jack said. "And while you're at it, see if you can get something for everyone else. Learning about ghosts can make anyone hungry. Oh, but stay away from the ham, I'm saving that for a special occasion."
"Of course." 'Mr. Lancer' grinned before he walked into the kitchen.
Patamon and Takuya watched as 'Mr. Lancer' didn't even go to the fridge or the cabinets, he went straight to the lab's entrance.
"He got suspicious." Patamon frowned.
"We need to do something!" Takuya growled out, feeling the urge to act getting stronger. "He's definitely overshadowed, but by which ghost?"
"Doesn't matter, we need to get to the lab ourselves," Patamon replied. "Danny might be in trouble."
Takuya nodded. "Let's go." He said, more than ready to go help Danny.
Meanwhile, in the lab, Danny was rummaging through a lot of boxes where his parents dumped a lot of their old inventions.
"Come on, come on, where is it? It's a big net, how could they hide it in all these boxes?" Danny grumbled.
"And just what is it you're looking for, Danny?" 'Mr. Lancer' questioned, which made Danny freeze.
Danny quickly looked up from the boxes, seeing 'Mr. Lancer' standing there. "M-Mr. Lancer! Uh… you shouldn't be down here."
"I suppose not, but why are you down here, Danny?" 'Mr. Lancer' asked again. "I thought you had 'a lot' of homework to do."
"It's my own house, I can go wherever I want," Danny replied, trying to sound like a snippy teenager.
"Yes, well, I suppose all of that 'homework' is not important enough if you're down here." 'Mr. Lancer' retorted.
Okay, I don't think I'll be finding that Ghost Catcher any time soon. So I guess I'll have to do it the old fashion way. Patamon isn't here right now, and the Ghost Portal is right behind me. If I can pull this off right, I can get Walker out of Mr. Lancer's body and shove him into the Ghost Zone. Danny thought to himself.
"Okay, cut the act, I know you're not really Mr. Lancer," Danny pointed out. "If you think I'm going to let you continue doing whatever it is you're doing, then you're sadly mistaken."
"Oh, is that so?" 'Mr. Lancer' replied before his eyes turned red. "Then come at me, boy."
Danny summoned the rings of light on his torso, which split horizontally, changing him into his ghost form. If he could just get Walker out of Mr. Lancer and shove him into the Ghost Zone, then whatever plans he had will be over, at least Danny hoped.
Takuya and Patamon managed to reach the lab just after Danny transformed, and both of them stopped when they saw Phantom. Patamon's eyes were wide when he saw the ghost boy up close.
Shit…. Takuya paled when he realized Danny's ghost form had been seen by Patamon. Of all the… This can't get any worse!
"I knew it… I knew the ghost boy was here in this world…" Patamon murmured in shock. The prophecy is true… The ghost boy that will end it all is right here!
"Patamon, I don't think we should worry about the ghost boy right now," Takuya said.
"How can we not? He's the key that would end all the worlds!" Patamon argued. "What is that ghost boy even doing here? Where's Danny?"
"Worry about that later! Danny's safe, I'm sure of it!" Takuya countered. "As for why the ghost boy is here, he's probably on to Walker's plan, whatever it is."
"If that is the ghost boy of prophecy, why would he care about Walker?" Patamon frowned.
Takuya realized Patamon didn't really know what Danny Phantom was actually like, he only had the prophecy to go off of.
"Get out of that body!" Phantom snapped at 'Mr. Lancer' before firing a ghost ray at the teacher.
The ghost ray went through Mr. Lancer's body, and instead, knocked a ghost out of the teacher's body. But, much to Phantom's surprise, it wasn't Walker like he thought it was.
Takuya's eyes narrowed. "That's not Walker… That's a different ghost…"
Sure enough, this ghost had gray skin and wore a red cape. He had an eye patch on his left eye, wore a bandanna on his head, and had spiked guards on his wrists along with army pattern pants on and boots as well, This ghost also had a blue tail coming from his behind, and had red eyes.
"What's the matter, ghost boy? Were you expecting someone else?" The ghost grinned. "You can call me 'Bullet', I'm Walker's right hand ghost."
"Shit…" Takuya hissed.
"Walker's second? Oh no…" Phantom muttered under his breath. "I know next to nothing about this guy!"
"Let's see how you fair against me!" Bullet created an ecto gun in his hand. "And you'll see why my name is Bullet."
Phantom yelped as Bullet began firing several ecto bullets at him, and began moving to dodge the attack. Some of the bullets did catch him, however. The bullets pierced through his intangibility, causing some ectoplasm to leak from his side.
Seeing what was going on, Takuya didn't want to sit back on the sidelines anymore. "I can't just sit back here! Phantom needs my help!" He exclaimed in anger, clenching his fists. Danny needs my help!
Patamon frowned, Takuya seemed awfully passionate about helping some ghost boy. And Danny appeared to be missing too, and yet, Takuya didn't think that was strange. Patamon began to narrow his eyes a little. Don't think about it… the answer may not be one I want to know…
Before Patamon could speak up, however, Takuya already had his D-Tector out of his pocket.
"Wait! Takuya don't!" Patamon tried to warn, but it was already too late.
Takuya held out his D-Tector and the blue digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen of his D-Tector as he formed the familiar fractal coding on his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. Red armor formed and latched onto his body as his hair changed to blonde and became long and wild. His height increased, as did his strength and agility. His eyes snapped open, now a brilliant blue instead of brown, and his canine teeth were sharper than a human's as well. He landed, crying out his name. "Agunimon!"
The fractal code cocoon dissipated, revealing the Warrior of Flame. Now in his Digimon form, Agunimon was quick to jump into action. He ran out and, with fire coating his left fist, let Bullet have a punch right to the jaw.
Bullet hit the wall hard after getting a rather nasty right hook.
"Agunimon?" Phantom looked over at his transformed cousin while rubbing his bleeding side.
"Yeah. Sorry about taking so long. But I'm here now." Agunimon reassured Phantom, not taking his gaze off of Bullet.
"Thanks for the save… I didn't expect this ghost to be someone else…" Phantom groaned. "Or that he had bullets for ghosts."
Bullet glared at the Digimon who interfered. "You'll pay for interfering with me!"
Bullet began shooting at Agunimon. Agunimon raised up his hands, his hands transforming into the silver and red Fenton Ghost Gloves, and the ecto bullets bounced right off.
Agunimon grinned, showing his sharp canine teeth. "You missed~" He teased cheekily.
"I won't miss this time!" Bullet created a red ecto rope, turning it into a lasso.
The ecto lasso threw itself at Agunimon, wrapping around his waist before shocking him.
Agunimon cried out as he felt the electricity racing through his form. The Fenton Ghost Gloves vanished from his hands before he reached out and grabbed the ecto lasso, despite the pain. He managed to then pull the ecto lasso and break it, the electricity getting cut off, but it left him feeling funny all over.
"Agunimon! Are you okay?" Phantom asked in concern, the tear in his suit already mending itself.
"Y-yeah… Just… got a nasty shock, that's all." Agunimon replied, panting a bit. "Although I do feel a bit numb…"
"How did you survive that? That much ghost electricity should've shut down your Digi-Core!" Bullet growled. "Nevermind, I'll just have to try again."
Bullet created another ecto red lasso and had it thrown at Agunimon. This time, however, Phantom reached out and grabbed the lasso himself. Agunimon, Bullet, and Patamon were surprised that the ghost boy would be bold enough to just grab it like that.
"I don't think so, you're not hurting my friend," Phantom hissed.
Using his own ghost ray, he began shifting the ecto rope to green with his own power. Phantom squeezed it hard as he poured more of his power into the ecto rope, and soon, the red rope turned green. Bullet's eyes went wide in shock.
"I-impossible!" Bullet shouted just before the green rope reached him and began shocking him now.
Agunimon grinned. "Alright, Phantom!" He exclaimed.
Patamon was watching this with wariness, and confusion. Why was the ghost boy helping Agunimon? It seemed like the two knew each other as well… too well.
Having had enough, Bullet turned himself into mist, getting out of his own rope. Bullet hissed as he felt his core getting twitchy. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he faced both the ghost kid and this Digimon, so he had to retreat, for now. Besides, he had to find a runaway wolf.
"Don't think this is over," Bullet hissed before going through the wall, leaving the house.
Agunimon watched Bullet leave before he sighed, sensing Bullet was gone. "He's gone, at least for now."
"Yeah… but that still leaves the other 'guests' in the house," Phantom grumbled as he summoned the white rings on his torso.
"A-ah! Before you do that, you should know we still have another with us," Agunimon quickly said before Phantom could transform back into Danny.
"Huh?" Phantom blinked, before Agunimon pointed.
Phantom saw Patamon watching them, and Phantom immediately dissipated his ring.
"O-oh… I didn't… see that little guy there…" Phantom admitted, realizing how close he had come to revealing himself in front of Patamon.
"... Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Patamon questioned with a defensive tone.
"I'm Phantom. And I sensed the ghosts in the area, so I came to check out what was going on." Phantom replied. "I… didn't expect that ghost though. I assumed it was Walker… Ah… nasty run in with him."
"So you know Walker too…" Patamon replied. "How do you know Agunimon? Digimon and ghosts don't just work with each other without a good reason."
Phantom and Agunimon looked at each other, realizing they had to come up with a decent cover story to explain why they knew each other.
"Well…" Phantom began. "It's… kinda a long story, but to summarize it… Agunimon and I have fought together before."
"I met with Phantom while I was still trying to figure out what I was," Agunimon added. "And Phantom was a new ghost, so he didn't know I was a Digimon either. And… we just thought we'd use our powers together to keep the town safe from ghosts."
"A new ghost?" Patamon blinked. "When… did you come into being, Phantom?"
Phantom looked uneasy. "Um… That's not really a good thing to ask a ghost… But… it was just this year…" Which is the truth in a way…
Patamon looked at the Ghost Portal for a moment, then at Phantom again. He didn't like how much Phantom looked similar to Danny.
"One more question then… where is Danny right now?" Patamon demanded. "He's… someone I care about, so I at least have the right to know about his location."
Phantom hesitated. "He's… safe. I saw him in danger and got him out of the area before he could be attacked." He replied. "I… took Danny to his room. He is safe, I promise you."
For a long moment, Patamon didn't say anything, he kept looking at Phantom. Patamon could see the eyes were glowing, and inhumane, that much was obvious. But… Why are those eyes so much like his?
"Fine. I'm going, and he better be up there," Patamon stated. "Agunimon, I suggest you watch your back. Because if he is… who I think he is, he's dangerous."
Agunimon nodded. "Yeah… I will…" He said, not sure why Patamon seemed so… hostile towards Phantom when Phantom obviously 'saved' Danny.
Patamon flew up into the air and flew away from the lab, wishing he could fly away from more than just the lab and the ghost boy himself.
Until… until I see… solid proof… I won't… jump to conclusions… Patamon told himself.
Now alone in the lab again, Phantom and Agunimon knew they had to revert back to human form.
"Why is… Patamon so… hostile to me? I mean I know I'm a ghost and he doesn't like ghosts, but… I don't know, it felt kinda… personal." Phantom frowned.
'Yeah. He… has some… difficult stuff to deal with when it comes to ghosts." Agunimon admitted as best he could without giving away too much.
Phantom sighed, he wanted to ask more, but he needed to be in his room before Patamon got there. "I'll be in my room, meet me there after you turn back into Takuya."
Agunimon was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke up softly. "I… can't…" He said, his voice sounding nervous now.
"What do you mean you can't?" Phantom questioned.
"I… I can't release my evolution… It… It won't release…" Agunimon clarified, looking a bit freaked out now.
Phantom groaned. "Okay, just… let me get you up into my room. If you pass by my parents like this, they're gonna definitely notice you."
Agunimon groaned as well. "Of all the… This day just got worse…"
Phantom grabbed onto Agunimon's shoulder, turning both of them intangible before Phantom flew them through the ceiling, heading directly up into the twins' room. Luckily it was a short trip, so Phantom could put Agunimon down before he summoned the rings to transform himself back into Danny.
"Maybe Patamon might know what's going on with you," Danny said. "He seems to be an expert on this stuff."
Agunimon nodded. "Yeah… Maybe… But this… this hasn't happened before… I'm normally able to just… release my Digimon form… This… It's like it's… stuck or something…"
"I know… it's scary, but-" Danny began before his door was opened, revealing Patamon.
Patamon looked at Danny and Agunimon, feeling a sense of dejavu. "... Agunimon? How'd you get up here so quickly?"
"Phantom brought me up here…" Agunimon said carefully. "But… that's because… I can't release my evolution…"
"And Phantom left after that, he figured you wouldn't want to see him," Danny added.
Patamon looked at Danny for a moment before he decided to distract himself with the other Mammothmon in the room. "Wait, did you say Agunimon can't release his evolution?"
"Yeah…" Agunimon admitted. "It's like… it's stuck or… locked into place or something…" He added. He was shaking a bit too now.
Patamon flew up to Agunimon and tapped his chest armor for a moment. "Hmm… I had a feeling this would happen, which was why I was trying to warn you to not spirit evolve back there…"
"H-huh?" Agunimon blinked. "W-what do you mean?"
"The Legendary Warriors' Spirits have a defense mechanism to keep their host safe," Patamon began explaining. "Normally they wouldn't need to do that if you're using them regularly while in the Digital World to defend yourself or to fight off an enemy. But ghosts are a different story. The Spirits must deem ghosts as a much bigger threat than most Digimon. And there's a lot of ghosts right now, with this many ghosts in one area, the Spirit of Agunimon must have felt you were in danger. So the Spirit locked its form on you to keep you safe."
"So… I'm basically stuck like this until the ghost threat is over?" Agunimon asked. Then he remembered the last time he had used his evolution prior. "Wait… Last night… when those ghosts attacked, I had trouble releasing my evolution then too… But I was able to after a while…"
"You were able to fight off most of the ghosts in the area, so the Spirit felt you were safe enough to release itself," Patamon guessed. "But now there are more of them, and some of them are in the house. Is it a wonder why Agunimon felt the need to keep you safe?"
Agunimon had to admit, that was a valid reason. "And with all the ghosts overshadowing people, that makes it even more dangerous…"
"But we still have school tomorrow, my parents are going to chaperone to make sure the students can still get an education," Danny pointed out. "How is Takuya going to go to school looking like that?"
"He can either disappear, as in go back to the Digital World, until this whole thing is over. Or he can try to stick around wearing disguises, but 'Takuya' will still have to disappear because we can't just make a copy of Takuya to trick everyone," Patamon answered.
"Ugh… of all the hectic, ghostly digital things… this is such a disaster…" Danny groaned. "We can't just have Takuya go missing… And… Jazz and Andy will need to know about this when they get back. I think we'll need their input on what to do."
"Probably a good idea, they're usually good when it comes to planning things, especially Andy," Patamon remarked. "Does Andy really not see that? He seems to act like it's weird we want his input on everything, and he usually takes charge of planning."
"Andy has… some issues with how he sees his ability to plan…" Agunimon said sheepishly.
"Ah… that might explain why Lopmon has yet to regain his original memories…" Patamon muttered.
"What? Why would Lopmon regain his memories?" Danny asked.
"... Don't worry about it," Patamon grumbled. "For now, let's think of what disguises to put on our big, armored fire man."
Agunimon seemed a bit ticked off at that, but sighed. "Great… Well, at least it's not like it's permanent…"
Tommy was walking away from Seraphimon's castle. It was currently night, which was the perfect time for him to leave. Everyone thought he was asleep right now, and it was easy to sneak out. Not that it surprised him, considering they had more important things to focus on than to babysit him. Still, Tommy couldn't help but think back on how this happened.
Flashback (Tommy's Point of View)
I groaned a bit when I began waking up. It took me a moment to remember that I almost drowned, and Takuya and Zoe both thought I tried to drown myself as Kumamon. I didn't know what to say when they thought that, I had been so terrified… especially with both of them in their Legendary Warrior Digimon forms. They could've easily killed me right then and there if they knew… Thinking about it now, however, maybe it would've been better if I had explained myself, but… I hadn't been sure if that was the right course of action.
I shook my head a bit, trying to shake the grogginess. I needed to talk to Takuya… hopefully as human to human. I didn't know what to think when I saw him pulling out that device, and that ring of code on his hand appeared. I just knew he was the same as me… Well, maybe not exactly the same as me, he was a Legendary Warrior after all, chosen by the Spirits. I didn't know what to make of my own situation.
I got out of bed, and opened the door. I looked around for a bit, seeing some Digimon walking around. I walked over to the one that seemed to be the least busy. Although I wasn't sure if I wanted to approach them. This Digimon was literally made of fire. He looked like a humanoid figure made of bright orange and red flames, with blue eyes, and… a sewed up mouth which made me a bit uncomfortable.
But… Takuya was apparently the Warrior of Flame, so… if I wanted to get used to being around someone like that, I needed to swallow my fear and try to talk to this… fire Digimon.
I cautiously approached the Digimon. "U-um… excuse me…?"
The Digimon turned around. "Hmmm?" He made eye contact with me, making me nervous.
"I'm… um… looking for someone. He's human, like me, but… uh… older. He wears a red jacket, a yellow shirt… um… he has a hat and goggles on his head. His name is Takuya… um… h-have you seen him?" I nervously questioned.
"No, I can't say I have." The Digimon replied. "If he was here, he's probably left by now."
I frowned. Oh, that's right… Takuya did say he had to go back home today… After everything that happened, I forgot about that. So Takuya left, and… I have no idea when he'll be back… what should I do? Should I stay here?
"Are you lost, by chance? It's unusual for a human to be here unless they're a Legendary Warrior," The fire Digimon remarked.
"Huh? Uh… well, I was brought here by one of the Legendary Warriors," I replied, feeling a little nervous.
"Ah, so that explains your presence here in the castle." The fiery Digimon noted. "I imagine you must be new here. I'm Meramon, one of the Digimon who work in the castle of Seraphimon."
"It's nice to meet you, Meramon," I replied. "I'm… well, everyone calls me Tommy."
"Tommy? Ah, you must be that boy I heard about," Meramon noted.
"You heard about me?" I blinked.
"How could I not? The Digimon here have been talking about you, and how you seemed to be getting quite close to the holder of the Spirits of Flame." Meramon replied. "It's not hard to hear about you."
"That's been… getting around?" I questioned.
"Word spreads fast around here, especially when it comes to the Legendary Warriors. I'd advise you to be careful, however, there are likely many who are suspicious of you getting close to the wielder of the Spirits of Flame. And there may be players who might target you for that," Meramon warned.
"Jee, thanks," I grumbled sarcastically. As if I don't already have enough troubles on my plate. "I'm guessing the Legendary Warriors are that big of a deal, huh?"
"More than you know." Meramon replied. "They are known as the saviors of the Digital World, and those who hold their Spirits are held in high regard as their successors."
"What about the… rogue Warriors?" I asked.
"Those are not true successors," Meramon sighed. "They were made out of revenge and hatred to carry out a rather dark task. They don't have a real host, they are using fractal code to have a physical body of their own."
"Oh, I see…" I remarked. "Is there any way to stop those Warriors?"
"Only Cherubimon can give them the order to stop." A female voice said as I turned around. There, behind me, was Zoe. "The rest of us have tried to get them to stop, onto our side, but… the rogue Warriors just claim we tainted the Spirits and won't work with us."
Zoe then smiled at me. "But that aside, how are you feeling, Tommy?"
I was surprised to see Zoe, even though logically I probably should've expected her to be here. "I'm… fine. I was just looking for Takuya."
I noticed Meramon was bowing his head to Zoe. "It's always an honor to see you, Legendary Warrior of Wind."
Am… I supposed to bow too? I began questioning self consciously.
Zoe gave an uncomfortable grin. "Please… there is no need to bow to me, really!" She exclaimed, waving her hands slightly. "It's fine, honestly!"
Meramon stopped bowing. "Is there anything you need of me?"
"Not at the moment. I'll just take Tommy off your hands," Zoe chuckled.
"Very well, if you ever need me, please don't hesitate to let me know," Meramon replied before giving another quick bow of his head, and walked away.
I looked over at Zoe. "I… guess you're kind of… like royalty here."
Zoe gave a bit of a wince. "Yeah… but it's not all fun and games. It can get a bit… annoying after a while." She admitted. "I mean, it's nice we get treated so well, but the whole royalty thing is kinda… much…"
"Meramon did tell me the Legendary Warriors were a big deal around here," I remarked. "Takuya read me a little bit about them, but I don't know much else. But I kinda figured that you were Kazemon when Meramon called you the 'Legendary Warrior of Wind'. And after seeing Takuya evolve… it wasn't hard to figure out."
Zoe gave a bit of a nervous chuckle. "Yeah… My Spirits are indeed the Spirits of Wind." She confirmed. "I… can't imagine how scary it must've been to be captured by Grumblemon though…"
"It was… pretty stressful," I replied. "But… What should I do now? Since Takuya left, I probably shouldn't stay here, right? I was only allowed here because Takuya brought me here."
Zoe shook her head. "Not with the rogue Warriors out there, and especially not with Kumamon out there either. Sorcermon actually agreed to let you stay here, as long as one of us Warriors was around to help keep you safe." She replied.
I tried not to wince when she mentioned 'Kumamon'. It felt rather hurtful when she made it sound like 'Kumamon' was more dangerous than the rogue Warriors.
"Um… well, that's… nice of him…" I replied. "Uh… I guess while we're here, I might as well ask… how did the Spirits of the Wind choose you? Was there some kind of ceremony you had to go through or something?"
Zoe gave my question some thought. "I can answer that question, but first, we need to meet up with an old friend of mine. I called him earlier while you were sleeping, so he should be here soon."
I blinked, wondering who this friend of hers was.
I ended up following Zoe down the hallway of the castle. With Takuya gone, she was the only other human here. While I wasn't that comfortable with her, she was someone… more familiar to me. Although, I couldn't say I enjoy clinging to her like a lost puppy, it felt awkward.
A few minutes later, someone else came into the hallway. It was another human. The boy looked older than Zoe by about a year, and had brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a blue jumpsuit with yellow pockets and cuffs on the sleeves and legs, and blue and yellow sneakers. He also looked a bit on the chubby side.
"Hey, Zoe!" The boy greeted her.
Zoe smiled upon seeing the new boy. "Hey, JP! Glad you got here okay!"
"The players have been pretty quiet lately," The boy Zoe called 'JP' remarked. "It's almost gotten boring. Although I thought I sensed something really strong not that long ago. I would've gone to check it out, but I couldn't leave my post. And the thing I sensed ended up disappearing anyways."
"Koichi said he sensed something like that too, but we can talk about it later," Zoe said. "I want you to meet someone."
Zoe looked back at me and gave me a smile. I realized she wanted me to introduce myself to this JP person. I, somewhat begrudgingly, walked forward so JP could see me.
"Um… hello… I'm Tomoki Himi, but you can call me Tommy," I softly introduced.
"Oh, well hey there. I'm Junpei Shibayama, but everyone just calls me JP for short," JP introduced. "So you're the Tommy boy I was hearing about, and how you almost drowned."
"JP! You don't just say that to a kid who almost drowned!" Zoe scolded.
JP had the decency to look sheepish. "Uh… oops…" He said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry… I tend to run my mouth sometimes without thinking…"
I would have laughed if I wasn't feeling so nervous. I wasn't sure if JP was another Legendary Warrior or not, but I didn't see a partner Digimon with him. Maybe if I was lucky, he was more like me than he is like Takuya or Zoe.
"JP's shift was being taken over by Koji, so that's why I called him here to let him know the situation," Zoe explained.
"His… shift?" I blinked.
"Oh, that's right, you don't know about it yet," Zoe realized.
I shook my head. And who's Koji? His name sounds similar to Koichi.
"Is it really okay to tell this kid everything, Zoe? I mean he's… you know… not exactly in our… uh… club," JP awkwardly stated.
"That may be, but Tommy did see Takuya Spirit Evolve during a fight with one of the rogue Warriors, so it's not fair to keep him in the dark after that." Zoe sighed.
"It's not our fault that the new guy Spirit Evolved in front of him," JP grumbled.
"New guy?" I blinked, surprised to hear that. I had been under the impression Takuya had been a Legendary Warrior for as long as the rest of them had.
Zoe sighed. "Yeah… Takuya's the newest Legendary Warrior, so he has a ways to go before he is on our level." She admitted.
"That's… interesting information," I remarked. I guess that's why Takuya felt a little more… down to earth? Not that Zoe's been bad, but I just felt like she's a bit intimidating because she was so comfortable in this world. Like it just came natural for her.
"So are we really going to have to explain everything to the kid?" JP questioned. "I thought you said you needed my help to find this bear."
"I told you, the 'bear' is called 'Kumamon'," Zoe grumbled. "And you will, but like I said, we owe Tommy here an explanation at least."
JP is here to look for Kumamon? I nervously thought to myself.
"Alright, fine," JP sighed. "What do you need to know?"
"Um… I asked Zoe earlier how the whole… evolution thing worked, and how the Spirit picked her," I explained.
"Oh? What did you want to know?" JP asked, feeling more comfortable with the question being asked.
"Uh… are you a Legendary Warrior too?" I questioned, wanting a confirmation before I asked anymore questions.
JP grinned slightly. "Yep. I'm the Warrior of Thunder." He replied. "My Spirits are the Spirits of Thunder."
"Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get to see it some time," Zoe chuckled.
So he is like them… I noted to myself.
"Is something bothering you?" JP asked.
"O-oh, uh, nothing, I was just wondering what you'd look like as a Digimon," I covered, although a small part of me was actually curious. "I'm also curious as to how these Spirits pick their successors. Does it have anything to do with… I don't know, your own spirits? Your personalities? Or are you like… the human incarnation of these spirits?"
JP and Zoe looked at each other before JP finally answered. "Um… well… that's… actually kinda hard to explain in detail… but we were indeed chosen by the Spirits for one reason or another…" He admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Although, certain aspects of our personalities may play a role in the fact we were chosen by the Spirits." Zoe added. "We never really thought too deeply on why we were picked, really…"
I guess it's not really something they would think about. I mean out of all the humans in the world, I was curious as to how the Spirits pick certain people… and all of us happen to be Japanese. I wonder if that means anything. I questioned to myself. Well, if they can't answer the 'why', I should go with the 'how'.
"Okay, well… how did you two get your Spirits then?" I questioned. "Did you have to go through some kind of ceremony or something?"
Zoe chuckled. "No, nothing that elaborate. In fact, we had to find them." She replied. "I found my Spirits at Breezy Village while JP found his in the Wind Factory."
"You… found them?" I blinked. "How do you just find a Spirit?"
"Well, they're not literally ghosts if that's what you're thinking," JP chuckled. "Actually, these Spirits are… I guess you can call them 'artifacts'? They look like a miniature version of themselves, and placed on top of a stand."
I raised an eyebrow.
"It's a bit weird to explain," JP sighed before he took something out from his pocket, and I recognized that device, it was the same one I, Zoe, and Takuya had, only his was blue and yellow. "When we found those Spirits, we then pointed our D-Tectors at them. The Spirit ends up going inside, and then we use that power to transform, or I guess 'Spirit Evolve'."
"D-Tectors… those are… what you call those devices?" I asked. Wait, isn't that what happened to me? I remember seeing a figurine that looked like Kumamon float in front of me before my own… uh… D-Tector absorbed it.
Zoe nodded. "Yep. That's the name we were told these devices were since they can… uh… detect… things like other Spirits or Digimon."
I couldn't help but wonder about my circumstances. It was far too similar to Zoe and JP's evolution. Is it possible that Kumamon is… a Legendary Warrior too?
But if that were the case… Why did the other Legendary Warriors hate me so much? Should I ask them?
I put my hand into my pocket, grabbing onto the device… the 'D-Tector', considering if I should show them or not.
"Of course not just anyone can handle these Spirits," JP added. "I remember seeing a Cereburmon getting burned by Lobomon's Spirit's light. It was that intense."
"I hear that the Spirits also have a defense mechanism if someone were to try to take them, or try to endanger us as their host," Zoe noted.
"Well, whatever this defense mechanism is, I hope it won't kick in if we ever see this Kumamon. If he threatened Tommy, who knows what he could do to us." JP huffed.
"Yeah, I can't believe such a cute bear could be such a low life cretin," Zoe agreed.
I stopped, and decided that it would be best if they didn't know. Especially with how they talked, Kumamon likely wasn't a Legendary Warrior. Maybe it was possible Kumamon was just a lowly thief or something, and his spirit got mixed in with the other Legendary Warriors… or nobody ever bothered talking about him in the lore and legends because he wasn't a Legendary Warrior. For all I knew, bad Digimon used to be punished by being imprisoned in those artifacts like the Legendary Warriors, and the Digital World didn't want to talk about it.
Zoe looked back, noticing my despondent look. "Hey, Tommy? Are you okay?" She asked in concern.
"He probably didn't want to be reminded of the bear who attacked him," JP pointed out.
"Oh… I'm sorry about bringing it up again, Tommy," Zoe apologized.
"It's… fine… but maybe let's not talk about Kumamon for a bit?" I requested.
Zoe and JP nodded, feeling like that was a reasonable request.
"Sure." JP agreed. "If it makes you feel better, we can talk about something else if you'd like. Something you are probably curious about or just want to know?"
"What's your story?" I asked.
"Um… maybe that's something we should tell you later," Zoe spoke up. "That's kind of personal right now. And it'd be better if all of us were here to tell it."
"All of you?" I questioned. "How many are there who are like you?"
"There's me, JP, Takuya, and the twins, Koji and Koichi." Zoe slowly listed off. "I hold the Spirits of Wind, JP has the Spirits of Thunder, Takuya has the Spirits of Flame, Koichi holds the Spirits of Darkness, and Koji has the Spirits of Light. So… that is five of us."
"And the other five?" I asked. "There are 10 Legendary Warriors, right?"
"Yeah, you've done your research," JP remarked. "Well, the other 4 were summoned by Cherubimon to hunt down players. So they're considered rogue Warriors."
"4? Not 5?" I blinked.
"Cherubimon wasn't able to awaken the last Spirit," JP answered. "Or so we've heard. Nobody really knows why."
Zoe sighed. "It would've been nice if we could've gotten the last Spirit on our side, but… we couldn't find it, or if it has a host at all."
"Do you know which one?" I asked.
"No, we only just recently found out Grumblemon was a rogue Warrior, and he's the Warrior of Earth," Zoe said. "We can only assume the other Legendary Warriors we haven't met yet are the rogues. Although… I didn't expect one of them to not be on either side. Maybe something went wrong when Cherubimon woke him up…"
"And that's the one you believe is the most dangerous, right? Because we don't know what K- uh, he wants to do," JP remarked, stopping himself from saying the name for whatever reason.
Zoe nodded. "Yeah, it was only by pure luck we drove him off." She refrained from saying the name as well.
Now they're just teasing me, aren't they? I grumbled to myself. Is this Legendary Warrior really that dangerous though? Maybe it could've been a misunderstanding like with me. Then again… considering how much trouble Grumblemon was… I don't think I want to meet with this dangerous warrior…
"But maybe if we could find that Legendary Warrior that was in dormancy, it could be of use to us. We might be able to find its chosen host too, the more the merrier," Zoe remarked.
JP grinned. "Yeah! That should be next on our priorities then! We may get a new comrade out of it!"
Whoever this lucky person is, I'm pretty envious of them. I sighed to myself. They'd be welcomed in open arms as a fellow Legendary Warrior, instead of being treated like a wanted criminal.
"Hey, Tommy? If you're feeling down, maybe some chocolate will help you feel better?" JP asked when my 'poker face' started to slip again.
"Chocolate?" I blinked.
"You still keep chocolate bars in your pockets?" Zoe giggled.
JP blushed. "It's… not that impressive… I mean, it's come in handy a few times…" He muttered as he took one out and opened it for me. "Um… want one?"
To say I was surprised would be an underestimate. I didn't have a lot of friends at school, so it was rare I was offered anything without it being something I had to pay back. Unless they were my parents, but that usually followed up with my brother getting on my case. I missed home, and I wondered how long I had been gone. I hadn't had chocolate since I came to this world. Sir Michael mostly fed me food he thought would help 'increase my stats', which were usually tasteless.
JP snapped off a piece of the chocolate bar, handing it to me. I carefully took the piece of chocolate and popped it into my mouth. It tasted… so good, it tasted like… home. How long has it been since I had anything like this?
The food I got to eat at the castle was good, much better than the tasteless food Sir Michael always gave me, but this… was just a taste of home. I started to tear up.
"W-what's the matter? You don't like it?" JP asked frantically. "Do you need to spit it out?"
"N-no, it's good. It… it just reminded me of home, that's all," I quickly said, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.
JP sighed in relief. "That's good… I was worried you didn't like it or something."
"How long has it been since you were home, Tommy?" Zoe asked in concern.
"I'm not sure… but it felt like a lifetime," I replied.
JP and Zoe both frowned at this information.
"Then your parents must be worried sick about you." Zoe noted with some worry in her voice.
"Yeah, we can't just leave you here. We'll find a way to get you back home." JP reassured me.
"Oh, uh, it's fine. I can log out whenever, I just didn't want to go back yet," I replied. "I mean look at me! I've been here for a while and I still haven't found my Digimon partner! How embarrassing is that?"
JP frowned a bit, but he nodded. "Okay…" He said, but his tone showed he sounded skeptical of my explanation.
"How about this then?" Zoe spoke up. "We help you look for your Digimon partner, and once you find them, you log out to check in on your family, alright?"
"Uh…" I wasn't sure how to respond because I was about 99% sure I didn't have a Digimon partner due to my… connection with Kumamon. "I… guess?"
JP smiled. "Great! We'll start the search for your Digimon partner as soon as you feel you're ready to."
I felt unsure though, as it would be a fruitless search and waste their time. But this would be a good time to get to know these people who inherited the Legendary Warriors. They may be able to help me after all once I could get on their good side. I still needed to confront Sir Michael, and… maybe hanging out with these Legendary Warriors might help me figure out more about Kumamon.
"Okay, I appreciate the help," I finally said after coming to a decision.
For the next several days, I hung out with Zoe and JP. I would walk with them whenever one of them started patrolling the Forest Terminal. Nothing really happened until JP and I were out together.
"I might have to go back to Ophanimon's place soon," JP remarked. "And head to school soon too, which kinda sucks, but it is what it is…"
"So you'll be leaving soon?" I questioned.
From what I had learned about JP, he also didn't have a lot of friends at school. He usually liked to use chocolate, or do small magic tricks to get people's attention, but they never lasted very long. As for Zoe, I was surprised to learn she didn't have a lot of friends either. The other girls, according to Zoe, found her weird as she didn't like the same stuff they did. The more I learned about them… the more I felt like our lives were… similar to each other. Although I wasn't sure if that meant anything in the long run. The Spirits of the Legendary Warriors couldn't just be picking kids who were lonely, right?
"Yeah, I will." JP replied. "I'm actually based out of Ophanimon's castle. I just came here because Zoe needed help, and… I kinda wanted to get to know you too, since you were mentioned to be here on your own." He added, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "And… I'm glad I could."
"You were?" I asked.
"Yeah. I mean I don't know a lot of 8 year olds who'd be able to play video games as well as you do, or come up with that crazy prank on Sorcermon," JP chuckled.
"... I'm 11 years old…" I deadpanned.
JP blushed a bit. "Uh… right… My bad. You just looked younger than I thought… Sorry about the mix-up."
I knew I was short for my age, but did I really look like an 8 year old? I pouted. "Well, Sorcermon had us cleaning around the castle for three days after that. And I only did it because you and Zoe approved of it, otherwise I'm pretty sure Sorcermon would've kicked me out."
"C'mon, that Digimon needs to lighten up a bit, that's all. In fact, I kinda enjoyed seeing his hat dyed pink. It was certainly a funny sight for a while." JP chuckled.
I chuckled as well. "I'm also glad they have arcades in the castle to let us play. I probably would've gotten bored if they didn't."
"Yeah, being cooped up in the castle is no fun. The patrols aren't that fun either, but at least it lets us come out and stretch our legs a bit." JP grinned.
Yeah, it was weird. After that incident with Grumblemon, we haven't run into any troublesome Digimon or players. I was surprised Sir Michael hasn't tried to strike yet. Maybe he is finally giving up? I wondered.
"Do you think maybe I could… see more of the Digital World?" I asked. "Seraphimon's castle was great and all, but I'd like to see more of what this world has to offer."
JP frowned a little. "Maybe once you find your Digimon partner, or when Takuya comes back. He could travel with you if you don't find your Digimon partner before then. Takuya is the newest Legendary Warrior, so he doesn't have an assignment to look after one of the Celestial Digimon's castles."
"Ah… right…" I sighed.
As we walked, I began to wonder if I should bring up something I had been wanting to ask at least one of the Legendary Warriors. "Hey, JP? Do you… think maybe I could be… well, a Legendary Warrior like you and Takuya?"
JP blinked, taken off guard by my question.
"Or… at least a hero like the Legendary Warriors?" I added.
JP sighed. "It's not out of the realm of possibility, but… maybe… It's hard to say." He admitted at last before smiling at me. "But if you do the right thing, then yeah, you could be. I mean, the Legendary Warriors only became such, not just because of their power, but because they stood up to Lucemon."
That's true… a hero isn't just someone with power, it's someone who does the right thing for the right reason. I nodded. So… it doesn't matter if I am some low life thief, or at least the Digimon I'm connected to was. I know I'm not a thief or a bad guy… I just have to show the others I can be a hero too. I can show them Kumamon can be on their side. But… how? The misunderstanding already painted me as a psychopath who tried to drown a kid, even if that was me…
Still, despite the horrible misunderstandings and setbacks, after getting to know Zoe and JP, despite them being Legendary Warriors… I got to see them being more like humans, like me. They liked to eat, to talk, to play video games, and prank other Digimon. It gave me some hope that maybe, despite my past actions as Kumamon, it wasn't too late to be a hero. Maybe by the time Takuya came back, I could show him that Kumamon wasn't such a bad guy after all… and then… maybe I can finally tell him I was Kumamon.
"Thanks, JP." I smiled.
"What're you thanking me for?" JP blinked.
"You just… helped inspire me, that's all," I chuckled.
JP blinked, but then he grinned. "Well, that's a first. I never thought I'd inspire anyone. Glad I could do so." He chuckled as well.
I was feeling much better about things, and it seemed like things were starting to turn around for me.
Of course, everything had to go wrong then. Just like when I was with Takuya, the ground began to shake and crack. I gasped, wondering if Grumblemon came back for revenge.
JP quickly grabbed onto my arm and pulled me away as a giant, yellow fist came out of the ground. That didn't look like Grumblemon's fist.
"Great… just what we need, a Digimon attacking us." JP growled out as we came to a stop a distance away.
I had always dreaded when this would happen. Because it meant I had to make a decision. I could either run away and hide like a coward, or I could evolve into Kumamon to help out, but that meant risking JP coming after me as well.
A large Digimon came up from under the ground. This Digimon was made up of yellow rock all over its body, and it had large arms and legs. On its head was a metal helmet covering the upper part of its head, and it had red eyes. There was also lots of what looked like rope holding the rocky limbs together. On its neck was a black slave collar.
"JP! It's got a slave collar on!" I pointed out.
"Oh, perfect! It's not enough if it's just a Digimon attack, but a player making the Digimon attack is even worse!" JP growled.
That means… a player controlling this Digimon must be nearby… "But why have it attack us? We don't even have any Digimon with us."
"I don't know, but this can't go on." JP said as he took out his blue and yellow D-Tector. "Whatever the cause, someone has to stop this Digimon."
The green outline of his first Spirit became visible on the screen of his D-Tector as he held it up. JP then held up his left hand as fractal coding formed around it, his D-Tector held in his other hand. Slamming the device against the ring of coding, he brought the two together. JP then called out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Coding encircled him as his clothes ripped away and his body became data, the power of the Spirit flowing into him. Blue and yellow armor formed on his body as he grew in height and strength. On his back, wings formed before they were covered by two halves of a hard shell and on his head, a horn grew. His eyes became green as a faceplate covered his mouth and he felt the power of thunder flowing into his body. He landed, slamming his fists together as he cried out his name. "Beetlemon!"
I looked at Beetlemon in awe as it was my first time actually seeing JP Spirit Evolve. He was a lot bigger than I thought he would be.
The rock Digimon growled as it stared at Beetlemon. "Must… find… Legendary… Warrior… Target… located!"
Beetlemon gulped. "Aw nuts… This isn't good." He muttered before shaking his head. He returned his focus to the battle at hand. "No matter, I'll show you why a Legendary Warrior doesn't go down so easily!" He exclaimed as he flared his wings open and took off to the sky.
The big rock Digimon let out a roar at Beetlemon as he was flying up. It took a deep breath. "Sulfur Plume!"
The Digimon blasted out really hot fumes from its mouth. It was so hot that I could feel the heat even though I was a good distance away.
Beetlemon saw the incoming fumes and was quick to avoid them, using his flight to his advantage. But, from what I could tell, it was close enough that he could feel it even under his armor. "Geez! This guy has bad breath!"
I was trying to figure out if I should help Beetlemon or not. He looked like he was doing okay so far. Unless he really needed my help, I decided not to bring out Kumamon and potentially make things even worse between me and the other Legendary Warriors.
Beetlemon's hands began to spark with electricity. "Let's see how you like this, rock for brains! I summon the mighty power of Thunder Fist!"
Beetlemon clasped his two hands together, creating a powerful electricity that boomed in his hands as he brought it down at the rocky Digimon.
The attack made contact, but while it did some damage with the physical force, the rocky parts of the Digimon attacking made the electricity not that effective.
"Oh come on, you've gotta be kidding me!" Beetlemon groaned.
"Well, well, I was wondering why Golemon suddenly went ahead of me, but it looks like his instincts of a Legendary Warrior being nearby was spot on~"
That voice… I know that voice! I realized before I looked up, seeing a familiar chubby boy coming in on his hoverboard.
Beetlemon frowned as he faced Theodore. "So you are looking for us Warriors?" He asked, his guard up as he eyed the chubby boy.
"Of course, I've been doing research on you Legendary Digimon after I've heard about it from your fellow Legendary Warrior~" Theodore remarked. "And I've decided I want you for myself! With you Legendary Warriors at my side, nobody will be able to stop me as I conquer the Digital World! Not even the top players at the Rose Morning Star!"
"Be careful, Beetlemon! This guy has a bunch of slave collars!" I shouted in a warning.
Theodore frowned as he looked at me. "Hey kid! Aren't you a little young to be playing this game? It's supposed to be for 10 and up."
"I'M 11!" I shouted in frustration.
Beetlemon didn't let his focus drift from the fight. "I don't know who mentioned us, but you'll regret messing with us." He growled back. "No one enslaves us, or any Digimon here!"
"That's what they all say~" Theodore grinned. "Golemon, soften up that Legendary Warrior, would ya? I'd rather not have this one mess up my hoverboard like the last one did."
Beetlemon looked a bit confused, but, to his credit and my relief, he didn't ask any questions. "Well then, try and get me! I'm not the Warrior of Thunder for no reason!" He slammed his fists together as electricity crackled over them.
As Beetlemon was doing that, Golemon brought up his own fists. "Powerful Punch!"
The two punches collided, creating a loud sound, and a shockwave that pushed me back. It knocked the wind out of me as I fell back a few feet. Ow…
Beetlemon could see what was happening, but he didn't let himself get distracted for long. "That's it! You're going down!" He shouted as he gathered electricity in his horn. "Lightning Blitz!" He charged at Golemon in a shoulder tackle, aiming right at the slave collar.
But Golemon wasn't going to make it so easy, he held out his arms to catch the incoming Beetlemon's shoulders to push him back, and trying to keep his horn from touching his slave collar.
But that wasn't all Beetlemon had to worry about. I managed to push myself back onto my feet, and saw Theodore was grinning. I could see he was preparing to toss slave collars at Beetlemon as he was distracted. I have to do something!
Despite my fear of making things worse between Kumamon and the Legendary Warriors, I couldn't just let Beetlemon get caught in those slave collars. But this time I had a bit of a plan to cover my disappearance.
"Beetlemon! I'm going to get help!" I shouted, letting Beetlemon know I wasn't going to be here so he wouldn't freak out over my disappearance like Takuya did.
"Then hurry! I don't know how long I can hold this guy off!" Beetlemon grunted out. "Just don't get into trouble!"
"Don't worry about me! Just focus on the battle!" I called back before I quickly ran away, or more likely, I was running to a place I could hide myself.
I could hear the battle between Beetlemon and Golemon getting intense, likely because I wasn't there, Beetlemon could go all out. I could also hear that obnoxiously loud voice from that fat player.
"Don't tell me that little pipsqueak was your partner!" Theodore shouted. "Why else would he have been here with you? No matter, the slave collar should still work!"
I won't let you enslave JP! I thought to myself as I hid behind the tree and pulled ou the device… the D-Tector.
I summoned the ring of code on my hand and had the D-Tector scan it, covering me in a cocoon of fractal code. I had transformed into Kumamon once more.
Beetlemon was more focused on the fight than he was with what I was doing. "You don't know what you're dealing with, kid!" He exclaimed as he flew around, avoiding the attacks by Golemon. "You should never underestimate the Legendary Warriors."
"You should never underestimate my resources!" Theodore shouted as he began throwing the slave collars at Beetlemon. "Hold him right there, Golemon!"
Beetlemon let out a gasp when he saw the collars were coming at him. Golemon wasn't going to let him go so easily.
I ran forward, taking out my blaster and shooting snowballs at the slave collars.
Beetlemon's eyes went wide when he saw the snowballs intercepting the slave collars and stopping them from hitting him. "W-wha… How?"
"Who interfered!?" Theodore shouted.
I came over to the battlefield. Beetlemon looked at me, his eyes widening, but he had to keep most of his attention on Golemon.
"It's you! The Digimon who attacked me that night and ruined my hoverboard! I had to get a new one because of you!" Theodore snapped.
Beetlemon narrowed his green eyes slightly at hearing that news, but he didn't take his attention off of Golemon. But he did seem somewhat interested in how Theodore knew me.
Instead of replying to this annoying player, I ran over at Golemon, who was busy with Beetlemon. Beetlemon tensed up as I got closer, probably not sure what I intended to do. I took a deep breath and shot out my icy wind at Golemon's arms, freezing them into ice, and made it easy for Beetlemon to break the icy hands off of the rocky Digimon.
Beetlemon did indeed break free before he came down to a hover near me, but he didn't drop his guard. "I don't know why you're helping me, but thanks. However, don't think this means I will trust you." He said, indicating he was on guard.
"I'm guessing that means you know who I am," I replied, deciding if the good Legendary Warriors were going to believe I was just a low life scum, I may as well go along with it, but hopefully not forever. I could roleplay as the 'villain' who wanted to turn over a new leaf to them, and become an anti-hero or something. "It's not that I care about helping a Legendary Warrior, but I don't need to deal with a Legendary Warrior that's been enslaved by this annoying brat."
Theodore looked like he had swallowed something very sour at my comment. "I'm a brat?!" He exclaimed in anger.
Beetlemon gave a chuckle. "I'd say that describes you perfectly."
"How dare you!? I'm your new future master!" Theodore shouted angrily, his chubby cheeks turning red. "Golemon, stop playing around and beat both of them up now!"
Golemon gave a groaning growl as he looked down at his frozen hands. He was going to have trouble trying to punch us with those hands, I made sure of that. Golemon decided to open his mouth and try to hit us with his only other attack. "Sulfur Plume!"
The super-heated gasses came out of the Digimon's mouth and towards us.
Beetlemon frowned before he flared his wings again and took to the sky as I dodged to the left, the gasses missing both of us completely. "This kid really needs a wake-up call that this isn't all about him."
I watched and waited to see Golemon opening his mouth again to try another Sulfur Plume attack, I took a chance. I quickly shot snowballs into Golemon's mouth with my blaster. Golemon began choking on his clogged mouth as the heated smoke was trapped inside his throat.
"Beetlemon! Now's your chance! Finish it!" I instructed, hoping he would listen.
Beetlemon saw this and nodded. Electricity began to flow over his horn as he gathered the power into it. "Let's see how you like this, pipsqueak! Lightning Blitz!" He flew at Golemon again, this time slamming into Golemon directly in the chest.
Golemon let out a gargled yell before a ring of fractal code appeared around his body. I had seen some Digimon show those codes before if they got beaten up pretty badly. I had this weird instinct to use the de- the D-Tector on the code, but I never did because I didn't understand why I would need to do that, and Sir Michael had been watching me at the time and something just told me it wouldn't be wise to try to scan the data while he was breathing down my neck. But I had gotten used to ignoring that instinct, so I was surprised when I saw Beetlemon taking out his D-Tector.
"Time for the Thunder to strike and return you to normal!" Beetlemon said as he held up his D-Tector, pressing the button on the side. The screen lit up with his symbol as the scanner came to life. Beetlemon swung his arm, scanning the code. "Fractal code… Digitize!"
The code went into the D-Tector, the scanner going dark as Beetlemon held the D-Tector to his chest. "Purification, complete."
I watched in awe as the Golemon Beetlemon just scanned turned into an egg, and the egg flew up into the sky. The slave collar that had been on Golemon fell to the ground, broken.
"What did you just do?" I asked in shock.
"You… don't know?" Beetlemon asked back, sounding just as surprised that I didn't know what he just did.
"Damn it! I can't believe this! I need stronger Digimon!" Theodore screamed before he began moving his hoverboard away from us. "Don't think this is over! I'll be back!"
I was glad Theodore was gone, because now I had to deal with how I was going to make my exit with Beetlemon that wouldn't make me look worse. That scanning thing Beetlemon did… Could I have done that with those other Digimon that showed those ring of codes before? If I did… Sir Michael might've hunted down more Digimon to make me take their fractal codes, thinking it would make me stronger. I'm glad I didn't do it then. But I still don't understand why Beetlemon did it.
"I mean… you turned Golemon into an egg, isn't that like killing him?" I asked.
Beetlemon frowned a bit. "It's not really killing him. It's like a rebirth for him instead." He then frowned some more. "But why would you care?"
"I… I don't, I was just curious about the method," I replied, going back to my more cold tone. "But it looks like that brat is gone, and the situation is taken care of. I've no reason to be here, so I'll be leaving now."
Beetlemon nodded. While he didn't want me to just leave, if I was offering to just leave, then there was no need to pursue me. At least, that was what I told myself. I didn't know what Beetlemon was actually thinking. But he wasn't trying to stop me to give me some lecture or that he was going to make sure I didn't hurt anyone again, so I began walking away, hoping that meant the situation was improving between me as Kumamon and them as Legendary Warriors.
"Hey…" Beetlemon suddenly spoke up.
I stopped, my heart feeling like it was going a thousand miles per hour, but I had to remain as neutral and uncaring as possible. "If you have something to say, then say it."
"Did you actually try to drown a human kid?" Beetlemon asked. "I was told you did, but… I don't know, despite what I heard about you, you don't seem to be that kind of Digimon."
"Let me answer by asking you my own question. Did the ones who told you that see me trying to drown that helpless kid?" I questioned back.
Beetlemon hesitated. "N-no… just that the kid was in the water and not breathing…" He admitted.
"I'm sure that was a scary experience for all of them," I replied. "But I wasn't with the kid when he was in the water. The situation, however, had pointed at me for trying to drown him."
"But did you? That's why I'm asking you," Beetlemon replied.
I paused for a moment. "If you want my most honest answer… I didn't purposefully try to drown that kid."
I looked up, seeing Kazemon flying nearby. I needed to leave now because she came down and caused more trouble. "I should go."
I quickly ran into the woods before Beetlemon could ask me any more questions.
"W-wait!" Beetlemon called, trying to follow me, but he was unable to follow me due to his larger size.
"JP? What happened here?" I heard Kazemon's voice as she landed.
I ran behind a tree as I listened to them talk.
"We got attacked by a bratty player who was controlling a Golemon. I had to Spirit Evolve into Beetlemon to fight them off, and Kumamon arrived," Beetlemon answered.
"Wait, really?!" Kazemon asked, surprised. "Where is he? Is he still here?!"
"No… He left." Beetlemon admitted. "He did help me against Golemon though, which was a bit weird… But I can't exactly say I'm not grateful. He saved me from that brat's slave collars, we still don't even know if those would work on us, and I don't intend to find out."
"He helped you? Why?" Kazemon asked.
"He said he doesn't want to deal with a Legendary Warrior that's being controlled by the player," Beetlemon replied.
Kazemon appeared to be rather confused, at least I was guessing since it was difficult to get a read on her with that visor on her eyes.
"Wait, where's Tommy?" Kazemon asked worriedly.
"You… don't know? I thought that's why you were here," Beetlemon replied, confused. "Tommy said he went to go get help. I kinda thought he went to get you."
"I only came to help because I heard the battle going on." Kazemon replied with a frown on her face. "No one came to get me."
Beetlemon frowned as well. "Then… where is Tommy?"
I realized I needed to fix the situation. I released my Kumamon form to turn back into my human form. I walked out from behind the tree. "Hey! You did it! That was awesome!"
"Tommy? Have you been hiding behind that tree this whole time?" Beetlemon asked.
"Well… I know I said I was going to get help, but I saw Kumamon was there, and I wanted to watch from a safe distance," I explained.
Kazemon frowned. "Tommy, that was dangerous! What if Kumamon saw you?!"
"Not to mention you could've gotten hurt if a stray attack hit that tree," Beetlemon added.
I frowned. "I'm sorry, I was worried about leaving you behind, Beetlemon."
"Come on, let's get back to the castle," Kazemon sighed. "There's something we need to discuss anyways, JP."
Beetlemon nodded. "Yeah, good idea." He then looked at Kazemon. "What do you want to discuss?"
"Not here… not… in front of Tommy," Kazemon said before she looked at me. "Sorry, Tommy, it's important Legendary Warrior business."
"I get it," I replied.
Kazemon and Beetlemon flew back at the castle, with Beetlemon carrying me. It was really cool to fly, kind of wish Kumamon could fly.
After Zoe and JP took me to my room, I quietly followed them. I wanted to know what this important thing they wanted to discuss with themselves. Something in me was pushing me to hear what they had to say.
I followed Zoe and JP until they reached the battle simulation room. I remembered hearing Koichi taking Takuya in there to try to train. I wondered if Zoe and JP were heading in there to train as well. I was curious to see what they would do. I opened the door a crack to peek inside, and I was surprised to see Koichi was there as well.
"Hey, Koichi, I guess that means I should head back soon," JP said.
"Yeah, but not yet, I need to talk to you about something," Koichi replied. "I was talking to Zoe about it before she flew off to find you."
"What is it then?" JP asked, wondering what Koichi wanted to talk to him about. "Is it that important?"
"Well, yeah. One thing I wanted to say is that Koji informed me that there's a place called 'Amity Park' in the real world that's infested with ghosts. He wanted to take care of it, but he was called back into the Digital World. He was told that another Legendary Warrior will handle it, which I'm guessing is Takuya since he mentioned he was staying in America," Koichi stated. "I think it'd be best if we stayed away from Amity Park for the time being."
"Okay, that's fine, I didn't even know that such a place existed," JP replied.
"But… that's not all, is it?" Zoe said.
Koichi sighed. "I'm afraid not. The next thing I needed to discuss with you is about Tommy."
JP frowned. "What do you mean? Tommy is just a kid who's playing the game, right?"
"That's just it, I don't think he's just simply 'playing the game'. I think he's actually stuck here. There's been missing posters being put up with his real name and face on it. I did some digging, and I heard that his parents, and big brother, have been looking for Tommy since he went missing a few days ago," Koichi explained.
My eyes went wide. So I must've been here for a lot longer than I thought…
"That's…" JP frowned again. "Then we need to find a way to get Tommy home. He can't remain trapped here with Kumamon running around."
"We can easily get him back to the real world with our D-Tectors," Zoe reminded. "And… I think it's time we did that. This place is too dangerous for a kid, especially without a Digimon partner to protect him."
"Yeah… I guess so…" JP frowned.
"I have to agree. Tommy is just putting himself in danger the longer he stays here," Koichi said. "And, as much as I hate to say it, he'll be a liability if he stays with us. We can't keep an eye on him while also trying to protect the two Celestial castles from players at the same time."
I frowned as I felt like those words were stabbing through my chest. I'm just… getting in their way…
"I get it." Zoe said with a small frown of her own. "But… Tommy has gotten close to Takuya… It would be hard if he was sent back without at least saying goodbye."
"That's true…" Koichi admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "We'll wait until Takuya comes back then."
"But can we keep him safe until then? Who knows when Takuya will be back, especially with the time differences between the two worlds," JP sighed. "Tommy almost got hurt when I was fighting with Golemon."
Zoe frowned again. "True, but we have to at least try. We can't just send Tommy back before then."
"It's too dangerous to keep him here," Koichi sighed. "We'll give Takuya 3 more days to come back, but after that, we really need to take him back home. Not only is it dangerous here for him, and he's a liability to us as long as he's here, his family is looking for him too."
Listening to this conversation, I was reminded who these people were. They were humans, but they were humans chosen to be Legendary Warriors. I was just a lost human child who was confused and happened to get a lowly Digimon that I could turn into to fight… Koichi was right, I didn't belong here. I was only going to bring trouble for them. I stopped listening to them and walked away.
End of Flashback
As Tommy was walking away, he looked down at his D-Tector. He remembered Zoe mentioning this thing could get him back home, but he didn't know how it was supposed to do that. And he didn't want to go back home yet, even though his family was worried about him. He didn't know if he went back home if he could return to the Digital World. He had some unfinished business here, and it was his brother who told him that if he committed to something, he had to see it through.
I'll find my own way back home when I'm ready. Tommy decided. I'll confront Sir Michael… show them that Kumamon isn't a bad Digimon… and get stronger… I don't want to be a weak, helpless little kid anymore that's just getting in everyone's way.
With that thought, Tommy continued walking, leaving behind the castle that had housed him for a couple of weeks safely, and the Forest Terminal where he had bonded with some of the Legendary Warriors.
Titanic X: DarkFoxKit: Okay, good.
pokemon fan 1991: DarkFoxKit: Thank you. And yeah, Walker's causing some trouble for the heroes. And cool, hope you're able to go for the crossover and enjoy it.
ZAFT: I will be sure to check out your crossover when you get it up. :3