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.

43. Two Kinship Souls

DarkFoxKit: Here's another chapter, hope you guys enjoy it.

ZAFT: Only one review this time, but you have to admit, she is consistent. XD

DarkFoxKit: Yeah, there's that. And hopefully you guys are still liking the story. Perhaps we focused a bit too much on Digimon lately?

ZAFT: Well, we're getting into the DP stuff again, so maybe more reviews are to come. :3 So, enjoy the chapter~ :3

---

(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 43: Two Kinship Souls

"How long have we been walking?" Andy grumbled. "I think I lost count of how many days it's been now."

"I think about 4 days?" Lopmon guessed.

"I'd be worried about how you're doing since your legs are so short, but you've been riding on my head for the majority of this journey…" Andy remarked moodily.

"At least Lopmon is happy with it." Jazz grumbled. "If I had known we would be walking so much, I'd have worn more suitable shoes. But, the clothes change seemed to help with that, so I can't complain."

"We're starting to run low on food too," Floramon noted as she looked in the satchel she's been carrying.

Andy wondered if the satchel Floramon had was magic, because she was able to pull out a lot of food from it despite the satchel not being that big.

"But not to worry!" Floramon smiled. "I recognize this path, we should be getting close to Hamburger Village."

"Wha? Isn't that kind of on the nose?" Jazz asked. "It's gonna be a village full of hamburgers, right?"

"Yes." Floramon grinned. "It's the home to Burgermon, and they make lots of tasty burgers! We'll be able to order a lot to go before we continue on our trip."

"Really?" Lopmon frowned. "It sounds good, but I've been to places where they sell burgers, and they usually charge money. Which we're kind of lacking in."

Jazz grumbled. "Well, we need food, so we may have to take on jobs to get that money."

"Could we possibly work part time at the burger place for some money and food?" Andy asked.

"Hmm, I don't see why not. Burgermon doesn't seem to mind hiring some helpers with their burgers," Floramon replied.

Jazz sighed. "Well, we are kinda on a time frame, but I don't see much problem with it. And it may help us out too with building connections here in this world."

"I can't wait to see what kind of burgers they have then!" Lopmon smiled, now suddenly full of energy. "Come on, Andy! Onward to Burger Village!"

"Hey! I'm not a horse!" Andy grumbled. "Why don't you do some walking?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Lopmon pouted. "Your head is so comfy…"

"Then don't rush me," Andy huffed.

Jazz couldn't help but laugh. "Lopmon kind of reminds me of you when you were a kid."

"Do I?" Lopmon grinned.

"Oh, most definitely." Jazz grinned back. "Andy didn't like walking places and wanted to always be carried everywhere. But at the same time he was always so energetic too, even Danny would sometimes have a hard time keeping up with him and become grumpy about it."

"Jazz, please, don't start sharing what I did as a dumb kid…" Andy groaned.

"What? It's fun." Jazz replied with a teasing grin. "You were such a cute little kid~"

"Aww, that sounds cute! You've gotta show me a picture of Andy as a kid!" Floramon laughed.

"Don't you dare!" Andy quickly said.

Lopmon was giggling. Actually, what Jazz said about Andy being energetic, and Danny being a grump about it reminds me of… well, me and Patamon. I hope Patamon, Danny, and Takuya are doing okay. I wonder how much time has passed during the 4 days we've been here? Probably 4 hours went by in their world?

---

It was late afternoon by the time Andy, Jazz, Lopmon, and Floramon made it to the village. They looked around, seeing the buildings around them. A lot of the building had giant burger buns on top of the roofs of the buildings. However, the group were a little confused, the town almost seemed… deserted.

"Did… Hamburger Village get abandoned or something? I don't see any Digimon here," Andy asked in concern.

"Yeah… it's… disturbing…" Jazz agreed, feeling uneasy. "It's like they just… vanished."

"I don't like this…" Floramon muttered.

"I hear someone," Lopmon spoke up, his ears lifted up.

"You do? Where?" Andy asked.

"It's coming from that building over there," Lopmon pointed. "It sounds like… they're crying."

"Something bad must've happened here," Floramon said in concern.

"Then we need to check it out." Jazz said seriously.

"Be careful, this could be a trap," Andy warned.

Jazz nodded.

The group slowly walked to the building where Lopmon had heard the crying. They were tense as they didn't know what to expect. They could just leave and find another place to rest for a while, but they were low on food and they were hungry. They weren't sure how far the next town was either. They had gotten lucky so far as they hadn't run into any players yet, but they may not be so lucky if they kept going. They needed their Digimon to be at their full strength.

When they were in front of the house, Andy, Jazz, and Floramon were able to hear the crying now too.

"Oh… what am I to do…?" A woman's voice spoke up, sounding in distress.

"I'll check it first," Andy whispered to Jazz.

"Be careful…" Jazz replied quietly.

Lopmon stayed on Andy's head as Andy carefully opened the door to take a look inside.

It looked like a Burgermon, but this one was female. She had on a purple dress, with a head that seemed to be encased in an onion almost. She also had small black eyes as well.

"That's a Burgermon…" Lopmon noted. "But… why is she crying?"

"Uh… excuse me," Andy spoke up, trying to get the Burgermon's attention.

Burgermon gasped and looked up at Andy and Lopmon in surprise. "Oh! Customers! I apologize, we're closed right now."

"Huh? Why? What's wrong?" Andy asked.

"It's my husband! He's been abducted by one of the rogue Legendary Warriors, and if I don't make a better burger by midnight, I'll never see him again!" Burgermon cried.

"A rogue Legendary Warrior?" Andy frowned. Is it Grumblemon again or a different one?

"He's too powerful for anyone to stop him. I'm afraid he's scared off most of everyone in town," Burgermon explained. "Not even the players would stand up to him."

"You said you'll see him again if you make a better burger by midnight, right?" Lopmon asked. "Can't you just do that?"

"It's not that simple… I normally make my best burgers with my husband at my side." Burgermon sighed. "But… this Warrior seems to think I can make a better one than that on my own… And my husband always made the best burgers around. I don't know what to do…"

Andy frowned, not entirely sure how he could help her. "Would it be already if I let my sister in? Maybe there's something we can do to help."

"You… would help?" Burgermon asked, sounding quite surprised. "But aren't you a player? Why would you want to help me?"

"I'm not heartless," Andy sighed. "Besides, my sister and I have been traveling for 4 days. We need a place to stay and we're not sure how far away the next town is. If we help you, maybe you can pay us back with some food?"

Burgermon did look hesitant, but if these players were willing to help her, then who was she to say no? It would give her a chance to see her husband again at the very least. So, she nodded. "That would… be most appreciated. And I can repay you with food for your help."

"Okay, I'll let my sister in now," Andy said before he called out. "Hey! Jazz, Floramon! You two can come in!"

Jazz and Floramon opened the door, walking inside, surprised to see the Burgermon.

"So, it sounds like a rogue Legendary Warrior is causing trouble in this town," Andy said.

"Burgermon's husband was taken away by this rogue Legendary Warrior, and if she doesn't make a better burger by midnight, she may never see him again," Lopmon explained.

"The rogue Legendary Warrior kept saying how he was hungry, and he liked my husband's burger so much that he took him back to his mansion so he could cook for him," Burgermon informed. "But… I worry what that rogue Legendary Warrior will do to him if he can't satisfy that Warrior…"

Jazz frowned. "It sounds like we have our work cut out for us…" She noted. "After what you told me about BurningGreymon, Andy, I don't know how we can help much… These guys are really strong from what you've told me."

"Well, we can't leave poor Burgermon's husband in danger either." Floramon pointed out. "And who knows? We may not have to fight."

"I doubt we'd win in a fair battle anyways," Lopmon sweatdropped. "If this rogue Legendary Warrior knows what he's doing, and especially if he has his Beast Spirit under control, we're likely gonna get wiped out."

"Way to be positive, Lopmon," Floramon grumbled.

"Let's focus on one thing at a time," Andy said. "We don't know who this Legendary Warrior is or how strong they are. But if we want to help get Burgermon's husband back, we'll have to do what he wanted, and that's make a better burger."

"But Andy, you've never cooked before," Jazz pointed out.

Andy pouted. "I know, but I've eaten plenty of burgers, I have an idea how to make one."

Lopmon grinned. "That's the way, Andy! We just make that burger, and things will be fine!"

"It's not that simple." Floramon pointed out. "It'd have to be better than the ones Burgermon's husband makes, and we have no idea on what those taste like."

"Don't worry about that, try to focus on making the burger with your own unique taste," Burgermon said. "That's how my husband and I like to make our burgers. My kitchen is fully stocked, so come to the back when you're ready to cook."

Andy, Lopmon, Jazz, and Floramon followed Burgermon to the back, where the kitchen was. The kitchen was pretty big, and it had a lot of different kinds of food they could use for ingredients. There were piles of fruit and vegetables, there were burger buns, different types of meat, and seafood. They had a lot to work with. Andy was a little intimidated by everything.

"Whoa, that's a lot of food! I'm drooling just looking at them all," Lopmon's eyes sparkled.

"Must you do it on me?" Andy grumbled.

Jazz snickered. "Someone's hungry~" She teased. "But Andy has a point, Lopmon. Please try not to cover my little brother in drool."

"No promises," Lopmon replied.

"Alright, if you wanna eat, you gotta help in the kitchen too," Andy said as he reached up and plucked Lopmon off of his head.

"Let's see what we can make with all these beautiful ingredients~" Floramon smiled.

Andy was looking around the kitchen, trying to figure out how he wanted to make the burger. I suppose I could try something like the Nasty Burger, those are usually pretty tasty. But if I want to go for something of high quality, I'll need to add more to it…

Floramon was already taking some fruit from the fruit pile.

"What will you be making, Floramon?" Jazz asked curiously.

"I want to try out some fruit. I work best with vegetables and fruit after all," Floramon chuckled. "You want to help me, or do you have your own burger idea?"

"I think I could help you. I don't know what I would put in my burger." Jazz said with a sweatdrop running down the side of her head.

"Alright, then come on, let's choose what buns to use." Floramon grinned.

"What kind of burger are you making, Andy?" Lopmon asked.

"Hmm…" Andy began thinking. "I suppose I can start with the basics. Two burger buns, then add some ground beef, then put some sauce on it…"

"Good idea! I can help you with that!" Lopmon smiled.

"Just don't go eating it all," Andy replied.

Lopmon pouted. "I would not!" He whined. "I have more control than that…"

"Alright, then you can help me find what kind of sauce to use," Andy chuckled.

While the two teens and their Digimon were at work, Burgermon heard someone opening the door.

"Oh, it sounds like another is coming in," Burgermon noted. "I should let them know we're closed at the moment."

"Holler if they turn out to be trouble," Andy stated.

Burgermon nodded before she exited the kitchen. She was surprised to see another player had entered the building, though they didn't seem to have a Digimon partner with them. "I'm sorry, but we're closed right now."

"Why? What happened? This whole town seems deserted," The player questioned in concern.

"A rogue Legendary Warrior happened." Burgermon frowned. "No one wants to come out of their homes due to the rogue Legendary Warrior coming into the area."

"A rogue Legendary Warrior came through here?" The player asked in shock.

"I'm afraid so. He even took my husband away…" Burgermon answered sadly.

"Oh… is there anything I can do to help?" The player asked.

Burgermon was surprised. This was the second time a player offered to help her in her plight.

"I already have others helping me, but the more help the better, I suppose." She replied, feeling a bit better about her situation, but also a bit wary.

"How can I help?" The player questioned.

"Well… the rogue Warrior said that if I want to see my husband again, I would need to make a better burger by midnight. Trouble is, my husband makes the best burger in Hamburger Village," Burgermon explained. "I have two other players trying to make new burgers in hopes it would please the rogue Warrior, but I don't know if it would be enough."

"Well, I can at least try to help." The player offered. "If there are more burgers for variety, then you have greater chances of the rogue Warrior picking the best of the best."

Burgermon nodded. "Thank you for willing to help. Please, follow me to the kitchen, I have plenty of ingredients for you to try out."

The player followed Burgermon into the kitchen.

"Lopmon, I don't think soap counts as a condiment," Andy sighed. "We're trying to make the burger tasty, not poisonous."

"But I saw in those cartoons that eating soup lets them blow out bubbles. Who doesn't want that?" Lopmon asked.

"Those are cartoons, Lopmon," Andy pointed out. "Soap not only wouldn't taste good, but it's bad for anyone who eats it."

"What if the Legendary Warrior is a soap eater?" Lopmon questioned. "You know that's possible. There are Digimon that eat radioactive garbage and batteries."

Andy sweatdropped, while Lopmon had a point, Andy couldn't help but wonder if any of the Legendary Warriors would eat something like that. "Let's just stick with the basics and use actual edible ingredients, alright?"

"Fine… But I still think soap would be a good condiment in the future…" Lopmon grumbled.

"That's it, just put a little honey on top of the apple slices," Floramon instructed Jazz.

"This is an unorthodox burger, but it's definitely unique," Jazz commented as she squeezed out the honey.

"Hey, everyone!" Burgermon called, getting their attention. "We have someone here who's willing to help."

Andy, Lopmon, Jazz, and Floramon turned to Burgermon and the player beside her. They were a little surprised to see a child who appeared to be 9 years old.

"How about you introduce yourselves?" Burgermon suggested. "That way we can all work together."

Jazz smiled at the boy beside Burgermon. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jasmine Fenton, but everyone calls me Jazz."

"And I'm Floramon!" Floramon added with a grin of her own.

"My name is Andrew Fenton, I'm Jazz's younger brother, but you can call me Andy," Andy introduced.

"And I'm his partner, Lopmon," Lopmon greeted as well.

The player gave a sheepish smile, these guys seemed pretty nice, though he didn't want to let his guard down. He had met with players who had been 'nice' before. "I'm Tomoki Himi, but just call me Tommy."

Andy blinked. Tomo… uh… Tomkoaza Hamika? Didn't Takuya want me to check on someone with that name at Seraphimon's castle? … Surely this couldn't be the same kid, could it? He looks younger than 11 or 12, and he's pretty far from Seraphimon's castle.

"Nice to meet you, Tommy." Jazz smiled. "I'm glad you could help us with this. We need all the help we can get."

"How good are you at making burgers?" Andy asked.

"Um… I've never made one before, but I've eaten enough to probably get an idea," Tommy answered. "I used to watch my mom cook all the time."

"Then it's a first experience for all of us," Floramon noted.

"And we can only get better if we get the experience." Jazz added with a smile. "I'm already learning new ways to make a burger that I never considered before."

Tommy looked at the fruity burger Jazz and Floramon were making. "I can imagine."

Tommy decided to get to work. He wanted to rest and eat a meal before moving on, or at least get a part time job so he could make some money, but when he had come here, he was surprised to see how empty and quiet the town was. He hadn't expected to hear about a rogue Legendary Warrior coming through here, but he could at least try to help out the Digimon while he was here. Though he wasn't sure why these two players were here helping out. In his experience, players were usually pretty selfish, and only thought of getting their Digimon stronger to form stronger groups to take on the top players at the Rose Morning Star's castle.

The boy decided he would keep an eye on these two siblings while he was trying to make his burger. If they tried anything funny, he would have to use Kumamon to try to set things straight.

Unbeknownst to Tommy, Andy was having similar thoughts. Andy wasn't sure if Tommy was the same kid Takuya mentioned he should check on, but he could tell there was something about Tommy that was off. Tommy didn't have a Digimon partner with him, yet he seemed fine traveling on his own. Not to mention he could tell Tommy was eyeing both him and Jazz every once in a while, like he was waiting for them to do something. Andy didn't know a lot of kids that would be that suspicious.

He's hiding something. Andy noted. I better keep an eye on him.

Jazz didn't miss the fact that this Tommy kid was keeping an eye on them either, and she frowned a bit to herself. Why is this boy so alert? Did something happen to him to make him wary? It's like he's expecting us to attack him or something… Her inner psychologist was telling her this was not normal, that something was wrong, but Jazz knew that if she pushed, it would probably scare off Tommy.

"Ready to make the salad dressing?" Floramon asked.

"Salad dressing?" Jazz blinked.

"Yup, it should help give the burger some flavor," Floramon replied.

Tommy and Andy were looking at their own burgers. They had the ground beef just right, but it was still missing something. Lopmon added some ketchup and lettuce to the burger, but the burger felt too plain, there needed to be something else.

I know, the Nasty Burger usually added onions to make their burgers have more flavor to it. Andy remembered.

I remember now, Mom always said onions bring out the flavor. Tommy remembered at the same time.

The two boys started to reach for the same onions, but stopped when they noticed each other.

"Uh… you want to add onions to your burger too?" Andy asked a little awkwardly.

"Um… yeah…" Tommy replied awkwardly as well. "Do you want to use the onions too?"

"Well, I mean… I just thought it might help add some flavor to my burger," Andy answered.

"Me too…" Tommy awkwardly said.

"Erm… yeah," Andy picked up one of the onions. "No biggie. Though I am surprised that a kid like you decided to help out in the kitchen, not that kids can't help or cook, it's just… a little unusual."

"Why do you say that? I mean you're a kid too, and yet here you are," Tommy pointed out, picking up the other onion.

Andy frowned. "I suppose technically, I am. But… what made you decide to help Burgermon out? I'm sure she mentioned there's a rogue Legendary Warrior causing trouble here… aren't you scared?"

"Well… Maybe a little, but I couldn't sit back and do nothing." Tommy replied. "I mean, what else could I do? Run away and hide? That wouldn't help anyone."

"I guess not, but… where's your Digimon partner? No offense to you, but it's not exactly safe for someone without a Digimon partner to protect them," Andy questioned. "Even with a Digimon partner it's still dangerous."

"I'll find my Digimon partner as I move around here." Tommy replied, not wanting to give too much away about himself. "And… I can protect myself…"

Lopmon looked at Tommy curiously from on top of Andy's head.

He's definitely hiding something. Andy decided.

He's definitely up to something. Tommy decided.

"Well, if you're sure…" Andy said. "Let's get back to our burgers."

"Yeah, let's," Tommy replied as the two walked away from each other.

"You seem a bit tense, Andy," Lopmon remarked.

"There's just something about that kid that bothers me," Andy said quietly to Lopmon. "He doesn't have a partner Digimon, and he doesn't seem to be that scared traveling alone."

"I… did sense something unusual about him," Lopmon admitted. "I'm not sure what it is, but I don't think he's as defenseless as he appears to be."

"That's why I know he's hiding something," Andy said. "I just don't know if it's a dangerous secret or not."

"Should we keep an eye on the kid then?" Lopmon asked.

"Yeah, and I think he's been doing the same for us," Andy replied.

Lopmon frowned. "Then he's definitely not a normal player…"

Tommy finished peeling the onions, though it gave him tears due to the smell. Jeez, peeling onions always stings my eyes…

Tommy used a knife to cut up the onions into smaller pieces. Once he was done with that, he put the onions into a bowl. He began to carry the bowl, though the tears in his eyes made it difficult to see. Andy was carrying a bowl of onions as well, and didn't see Tommy.

"Look out!" Lopmon warned.

The warning came too late, both Tommy and Andy ended up running into each other, causing their onions to spill into a bowl of salad dressing.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, you got your onions in our salad dressing!" Floramon scolded.

Jazz sweatdropped. "It was an accident, Floramon…" She muttered.

"S-sorry…" Tommy apologized. "I-I didn't mean to…"

"Yeah, we kinda just walked into each other. I'm really sorry too," Andy apologized as well, rubbing his watery eyes.

Floramon sighed. "I'm sorry I yelled. It's just we were working hard to make the salad dressing just right…"

"Let me try scooping the onions out…" Tommy said as he picked up a spoon and scooped out some of the onions.

Andy was using a spoon to scoop out some of the onions as well, and Lopmon decided to try some of the soaked onions. "Hey, this is pretty tasty. Why don't you try putting this on top of your burger?"

"You think this is what the burger needed?" Andy asked.

"You did say it was lacking some flavor," Lopmon pointed out. "This would definitely put flavor in it."

"Okay, I'll try it out," Andy decided.

"Wait a minute, I was going to do that," Tommy spoke up.

"Were you?" Andy frowned.

Tommy nodded before he frowned as well. Is this kid a mind reader?

Is he reading my mind? Andy questioned.

"Um… maybe you both can put the onions with the salad dressing on top?" Lopmon sweatdropped/

"Fine…" both boys said before they looked at each other, and narrowed their eyes.

Jazz blinked as she looked at the two boys eyeing each other suspiciously. Why does it feel like I'm staring at two of Andy right now? I mean I guess I kinda am whenever Danny's around, but they're very different from each other despite being identical twins. These two act more like… stereotypical twins.

"Well, if their burgers turn out to be good, they can thank the salad dressing we poured our heart and soul into~" Floramon stated proudly.

Jazz smiled. "Yeah, I guess they could." She agreed. "Sometimes happy accidents can occur like that."

---

It was night now, the three moons in the sky were starting to align. Andy, Jazz, Tommy, Lopmon, and Floramon had their burgers in a tray. Each tray had about a dozen burgers each. They were put onto a table.

Jazz and Floramon's burger looked like a fancy fruit sandwich with honey and salad dressing for its fillings. Tommy and Andy's burgers were very similar to each other. Though Andy's burger had lettuce and cheese in it while Tommy just had the ground beef, with the onion and salad dressing on it.

"What do you think? Would these burgers be able to beat out your husband's burger?" Andy asked Burgermon.

"We'll see when the rogue Warrior comes." Burgermon said nervously. "But you three did so much with the effort, I can't repay you enough. But feel free to eat any burgers you want, and you can even stay for the night."

"Thanks, we just hope that this works." Jazz smiled.

"So all we do now is wait for the rogue Warrior to come, right?" Tommy asked.

"That's right, either he or one of his minions will come to see if we made any more burgers," Burgermon answered.

"In that case, we'll use this time to take a break from cooking," Floramon suggested. "It's important not to overwork yourself."

"Good idea." Jazz agreed. "My hands feel like they could fall off if I make another burger…"

"I'll make you kids some of my own burgers then," Burgermon offered. "It's the least I can do. If you need some refreshments, there are plenty in the fridge."

"Thanks," Andy said gratefully.

While the group were taking a break, drinking some juice, and eating some of the burgers Burgermon offered them, Tommy decided this would be a good time to try to figure out more about them and what their actual goal was.

"So why did you two players decide to come here?" Tommy asked. "It just seems weird you'd stick around even knowing about the rogue Warrior."

"The same reason you gave me," Andy replied. "We just happened to be passing by and noticed the village was quiet and empty. We talked to Burgermon and she needed help. We didn't just want to do nothing and run away."

Jazz nodded. "From what I understand, the Digimon here are wary of players, or just do not like them. I figured this would be a good opportunity to prove not all players are bad."

Tommy was skeptical about that. "Is that really the only reason you two are here?"

"Do we need another reason?" Floramon asked. "Although we did come here to stock up on food, and maybe get a part time job for money. But I think that's a pretty reasonable reason to be here in the first place."

"Really? That seems… unusual for players," Tommy replied.

Andy rolled his eyes. "No, we came here to take over the entire town so we can eat as many burgers as we want, because we are just that evil."

"Although I wouldn't mind getting to eat as many burgers as I want," Lopmon dreamily said.

Jazz sighed. "No need to be sarcastic Andy." She grumbled.

Floramon sweatdropped at Lopmon's comment. "You're always thinking of food, Lopmon…"

"Only when I'm hungry and the food tastes good," Lopmon replied.

"Besides, it's not us who are causing trouble here anyways," Andy continued, ignoring Jazz's comment. "It's a Digimon. If we wanted to take over something, I doubt we'd start with a small village that makes hamburgers."

Tommy frowned, but nodded. "I guess that makes sense." He admitted. That's true… Most players would go for a place that has more shops and stuff in it, not a small place like this.

"If what you say is true about why you're here, then we should be on the same side," Andy said. "You said you can take care of yourself without a Digimon partner, right? I have yet to see it, but I suppose if you're able to make it all the way here on your own, you could be of some help if we should have to fight the rogue Warrior."

Tommy looked at Andy in surprise. He hadn't expected anyone to see him as being capable in a fight, especially without a partner. The other Legendary Warrior had said he was more of a liability. And when Andy mentioned it, it reminded Tommy of how Takuya used to tell him how they had ways to handle themselves too, and how Tommy himself reacted to it.

"Andy, don't you think it's dangerous to have Tommy be put into battle? Especially with a rogue Legendary Warrior?" Jazz frowned.

"Jazz… you've seen what people can do without a Digimon partner," Andy pointed out. "For all we know, Tommy has something like that up his sleeve. We shouldn't be throwing him to the side because we don't see a partner Digimon with him. He had to have made it here on his own somehow."

Jazz frowned, but she knew Andy had a point. Both Takuya and Danny came to mind, as did Sam and Tucker. "Yeah… that's true. Not everyone has a Digimon partner in the real world." She conceded.

"But even so, this world is dangerous for a human without a Digimon partner," Floramon warned. "Can we in good conscience put this kid in danger like that?"

"I trust Andy's judgment," Lopmon said. "I doubt he would be saying this if he didn't think Tommy could handle himself."

Jazz sighed. "Okay… Tommy can remain with us for now." I'm so going to regret this down the road if Tommy gets hurt…

Jazz then stood up. "I'm going to find the little girl's room, so I'll be back."

"I'll guard the door," Floramon said as she followed after Jazz.

When it was just the two boys, and Lopmon, Tommy looked up at Andy. "Did you really mean what you said? You think… I can be helpful and not a liability?"

"I think you have your ways to be useful in battle," Andy answered. "I can't say I know what you can do in battle, but I recognize someone who has seen their share of battles when I see one."

Lopmon grinned. "And Andy has not been wrong on his judgment yet~"

"I've been wrong before, Lopmon, you give me too much credit," Andy grumbled.

"You still think I can help… even if everyone else thinks I can't?" Tommy questioned.

Andy looked at Tommy for a moment. "It sounds like you have a lot of baggage and self doubt. I know that feeling. You're surrounded by those who you feel are stronger and better than you, while you feel powerless and like you're just a liability. It doesn't feel fair, like you were left in the dust. So you want to try hard to prove to them, and yourself, that you can be more than just someone who gets in the way."

Tommy looked down. "Yeah… It feels like everyone considers me to be useless, at least, everyone I've met so far. It… It's hard." He admitted. Wow… I never thought Andy would have experience feeling like this either… "I… guess there was one exception, but it was a horrible experience." Sir Michael didn't think I was useless, especially after I turned into Kumamon, but… I was given a lot of expectations, and forced to do things I didn't want to do… and I wasn't treated as a person anymore. I don't want to go through that again…

"And… even if they didn't I wasn't useless… they would think I'm just trouble…" Tommy sighed, recalling his experience with the other Legendary Warriors as Kumamon. "And I'm not really sure how to change their mind."

"I can't say I know your story, but…" Andy began. "While you're with us, you can help us how you see fit. Just be careful, if we are dealing with a Legendary Warrior… especially if they have their Beast Spirit, it's going to be really difficult to beat them…"

"Beast… Spirit?" Tommy blinked as that was news to him.

"You didn't know about the Beast Spirits?" Lopmon questioned.

"I… think I've heard of it before, but… it wasn't really explained properly to me," Tommy admitted. "I mean is there a big difference?"

Lopmon grumbled. "A Beast Spirit is no joke. They are more powerful than the Human Spirit, and much more wild as well. A Beast Spirit is like an animal gone crazy or something."

"We've had to deal with someone who had a Beast Spirit before. Two of them in fact, one of them had no control over it though," Andy stated. "But both times, we didn't do so well against them. We actually had an easier time with the one who didn't have control over their Beast Spirit, but even then… we needed help from others to deal with him, and it nearly cost our lives. Dealing with a rogue Legendary Warrior with full control of their Beast Spirit is… definitely not an ideal situation…"

Tommy actually felt the blood draining from his face. "That sounds… scary… for sure…" He admitted. "No wonder the Legendary Warriors are so revered… Their power is… something else…"

"I hope we didn't scare you too much, but we needed to tell you in case we do have to fight the rogue Legendary Warrior. So you'd be aware just what kind of situation we're getting ourselves into," Andy stated.

"If everything goes right, maybe the rogue Warrior will like our burgers, return Burgermon's husband to her, and then leave," Lopmon said. "But… things never turn out so easy for us. That's why we're also preparing ourselves for a possible fight."

Tommy frowned, but nodded. "I guess that's a good way to go about it. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." He then sighed. "But you didn't scare me, at least not as much as you think."

"Still… knowing what we could be up against, do you still want to confront this rogue Warrior?" Andy asked. "I trust you'd be able to handle yourself, but just know that neither Jazz nor I will be able to protect you if the fight goes south. Neither of us are Legendary Warriors ourselves after all."

Tommy nodded. "Yes, I do. And I understand. No need to worry about me, I will be fine."

Andy gave a smile. "That's good, keep that spirit up."

"Heh, you kinda remind me of Andy in a way," Lopmon chuckled.

Tommy blushed. "W-what? I… I do?" He squeaked out.

"Lopmon is just being funny," Andy grumbled.

"What? I'm being serious," Lopmon pouted.

Jazz and Floramon came back over.

"Hey, looks like you three are getting along." Jazz smiled. "I was getting worried you'd try to strangle each other."

Tommy blushed. "Ah… No, no. We… we're getting along fine…"

"Aww, how cute, that's the first time I've seen you blush," Floramon giggled.

Tommy turned even redder, looking like a tomato with how red his face was. "I-I'm not blushing!"

"Wow, I didn't think a human could get any redder," Lopmon said in surprise.

"Guys, give him a break," Andy grumbled, though he was blushing a little himself.

The happy moment didn't last, however, as Burgermon ran towards them, looking frantic. "Get your burgers ready! They're coming!"

Jazz, Floramon, Andy, Lopmon, and Tommy all looked back in surprise before looking at each other and nodding in agreement.

"Okay, let's go serve up some burgers to this rogue Legendary Warrior." Jazz stated. "Hopefully things will go well for us."

Everyone gathered their tray with their burgers on it, and headed outside. They placed their tray on the tables outside and waited. The night was bright due to the 3 moons being full. They could see 3 large figures heading their way. As they got closer, the group could see what kind of Digimon they were.

These Digimon looked like green chameleons with red lines on the tail, legs, and back. They had darker green shells on their upper back and on their heads. Their eyes were red and green circles, giving them a creepy vibe overall.

"Time's up. For your sake, I hope you've managed to make a better burger," One of the Digimon stated.

"They're… Chamelemon," Floramon noted to the group. "They're pretty strong armor Digimon, and I hear they can camouflage themselves into any environment."

"So these are the kind of Digimon working for the rogue Warrior?" Jazz remarked.

"We have your burgers right here," Burgermon said, gesturing to the burgers on the table. "Please… take them and give me my husband back…"

The Chamelemon looked at the burgers on the table. They certainly looked appetizing…

Tommy watched this warily, wondering if the burgers would pass muster.

Each of the Chamelemon stuck out their long, purple tongues at each of the tray of burgers. All 3 of them grinned.

"Delicious!"

"That's the best burger I've ever tasted!"

"The boss would be pleased!"

"So all of our burgers passed?" Tommy asked.

"Great, then when does Burgermon get to come home?" Jazz questioned with a smile.

Suddenly, Jazz was grabbed by one of the Chamelemon's tail. "H-hey! What are you doing!?"

"Let her go!" Floramon shouted.

Lopmon frowned. "I guess we should prepare for a fight after all, Andy."

"Don't worry about what we're doing, you're going to be working for the master now!" Another Chamelemon said as the other two grabbed Tommy and Andy with their tails.

"Hey!" Lopmon shouted as he jumped at the tail that had Andy. "Let him go!"

"Poison Ivy!" Floramon shot out her vines at the Chamelemon that had Jazz, though her vines grabbed onto the tail, all it did was pull her towards Jazz. The Chamelemon didn't seem to care about the attack.

"Where are you taking those kids!?" Burgermon shouted in distress.

"They are coming with us to work making burgers for the master." The first Chamelemon replied with a grin. "They make some of the best burgers we've tasted thus far!"

Burgermon didn't know what to do. The players had been so kind to help her, and now they were taken away too. It was her fault they were put in danger.

---

After a while of walking, the Chamelemon put Jazz, Tommy, and Andy down, but they were to follow the 3 Chamelemon. The 3 humans, and the 2 Digimon were to stay in the middle so the Chamelemon could keep an eye on them.

"Move it! The master's waiting!" The lead Chamelemon demanded.

"Hey, Andy… maybe I should digivolve and take them out," Lopmon whispered to Andy. "They're not Champion level, so I might be able to take them out."

"They're not Champion level?" Andy blinked.

"No, like I said, they're armor Digimon," Floramon whispered. "They're… their own kind of level. It's complicated to explain those, but they usually need a special crest of some kind to armor digivolve. Some of them are really powerful, but most are usually around Champion level power-wise."

"Even so, I doubt Lopmon can handle them all on his own," Jazz quietly said.

Lopmon pouted. "Way to ruin my big plan to save us…"

"No, Jazz is right." Floramon whispered. "Even 3 armor Digimon can overwhelm a Champion level Digimon if they are alone."

"And anyways, I think this works in our favor," Andy quietly remarked. "We're being led to where they're keeping Burgermon's husband. So if we play our cards right, we'll be able to get him, and ourselves, out without having to confront the rogue Warrior himself."

Tommy blinked. He hadn't expected Andy to have a plan already.

"You think we can pull it off?" Tommy asked quietly.

"I don't know, it's a long shot," Andy replied. "But it's the best plan we have given our circumstances."

Tommy frowned, but nodded. If it doesn't work though… could I really risk it? Risk revealing what I am…? What if they end up hating me or want to use me too?

Eventually, the Chamelemon lead the group towards a mansion. It was rather nice looking, though a lot smaller than Andy expected, probably because Vlad's castle was way bigger.

They were led into the mansion, and soon shoved into a prison cell. The prison cell was rather large, however, and it had all sorts of ingredients. There were tables, stoves, and ovens for them to work with. It was like a kitchen with bars.

"Make another batch of those burgers," The Chamelemon ordered. "And be quick about it. I'll return for them later."

The Chamelemon walked away.

"Welp… looks like we went from one kitchen to another," Jazz grumbled.

"Who are you? What's going on?"

They turned to see who was talking to them. This Digimon looked just like Burgermon, only he wore a white chef's coat, and had a yellow mustache.

"Um… Are you Burgermon's husband?" Tommy asked cautiously.

"Yes, I am," The Burgermon replied.

"We came to save you," Andy said. "Though we ended up getting captured ourselves."

"Really? You're… players, aren't you? Why would you put yourselves in danger to save me?" Burgermon questioned. "I'm afraid my wife and I wouldn't have much to give you."

"We're not here for a reward," Jazz stated. "We heard about how your village was attacked by a rogue Warrior, and wanted to help."

"You… You did? Just like that?" Burgermon asked, surprised. "Why? Most players wouldn't do such a thing."

"We're not like most players," Andy replied.

"I can see that," Burgermon noted, still having trouble wrapping his head around that fact. "How's my wife? Is she alright?"

"She's worried about you, but she's fine," Andy said. "We need to work on getting you out though."

"Thanks, but I'm afraid I won't be able to leave so easily until I can make a burger that would satisfy the rogue Warrior…" Burgermon frowned. "We were supposed to go pick up our children from Primary Village, but then this had to happen…"

Jazz frowned. "That's awful…" She felt bad for the Burgermon family.

"We'll find a way to get you out." Floramon reassured Burgermon.

"But what can we do? Even my very best burgers aren't good enough for the rogue Warrior…" Burgermon frowned.

"That's why we're here," Lopmon spoke up. "We can make burgers that'll satisfy even the hungriest Digimon."

"Speaking of which, we should probably get to making those burgers, I doubt the Chamelemon and their master is going to wait for very long," Tommy spoke up.

"You're right," Burgermon agreed. "Let's see those burgers that brought you kids here."

"Great, let's make more of those burgers." Andy smiled.

The group got to work right away. They remembered the ingredients they used to make those burgers, and with the awkwardness between them and Tommy gone, they were able to work together much faster. Floramon and Jazz had to make another salad dressing for Tommy and Andy's burger to be complete.

Once the group were finished with their burgers, Burgermon tried out each of their burgers.

"Mmm! My, my, I have to say, this one is definitely a unique burger," Burgermon complimented when he tried Jazz and Floramon's burger. "The fruits mixed well together, along with the vegetables and the salad dressing. And the honey just makes such a fantastic flavor."

Burgermon tried Tommy's burger next.

"Oh, this burger is just delicious! The onions taste so good! The salad dressing on the onions only adds to their flavor!" Burgermon exclaimed happily. "It's so simple yet delicious!"

And finally, Burgermon tasted Andy's burger. "Oh my! It's as delicious as the last burger, but with more added to it with the lettuce and cheese. I'd say both burgers are tasty and almost perfect in their own way. And the fruit burger is definitely a worthy burger as a contender."

"So which burger should we make to satisfy this rogue Warrior?" Floramon asked.

"It's simple, we'll make all three burgers," Burgermon said. "I'll put on a sesame seed burger bun on your two's burgers as I believe that would make them perfect."

Jazz smiled. "Then this may work out for us after all!"

"I'd be on guard, just in case, Jazz. We don't know if we will be able to do this and get out without a fight." Floramon warned.

"We better get to cooking, I don't think the Digimon will wait for much longer," Andy said.

Suddenly a tongue lashed out against the bars. "Time's up!"

"We're almost done, we just need a little more time!" Jazz spoke up.

"Well time is what you don't have. If you don't hand over the burgers now, your friend here is going to be an appetizer!" The Chamelemon warned.

"What?" The group frowned.

Chamelemon looked back, moving the wall up, showing them a surprising sight. Burgermon, the one the group met with earlier, was locked in a giant bird cage.

"My wife!" Burgermon shouted.

"My husband!" The other Burgermon shouted back. "You're alive!"

Jazz growled. "Okay, that's just twisted… Using the poor guy's wife like that is just cruel!"

"We don't have your burgers yet!" Lopmon shouted. "Don't you dare hurt that Burgermon!"

"Well too bad! You should've made the burgers instead of wasting time!" Chamelemon snapped back. "Now she's going to be the master's appetizer."

"Please don't!" The female Burgermon begged.

The group had enough of this.

"You can threaten us all you want, but picking on another person is going too far!" Andy snapped as he took out his D-Arc, letting it glow.

Tommy blinked when he saw the D-Arc. It looked different from his D-Tector, but for a moment, he wondered if Andy was another Legendary Warrior, or if he was more like Tommy.

"Lopmon, stop them!" Andy called out.

Lopmon grinned. "I was waiting for this!" He exclaimed as fractal code surrounded his body.

"Lopmon, digivolve to…" Lopmon began to lose his own skin, on his face, and then his legs lost their skin as well. His ears also lost their skin before his skin began to come back, but on his legs and feet first. Lopmon's legs gained shoes and yellow pants with a belt and yellow top that matched, two blades appeared as his hands regained their skin and red gloves, grasping the blades in both hands. The skin on Lopmon's head and face came back, just as a blue bandanna appeared around his neck as well. "Turuiemon!"

The fractal code dissipated, revealing the Champion level Digimon.

"You digivolved!" Tommy blinked in surprise.

Turuiemon held out his gauntlets. "Gauntlet Claw!"

Turuiemon broke through the bars quite easily, and jumped at the Chamelemon.

Andy, Jazz, and Floramon ran out of the kitchen. Tommy looked on nervously.

"I may not be able to digivolve, but I can still fight!" Floramon shouted. "Rain of Pollen!"

Floramon showered the 3 Chamelemon with a cloud of pollen.

The 3 Chamelemon seemed to freeze in place before they began to look like they didn't want to fight anymore. "What are we doing? Why are we threatening these players? We shouldn't be fighting." One Chamelemon said, looking kinda bored.

"Nice one!" Jazz grinned.

"Now's your chance!" Andy called out.

"Ninja Fist!" Turuiemon did a flurry of punches at all 3 Chamelemon.

Unfortunately, the Chamelemon weren't out yet. The pollen soon wore off and they were back into battle mode.

"You'll pay for that!" The Chamelemon snapped before they began to disappear, as if they turned invisible.

"What the heck!?" Jazz shouted.

"They're camouflaging themselves!" Floramon informed.

One of the Chamelemon appeared on a tree behind Andy and Turuiemon.

"Andy! Behind you!" Tommy warned.

Andy and Turuiemon turned, and yelped, Andy barely dodged the long tongue that almost hit him.

"That's it! No one threatens Andy!" Turuiemon exclaimed, lunging at the Chamelemon who had threatened Andy. "Gauntlet Claw!"

The Chamelemon disappeared again, and Turuiemon ended up slashing the poor tree instead.

"Look out!" Floramon yelped as she pushed Jazz away from another Chamelemon that tried to hit her with his tongue as well.

Andy frowned as he took out his Fenton Rod from his pocket and extended it. "Alright, that's it, I'm fighting too."

Andy had experience with fighting invisible enemies, instead of trying to go to them, he waited for them to come to him. Unlike with ghosts, he noticed the Chamelemon couldn't stay invisible when they attacked. So he needed that one opening opportunity.

"Same here!" Jazz called back, though she didn't have a weapon like Andy did, she had her own way of fighting back.

Tommy was surprised when he saw Andy and Jazz, both humans, decide to help out in the fight without being able to turn into Digimon themselves. Isn't that reckless though?

Turuiemon was glad to have the backup. "Thanks. It will make things easier." He stated with a smile on his face.

Turuiemon and Andy were back-to-back, keeping an eye out for the Chamelemon. Whenever they saw one attacking, they used their Gauntlet Claw or Fenton Rod to deflect their tongue or tail away.

Jazz was moving around fast and gracefully, she used to practice karate with her mom when she was younger. She kept up her exercises, which gave her a gymnast movement when she needed it. She was able to dodge a lot of the Chamelemon's attacks, which gave Floramon the opportunity to strike one of the Chamelemon's tongue with her Poison Ivy. The Chamelemon let out a yelp of pain.

"We got one!" Jazz called out.

"I'm on it!" Turuiemon ran at the Chamelemon, while Andy ran behind him, trying to use his Fenton Rod to keep the other two Chamelemon from stopping Turuiemon with their tongues.

Turuiemon drew back a fist as he reached the Chamelemon that Floramon had hit earlier. "Time to finish this! Ninja Fist!" The quick jab attack made contact with the Chamelemon's head directly.

The Chamelemon fell to the ground, but the other 2 were coming in.

"Watch out!" Jazz warned.

"Your camouflaging ability will be useless soon enough…" Floramon muttered as she raised up her hands. "Rain of Pollen!"

Floramon was trying to be careful not to hit any of her allies with her pollen. She had seen some movement gathering where the Chamelemon was after he got hit, this gave her the chance to spread the pollen at movement, covering the 2 invisible bodies with the pollen.

"Nice one, Floramon!" Jazz smiled. "We can see them now!"

One of the other two Chamelemon sweat-dropped at Jazz's words. "For the love of Celestial Digimon…" The Chamelemon muttered.

Turuiemon grinned when he saw the other two Chamelemon. "Now this makes the fight more even!" He got his next attack ready. "Gauntlet Claw!" He ran at the first of the two Chamelemon, his fist drawn back with the sharp metal claw on it coming in hard and fast.

The other Chamelemon attempted to stop Turuiemon with his tongue, lashing out at the bunny. Turuiemon yelped and hissed as the tongue grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

Andy ran forward and swung his Fenton Rod at the Chamelemon that was trying to stop Turuiemon, and he hit the Chamelemon's extended tongue. The Chamelemon let out a yell of pain as he pulled his tongue back, freeing Turuiemon.

Turuiemon continued with his attack and stabbed the claw into the Chamelemon's back. The Chamelemon screamed in agony before Turuiemon took his claw out, and the Chamelemon fell on top of the other Chamelemon that was already down.

The group turned to the last Chamelemon.

"Wow, they're quite the team," Burgermon noted.

"Yeah, they are," Tommy agreed.

"Don't think you've won just yet!" The last Chamelemon shouted. "Have you forgotten about the prisoner? Because I sure haven't!"

The Chamelemon lashed out his tail, breaking the string that held the giant birdcage on a tree branch. The female Burgermon let out a shout as she was falling.

"My wife!" The male Burgermon shouted in worry.

"Poison Ivy!" Floramon attempted to grab onto the top of the birdcage with her vines, but it was too big and heavy for her. "I can't stop it!"

"Try to catch it!" Andy quickly instructed his partner.

Turuiemon nodded, running as fast as he could towards the falling cage. He was moving quite fast, which, as a rabbit-like Digimon, was a good thing.

"Hang on! I'll catch you!" Turuiemon called to the captive Burgermon.

Turuiemon was able to catch the bottom of the cage, and Floramon was able to slow down the descendent enough where it didn't hurt Turuimone too much when he caught it.

Unfortunately, that had kept both Digimon partners busy, granting the Chamelemon an opportunity to strike.

"Shouldn't have taken your eyes off of me~" Chamelemon grinned as he grabbed Andy with his tongue.

Everyone gasped when they saw the boy was caught.

"Put him down, right now!" Jazz shouted.

"Why should I?" Chamelemon taunted back.

Turuiemon felt angry that he had fallen for a trick like that, and now, thanks to that trick, Andy was caught. "Darn it…" He hissed.

"Now, let's try this again. Hand over the burgers, or this boy will be lunch meat!" Chamelemon threatened.

Tommy saw the situation was looking bad. He reached into his pocket, he couldn't let things continue like this…

"This is just disgusting…" Andy groaned, feeling the saliva from the tongue soaking into his clothes. I'm so… SO going to hate myself for this. "You have your tongue close to my face, do you know how disgusting that is? And how careless you are?"

Before Chamelemon could ask what the boy meant, Andy opened his mouth and bit down hard on the tongue.

The Chamelemon let out a yelp of pain when Andy bit down on his tongue. "OW!"

The distraction was enough to let Turuiemon, after putting down the birdcage, launch himself at Chamelemon. "Gauntlet Claw!"

Turuiemon's claw stabbed through Chamelemon's chest. The tongue loosened enough to let Andy fall through, and Turuiemon caught him.

"Are you okay?" Turuiemon asked.

Andy was spitting out his own saliva and rubbed his tongue. "I never want to see another tongue ever again!"

Turuiemon sweatdropped. "Well… at least your little plan worked…"

Dang, Andy, that was really… crazy, but I can admire that he was able to make it work. Tommy chuckled to himself.

"Andy! Are you okay?" Jazz ran up to Andy as Turuiemon put him down.

"Yeah, just intensely grossed out… and I'm going to want to use a lot of mouthwash," Andy groaned.

All 3 Chamelemon were on the ground, and a ring of code came out of their bodies.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Jazz asked in surprise.

"That's their fractal code," Floramon explained as she opened the cage the female Burgermon was in with her vines. "It normally only shows up when the Digimon is on the brink of being reborn."

"What are we supposed to do with it?" Andy asked before he heard his D-Arc beeping in his pocket.

Turuiemon heard the D-Arc beeping. "I think your D-Arc is reacting to the fractal code."

Andy took his D-Arc out, seeing the screen flashing as a holographic arrow pointed at the ring of fractal code. "Am I supposed to use this D-Arc to scan it?"

"You can try," Tommy spoke up, walking up to the group. I remember seeing JP doing that with his D-Tector. "It might… help the Chamelemon not be so bad anymore."

"I guess I can try," Andy shrugged.

Andy looked at the Chamelemon before he pushed a button on the D-Arc, the D-Arc glowed a bright, white light. "I guess your time has run out, huh?"

Andy then held up the D-Arc and swung his arm, the fractal code getting scanned by a scanner on the top of it. "Fractal code… digitize!"

Andy had no idea why he said that, it just sounded right. Soon, the fractal code went into his D-Arc, showing a picture of Chamelemon on his screen. The Chamelemon themselves suddenly changed. They looked like small, yellow armadillos now. They gasped when they saw they had changed, and ran away.

"Wait, they didn't turn back into eggs?" Turuiemon asked in surprise.

"I guess you just took away whatever made them armor digivolve in the first place," Floramon shrugged. "At least they don't seem to be bothering us anymore."

The female Burgermon ran over to her husband. Both of them hugged each other.

"I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried about you!" The female Burgermon cried, hugging her husband tightly.

"I was so worried about you!" The male Burgermon replied, hugging his wife tightly. "I'm so happy you're alright!"

"I'm glad everything worked out." Jazz smiled.

"Um, aren't we forgetting something?" Tommy frowned.

"Yeah. The Chamelemon were only minions," Andy reminded. "We haven't really seen the big, bad Legendary Warrior yet."

"Where are my burgers!? I'm starving here!" A loud voice boomed the entire area.

"Oh, the burgers! I gotta make those now!" The male Burgermon said urgently.

"I'll help you make those!" The female Burgermon quickly offered. "I've seen how the kids made those burgers, I can help make them faster."

"Great, help me warm up these patties!" The male Burgermon instructed.

The group could hear stomping coming their way.

"I don't think they're going to have enough time to make those burgers!" Floramon gulped.

"We have to find a way to buy more time!" Turuiemon frowned. "But I don't know if that will work…"

"Well, it's like you said before, we may not have a choice but to fight," Tommy pointed out nervously.

"But we just fought with the Chamelemon, our Digimon aren't in top shape right now," Jazz pointed out.

"I don't think we have a choice, Jazz," Andy grimly said. "I doubt this Digimon is going to wait patiently for the two Burgermon to make his burgers."

"Why do I smell humans!?" The voice boomed louder. "Humans… actually, they might make a tasty meal!"

Jazz paled. "Crap! I don't want to be some Digimon's meal!"

"D-don't worry, Jazz! I-I'll protect you!" Floramon spoke up, though she tried to sound confident, it was clear she was pretty scared herself.

"Here he comes!" Turuiemon warned.

The form that came through the door was a large draconic looking form, made of wood and covered in leaves all over his body. The tail split in two, and 6 large roots stuck up from his back. His feet had large leaves coming from them like claws, and there was a giant set of leaves around his neck like a collar or ring. And his head looked like a seed, being a darker brown color before his nose became a light tan color. The eyes were black with golden dots that were the pupils.

Jazz grew pale in the face again. "Is… that… this rogue Legendary Warrior…?" She squeaked out.

"I can't see a symbol on him…" Andy frowned.

"It's probably covered by the moss on his body," Turuiemon guessed. "He definitely feels powerful… very similar to BurningGreymon and Gigasmon…"

"Straight into the belly of the beast then…" Andy sweated.

This was the first time Tommy had seen a Legendary Warrior this big before. Gigasmon was pretty big, but he was a dwarf compared to this Legendary Warrior. He felt like the giant grassy lizard could just open his mouth and swallow them all whole.

The large Digimon was studying them, though his eyes were immediately drawn to Turuiemon. "You? What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" Turuiemon blinked, confused as to what the Digimon could be talking about. "Me?"

"Yes, you," The Digimon replied.

"Uh… do… we know each other?" Turuiemon hesitantly asked.

The Digimon let out a laugh. "Come on, don't play dumb. It's me, Petaldramon, the Warrior of Wood! You wouldn't forget about me!"

Everyone looked at each other, not sure what to make of this. Turuiemon appeared to be the most confused.

"Um… you must be mistaking me for someone else?" Turuiemon replied nervously.

"No, I would never mistake you." The Digimon, Petaldramon, replied back. "How could I make a mistake like that?"

"Wait a minute… Were you sent by Cherubimon?" Floramon spoke up, seeing the situation.

"Of course I was! Everything we do is in the name of Cherubimon, our fallen Celestial Digimon who lost his castle to those dirty players!" Petaldramon replied. "Speaking of which, why are there players here? Did you bring them here yourself, Turuiemon?"

Andy, seeing that Petaldramon seemed to think his partner was Cherubimon, decided to try to take advantage of the situation.

Before Turuiemon could give another confused answer, Andy spoke up. "I can't believe we actually fell for it. I didn't know that Turuiemon was that clever."

Turuiemon looked at Andy, confused at what was going on. "H-huh?"

"Of course you'd be angry at players, after all, you were once Cherubimon, right?" Andy gave Turuiemon a small wink, hoping Turuiemon would play along.

Turuiemon, catching on, decided to play along as well. I see now, Andy! He nodded. "Y-yeah! It was a clever plan! I am glad it went off without a hitch, or you figuring it out, you dumb players!"

"We were so stupid, because we're just players who don't have any idea what's going on," Jazz said in her all too fake voice.

"Tone it down," Andy whispered to Jazz.

Tommy had also caught on to what Andy was trying to do. If they could avoid a fight by stalling, then he was all for it. He could already tell if a fight were to break out, they would be wiped out in an instant.

"I just wanna go home!" Tommy faked cried, though he was pretty convincing, unlike Jazz.

"That's the Lord Cherubimon I know!" Petaldramon grinned. "You want revenge on these players."

"Yeah, of course, they hurt me after all," Turuiemon replied, though he was trying not to give anything away, he had to stop his body from shaking at the horrendous lies he was giving. "How… have the other Legendary Warriors I've sent out been?"

"They've been doing what you ordered us to do." Petaldramon replied. "Grumblemon has found the other Legendary Warrior Spirits were tainted by players though. It's sad because they are trying to defend players instead of protecting the Digital World from the players."

"I see…" Turuiemon remarked, seeing this was a good opportunity for them to find out about the other rogue Legendary Warriors. "Remind me again, who were the Legendary Warriors I had sent out to protect the Digital World from the players?"

"There was me, Grumblemon, Ranamon, and Mercurymon." Petaldramon replied. "The Spirits of Darkness were found by a player as well, sadly, which is a shame."

"Ah, yes, that is a shame. The Spirits of Darkness would've aided us well," Turuiemon replied. Whoever they are. "And I take it each of you have your Humanoid and Beast Spirit, correct?"

"Yes, we do." Petaldramon replied. "Thanks to you, we have both Spirit forms, which has been quite handy."

Well that's definitely going to make things harder for us… Turuiemon inwardly frowned. "Good, I've made sure to be… very thorough in making sure to give the players hell. Where are the others currently stationed?"

"We have been gathering together near where your castle was. I don't care what those players did to it, we all still consider the Rose Morning Star your place, and your place alone," Petaldramon stated. "We stay hidden, of course. We aren't quite powerful enough to take on those players yet."

"I see… when do you think you will be strong enough?" Turuiemon questioned.

Andy approved, Turuiemon was asking all the right questions, and Petaldramon was giving it to them.

"I'd say when we can consume enough fractal codes to grow strong enough, or if we can get our hands on all the other Spirits and combine all of our powers together," Petaldramon answered.

"I applaud your way of thinking, but I'd rather you don't consume the fractal code, otherwise there wouldn't be a Digital World left to save," Turuiemon stated.

Petaldramon, while he didn't show the emotion, was frowning. "That's true. Then that leaves finding the other Spirits as our only means of getting strong enough to defeat the players who defeated you."

Jazz frowned a bit at that. Then that means these other Legendary Warriors may attack Takuya… He holds a Legendary Warrior's Spirit…

"Take your time. Rushing in would only get you hurt," Turuiemon said, mostly to buy time for the other Legendary Warriors. "I myself will also need some time to return to my… full glory, as you can see. I have been weakened considerably by those players."

"Yes, I can see that." Petaldramon said somberly. "I suppose just slowly finding the other Spirits is the best course of action we can take."

"This is it! We've finished the 3 ultimate burgers!" The male Burgermon announced. "They are waiting for you, Lord Petaldramon."

Petaldramon grinned. "Excellent, I was starving!"

But despite his hunger, and his desire to consume the burgers, his loyalty to 'Cherubimon' ran deeper. He looked at Turuiemon. "But I won't eat unless you allow me, of course, Lord Cherubimon. If we must continue our discussion first, or if I must rid these players for you, I will do so."

Turuiemon, and the others, were rather disturbed how loyal these rogue Warriors appeared to be.

"You go ahead and enjoy yourself. You've been working hard after all. I'll take care of these players myself. I may be a lot weaker than I was before, but I can still take out players quite easily on my own," Turuiemon answered.

Petaldramon smiled. "I do not doubt you will. Thank you, Lord Cherubimon." He then turned his attention to the burgers which were waiting for him to devour.

The two Burgermon rushed out while Petaldramon began consuming the 3 giant burgers in pure bliss.

"Come on, let's go while he's eating," Andy quickly said to the others.

The group didn't hesitate to get the heck out of there, hoping there were enough burgers to keep Petaldramon distracted long enough for them to get as far away as possible.

At least we didn't actually have to fight him. Andy thought to himself as he, Jazz, Tommy, Turuiemon, Floramon, and the 2 Burgermon were running away from the mansion. And we got to learn more information about the other rogue Legendary Warriors, and what they plan to do.

---

Everyone only stopped running when they were back in the Hamburger Village, and inside the Burgermon's restaurant. They were all sitting down, tired from their running. Turuiemon had degenerated back into Lopmon.

"I… can't believe… we got out… without fighting… Petaldramon…" Jazz said, still catching her breath.

"Yeah… It actually worked…" Lopmon agreed with relief. "Wow… That was some plan, Andy…"

Floramon grinned. "Nice work, Andy…"

"You all… give me… too much credit… we were lucky that… Petaldramon thought… Lopmon was Cherubimon… so I went with it," Andy stated. "It let us… go without a fight… and we got… more information on the… rogue Warriors. I have… to say though… that was… some good acting, Lopmon."

Lopmon blushed. "It… worked out better… than I thought it would… I kept thinking I would be found out… but I guess… it wasn't too hard to act… I just had to remember… what the rogue Warriors thought… about the players."

"So now… we know…" Tommy said. "The rogue Warriors… will want to get their… hands on the other… Legendary Warrior's Spirits… to take out… the players."

"Here everyone, I have some refreshments to help you catch your breaths," The female Burgermon spoke up, carrying a tray of nice, cold glasses of juice.

Everyone eagerly, and gratefully, took a glass and sipped up the juice, which helped with their throat.

"I still can't believe that Warrior thought I was Cherubimon," Lopmon remarked.

"Just be glad he did, if we had to fight, we wouldn't have lasted long enough for Burgermon to finish their burgers, and we'd probably be goners by now," Andy stated.

"I'm a little confused," Floramon said. "Why do you talk like you're not Cherubimon?"

"Because I'm not?" Lopmon replied, blinking. "It can't get more simple than that."

"Really? The only reason I figured out Petaldramon was sent by Cherubimon was because of his interaction with you," Floramon said.

"Why? Do I look like Cherubimon?" Lopmon frowned.

"Are… you actually… serious?" Floramon questioned. "You… don't think you are?"

"I know I'm not," Lopmon grumbled.

Jazz blinked. "I think it's best we don't push Lopmon on the issue. I'd rather he doesn't feel like he has to answer right now…" She muttered with a sweatdrop.

"Besides, it's not likely a Celestial Digimon would partner up with a human," Andy added. "Maybe Lopmon and Cherubimon share the same digivolution line or something, and we just got lucky."

Tommy didn't know about the situation himself, but he spoke up. "If one rogue Legendary Warrior would think Lopmon is Cherubimon, do you think the others would as well?"

Jazz looked down in thought. "It's possible." She admitted. "But if that is the case, then we'd have to be cautious."

"Why?" Lopmon asked.

"If they find out you're not Cherubimon, they'll be on a warpath," Jazz answered. "They'll want to get rid of us as quickly as possible because we know too much."

"Or at the very least they find out he doesn't know…" Floramon muttered.

"I heard that," Lopmon huffed. "These ears aren't just for show, you know."

"Regardless," Tommy spoke up. "Unless we can find the real Cherubimon and convince him to have the rogues stand down, Lopmon might be our best option to get the rogues to back down, don't you think?"

"If he tells them to stand down and not hurt the players, they're going to find out he's not Cherubimon," Andy pointed out. "Or at least, not the Cherubimon they know."

"Then I guess Lopmon will have to do some spectacular acting to get them to leave us alone." Jazz sighed.

"This is… stressful…" Lopmon groaned. "I never expected to be of any importance, let alone to these Legendary Warriors. I don't know if I can handle it."

"Just try your best." Floramon reassured Lopmon. "You have us to back you up."

"We should also let the other Legendary Warriors know they'll be targeted sooner or later," Jazz said.

Tommy looked down. "I'm sure they can take care of themselves. There's no way they would fall so easily to these rogues."

Lopmon nodded. "Yeah, first hand experience shows they are strong." He remarked, remembering Takuya and how strong he had been as BurningGreymon.

"But the rogues are strong too," Floramon reminded. "We were almost crushed by Petaldramon's aura alone if it weren't for the fact he… thought Lopmon was Cherubimon."

Andy began thinking for a moment.

"Uh-oh, I know that face," Jazz teased. "You're thinking again."

"Oh be quiet," Andy huffed. "We're having some trouble back at Amity Park right now. It wouldn't be wise to stay here for too long. The others will need help to deal with the invasion."

"What's going on?" Tommy asked.

"It's something I'm dealing with back in my hometown," Andy replied. "Nothing for you to worry about. But I need to get back soon. I promised Takuya I'd check on someone though, but without a Trailmon, it's going to take too long to get there."

"Wait… you know Takuya?" Tommy asked, surprised. "As in… Takuya Kanbara, right?"

Andy blinked as he looked at Tommy. "Yeah… he's our cousin. How do you know him?"

"Ah… he… kinda came across me…" Tommy replied. "I was running from someone, and… he offered to help me… He also… looked after me like a little brother…"

"... So you're the Tomo Hami I had to check on?" Andy questioned, surprised.

"What?" Tommy blinked.

"Ah… you're the same Tommy I had to check on?" Andy reiterated.

"Y-yeah… that would be me…" Tommy replied with a sweatdrop running down the side of his head. "You really butchered my name…"

"Sorry, I'm… not so great with foreign names," Andy apologized.

"He used to be pretty good with learning different languages, but ever since he turned 10, he had trouble with pronouncing these words," Jazz sighed. "Nobody is really sure why, but maybe Mom and Dad's inventions might've messed something up in his brain."

"Don't talk like I was experimented on," Andy grumbled.

"What? You never had trouble before then." Jazz pointed out. "I'm just stating that you may have had something happen with one of Mom and Dad's inventions."

"That doesn't matter anyways," Andy sighed. "The point is I'm terrible at foreign languages."

"But… you said Takuya's name right," Tommy pointed out.

"He's my cousin and I've known him since I was 4," Andy explained. "Of course I'm going to remember his name."

Tommy pouted, feeling a bit jealous of Takuya now. "Lucky…"

Jazz then cleared her throat. "Anyway… back on topic, Andy's right. He and I have to get back to Amity Park soon. Our parents may think we got kidnapped by ghosts and go on a search for us."

Tommy frowned a little, before remembering what Andy said before the whole name butchering thing came up. "Wait, Takuya wanted you to check on me?"

"Yeah. I hadn't been sure if you were the same Tommy I had to check on, because I was told you'd be at Seraphimon's castle, and this place is pretty far from it," Andy explained. "And… uh… I kinda thought you'd look a little older. Takuya didn't really give me a description of what you'd look like, just that you were a boy who was roughly 11 or 12."

"I'm 11," Tommy answered. "But I seem to look younger than that for some reason. And… I left Seraphimon's castle. I… wanted to go on my own journey for… my own reasons."

"Is that wise though? Traveling on your own in such a dangerous world without a Digimon partner isn't ideal," Lopmon asked. "You saw what happened with the Chamelemon, and what almost happened with Petaldramon."

"Nobody I know would let me stick with them because I don't have a Digimon partner," Tommy pointed out. "And I didn't want to be a bother and a burden to the other Legendary Warriors."

Jazz frowned a bit. "I guess… but wouldn't you be safer with the Legendary Warriors? I mean… they have the ability to defend themselves, which would extend to defending you, right?"

"I can defend myself if I really need to," Tommy sighed.

"You say that… but I just don't feel good leaving you alone out here." Jazz frowned.

Andy frowned as well. He needed to get back home soon, but leaving Tommy alone would be irresponsible, and he just knew Takuya would not approve of that. If Tommy didn't want to stay at the castle, then he would need someone to stay with him until he can get his Digimon partner. Not to mention he was also worried about Valerie, he hadn't seen her at all since he came back to the Digital World, but he also knew she wasn't in the real world due to her lack of activity in fighting back the ghost invasion. It was possible she was just busy, or something may have happened to her. There were too many unanswered questions for Andy to just leave things be.

"Jazz, I'm going to make a proposal, and I want you to listen to it before you ask questions," Andy spoke up. "One of us can go back to Amity Park and deal with the invasion, while the other stays here and keeps an eye on Tommy, as well as maybe look for Valerie. I have a feeling something might've happened to her, it's not like her to not return home after a while."

Jazz actually thought that was a valid proposal. She nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good plan." She admitted. "But… that leaves the question of who will stay and who will go back."

"But let me ask Tommy first. Are you okay with this idea?" Andy asked the younger boy. "I know you said you can take care of yourself, but it would make us, and Takuya, feel more at ease if one of us stayed with you if you truly don't want to go back to the safety of Seraphimon's castle."

Tommy looked a bit unsure, but… Takuya came to his mind, and how worried the older boy would be if he returned and Tommy wasn't at the castle. Tommy didn't want to go along with the idea, but in the end, he nodded in agreement. "Okay…"

"Then we're all in agreement with this idea," Andy said. "Now we have to pick who goes and who stays. The other person can cover for the one who decided to stay."

"It might be best if I stayed then," Jazz spoke up. "I'm already far ahead in school, so I can afford to miss a few days. And… you and Lopmon would be a lot more helpful than I would be with dealing with the invasion. You can tell Mom and Dad I'll either be in my room all day, or I'm out at the library or something."

"With those rules they made during the school assembly? I might have to go with the room excuse," Andy sighed.

Jazz grumbled. "I get the first rule, but the last two were just asking for trouble…"

"Are you sure about this?" Floramon asked. "You could be stuck here for a while without being able to leave."

"Huh? Why's that?" Tommy questioned.

"It's a bit complicated," Jazz said. "But… Andy and I are actually here, physically. Neither of us have the virtual helmets to come here."

"R-really?" Tommy blinked.

"I'm not sure if we should've told you that, but if I'm going to be with you, I figured you should at least know about that," Jazz replied before she turned back to Floramon. "And yes, I'm sure. While it's a scary thought that I won't be able to get back until Andy comes back, and with the time differences, that could be weeks or months to me, I feel that this is more important than sitting at home, worrying about everything while just keeping my nose in the books. I… I can be more than just someone who reads books and studies."

Floramon gave a worried look at Jazz. "... If that's what you want…"

Lopmon then smiled. "So now we know who will stay here with Tommy and who will head back to the real world."

Lopmon then hopped up onto Andy's head. "Let's go back already! I want to see Patamon again!"

"Slow down there, Lopmon," Andy chuckled. "With how long we've been here, it's likely almost morning at Amity Park. It would be best if we sleep here before going back, we're all tired from the Chamelemon battle."

Lopmon pouted, but he had to admit, Andy had a point. He was pretty tired, he just missed Patamon.

"You're welcome to stay here for the night," The male Burgermon suggested. "We have plenty of room since we had to renovate when we pick up our children."

"Which we will be doing tomorrow once you all are on your way," The female Burgermon added. "We can't thank you enough for your help. It's good to see some players are on our side."

The others gave Burgermon a grateful smile.

Andy looked over at Jazz. "While you're here, Jazz, keep an eye out for Valerie and Salamon. I can't help but worry about them since they haven't come back to the real world yet. Valerie said she usually got home before it got too late, but she never came back after a day went by. That's not like her."

"I will." Jazz replied with a nod. "And if she's in trouble, Floramon and I will do what we can to help her out."

"I don't know who Valerie is, but if she's a friend of yours, I'll see if I can keep an eye out for her too," Tommy added.

"Really?" Andy asked.

"You guys are related to Takuya, and… I can see you care about me enough to leave your sister here with me," Tommy answered. "The least I can do is help you find your friend."

Andy gave a smile. "Thanks then, that would be appreciated."

Jazz smiled as well. "Let's get some rest, and then you and Lopmon can head back in the morning, Andy. I have a feeling the rest will be needed."

"Yeah, I agree." Andy nodded.

"I'd like to get some burgers to go then," Lopmon said. "I wanna show Patamon."

"I'm surprised you want to see Patamon again. I kinda thought you didn't like him too much because of how much of a grump he is," Andy pointed out.

"I don't like him. I wanna show him the burgers we get to eat and shove it in his face." Lopmon grinned.

Jazz and Andy sweatdropped at Lopmon's comment.

"I see…" Jazz muttered, wondering if Lopmon would ever warm up to Patamon, then again, Lopmon could just want to prank Patamon like how Andy liked pranking Danny and Takuya.

Tommy couldn't help but laugh. He could see the resemblance between them and Takuya.

---

Titanic X: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, the flashback was fun.

ZAFT: Takuya is in for more torment yet! XD