DarkFoxKit: It's finally getting cool, still a little warm for my liking. And look, we're getting this ready on time.
ZAFT: Yes, we are! Although my laptop's battery has finally died so it can't hold a charge, but it happens. This thing is almost 9 years old.
DarkFoxKit: I can't believe how fast the years are going by. Kinda reminds you how short life is.
ZAFT: Yep, but enough of the philosophical stuff. The readers want to get to the next chapter.
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, you guys enjoy.
(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 63: A Fenton Reunion
The group was having trouble with Okuwamon, and even from the air and a distance away, Beetlemon could see the rampaging Digimon. "This doesn't look good…" He noted with some worry in his voice.
Okuwamon was going on a rampage, and so far, from what Beetlemon could see, the only reason Maddie and Andy didn't get sliced in half or crushed by Okuwamon was due to some mysterious force protecting them. Beetlemon wasn't blind, he could see with his enhanced vision that the two would suddenly become transparent for a second, enough time to be completely missed by Okuwamon's attack, before becoming solid again. Beetlemon knew something was helping them, and he wasn't going to complain if they were. They needed all the advantages they could get.
Turuiemon and Wormmon were trying their best to fight back. Turuiemon was the stronger one, but he was having trouble piercing through Okuwamon's exoskeleton, not to mention Okuwamon was an Ultimate level Digimon who had been boosted with rage, there wasn't much a Champion like Turuiemon could do, especially since Turuiemon was a Data type, he was naturally weak to Okuwamon's Virus type. Wormmon was trying to slow Okuamon down with his Sticky Net, but Okuwamon was strong enough to cut through those webs like they were wet toilet paper.
Turuiemon jumped on top of Okuwamon in an attempt to try to bring Okuwamon down and control him. Okuwamon began bucking Turuiemon around, with Turuiemon digging his gauntlet claws into Okuwamon's steel-like hide as much as he could. Unfortunately, Turuiemon couldn't get the gauntlet claws in deep enough, and was soon thrown off. While in the sky, Okuwamon turned and was intending to cut through Turuiemon with his pincers.
"Turuiemon!" Andy called out in worry.
Wormmon shot out a Sticky Net at Turuiemon's foot, and quickly pulled as hard as he could to get Turuiemon down from the sky. Turuiemon yelped as the tip of his ears grazed through Okuwamon's deadly pincers.
"T-thank you, Wormmon!" Andy thanked, his heart beating hard against his chest.
Danny was trying his best to keep everyone safe, but he couldn't multiply like Vlad could, and he was mainly focusing on keeping Andy and Maddie safe since they were more vulnerable to getting killed than their Digimon partners.
"How can we beat this Okuwamon?" Maddie wondered aloud. "He's so fast and strong… Much stronger than Wormmon and Turuiemon…"
Okuwamon flew down again, aiming to hit Andy and Maddie again, and while Danny could turn them intangible, the Ultimate Level Digimon was coming in much faster since he was in a dive. But before Danny could even attempt to turn his mom and brother intangible, something bright and yellow streaked across the sky and hit Okuwamon directly in the back, creating a loud BOOM when it hit.
"Hope I'm not too late." A voice said from above the group.
The group were surprised to see a certain humanoid beetle had come to their rescue, though Andy and Turuiemon soon smiled when they recognized who it was.
"Glad you could join us, Beetlemon!" Turuiemon smiled.
Looks like the medicine worked. Andy thought in relief.
Maddie was still shocked, not knowing who this new Digimon was. Wormmon was surprised as well, though for a different reason.
"A-a Legendary Warrior!? Here!? Oh my gosh, I didn't expect to see one in person!" Wormmon yelped.
"A-Another one? Is… Is this one on our side?" Maddie asked worriedly. She knew there were rogue Legendary Warriors, so she wasn't sure if this one was with humans or against them.
"Relax, I'm definitely on your side." The Legendary Warrior, Beetlemon, reassured Maddie with a smile in his voice. "But what I do not tolerate is Digimon going wild on humans and Digimon alike." As soon as he said that, electricity gathered around one of his fists.
"Thunder Fist!" Beetlemon shot out electricity at Okuwamon again, hitting the rampaging Digimon in the face directly.
Okuwamon let out a yell as the powerful electric punch knocked him back a few feet, though this also anger the giant bug as it let out a roar.
"I think you made it mad," Maddie said.
"Even so, I think we have this," Andy reassured. "We have a Legendary Warrior on our side, we can take this guy down!"
Okuwamon used his wings to launch himself at Beetlemon. Beetlemon yelped as he held out his hands to try to stop Okuwamon. Okuwamon was coming in like a freight train. Beetlemon's strength was good, but as Okuwamon charged into his hands, he was being pushed back.
"It looks like he needs some help," Andy noted.
"I'm on it!" Turuiemon said as he jumped at Okuwamon. "Ninja Fist!"
Turuiemon punched frantically at Okuwamon's head, hoping to give Beetlemon the advantage. Though despite this, Okuwamon was still pushing Beetlemon back.
"Okuwamon has the advantage in terms of raw strength…" Wormmon frowned.
Andy frowned, he was about to ask if Beetlemon could become his Beast Form like Takuya could, that would likely give Beetlemon the strength he needed to push back Okuwamon. However, Andy didn't have a lot of… great experience with Beast Legendary Warriors, and he didn't know if JP could control his beast form. The last thing they needed was another rampaging giant bug going after them and destroying what was left of this poor town.
But we still have one thing that could help put this fight in our favor. Beetlemon isn't the only one with super strength on our side. Andy thought before taking a deep breath. "If only you had someone strong enough to help you push back that big bug, we may be able to take advantage of the situation!"
Andy hoped that would get Danny to realize he would need to help Beetlemon push Okuwamon back, and he hoped Danny would trust that he and Maddie will be fine if Danny didn't keep an eye on them for the next 10 seconds or so.
Hearing Andy's words, Danny knew what he had to do. He didn't like leaving Andy and his mom alone, but he had to trust Andy would be able to keep Maddie safe for the time being. Danny, still invisible, flew over as quickly as he could to help Beetlemon, and began to push back using his ghostly strength.
The plan was working, with Danny's help, Beetlemon was able to stop Okuwamon from pushing him back, and they started to push the Digimon back themselves.
"Whoa… Beetlemon is so strong!" Wormmon squealed.
"We need to take advantage of the situation while we still can!" Andy spoke up.
"But Okuwamon's hide is stronger than my gauntlet's claws, how am I supposed to do any real damage to him?" Turuiemon asked.
"Okuwamon's hide may be strong, but it's not invincible. If a mountain of diamonds could eventually be chipped away by a tiny bird, then your punches will be able to chip away Okuwamon's hide," Andy stated. "Mom, I think Wormmon can help keep Okuwamon in place."
"Are you sure, Andy?" Maddie asked her son. "I'm not saying it's not a good idea, but I'm not sure Wormmon's threads can hold Okuwamon for that long."
"It may not hold Okuwamon for long, but it'll help," Andy said. "We need to do this quickly, Mom… do you trust me on this?"
Maddie frowned, but since Andy knew this world better than she did, she had to put her trust in her baby boy. "To be honest, no… But I don't have much of a choice now, do I? You know this world better than I do, so while I'm not happy about it, I will trust you, Andy."
Andy gave his mom a small smile, a part of him also knew this was a big step towards something greater in the future, but he would have to think about that later.
"Wormmon! Try to hold down that Okuwamon with your Sticky Net!" Maddie called out.
"Okay!" Wormmon called back before he looked at the struggling Okuwamon. "Sticky Net!"
Wormmon quickly wrapped as much of the sticky net as possible around Okuwamon to try to give Beetlemon and, unknowingly, Danny as much advantage as possible.
"Turuiemon, hit that shell until it cracks!" Andy called out.
Turuiemon grinned. "With pleasure!" He called out s he jumped up and landed on Okuwamon's back. "Gauntlet Claw!" He began punching with his gauntlets at Okuwamon's shell.
Okuwamon let out a roar of pain as it tried to push through Beetlemon and Danny, but both of them held steady. The Sticky Net made it tougher for Okuwamon to move his wings and his feet.
"No you don't, stay right where you are, big guy!" Beetlemon groaned.
Turuiemon kept punching as hard as he could, he had to keep this up until they broke through.
Okuwamon's partner managed to roll out of the empty building to see what was happening. He was surprised to see what was happening. These kids, and that woman, were actually… working together, and they were succeeding?
Almost… there…! Turuiemon saw a crack.
Turuiemon aimed for the crack with his next attack. "Ninja Fist!"He brought his fist down on the crack, breaking through the shell. "Alright! We broke through the shell!"
Hearing that made Danny smile, even if it couldn't be seen due to him being invisible right then.
"Now finish it, Beetlemon! Aim for the broken shell!" Andy called out.
"You got it!" Beetlemon replied as he let go of Okuwamon.
Okuwamon was tangled up in Wormmon's Sticky Net, making it hard for it to move. Andy wasn't only trying to help keep Okuwamon in place, he also made sure that the big bug couldn't escape what was coming next. To say Maddie was impressed would be an understatement, she didn't realize one of her boys could be this clever, not even she saw this coming, and she was a certified genius.
Beetlemon flew up at Okuwamon's weak spot that had been exposed, he needed to go all out for this to work. Everyone gave him this chance, he better not screw it up.
Beetlemon took a deep breath and let it out. "Here we go…" He muttered as he powered up his electrical attack. He knew just the one to use. Electricity flowed to his horn before he dove down and aimed at the open crack. "Lightning Blitz!"
The attack made contact, sending electricity all over Okuwamon's form through the opening Beetlemon had targeted.
Okuwamon's entire body was being shocked, from both the outside and the inside. Danny immediately released Okuwamon, as he knew all too well what it was like to be electrocuted, and didn't want to experience that again if he could help it.
"No way…" The man who was Okuwamon's partner was watching in shock and disbelief.
Once the electricity had run its course, Okuwamon fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious. A ring of fractal code appeared around his body.
Andy frowned, knowing what was to become of Okuwamon if that fractal code got scanned. They hadn't had to worry about this before, but Okuwamon was a partner to someone. Would it be right to just erase Okuwamon and force him to be reborn with no memory of his partner? But on the other hand, does his partner deserve Okuwamon? He made Okuwamon do all of this just for his selfish gain. He also put his own partner in danger by pulling the stunt he did.
Beetlemon hovered in front of Okuwamon. He hated to do it, he really did, but in the end, it was better than being destroyed. Beetlemon closed his green eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry… But… this is the only way we can end this…" He took out his D-Tector and pressed the button on the left side. The scanner at the top lit up as the symbol of Thunder appeared on the screen. "May you be reborn with new memories and a new life, Okuamon. Fractal Code… Digitize!" Beetlemon swung his arm and scanned the fractal code. In a matter of seconds, it was over. The fractal code scanned, Beetlemon held his D-Tector to his chest. "It's done…"
"What just happened?" Maddie blinked as she watched the fractal code turning into an egg, and it floated away into the sky.
"Okuwamon was… essentially killed," Andy answered a little somberly. "Digimon don't die, at least not normally anyways. Instead, their Digi-Core reforms their body into an egg, and they go off to Primary Village to be reborn. They'll have no memories of their past life, so they're essentially a different Digimon when they're reborn."
"But… wasn't he a partner Digimon?" Maddie asked. "What happens to the human partner?"
They heard a thud, and turned. The man who had been watching had managed to make his way over to them, but since he was still tied up, his movement had been limited to hopping. However, after witnessing his partner being turned into an egg, the avatar suddenly felt weak and he fell down.
"Huh… that's funny… I seem to have trouble… getting up," The man said as he looked up at that. "You all… actually took out Okuwamon…?"
"We did…" Beetlemon said as he hovered down and landed, his wings folding back. "As tough as it was… we had to do that to Okuwamon… But only because he left us no choice… If we had left him alive, he would've been put on trial after causing so much damage, and he would've been forced to be reborn anyways, but with a punishment hovering over his next life. That would've been too cruel."
"Really? I didn't know that was a thing." Turuiemon frowned.
"It was a rule set up by the Celestial Digimon a long time ago, to prevent Digimon from doing bad things and trying to use their rebirth cycle as a way to escape from it," Beetlemon explained. "But if Okuwamon was killed in battle, then he's free from the trial and the punishment."
Maddie frowned. She could see this would weigh heavily on the group, especially her boys. It was clear it was already weighing heavily on the Legendary Warrior before her, even if he wasn't really showing it visibly.
Danny frowned to himself as well. Wow… That's… heavy… Will… I ever have to do something like that one day…? Aw man… I hope not…
"All of that hard work, those long hours put into grinding up my partner… just gone…" The man sighed.
Andy bent down to the man on the ground, looking down at him. "You did this to him and yourself… You caused a lot of grief to these innocent Digimon in order to gain status and power."
Beetlemon just watched the exchange between Andy and the man. He didn't want to get involved anymore than he had to, especially considering what had just gone down.
"Heh… And look where it got me… I lost my partner, and to that very Legendary Warrior who helped you…" The man sighed with a grim smile on his face. "And all I wanted was to take him down… to please the elites…"
"Would that have made you happy?" Maddie suddenly asked herself, being an adult, she knew the struggles most adults go through when it came to their statuses and climbing the corporate ladder. "Believe me when I say that climbing to the top wouldn't have been worth it. I could've been a millionaire, according to an old, outdated test back in high school. And maybe I could've had I really tried. But in the end, I chose to pursue what made me happy… and it led me to my husband, and my wonderful children. I would never trade that for anything in the world."
The man looked at Maddie before laughing. "It seems you may be right! That boy there, your son is he? You were willing to literally fight an Ultimate Level Digimon for his sake. Either you're crazy, or you did it for your son. I think it's both!" He then sighed. "But… I can see how you would be right… Being at the top isn't worth it if others will just oppose me, or if it makes others miserable…"
The man's avatar began to fade away.
"Without his Digimon partner, his avatar is either being deleted, or it's resetting like his Digimon essentially is," Beetlemon guessed. Let's hope it's the latter…
"So… was it true what you said before?" The man asked Andy. "About only having one account per person?"
"That's right. We've heard about it from a friend of ours. There have been players who lost their avatars, and haven't been able to log back in, no matter how much they tried, even on different computers. The 'game' just seems to know they're the same person," Andy explained. "You get one account… one life here."
"I see… would've been nice to know that sooner…" The man sighed as his body began to fade more and more.
"If your avatar is getting reset… then maybe you'll get a second chance. If that's the case, you better treat your partner properly, and not try to hurt others to get to the top," Andy stated firmly. "If you don't, I can guarantee you'll end up like this again."
"And the next time, you will be tried," Beetlemon added.
The man sighed before smiling. "I guess I've learned my lesson then. When I come back, I'll be better… I mean it…" With that said, his avatar faded away completely into nothing but specks of data. Beetlemon looked away, not wanting to see anymore. He hated what he had been forced to do, but there had been no choice in the end.
Danny watched this and frowned. Aw man… talk about a heavy downer… I hope… I hope Mom, Andy, Lopmon, Wormmon, and… Beetlemon will be okay… I… hate to admit it but… maybe Andy and Lopmon should talk to Jazz about this…
Maddie put a reassuring hand on Andy's shoulder. "Come on… let's go see if your brother's okay back at the hospital."
"Yeah…" Andy sighed. So that's what happens to someone who loses their partner here. What would happen to us if we lost our partner? … I hope we don't ever have to find out.
Turuiemon degenerated back into Lopmon, feeling quite tired from that battle.
Danny, hearing Maddie's words, felt panic. Oh crap! I have to get back to the hospital! Danny took off like a rocket, flying back to the building.
Maddie looked at Lopmon. "Are you going to be okay, Lopmon? That was a rough fight."
"I'll be fine… just need some time to rest… and maybe some food," Lopmon answered, tiredly walking over to Maddie and Andy.
"That was definitely rough…" Wormmon said before he looked up at Beetlemon. "Um… that was really cool though… will you be alright, Mr. Beetlemon, sir?"
Beetlemon nodded. "Yeah… I'll be fine." He said at last as he looked down at Wormmon. "It's… just the first time I had to do that to a Digimon partner though. I hope I don't have to do that often. It's… not easy to do."
"Oh, don't blame yourself, Mr. Beetlemon, you did the right thing," Wormmon quickly said. "If the player was going to use his Digimon for evil, you had to stop them. Don't worry… I'm sure this second chance is just what they need to make things right for themselves too."
Beetlemon laughed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I should see it as their second chance." He then smiled down at Wormmon. "And please, don't call me 'Mr.' It makes me feel old. Just call me Beetlemon."
Wormmon was nearly squealing as he began to blush. "Hehehehe! Y-yes, M- I mean, Beetlemon!"
Maddie cleared her throat, Wormmon was definitely reminding her of herself when she met with her favorite celebrity when she was a teenage girl.
Wormmon blushed. "O-Oh… Sorry, Maddie… I just… couldn't help myself…"
Lopmon grinned. "It seems you have a fan~" He teased Beetlemon, who just chuckled.
"Not anything I'm not used to, but… it's still nice," Beetlemon admitted.
Andy picked up Lopmon and gave a small smile. "Come on, I'm sure Danny's worried for us, let's go see that knucklehead."
Thankfully, the hospital was one of the few buildings that didn't get caught up in that fight. The locals were starting to come back to the town when they saw that Okuwamon was gone, and it was safe for them to return.
"I also hope that JP boy is okay too," Maddie said.
"I think he is." Lopmon said vaguely. "Let's just check up on Danny though. I'm more worried about him right now."
The group entered the hospital, where they saw Danny sitting on one of the benches in the waiting room. Danny looked up upon seeing the others. "Mom, Andy, Lopmon, Wormmon!" He exclaimed as he got up. "Did you guys win?"
"We wouldn't be here if we lost~" Lopmon teased.
"That's true. I'm so glad you're all okay." Danny said in relief.
"I'm glad you're safe and unhurt, Danny. I wouldn't know what to do if either of my boys got hurt," Maddie replied in a relief as well. "What about JP?"
"He's fine, he's just… uh… sleeping right now. The doctor doesn't want us to bother him," Danny covered, giving a small wink to Beetlemon.
Beetlemon nodded back at Danny, reassuring the boy he had said the right thing.
Lopmon gave Maddie a smile. "I'm sure JP will be released soon. Just let the boy sleep for now. He had a bad experience and needs to sleep so he can heal."
Danny was glad Lopmon was there, because Maddie seemed to accept Lopmon's words with her nod.
"Okay. We'll try to keep our voices down so he can sleep." Maddie said in a lower tone of voice.
"So… are we going to find a monitor to head back to Amity Park? I'm sure Dad and the others are going to be worried sick about us if we don't get back soon." Danny said, hoping to change the subject.
"A monitor? Ah, there are plenty of those in the hospital," Beetlemon said, gesturing to a TV screen. "You don't have to use a computer monitor, you can use any screen like that one to get back to where you came from."
"It's that easy, huh?" Andy said.
"Of course. I'll stay here and keep an eye on things until the locals can rebuild," Beetlemon promised. "And… to make sure that JP boy recovers too."
"Ah… mind if I help out?" Wormmon asked suddenly. "I… can't exactly do much, but I do know a bit about medicine…"
Maddie looked at Wormmon, surprised. "You want to stay here? Why?"
"Don't get me wrong, Maddie, I'd love to come with you," Wormmon said. "But I'm still getting used to seeing the world outside of the forest, and I'm needed here more right now. And… I'm hoping that maybe Beetlemon could help train me to get stronger, so I'll be more helpful the next time you need me."
"But you were already helpful," Maddie argued. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"
"It'll be alright, ma'am, I promise I'll take good care of Wormmon and make sure he's ready the next time a rogue Digimon attacks," Beetlemon reassured. "Besides, I don't think the real world is ready to have too many Digimon coming in at once right now."
Maddie frowned, but she realized Beetlemon had a point. Already they had Agunimon lurking around in the real world from time to time, not to mention Lopmon and Danny's Digimon partner. She could easily see how things could turn ugly if more Digimon came into the real world. "I see your point, I suppose. We've already had ghost attacks in Amity Park and people are not really reacting that well so far."
Danny gave a cringe at that. Yeah… Good point, Mom, even if you see me as the bad guy…
"But don't worry! I'm sure Digimon will be welcome in the real world soon!" Lopmon exclaimed happily. "Change can be difficult to adjust, but I'm sure one day people will see the Digimon aren't bad guys. It's already happening right now with all the players coming to the Digital World, even if they think it's a video game."
"I get the feeling they're starting to learn it's more than just a game, like that man did earlier," Andy said. "When he realized there was only one account per person, I could tell he realized this was more than just a game. I'm hoping that means he knows the gravity of the situation at least. Maybe more people will figure it out too."
"I hope so." Maddie sighed. "I'd hate to see more Digimon being treated like that."
"Agreed." Beetlemon said grimly.
"A-Anyway, I think we should get going." Danny said, trying to change the subject to something more pleasant. "I wonder what Dad, Jazz, and Takuya were up to while we were gone."
"Speaking of them, what will we tell them?" Andy asked.
"Yeah… I don't think we should keep this entire thing from them. Jazz and Takuya know about the Digital World already, that only leaves Jack," Lopmon agreed. "Are… we all going to keep this a secret from him?"
"No." Maddie said at last. "We can't. It would… hurt his feelings if we didn't tell him and he found out on his own."
Danny groaned. "Of course it would… And he would give us the saddest pout imaginable, making the rest of us feel like we kicked a puppy…"
Lopmon felt a sweatdrop run down the side of his head. "Are Jack's pouts that effective?"
"Lopmon… until you've been on the receiving end of one, you'd better hope you don't see one of Dad's pouts." Danny sighed.
Maddie smiled at that. "Besides, your father would probably love it here! A new world to discover, and so much more to learn!"
"I suppose it wouldn't be fair to keep him in the dark, huh? After all, keeping secrets from the one closest to you usually backfires big time, right Danny?" Andy looked at Danny.
Danny gave a sheepish grin. "Uh… right… So no keeping Dad in the dark. I think we can work with that."
Maddie smiled again. "Then let's go home. I think I've had enough excitement for a while."
Danny looked at Andy. "Are we using your D-Arc or mine, bro?"
"Let's use yours, I want to see if it still works," Andy said. "You said that it showed an error, right? But you were able to use it to analyze a Digimon. So maybe your bond with your partner is still there somewhere, we won't know until we try using it."
Danny frowned, but nodded. "Okay. He took out his D-Arc. "Mom. Andy, Lopmon, you'd better hang onto each other. Andy, hold onto me. We're going through the portal."
Maddie held onto Andy's one hand while Lopmon climbed up onto Andy's head. Andy grabbed Danny's free hand with his other hand. Danny sighed before he held up the D-Arc to the monitor. "Take us to Fenton Works in Amity Park."
The D-Arc had some static noises for a moment.
"Is that… supposed to happen?" Maddie asked.
"Hold on… give it a minute," Danny said, hoping that his D-Arc, and his bond with Patamon, wasn't broken.
The D-Arc finally started to glow, and opened a Digi-Portal. Danny, Andy, Lopmon, and Maddie were sucked into the monitor.
As soon as they were gone, Beetlemon looked at Wormmon. "So… how about we get you to the Forest Terminal? I think your medical knowledge would help a lot there."
"Hmm?" Wormmon blinked.
As the group went through the vortex, their clothes all returned to normal. Maddie regained her blue and black hazmat suit. Danny regained his usual outfit of a white T-shirt outlined in red with a red oval in the center and blue jeans with red and white sneakers. Andy regains his usual black shirt outlined in blue with a blue triangle, dark red jeans, and blue and white sneakers. Lopmon was at his side.
At Fenton Works, a computer monitor glowed before a group of four was spat out into the middle of the room.
"Ow…" Danny groaned. He was oddly not on the bottom of the pile this time. He could feel Andy moving around below him, or was that his… Crap! Danny immediately got up, not wanting to be on top of his mom.
"Does that always happen?" Maddie asked from the floor. "Getting spat out like that?"
"We're… uh… working on the soft landing…" Andy groaned as he and Lopmon rolled off of Maddie.
"Mom!? Danny!? Andy!?" Jazz's voice shouted in disbelief. "Where did… you three… you just… huh!?"
"Hey Jazz," Lopmon casually greeted.
"Don't 'hey Jazz' me! Why are you talking in front of Mom!?" Jazz shouted. "Why did you all come out of the computer?!"
"Um… Yeah… we have a lot to talk about…" Danny admitted sheepishly.
"This had better be good then…" Jazz grumbled.
"Trust me, Jazz, you'll need to hear this story to believe it…" Maddie sighed.
"What's going on? I hear a lot of noises," Jack asked as he came into the room.
It took Andy a moment to realize that they were in Jazz's room, and not their own room. Danny's D-Arc being on the fritz was a bit inconvenient.
Jack paused in shock when he saw his wife and his two sons here. "Maddie…? When did you and the boys get home? And… why are you in Jazz's room?"
"Oh Jack, we have a lot to talk about," Maddie sighed. "Is Takuya here too? We need a family meeting in the living room as soon as possible."
"Can we also get some snacks while we're at it?" Lopmon begged.
Jack gasped. "Did… that… toy just talk?"
Andy pushed down Lopmon's head. "No, that was me! I'm just so hungry that I was pretending to be talking through my toy!"
Jack blinked, but decided to hold off on questioning until they would have this family meeting. "Okay. I can get us some snacks. And I will get Takuya as well."
Jazz groaned. "Something tells me this is going to require some junk food for this…"
Jack and Maddie had a long conversation with their kids and nephew in the living room. They all talked about what happened after Maddie, Danny, Andy, and Lopmon had left Fenton Works. Patamon was the only one who didn't join them for obvious reasons. Patamon requested that Jack, Jazz, and Takuya didn't reveal he was there for the time being. In turn, Maddie, Danny, Andy, and Lopmon left out the part about Vlad possibly using those ghost animals to attack them, and just claimed the ghost animals invaded his cabin instead.
Jack had been concerned about Vlad, but Maddie reassured him that Vlad likely already vacated the premise before Maddie and the boys went into the Digital World themselves.
They talked about meeting with Legendary Warriors, in Maddie's case, both good and evil. And Maddie and Jack revealed they both met their partner Digimon in the Digital World as well.
"So both of us… ended up in the Digital World," Maddie noted, finding it rather funny that they both practically found out at the same time.
"Yeah, it kinda is." Jack agreed with a grin. "But you have to admit, now we don't have to hide secrets from each other."
Takuya and Danny both gave a sideways glance at one another, knowing otherwise.
"I'm glad you found a Digimon partner, Jack, this Veemon sounds a lot like you, especially when we were younger. You always did love to sneak away with food, and you were pretty tough to catch," Maddie laughed.
Jack blushed a beet red. "W-well, that Wormmon sounds like he's a real bookworm… uh… no offense to him of course… Similar to how you used to be when you were younger."
"Wormmon was also fanboying over Beetlemon!" Lopmon snickered.
Jack laughed at that. "Really?! That sounds like something you did when you first met your favorite celebrity once, Mads!"
"N-no need to bring that up to the kids, Jack!" Maddie blushed. "That was 22 years ago!"
"Wait, really?" Jazz blinked before she grinned. "I have got to hear about that!"
"Later, Jazz," Maddie quickly said.
Jack laughed before he looked at Lopmon. "A Digimon had been living under our roof for some time now, and we never noticed. Then again, I guess the only reason I'm not surprised now is because I've seen what Digimon are like. It's a shame we only have one here."
"Yeah, Lopmon doesn't want to spend any time away from me," Andy chuckled sheepishly.
"I also don't really have a home in the Digital World, so I prefer sticking with Andy," Lopmon added.
"Wait… didn't Danny have a… um… 'toy' with him before? Wasn't it some kind of orange… hamster bat thing?" Jack asked, pretending he didn't know about Patamon.
"Um… Yeah… I did…" Danny admitted. "That would be my Digimon partner. But… he and I had a… disagreement and needed space for a while."
Takuya frowned, he knew both Danny and Patamon were hurting from this, he just wished he could get both of them to talk, but he didn't know what to say to make things better.
"I see… that's unfortunate then…" Jack frowned, wondering what happened between Danny and Patamon, neither of them seemed to want to tell them.
"How about we get some dinner and head to bed?" Maddie suggested. "We all had a long night, maybe even days if we're counting our time in the Digital World. Let's get some rest, and see what we'll be doing tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me," Danny said with a bit of a yawn.
"Okay, but I still can't believe how you all took on such a dangerous Digimon together," Jack remarked.
"We could say the same for the three of you when that Theodore boy was controlling a Legendary Warrior," Maddie pointed back.
Jack laughed. "That's true!" He then became somber. "If not for Agunimon… I don't even want to think about what would have happened had he not been there…"
Maddie blinked before frowning. She knew Agunimon was a Legendary Warrior, but he had been seen working with the ghost boy. And yet he had saved Jack not just once, but twice now. "I see… I don't know if I trust Agunimon, but… he has saved you twice now, Jack. I think… I think I could give him the benefit of the doubt for now."
"Agunimon is one of the good guys, Mom, trust me," Andy said.
Maddie blinked, remembering how Andy told her to trust him when he had her get Wormmon to cover Okuwamon in the Sticky Net, which had been the key in defeating Okuwamon. Maybe she should learn to trust her own kids a little more.
Maddie then smiled a bit. "I guess I can trust you on this, Andy."
Danny smiled, as did Takuya.
"Well, we can't really think anymore until we've all had a good night's sleep," Jack chuckled. "Come on, everyone, let's get some food and head to bed. I'm sure you all could use it."
Patamon watched them go from behind the wall. Jack promised Patamon he was welcome to come back for some food whenever he wanted, so he wouldn't have to worry about starving. Patamon was grateful, though his problem with Danny was still unsolved. The ghost boy of the prophecy was going to be a heavy burden to this little Patamon until something was done.
It had been a few days since the incident with Vlad's cottage and the Digital World. The Fentons were discussing their plans about making a guild to help Digimon in the Digital World, as well as maybe one day fighting back against the Beast Slayer Guild so they wouldn't give people the toxic mindset of getting stronger to join their guild. But since it was a school week, they decided to wait until a break came so they could go to the Digital World together without having to worry about their real world responsibilities as much. It also gave Maddie and Jack time to prepare themselves for the Digital World.
Andy was talking to someone on the phone, and sighed. "Just make sure you're not absent from school for too long, Val. I'm sure Salamon and your dad will be alright without you for at least 8 hours, right?"
"Thanks, Andy. And I will be back, I promise." Valerie's voice said over the other end of the line. "I just… I don't want to worry my Dad any more, and Salamon… I don't want to have her worried about me either…"
"How is Salamon? Did she remember when she became BlackGatomon?" Andy asked, he had been worried about Salamon since that happened, but he hadn't heard from Valerie since that happened until he managed to get a hold of her on the phone.
"No… thank goodness…" Valerie sighed in relief. "But… it does scare me that my actions led to that happening… I… I sometimes wonder why she picked me as her partner… But… I think I still… no, I know I have some growing to do yet… I may be a kick-butt ghost hunter, but I'm still 14 years old…"
"That's true," Andy chuckled to try to lighten the mood. "And you didn't forget your promise, right? About if you see the ghost boy, you'd try to talk to him. The main reason you went ghost hunting crazy was because neither of you two talked after the incident with that ghost dog, and it allowed you to fester your anger towards him again until you couldn't remember that you wanted to give him a chance."
"It also didn't help that he became public enemy #1… I mean didn't he kidnap the mayor? That also broke whatever fragile trust I had in him…" Valerie sighed.
"That's a complicated thing…" Andy sighed. "Ghosts were everywhere, and they overshadowed a lot of people, including the mayor. I think… if you see the ghost boy doing something evil, it might be best to try to figure it out before you think he's being malicious."
"Okay… I… I'll try…" Valerie admitted at last. "It won't be easy, but I'll try, for Salamon's sake."
"Yeah, if it helps, you could pretend the ghost boy is… um…" Andy thought for a moment. "Me. Yeah, if you suddenly saw me doing something bad, you'd want to know what the heck is going on instead of trying to shoot me with your weapons, right?"
Valerie was silent for a moment before she busted out laughing. "Oh geez! I didn't think about it until now, but that ghost boy does remind me of you in a way! He has similar physical facial features to you!"
"Really? I think he looks more like Danny than me," Andy replied playfully. And that is a true statement.
"Maybe he's your long lost triplet or something." Valerie joked back.
"Oh yes, so don't fire at my long lost brother, that wouldn't be very cool," Andy continued, laughing as well.
Then Valerie sighed. "But I get it. I won't fire on the ghost boy unless he does something really bad… and only after I have tried to figure out what is wrong with him…"
"Thanks, Val. I hope your dad will let you out of the apartment again soon," Andy said. "I'll see you later in school."
"You too, Andy." Valerie replied before hanging up. It seemed like Valerie had calmed down now in her hatred for the ghost boy, even if she didn't trust Danny's ghost half.
Andy hoped that would change soon in the future. If he could get Valerie to change her mind about Danny's ghost half, surely he could do the same for his parents one day.
"That was nice of you to check on Valerie," Lopmon said to Andy.
"Yeah, I was worried about her after what happened in the Ghost Zone," Andy sighed. "Seems her dad refused to let her leave the apartment, even for school after she went missing for a while. But I think he'll let her go back to school again soon."
"Wow, her dad sounds strict." Lopmon noted. "Either that or he just wants to keep her safe."
"I don't blame him… Valerie lost her mom when she was a child, so Mr. Gray being protective of her doesn't surprise me," Andy sighed.
"I wonder if his Digimon partner would be a Swanmon then, they could run the Primary Village together," Lopmon joked.
Andy chuckled. "That'd be pretty funny to see."
"Hey, Andy!" Danny called from the living room.
Andy poked his head out of his room to call from the stairs. "What is it!?"
"I got that CD Sam was asking for! You want to join me when I bring it to her?" Danny called back.
"CD? Aren't those a bit outdated in this day and age?" Lopmon asked.
Andy chuckled as he picked up Lopmon and walked out of his room. "Sam likes to collect the physical copies of her favorite rock band music. It's so her parents can't just delete it so easily. And also, Danny just wants an excuse to be able to go to Sam's place."
"Oh, like a date?~" Lopmon grinned.
"Nah, not if I'm coming," Andy said. "But Danny threatened- I mean… suggested that I should go or I may have to hang out with him, Sam, and Tucker at the movies all day."
Lopmon winced. "Yeah… I would go with Danny then…" He admitted, knowing Danny could be very… persuasive if he wanted to be.
Andy walked downstairs, putting Lopmon on his head. He grew to like having Lopmon on his head, it also kept the sun out of his eyes.
"Alright, let's get going," Andy said to Danny. "But be careful around Sam's parents, you know how they can be, especially with us."
Danny crossed his arms. "I can't be any more ridiculous than when you walk in with a chocolate bunny on your head."
"Hey, I'm sure those rainbow and sunshine people would love to see a cute chocolate bunny on my head. Way more than the Dumpty Humpty CD that I'm 99.9% sure her parents do not approve of," Andy pointed out.
Danny pouted. "Do you always have to ruin the mood, bro?" He grumbled.
"Hey, I'm just presenting my reasons for why having Lopmon on my head is a good thing," Andy said.
"I'm cute and adorable, who's gonna resist this face of mine?" Lopmon grinned as he rubbed his cheeks.
Danny groaned. "Let's just get this CD to Sam's place before we are late for school."
"Yeah, yeah. Takuya says he'll help Tucker out in covering for us if we're late," Andy said.
"Uh… why would Takuya promise to do that?" Danny asked.
"Oh, no reason…" Andy replied. "Just that he owes me a favor, that's all."
Danny paled at hearing that. Why the heck is Andy the scary one and yet I have the ghost powers here?!
"Jeez, relax, bro. I'm not the mafia, I just meant I helped Takuya with something, so he's just returning the favor," Andy said, rolling his eyes at his brother's reaction.
Danny did seem to calm down a bit, but he certainly made a mental note to not tick off Andy any more than he had to.
Andy walked over to the kitchen, seeing Maddie and Jack on their Fenton Laptops.
"Mom, Dad, we're leaving now!" Andy called.
"Okay, Andy, Danny, you be good! And make sure Lopmon behaves himself too!" Maddie called back.
"If he's good, I'll save him some fudge!" Jack smiled.
"Aww, no fair! I don't get any fudge, but Lopmon does?" Veemon, who was talking to Jack in the laptop, complained.
"I'll bring you some fudge next time I come to the Digital World, Veemon. I promise." Jack reassured with a deep laugh.
"But that'll take months in our time!" Veemon groaned.
"I can't believe I have to work with you… I told you not to eat those fruits, they were meant to be used for medical research!" Wormmon grumbled from beside Veemon.
"It's not so bad. I got you more of those fruits, didn't I?" Veemon replied.
"You got the wrong ones…" Wormmon sighed.
"Now calm down, you two." Maddie said in a soft, but stern tone. "I don't want you two fighting."
The two Digimon huffed and looked away from each other, but they did stop fighting.
"I think we got our work cut out for us with our partner Digimon." Jack said with a sweatdrop running down the side of his head.
"Well, we didn't always get along when we first worked together either," Maddie chuckled. "I'm sure they'll figure it out, just like we did."
Jack smiled. "Yeah, hopefully."
Danny and Andy left the house. Lopmon was just chilling on Andy's head.
"I'm glad our parents are keeping in touch with their Digimon partners," Andy said as they were walking.
"Yeah, and with them knowing about the Digital World now, it sure makes things much easier for us." Danny agreed. "Well… as much as it can be…"
"Hey, them knowing about the Digital World is still better than nothing at all," Andy said. "And maybe this will help them see not all ghosts are evil and may give Danny Phantom a chance."
"He's right, some progress is better than no progress," Lopmon agreed.
"And anyways, let's just enjoy seeing Sam when we get to her place," Andy chuckled.
"Yeah, you're right." Danny said with a smile. "And besides, Sam will be so ecstatic to get this CD." There was a bit of a dreamy look on Danny's face as he said that.
"Uh-huh… and the reason we're going to deliver it to her at her house and not at school is because…?" Andy grinned in a teasing way.
"Uh… No real reason… I just… thought it was best to give her something like this in person…" Danny answered awkwardly, but there was a blush on his face.
"At least we know you'll be there for her in a heartbeat when it's her birthday," Andy chuckled.
"Andy! Please, stop saying things like that!" Danny hissed.
Sam yawned as she was eating breakfast with her parents and grandmother. Honestly, her grandmother was the only tolerable one here. Her parents woke her up early by opening the curtains to let the sunlight hit her directly in her face, and her mother even tried to get her to wear this bright pink and yellow dress. Good thing Sam kept a bottle of black spray paint under her pillow, and a big pair of skirt scissors nearby just in case her parents tried to do that. If they were going to clip her wings, she was going to clip those dresses.
It was at times like these Sam wished she could talk to Biyomon. While Biyomon's family didn't treat her like this, Biyomon understood Sam enough to be able to listen to her complaints and helped her feel better. Unfortunately, if her parents caught her talking to a 'digital bird on a computer screen', they would think the 'video game' had corrupted her 'poor, innocent mind'.
Sam's grandmother decided to turn on the TV, most likely to help distract Sam, Pamela, and Jeremy from each other.
There was a blond haired woman, wearing a red coat, and white shirt, as well as a red mini skirt on TV. She began talking to the camera. "Up next, is your daughter moody, surely, is her outlook on life blacker than her eyeliner?"
Sam blinked and frowned, realizing that was probably exactly what her parents saw when they looked at her. She glanced at them, and saw both of them eyeing her.
"Take an active interest in your child. Know who her friends are. Learn to recognize a bad influence when it walks through your door." The lady continued.
As if on cue, the door swung open, and Danny came walking in, looking a little too excited.
"Hey Sam! I got that morbid, anti-social, youth CD you wanted," Danny stated.
Andy grabbed Danny's arm and yanked him back outside and closed the door. "What are you doing!? It's like you want Sam's parents to hate you!"
"Sorry, bro! I just got a bit too… wow… I never get that excited over seeing Sam…" Danny muttered.
"And what were you going to say next? 'Have you heard My Parents Reek? That cut rocks!'" Andy frowned.
Danny thought everything that wasn't his brother looked interesting now.
"You were, weren't you?" Andy gave Danny a disbelieving look. "What is going on in that brain of yours?"
"I… I wasn't going to say that…" Danny muttered, but his blush said that in fact, it was.
"Danny, you need to learn tact." Lopmon snickered.
"Okay, listen bro, keep everything about that CD vague around Sam's parents. And I swear to all the Celestial Digimon that if you breathe a word of what's on that CD in front of Sam's parents, you are a lost cause and I'm leaving you to the wolves, got it?" Andy stated firmly to his brother.
"Uh… Yeah… I got it… I won't say a word." Danny promised, feeling sweat running down his face.
"Good, now let's try this again," Andy said before he gestured to the door. "Knock on the door like a gentleman instead of bursting in on your own like a savage."
Danny walked to the door and raised a hand before knocking on it. Yep… Andy is scarier one out of the two of us…
"The door's open," Jeremy said.
Danny opened the door and walked inside. "Um… I have the CD you wanted, Sam?"
"Sorry about that Mr. And Mrs. Manson, Danny can get a bit excited," Andy said politely.
Pamela blinked before she smiled at Andy. "And what is that cute thing you have on your head, young man?"
"It's a unique stuffed animal that my sister and I made by hand. I like to call him Lopmon, cute isn't he? I want to show the world it's okay to still enjoy cute stuffed animals even when you're a teenager," Andy said, knowing this would get him in the good graces of Sam's parents.
Danny blinked before whining mentally. Why meeee?!
"Well, at least one of you has good taste." Pamela said as she looked at Danny distrustfully.
"Don't worry, I have him on a leash, ma'am," Andy reassured.
Sam would've laughed at this, if she wasn't so annoyed by her parents. It was a bit too late for Danny to take back those specific words he used to describe the CD he brought, but at least Andy was doing some damage control, he was pretty good at showing people what they wanted.
Then a commercial began to play on the TV. The TV screen turned black with a swirling red color showing in the center of it, like a twister of some sort. Then the swirling red twister vanished to show a pale skinned man with no hair, black eyeliner and red lipstick on his lips. He had a black coat with a red and black shirt on, and a black hat with a red line around the bottom on his head. "I… am Freakshow. Ringmaster of Circus Gothica!" The screen zoomed out to show Freakshow also wore red pants and black boots on his feet as well as black gloves, and he held in his hands a black staff with a red crystal ball on top of it.
"Here, your nightmares come alive!" The screen showed a skeleton juggling the skulls of other skeletons before changing to something else. "Circus Gothica, where the clowns never smile!" A clown was shown not smiling, followed by a person covered in tattoos and piercings. "Circus Gothica, Come and get your freak on! With real freaks!"
"Circus Gothica! Coming to Amity Park! Cross over… to the dark side…" The man grinned, showing off the staff with the crystal ball on it that had those eerie red swirls inside.
"Cross over to the dark side…" Danny repeated, almost sounded like he was in a trance.
Pamela grumbled before she walked over to the TV screen and shut it off. "Now there's some evil mind pollution we won't be seeing any time soon, sweetie."
"But we already bought our tickets," Sam argued.
Pamela and Jeremy gave Sam looks of disapproval. Andy also couldn't believe Sam would just tell her parents that she got tickets for something her parents would never approve of. Not to mention Andy himself didn't really like the idea of Circus Gothica, something about it just didn't seem right to him, other than the obvious 'get your freak on' horror vibes the trailer gave out.
Danny was still staring, like he was in a trance, not that Sam seemed to notice as she walked right up next to Danny. "We'll be fine. It's just some harmless entertainment, right Danny?"
"Cross over to the dark side…" Danny said in a monotone voice.
Something about the monotone voice set Lopmon's senses on edge, and his fur seemed to stand on end.
Sam quickly looked over at Andy. "It's just harmless entertainment, right Andy?"
"Uh, yeah, harmless entertainment," Andy quickly said, noticing something unusual going on with his brother as well. "We should probably get going or we'll be late for school."
Sam grabbed Danny by the arm and began to pull him out of the house wondering why Danny was repeating 'Cross over to the dark side' over and over again.
As soon as they were outside, Sam closed the door while Andy and Lopmon were looking at Danny. Andy could see Danny seemed to be staring off into space, and wasn't looking at anything in particular. He and Lopmon waved their hand and ear at Danny to get him to react.
"Uh, Danny?" Andy asked as he tried snapping a finger in front of Danny's face.
"Wah?" Danny blinked, looking to be in a bit of a daze. "What happened?"
"You seemed to be in some sort of trance." Lopmon replied. "It was weird. You were not reacting to anyone around you, just repeating that stupid commercial's tagline 'Cross over to the dark side'."
"Were you just messing around when you were doing that?" Sam questioned when she approached them. "Because my parents have been getting on my case lately, and I rather you didn't make it worse by messing with them."
"N-no, I swear I wasn't Sam," Danny quickly said. "I might've flubbed up a little when I mentioned the CD, but I wasn't intentionally trying to mess with them. It's just… when I looked at the TV when it showed that… man with the crystal ball, I just… I'm not sure, my mind got a bit hazy there."
Sam frowned at this information.
"That's… kinda weird…" Sam noted. "I felt fine when I saw the man with the crystal ball."
"I was fine too," Andy added.
"But why did Danny go into a trance then?" Lopmon asked.
"Why else would something weird happen to Danny when it doesn't happen to us?" Andy sighed. "It probably has to do with the fact he's half ghost."
Danny frowned, rubbing the back of his head. "Is that really it? My ghost half was reacting to that man?"
"I'm just guessing at this point. I don't know what else it could be," Andy answered. "That means it might be in our best interest to steer clear of… what did he say his name was? Freakyboy?"
"His name is Freakshow." Lopmon replied, having heard the name clearly from that commercial.
"Right, Freakyboy," Andy said, obviously ignoring the man's name.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Come on, you're starting to sound like my parents. I'm sure whatever it was, it was just a weird lighting effect on the TV or something."
Andy frowned, he knew Sam should know when weird stuff happens to them, especially his brother, they shouldn't just try to brush it off. But Sam began walking away.
"Hey, where are you going? School is in the opposite direction," Danny pointed out.
Sam was grinning. "The Circus Gothica train pulled into town last night!" She said with pride. "I'm cutting first period to watch the opening ceremonies at the train station."
"You shouldn't do that." Lopmon frowned.
"Take it easy, I called Tucker earlier. He has first period free, so he'll cover for me," Sam explained. "I think he said Takuya was gonna do the same for you two in case you were late?"
"For one of us, Tucker was supposed to cover the other," Andy said.
"You see? You're doing it too," Sam pointed out. "You can't say I'm the one in the wrong here."
"It wasn't for intentional school ditching, it was just a back-up plan in case we ended up leaving later than we thought, because you know, ghost troubles and what not. Not to go see some circus people coming out of a train," Andy pointed out.
"Andy's right, you shouldn't be cutting class," Lopmon agreed. "You're going to get in trouble. What would Biyomon think?"
Sam hesitated for a moment, before she remembered her talk with Biyomon last night. Sam talked about Circus Gothica to Biyomon, who seemed pretty envious that Sam was going to be able to see something so cool.
"I think she'd agree with me if she was here," Sam said. "If you two want to go to school, then go, but I'm not missing out on this."
Before Danny, Lopmon, or Andy could speak up, Sam was already running off.
"H-Hey! Sam! Wait!" Danny called, wanting to stop her, but then his ghost sense wisped out of his mouth with a gasp. "Oh no…"
At the same time, Lopmon went tense. "We have trouble…"
Andy yelped as a short looking man, who had ecto green skin, and red, pupiless eyes, and had a rather big black mohawk, ran just under Andy's legs. "Wah! Yeah, I can see that, guys!"
The little midget ghost looked to be carrying a big bag of money if the giant dollar sign on the bag was any indication.
"Is a ghost seriously robbing a bank or something?" Andy questioned. "What would a ghost want with money?"
"I have no idea, but we have to do something and stop them from escaping." Danny said seriously.
"You mean we go after them?" Lopmon frowned.
"Yep!" Danny said.
"Come on! He's going to get out of sight if we keep talking!" Andy said as he grabbed onto Danny's arm and ran forward.
"Up there!" Lopmon pointed up.
Danny and Andy looked up to see more humanoid ghosts flying in the sky. All of them had that neon green skin. One ghost was big and bulky, like a strong man, with thick, but short black hair and sideburns running down the sides of his head. His irises were red, and he had a ghostly tail instead of legs. The next ghost was female in appearance and had a red top that transitioned into black pants/boots. She had long black hair and red irises as well. The next ghost wore a cloak that was red, only its red eyes could be seen. The short ghost caught up with the other three, and he had thick black hair with red irises as well.
"Wow. It's like a circus of ghosts." Danny joked. "There's the strong man, the dwarf, the cloaked freak, and then an acrobat of some kind."
"Somehow, even though it's rude, it also fits…" Lopmon noted with a sweatdrop running down the side of his head.
"But they're flying…" Andy frowned. "Lopmon and I can't catch them, you'll have to go after them alone."
"Yeah, looks like it," Danny said. "Unless-"
"No overshadowing, bro, not unless it's absolutely necessary," Andy quickly denied. "Besides, I don't want people thinking I'm a ghost."
"Fine…" Danny grumbled. "You know how to ruin a perfectly good idea, bro."
"We'll follow you on foot as best as we can," Andy said.
"Yeah, we'll try our best to back you up," Lopmon added.
Danny nodded. "Okay. I'll meet you there then." He then ran behind a truck and, after determining it was clear, transformed into his ghostly self. The white rings appeared around his torso before splitting horizontally to reveal Danny Phantom.
Now as his ghostly self, Danny took off after the ghosts with the money bags.
"Geez… these guys sure are in a hurry…" Danny muttered to himself.
Someone else was watching them from the distance. They saw the ghosts flying with some money bags, and they watched as Danny took off after these ghosts as a ghost himself. They saw Andy running with Lopmon on his head.
What trouble is that boy getting himself into now? The figure thought as they moved after the ghosts.
Andy hunched over, putting his hands to his knees. "I… can't… keep… up…"
"Maybe… I could try digivolving and going after them while carrying you?" Lopmon suggested.
"In… the middle… of the… streets…? You'd… cause more… panic…" Andy replied, still trying to catch his breath.
Lopmon pouted. "Awww… Fine… We'll do it the old-fashioned way then…"
Lopmon's ears went up for a moment. "I thought I sensed a familiar being nearby…"
"What…?" Andy blinked.
Lopmon squinted his eyes. "... Maybe I'm imagining it… But that direction the ghosts are going… isn't that where Sam went?"
Andy looked up, noticing a big bulletin board ahead. He saw Danny floating in front of it, and seemed to be staring at the bulletin board. Andy saw the bulletin board had that Freakshow man on there, with that big crystal ball.
Danny floated there as he stared at the giant crystal ball. He saw those ghosts phasing through the bulletin board, but something about that crystal ball caught his attention, he was enamored by it. There was a small tackle on his back that caused him to snap out of his trance. He looked back, but didn't see anyone or anything. He didn't have time to think about it, he needed to hurry and catch those ghosts. Danny turned himself intangible and flew through the bulletin board.
Andy ran towards where the bulletin board was leading. That's it… next time, I'm taking a moped with me everywhere I go!
Danny came through the bulletin board, only to see he was at the Amity Park train station, with a train that was parked there. It looked like a circus train, and on the sides were the words Circus Gothica. Danny frowned to himself at this. Odd… why would those ghosts come this way, and to the Circus Gothica train at that?
Andy panted, feeling like he just ran a marathon. He never felt this exhausted while moving around in the Digital World, but then again he usually had some form of transportation to get somewhere quickly, or he would just walk, not run the entire way.
"Whoa… look at all these dark people," Lopmon muttered. "Are they all Nightmare Soldiers?"
"What…? No… humans don't have… types like Digimon…" Andy huffed. "They're… just goths…"
"Goths?" Lopmon asked as he looked at the humans gathered around. "That's… an odd way to describe someone who wears all black."
"Sam's a goth…" Andy explained.
"Oh… ooooh, right," Lopmon remembered.
"Well, look who decided to slum it with the 'troubled teens'," Sam's voice stated smugly.
Andy and Lopmon looked up, seeing Sam there, grinning and crossing her arms. At the same time, Danny landed next to them, causing both Andy and Lopmon to yelp as they didn't see Danny there.
"Are you trying to give us a heart attack!?" Andy hissed.
"Sorry, bro." Danny replied sheepishly. "I guess it comes with being a half ghost."
"Yes, announce that to the world, why don't you?" Andy grumbled.
"Don't worry, everyone here has their focus on the train," Sam reassured. "Though you probably should change back before someone sees you, Danny."
Danny nodded before ducking behind a few barrels and transformed back into Danny Fenton. Danny emerged from behind the barrels, now human again.
"There… That's better…" Danny muttered before he perked up. "Wait… Wow… I've never seen so many goths in one place… or in broad daylight either…"
"Are goths usually nocturnal?" Lopmon asked.
"They just prefer shadowy and dark places," Sam answered.
As if on cue, the goths all opened up black umbrellas to keep the sun off of their bodies, creating a sea of black that could be seen from above.
"Wait… Danny, were you able to catch those ghosts?" Andy asked, remembering the reason why they ended up here and not at school.
"Unfortunately, no. They seemed to have disappeared when I phased through the bulletin board," Danny said.
Andy raised an eyebrow. "Jee, Danny, it's almost like they're ghosts, and can go invisible. Did you even check the tent or the train?"
Danny blushed. "No…" He replied, feeling embarrassed he hadn't thought of that. "I guess I should have done that…"
"Well, since you two are here, you may as well stay and watch the opening ceremonies." Sam said with a grin.
"We should actually get back to school, Circus Gothica really isn't our thing," Andy said.
"I know it's not exactly the right thing, but… I'm kind of curious now that we're here," Lopmon admitted.
"Come on, Lopmon, not you too," Andy groaned.
"What is that on your head?" One of the goth kids questioned when they looked at Andy and saw Lopmon.
"It's just a stuffed animal," Andy quickly said.
"I don't recall seeing one like that at the mall," The goth kid said.
"It's something my sister and I made…" Andy sheepishly replied.
"What, so you're still a baby who needs his stuffed toy his sister made?" A taller looking goth kid said.
"Oh? You think it's childish to have a stuffed toy on your head in public? Should I tell them about the abundance of stuffed bunnies you keep in your closet, Spike?" Andy said, recognizing the goth teen as the one Jazz would counsel from time to time.
Spike looked away, trying to act like he didn't recognize Andy before walking away.
Danny whistled. "Wow, bro. That was impressive."
"I'll say." Sam agreed with a grin.
"It's not the first time we got bullied because of stupid stuff," Andy said. "After seeing Dash bond with Labramon, it's gotten easier to see these people as humans who like cute animals they try to hide from people. Personally, I find that to be way more childish than embracing the cute toy you still love since you were a child."
"Huh… that's deep, man," Another goth man said with respect.
A few of the other goths were looking in their direction. Now suddenly at the center of attention, Andy picked up Lopmon and held him in front of his face before sheepishly moving behind Danny. He never liked being in the center of attention, at least to people he didn't really know.
Danny gave a sheepish grin of his own when he realized everyone was focused on him and Andy.
Thankfully, the twins were spared any more attention on them as the doors to the Circus Gothica train opened, catching the attention of the assembled crowd.
"Greetings, fellow outcasts." A voice spoke up from within the darkness of the train.
There was a distinctive red glow coming from inside the open cart, and the man from the commercial stepped out into the sunlight, revealing himself.
"I am Freakshow, the Master of Ceremonies. Are you ready to smile, relax, and forget all your troubles in the pleasant distraction of the circus?" Freakshow asked in a gentle voice as he bent back a bit, and somehow his staff was flexible enough to bend with him.
"No!" The crowd of goths shouted, which seemed to please Freakshow.
"Well, then you've come to the right place!" Freakshow declared. "Prepare to be disturbed and appalled by a small sample of the bizarre and abnormal of Circus Gothica!"
As if on cue, an arrow with a string attached to it shot out of the open train car, impaling itself on a pole. The string went taut, and then two eyes opened inside the train car. Out came a woman with spiked white hair and a pale complexion. Her eyes were blue and she wore a completely black outfit. She came out on the wire like a spider did on its web, crawling along it without losing sense of balance.
The next person to come out of the car was a big, muscular man on a unicycle juggling skulls. He wore a black outfit as well, including a black mask.
A spiked wheel with a female form inside it came rolling out. And finally, a person wearing stilts and dressed like a skeleton came out.
Everyone seemed to be thrilled at the strange and freaky sights before them, as there was a lot of cheering. Danny felt a bit uneasy. Wow… How can Sam stand this stuff? It's too… weird… And I fight ghosts…
All of this kind of reminds me of Wendigomon, who was Lopmon's dark reflection. Andy noted to himself as he looked at these strange looking people. Jeez, it's like watching someone's torture room.
Lopmon was curious as to how these humans could come in with such talent and shapes. While humans were unique in their own way, Lopmon had long since learned humans didn't usually hold any special powers without some kind of outside circumstances like with Danny. And humans didn't have evolutionary stages that could change them drastically. So to see humans being this weird and this different certainly intrigued him.
"Maybe they're super human?" Lopmon whispered to Andy.
Andy frowned. "Well… some humans are just… trained to be… uh… different."
Sam was taken in by the excitement herself. "This is the greatest moment ever, the only thing that could've made this better was if I had Biyomon by my side. I'm sure she would've loved to see this!"
None of them noticed that Danny began to stare at Freakshow's crystal ball, and that his eyes began to turn red as his mind was enraptured by it.
However, it seemed Sam's wish was ruined by only one thing, as a voice spoke over a megaphone at that point, startling her. "Parents of Amity Park! We urge you to boycott this morbid assault on the morals of our children!" Pamela said as she, Jeremy, and many other parents stood on the opposite side of the freaky circus.
Sam looked downright horrified. "Oh, c'mon!" Why can't they have day jobs like regular parents!?
"Jeez… you'd think these people would realize they're like 90% of the reason why their kids end up like this…" Andy grumbled, feeling embarrassed for Sam, and worried about what her parents would do if they saw him and Danny with Sam out here.
It would be all too easy for Pamela and Jeremy to pass the blame on him and Danny for 'bringing Sam here' and 'being a bad influence' on her, rather than take responsibility for themselves. Andy knew this, and that was another reason why he was horrified that they were here.
"Danny, maybe you should turn us invisible…" Andy suggested, but he hadn't heard a peep out of Danny. "Danny?"
Lopmon looked at Danny, and knew something wasn't right. "Digital World to Danny? Are you… awake?"
"Hello?" Andy waved a hand in front of his brother. Didn't this happen earlier? Okay, I know something's going on now, it's not just because of a lack of sleep, or his brain being weird about Sam.
Freakshow seemed to take delight in the protest though as the goths all booed the parents assembled. "Don't let the close-minded norms beat you down! Show them your true colors, and by that I mean all black! Make them see you for who you are!" He said as he climbed on top of a crate.
Danny then spoke. "Make them see us for who we are…" The swirling red color vanished from Danny's eyes as his irises turned red and he took on an odd grin on his face.
Andy and Lopmon both turned their heads at the crystal ball Danny had been looking at, and at Danny himself, and what he just said, repeating what Freakshow just said.
Oh… shiiii-
"Hey everyone! Over her-" Danny began to call when Andy and Lopmon tackled Danny to the ground.
Lopmon covered Danny's mouth with his ears, and Andy grabbed onto Danny's shoulders and began to drag Danny away.
"W-what are you two doing?" Sam asked, completely caught off guard by what just happened.
"We'll explain later, just help me get him away from the crowd!" Andy whispered.
Sam blinked, but realized something was wrong if Andy was desperate to get Danny away from the area. "O-okay…" She whispered back before helping Andy get Danny to his feet. The two of them were able to manhandle Danny away from the crowd.
Unfortunately for them, the sudden action did cause the crowd to look at them, which in turn, caused Sam's parents to notice them as they were trying to drag Danny away.
"Sam?" Pamela and Jeremy called with their megaphone.
Sam hissed as she facepalmed herself, knowing she was in for some hell soon.
Lopmon tried to stay still while also clinging onto Danny's shirt to keep Danny's mouth closed with his ears.
Why can't anything ever be easy? Andy groaned.
Titanic X: ZAFT: Yes, Wormmon is indeed cute! X3
pokemon fan 1991: ZAFT: You will see what happens with Wormmon, but I agree; the poor guy doesn't deserve to be alone again! X3
DarkFoxKit: Wormmon and Veemon are gonna take a little while to digivolve. You see, the reason why it's easier for children to get their Digimon to digivolve is because their Digimon get stronger when they learn something valuable, and push themselves to break their own limits, which is naturally harder for adults to do. There are deeper lore for how digivolutions work with their partners, at least for this story, but that's like the basic reason why it will be harder for Jack and Maddie to get their partners to digivolve.