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.

28. A Test of Knowledge

ZAFT: A day late, but it's not a week late at least. XD

Takuya: And the weather is starting to warm up~ :3

ZAFT: Someone is happy at least… ^^'

DarkFoxKit: I hate this time of year. Allergies, bugs are coming out, the grass is growing and that means its time to mow the lawn every 3 weeks… and I don't do well when it gets hot.

Andy: I don't like any of those either.

DarkFoxKit: Don't you share Takuya's… enthusiasm about being hot?

Andy: No, why would I? Don't stereotype me just because I have a fire element in one story.

ZAFT: Anyway, time to get to the chapter you two~ :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, 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, a shadowed form behind him)

Let's go… EVOLUTION

(Sam is shown with her Fenton Lipstick, firing it at a different ghost, a shadowed form 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

(A shadowed draconic form is shown with blue eyes and wings before fire flares from it, covering the form's visage in flames)

As we move along

(Danny is shown walking down the street with those closest to him appearing one by one; Andy and Lopmon, 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 28: A Test of Knowledge

It was an early morning. The sun was rising, the clouds were clearing the sky, the breeze was blowing gently through the valley. Takuya, Andy, Patamon, and Lopmon stood outside, facing the school. Togemon, Yokomon, Motimon, Tanemon, Pagumon, Bukamon, Chibomon, Botamon, and Jyraimon were all standing together, looking at the two humans and Rookie level Digimon.

"Do you really have to go now? You can stay and learn more about the Digital World here," Togemon suggested.

"Thanks, but we have stayed long enough. We have to get back home soon before everyone misses us," Andy said.

"But you guys are my only friends… do you really have to go?" Yokomon frowned.

"You'll be able to make friends here, Yokomon, especially since you're friends with someone who can turn into a Digimon." Lopmon smiled. "Just be yourself."

"Yeah, you'll be fine and make many friends if you just try." Takuya agreed with a grin. "At least you were respectful and didn't join in on the baby swarm yesterday." Man, baby Digimon can pounce hard! I felt that, even through my armor!

"I don't mind being your friend, Yokomon." Tanemon smiled as she approached the other plant Digimon. "All you had to do was ask. I didn't know you wanted friends, you always seemed to want to be by yourself."

Yokomon blushed. "Well… I… didn't think anyone wanted to play with me."

"You should've asked. We would've let you play with us if you did that." Tanemon said. "But you were always by yourself, on your own, so we assumed you didn't want to play with us."

"It seems miscommunication can happen even in the Digital World," Takuya chuckled. "I know Andy and Danny certainly have their moments of miscommunication with each other sometimes."

"It can happen to the best of us, even those you're close to," Andy sheepishly chuckled.

Yokomon gave a small smile. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. But I do want to see you again, so make sure you come back once you find a way home, alright?"

"We'll definitely try," Andy chuckled.

"I'll make sure they come back." Lopmon smiled.

Patamon watched this whole thing in silence, feeling torn. On one hand, he did want the baby Digimon to see these kind humans again, but on the other, these humans knew of ghosts existing too. And then there was that little complication of the ghost boy on top of that, and Patamon did not know if these two humans knew the ghost boy or not.

"We'd better get going to see if we can find a way back." Takuya said at last. "I know I'm wanting to get back as soon as possible."

"Yeah, especially since you've been gone for almost a whole day already," Andy agreed.

"Be safe out there, and you're always welcome to come back here when you need to!" Togemon waved as Takuya, Andy, Lopmon, and Patamon began walking away.

"I hope someday I can digivolve to be strong and cool like Takuya!" Pagumon grinned.

"Me too!" The other babies agreed.

"Maybe…" Yokomon said, wondering if even a small, weak Digimon like her could be strong and cool like Agunimon one day as well.

---

Andy, Lopmon, Takuya, and Patamon were walking through a flower field, after leaving the valley.

"You know, it was nice going back to school again, even if it was for little children," Takuya chuckled.

"Yeah, that nap time was nice too," Andy agreed. "I had a weird dream that I was wandering through a foggy place, and I saw Danny there, telling me it was safe before waking up. Though I didn't have any more dreams last night."

"Wait, really?" Takuya blinked. "That's kinda weird." He then paused. "Then again… you two are twins, and twins can have a weird connection with each other like that I guess."

"I just chalk it up to being a dream and nothing more," Andy shrugged. "Although I would like to see Danny again. He would never believe me if I told him I was in the Digital World with you, with my own Digimon fighting alongside me."

"Hey, if you guys fight ghosts, I think Danny would believe you about this." Takuya chuckled. "Although, he may have a bit of denial about this place being real, and not a cool game, at first."

"I would like to meet Danny. He sounds like a nice kid." Lopmon said before he opened his large ears and jumped into the air, drifting down onto Andy's head. "Maybe he's as nice as Andy!"

"If you keep this up, you'll turn into a hat," Andy joked.

"Would that be so bad?" Lopmon giggled.

"And Danny is nice, like Andy." Takuya grinned.

Patamon was giving them a curious look. "You said you fought with ghosts, right?"

"Yeah, Amity Park, where we live, has a Ghost Portal that allows ghosts to come into our world," Andy answered. "So we usually have to deal with them on a daily basis."

"It doesn't help that the portal is in your basement though." Takuya grimaced. "Although, I can't fault Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie for not wanting to shut it off, since ghosts come through often enough for them to try and catch one to study."

"You have something as unstable as a Ghost Portal in your basement?" Patamon frowned, surprised to hear about that. "How did that even happen?"

"My parents are avid inventors, mostly for ghost stuff," Andy answered. "They spent years building a portal that would open up a ghost portal to the Ghost Zone. They finally made one that succeeded though."

"And it's been open for all this time?" Patamon asked with a frown. "I would assume your parents would be more careful about it."

"Unfortunately, Aunt Maddie and Uncle Jack can get a bit… entranced, by their research and work." Takuya sighed. "So safety doesn't always get remembered, but they do try."

"And they can't really shut it off, that could risk causing the two dimensions to collapse in on each other, or so I've heard," Andy explained. "Mom said they plan to install some kind of safety measurement to be able to shut the portal off, but it's going to take time to make. I guess they didn't expect to actually succeed or they didn't think about shutting the portal off until they already activated it."

"I see…" Patamon frowned.

"Is there something wrong?" Lopmon asked.

"I'm just wondering… since you two seem to face ghosts on a daily basis, have you ever seen a teenage ghost boy flying around?" Patamon asked.

"A teenage ghost boy?" Andy blinked. "Why do you want to know?"

Takuya watched Andy and Patamon with interest, but also concern. He was curious as to why Patamon wanted to know about the ghost boy as well.

"I was just curious." Patamon replied, not delving any further than that.

"I know it's more than just curiosity. You wouldn't specify what kind of ghost you're looking for if you were just curious," Andy pointed out. "Do you know this ghost boy? Was he a partner you had in a previous life?"

"No, I don't know this ghost boy." Patamon frowned. "But I do have an important reason for finding him."

"What reason would that be?" Lopmon asked curiously.

"It's… classified, sorry," Patamon replied.

"Well, if it's a full on ghost boy you're looking for, I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone like that. Most ghosts that attack us are either feral animals, or adult-like ghosts, or a teenage girl, not a boy," Andy answered.

"I see…" Patamon replied, obviously not liking the answer, but he accepted it for the time being. "I guess I was mistaken then."

"Why do you want to know?" Takuya asked, feeling a bit worried about this new turn of events. "This seems a bit… odd to me, and not in a good way."

"Surely you can at least tell Takuya, he is a Legendary Warrior," Andy pointed out.

"That's true… it's just…" Patamon frowned. "I don't want to cause a panic. This… information is meant to stay private to only a handful of people."

"Do you need us to step away?" Lopmon asked.

"No… I think it's best if you don't know my reasons for looking for this ghost boy right now," Patamon replied. "It would be a burden I rather not put on you kids."

Takuya frowned, not sure why Patamon called them 'kids' especially since he was likely a child himself. Patamon… What's going on? Why do you act so mature for such a young Digimon?

Lopmon frowned as well, but accepted the explanation. "Okay… but if you feel the need to tell someone, we are open to listening."

"Yeah, thanks," Patamon said. "So… we need to figure out how to get you two back to your world, right?"

"Yeah… Do you know how?" Andy asked.

"As said before, the other humans who were here, they use their D-Tectors at a monitor to get them back to their world," Patamon reminded. "We can get you to a monitor, and you can hold up your devices to the monitor and see what happens."

"Yeah, but… Wouldn't that risk us getting sent to a different part of our world?" Takuya asked, a bit worried about that.

"Normally, yes, but…" Patamon looked at Andy for a moment. "There may be a way to use your devices to go to your house. You might be able to set a coordinate to wherever you live into your device, and use that to guide the monitor to where you want it to go."

"Really? We can do that?" Andy asked, taking out his device and looked at it.

"There's a lot about the D-Tectors, and whatever device you have, Andy, that we don't know about," Patamon explained. "But they were likely made to help make your trip through the Digital World and your world much easier."

Takuya took out his D-Tector. "Wow, this thing sounds pretty handy. I mean, it holds Agunimon's Spirit and allows me to evolve, but it can be used to head back home too now? That's awesome!"

"Let's just hope it works," Andy said. "How far are we to the nearest monitor?"

"There may be one some distance ahead of us." Patamon replied. "It shouldn't be too far from us if we keep walking straight ahead."

"Do you think I'll be able to go with you, Andy?" Lopmon asked.

"I don't know, I don't even know how getting back home will even work," Andy replied.

"But… if it were possible, would you want me to go with you? Or would you rather I stayed here to not get… um… experimented on?" Lopmon questioned softly.

Andy hesitated. "I don't want you to get experimented on, of course… but I'll admit, it is nice having you around. You're able to help me take on tough enemies when I can't fight them on my own, and you've been encouraging me since I got here. It would suck to have to leave you behind."

Lopmon smiled at hearing all of that. "Awww~"

Takuya chuckled. "Well, Lopmon is small, like plushie-sized. Maybe, if he does come back to our world, he could pass as a stuffed toy." He joked.

"Yeah, but he'd have to stay still and be quiet for a while, and I don't know if he can do that," Andy chuckled. "He was pretty hyper as Kokomon."

"Hey, I've grown since then! I can totally be still and quiet if I need to be," Lopmon pouted.

"Well, we'll see when it comes to that." Takuya grinned. "At the very least, we have an idea on how to hide Lopmon if he comes back with us."

"Let's just see the monitor first, then worry about Lopmon if he is even able to come back with us," Andy replied.

As the group was moving along, they could hear what sounded like people talking not too far away. Staying quiet, Takuya, Andy, Lopmon, and Patamon moved closer to the voices.

"Cutting across the Forest Terminal is the fastest way to get to the Rose Morning Star, and find the guild that defeated the Celestial Digimon there."

"But isn't the Forest Terminal rumored to have some of those Legendary Warriors that have the ability to weaken partner Digimon and even get us kicked out of the world?"

Takuya froze, wondering who could be talking. But from what it sounded like, the people talking were possibly players. Shit… if those are players… we have to be careful.

Takuya looked back at Andy, Lopmon, and Patamon. "I think those are players just ahead of us." He whispered to them. "We'll have to be careful."

"Why can't this ever be easy?" Andy silently groaned.

As they were slowly walking by, Takuya could see some humans sitting in a group together. He could see some of them had Digimon partners, though he also saw a couple that didn't have a Digimon with them. One of them looked like a young boy who appeared to be 11 or 12. The boy had short brown hair, and a big orange hat on his head. His eyes were green and he wore a white T-shirt with olive green outlines around the neck and sleeves. His pants were an army green color and he wore white and green sneakers as well.

"Are you sure about this?" The boy asked. "Why are we heading to that guild anyways?"

"Jeez, little Tommy, try to keep up! We're going there so the guild members could train our Digimon to be strong! So we can take out the other 2 Celestial Digimon, and those Legendary Warriors!"

"Oh wait, you don't have a Digimon partner yet, do you?"

The boy called Tommy frowned. "Well, I'm not the only one! Ashley doesn't have one either!"

"Only because I didn't find one that fit me yet." A female voice, presumably Ashley, replied.

"You're too picky, I doubt any Digimon partner would fit you," Tommy grumbled.

"Of course a Digimon partner would fit me! One that's beautiful and strong," Ashley remarked, reminding Takuya of Paulina. "But no Digimon likes you, they don't even approach you!"

"Because you guys keep scaring them off," Tommy grumbled.

"Be quiet, you two! We'll get to the guild, then maybe they can provide you two with a partner of your own, but until then, just stop arguing and stay close to us!" A tall boy snapped, he was presumingly the leader of the group.

"Great… Now what do we do?" Takuya hissed. "It's obvious these guys want to get to the Rose Morning Star and get stronger, but they haven't attacked anyone yet so we can't fight them."

"Don't worry about them," Patamon whispered. "A lot of players want to go there, because the infamous players that took down Cherubimon reside there. They want to be trained by them so they can take down the other 2 Celestial Digimon and create their own famous guilds."

"I guess, but we can't just let them get stronger and threaten the Digital World." Takuya growled.

Lopmon frowned. "The players who took down Cherubimon must be crazy strong then."

Andy frowned as well. "Let's go."

"That's it? You're just going to leave?" Takuya frowned at Andy.

"We're not going to be helpful to anyone if these players attack us. We'll come back once we regroup, and find a way to get stronger ourselves to stop these players," Andy answered back.

Takuya looked back at the group of players and took in the number before them. He had to admit, Andy had a point. Even as a Legendary Warrior himself, Takuya knew the four of them would get overpowered by that many Digimon and players at once.

Finally, Takuya sighed. "Okay… we'll regroup for now and figure out how to get stronger as well." He conceded at last.

Takuya, Andy, Patamon, and Lopmon hurried away from the group. Patamon led them out of the flowery forest, leading them to a small town with a few Digimon walking around.

"We should be able to find a monitor here," Patamon said.

Lopmon, who was still on Andy's head, looked around. "Maybe we can ask one of the locals?"

"Maybe." Takuya said as he looked around as well. "That may be a good idea. I don't know if anyone here will know for sure, but it can't hurt to ask."

The group looked around, some of the locals quickly ran away and hid in a building when they saw them.

"They seem to be scared of us," Lopmon noted.

"They must've been attacked by some players before," Patamon sighed.

"This makes things harder than it needs to be." Takuya grumbled. "These players are such a menace!"

"Alright, calm down," Andy spoke up. "Try to remember that the people who are players are just normal people who think this is only a video game. They don't know these Digimon are actual living creatures, and they're hurting them. Remember how you almost took off my head because you thought I was some evil mastermind player and Lopmon was this all powerful Digimon?"

Lopmon was snickering.

Takuya blushed. "Yeah, I remember that…" He muttered, feeling embarrassed about that. "Please don't tell Danny or Jazz about that though, okay? I don't need both of them jumping me with scolding for that."

"Speaking of them, how are you going to tell them what happened?" Andy asked. "Last time they saw you, Ember imploded you. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but still, they knew you were sent somewhere far away. And… Jazz, Tucker, and Sam know your identity, it was pretty hard to keep it on the down low with you missing, and Danny yelling out your real name when you were transported."

Takuya's eyes went wide. "Wait… They know?!" He exclaimed. Then Takuya reached up and ran a hand through his hair as he took a few deep breaths to calm down. "S-Sorry… I just… I didn't think my secret would be found out so soon, and like that no less…"

"We couldn't keep it a secret when that happened, we also needed all hands on deck to find a way to find you," Andy explained. "But it's only Jazz, Tucker, and Sam who knows. They're used to keeping big secrets like that. Not to mention that other Legendary Warrior who saved us from Ember… I wonder if he's still out there."

"Oh, you mean the one who called himself Lobomon? I think he probably is, just trying to keep a low profile." Takuya asked before he looked down in thought. "I guess I owe him for helping you when I couldn't. If we ever see him, I'll be sure to thank him."

Takuya wondered, however, if Lobomon was the Legendary Warrior who lost communications with Zoe. It was weird to hear that a Legendary Warrior, other than himself, was running around in the real world rather than in the Digital World.

"If you can find him," Patamon added. "If a Legendary Warrior doesn't want to be found, it would be nigh impossible to find them."

"Ugh… Well, I guess I'll have to wait and see then." Takuya sighed. Plus, if this guy is anything like me, as in possibly a human, it would be like a one-in-a-7-billion chance of finding him.

"Let's worry about that later," Andy sighed. "For now, we need to find someone who's willing to help us out."

"Hey, I know, since they're all afraid to talk to us because they think you're players, maybe Patamon and I should ask around town," Lopmon suggested.

"That might be a good idea," Andy replied before snickering. "Although, that means you'll have to come off of my head."

Lopmon pouted. "I guess you're right…" He groaned before jumping off of Andy's head and using his giant ears to float to the ground. "But your head is so comfy!"

"I don't see what the big deal is, it's just a head with hair." Patamon rolled his eyes.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you had a head to lay on yourself," Lopmon pointed out.

Takuya snickered. "You are obsessed with Andy's head, aren't you Lopmon?"

"H-hey! It's nice and soft!" Lopmon exclaimed with a blush under his fur.

Andy rubbed the back of his head. "Can we focus, please?" This is so awkward… I don't think even Tucker's hat would love his head as much as Lopmon does with mine, and Tucker wears that hat 24/7!

"Uh, excuse me?"

The small group blinked, looking down to see who was speaking to them. It was a bird-like Digimon with white feathers on its head, and blue eyes. It had a black belt around its forehead with a red and yellow feather sticking up from the rear. The beak was yellow, and its body had red feathers on it. There were three black claws on the wings and it had yellow taloned feet as well.

"You two… were you at the Digi-School in the valley?" The bird Digimon asked.

"Uh… yeah, that's us, how'd you know?" Takuya replied.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hawkmon, I'm Yokomon's older brother," The bird Digimon introduced. "My family had a call from Togemon this morning, telling us what happened at the school yesterday. She said two human players with a Patamon, and a Lopmon, defended their school from a bad player. Was that you four?"

Takuya blinked, but nodded. "Uh… yeah, that was us." He confirmed. Maybe this Hawkmon can help us then!

"I knew it, I knew not all humans were bad!" Hawmon smiled. "I'm glad you were able to keep my sister and the other young Digimon safe."

Andy smiled. "We were happy to help. But maybe you can help us?"

"Oh? What is it that you heroes need?" Hawkmon asked.

Heroes? Huh… never thought I'd be called that. Andy sheepishly thought to himself. "We were wondering if there are any monitors, or some kind of… uh… TV screens around here? We think it might help us get back home."

Hawkmon put a clawed wing under his beak to think for a moment. "Oh, yes, I think I saw something like that at the fish market."

Takuya grinned. "Really? Then could you take us there? We would really appreciate it if you helped us."

"Really? That's all you want?" Hawkmon asked, surprised.

"Yeah, it'll help us a lot." Andy smiled.

"Very well then, follow me, it's the least I can do for young heroes who protected my sister's school." Hawkmon grinned.

"Looks like we got pretty lucky," Andy said.

"Yeah, we got someone to help us without needing to go through with our plan!" Lopmon smiled before he climbed up on Andy, getting back on his head.

Patamon rolled his eyes. It's gotta be his immature body.

Takuya rolled his eyes, but it was a good thing they had Hawkmon to help them he supposed.

Takuya then looked at Hawkmon as they followed him. "So… Did Yokomon say she was doing well? I mean, it hasn't been that long since we left, but I still wonder how she is doing."

"She said that she made some new friends, which I believe it was thanks to you four," Hawkmon replied. "I'm glad, Yokomon has always been more standoffish than most Digimon her age and level. She finds it difficult to express herself around others, even to her own family. I was surprised to hear that you were able to get her to open up."

"We have a friend in our world who's like that," Andy explained. "She's a lot more open to us now, but back then, she was difficult to figure out, and always seemed to be in a sour mood. My brother helped her open up though, he seemed to be a natural for that."

"I'm glad to hear that," Hawkmon replied. "I've heard she's been opening herself up a little more around others now."

"That's good to hear, at least we know Yokomon won't be lonely without us there," Lopmon remarked.

"Yeah." Takuya agreed. "I'm glad Yokomon has opened up more. It's not fun to be alone and by yourself with no friends."

"Alright, here we are," Hawkmon stopped in front of a shop.

Almost immediately, Takuya, Andy, Lopmon, and Patamon were assaulted by a fish smell. Andy and Lopmon quickly covered their noses.

"Oh gosh… the fish smells pretty ripe…" Andy groaned.

"Yeah… the fish market doesn't have refrigeration, so they have to work fast with fresh fish. But the ones that go bad, and smelly, usually get dumped outside," Hawkmon explained sheepishly.

Takuya pulled up his shirt over his nose. "Ugh… I may like fish, but not when it stinks."

Patamon landed on Takuya's head before climbing inside his shirt. "No fish smell for me…"

Takuya was surprised that Patamon went into his shirt, but considering that Digimon tended to have a more sensitive sense of smell than humans, he couldn't blame the little guy.

"I think I might puke…" Lopmon groaned, covering his entire head with his ears in an attempt to keep as much of the smell out as possible.

"Please don't puke on my head…" Andy gulped.

"Come on, the sooner we get to the monitor, the sooner you can get out of here," Hawkmon sheepishly said. "All the villagers here got used to the smell."

Takuya and Andy hurried after Hawkmon into the fish market. Inside, they saw a lot of aquatic Digimon. Takuya could identify them as Gomamon, Betamon, Syakomon, Seadramon, Ikkakumon, Crabmon, and Octomon. They were all moving around quickly with a bunch of fish.

Hawkmon pointed at a counter with a computer screen. "There, they use that to check you out. I'm not sure if it'll help you get home, but that's the best I can do."

"Thanks, Hawkmon, we appreciate it." Takuya said with a smile. "Even if it doesn't work, at least you tried and that's what counts."

"Uh… how may I help you?" An Octomon asked nervously, clearly not used to being around humans.

"Could you turn that monitor in our direction? We won't take long," Andy promised, still holding his nose.

The Octomon blinked, but did as asked, clearly not expecting the question or request. "Um… sure…?"

Takuya took out his D-Tector. "Well, I guess it's now or never." He said nervously. "I hope this works and gets us back home. You'd better take out that device of yours as well, Andy. I'm not leaving you behind here."

"I already have it out," Andy said, holding out his own device. "Let's make this quick. I hope they take us home."

"If… if I'm not able to go with you… I hope I'll see you again soon, Andy," Lopmon said a little somberly, not wanting to say good-bye to Andy.

"I promise, we'll come back, Lopmon. We want to help players see the Digital World isn't just a game," Andy promised.

"Yeah, we'll be back before you know it." Takuya agreed with a smile. He then pointed his D-Tector at the monitor. "Well, time to go home." He said as the monitor screen began to glow.

Andy held up his own device at the monitor screen.

The monitor screen glowed brightly before it sucked in Takuya and Andy. Hawkmon and Octomon, who were watching, were surprised by this.

"You don't see that every day," Hawkmon whistled.

As Takuya, Andy, Lopmon, and Patamon went through the portal, Andy's clothes changed back to the PJs he was wearing before he was sucked into the Digital World. They all came flying out of a computer screen. Takuya hit the ground first, then Andy was on top of him, and both Patamon and Lopmon were on top of Andy.

"Ow…" Takuya groaned as he felt the three on top of him. "That hurts…" He muttered before he opened his eyes and looked around. "Uh… does anyone know where we are?"

Andy rolled off of Takuya, causing Lopmon and Patamon to fall off.

"Uh…" Andy looked up. "It's a little too dark to see. The lights must be off, and there aren't any windows here."

"We seem to have come with you two as well," Patamon spoke up. "It's possible we might still be in the Digital World."

"Do you think we are?" Lopmon frowned.

"Hold on, let me try to find a light switch…" Andy said as he moved around in the dark, holding out his hands to find a wall.

Andy managed to find a way, and began to feel his way through the room until he found what felt like a light switch. The boy flipped the switch on.

"Hey… this is my room! At least in Fenton Works!" Takuya smiled when the light came on, and they recognized the room.

Andy smiled in relief as well. "Looks like we made it back!"

"Yeah, after being sent to the Digital World for quite some time, it's good to be back in the real world." Takuya sighed as he felt relief flood his body as well. "As cool as it was being in a new world, it's nice to be back in our world again."

"And everyone would be happy to see you made it back." Andy smiled before looking at Lopmon and Patamon. "And… we have two others who came with us."

Lopmon looked around and smiled. "So, this is your world? It looks small, and quite cozy."

"This is only a room in a house, Lopmon, this isn't the whole world," Andy chuckled.

"And the human world is far bigger than just a house." Takuya grinned before looking at Lopmon and Patamon again. "Although I didn't expect you two to come with us."

"I didn't expect it either. It shouldn't be possible for Digimon to go through a vortex made by your D-Tector," Patamon remarked. "Maybe it had something to do with Andy's unknown device?"

"Well, whatever the case may be, I'm just glad I could follow Andy to his world!" Lopmon smiled. "Now I won't be so lonely until Andy comes back to the Digital World!"

"Right… well, since this happened, we'll need to set some ground rules," Andy quickly said before looking at his PJs. "Huh… I forgot that I was wearing PJs before I got sucked into the Digital World. How much time has passed since I was gone? It was around midnight, I think, when I got sucked in."

"I think… maybe an hour or two…?" Takuya mused before he looked at his clock on the nightstand. The clock read 2:30 on the display.

Dang, what was Calvin doing in the Digital World at 2 AM? Andy wondered. "It's been about a day for me in the Digital World, and only 2 hours have passed here?"

"Time in the Digital World, and time in this world may fluctuate a bit," Patamon said. "After all, Takuya was in the Digital World for only a few days, but more than just 4 or 8 hours passed for you, didn't it?"

"I think so. I wasn't keeping an eye on the time with everything that was going on," Andy admitted.

"Well, regardless, I'm just glad things are going to be calm for a bit. I've had enough excitement for one day… err… I think it's one day…" Takuya groaned. "The time difference is going to mess with me for a while…"

"It was about half a day when you went missing," Andy informed.

Takuya then paled as he realized something. "Wait, if time passes so much faster in the Digital World, that means we're giving players more time to get stronger and find that guild that defeated Cherubimon!"

"Um… don't those players have to stop playing at some point and go back to their own world too?" Lopmon asked.

Takuya blinked before relaxing when he remembered players had to stop playing and go back to their own world at some point as well.

"Besides, we have other things to worry about too," Andy added. "Like how we're going to explain your little trip through the Digital World… and mine, I guess. As well as explaining these little guys to our friends."

"I can't wait to meet your friends, they sound like nice people, especially this brother of yours!" Lopmon smiled.

Takuya chuckled. "We'll see how that goes. You'd better be careful around Tucker though. He's the techno-geek of the group. He would flip out if he saw the two of you in the real world. But I mean that in a good way. Tucker wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Oh, would he do those experiment thingies with me?" Lopmon asked.

"Not… the same kinds the government would," Andy sighed. "Speaking of which, that means both you and Patamon will need to stay hidden from people, or act like lifeless stuffed animals around other people."

"So that means I can meet your friends and brother?" Lopmon smiled.

"Yeah-"

"HOORAY! I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET ANDY'S FRIENDS!" Lopmon shouted happily.

Andy quickly picked up Lopmon and shut his mouth with his hands. "But that means you have to act like a stuffed animal! That means no talking, and no moving, until we give you the okay!"

Takuya nodded. "Please no shouting, okay?! The last thing we need is everyone, even my aunt and uncle, coming in here because of the loud noises!"

Andy let go of Lopmon, who put a finger over his mouth.

"I'll be quiet, I promise," Lopmon whispered.

Patamon frowned, he hadn't expected to come into the real world, at least not like this. But this may be a good thing, because that meant he was in the very spot the ghost boy may appear. Which meant, if he stuck with these two long enough, he may be able to fulfill his duty to keep all the worlds safe.

"I'll do the same, as long as I can stay here," Patamon said.

Takuya blinked, but grinned. "That's fine. I wouldn't mind at all, to be honest."

Patamon gave a small smile in return.

"Of course, there's the matter of feeding you two," Andy remarked. "From what I've seen though, you seem to be able to eat whatever we eat."

"Of course, food is food after all." Lopmon smiled.

Andy nodded. I still don't know how I'm going to explain this to Jazz, she might freak out that a talking rabbit monster thing is in the house…

"We'll come up with a plan, I promise." Takuya reassured the two Digimon. "For now, we have to find a way to explain things first. I just hope no one comes barging in here after that shouting you did, Lopmon."

"They're usually pretty heavy sleepers, my parents I mean," Andy sheepishly said. "Dad snores really loudly, so Mom usually has earplugs to help her sleep. I'm not sure about Danny or Jazz, but if they hadn't barged in already, then they're likely still asleep. I guess the whole Ember incident wiped them out."

"I guess we should consider that a good thing." Takuya sighed before a yawn escaped him. "I'm ready to crash in my own bed…"

"Didn't you already sleep?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah, it was morning in the Digital World," Lopmon reminded.

"Yeah, I know, but my brain wants to sleep, even though my body is awake." Takuya groaned. "I hate this time difference… It will mess with my sleep for a while."

"So you're going to sleep now?" Andy asked. "We have a lot we need to talk about."

Takuya groaned. "I would like to sleep, but I feel too awake to do so." He admitted at last. "I suppose talking about things may help me calm down somewhat."

Andy chuckled. "Come on, I think there's a better spot for us to talk than in here."

---

Takuya found himself sitting at the kitchen table in the kitchen. Andy took out a bucket of ice cream, giving out big scoops on some bowls. Lopmon and Patamon complained how the ice cream was too cold with their hands, so Andy gave them a spoon to use. It took a minute for the two Digimon to figure out how to use a spoon properly for the frozen treat.

"Normally I'd be against eating ice cream this late at night, but this is a special exception," Andy said as he sat down, digging into his own bowl of ice cream.

Takuya dug into his own ice cream. "I can't complain. It tastes even better after being away for a while." He chuckled. "So, what did you want to talk about first?"

Lopmon and Patamon found themselves enjoying the ice cream.

"This is so cold, but also so good!" Lopmon beamed.

"Don't eat it too fast, you could get an ice cream headache," Andy chuckled to Lopmon before he turned to Takuya. "I wanted to know how you feel. You've been in the Digital World for a few days, right? Can you tell me what you know about these other Legendary Warriors? It would be dangerous if we don't know who they are. Beetlemon almost killed me."

"I only know of Beetlemon sadly." Takuya replied. "I never met the others, at least in their Digimon forms. Well… assuming they're like me, humans who can evolve into Digimon. But from what I saw, Beetlemon seems to use electricity as his element."

"So you don't know anyone else?" Andy asked.

"I only have suspicions of who the other two could be, but I'm not 100% sure," Takuya answered. "I met with two other humans who were close to my age. A girl named Zoe, and a boy named Koichi. Although I didn't get to speak much to Koichi, he didn't seem to be the talking type. They don't have Digimon partners, but they said they have their ways to defend themselves."

Andy gave that some thought. "It does sound likely they could be Legendary Warriors too. But I guess as long as they're not doing anything bad, or hurting people, we don't need to worry about them."

"Yeah." Takuya agreed. "It seems each of the Legendary Warriors has an element as well. Beetlemon is electricity, mine is fire, and this Lobomon's element is light, if light can even be considered an element."

"I guess we should be more worried about the players, and Calvin when we go back to school tomorrow," Andy sighed. "If we tried to tell them that the world they think is a game is real, they would write us off as being crazy people who believe a video game is real. But if they keep believing the Digital World is a game with objectives, and the main point is to keep battling and get stronger, they're going to hurt a lot of innocent Digimon, and they may even hurt the world itself."

"Talk about a dilemma." Takuya groaned. "We're in a no-win situation with this. If we try one thing, it will backfire on us, and if we just let it go unchecked, it will be even worse!"

Andy gave it some thought. "Do you have any ideas on what to do, Takuya?"

"We can't just fight the players, because they will continue to attempt to attack us." Takuya mused. "But we can't just let them run around either. It seems the best way to handle this would be to 'win' the 'game', but who knows how long that will take, or if it's even possible. That idea could make things worse for all we know."

Takuya then gave it some more thought. "Or maybe there could be a way to convince some of the stronger Digimon to help us, like these Sovereign Beasts or someone else like them." He then sighed. "I don't know. I'm just throwing stuff out here."

Takuya then looked at Andy. "What about you, though? You're like the tactician of our group, aren't you?"

"Tactician is a bit much," Andy sheepishly replied. "But if you want my opinion, I don't think we have a lot of options. We could try shutting down the game, but that might make it where it's impossible to go back to the Digital World, or it could even put the Digital World in danger. Whatever we do, we're going to take some kind of risk. You were on track with something when you said we could try 'winning' the game. If the players won't stop trying until they defeat all the Celestial Digimon, then our best bet is to make a road block for them. That could make things worse, yes, and it might encourage some of the more hardcore players to keep trying until they beat us, however…"

Andy dug his spoon deep into the ice cream. "From what I could tell, players respect strong players, or players who accomplish something big. If we could take on the guild that took out Cherubimon, and take over the guild, we could make new rules that would deter a lot of players from messing up the Digital World. We could have players be more productive and helpful to Digimon rather than raiding Digimon's towns and cities, or enslaving them. We could try setting up a new goal for players to do rather than defeat the Celestial Digimon. And we could try to handle whatever rogue player that still wants to defeat us for recognition or whatever other reason."

Andy picked up the large chunk of ice cream with his spoon. "Of course, I'm not saying it'll be easy, and it would take a lot of time, not to mention there's always something that could go wrong. But until we can figure out a more efficient way to help the Digital World, trying to get strong enough to have the players co-exist with the world rather than trying to conquer is the best way we could possibly go about it right now."

"Yeah. I can understand that." Takuya admitted as he dug into his ice cream again. "At the very least, it may be worthwhile trying to stop these players. But if we are to get stronger, we need a goal in place, like what do we do to get stronger? We can't just run around challenging random players to fights."

Andy was eating the ice cream silently, thinking to himself. "Digimon seem to get stronger when they mature and digivolve. But I'm not sure how that works for partner Digimon. Togemon said partner Digimon works differently from regular Digimon. In a normal monster taming video game, one's monster usually gets stronger if they battle with other monsters and gain EXP. But I'm not sure if the same applies to Digimon. But players must be doing something right if their partner Digimon are able to digivolve to stronger forms, like Calvin's Digimon did."

"Yeah, I'll say. I had a hard time against that Monochromon." Takuya grumbled. "And I was in my Digimon form, so that kinda stinks I had a rough time."

"You'll need to work on your own abilities and powers as Agunimon," Patamon remarked. "You've only been stumbling around, working off of instinct rather than having any actual battle strategy."

"I guess I have." Takuya conceded. "I'll need to learn more about what I can do as a Legendary Warrior if I hope to have a chance against stronger players."

Takuya then paused. "Wait… didn't you mention something about a Beast Spirit?" Takuya asked as he looked at Patamon. "Because I remember Togemon mentioning there were two Spirits for each Warrior as well during the lesson, the Human Spirit and the Beast Spirit."

"Yes, from what I know, all Legendary Warriors should have a Human Spirit, and a Beast Spirit," Patamon replied. "The Human Spirit is meant to be more about reasoning, to be able to think things through, and use their powers in a more versatile way. The Beast Spirit is more wild and chaotic, they follow their instincts more than trying to think and plan. They're far more powerful in terms of raw power, and can take hits better than their human counterparts could."

"The Beast Spirit definitely sounds awe-inspiring, but also pretty dangerous," Lopmon commented.

"But it may also help us if we are to put up a road block against the players." Takuya noted. "It would be a useful thing to have for sure."

"Yes, but a Beast Spirit is difficult to control if you don't have the experience needed for it." Patamon warned.

"Besides, you have to find it first, don't you?" Andy pointed out.

"Yeah…" Takuya grumbled.

"Which reminds me, how did you find Agunimon in this world if he originated from the Digital World?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, that's a good question," Lopmon agreed.

"Well, it was speculated that Agunimon's Spirit was lost when an enemy Digimon attacked the Legendary Warriors," Patamon explained. "But it seems like Agunimon's Spirit, at least his Human Spirit, was just transported to this world."

"I do remember during the first ghost attack at our school, when I hid in some boxes in the meat locker, I found Agunimon's Spirit hidden inside a slab of meat, as weird as that sounds." Takuya pointed out. "After that, I used Agunimon's Spirit for the first time during a fight with the same ghost the next day, and well… the rest is history."

"So this world really gets attacked by ghosts a lot?" Lopmon frowned.

"Yeah, ghosts are pretty active around here. Sometimes I feel like we're lucky that we survive some of those ghost attacks," Andy admitted.

"It sounds like you've got your own hands full in this world too," Lopmon pointed out.

"Yeah, we do." Takuya sighed. "But it's not that bad because where we are now is like ghost hunter central. There are so many anti-ghost devices here, it makes the job of fighting ghosts much easier."

"I wonder about that…" Patamon whispered.

"Are you sure you can focus on helping the Digital World while also balancing stuff that's going on in your world too?" Lopmon asked in concern.

"Honestly, it'll be a challenge… but we're willing to try. At the very least, having more time in the Digital World definitely helps," Andy answered.

"I think we can pull it off though, as long as we do it right." Takuya added. "But man… it's going to be rough until we can get the right balance."

"And… is it just going to be the two of you?" Lopmon asked. "Couldn't you get your friends and brother to help?"

"I don't know… Tucker and Sam are already busy balancing school and helping Danny with… uh… his own job," Andy replied. "Oh gosh, I just realized I'll have to tell you about Danny if you're staying here."

"But you already told us about Danny, didn't you?" Lopmon innocently questioned.

"Not… all of it…" Andy sighed. "I should wait until he's awake though, it'd be better to do it when he knows the situation."

Patamon and Lopmon both nodded, but Patamon was more than curious about what Andy could want to have Danny tell them once the situation was explained to him. I wonder if this has to do with the ghost boy. Maybe I'm looking too much into it. Andy is clearly human, why would his twin brother be the ghost boy?

"After that, we'll see if they're willing to help, but I would rather not bother them, they have enough on their plate as is…" Andy frowned. "I'm not even sure if they can go into the Digital World with us, at least not without that special virtual helmet."

"We'll have to see." Takuya sighed. "At least you and I have a way of going there without the helmets, but I don't know if other humans would be able to come with us due to the way we get to the Digital World."

"Well, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. We'll focus on one thing at a time. We have school to get through tomorrow, and I have to make sure Lopmon doesn't blow his cover if I have to take him with me," Andy sighed.

"Geez, we sure have a lot ahead of us." Takuya sighed. "Well, at least we have somewhat of a plan now, even if it's not much,"

"Yeah. Well, at least we won't be alone," Andy said as he looked at Lopmon and Patamon.

Lopmon smiled at Andy, while Patamon rolled his eyes.

"So what do we do now?" Takuya asked.

"Do you want to get some sleep?" Andy asked. "It's only 2:38 AM right now, and you did say you were feeling sleepy."

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Takuya chuckled sheepishly. "It wouldn't be good to be tired for school either. Sleep would be good so you're not tired for that test, the Northwestern Nine Standardized test thing. And I don't want to fall asleep in class."

"I'm not sleepy myself, but I'll try to get some sleep," Andy replied.

"What about us?" Lopmon asked.

"Well… if you two are staying here for the time being, maybe we should have you stay with Takuya for now," Andy answered.

"Awww, I can't stay with you?" Lopmon whined.

"I have Danny sleeping in the same room as I do. He'd freak out if he saw you before I could explain," Andy informed.

Takuya grimaced. "Yeah… that would be bad." He admitted. "For now, you two will have to stay in my room with me. At least until Andy can explain things to Danny so you two can stay in their room."

"I don't mind staying in the same room as you, as long as nothing… unexpected happens," Patamon said. "These humans may not be used to us, and I rather they didn't attack us while we're staying here."

"Would they attack us?" Lopmon frowned.

"Don't worry, as long as you both follow our instructions, you'll be fine," Andy replied, hoping to reassure the two Digimon. "I'm sure Danny will be fine keeping you two around, and maybe Jazz too, once we explain the situation. As for my parents… that's something we'll have to talk about later."

"Don't worry about it for now." Takuya said as he put a hand on Lopmon's head. "Just focus on Jazz, Andy and Danny for now, okay? Danny and Jazz will be excited when the situation is explained, especially Jazz."

"Okay… I hope to meet them soon," Lopmon replied.

---

It had been difficult for Andy to get to sleep. He had just slept not that long ago in the Digital World, but he didn't want to be too tired for school, or the stupid test the next day. Although, now that Andy thought about it, none of them had studied for the big test, did they? Well we're all gonna fail…

On that little depressing note, Andy just decided to close his eyes and imagine the Digital World for a while, and what he had learned there. He hoped that Danny may be able to help out. Although a part of Andy was excited to show off Lopmon to Danny, mostly because now that he had a Digimon partner, he could be more useful if a ghost decided to attack. Not that Andy was sure how effective Lopmon would be against a ghost, but at least it was better than him flailing around with a stick all the time.

Somehow, Andy eventually fell asleep. However, little did he know, he would not get a restful sleep.

---

I gasped when I opened my eyes. I was lying on the ground, my body felt sore. I groaned as I pushed myself up to my feet.

"Run! Hurry, Andy!"

I heard what sounded like Takuya's voice, and he sounded distressed about something.

"T-Takuya?!" I called out in concern. "Where are you!?"

"Andy! Help!" Takuya's voice cried out, seeming to be panicked and almost in pain. "It hurts! I feel like I'm burning up!"

I started to move forward when I saw a rabbit's image running in front of me. "No, Andy, we have to run!"

I looked down, blinking a bit as the rabbit's image cleared up, and I recognized who it was. "But Lopmon, Takuya needs help!"

"It's too late, run!" Lopmon shouted urgently.

There was a sudden fiery explosion. Lopmon and I were thrown back several feet from the force of the explosion. I groaned in pain on the ground. I looked up at the smoke, seeing fire burning, and electricity crackling in the air.

In the smoke, a shadowy draconic form with wings was seen as it threw its head back and roared. Fire seemed to flicker from the form, illuminating small bits of red armor, but that was all that could be seen. The electricity crackling made the red armor look brown under its green light, which was an eerie sight.

I gasped, feeling a sudden pressure of power and heat. I pushed myself up to my feet, knowing I had to get out of here. I looked back, seeing Lopmon rushing over to me.

"Come on, we have to go!" Lopmon quickly said.

I began running with Lopmon, looking back for a second. "But… What happened to Takuya?"

"Don't worry about it! Our survival is more important!" Lopmon said urgently. "I will explain what happened once we get out of danger!"

I heard what sounded like a loud roar. Lightning began to strike everything around us, setting buildings and trees on fire.

Why is he doing this? What's happening to him? Did Takuya get-

I let out a scream as a huge fireball exploded behind us, causing both me and Lopmon to get sent flying. I landed on the ground. I was in a lot of pain, my human body could only take so much punishment. I looked up at the large, draconic shadow again. He was going to do it… he was going to destroy everything around him in a blind, animalistic rage.

"TAKUYA! STOP!" I shouted, hoping my voice would reach him.

The draconic shadow didn't seem to hear me, and continued powering up his attack. I was in too much pain to move. Then suddenly, a green laser shot at the draconic shadow, causing it to fall a bit to the side. I gasped, seeing a red blur riding on a silver vehicle of some kind in the sky.

The draconic form got back to its feet and roared again, letting out a slew of red fiery bullets, two eyes on the draconic form flashing between blue and red. The fiery attack was aimed at the red blur on the silvery vehicle in the sky.

"Andy!"

I looked back, seeing Lopmon rushing over to me in worry.

"Are you okay?" Lopmon asked.

"Not really… I don't think I can move…" I replied, wiping my cheek… only to see blood on my hand.

"You're hurt…" Lopmon gasped in worry.

"We… have to… do something…" I groaned, trying to push myself up.

The draconic form's attack landed on the silver vehicle, knocking the red blur out of the sky, just as more green electricity crackled over the shadowy form, causing the wings to spasm. The shadowy form roared in pain before slashing with sharp claws at anything in its way.

"We can't win against that kind of power. We need to get away and regroup." Lopmon said softly, not wanting to remain around the draconic form.

"How? I can hardly move, Lopmon." I frowned. "The explosion probably broke my leg."

Lopmon frowned as well. "If I have to, I'll drag you to safety, but we can't stay here. It's too dangerous!"

I looked up again and gasped. "Look out!"

A large fireball was coming towards us.

---

"WAAAAH!?" Andy screamed, and Danny screamed as well, falling out of his bed.

"What!? What happened!? Ghost!?" Danny shouted, phasing out of his blanket, and getting into his battle stance.

Andy was taking a moment to take in where he was, and that he wasn't currently burning alive.

Danny looked at Andy. "Andy? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm…" Andy looked down at his arms for a moment, seeing that he was covered in debris, burn marks, or blood. "I'm fine… I just… had a really vivid nightmare."

"You want to talk about it?" Danny asked as he settled down from his battle stance and made his way over to Andy's bed. "It must've been pretty bad if you woke up screaming like that."

Andy let out a sigh. "It was happening so fast. Takuya sounded like he was in pain, and suddenly he turned into this big… dragon thing, and began setting a city on fire, using fire and electricity. He was going wild, I don't even know if he could be considered human anymore. He also tried to kill me with his fire attacks. I thought I was burning alive before I woke up…"

"Wow, that sounds like some nightmare." Danny whistled softly. "No wonder you woke up in such a fright." Danny then frowned a bit. "And it was involving Takuya? That makes it even worse."

"Yeah…" Andy frowned. "It felt so real too. I felt actual pain in the dream."

"Do you have any ideas why you might have that nightmare?" Danny asked. "Maybe you have some kind of fear of Agunimon?"

Andy shook his head. "Agunimon isn't scary. What I dreamt wasn't Agunimon, it was some kind of dragon."

"A dragon? Like what happened with that amulet? Were you dreaming about that?" Danny asked with a frown on his face.

"Maybe? I don't know. I couldn't really see the dragon that well, but it didn't seem like a ghost dragon," Andy replied.

"I'm sure it's nothing, bro. Maybe what happened with Ember is what gave you that nightmare," Danny assured. "I mean she did cause us a lot of trouble, and she transported Takuya somewhere."

It almost felt like a lifetime ago when Ember was here. It also reminded Andy that Danny didn't know what happened to Andy and Takuya yet. "I guess so… maybe it was because of Ember."

"Speaking of, how are we going to find a way to the Digital World to find Takuya?" Danny groaned.

"I don't think we need to worry about that anymore," Andy replied, before noticing that the sun was starting to rise outside since the room was beginning to light up. "Well, since we're both us, I might as well get the explanations out of the way."

"What explanation?" Danny blinked.

Andy walked over to the door and opened it up. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Danny asked as he went over to Andy.

"To Takuya's room," Andy replied.

Danny blinked as he followed Andy. "Um… Okay? But why? It's not like Takuya's really there. As far as I know, he's still in this Digital World place."

Danny was confused as to what Andy was up to, but he trusted his brother and just decided to see what Andy was trying to say. Andy had not let him astray in his line of thinking so far.

Danny kept following Andy. Since it was early, nobody else was awake yet, so the house was pretty quiet. Andy stopped in front of Takuya's door, and he could hear voices.

"Can you please settle down?" Takuya's voice grumbled.

"But I'm not sleepy anymore and I want to see Andy!" Lopmon's voice whined.

"You think jumping on me is any better? I was actually having a nice sleep…" Takuya's voice groaned. "At least Patamon is sleeping peacefully… Having both of you waking me up would be worse…"

Danny blinked before he rubbed one of his ears with a finger. "Did I just hear Takuya?"

Andy grinned at his brother's confused expression before he knocked on Takuya's door. "Hey, it's me. Mind opening up?"

Danny heard what sounded like Takuya getting up from bed and walking over to the door. The door opened, revealing Takuya at the entrance, looking quite sleepy. "Hey, Andy…" Takuya grumbled. "You came at just the right time, it seems."

Danny's jaw dropped upon seeing Takuya there. "W-wha? How… Did… what?"

Takuya raised an eyebrow at Danny's expression. "What? I'm here, aren't I?"

Before Danny could even start to ask, a little rabbit creature suddenly jumped at Andy. "ANDY! YOU'RE HERE!"

Andy yelped as he caught onto the excited Lopmon and fell on his butt. "Yah! H-hey, it's good to see you again too, Lopmon."

"Andy… what is that in your arms…?" Danny asked slowly, not entirely sure what to make of Lopmon.

Takuya groaned. "That, Danny, is the reason I'm awake at this time…"

"I've got a lot of explaining to do," Andy chuckled sheepishly before Lopmon turned to Danny.

"Wah!?" Lopmon's eyes went wide in shock. "Another Andy!? I didn't know there were two Andys!"

Danny's own eyes went wide. "That rabbit talks?!"

Takuya sighed. "Danny, meet Lopmon. Lopmon, this is Danny, Andy's twin brother."

"Oooh, so you're Andy's twin brother! … He wasn't kidding when he said you looked identical to him," Lopmon remarked, beaming at Danny.

"Uh… yeah…" Danny hesitated before he looked at Takuya. "What's a Lopmon?"

"He's a Digimon, kinda of like Agunimon is," Andy answered.

"What? So… another kid transformed into… uh… this thing?" Danny asked.

"I'm not a thing! Come on, I'm a Digimon, and I'm just as much a person as you are," Lopmon huffed.

"And no, Danny, Agunimon is… a special case," Andy replied. "A Digimon is its own being, like ghosts and humans. It's also short for Digital Monsters. Lopmon here is a Digimon I met in the Digital World."

"What… wait… Andy! Have you been going into the Digital World behind my back!? Is that how you found Takuya?" Danny shouted in shock and disbelief.

Andy sweatdropped. "No… I mean it was an accident…"

Danny shook his head. "Okay, just how did you get to the Digital World!? As far as I know, the only way there is to use a virtual helmet!"

"Okay, let me start over," Andy quickly said. "Do you remember that virtual pet I was taking care of when you locked me and Tucker up in the classroom?"

Danny gave a nod to Andy. "Yeah, you were taking care of Kokomon." He replied. "Why?"

"Well, last night I couldn't sleep. I was worried about Takuya and how we would get to him. I decided to play with Kokomon a little to try to de-stress myself," Andy explained. "However, Kokomon heard me talking when I said I wished I could find a way to get into the Digital World. Kokomon then pulled out a device that opened a portal in front of me that sent me into the Digital World."

"You… were pulled into the Digital World by a device?" Danny asked in disbelief. "That… sounds a bit too convenient to me. But… if that's what happened, I can't complain since you were able to find Takuya because of it."

Then Danny grabbed Andy's shoulders and shook his brother. "But do you realize you were in a new world and could've gotten hurt because I wasn't there to help you?!"

"Whoa, bro! Calm the heck down before you accidentally overshadow me or something!" Andy quickly said as he pushed away from Danny.

"Besides, I was there to keep him safe," Lopmon added.

Danny blinked. "How did you and Andy meet up?"

"Oh yeah, when I got sucked into the Digital World, I saw I was in some kind of daycare place. Kokomon was a part of it," Andy brought up. "I panicked when I saw one of the bigger Digimon was accusing me of being a 'player', and grabbed Kokomon before jumping out the window."

"So you… pretty much kidnapped that Kokomon?" Danny frowned. "Andy, why would you do that?"

"I didn't mean to, okay? I was worried about getting hurt, and I didn't want to leave Kokomon behind. It was a flight or fight response," Andy grumbled. "And anyways, Kokomon digivolved… uh, that means evolve, into Lopmon here to help keep me safe. Although… you should've heard what Takuya was thinking when he heard Kokomon was kidnapped."

Takuya blushed. "It's not my fault the other Digimon were making you out to be something else!" He exclaimed, making Danny raise an eyebrow.

"What was going on?" Danny asked his cousin.

"You see… the Digimon at the daycare, called Primary Village, were making Andy out to be some strong player, and when Andy fought another player, Kokomon evolved into Lopmon. I was out helping the Digimon from Primary Village, looking for Kokomon and found said player, who said Andy was a bit of a hacker who messed with his Digimon." Takuya began. "And, add in what the Digimon at Primary Village said… I thought Andy was this super powerful, super scary hacker player…"

"And?" Danny asked as he raised another eyebrow.

"Um… I kinda… acted rashly and… um… attacked him…" Takuya admitted at last. "But I missed the blow, thankfully!"

"He messed up a perfectly fine table filled with perfectly delicious food," Andy remarked.

Danny groaned. "You two are going to be the end of me! And what do you even mean when you say things like 'player' or 'hacker'? You make it sound like it was a video game or something."

"You better sit down, we have a lot to discuss," Takuya sighed.

"I'm going to write it all down," Andy volunteered. "I'm sure we're going to have to repeat a lot of this to Jazz, Tucker, and Sam later too."

"Oh boy…" Danny sighed. "Well, at least they will be glad you're back and safe, Takuya."

"I'm not looking forward to the lecture from Jazz if she gives me one." Takuya grimaced.

"I'll help with some of the explanations if you need it." Lopmon grinned.

The 4 talked for a while. Andy, Takuya, and Lopmon having to try to explain everything the best they could to Danny. Danny was trying to understand and take this all in since he hadn't experienced the Digital World himself. By the time they explained everything, Patamon began to wake up from under Takuya's bed.

I hear voices… Takuya, Lopmon, and Andy it sounds like… but… there's another. Who's with them? Patamon frowned before he took a peek out from under the bed.

"So you've actually been gone for a couple of days while I was just sleeping for a few hours?" Danny asked. "And a Legendary Warrior nearly turned you into a lightning rod, or took your head clean off?"

"Yup," Andy answered nonchalantly.

"... You're a danger magnet, you know that?" Danny groaned.

"Hey, at least it wasn't ghosts," Andy remarked.

"How is that any better?" Danny grumbled.

"It does have advantages in that a Digimon doesn't go through things or turn invisible." Takuya replied cheekily, but he then corrected himself. "But I guess it is just as dangerous as fighting ghosts…" He added sheepishly.

Danny groaned again. "You two will be the full death of me, I swear!"

"Besides, some Digimon can go through things or turn invisible," Lopmon added.

"Not helping," Andy grumbled before he looked at Danny. "Well, at least both Takuya and I are safe and here now, right? And we even have a couple of… new plushies!"

"What? Andy, Mom and Dad would flip if they see Lopmon! They might think he's a ghost!" Danny pointed out.

"Come on, how can you say no to this cute little face?" Andy cooed, holding Lopmon up to Danny's face.

"I'm a cutie~" Lopmon smiled, giving his cutest face.

"Besides, Mom and Dad aren't going to know. Lopmon will just be a stuffed animal to them," Andy added.

Patamon slowly came out from under Takuya's bed, wondering what was going on. Huh… I know I am hearing Andy, Lopmon, and Takuya, and this fourth voice sounds similar to Andy's… He thought as he came out completely, peeking at the foursome talking. The fourth person in the group was a boy who looked so much like Andy, but at the same time was different as well, but Patamon couldn't quite figure out why this new boy felt so different from Andy.

Danny groaned, he didn't want to admit that Lopmon was really cute, but… well, the little chocolate bunny was just too adorable. "Alright, fine, he can stay! Just… be careful around Mom and Dad…"

"Don't worry, Andy already explained it to me!" Lopmon smiled. "And I'll also be there to protect him."

"Great, so now we need to explain about-" Andy began to say when he noticed Patamon approaching them. "Oh, hey, there you are, Patamon."

Everyone's attention turned to the little orange Digimon. Patamon blinked as his eyes met with Danny's for the first time. … Something about this boy…

Danny was looking at Patamon, he looked just as adorable as Lopmon. "Another one? Is that one yours, Takuya?"

"Um… no. I can become a Digimon, remember?" Takuya said sheepishly. "Patamon here… um… he was with us when we came back, same with Lopmon. He's not mine. It would be awkward for me if I had a Digimon of my own when I can turn into one myself…"

"Right, because Agunimon is technically your Digimon partner." Danny rolled his eyes.

"I don't have a human partner," Patamon answered. "But I had my reasons for being with them."

"Patamon is a bit of a… stiff kind of Digimon," Lopmon remarked. "Don't let him rain on your parade too much."

"I am not!" Patamon huffed. "I just have my reasons for being with you!"

Takuya rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we get that." He remarked. "But at least lighten up a bit. No need to be all doom and gloom."

Patamon huffed. "I'm not all doom and gloom. I just have my reasons for being the way I am."

"Then maybe you should have reasons to lighten up a bit," Lopmon remarked.

"Alright you two, stop giving Patamon a hard time," Andy spoke up.

"Huh…" Danny looked at Patamon. "Well if you're going to be staying here for a while, maybe I can take care of you while you're here."

"Please, you just wanted an excuse to take care of a cute Digimon of your own when you saw Lopmon," Andy said. "Admit it, bro."

Danny blushed. "I… did not!" He exclaimed, but his blush said it all.

"Oh, I think Andy is right~ You just don't want to admit it~" Takuya teased Danny. Takuya then picked up Patamon and held him up. "Isn't he such a cute little guy~?"

"Hey! Put me down! I am not a cute little guy!" Patamon flailed around.

Danny sweatdropped. "I mean it's only an offer."

Patamon flew out of Takuya's hold. "Hmph. What could you do for me if I took you up on your offer?"

"Well I'd make sure you get fed, maybe even brush you to keep you clean, take you with me to school if you'd like to travel around a bit. Though you'd have to stay still and act like a stuffed animal," Danny awkwardly listed out.

"Doesn't that sound like fun, Patamon?" Lopmon smiled.

Patamon rolled his eyes at Lopmon before turning his attention back to Danny. Well… being cooped up in this house won't help me find the ghost boy. And… it'd be a lot more troublesome to have to steal scraps to eat just to sustain myself. And it's been a while since anyone brushed me…

Patamon quickly shook his head from the thought. "Fine, I'll let you take care of me while we're here. But that's it. I don't plan to have any bonding experience or anything like that. I'm only here for my duty, nothing more."

"And what is your duty?" Danny asked, curious now.

"That is something I keep to myself." Patamon replied stiffly.

"Patamon needs to lighten up…" Takuya muttered under his breath.

"Hey, Takuya, could you go to the kitchen and see if Mom and Dad are up yet?" Andy requested. "If they're not, we can take this time to give some breakfast to Lopmon and Patamon."

Takuya nodded. "Sure, I'll be right back." He said as he got up and went to his door before opening it and then leaving the room to see if Jack and Maddie were up yet.

While Takuya was gone, Danny and Andy were left with Patamon and Lopmon.

Lopmon smiled at Patamon. "Looks like someone's finally seeing the benefits of having a human partner~"

"I told you the arrangement is strictly for business, not for partnership," Patamon grumbled.

"I don't know, you seemed pretty eager to take Danny up on his offer~" Lopmon grinned.

"You're reading too much into my actions, you're just a kid, you wouldn't understand," Patamon remarked.

"Patamon is a bit of a grouch," Andy admitted to Danny while the two Digimon were interacting with each other. "We're not really sure why."

"I do sort of get how he feels though," Danny admitted. "Feeling stressed and pressured to do your duty, worried of what happens if you fail. It's not a nice feeling."

"You feel that way a lot?" Andy frowned.

"Not… a lot, per say, but I do feel it from time to time." Danny admitted. "If I felt that way all the time, I'd be so stressed, I'd want to rip my hair out."

Danny then shook his head. "But don't worry about it, bro. I'm not feeling the same way as Patamon all the time. I'm fine, I swear. Besides, having you, our friends, Takuya, and even Jazz's help makes things a lot easier than if I had to do it alone."

Andy smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you don't feel like you're alone." At least in battle. When it comes to being a halfa though… How lonely does he feel? When I thought he was just Phantom, he always had this lonely look in his eyes. I always thought it was because he missed being human… but maybe it's more like he doesn't really understand what he is anymore.

Andy looked over at Lopmon and Patamon, seeing Lopmon still teasing Patamon. We still need to talk to them about Danny being half ghost. It wouldn't be good if they suddenly saw Danny Phantom in the middle of battle, they would mistake him for an enemy. And Patamon seems to be looking for a ghost boy, so it'd be pretty bad if he thought that was Danny.

Danny looked at Andy staring at the two Digimon. "Andy? Is something on your mind?"

"I was just wondering… how do you want to tell them your… secret?" Andy asked.

Danny looked down in thought. "Well… that's kinda hard to explain. I want to tell them, but I don't just want to spring it on them either, since… well, Digimon and ghosts don't get along. I mean, Takuya is an exception when he is Agunimon, but otherwise…"

"I know… but eventually we'll have to battle together, right? Wouldn't it be better if they knew beforehand?" Andy pointed out. "Lopmon isn't too keen on leaving my side any time soon."

"I'll tell them… later, alright?" Danny promised. "I want them to just enjoy themselves before I drop the bomb on them."

"Fine, but I want you to tell them after school today at the latest. A ghost could attack at any time, so it would be best not to procrastinate too much on this," Andy warned.

Danny groaned. "Okay… I'll do it after school." He agreed. "I just hope they don't take it the wrong way…"

"Well, if Jazz, Takuya, and I took your secret… fairly well, I'm sure Lopmon and Patamon will understand," Andy replied.

"What are you two whispering about?" Lopmon asked.

"Oh, you know, just private twin stuff," Andy answered.

"Ooooh, that sounds fun! Can I join in?" Lopmon asked eagerly.

"Um… it's stuff only twins understand." Danny replied quickly.

Lopmon whined. "Awwww, I need to get a twin then!"

"Good freaking luck with that…" Patamon huffed.

---

Breakfast in the Fenton's house didn't last too long. Maddie and Jack were about to ask if the boys were ready for their big test today, but they inhaled their food. Maddie didn't even get a chance to ask when Takuya got back last night, because they just picked up their backpacks, waved goodbye to the two adults, and rushed outside.

"Uh… Didn't the boys seem to be in a hurry to leave, Jack?" Maddie asked.

"They must be very enthusiastic to finish that test." Jack grinned.

"It's always good to see the boys eager to learn." Maddie said with a grin of her own on her face. "It just means we're raising them right."

In truth, Danny, Andy, and Takuya were in a hurry to catch up with Jazz. Jazz had always been a morning bird, so she usually left to go to school pretty early while the boys either walked to school, or took the bus if they were in a hurry.

"Jazz!" Danny called out.

Jazz blinked when she saw them running to her. "Takuya…? You're back? But I heard you were taken to another world!"

Takuya hugged Jazz. "Yeah, I was. But Andy found a way there and brought me back! You wouldn't believe the crazy time I had there!" It was clear Takuya was glad to be back in the real world.

Jazz frowned, however, as she looked at Andy, who just gave her a sheepish grin.

"Okay. I want you boys in the car, and while I'm driving, I want an explanation," Jazz stated. "And no sugar coating it, got it?"

"Uh… got it." Takuya said nervously. Geez, Jazz is kinda scary right now…

Takuya got into the passenger seat, while Andy and Danny sat in the back. Jazz started up her car before she backed out of the driveway and onto the road.

Takuya and Andy took this time to explain what happened. Luckily, Andy already wrote down everything important into his notebook, so it was easier for him to explain what happened. Although, Jazz wasn't sure she understood what exactly happened.

"Wait, wait, wait, so let me get this straight," Jazz began. "You got sucked into some kind of digital portal through your computer screen because some little monster you were taking care of took out a device it had on its bed, and that's how you got into the Digital World?"

"Yeah…" Andy frowned. "Um… I know it doesn't make much sense, but that's what happened."

"I don't understand it myself, but however it happened, I'm just glad Andy got sent there or I'd still be trying to find a way back on my own." Takuya added.

"But Andy certainly didn't wait to wake me up so I could go there as well…" Danny grumbled. "A real Digital World? How cool is that? And I missed going there!"

"How was I supposed to wait to wake you up? The portal sucked me into it before I even had time to even scream to wake you up," Andy grumbled.

"Alright, I get it. But I still missed going to see the Digital World, so I'm kinda grumpy about it." Danny grumbled again.

"Alright, boys, I don't need you arguing." Jazz scolded lightly. "Takuya, you said you've been in the Digital World for days even though it's only been half a day here?"

"Yeah, apparently time moves faster in the Digital World." Takuya replied with a sheepish grin. "Which is kinda cool, but it can really mess with someone's perception of time here in the real world."

"Not to mention time in the Digital World moves much faster there, so people who go into that world with those virtual helmets have plenty of time to do what they want to do," Andy sighed. Which definitely does make it harder to plan on how to stop people from hurting the Digimon and the Digital World.

Takuya sighed as well. "And not only that, those 'players' have no idea the Digital World is a real place, but one that is extremely hard to get to." He then winced a bit at the memory of what happened in the Digital World with Andy. "The Digimon are… kinda tense and on edge with all of these people coming in and thinking it's just a game. I'll admit, I kinda fell into that too though. Err… being on edge due to these 'players' anyway."

Jazz frowned. "I believe you when you say the Digital World and the Digimon are real, but how are people getting into it like it's a virtual game world?"

"We don't know. Something or someone is making it possible, and we believe they have some kind of goal in mind. Why else would they set up something so elaborate for hundreds, if not thousands or millions of people around the world to be able to go into the Digital World?" Andy frowned. "Even if it's not physically, people are using their bond with their Digmon partners to hurt others and the Digital World itself."

"And it's worrisome to me as well." Takuya added. "While in the Digital World, I learned some things about my ability to become Agunimon, and I think what is going on with these 'players' and me getting the Spirit of Agunimon are somehow connected."

"Really?" Danny asked. "I just thought you found that figurine by accident."

"I'm not sure it was an accident, but I'm not ruling that out either." Takuya clarified.

"Wait," Jazz spoke up. "You're planning to tell this to Tucker and Sam too, right?"

Andy looked at Takuya. "I think we should. It wouldn't do us any good if we keep them in the dark."

Takuya nodded. "Agreed. We may need their help, and Sam did hear Danny yell out my real name when I first got sent to the Digital World anyway… It would be kinda hard to hide it from them after that happened."

Danny chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah… that was kinda my fault…" He admitted sheepishly before grinning. "And you know Tucker, he will want to know everything if it involves anything digital or technological."

"Besides that, it'll be easier for us to work together if we don't hide such secrets from each other," Andy added. "Isn't that right, Danny?"

Danny blushed. "H-hey, no need to bring that up, bro."

"At least I no longer have to wonder where the heck you went whenever Danny Phantom shows up," Andy remarked.

Danny blushed again, making Takuya laugh.

"Yeah, hiding it from Andy was probably tough for you, Danny 'Phantom'." Takuya joked.

"Like you were any better, Hot Head Takuyamon!" Danny snapped, blushing more.

"D-Danny! Did you have to go there?!" Takuya countered, blushing himself now.

Jazz giggled at the way the boys were bantering with each other. "It seems you two have settled back into rhythm with your bantering." She said with a smile. "But as I was saying, you should wait until we meet up with Tucker and Sam before sharing everything. I doubt you'd want to repeat yourself again."

"True," Takuya admitted.

"We have a couple of other things we need to show you, and them, as well," Andy admitted. "But… we'll want to be somewhere… less crowded when we do."

Jazz raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "That's fine. I think Tucker and Sam would be glad to meet in a more quiet place anyway."

Danny nodded at Andy's words as well. "I agree."

---

After Jazz parked her car in the school's parking lot, they didn't hesitate to get out to look for Tucker and Sam. Luckily, Tucker and Sam had been waiting for them at the front of the school like they usually did, and they were more than surprised to see Takuya with them.

"Takuya!?" Both Tucker and Sam shouted in disbelief.

"Is that really you?" Sam asked in shock.

"No way, we heard you disappeared into another world!" Tucker pointed out.

"Yeah, it's me, and yes, I was sent into another world." Takuya replied as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "But I'm back now, so no need to worry about me."

"But how!?" Both Tucker and Sam shouted.

"Guys, we'll explain everything, give the guy some breathing room," Andy spoke up. "We need to go somewhere less crowded though."

"I know of a good place." Tucker smiled.

The group found themselves crammed in the janitor's closet.

"Couldn't you have picked a bigger spot?" Sam grumbled as she was leaning against some cleaning bottles that smelled weird.

Tucker smiled sheepishly. "It was the first place I could think of."

"I think that the old meat locker below the school may be a better place…" Takuya grumbled, feeling cramped.

Danny grumbled. "I hate to say it, but Takuya has a point, Tucker. We can't exactly show you guys what we want to show you while in such cramped quarters…"

"But the meat locker is locked, only the staff can go in there." Jazz frowned.

"Then maybe we should take the ghostly express down there, plus that would be faster," Danny suggested.

"No," Andy spoke up. "The meat locker gets inspected every morning so the lunch lady can prepare the food for students. This is probably our best bet."

Takuya groaned. "Fine…"

"So, what did you want to show us?" Tucker asked as he sat down on an upside down bucket.

"First, we better explain what happened so you don't freak out," Danny sheepishly said.

Andy took out his notebook and began recapping everything to Tucker and Sam about the Digital World, how Andy got sucked into it, how they met with Digimon, about the players, and how they got back.

"So you went to the Digital World?! I'm so freaking jealous, Andy!" Tucker whined. "Of all the cool things that have happened, this one is the coolest by far, and yet I missed it!"

"That's what I said." Danny chuckled.

"And this happened because of your Digimon partner?" Sam frowned.

"Yeah… speaking of my Digimon partner…" Andy sheepishly grinned. "He sort of… followed me here?"

"What do you mean followed you here?" Tucker blinked.

Andy looked back at his backpack. "You can come out now, Lopmon."

Andy's backpack unzipped, and a cute little light brown, and pink rabbit with three horns on its head popped out. "You know, you have way too many books and papers in there."

Sam and Tucker blinked at seeing Lopmon.

"Is… that rabbit talking?" Tucker asked as Sam pinched her arm to make sure she was not imagining things.

"He's not a rabbit, he's a Digimon," Andy chuckled. "This is Lopmon, the one who brought me into the Digital World. Lopmon, this is Tucker, Sam, and my sister, Jazz."

"Hello! It's nice to finally meet you all. Andy talked a lot about you guys." Lopmon greeted with a smile.

"Oh my gosh! He's so cute!" Jazz squealed before regaining her composure. "I-I mean… he's… uh… pretty cute."

Takuya grinned. "You actually think Lopmon is cute? Wow, that's a first for the mature Jazz Fenton." He teased.

"Shut it, Takuya!" Jazz hissed.

"Hey, come on, I'm not that cute. I like to think I'm pretty tough!" Lopmon stated.

Sam was trying not to look directly at Lopmon, him stating he wasn't cute somehow made him cuter. "Well, uh… that's definitely quite the partner you have there, Andy."

Andy pouted, seeing his friends' reactions. While he thought Lopmon was cute too, he had been hoping they would be more impressed rather than-

"Oh gosh!" Tucker laughed. "You call that a Digimon partner? I bet he makes his opponents squeal themselves to death."

"Excuse me!? I happened to face off against a fierce dragon, and a giant armored dinosaur Digimon! What've you been facing? Math homework!?" Lopmon snapped.

Takuya and Danny were trying not to snicker.

"H-hey! I face ghosts when I help catch them!" Tucker pointed out, his own face going red from embarrassment at Lopmon's retort.

"I get the feeling Lopmon and Tucker got off on the wrong foot…" Danny sweatdropped.

"Tucker didn't help his case when he laughed at Lopmon," Takuya whispered.

"It's just you're not very intimidating," Tucker pointed out to Lopmon.

"Hey, I happen to be very intimidating, thank you very much, Mr. Math Homework Ghost Catcher," Lopmon remarked. "I made a Legendary Warrior like Takuya think I was some big threat to the Digital World that he nearly took Andy's head off because he thought Andy was going to use me for evil."

Takuya went red in the face at that comment and revelation. "L-Lopmon! Did you have to reveal that?!" He exclaimed.

Jazz was suddenly in Takuya's face, giving a very 'friendly' smile at him. "Takuya… may I see you outside of the janitor's closet?"

"J-Jazz, it was a mistake! I didn't mean to, and I did redirect my blow once I saw it was only Andy!" Takuya exclaimed. "It was just everyone else was saying Andy was a big threat and a hacker player and, well, being in a new world and all, I was kinda on edge myself and…" Takuya paused in his rambling. "I'm screwed, aren't I?"

Jazz just took Takuya's arm. "We won't be long."

Jazz then pulled Takuya out of the janitor's closet, closing the door behind her.

"I feel bad for Takuya…" Danny sweatdropped.

"Um… so…" Sam continued, looking at Lopmon. "Do Digimon all look that small and cute?"

"Oh, no, a lot of Digimon are very different from each other," Andy explained. "Lopmon is just at a Rookie level, most Rookie levels are small like he is, though some are bigger than others. I'll explain the different levels and such later."

"I have another Digimon with me as well," Danny said before he unzipped his own backpack. "Come out, Patamon, my friends want to meet you."

Nobody came out of Danny's backpack.

"Uh… Patamon? Hey, are you taking a nap in there?" Danny asked.

Patamon grumpily stuck his head out of Danny's backpack. "What is it?"

Tucker blinked before grinning. "Is that a winged hamster? I didn't think all Digimon could look cute like that."

Patamon blinked as he looked at Tucker before grumbling. "I'm not cute. Now can I go back to sleep?"

"Patamon, don't be rude! These are Andy's friends, at least say hi to them!" Lopmon huffed. "Except for glasses boy, he's rude too."

Patamon looked at Tucker again before looking at the others. The black-wearing girl seemed to be indifferent, but she was looking at him curiously. Patamon grumbled a bit. "Hello…"

"I'm sorry about him, Patamon has always been a grump. He doesn't like to socialize with other people," Lopmon apologized.

"Wait… Danny. I get why Andy has a Digimon partner, but how did you get yours if you didn't go to the Digital World?" Sam asked.

"Oh, Patamon isn't my Digimon partner," Danny explained. "He was someone who came with Andy and Takuya when they came back to our world. I decided to take care of him while he was here."

"Only until I complete my mission." Patamon said. "But what that is, I am keeping to myself for now."

"Like they asked you, Mr. On Duty At All Times." Lopmon rolled his eyes.

"Lopmon, please don't start another fight," Andy sighed. "I want you and Tucker to try to get along, alright?"

"Hmph, only if Math boy doesn't laugh at me and call me cute again," Lopmon huffed.

"What? You are though," Tucker pointed out.

"Not helping, Tucker," Andy grumbled.

Sam snickered at Tucker's pouting at Andy's comment. "At least we know what is going on now, at least with this Digital World." She noted.

The door opened a few seconds later, and in came Jazz, dragging in poor Takuya, who looked a bit freaked out now.

"Um… Jazz, what did you do to Takuya?" Danny asked, noting Takuya was trying to keep calm but was looking at Jazz uneasily every now and then,

"Let's just say he won't be so hasty to punch someone until he knows for sure they're a threat next time~" Jazz grinned.

Danny grimaced. "I… don't doubt it." He said, feeling bad for his cousin now. Wow… Jazz really reemed into Takuya it seems…

"You're lucky. Jazz could've done a lot worse," Andy chuckled sheepishly. Just wish she could be like that to our regular bullies.

Takuya sighed. "I guess she went easy on me…" That's going easy on me though?

"So you kids will be going through school for the day?" Patamon asked, wanting to focus on more important matters.

The humans of the group nodded.

"Yeah, we will." Danny replied. "Andy, Sam, Tucker, and I are all in our freshman year, Takuya is a sophomore, and Jazz is a year ahead of Takuya, as a Junior. So, we all have different classes depending on our class year."

"Regardless, you'll be spending a certain amount of time here, correct?" Patamon replied.

"About 8 hours, give or take," Andy answered.

"Why do you want to know?" Tucker asked.

"I rather not spend 8 or so hours stuffed in this backpack," Patamon replied. "While you kids are having your education, I'm going to go look around this town."

"Is that a good idea?" Lopmon asked, "Wouldn't you get caught by humans?"

"Not if I'm careful." Patamon replied. "I can just hide in trees or something."

"There aren't that many trees here," Sam warned. "It's mostly buildings and polluting vehicles."

"Maybe you should wait a bit, Patamon," Danny suggested. "I rather you didn't get lost or caught out there."

"If you get bored, maybe you can read one of those books in his backpack," Lopmon suggested. "Who knows, it might help you learn more about this world."

Patamon grumbled. "Staying in a backpack for 8 hours is not good for anyone…" He muttered, but he had to admit, Danny and Sam had a point, especially if there were not too many trees around.

"Don't worry, we'll come up with something after school so you don't have to stay in my backpack all day, I promise." Danny reassured Patamon.

Patamon sighed. "Fine. I guess that'll have to do." It would be foolish to go out and get lost in this unfamiliar world.

"So, in the meantime, I hope you're all prepared for the Northwestern Standardized Test today," Jazz spoke up.

The group collectively groaned at the reminder.

"You know, I doubt that anyone had studied for that test due to the Ember incident," Andy sighed.

"Talk about bad timing for a mind controlling popstar to show up," Sam grumbled.

Danny grumbled. "I certainly didn't study, what with Ember and then Takuya going missing certainly didn't help either."

Tucker put his head in his hands. "I really hate school right now…"

"So what's this test?" Lopmon frowned.

---

Later, after school got started, and Patamon and Lopmon were in their respective backpacks, to say the class didn't do so well on the test was an understatement. Mr. Lancer had a stack of papers on his desk, and even Principal Ishiyama was there.

"These Standardized test scores are the worst in school history, no doubt due to the rampant late night carousing prior to test day." Mr. Lancer scolded the class. "So I can't say I'm surprised the school average dropped, because no one took this test seriously."

"Therefore, all students in this class year are required to take mandatory cramtastic sessions to pass the make-up exam." Principal Ishiyama continued.

"That sounds unhealthy," Lopmon whispered.

Andy sighed as well. But not unexpected. Although it wasn't our fault that there was a literal brainwashing ghost popstar during the cramming week. Not that the teachers would see it that way.

Some of the other students, especially the ones that usually got straight As like Mikey, were rather distressed about this failure.

"I don't want to be in this class anymore…" Andy heard some students whining and groaning.

"Why didn't I study?"

"What even happened these past few days? It feels like a blur…"

To say the class was pretty gloomy would be an understatement. However, Andy had other priorities in mind.

---

School felt like it dragged on for a while. The cafeteria was the only time they could relax a bit and feed Lopmon and Patamon. Patamon didn't like the slop these people served to their students, though Lopmon didn't care as much, he didn't like the food either. However, it wasn't until school was fully out were they able to really talk freely again.

Jazz told Danny, Andy, and Takuya she would meet them at home since she had to stay at school for extracurricular activities. So Danny, Andy, Takuya, Tucker, and Sam were walking away from school together.

"Man, today really felt like a drag," Tucker sighed. "We're going to be subjected to cramming."

"With those computers," Sam added.

"Oh yeah, maybe it won't be so bad after all." Tucker grinned.

"Until the helmets scramble your brain." Sam rolled her eyes.

"I'd hate to be in a chair under one of those helmets." Takuya grimaced. "I'm glad I'm a year older so I miss that test."

"I'd rather be dealing with ghosts instead of that stupid Cramtastic stuff." Danny grumbled. "At least fighting ghosts is more physical and doesn't require much in the way of using my brain."

"Why do you fight ghosts anyways? You're only children, aren't you? Shouldn't the adults be handling such dangerous beings?" Patamon asked, seeing how they were finally leaving that prison they called a school. Seriously, what kind of school is that? Digi-school actually had the students have fun while learning. This school is all about rules, rules, rules, no chance for a person to breathe or even talk without having to raise their hand for long periods of time. And there's a time limit to how long they can eat? And the food they eat is nasty! This definitely feels like the prison that we have for evil Digimon, not a school for children.

"Um… If you saw how my parents fight ghosts, Patamon, you'd agree it's best we kids handle it…" Danny said sheepishly. "My dad can barely hit a target, and my mom… well… She is perhaps the best of the two of them, but that's the issue; she's too dangerous for ghosts to fight. She'd rather capture one and rip it apart to see what makes it tick, etc. And… then there is the issue of not all ghosts are evil that could come up, which my parents deny is possible, so… yeah, it's complicated with them…"

"Your… parents?" Patamon blinked. "I didn't say your parents, just that adults should be handling ghosts."

"Yeah, aren't adults stronger than kids?" Lopmon asked, confused.

"Oh, that's right, you guys don't know how humans work," Andy realized. "Well, you're not wrong, but unlike Digimon, humans don't evolve into bigger, and stronger forms. Obviously, infants, toddlers, and young children aren't going to do so well in a fight. But usually when we're in our teens, we can do well in battle depending on how well we train ourselves. Humans in this world don't know how to handle ghosts that well, because ghosts started appearing in this world very recently, and before that point, people believed ghosts were nothing more than myths, stories that people make up to scare their kids. So not many people are equipped to handle ghosts. Danny and my parents, however, believed ghosts had existed for a long time, so they had been building equipment for fighting ghosts. That's what we use to fight against ghosts that invade our town."

"Our parents are ghost hunters." Danny explained. "As odd as it is, that was what they chose to do with their lives. It's also caused all sorts of frustrations for us kids, since we know not all ghosts are evil."

"Fighting ghosts isn't all fun and games, either, but it's better than Aunt Maddie and Uncle Jack capturing a friendly ghost and well… you don't need to be a mind reader to get the implications of what they could do." Takuya added.

"But why do your parents despise ghosts so much?" Lopmon asked. "If they always believed ghosts existed, enough to where they'd want to research them, why would they think all ghosts are evil or that it would be okay to sadistically rip them apart or study them in painful ways?"

"We're not really sure, but we think our parents got information from people who believed ghosts were evil because every contact with something that could be a ghost in the past were seen as ghosts wanting to hurt or scare people," Danny explained. "But for all they knew, the ghost may not have meant any harm, and they were just being themselves, but people misunderstood it as malice because they didn't understand what the ghost was doing. Sure, there were probably some actual malicious ghosts who did these things to hurt people, but it's a big assumption to think every single ghost is evil."

"And they also think ghosts are just mindless beings that can't feel pain, nor do they have any rights, so they think it's okay to mistreat ghosts like objects they could do anything with," Andy added.

"That doesn't make any sense. How can something be both mindless and evil? One would need the mind to make the choice to be evil to begin with," Patamon pointed out. "And any being that can talk, is definitely not mindless. Nor are they beings that can't feel pain, and even if they couldn't, if you mistreat them it would still hurt to some degree and they're still considered living even if they are dead spirits. Your parents sound evil to me having such terrible, discriminating mindsets towards an entire species."

Although the kids knew about that, it was different when someone from the outside pointed this out to them. It wasn't something they often think about. But Patamon had a point, the way Maddie and Jack saw ghosts definitely sounded like an evil, twisted person would say about humans.

"Didn't you tell them about how ridiculous their mindset about ghosts are? Or that their knowledge about ghosts was outdated or too nonsensical?" Lopmon asked.

"We did try in a more causal conversion before, but they thought we were being manipulated by the 'fake' kindness of the ghosts, and remained stubborn about how their beliefs are right," Danny sighed.

Takuya groaned. "It's like they refuse to change their ways or even open their minds to be more accepting of new ideas and theories." He then sighed. "Aunt Maddie and Uncle Jack are great inventors, make no mistake about it, but their scientific processes leave some work to be done."

"It sounds like they do." Patamon grumbled.

"So there's no way to get them to change their minds about ghosts?" Lopmon asked.

"I doubt it. Even if we brought the friendliest ghost in the world to interact with them, they would be convinced it was just manipulating them before blasting its head off," Sam grumbled, making Danny gulp before rubbing his own face.

"That's not good…" Lopmon frowned. "If they keep up with that mindset, bad things could happen to them."

"Like what?" Andy asked in concern.

"The ghosts may one day choose to retaliate in a way that would make sure they can't recover because of how badly they treated them," Lopmon replied. "I can't say what the ghosts would do exactly, but I doubt it's anything good."

Takuya frowned. "I don't like the sound of that." He noted before sighing. "Welp, this got dark very fast."

Andy always knew that his parents' attitude towards ghosts may come back and bite them in the butt one day, but it felt more… real when someone else pointed it out.

"But what can we do?" Andy asked.

"I don't know. It's up to your parents if they want to listen and have an open mind, there's only so much you can do." Lopmon frowned. "It'd be like if you didn't want to come into the Digital World, you never would've been able to open the gate and get in to find Takuya, or meet me for real."

"What? I thought the device you found pulled me into the Digital World," Andy blinked.

"The device only appeared because you felt strongly about wanting to get into the Digital World," Lopmon explained. "I didn't know what it was, but somehow I knew it was what you needed when you said you wanted to come into the Digital World."

Takuya blinked. "So that device is like a connection between you and Andy." He mused. "Or at least it's a physical representation of that bond. That's kinda cool… but also kinda weird…"

"Don't make me sound abnormal! You're the one who has a device that uses the spirit of a dead Digimon that fuses with you and turns you into said Digimon!" Andy pointed out. "You're the real odd one here."

Takuya blushed. "H-hey! I didn't mean it in a bad way! I just thought it was… crap… I hate it when my mouth just runs itself like that…"

Danny snickered. "Andy has a point, Takuya."

Takuya groaned. "Why do I even bother speaking at times?"

"Hey, do you think if I wish it hard enough then, I could get that device you keep talking about and meet with Kapurimon for real myself?" Tucker grinned. "Could I see that device, Andy?"

"Yeah, just don't take it apart or anything," Andy said as he took out the device to show Tucker and Sam.

Tucker looked at the device in question. "Wow, that thing looks quite high tech." He said as he reached out to take the device. "I've never seen something so high tech without knowing what it is."

Takuya took out his D-Tector from his own pocket, and Tucker looked at it.

"It really does look similar to Takuya's device," Tucker noted.

"We learned his device is called a 'D-Tector'," Andy explained. "Though nobody knew what my device was."

"Maybe since it was made when you wanted to go into the Digital World, you get to name it?" Sam suggested.

"You think so?" Andy blinked. "Is that how… it works?"

"I don't know." Tucker said as he crossed his arms in thought. "But since you were the one who created it with your desire to go to the Digital World, it may be best if you named it."

"But what would Andy call it?" Takuya asked as he looked at the device in Andy's hand again.

Tucker gave Andy back the device, and Andy took a moment to study it. "Well… maybe something that starts with a 'D', since it's similar to Takuya's D-Tector."

"So maybe D-Tector 2.0?" Tucker asked.

"No, it's not really a 2.0 version of the D-Tector, it looks like it's own thing but is similar to the D-Tector," Andy replied.

"How about a D-Pear? It kinda looks like a pear," Sam suggested.

"No way, that's lame! Why would you name something as beautiful as that after a stupid fruit?" Tucker gagged.

"I have to agree with Math boy," Lopmon remarked.

"Are you going to keep calling me that?" Tucker huffed.

"Maybe?~" Lopmon grinned.

Sam snickered at Tucker and Lopmon's banter. "You two seem to get along well~"

"Okay, back on topic." Danny said. "What do we call Andy's device?"

"Do you have any suggestions?" Sam asked.

"Uh… maybe… a D-Pet?" Danny asked. "Kinda like a V-Pet but… with a D instead?"

"That's… not a bad idea, but that would imply I have a pet in here, which I don't," Andy pointed out. "The screen is blank."

"How about… uh… D… Digivice?" Takuya asked.

"Digivice? Really?" Sam deadpanned.

"Dude, lame, this isn't the 90s," Tucker pointed out.

Takuya blushed. "W-well, it's better than D-Pear." He muttered.

Danny grinned. "You really need to get with the times, cuz~"

"N-no quips from you!" Takuya squeaked.

Andy thought about the device more as he looked at it. "It looks like a circular device almost… and it probably has electricity running through it like an arc."

"Yeah? It probably does," Tucker agreed. "Have you used it?"

"Well, it doesn't seem to react when I do anything with it, besides open gates between the Digital World and the real world, but it has to do something, right? So… maybe I can call it a D-Arc," Andy suggested. "What do you guys think?"

Danny grinned. "I like it. It sounds cool."

Sam rolled her eyes. "I think D-Pear is a better idea personally."

"No way! D-Arc sounds way better!" Tucker exclaimed with a grin.

"I'm with Tucker and Danny on this one, Sam." Takuya said with a sheepish grin.

"D-Arc definitely has a nice ring to it~" Lopmon smiled.

"Sorry Sam, looks like you're outvoted," Andy chuckled.

"Whatever, call it what you want." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Well, finally your D-Arc has a name." Danny smiled.

"That's all well and good, but could we explore the town now?" Patamon requested. "I'd like to memorize this place's layout so I can start searching while you're at pri- school again."

"Searching? For what?" Danny asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I already told you that I have a mission here. That involves searching for something," Patamon answered.

"Can't you tell us what it is? We might be able to help you find this something," Sam pointed out.

"It might be too dangerous. But if you kids can prove you can really fight ghosts… then I might tell you the details of my mission," Patamon stated. "Does that sound fair?"

"Come on, if this thing is too dangerous for us, I doubt you'd be able to do this alone yourself," Tucker remarked.

"I have more capabilities than you do without your fancy gears and weapons," Patamon grumbled.

"And until we can see these capabilities, we won't let you do this search on your own." Danny pointed out, pulling Patamon's words back on him.

"What are you, my mom?" Patamon huffed.

"I'm supposed to be taking care of you while you're here, so in a way, yes, I am," Danny stated firmly.

"Oh gosh… you sounded like Jazz just now, bro," Andy snickered.

Danny blushed. "Did I really? Crap…"

Takuya had to cover his mouth with his hands at Danny's reaction to hide his snickers.

"Wow, who knew Danny would go all Jazz on Patamon?" Tucker grinned.

This boy… Patamon frowned. Nobody's really treated me like this before. Telling me that I can't go out on my own? Not even Sorcermon had the guts to say that to me when I was Tokomon.

Patamon didn't know how to feel about that. He had a mission to do, and he couldn't afford to waste too much time being babysat by a human boy. On the other hand, it also felt kind of nice to not have to worry about everything while someone else was taking care of him.

"I guess Danny has a maternal side after all~" Andy grinned.

"You mean like you were when you told me not to eat too much candy?" Lopmon pointed out.

"They're bad for you if you eat too much!" Andy replied, turning a bit red. "Come on, you were my responsibility, so I needed to make sure you had a healthy diet."

Takuya finally lost his battle to hide his laughter. "Oh… Oh gosh… Both of you are acting like parents!"

"Shut up!" Both Danny and Andy shouted in embarrassment.

Tucker was laughing as well.

"Hey, how about we get something at the Nasty Burger? It's a good place to unwind after a long day at school, and it'll give Patamon a chance to familiarize himself with our town," Sam suggested, trying to break up all the laughter.

"Sure." Danny said, trying to hide his red face.

Takuya and Tucker finally settled down from laughing after a few more moments.

"Yeah… I think some food would be a good idea." Takuya agreed. "But man… I needed that laugh after a tense day of school."

"I'm so glad we can be a source of entertainment for you," Andy sarcastically remarked.

"Would we have to stay hidden in your backpack again?" Lopmon asked.

"Nah, unlike school, it's fine if teens bring stuffed animals with them to other places," Andy replied. "But you can't move around too much on your own, okay?"

"Alright, I'll be the perfect, quiet little stuffed animal~" Lopmon smiled.

"What about you, Patamon? Would you be alright acting like a stuffed animal or would you rather stay hidden in my backpack?" Danny asked.

Patamon looked away from Danny. "Stuffed animal works. At least I won't be in your backpack where it is cramped."

---

pokemon fan 1991: ZAFT: Yep! We decided to use some of the characters from DP as players. But only as players… ^^' And Andy's salute last chapter was kinda fun! XD

DarkFoxKit: Don't be shocked when some of the DP cast has a Digimon, because like ZAFT said, they are 'players' in a video game. Anyone and everyone could have a Digimon, we're not going with 'you must be the chosen one' trope to have a Digimon in this. Well, there is something like that in the story, just not with Digimon partners. As for Yokomon, she's being ostracized for not being very social or easy to approach. Kids don't like socializing with someone if they're hard to approach.

ZAFT: As for Andy's dream, you might see what it means, you might not, who knows?~ XD The dreams with Andy are the fun part~ And as for the Digimon Xros Wars fusion reminder, that is all a coincidence, but a happy one I think. :3

DarkFoxKit: I've never seen Digimon Xros Wars, I stopped at Digimon Data Squad. I heard that the later anime of Digimon were really bad.

ZAFT: I watched some of it, but after the English dub ended, I just stopped altogether. ^^'

DarkFoxKit: Patamon digivolving into… Pegasusmon? Like his 02 counterpart? Isn't that an armor digivolution? How would that affect his normal digivolution line? Oh yeah, I haven't seen 2020's anime, so I have no idea what you're talking about. ^^' But no spoilers, I do intend to watch that anime at some point. Just know that anything past Frontier is not something we're familiar with.

Titanic X: ZAFT: I'm glad you like the fight, and yeah, Andy's plan was pretty clever! XD

Son Sandy: DarkFoxKit: Glad you liked the lore we dumped there. As for the dreams, they were more experimental, we're not too sure on where we're going with that yet, it's a 'work-in-progress' kind of idea, and we're testing the waters with it.

ZAFT: Don't worry, Calvin may get his karmic due one day~ XD And yes, Andy and Lopmon are very cute, aren't they~ X3

DarkFoxKit: I rather not answer a question that would be answered later in the story, but in that case, it would confirm whether or not Andy still has visions of the future. Andy does still have visions of the future, but they're gonna be rarer here as I feel it would kinda break the story if he could have them frequently.

Heh, glad that someone realizes Andy's own strength being on par with his brother's even as a full human. But his opponents underestimating him is what usually gives him the advantage.

Kittylover05: DarkFoxKit: I figured that 'guest' might've been you. They had your mannerism and enthusiasm for character analysis. But we weren't 100% sure, and it would be incredibly awkward, and presumptuous of us to answer the review like it was you, so we decided to treat it as any other guest review.

ZAFT: Now, onto the meat of your review~ The whole school thing was the fun part I think. It does show the Digimon's daily lives and how players affect them. :3 And Togemon is someone I'd want as a teacher too! XD

As for the 'game' thing, it does have a UI and stuff, but the helmets transfer the person's mind to the Digital World. And you know some video games have a faster time rate? That's how it works in the Digital World. Take Minecraft for instance. One day there is about 20 minutes in real life. So a day in the Digital World is about half an hour to an hour, or so, in the real world. I hope that explains it somewhat… ^^'

And yeah, a Sherlockmon would come in handy for explaining things… ^^' XD

DarkFoxKit: Wanting to go back to the whole time thing. Time does go by faster in the Digital World than in the real world, but the players just think it's part of the game. And it helps them get in game time before having to go to school or do homework. The hardcore gamers are scattered throughout the world, most of them are either at the Beast Slayer Guild, or wanting to join that guild. And since the game is more of in the beta stage, only special promo helmets were given out, so not everyone owns a helmet or a way into the Digital World yet.

The world being made of data… how does that correlate to the Digimon thinking we're all nuts?

ZAFT: Ah… I think she means the knowledge of humans having many wars being observed and read by the Digimon. In that case, it would be kinda nuts, considering some of the things humans have fought wars over… ^^'

DarkFoxKit: Well, not in this case. The data isn't something that recorded human history, it's more of a line of code that evolved enough to create its own world and species. Some Digimon know about humans and their history, but most don't. Especially since Digimon often get a complete memory wipe upon rebirth, so even if they had seen humans at their worst, they wouldn't remember it. And besides, while humans have a violent history, are the Digimon really any better? They have to fight in order to be able to digivolve and stay strong, at least according to some lore in some video games for Digimon. Not to mention ghosts are far more aggressive than humans naturally are.

ZAFT: But moving on, the fact the humans do tend to treat Digimon badly in some cases will definitely have an impact on how the Digimon see humans. In fact, that is how the Beast Slayer Guild scared many Digimon; they heard of how Cherubimon was defeated by these players, and assumed all humans are like that.

And yes, Takuya is the one who tends to swear more often than Andy~ XD

Now, for the dreamscape/mindscape sequence, that was just kinda testing the waters with it… ^^' It could be either Andy in Danny's head, or Danny in Andy's head~ XD

DarkFoxKit: It was intended to be Andy in Danny's head, and the Danny who steered Andy away from the doors isn't quite Danny himself, but a mental version of him. Kind of like a guardian who tries to make sure everything is working properly. That is what the intention was between that Danny and Andy in the dream. Make of that what you will though.

Yeah, since you haven't read our previous Digital Phantom, Calvin was the bully stand-in we had for Dash when Dash stopped bullying the group. We still needed someone to take Dash's bullying place though. And there were no shortages of jock bullies to use.

ZAFT: Sam being a guild member would have been awkward, but also so ironic! XD

DarkFoxKit: I don't know if Sam would have been a part of the guild even if she had the early access. Because of her love for animals, even if it was a video game, I could see her lecturing people for hurting 'cute little Digimon' for their own selfish gain.

ZAFT: Yes, the angst is good angst~ XD

DarkFoxKit: Don't worry, more angst will come soon.

Sesshoru: DarkFoxKit: Don't know, don't care

ZAFT: I think my co-writer is getting annoyed with some of your reviews. To clarify, in this story no one has killed Yggdrasil. The Digital World 'God' is still around, but dormant, with no plans to reawaken. Now please stop asking questions that have nothing to do with the story.