ZAFT: Hope the week has been going better for you, Kit. I don't want you to have a repeat of last week. ^^'
DarkFoxKit: Let's not talk about that. I've gotten into a few games lately, and I'm hoping to get an old story of mine published as a real book.
ZAFT: Oh! That's awesome! :D That's a big step!
Takuya: Should we say congrats yet?
ZAFT: Maybe wait until the book is published, Takuya… ^^'
Andy: For now, let's get into the story
(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 30: Ominous Fog
"Are you 5 a part of a new guild or something?" A player asked Danny, Andy, Tucker, Sam, and Takuya.
The player in question looked to be about the same age as them, and he appeared to be a fashion boy since his clothes looked flashy. He had a light gray-furred Digimon next to him. It was gray in color with a lighter gray stomach. The eyes were red, and it had black claws on its paws and feet. The ears looked like they were dog-like, but at the same time fox-like, and the Digimon had a tail with three black belts near the tip.
Takuya knew what that Digimon was called, as he had encountered one before. "Looks like this guy has a Gazimon as his partner." He noted.
"Hey, answer the question!" The player boy snapped.
"We're not really a guild." Danny explained, hoping to satisfy the player. "We're just some friends exploring this place."
"Hmph, so you're just noobs playing with each other. I guess that makes sense, since one of you only has an In-Training Digimon, and two of you don't have any partners with you," The player grumbled.
"Why do you care anyways?" Sam huffed. "Just leave us alone."
"I'm trying to make my partner stronger, and to do that, I need to win a lot of battles with him," The player stated. "Wild Digimon just aren't going to cut it. Other player's Digimon give a lot more bonus exp."
"So, what? You want us to battle you?" Andy asked. "You do realize even though not all of us have Digimon partners, we still outnumber you, right?"
The player huffed. "So? Taking on a group of you is sure to get me more bonus exp for my partner Gazimon than just one-on-one."
Takuya frowned. I wonder how this guy would react if he saw my Agunimon form? I doubt he would be that confident.
Andy looked at Kapurimon and Patamon. Patamon wasn't really Danny's partner, and Kapurimon was too weak to fight back against a Rookie level Digimon. Andy looked at his D-Arc for a moment, the D-Arc seemed to give him information about a Digimon as long as Lopmon was looking at it. So that was how he knew Gazimon was a Rookie level.
"Well, we're not the type of people who would fight back against someone unfairly. Lopmon and I can take you and Gazimon one-on-one," Andy stated with confidence, mostly hoping to keep Patamon and Kapurimon from having to fight, and he doubted they would need to expose Takuya's ability to spirit evolve just to take care of one Rookie level Digimon.
"Oh? Well, I can't pass up a challenge then." The flashy player grinned. "Get ready, because I'm gonna beat you and your little chocolate rabbit~"
"Oh, you're going to get it now," Lopmon glared.
"What're you going to do about it, little chocolate rabbit?" Gazimon grinned.
"Are you sure about this, bro?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, this is how things work," Andy replied. "As long as his Gazimon doesn't suddenly digivolve, Lopmon can handle it."
Takuya rubbed his left arm, remembering Calvin and his Gotsumon. Yeah… that last fight against a player was not fun, what with that sudden evolution.
The flashy player smirked. "Then get ready to lose, noobs!"
Danny frowned at Andy's words, but nodded. "Okay, bro. I'll trust you know what you're doing on this one."
"You guys better watch too, since it's likely you'll have to do this with other players in the future," Andy stated.
Tucker gulped. "Yeah, good luck."
"Knock 'em dead!" Kapurimon cheered.
Lopmon stood a few feet away from Gazimon. Gazimon was grinning, ready to take down this seemingly easy Digimon.
"Go for it, Gazimon! Knock out that chocolate bunny!" The flashy player ordered.
Gazimon ran at Lopmon and opened his mouth. "Electric Stun Blast!"
Gazimon shot out electricity from his mouth.
"Jump!" Andy quickly said.
Lopmon didn't hesitate to jump, avoiding the Electric Stun Blast before taking a deep breath himself. "Blazing Ice!"
Lopmon fired out a blast of icy wind at Gazimon in retaliation.
The icy breath came at Gazimon quickly.
"Dodge it!" The flashy player instructed. Gazimon jumped to the right, barely dodging the Blazing Ice attack, but his tail fur got coated in ice on its right side.
"You'll pay for that!" Gazimon shouted as he jumped at Lopmon, intending to slash him with his claws.
"Tiny Twister!" Lopmon yelled as he began spinning around so fast that he looked like a little brown twister.
The Tiny Twister attack came at Gazimon, who was hit by the rapidly spinning Lopmon. "Gah!" Gazimon was thrown back by the Tiny Twister attack, landing in front of his player partner. "Ow…"
"Get up, Gazimon!" The flashy player snapped. "We can't let this noob beat us!"
Gazimon got back on his feet in response.
"Now, use Gazimon Claw!" The player instructed.
"Look out!" Andy warned.
Lopmon gasped as he quickly wrapped his entire front with his ears in an attempt to shield himself from the claws. Gazimon slashed at Lopmon's ears.
"Ugh!" Lopmon hissed a bit in pain before he finally hit the ground.
"Lopmon, are you okay?" Andy asked in concern.
Lopmon managed to get back on his feet. "I'm fine, don't worry!"
"This looks pretty brutal…" Tucker said, worried that his little Kapurimon may have to fight battles like this in the future. "It didn't look this brutal on a computer screen."
Takuya clenched a fist. He felt he was the one who should be doing the fighting, not Lopmon or Andy. But, since Andy had chosen to do this, he could only watch and hope for Lopmon's victory.
"In the Digital World, it's far more real than you might think when combat is concerned." Patamon said as he flew up next to Tucker. "Digimon do get hurt fighting each other."
"That's… not really helping…" Tucker muttered, feeling even more worried for Kapurimon now.
Gazimon was circling Lopmon, ready to deliver the final blow on command. The flashy player was grinning. "Anything left to say before I defeat your chocolate rabbit, noob?"
"How well do you believe in your Digimon?" Andy asked.
Gazimon came in for another slash attack at Lopmon. Lopmon was moving quickly to avoid the claws, but his short legs didn't let him move very fast, so he had to use his ears as a shield for himself. Gazimon was pushing Lopmon back.
"Lopmon! Don't give up!" Andy called out.
"Lopmon's getting pretty hurt out there." Sam frowned. "Are you sure we shouldn't jump in to help?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Lopmon can handle himself." Patamon stated.
Takuya gripped his D-Tector. "I know we need to just let Andy handle this, but it's just so hard not being able to help."
Gazimon smirked. "Time to finish you off! I hear chocolate is very delicious and sweet to the taste~"
The flashy player was feeling like he was on top of the world. "I believe I can win with Gazimon, thank you very much! You, on the other hand, don't have much of a chance, noob!"
"Being in tight spots is nothing new to us," Andy said. "Lopmon!"
Lopmon glared at Gazimon before he shot out a Blazing Ice attack at Gazimon's claws at point blank range, causing the claws to be frozen in ice. Gazimon let out a gasp as he pulled back his now frozen claws.
"Tiny Twister!" Lopmon, instead of spinning horizontally this time, he had his head, with his three horns, facing directly at Gaizmon's stomach before he began spinning himself like a drill.
Gazimon let out a scream as Lopmon was essentially drilling into his stomach with his horns.
"No way!" The flashy player exclaimed. "That's not fair!"
Gazimon was thrown back towards his player partner and landed on the ground with a thud. His stomach was now bearing a mark that looked a lot like a huge ugly bruise, covering the whole area. "Ow…"
"Ooooh… That has got to hurt!" Tucker remarked with a wince.
Makes me glad my Digimon form has armor… Takuya thought with a grimace of his own.
"How did that weak little Digimon beat you up so badly!?" The player shouted in disbelief.
"You underestimate your opponent, and recklessly attacked Lopmon without any defense," Andy stated. "You left Gazimon wide open for punishment."
"You got lucky with this win, noob! I won't let you get away with this a second time! I will find you when I get stronger and beat you bad!" The flashy player exclaimed before picking up Gazimon and running off.
"Jeez, he sounded just like the player with the Dracomon," Andy sighed. "I hope not all the players are going to act like that…"
"I hope so too." Takuya groaned. "It's bad enough with these players thinking this is just a game, but with players like that, it is even worse."
"Dang, that was brutal how you defeated that other Digimon, you practically drilled through his stomach," Tucker shuddered.
"But that was a clever way to beat him," Sam admitted.
Andy picked up Lopmon.
"Thanks. We seem to get into a lot of fights where the opponent is stronger than me in strength, so I have to fight smart to beat them," Lopmon chuckled.
"You should rest a little, let those wounds heal before we run into another player who wants to challenge us," Andy suggested.
"We'll rest, but not for too long," Patamon stated.
"Do we even know where we're going though?" Danny asked. "We have no idea where Valerie even is."
"It's not like we can track her, is it?" Takuya wondered as the group sat down to rest for a bit.
Danny shrugged. "You're the one who saw her come here, aren't you?"
"Hey, I only saw her open the Digital Gate, not where it sent her!" Takuya huffed back.
"No need to argue, boys." Sam sighed. "We just need a plan of where to go from here."
"We'd need Patamon, Takuya, Lopmon, or Andy to tell us that. The rest of us had never really been here before," Tucker pointed out.
"But it's fun exploring, isn't it?" Kapurimon smiled.
"The way I see it, our best bet is to go back to Fortuneteller Village, and ask Shamamon where to find your friend," Patamon stated.
"Oh yeah, Lopmon and I went there to eat and figure out where to find Takuya… although Takuya ended up finding us," Andy chuckled.
"Yeah… not that I expected it to be Andy…" Takuya admitted, feeling his face turning red from the embarrassment from that incident. "I expected the 'super hacker player', not my younger cousin."
"And you nearly took Andy's head off, too." Danny scolded.
"Don't remind me… I feel bad enough as it is." Takuya groaned. "Geez, you guys won't let me live that down, will you?! It's bad enough I got chewed out by Jazz, I don't need you to add to it, Danny…"
"I'm sure we'll let it go once someone else does something as stupid as that~" Lopmon grinned.
Takuya groaned.
"So this Fortuneteller Village, you're saying they have Digimon that can genuinely tell your fortune?" Sam asked, her eyes sparkling.
"That's right. Some Digimon have the ability to see into the future," Patamon answered. "Celestial Digimon have such an ability as well. But for the public, usually Digimon like Shamamon would tell others their fortune."
"Did you two get your fortunes told while you were there last time?" Danny asked curiously.
"No, we were going to try it out before we were attacked by two Legendary Warriors that caused a mess," Andy answered. "While Takuya nearly took my head off, the real trouble was with Beetlemon."
"Beetlemon?" Danny, Sam, and Tucker asked as one.
"Yeah, a new Legendary Warrior showed up and caused even more trouble for Andy than I did." Takuya sighed. "He was very tough, even for me in my Agunimon form. His element he used, from what I could see, was lightning."
"Huh… So you're fire, and this Beetlemon was lightning? It sounds like you all have elemental powers." Sam noted.
"Yeah, and Beetlemon assumed Andy was this evil kidnapper too, even going as far as to attack him." Takuya continued. "I tried to intervene, but he beat me badly. Thankfully, Patamon was able to stop Beetlemon from attacking Andy further and we got the situation cleared up with him."
Sam whistled. "Wow, Andy, you really must've messed up if a Legendary Warrior came after you."
"You know, I'm not the only Fenton who makes really big mistakes like that," Andy huffed.
"The point is that Andy and Lopmon came out okay, even if things got hectic. And we're not here for that, we're here to find your friend," Patamon replied.
"How far away is this Fortuneteller Village?" Danny asked. "And isn't there any mode of transportation here? Like a car or something?"
"Under normal conditions, it would be easy to ride a Trailmon, one of the train Digimon that live here, but with all the players around, almost no Trailmon run along the train tracks anymore." Patamon explained.
Takuya grinned wryly. "That means we have to get used to walking long distances." He joked with little humor in his voice.
"It's not that bad, besides, the Fortuneteller Village isn't too far from here," Lopmon chuckled. "Come on, don't be afraid to give your legs some exercise!"
"Says the Digimon with the short legs who's laying on my head," Andy huffed.
Tucker groaned. "Great… walking all over the place." He moaned.
"Hey, think of it as getting a workout for the ladies." Sam teased Tucker. "Girls love a man with a build."
Tucker perked up. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?! When can we get moving? I wanna build up my muscles for the ladies!" He exclaimed with a grin.
"Yeah! Build muscles for the ladies!" Kapurimon repeated. "What are ladies?"
"I fear for Kapurimon's future if he's asking Tucker to explain that to him…" Sam groaned.
Danny chuckled with a sweat-drop. "We'll explain that to Kapurimon later…"
"We should get moving." Takuya said as he stood up. "The sooner we get to Fortuneteller Village, the sooner we can ask for information on Valerie's location."
The group began their trek to Fortuneteller Village. Patamon was mostly leading the way as he was the most familiar with the world.
As they were walking, however, they noticed there was some kind of strange, greenish fog starting to roll in.
"Huh… is fog supposed to be kind of greenish in this world?" Sam asked.
"No… this isn't normal." Patamon frowned.
Takuya frowned as well. He felt a feeling of unease entering into his body, and it wasn't the usual unease one would get under normal circumstances. "I don't like this…"
The greenish fog began to creep towards the group, slowly covering the area. Takuya could see the foliage looked like it was beginning to slowly break down somehow, and his instincts were screaming at him to stay away from that fog. "We'd… better find a way out of this area… This fog… it's dangerous."
"How can it be dangerous?" Sam asked.
"Takuya's right… I'm sensing danger in that fog," Lopmon said in a serious tone. "We shouldn't approach it."
"But where should we go then?" Tucker asked, feeling Kapurimon tensing up in his arms.
"Follow me, I know another way to the village," Patamon stated. That fog… it feels familiar… but where have I sensed it before?
Patamon looked over at Danny as they were moving away from the fog. No, that's stupid, why would it feel similar to Danny? I must be getting paranoid.
"Hmm? What is it, Patamon?" Danny asked, seeing that Patamon was looking at him.
"It's nothing," Patamon replied. "I just wanted to make sure you can keep going. I know how quick humans are to get tired."
Danny frowned, but nodded. He had the feeling Patamon wasn't being entirely honest, but pushed it aside for the moment since that fog was still creeping in on the area. Getting to safety was first and foremost at the moment.
The group moved further away from the fog, which seemed to remain in one area, as it did not spread out any further, much to their relief.
They had to move around the fog in order to get to where they needed to be. They continued on until they were sure they were past the fog.
"That was weird," Sam said. "What was up with that fog?"
"I don't know, but hopefully the fog doesn't spread, and will fade away before long," Lopmon replied.
Andy frowned. It was rare for him to hear Lopmon sounding so serious and worried, he had been pretty laid back for the most part unless in battle. Whatever that fog was, it was definitely dangerous.
"We should be getting close to Fortuneteller Village," Patamon said.
Sure enough, the group could see what looked like a village filled with tents and other buildings just ahead of them.
"Wow, look at all the Digimon!" Tucker exclaimed excitedly. "They're living like people would in our world, that's so cool!"
"Cool! Cool!" Kapurimon bounced.
"I just hope they're not still upset about the wrecked restaurant," Andy said nervously. "Even if it must've been months for them, that kind of damage doesn't just go away after a few months."
Takuya winced at the memory of that fight. "Yeah… I may have played a part in that and probably made a bad rep for myself…"
"Don't worry, fights break out a lot in Digimon villages, and can cause damage. It's nothing new for them," Patamon reassured.
"As long as I don't have to pay for the damages, then that's a relief," Andy chuckled.
"So are all these shops meant to tell your fortune here?" Sam asked curiously, seeing a lot of Digimon having a stand shop, telling others that they can read their fortunes, see their luck for the day, see what their bad luck was, and their future.
"Sort of, most of them are scams though," Patamon replied. "Shamamon is one of the few Digimon who can truly see into the future."
"Wow, so even in this world, there are con artists," Sam sighed.
"Well, at least we know who the real deal is," Andy chuckled.
Sam grumbled. "It seems like con artists exist everywhere…"
"Hey, don't worry, we're going to see the real deal, so it should be fine." Danny reassured Sam.
"Okay…" Sam sighed.
Takuya chuckled. "At least we should get an interesting fortune reading from this. I'm kinda curious about what my fortune would be."
"I think we all are," Tucker grinned. "Who wouldn't want to know what their future will be?"
"I'm excited to see what Shamamon will show us!" Lopmon smiled.
Andy chuckled too, but inwardly he was nervous. He remembered a few of his nightmares before, and how… scary they were. He hoped they weren't premonitions, he didn't necessarily believe in premonitions, at least with humans, but he couldn't help but worry about it. Maybe I'm just becoming paranoid…
Danny grinned. "It seems like we're all kinda eager to see what our fortunes will be."
Patamon didn't comment, preferring to remain silent on the topic at hand.
"Shamamon should be at the edge of the village," Patamon said.
The group followed Patamon to what looked like a temple of some kin. It looked like something that would be found in India or some other similar country.
Takuya whistled when he saw the temple. "Wow, that place looks impressive."
"Shamanmon lives in the temple before us." Patamon explained.
"I wonder how much money this Shamamon makes," Sam wondered.
"Oh, wait, do we have to pay for his services?" Tucker asked. "Do Digimon even take our kind of money?"
"What's money?" Kapurimon asked.
"It's what we humans use to buy stuff in our world." Tucker explained. "It's… kinda essential for our society."
Sam rolled her eyes. "That's one of the things I actually agree with Tucker on."
Danny frowned. "If we don't have any money from the Digital World, we may not be able to get our fortunes told."
"What are you talking about? You guys use money all the time to buy those burgers at the restaurant, don't you?" Patamon asked.
"That looked like money to me," Lopmon agreed.
"Lopmon, have you ever seen money from the Digital World?" Andy asked.
"Uh… wasn't there any when we were at the restaurant here?" Lopmon sheepishly asked.
Danny groaned. "Of all the… Don't you remember, Lopmon? You were with Andy at that restaurant!"
"Well, Lopmon may have a point, Digimon were paying with something when we were there, we just didn't pay attention," Andy sighed.
"Again, you guys use the same currency Digimon uses," Patamon sighed. "Am I talking in a different language right now?"
"Okay, let's just move on. I think we can trust Patamon on this." Sam said, rolling her eyes. "If we have to pay for our fortunes to be told, we can use our own money."
"But aren't fortunes like… really expensive?" Tucker sheepishly asked.
"Look, if you're that worried about it, I'll talk to Shamnamon," Patamon sighed. "I'm sure I can work something out with him."
"That would be great." Danny admitted. "Since we're just teenagers, we don't really have a lot of money on us right now."
Sam rolled her eyes; she was more than loaded, not that she liked to reveal that fact about herself. "If need be, I'll pay for it."
Everyone looked at Sam.
Sam blinked. "What?" She asked.
"Why'd you say that so casually? Did you take your parents' credit card or something?" Tucker questioned.
"I don't doubt it." Takuya joked. "She does like to break the rules."
"But isn't that bad?" Kapurimon frowned.
"It is, Sam often gets in trouble for it," Tucker quickly said, not wanting this young Digimon to think being a rule breaker was okay.
"No, I didn't take my parents' credit card," Sam huffed. "I just happen to have a little more extra cash than you guys."
"It might be best to see what Shamanmon says before we do anything," Andy spoke up.
"Andy's right. Shamanmon may already know we're coming, and has something worked out for us," Lopmon optimistically pointed out.
"Then let's go see what Shamanmon has for us." Takuya grinned.
Patamon led the group into the temple. The inside of the temple was pretty big, but they already saw a Digimon standing at the end of the corridor. The group didn't expect Shamanmon to look… like a caveman.
"Is that Shamanmon?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.
Takuya blinked. "Apparently it is." He said, having heard the voice in his head describing Shamanmon.
The Digimon had dark green skin, wore a blue vest with matching loin cloth, and dark gray shorts. The hair was bright green, and had matching green eyes. The Digimon held a club that had three screws sticking out of the top of it, and had white claws from its fingers and toes.
"Welcome, welcome! It's been a while since I had such unique guests. I've been waiting for you." Shamanmon grinned.
"See? Told you he'd know we were coming." Lopmon smiled.
Andy rolled his eyes. "Seers…"
Takuya chuckled. "You don't really impress that easily, Andy."
"Considering what I've seen and went through? Yeah," Andy agreed.
"Please, show some respect," Patamon sighed. "I apologize, Shamanmon. They're teenagers."
"I understand," Shamanmon chuckled. "Although the boy with the Lopmon should watch what he says about Seers, lest he be pointing to himself as well."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Andy raised an eyebrow.
Shamanmon gave Andy a mysterious grin. "Just a small piece of advice or the future, my boy."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Tucker quickly spoke up. "Before you start telling our fortunes, how much would we have to pay you? We're not exactly swimming in cash right now."
"Pay? You're my first unique guests in a while! I couldn't ask for your monetary payment!" Shamanmon said. "Consider my fortunes to you on the house!" He added, looking at Takuya. "Especially since one of you has many great things ahead of you."
Tucker and Danny looked at Takuya for a moment before they grinned.
"Well, talk about a lucky break, guess you're more popular than we thought~" Tucker smiled.
"Yeah, we should start taking you everywhere in the Digital World~" Danny agreed.
"W-wha… What does that mean?" Takuya blinked, looking confused.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Boys…"
Shamanmon chuckled at Takuya's perplexed look. "A piece of advice for the future." He told Takuya.
"So these pieces of advice, are they our fortune?" Sam asked.
"No, no, I just thought I would have a little fun before I get into your real fortunes," Shamanmon chuckled. "So, who wants to go first?"
"Oh, me! I want to go first!" Tucker smiled.
"Yeah! Yeah! Let's hear Tucker's fortune first!" Kapurimon agreed.
Shamanmon grinned. "One fortune for the beret-wearing boy is coming up!" He said before he began to do a weird dance to try and get an idea of what awaited Tucker in the future.
"Oooh, I have foreseen what awaits you, child." Shamanmon said as he danced. "There will be many rough paths in the future. You will mature by making hard choices throughout your journey. No choice will be simple to make, but you will make the best choice based on the situation at hand."
Tucker blinked. "Wow… that's quite deep." He noted.
"But be warned, for if you make certain choices, it could lead you to be a great leader, or a terrible tyrant," Shamanmon warned.
Tucker frowned a bit at that. "That's… very helpful, and disturbing…"
"Don't worry, Tucker! I'll help you make the right choices!" Kapurimon comforted. "I know you'll be a great leader."
Tucker grinned. "Yeah, I think so too~"
"We'll see." Shamanmon said, but he had a mysterious grin on his face, indicating he knew what awaited the boy. "Now, who is next for their fortune?"
Sam thought for a moment before she stepped up. "Let's hear it."
Shamanmon grinned at seeing Sam come forward. "Ah, good for you to come forward." He said with praise. "Let's see what awaits in your future, girl of the night." Shamanmon did his dance again.
"Ooooh, your future is very interesting." Shamanmon said as he danced. "What you desire is many things. However, you will find what you seek for yourself and your friends is close at hand."
Sam blinked. "What I seek for myself, and my friends?"
"But be warned," Shamanmon spoke up. "Going too far with what you seek, and your beliefs, will push those close to you away. Pushing your boundaries could also put your friends in danger."
Sam frowned. "I guess so… I'll keep that in mind."
"Who is next?" Shamanmon asked.
Now curious to hear what his future could be, Danny decided to walk forward. "Um… so I'd like to know what I'll probably be facing later on."
"Of course." Shamanmon said as he began to do his dance again.
"Ah, you have quite the interesting future, my boy." Shamanmon said as he danced around again. "There will be a trying point in your life where it feels like no one is on your side that you will overcome, only for you to face a trial that will threaten your loved ones with division."
Danny deflated upon hearing how tough his future was going to be. "So everyone's going to turn against me? Even my loved ones?"
"Is that really possible?" Andy frowned. "Would we turn against Danny too?"
"Yes, that's a very possible future," Shamanmon answered. "As a continuation of your brother's future, I can tell your future next."
Andy blinked before frowning. "Fine then, lay it on me."
Shamanmon continued his dance. "Whether or not he-" Shamanmon pointed at Takuya. "-reaches his true potential depends on if you choose the most unlikely option to save your brother."
"What? Now I know this is crap. Why would choosing to save my brother be the most unlikely option?" Andy furrowed his eyebrows. "And what does that have to do with getting Takuya to his true potential?"
"Do not deny your own abilities." Shamanmon warned. "For you will see what I mean soon enough."
"Dude… Andy and Danny have some rough futures ahead of them" Tucker whistled.
"You're not helping, Tucker," Andy huffed.
"Andy…" Lopmon frowned in concern.
Shamanmon continued his dance. "And to finish the continuation of your futures… The power you will come to fear has to harmonize with the power you accept to reach your true potential, for your true potential will help to save your loved ones from divisions that await in the future." Shamanmon said to Takuya.
"Power that I will come to fear… That doesn't sound very pleasant." Takuya said with a small frown.
Shamanmon looked at Patamon. "And you'll have some tough choices to make for yourself soon."
Patamon frowned.
"But I think you're slowly starting to see why, don't you?" Shamanmon asked.
Patamon looked at Danny for a moment and sighed. "We thank you for your fortune telling, Shamanmon, but we do have one request."
"Oh? What request would that be?" Shamanmon asked.
"We're here to ask about where Valerie Gray is," Andy spoke up, though he was pretty grumpy about the supposed future he had with his brother and Takuya.
"Do you know where she would be?" Lopmon added.
"Ah, you will meet her soon." Shamanmon said. "I know not where she is currently, but she will come to you in your time of need."
"That's it?" Sam asked.
"Yes, but don't fret, she will come soon," Shamanmon reassured. "Until then, I would suggest you look for your friend-to-be, and raise up Kapurimon. You will need it soon."
"Friend-to-be?" Danny asked. "That's vague."
"The future is never clear cut." Shamanmon chuckled mysteriously.
"Well, I can't wait to make Kapurimon stronger." Tucker grinned before frowning. "I just hope it doesn't have to be through battling other players and their Digimon."
"There is a gym for Digimon to train in," Patamon stated. "You can raise Kapurimon there. There's usually one in every town."
Kapurimon was head bonking against a straw dummy.
"That's it, Kapurimon! Keep it up!" Tucker cheered him on.
They were inside a different building. A Togemon was running the place, though she wasn't the same Togemon who taught at the Digi-School, this one was much tougher.
"Come on, young one, you need to hit harder and faster if you hope to get stronger!" Togemon coached. "Move, move, move!"
Lopmon was working on a different thing. Instead of focusing on attack, he was trying to dodge joke bombs that would explode into water. Lopmon's fur was getting soaked, but he was determined to move faster and be able to dodge better.
"Watch your ears, Lopmon!" Andy called out before he looked over at Danny. "Are you worried? You've been quiet since we left Shamanmon's temple."
"Kinda…" Danny admitted sheepishly. "I mean… the future isn't set in stone, but… just the whole thought of everyone being against me, and then something even worse that threatens those I love with division…? That's kinda scary…"
"Yeah… it is… I can't even imagine what would cause us to divide," Andy agreed. "Or why choosing to save you was an unlikely option."
"What do you think it could be?" Danny asked. "Do you think… it may have something to do with… my, uh… secret?"
"It's possible, I guess?" Andy frowned. "Not the secret itself, but what it relates to. Your… other half also belongs to a completely different world that works, and thinks, very differently from humans. I can't say for sure what's going to happen, or how it will happen, just that it might be a possibility. Maybe the beings in that world manage to brainwash you or something? But that still doesn't make sense why I wouldn't try to save you from them. I think it might be something else…"
"True…" Danny admitted. "And that doesn't explain the connection with Takuya. Apparently, your choices will influence whether or not he reaches his true potential. How does that make any sense?"
"Don't ask me, it's not like Takuya's my partner Digimon," Andy sighed. "... Is he?"
"I doubt it, you have Lopmon," Danny pointed out. "Unless it's possible to have more than one Digimon partner."
"But Takuya's human, even if having more than one partner was possible, how would a human be a Digimon partner?" Andy asked.
"I have no idea…" Danny sighed. "Maybe it means something else then… like it's related to his evolutions or something."
"Hey, I'm right here, you know." Takuya huffed as he walked over. "Don't talk about me like I'm not even here."
"Okay, well, what do you think what Shamanmon said meant, Takuya?" Andy asked.
Takuya sighed. "I have no idea myself. I'm just as confused as you are. The whole 'power I will come to fear' thing has me baffled. What kind of power could I possibly fear?"
"Um… ghosts?" Danny offered sheepishly.
Takuya gave Danny a deadpan look. "Really?"
"I mean Digimon seem to have problems with ghosts, so maybe that means your instincts around ghosts will start to kick in?" Danny guessed.
"But the same thing could be said for you," Takuya pointed out.
Danny gave a wince. "Yeah… good point…" He then groaned. "Aw man… This is so confusing and worrisome! I thought it would be fun to have my fortune told, not have a bad future predicted for me!"
"Technically everyone has both a good and bad future," Patamon said. "Your bad futures just happened to be told this time. Take it as more of a warning than as the apocalypse."
Andy frowned as he remembered a dream he had not that long ago. He remembered being in a town, a lot like this one, in the dream. He and Lopmon were running from a giant beast that he called 'Takuya'. Andy furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why he was remembering that dream now. It was only a dream… surely… it can't possibly be related to the power Takuya fears, right?
"I hope this unease from our fortunes goes away soon." Takuya sighed. "I mean… Sam and Tucker's fortunes were not as bad as ours. In fact, I think they got off lucky."
"Speak for yourself," Sam grumbled. "I have to worry about possibly putting you guys in danger just for being myself."
"H-hey! Don't worry about that. We're not going to be put in danger for being yourself." Danny reassured Sam. "You being yourself is the best thing you can be. How is that a bad thing?"
Sam sighed. "I guess you have a point." She admitted to Danny before she realized he had… complimented her? Wait… Did Danny just give me a compliment?
Andy looked at Sam trying to hide a blush and sighed. "Hey, bro? Could I talk to you in private for a sec?"
Before Danny could answer, Andy took his arm and went to the corner, away from the others.
"What are you doing, Andy?" Danny asked.
"I have a prediction for you. You and Sam will be stagnated if neither of you try to make a move on the other," Andy stated bluntly. "And I don't need to be a seer to see that future."
Danny blushed. "B-bro! Why would you say something like that? It's not like I like Sam like I like Paulina!" He stammered out, trying to hide his blush.
"Admit it, bro. You had your chance with Paulina at the dance, you saw what she was like, remember?" Andy pointed out. "She's pretty, but she's as shallow as a puddle. You've been using Paulina as an excuse why you don't like Sam like that. But I've seen the way you two have looked at each other. Are you sure you don't have some feelings for her beyond seeing her as a good friend?"
Danny blushed even harder; in fact, Danny was sure his face was almost as red as Agunimon's armor. "... Do we really have to be discussing this right now?" He squeaked out before groaning.
"Alright… I may have some kind of feelings for Sam…" Danny admitted at last, not wanting Andy to pick apart his brain like Jazz tended to do.
"But?" Andy raised an eyebrow.
"She's my friend, bro… it would be really weird to start dating her. Not to mention, if things don't work out between me and her, would we still be friends?" Danny asked worriedly. "Besides, wouldn't others see me dating Sam as being desperate or something?"
"Do you really care about what people at school, who don't really care about us, think?" Andy asked. "And I'll admit, you being worried about if you and Sam would work out or not is a fear that is worth addressing. But you'll have to decide if it's worth taking that risk or not. I just wanted you to be aware of your own feelings for her."
Danny groaned. "I sometimes wonder if you should be a psychologist instead of Jazz." He muttered. "You always like to get to the bottom of a problem…"
"Is that a bad thing?" Andy chuckled. "Besides, as funny as it is to tease you two when either of you get flustered, I've grown tired of just watching you both blush slightly when one of you compliments the other. At least really think about it, bro. I'm not saying you should ask her out now, just… don't wait too long. Eventually, someone else may make a move, and it'll be too late then."
Danny paled at the thought of that. "Um… I'll think about it and see if I can find the right time to ask her on… a date…" He admitted at last, blushing at the thought of asking his best female friend on a date.
"Andy! Where are you?"
Andy looked back to see Lopmon running over to him. Lopmon stopped to take a breath before he smiled up at Andy. "Can we eat now? I finally managed to dodge more than 10 of those water bombs."
Andy frowned a little. "I guess we should have some lunch. It wouldn't be good if we're hungry if someone attacks us."
Lopmon cheered. "Yay! Lunch!"
Danny chuckled with a sweatdrop running down the side of his head. "I guess Digimon must love to eat…"
"Yeah, they sure do," Andy chuckled. "But my question is where are we going to get food? We got lucky with that one restaurant, but I doubt they would all just let us eat for free."
Tucker picked up Kapurimon, who was pretty worn out from the training. "We really should start bringing a lunch box with us or something when we go into another world."
Takuya chuckled. "I guess we should." He agreed. "But it would have to have some kind of lock on it to keep the Digimon from getting into it."
"Why would you lock a lunch box?" Lopmon asked in curiosity.
"We're just joking around, Lopmon, don't take it too seriously," Andy chuckled.
"Oh, right, a joke!" Lopmon smiled.
"Well if the Digimon use the same currency we use, we might as well see if they have a fast food place around here," Sam suggested.
"I know of a good place if you want to eat burgers again," Patamon spoke up.
"That would be great." Takuya grinned.
"Just don't go punching any burgers, cuz~" Danny teased Takuya, making the older boy blush at the memory of that incident.
"Can we please not bring up that incident again?!" Takuya exclaimed, trying to hide his blush of embarrassment.
"We can go to Burger Town and eat at the Burger Cafe," Patamon suggested. "Burgermon work there, they work for cheap, because they mostly enjoy serving customers the tastiest burgers."
"Is it far though?" Andy asked.
"Normally we would need to take a Trailmon there." Patamon frowned. "But I think we might have an easier way to travel."
"Huh?" Everyone looked at Patamon.
Patamon led the group to a monitor. "With your D-Tector and D-Arc, you should be able to open up a portal."
"Right, but wouldn't that just take us back to our world?" Takuya asked.
"Not necessarily. The other Legendary Warriors that possess a D-Tector use this trick to get around the Digital World faster," Patamon said. "You can open a sub-portal to another monitor in the Digital World."
Takuya grinned. "Sweet! This will help us get around a lot faster." He said as he took out his D-Tector before looking at Andy. "Better get out your D-Arc so we can make this work, Andy."
"Wait, before you go pulling out your D-Tector on the monitor. How does this work? I don't want to accidentally open a portal back to our world when we're not ready to go back yet," Andy asked.
"And why didn't you tell us when we were back at Primary Village?" Sam added.
"There weren't any monitors in Primary Village," Patamon answered. "The only reason Andy got pulled in there was because the D-Arc Lopmon pulled out summoned him there. As for how to summon the sub-portal, you'll need to switch your D-Tector, and I guess your D-Arc, to the Digital World's map."
"How do we do that?" Takuya asked as he looked at his D-Tector before pressing a few buttons. "Aw man… why isn't this thing easier to use?!"
Andy looked at his D-Arc before pushing a button on it. A holographic map showed up on his screen.
"Ooh, that looks cool." Lopmon smiled.
"Yeah… oh, hey…" Andy blinked when he noticed the holographic screen turned into a compass with a red arrow pointing north. "Why did it change into… a compass?"
"It looks like it's sensing something nearby," Patamon noted.
Andy looked up. "It's… pointing at… Shamanmon's temple?"
Takuya finally got the D-Tector to show its own map that then became a compass as well. "Whoa! Okay… that's… odd… my, um… compass is also pointing that way…"
Lopmon's ears lifted up. "Hey! What's that?"
"What is it?" Andy asked.
"Look! Up there, above Shamanmon's temple!" Lopmon pointed out.
Everyone looked up to see some kind of giant, flying red bug flying over the temple. It was difficult to make out, but with Danny's keen eyes, he saw what looked like a person riding on the giant bug.
"Hey… there's someone on that bug… I think that bug is a Digimon." Danny noted.
"Dude… I'm jealous of you right now, Danny." Tucker pouted. "You have the best of both worlds… literally."
Patamon turned to Tucker. "What kind of comment is that?"
"Nothing!" Tucker quickly said.
"That might be a player," Sam spoke up.
"If that's a player, they might be after Shamanmon," Takuya quickly said. "We better get back there to make sure they don't hurt Shamanmon!"
Nobody argued as they quickly ran towards the temple.
"Come again soon!" Togemon waved to them.
"Can you tell what kind of Digimon that is?" Danny asked Takuya.
Takuya nodded. "Yeah… For some reason, I've been hearing this voice in my head that tells me what a Digimon is. This one is called Kuwagamon. It's a Virus type, Champion level bug Digimon that will clamp down on any opponent and squeeze the life out of them. It also has very strong armor and sharp combat instincts." Takuya explained.
"That doesn't sound like a friendly Digimon." Tucker frowned.
As the group were running, they ran past a Hawkmon and a Yokomon, who were looking around town.
"Maybe we should check out this shop, they might help you decide what you want to do later in life, Yokomon," Hawkmon said.
Yokomon, however, was watching these kids running along. They appeared to be in a hurry, and Yokomon thought she recognized the girl in the black. Yokomon quickly hopped after them.
"Yokomon?" Hawkmon turned around to see his little sister was missing. "Oh, no, not again…"
Takuya hoped they could make it in time to Shamanmon's temple. He wasn't about to let anything happen to the other Digimon, not while he was a Legendary Warrior.
By the time they got in close, there was an explosion in the temple.
"I think it's safe to say the player is here to cause trouble," Danny groaned.
"Come on! We better help Shamanmon!" Andy quickly said.
"Right behind you!" Lopmon hurried after Andy.
The group stopped when they saw Shamanmon being grabbed by the Kuwagamon's hand, being squeezed.
"I will say this one more time… tell me where the other two Celestial Digimon are, so I can defeat them and become the ruler of this world!" A bulky looking man wearing a dark suit demanded.
"I think you forgot to say 'please'," Andy remarked, catching the man's attention.
"And just who are you kids?" The man in the suit asked, curious to see children daring to face him down. "This is a matter for adults, not children."
"I think you hurting an innocent life is a concern for everyone," Danny stated.
"Innocent life?" The man started laughing. "You children and your imagination. This is only a game, one that I aim to win. There are no lives being put in danger here, only bits of data made to look like living creatures."
Takuya felt something inside him pulse with anger at hearing that. He gripped his D-Tector in his hand. "You have no idea what you're doing. If you mess with that Digimon, you will mess with us!"
"Yeah, we'll make you pay for hurting Shamanmon just so you could win!" Lopmon snapped.
"I'll fight this meanie too!" Kapurimon said as he hopped down from Tucker's hands.
"But you're still a baby, Kapurimon!" Tucker said worriedly.
"Doesn't matter, I'm still a Digimon," Kapurimon stated. "I can still fight!"
Danny stepped forward as well. "You're up against all of us." He said seriously as Sam came up beside him as well.
"And we'll be sure to beat you," Sam added. Even if I don't have my own Digimon partner. There should be something I can do.
Patamon flew down beside Danny as well. "I have a duty to fulfill, so I won't let you fight this player alone either. My mission depends on me coming out of this alive so I can complete it."
"Heh, really? It looks like not all of you even have a Digimon partner. And the ones you do have… tell me, can they digivolve beyond their current forms yet?" The man snickered.
Everyone hesitated to answer.
The man laughed. "Hah! Do you really think your little babies will be a match for my Kuwagamon?"
"We can take him, we've fought with Champion levels before and won!" Lopmon snapped.
"I'd like to see you try! Kuwagamon, go play with them." The man grinned.
Kuwagamon dropped Shamanmon to the floor before it began to beat its wings and fly up into the air.
"Look out for its pincers!" Takuya warned.
"Scissor Hands!" Kuwagamon dived down at them with its pincers wide open.
"Move!" Andy shouted as everyone scattered away.
The group split up to avoid getting hit.
Takuya ducked behind a pillar in the temple and looked down at his D-Tector. He knew he had to evolve to help the group survive this guy's Kuwagamon partner. I hope I can hold my own better against this guy than I did Monochromon… He thought nervously.
The blue digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen of his D-Tector as he formed the familiar fractal coding on his left hand. Takuya then swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. Red armor formed and latched onto his body as his hair changed to blonde and became long and wild. His height increased, as did his strength and agility. His eyes snapped open, now a brilliant blue instead of brown, and his canine teeth were sharper than a human's as well. He landed, crying out his name. "Agunimon!"
Now evolved, Agunimon knew he had to take the fight to this Kuwagamon. He lunged out from behind the pillar at Kuwagamon from behind with a shout coming out from his throat as he did so.
"What do we have here? A newcomer?" The man frowned in annoyance.
Kuwagamon flew up higher, avoiding Agunimon's charge.
"Don't shout when you're trying to do a surprise attack!" Andy scolded.
Agunimon had the decency to look chided, an embarrassed look on his face before he returned his attention to the battle. "You messed with the wrong Digimon." Agunimon said seriously. "I won't let you hurt Shamanmon, not while I'm here."
"Oh yeah? And who are you supposed to be? His paid bodyguard?" The man mocked.
"Agunimon, Legendary Warrior of Flame." Agunimon countered.
"So you're one of the Legendary Warriors I've heard so much about! Then you'll be more of a challenge than these babies! Let's see how-" The man began to say when Kuwagamon's wings suddenly got frozen and fell to the ground. "What!?"
Lopmon was clinging onto Kuwagamon's back, having used Blazing Ice to freeze one of the wings. Lopmon grinned as he jumped off of Kuwagamon. "Now that's how you do a surprise attack."
Agunimon grinned at seeing that. "Nice work!" He exclaimed before he ran at Kuwagamon, fire coating one of his fists. "Pyro Punch!"
"Fight back!" The man demanded.
"Shadow Slash!" Kuwagamon's claws were covered in shadows as he moved his arm forward at Agunimon's Pyro Punch.
The Pyro Punch hit the Shadow Slash, though the Pyro Punch was stronger, and began to burn Kuwagamon's hand.
Kapurimon jumped at Kuwagamon's feet and spat out some pink bubbles at it. Patamon flew up at Kuwagamon's face, then inflated himself with air. "Boom Bubble!"
Patamon spat out a large air bubble that slammed into Kuwagamon's head, causing the giant bug to crouch down.
Agunimon couldn't help but grin mentally at what he was seeing. So far, it seemed the group had the upper hand against Kuwagamon, but they couldn't get too cocky. Anything could happen and turn the battle against them.
"What are you doing!? You can beat these tiny monsters up! Stop fooling around!" The man snapped at Kuwagamon.
Kuwagamon let out a hissing noise as he swiped Patamon and Kapurimon away with his hands. It stood back up, looking down at Lopmon and Agunimon.
Agunimon growled, showing his sharp canine teeth as he did so. "Get ready, Lopmon… This guy doesn't seem to be willing to give up." I just hope I can stand up to this Kuwagamon. My last fight with a Champion level Digimon didn't go so well…
"Maybe not, but I feel sorry for him," Lopmon said.
"What do you mean?" Agunimon asked. "Is it because of how the man treats him?"
"In a sense. Digimon reflect their partner's true selves," Lopmon noted. "Other than shouting attack moves, Kuwagamon hasn't said anything this whole time. He just does what his partner tells him to. It makes me wonder if this man is a prisoner to his own boss or something."
"I don't know, but we can't worry about that right now." Agunimon said seriously. "We need to take this guy and his Kuwagamon down before he hurts Shamanmon again." Although… Lopmon may have a point… It is kinda sad how this can happen…
Patamon and Kapurimon managed to get back up.
"You're not taking us down that easily," Patamon said.
The battle went on. Sam and Danny frowned, because neither of them could really contribute to the battle. Sam didn't have her own Digimon partner, and Danny… well… he could go ghost and help them fight back, but at the same time, that was a risky thing to do. It didn't look like they really needed his help right now anyways.
"Ah!"
Sam blinked as she turned around, hearing someone squeaking. She saw a familiar pink plant creature looking at them from behind a pillar.
"Wait… Yokomon?" Sam asked in surprise. She hadn't expected to see Yokomon… or a Yokomon to be more precise since she didn't know if this was the one she had been partnered with.
However, the battle was causing parts of the temple to fall apart, and some rubble was falling on Yokomon. Seeing this, Sam rushed to the Yokomon.
"Sam?" Danny called in surprise, seeing the girl rushing towards a pillar.
Danny ran after Sam, hoping to stop her before she got hurt or worse. "Wait! Sam!"
Sam reached the Yokomon's side and grabbed the small pink plant Digimon before more rubble fell around them. She got away just in time as a large chunk of debris hit the floor where Sam had grabbed the Yokomon from mere seconds ago. Sam landed on her butt, holding the Yokomon in her arms. "Ow… Jeez… Andy's training came in handy that time… Otherwise I'd be matching the debris here…"
"Sam! Are you okay?" Danny asked in concern before noticing the pink thing in Sam's arms. "Huh?"
Yokomon looked at Sam. "You… you're… that Sam girl who doesn't like pink, right?"
Sam looked down at Yokomon. "Um… yeah…? Wait… You're that Yokomon I was partnered with?"
"Partners? You found your partner?" Danny asked in shock.
"Well, she's the Digimon the website paired me with," Sam confessed.
"I didn't even know you were on that website," Danny remarked.
"I wanted to give it a try, see what kind of Digimon I could get paired with." Sam admitted. "I didn't expect to get a pink Yokomon though. But after a while… Yokomon kinda grew on me…"
"Just what is going on here?" Yokomon frowned. "Why is there a fight here?"
"A player was trying to get Shamanmon to tell him the future, but was hurting Shamanmon in the process," Sam explained. "We're trying to get them to stop, but he decided to fight back."
"Lopmon! Head under Kuwagamon and try to freeze his foot!" Andy called out.
"Is that Andy?" Yokomon asked before looking at Danny. "Wait… aren't you Andy?"
"Ah… nope. I'm Andy's twin brother, Danny." Danny introduced at last. "Nice to meet you, Yokomon."
"Ohh, so you're the great, cute Danny I've been hearing so much about," Yokomon noted.
"Wait… cute?!" Danny exclaimed. "Who called me cute?"
Sam was blushing hard. "Y-Yokomon! Please, you don't have to say everything to him."
"Danny! Sam! Is this really the time to be making out? We're in the middle of a battle!" Tucker called out to them.
Danny and Sam both blushed hard, well Sam blushed harder.
"R-right! Battle!" Danny exclaimed, trying to get himself focused back on the fight. But does Sam really think I'm cute? Oh man…. Maybe Andy's got a point…
"You should get out of here, it's not safe," Sam warned Yokomon.
"I can't leave now." Yokomon frowned.
Sam frowned at hearing that. "Are you sure you don't want to get out of here? It's going to get dangerous."
Yokomon nodded at Sam. "I'm very sure."
"Come on! These are nothing to you! You're bigger and stronger than these little pests!" The man shouted at Kuwagamon.
Agunimon was their main heavy hitter, while Lopmon and Patamon were slowing Kuwagamon down, and keeping him from flying in the air. Kapurimon was able to do some extra damage with his own attacks, using his metallic head to his advantage by headbutting the giant bug. Unlike with Monochromon, Kuwagamon lacked defensive armor, so he was easy to damage. Thanks to Lopmon's training at the gym, he was able to dodge a lot of Kuwagamon's attacks.
Agunimon dodged another attack, this time aimed at stabbing through his right side, before jumping up and throwing his Pyro Darts at Kuwagamon's face. "Pyro Darts!"
Danny watched the fight going on, seeing Agunimon's attack hitting Kuwagamon directly. Danny wanted to run in and help, but he didn't want to risk exposing his ghost powers to the Digimon, as well as the player in front of them. He clenched his fists, feeling helpless for once. He felt this thing in his chest aching, like it was telling him to act despite the risks.
Kuwagamon let out a screech of pain before swinging its arms and pincers at Agunimon, hitting him directly in the chest. Thankfully, Agunimon's armor protected him, but he hit the wall hard enough to cause an imprint of his body to form in the wall. "Ow…"
Kuwagamon tried to hit Agunimon again, but Patamon flew up in front of Kuwagamon and fired another Boom Bubble. Kuwagamon staggered back a bit while Lopmon rolled under Kuwagamon's foot, causing him to lose his footing altogether, and fell on his back.
"You're letting them make a fool out of you!" The man shouted.
"I think you should pull back. Anymore, and your Kuwagamon could lose his fractal code and turn back into an egg," Andy warned.
"No way, not until I learn where the other two Celestial Digimon are!" The man snapped back at Andy.
Agunimon managed to get back to his feet, grunting as he did so. "You won't learn anything from Shamanmon. We won't let you." He hissed as he looked up, his blue eyes holding a hard look in them. "You'd best do as the boy says. We have the upper hand here, not you."
The man gritted his teeth before he began pounding the ground. "No! No! No! I will not be a failure in a stupid online game! I will find the Celestial Digimon and become the ruler of this world! You hear me!? Kuwagamon! Get back up and destroy these pests, now!"
Kuwagamon groaned as he weakly stood back up. However, something was coming out of Kuwagamon's body, it looked like some kind of black mist was leaking out.
"What's going on? What's that black mist around Kuwagamon's body?" Andy asked, getting a really bad feeling.
"I… I don't know… but I don't like it." Agunimon said as he actually took a few steps back from Kuwagamon. "It's… it feels… wrong… and unnatural…"
"This is bad…" Patamon gasped. "You must stop! You're pushing your partner down a dark road!"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The man shouted. "I will be the ruler! No small Digimon is going to get the best of me ever again!"
"I don't like that black mist…" Yokomon shivered.
Kapurimon was shivering as well. "W-what's happening? It… it feels so… evil…"
Lopmon frowned. "I don't like this…"
Agunimon was worried now. For some reason, he was feeling very uneasy, and his instincts were screaming at him to attack, to stop this from getting any worse. "I… need to stop this…" He murmured, but his body refused to move, like something was keeping him in place. "But… it's… I… I can't…"
"What's wrong?" Danny asked, seeing Agunimon was frozen in place. "Agunimon!"
"It's not just him," Andy noted. "Our Digimon are shivering too. Whatever's happening, it's scaring them."
"What should we do?" Tucker frowned.
"Wait… what's that fog?" Yokomon asked, pointing out with one of her tentacles.
"What fog?" Sam frowned before she looked up.
A familiar looking green mist was coming into the temple. It seemed to be drawn to the black mist that was coming out of Kuwagamon.
"Oh no… not that green mist again…" Danny hissed. "That mist that appeared before nearly got us last time! But why is it here?!"
The mist crept closer to Kuwagamon, slowly mixing in with the black mist that was surrounding the insect Digimon.
Danny suddenly felt his ghost sense escape his mouth. "Uh… Uh oh… Guys… my… um… sixth sense just went off…"
At the same time, Agunimon was snapped out of his scared state when he felt the tell-tale feeling of heat and chills run down his spine. "Ah… Of… of all the… Why did I get that feeling just now?"
Andy frowned as he looked at the fog himself, seeing how it was mixing in with Kuwagamon. Kuwagamon let out a scream of agony as the fog surrounded the Digimon. The man was screaming in agony too.
"Everyone! Back away now!" Andy shouted. "Lopmon! Hurry, get away from there!"
"You too, Patamon! Get away!" Danny shouted as well.
Tucker didn't hesitate to pick up Kapurimon as Lopmon and Patamon hurried back to the group. Agunimon backed away as well.
"What's happening!?" Sam yelled in worry.
"Something… unnatural…" Patamon frowned. "That green fog… there's no doubt about it now, it definitely came from the ghostly world."
Agunimon looked at Patamon in alarm. "What?!" He exclaimed before looking back at the green fog. "That fog is… ectoplasm?!"
Danny felt a sickening feeling fill his gut at hearing that. "Ectoplasm… in the Digital World? Why do I get the feeling that's bad news?"
Tucker looked worried as well. "Um… Judging by how the Digimon are reacting to that fog… I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it may mess with their data… If that's even possible…"
"W-what… is happening?!" The man screamed out in pain. "Why does it feel like everything hurts?!"
"Shouldn't we do something to stop this?" Agunimon asked. "That man is hurting too!"
"It's too late, they've both been engulfed by the fog." Patamon frowned. "In a desire to succeed, that human lost himself to his obsession to get stronger. He was already corrupting his partner, which led the fog to them. If we go in there, we'll get caught up in that fog too."
Andy looked at Danny. It may not be too late… but…
"Tucker, Sam, you guys better get these little ones out of here," Andy instructed. "I don't know what's going to happen next, but we can't let them get caught up in this. You'll have to warn the other Digimon in town about what's happening so they can evacuate."
"What? What about you guys?" Sam frowned. "We can't just leave you here!"
"We need to stay here to try to stop whatever's going on," Andy quickly said. "You know we're capable, but we still need someone to make sure the innocent Digimon aren't caught up in all of this. And your partners are still babies, they'll get hurt, or worse."
Tucker and Sam both looked down at Kapurimon and Yokomon.
Sam sighed. "You're right. They're still young."
"I hate to leave you guys to handle this thing, but… we'll do our best to warn the Digimon in town." Tucker said at last. "But you guys had better come back alive after this. I don't want my friends dying on me, at least… not entirely." He added that last part as a joke to Danny, who just wound up smiling at Tucker sheepishly.
"We need to work on your 'deadly' jokes after this, Tuck." Danny said with a grin of his own.
The area began to shake.
"You better hurry," Andy said. "We'll find you guys when we can."
Tucker and Sam nodded.
They hurried out the door as they carried their Digimon partners in their arms.
Andy looked up at Patamon. "Patamon, maybe you should go too. You don't have a partner, this isn't safe for you."
"I'm not leaving now. This is also my responsibility," Patamon replied. "How could I face everyone if they knew I ran away when the Digital World needed me the most?"
Danny felt a kinship with Patamon when he heard those words. That was exactly how he felt whenever Amity Park was in danger.
"I hate to admit it, Andy, but I know exactly how Patamon feels." Danny admitted. "We… we can't just send him away, not if he feels that strongly about this."
"Danny… if Patamon stays here… then you…" Andy frowned.
"I know… I know… but I'm prepared for it if it comes down to that," Danny replied.
Andy sighed. "Alright… I hope you know what you're doing."
"Something's happening to that man and Kuwagamon!" Lopmon shouted.
The fog was pulling the two together. Kuwagamon's body suddenly glowed as its body began to glitch out.
"AAAAAAARGH!" Kuwagamon and the man both screamed in sync with each other.
Fractal code surrounded the two, while also glitching out. After a bright flash of light, Kuwagamon and the man were gone. In their place was a large draconic looking Digimon with green skin. The wings were a dark gray-blue color and looked somewhat torn and tattered. The head had a metal gray helm on it with bright yellow eyes. The hair was the same color as the wings, and on its lower arms were metallic claws that also doubled as rocket launchers. It had no legs, instead having a serpentine tail for its lower body.
The new Digimon let out an animalistic roar.
"W-what happened?" Agunimon asked in fear.
"Lopmon… did Kuwagamon just digivolved?" Andy asked. "And what happened to that man?"
"This is…" Lopmon frowned, his body shivering from the wrongness of all of this. "I don't know, Andy. I think it was digivolution, but… I don't think it was a natural digivolution."
"The ghostly mist messed up Kuwagamon and that human's avatar's data. From the looks of it, it may have fused their data together, triggering this digivolution," Patamon informed.
"So what happens to the human's body if this happens?" Danny frowned.
"I can't say. This isn't a case that should've happened in the first place," Patamon replied. "But if I had to theorize it, the human's body is likely in a coma right now."
Agunimon felt a jolt of fright rush through him, and it showed clearly on his face as he looked back at the odd green Digimon again. "Then… we have to do something…" He said at last, but his body was still shaking. Whether it was from fear or just not being able to do anything, he didn't know, but he knew that he had to act to stop this from getting worse. "We… We can't just stay back and let this go…" Somehow, Agunimon found the strength to take a few steps forward. "We just can't…"
The Digimon began to swing around its serpentine body, and was grabbing its head, roaring out. It was going out of control, or it was fighting for control.
Andy frowned. "Lopmon, try to calm down. Agunimon, keep your head. Can you tell us anything about this Digimon?"
"Yeah… it's… called Megadramon." Agunimon explained. "It's a virus-type, Ultimate level Digimon that is very violent and will destroy anything in its path. But… most Megadramon are… different in color… Not this green color."
"The green color must be from the ectoplasm it absorbed." Patamon frowned. "It has Digimon and ghostly traits. And both are fighting for control if the Megadramon's reaction is any indication."
"What happens if one dominates the other?" Danny asked. "Is it possible for it to… you know… be half and half?"
"I'm not sure. There's never been a case like this. Ectoplasm and data are two very different things. Data and living cells could possibly combine with each other, they are more similar to each other. Ectoplasm on the other hand is very different from both. Ectoplasm is far more aggressive, stronger in a sense, deadly to any non-ghostly entity. For humans, it's extremely toxic. For Digimon, it could cause all sorts of corruption and glitches in their core data. There's a very good chance Megadramon will dissolve whether the ectoplasm or the data part of him wins," Patamon warned.
"Is there any way to save them?!" Agunimon growled out, clenching his fists. I am a Legendary Warrior and yet I can't help even one person here?! Am I even cut out for it?
"There might be a way… I refuse to accept it's truly too late to save the human at least," Lopmon said. "The two data ended up combining due to the fog, right? Then isn't it possible to un-fuse them?"
"If you could get into the Digi-Core and untangle their data, sure," Patamon said. "But that's impossible. We would need a ghost-like Digimon or a ghost to do that."
Danny perked up upon hearing that. "I think we can." He said, feeling like he could truly do something for once. "There is a way." He looked at Andy. "We just need some ghostly back-up."
Andy looked at Danny. "I don't know, it might just make things worse. What Patamon said is more speculative than facts."
"Well, we won't get anywhere by just speculating. We have to try something." Danny replied. "Even if it doesn't work, we will not know for sure unless we try."
Agunimon looked at Danny. "If you're sure about trying this idea of yours, I'm not objecting. But…" The way Agunimon trailed off said lots more about how he felt about the idea than he was willing to admit.
"Hey, whatever we're going to do, we better do it soon! This whole temple's going to break down if this keeps up!" Lopmon called out.
"Hey… where's Shamanmon?" Andy frowned.
Megadramon turned its attention on the group, its eyes turning neon green. It opened its mouth and a loud, obnoxious voice began speaking. "Look at this! This power! This body! I look so cool and scary! I could totally use this to take over the world!"
Agunimon frowned as he recognized that voice. "Is that the technology ghost we fought before…?"
Danny groaned. "Oh great… Technus…"
"What's he doing here?" Andy frowned.
"You know this guy?" Lopmon blinked.
"Yeah, he's a ghost who caused some trouble in our world before. He specialized in using technology," Andy explained.
"If that's the case, it looks like the ectoplasm won." Patamon frowned.
"Now, I shall use these awesome powers and-" Megadramon began to say before his body began to glitch out. "Wowo… err… what is wrong with me now!?"
"Your body isn't stable!" Andy called out. "As long as you're in that body, you're going to keep glitching out until you dissolve!"
Agunimon finally had had enough of standing on the side lines. "That's it! I'm done standing around here!" He exclaimed before running in to face down Megadramon.
"Agunimon! Don't be reckless!" Andy shouted.
Megadramon looked down at Agunimon. "Well, look what we have here, the annoying hothead who gave me so much trouble last time."
Agunimon came to a stop, realizing that the ghost had not forgotten about him. "Uh oh…"
"Here, how about this for an attack? Dark Side Attack!" Megadramon fired organic missiles from his mechanical arms.
Agunimon yelped as the missiles blew up around him, sending him back several feet.
Not only that, Megadramon sent out a wave of electricity at Agunimon, shocking him to his Digi-Core. Agunimon let out a scream of pain before he hit the ground, and he reverted back to Takuya.
"Hmm, interesting. Not only do I have slick, new moves, I still have my ghostly moves as well~" Megadramon noted as he looked at his mechanical claws.
"Ugh… Ow… That… really smarts…" Takuya groaned as he managed to sit up. He then looked himself over, seeing he was human again. "Huh? I… I reverted back?"
"Takuya! Get out of there!" Danny shouted.
"Lopmon!" Andy called.
Lopmon ran over. "Blazing Ice!"
Lopmon froze the ground as he used it to slide over to Takuya quickly, and grabbed onto his arm. "Come on, Takuya!"
Megadramon fired more electricity in their direction. Takuya yelped as he hurried with Lopmon on the ice, barely slipping away from the attack.
"Whoa! Geez! That was too close!" Takuya exclaimed once he and Lopmon were out of danger. "I probably would've ended up getting my hair sticking up on end if I got grazed by that!"
Megadramon began flying up to the ceiling, using intangibility to fly through it. "I'm not staying here! I'm not going to squander my powers. I'm going to prepare for my world takeover now!"
Megadramon laughed as he flew away.
"He got away!" Danny frowned.
"Come on! Let's get out and see where he went! He can't be let loose in the Digital World!" Patamon frantically said.
Suddenly there was another tremor that nearly knocked the group down.
"Oh… what now?" Andy groaned.
Looking back, Danny suddenly felt his ghost sense come out of his mouth again, but it was oddly red this time, just as Takuya sensed a strong force coming their way.
"Uh…" Danny began.
"Oh…" Takuya finished.
Takuya then screamed a warning. "GET DOWN!"
Rubble came crumbling down on them. A large shadow towered over the group. It gave a loud roar as fire began to burn around it.
"What… is… that!?" Danny pointed out.
Andy looked up from the rubble, and gasped at what he was looking at. Flashes of the dream he had before vividly came through his mind.
The beast before them was draconic with bright orange wings coming from its back. Red armor outlined in gold could be seen. The head was white, and had horns coming from its sides and front above its nose. The tail was red with gold rings circling the tail, creating sections or segments in appearance, but being one limb only. The claws were white, matching white sections on the chest armor and upper leg armor. There were golden cannons on the lower arms and the feet were covered in white armor.
"That's… BurningGreymon!" Patamon spoke up, looking shocked. "He's the Beast form for the Legendary Warrior of Flame! So that's where his spirit has been…"
"Wait… then… is that Spirit supposed to be mine?" Takuya asked in surprise. "Because I have Agunimon's Spirit…"
"Wait, if BurningGreymon is here, then who's using his Spirit?" Lopmon asked.
BurningGreymon let out a roar of power and animalistic instinct, not caring who was in the way or what stood before him.
Everyone had to cover their ears from how loud the roar was.
"IT BURNS! IT HURTS!" BurningGreymon shouted in agony as he flew through the now destroyed temple's ceiling.
"He… sounds like he's in pain…" Takuya frowned.
"How can you tell? I just heard a loud noise…" Lopmon groaned, holding his big ears beside him.
"I… I could just tell…" Takuya replied. "It… someone needs to help."
"Where's Shamanmon? He didn't get crushed by the rubble, did he?" Danny asked, frowning in concern.
"I don't sense him nearby," Patamon said before he gasped. "Unless he's… he must've found BurningGreymon's Spirit while we were fighting Kuwagamon, and it fused with him."
"Then… that was Shamanmon!" Takuya realized. "We can't just let him run around in pain like that! We need to help him!"
"We also have to go after Megadramon, he'll cause a lot of mess in the Digital World if he runs loose like he is!" Patamon argued.
"But we can't leave Shamanmon either! He'll burn everything around him!" Danny pointed out.
Andy looked conflicted. That Digimon… BurningGreymon, it looked exactly like the figure from his nightmare. The burning city, him and Lopmon running away, Takuya losing control… it was all too similar with what was going on before him. He looked up at the group arguing on what to do.
"That's enough!" Andy called out. "We don't know where Megadramon went, and Shamanmon is in the immediate vicinity. We need to handle one crisis at a time. Let's deal with Shamanmon first, then look for Megadramon."
"Finally!" Takuya threw up his hands. "Let's get out there already!"
Danny nodded in agreement. "Agreed. But we need to be careful, since we have no idea how strong BurningGreymon is."
"Besides, if BurningGreymon is Takuya's Beast form, it would be better for him to have it before we go after Megadramon," Lopmon added.
"Fine… let's deal with BurningGreymon," Patamon sighed.
I just hope Tucker and Sam managed to evacuate everyone else. If my dream was accurate, things are about to become much uglier. Andy frowned as they started running outside.
Titanic X: ZAFT: Glad you liked Sam's reaction and Tucker's partner! That was fun to write about! XD
pokemon fan 1991: ZAFT: Yes, yes, you did. XD As for Danny's partner, you will see, but you have some good guesses. :3
DarkFoxKit: I mean we kinda made it obvious that Yokomon was gonna be Sam's Digimon. I get you wanting Digimon to be a certain way, but we already have plans for each of these Digimon.
Son Sandy: DarkFoxKit: Danny wearing what he's wearing was inspired from his outfit in Teacher of the Year when he was in the game.
ZAFT: But here, it's his inverted hazmat suit colors, as a T-shirt, jeans, and shoes! XD
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, we're also a big fan of FiveRiver's fanfic called Mortified. If you haven't read that story yet, I suggest checking it out. I like to think of what would happen if Andy had been a part of that storyline. And proving that humanity can be strong is also pretty fun since a lot of ghosts always think humans are weak and useless without their technology.
ZAFT: A powerless Andy is a fun Andy~
RisingMoonlight: ZAFT: Yeah, good thing indeed. XD That misunderstanding thing was a riot to write about, I will admit. XD