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.

31. The Burning Beast

ZAFT: I hope everyone had a Happy Easter~! :3

DarkFoxKit: I have some Reese's Chocolate Eggs. I know Andy likes these things.

Andy: You have Reese's!?

DarkFoxKit: Down, boy, you'll get your fix once we're done here.

Andy: Hey! Don't talk like I'm some kind of drug addict!

Takuya: I'm staying waaaaayyyy over here so I don't get in Andy's way… ^^' *On other side of room*

ZAFT: Okay… let's get onto the chapter before Andy attacks Kit over the Reese's Eggs… ^^'

Andy: I AM NOT AN ADDICT!

---

(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

(An armored 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 31: The Burning Beast

"Is that everyone?" Sam asked Tucker after they helped the citizens evacuate from the city.

"I think so," Tucker replied.

"Yokomon! There you are!"

Hawkmon pushed through some Digimon to get to Sam and Yokomon. "What are you doing?"

"Oh… hey, Hawkmon," Yokomon sheepishly greeted.

"Do you know how worried I was about you when the evacuation was initiated?" Hawkmon scolded. "Didn't Mom tell you to stick close to me while we were out shopping?"

"Sorry…" Yokomon said sheepishly. "But I met my human!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

"Your human?" Hawkmon frowned as he looked at Sam. "I thought it was an imaginary human! Don't you know that most humans are players, and they're looking to enslave our kind?"

"Excuse me, but I'm not trying to enslave Yokomon here. She's free to go back home with you if she wanted," Sam huffed.

Hawkmon was a bit caught off guard by Sam's attitude and comment. "Um… well… I… can't help but be worried, being her older brother and all…" He admitted, not quite sure what to make of Sam.

Sam sighed. She may not have any siblings herself, but she could understand being worried for someone she cared about. Right now, she was definitely worried about Danny, Andy, and Takuya.

"The town is being set on fire!" Someone exclaimed.

Sam and Yokomon gasped as they looked back at the town, seeing flames burning the place.

"Sam…" Tucker frowned. "I'm worried… I don't know if we should stay back here while our friends are battling a dangerous enemy."

"I know… but Yokomon and Kapurimon are just babies. We can't just risk their well-being in a battle they can't fight in." Sam replied. "I don't like it, just like you don't, but we can't do much otherwise."

Yokomon and Kapurimon frowned as well.

"Surely, there must be something we could do…" Kapurimon frowned.

"That's it then? You're just giving up because you have babies to look after?" Yokomon spoke up. "What happened to the Sam who would tell me she would run through ghosts just to help the boy she likes?"

Sam blushed a bit. "Well… I know what I said, but… we have to think practically here. Tucker and I don't have any anti-ghost weapons with us at the moment, and we don't want to risk you guys getting hurt either." Sam replied. "It's… It's not fair! Danny, Andy, and Takuya are out there fighting and we were just sent back here!"

"Of course it's not fair, do they think we really can't fight?" Tucker added.

"You may not have weapons with you… but you have us," Kapurimon spoke up. "Believe in us, and we can be strong."

"We can fight, but you need to let us. You need to want us to help your friends," Yokomon stated.

"Yokomon, what are you saying?" Hawkmon frowned.

"Yeah… yeah! We can't just keep letting Danny and Takuya do all the battles for us! Look at Andy, he doesn't have super powers, but he's still going into the fray himself! And… I think it's about time we do the same," Tucker stated. "What do you say, Sam? Are you with me?"

Sam grinned at Tucker. "What do you think? That I would just roll over and obey? I'm Sam Manson, the girl who doesn't listen to society's conformist ways!"

With those words said, both Kapurimon and Yokomon's body began to glow brightly.

"Uugh!"

"Gargh!"

"Kapurimon? What's happening?" Tucker asked in shock.

"Yokomon? Are you okay?" Sam gasped.

"It's okay… your hearts have spoken, loud and clear," Kapurimon stated.

"We will answer those calls," Yokomon added.

"Y-Yokomon…" Hawkmon watched in awe as fractal codes surrounded the two In-Training Digimon.

"Yokomon, digivolve to…" The fractal code around Yokomon vanished, showing a pink bird with dark pink claws, blue edges to the feathers on its head, blue eyes, and a dark pink beak. It had yellow feet and pink claws, with pink tail feathers with blue edges on them. "Biyomon!"

"Kapurimon, digivolve to…" The fractal code around Kapurimon vanished, revealing a dark metal gray insectoid Digimon. It had red accents on its upper arms and upper legs, with metallic looking wings and two pincher claws on its hands. What looked like plugs with prongs on them extended out from its sides, and it had two horns on its head that curved upwards. The eyes were red to finish off its appearance. "Kokuwamon!"

"No… way…" Tucker breathed in awe before a grin crossed his face. "This… is… AWESOME!"

Sam looked at Biyomon for a moment before she grinned a little. "I think I could get used to this, even if you are still pink."

"You've grown up so fast, little sister," Hawkmon remarked.

Biyomon looked over at Hawkmon and smiled. "Yeah. But now it looks like I have to help my human with something important."

"Tucker, let's go together," Kokuwamon said.

"Yeah!" Tucker grinned, giddy that his partner digivolved.

Biyomon and Kokuwamon flew up into the air. Sam held onto Biyomon's talons, while Tucker held onto Kokuwamon's grippers.

"Be careful, my little sister!" Hawkmon called before sighing. "Maybe I should find a human partner…"

---

Andy, Lopmon, Danny, Patamon, and Takuya rushed out of the temple, seeing the giant BurningGreymon screaming out in pain as he shot out flames from his body, setting the town on fire.

"How do we stop him? He's too big and too strong for us!" Lopmon yelled over the roaring.

"We have to try! If we work together, maybe we can!" Takuya yelled back over the roaring. He had his D-Tector out to evolve to Agunimon again. "We can't just let him run around like this!"

Takuya managed to spirit evolve into Agunimon again, though he felt his Digi-Core was still weak from Megadramon's electric attack.

"Agunimon? Are you okay? You don't look so good." Danny frowned as Agunimon fell to one knee after spirit-evolving.

"I'll… I'll be fine…" Agunimon said, forcing himself to stand up. "Just… a little winded from that electrical attack… But that's not the issue right now. BurningGreymon is more of a priority."

"Then we better get his attention before he burns down more buildings," Andy said.

Lopmon frowned. "I'll try… Blazing Ice!"

Lopmon fired out an icy wind at BurningGreymon's back, hoping to get his attention.

The Blazing Ice attack hit BurningGreymon's back, causing the flames to be snuffed out. The cold moisture of the melted ice made BurningGreymon roar in pain before whirling around to face the group.

"Welp… we got his attention…" Danny said with a sweatdrop running down the side of his head. "Now what?"

"We will try to fight!" Agunimon stated.

"And try not to get killed… solid plan…" Andy groaned.

BurningGreymon's eyes were red as he looked at them, then let out a roar as he shot out flames at them.

Lopmon and Patamon got in front of their respective humans to block the flames.

"Ugh!"

"Gah!"

"Lopmon!" Andy shouted.

"Patamon!" Danny shouted at the same time.

"His flames… are too strong…" Lopmon groaned, already weakened from the flames.

"BurningGreymon… has a lot… of raw power… we'll be eggs if we get hit by another attack…" Patamon warned, also weakened.

"Then let me handle it!" Agunimon exclaimed as he got ready to fight. "I'm a fiery Digimon, so I should be resistant to his attacks."

"But you're still hurt from Megadramon's attack!" Danny exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter. BurningGreymon is the bigger priority right now, so my own well-being comes second." Agunimon insisted.

"Idiot!" Andy suddenly shouted, catching Agunimon off guard.

"Wah?"

"You can't fight BurningGreymon if your well-being comes second! Who's going to stop him if you're dead!?" Andy snapped.

Agunimon actually stood down for once at Andy's words. "A-Andy…" He murmured before he looked down, guilt actually crossing his face. He hadn't thought about how others would be affected by his decisions before.

"Look at Lopmon and Patamon, do they look like they're in any condition to keep fighting?" Andy asked. "And you, you're about to keel over. Even if you are resistant to BurningGreymon's flames, you're still going to get burned. And then what? We just lay out and die? How's that going to help anyone?"

Agunimon closed his eyes tightly, feeling even worse about what he had almost done just now. "How can we just let this go on though? If we can't fight directly, then how can we help?!" He clenched his fists.

"Stop fighting alone," Andy said calmly. "Remember, you're not the only one who can fight."

"That's right… we have friends who will back us up, and…" Danny said. "I can still…"

"Spiral Twister!"

A green spiraling flame came down, hitting the roaring BurningGreymon's back of the head.

Something came down and clung to BurningGreymon's right wing as the Digimon was distracted by whoever attacked him.

"Stun Shock!"

Electricity surged through BurningGreymon's body, temporarily paralyzing him.

Agunimon looked back, shocked at the sudden attacks. "W-who did that?"

"Nice work, Biyomon!" A familiar female voice cheered.

"Good job, Kokuwamon!" A familiar male voice added.

"Tucker! Sam! What are you two doing here?" Danny asked in shock when he saw their friends running towards them.

"We came back to help," Sam said.

"Don't think we're just going to leave everything to you guys," Tucker added. "Our partners digivolved so we could come and help."

"It's a good thing we did. Is this what became of Kuwagamon?" Sam frowned.

"No, Kuwagamon… left. This is Shamanmon," Andy answered. "Apparently, he found the Beast Spirit of Agunimon and fused with it. And now he's lost control."

"Wait… seriously?!" Tucker asked in shock. "That's kinda scary…"

"Beast Spirits are powerful…" Patamon explained as he managed to get himself flying in the air, albeit unsteadily. "Not many… can take them on and win…"

"Tucker, I don't know how much longer my Stun Shock will keep him paralyzed," Kokuwamon warned as he landed beside Tucker.

"Thanks, Kokuwamon, we'll figure something out. Buying us time is what we need right now," Tucker thanked.

Biyomon landed beside Sam. "Even though we've digivolved, this thing is far more powerful than all of us combined. I don't think facing it head on is going to work, we'll all be destroyed if we do."

"There must be a way to help unfuse Shamanmon from that Beast Spirit…" Danny frowned.

"There might…" Andy looked at Tucker. "Tucker, you know how programming works better than any of us. Do you think there might be a way you could… I don't know, hack into Shamanmon to remove the Beast Spirit from him?"

"Andy… we're talking about living beings here. Their data may be more complex than I can handle." Tucker said seriously. "I'm not saying I can't give it a shot, but I'm saying it may be too risky."

"Andy… maybe it… might help if… he had some… kind of base… to work with?" Lopmon weakly suggested.

"A base…?" Andy looked at Agunimon. "That's it! BurningGreymon is a Legendary Warrior of Flame, like Agunimon, right? Would it help if you could use Takuya's D-Tector?"

Agunimon looked down at his D-Tector at Andy's words.

"I… maybe…" Tucker began. "But this… it's risky. I'll see what I can do, but I can't guarantee it will work."

"It's better than nothing," Andy stated. "Agunimon, do you mind? We'll have to keep BurningGreymon distracted while Tucker works on a way to get the spirit out of Shamanmon."

"O-okay…" Agunimon said at last as he held out his D-Tector to Tucker. "Just be careful with it…"

Tucker nodded as he took the D-Tector. He held out his PDA, trying to link up with the D-Tector so he could hack into it.

Agunimon was still able to use his form despite giving the D-Tector to Tucker. He felt the Spirit's will to protect them rather than just fight to stop BurningGreymon. Andy's words must've struck him more than he realized.

"Lopmon, can you still fight?" Andy asked in concern.

"I can… try…" Lopmon replied, getting back on his feet. "This battle isn't over yet."

"We'll help too," Biyomon promised.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, we can't let an innocent Digimon suffer like this."

Agunimon gave them all a small smile. "Thanks… I don't think I could've done it alone."

Patamon managed to fly forward to help. "I'm not down yet either…"

Danny looked at Patamon in concern before nodding. "I'll be with you the whole way, Patamon. I know how it is when having someplace you love to protect."

"Prepare yourselves, friends, BurningGreymon will be free of my paralysis in less than 5 seconds," Kokuwamon warned.

BurningGreymon moved his head up and roared as his body was able to move again.

Everyone began moving in. Kokuwamon stayed near Tucker to protect him.

As BurningGreymon was shooting out fire wildly, everyone stayed on the move. Thanks to their training, they were able to keep moving to dodge most of the fireballs. The Digimon partners would unleash their signature attacks every once in a while, even though their damage was only doing little to this beast. It was enough to stun BurningGreymon for a second to give them some room to breathe before they had to be on the move again. Lopmon and Patamon were having the hardest time, however, since they were tired from their previous battle with Kuwagamon, and being hit by BurningGreymon's flames directly before.

Agunimon was able to move around easier than Patamon and Lopmon, but he was still affected by that electrical attack from Megadramon, so his movements were not as fast as they normally were. But he was still fast enough to keep dodging BurningGreymon's flames and launch his own attacks when he had a chance.

Tucker was working furiously on his PDA after it linked up with Agunimon's D-Tector. He saw an opening earlier when the Digimon had hit BurningGreymon, but it closed up too fast for Tucker to take advantage of it. He was trying his best to hack into the opening, trying to get into the Digi-Core so he could reach the Spirit.

"Keep hitting him!" Tucker called out.

"You heard him!" Sam called out.

Biyomon flew up and fired another Spiral Twister. Patamon flew on the opposite side of Biyomon to fire out a Boom Bubble. Lopmon shot out a Blazing Ice from the ground.

Seeing his chance, Agunimon added his own Pyro Punch to the mix, aiming directly at BurningGreymon.

"Power Surge!" Kokuwamon added his own electrical attack into the mix as well.

BurningGreymon let out a roar.

"That's it!" Tucker managed to get into the opening this time. "There it is!"

Tucker pushed a button on his PDA, which caused the D-Tector to activate. The D-Tector shot out a beam of light at BurningGreymon's chest.

BurningGreymon screamed as the spirit was being called out by Agunimon's spirit thanks to Tucker.

Tucker ran over to Agunimon. "Here! Catch! I think you need to do the rest!"

Tucker tossed the D-Tector back to Agunimon.

Agunimon grinned and caught his D-Tector. "Thanks!" He said before facing BurningGreymon. He took a breath and then pointed his D-Tector at the Beast Warrior of Flame. "Here we go…"

A ring of fractal code came out around BurningGreymon showing the Spirit hovering inside.

"Time to free Shamanmon!" Agunimon said as he held up his D-Tector, pressing the button on the side as the scanner lit up with the symbol of Flame showing on the screen. He dragged the scanner across the fractal code, collecting the Beast Spirit. "Fractal code… Digitize!"

While this was happening, the group were happy to see that Agunimon was freeing Shamanmon, and that he'll soon receive his Beast Spirit. Everyone… except Andy. Andy felt his heart pounding as he saw this happening.

This should be a good thing… So why do I feel uneasy? Andy frowned. My nightmare…

Andy thought back on how the nightmare happened. It wasn't Shamanmon who was going on a rampage… it was Takuya. If Takuya took that Beast Spirit now…

"No… WAIT! TAKUYA! DON'T TAKE THAT SPIRIT!" Andy shouted.

But it was too late. Agunimon got the Beast Spirit of Flame. Suddenly, there was a rush of energy that filled Agunimon's body and he began to scream out in pain. His body was surrounded by fractal code. "GGGGAAAAAHHHHH!"

"W-what's happening? Takuya sounds like he's in pain!" Sam yelled.

"Run!" Andy shouted. "Take your partners and run! Now!"

"Why? What's wrong!?" Danny asked, but he picked up the tired out Patamon and began running.

Andy picked up the tired out Lopmon and ran as well. Tucker, Sam, and their Digimon partners quickly ran too.

"The Beast Spirit, it's taking over Takuya!" Andy warned.

"Wait… what?!" Danny exclaimed in shock. "Are you serious?! We just barely defeated BurningGreymon once! Are you saying we would have to do it again to save Takuya?!"

"I can't hack into the spirit without Takuya's D-Tector!" Tucker warned.

"Just run for now! We'll regroup and think of a plan later!" Andy quickly said. Our Digimon can't keep fighting. And Takuya's about to go on a rampage. Our best plan right now is to retreat.

The group kept running as Takuya had changed into BurningGreymon himself. Now it was his turn to lose control. And unlike with Shamanmon, Takuya himself wasn't in any pain. BurningGreymon was much stronger, but he was not in control, he was going berserk.

Kokuwamon was carrying the unconscious Shamanmon, which was a relief to the group, they didn't want to leave Shamanmon at the mercy of an out of control beast.

"Dang it… I thought Takuya getting his Beast Spirit would be a good thing… not this mess!" Danny grumbled.

"We can worry about that after we flee from the beast trying to fry us to bacon bits!" Tucker exclaimed.

BurningGreymon turned to face the group running away. A roar escaped him as he flared his wings and began to fly after the group. All he could see was enemies trying to get away from his power, not on his watch.

"He's coming after us!" Biyomon warned as she was flying beside Sam.

"I'm too young to be turned into bacon bits!" Tucker cried.

Andy looked back, seeing the angry BurningGreymon coming after them. He remembered his nightmare very well. He hadn't been with his friends, only Lopmon. He knew what he needed to do.

"Split up!"

"What!? Are you crazy!?" Danny shouted.

"If we stay together, he's going to barbeque all of us!" Andy explained quickly. "If we split up, he won't know who to go after! We'll hide out until he leaves and then regroup!"

Danny frowned, but knew Andy had a point.

Tucker also knew what Andy wanted to do. "Okay… Everyone, split up! We'll do as Andy suggests!" Aw man… this had better not backfire on us…

The group split off into different directions, confusing BurningGreymon as he came to a hover, trying to figure out who to chase down first.

BurningGreymon looked around at his prey, scattering around. However, his attention was on the one he remembered giving him the hardest time. The one that was carrying the Lopmon in his arms.

BurningGreymon took off after his prey that had the Lopmon. He flew down low, keeping his sharp eyes on the prey in front of him. He could sense the fear from his prey, and it made the beastial side of him purr in smug happiness. Yes, this would be a fun hunt…

He's coming after me, just as I thought. Andy gulped. Well isn't that just my luck?

"Hey! If this is about that time I turned into a ghost dragon and gave you a hard time, I'm sorry!" Andy shouted back at the beast.

But that didn't stop BurningGreymon. If anything, he seemed to tense up and pick up speed instead.

"I don't know how a human could become a ghost dragon, but I think that just made things worse!" Lopmon exclaimed.

"I see he lost his sense of humor as a beast too…" Andy grumbled.

BurningGreymon fired out flames at Andy and Lopmon. Unlike with Shamanmon, these flames were more controlled. Andy yelped as he jumped to the side to avoid the flames while still carrying Lopmon.

Andy rolled on the ground, trying to get back to his feet as quickly as possible to keep running.

BurningGreymon fired out more fireballs, this time causing some rubble to fall on Andy. Andy managed to jump ahead to avoid getting crushed by the rubble, but some of it hit his foot. Andy let out a yell of pain as he fell to the ground, letting go of Lopmon, and the two rolled on the ground.

"A-Andy… you're hurt!" Lopmon said in concern.

Guess my nightmare really did come true… Andy bitterly thought. Does that mean I'm destined to die here?

BurningGreymon saw his prey was down and came in for a landing, flaring his orange wings to intimidate his prey into submission. A low growl escaped his broad chest, with the Beast Warrior of Flame showing his sharp teeth as the growl escaped his throat in a primal manner.

Andy knew it was a long shot, but he decided to try anyway. "Takuya… don't you recognize me? I'm your cousin, Andy! Please, don't do this!"

BurningGreymon's growl actually changed tone, sounding more confused than anything. He tilted his head to the side, as if trying to remember something.

A… Andy…? BurningGreymon thought to himself as he looked at Andy.

Andy looked at Lopmon. "You should… get out of here… I don't know how long it'll be until he decides to attack."

"No! I'm not leaving you, Andy! If you go down, I'm going down too," Lopmon said firmly.

Andy closed his eyes. He knew in his nightmare, BurningGreymon would hesitate for a few seconds before he attacked him with flames directly. He was preparing himself for the end.

"Puppy Howling!"

A loud howling suddenly tore through the air, shocking Andy, Lopmon, and even BurningGreymon.

"Wah?" Andy opened his eyes and looked up, surprised to see a familiar red suit riding on a familiar hoverboard. Although there was an unfamiliar creature riding on the hoverboard in front of the red suit.

"I never thought I would be saving your sorry butt, Andy." The person said in a familiar voice. "I assumed you would have more common sense than trying to face down a dragon Digimon well outside your abilities."

It was at that moment Andy remembered Shamanmon's prophecy about Valerie. I know not where she is currently, but she will come to you in your time of need.

"Valerie!?" Andy spoke up.

"Wow, you figured me out quick," Valerie noted. "Although I'm more surprised that you're here at all. When did you start coming to the Digital World? Did you manage to get one of the beta copies?"

"There will be time for questions later, Valerie," The cream, dog-like Digimon said to Valerie. "We must focus on this beast."

"Yeah, you're right, Salamon." Valerie agreed. "This beast must be under the control of a player if it's attacking Andy, or somehow is out of control."

"It's unusual. That's BurningGreymon, the beast form of the Legendary Warrior Agunimon," Salamon replied.

"Valerie! He's out of control! You shouldn't fight him head on!" Andy called out.

"I'm not that stupid, Andy. I know not to fight a more powerful Digimon head on." Valerie retorted. "But we need to beat him somehow anyway."

"BurningGreymon will be a tough opponent, but if he is indeed out of control, we should be able to defeat him with our brains instead of brawn." Salamon noted.

"Besides, unlike you, Andy, I have other ways to fight back," Valerie stated as she took out a big gun that looked similar to her ghost weapons. "These were designed to attack Digimon rather than ghosts."

BurningGreymon saw the weapon and his eyes narrowed as another low growl escaped from the back of his throat. His wings flared menacingly and his tail swished around slowly as he crouched down, looking more like a predator than a Digimon.

Lopmon gulped, not exactly thrilled at the thought of a human firing that weapon on a Digimon with the power of BurningGreymon.

While Valerie was keeping BurningGreymon busy, Andy decided to inspect his foot. It wasn't too badly damaged, but he wouldn't be running any time soon.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Andy," Lopmon apologized. "I'm a failure of a partner…"

"No, don't say that, Lopmon. You did the best you could… everything just happened so fast…" Andy sighed. "We should've been more careful with the Beast Spirit… and that fog…"

BurningGreymon roared before firing off flame-like bullets on Valerie, who dodged them while riding her hoverboard. She fired that weapon at BurningGreymon, hitting him in the side of the head. Red eyes glared at Valerie before BurningGreymon launched more fire at her.

"Now, Salamon!" Valerie called out.

"Puppy Howling!" Salamon shot out a high pitched howling at BurningGreymon, causing him to stop in his tracks to cover his ears.

Valerie fired out a golden laser with her gun at BurningGreymon. It didn't knock him over, but it did push him a few inches back.

Andy looked up at Valerie. "How long has Valerie been at this? She looks like she knows what she's doing, and she only has a small Digimon with her."

"That Digimon…" Lopmon said as he squinted his eyes. "Salamon? … I feel like I know her from somewhere."

"You do?" Andy blinked. "From a past life?"

"Possibly…" Lopmon replied as he watched Valerie and Salamon holding their own against BurningGreymon, which was surprising.

BurningGreymon growled as he let loose more fire at Valerie, but she had the advantage in that she was also able to maneuver in the air, much like he was.

Valerie had a wry grin on her face. "How does it feel to face a human who can handle you?" She taunted BurningGreymon.

The Beast Warrior of Flame did not like the taunting coming from this new prey, and he was going to show his prey why he was in charge. He fired off more flames at his prey, but the red suit just dodged his flames again, making BurningGreymon realize the silver thing was the key to his prey's dodging ability. He fired his cannons at the silver thing his prey was riding, but his prey seemed to pick up on his thoughts and flew away from his line of fire.

However, one of the flames managed to singe the hoverboard's booster, causing it to start losing some control.

"Uh-oh, that's not good." Valerie frowned.

BurningGreymon grinned, seeing that he just made this annoying prey start losing its balance.

Andy pushed himself up to his feet.

"Andy?" Lopmon asked in concern. "You shouldn't get up, your foot's hurt."

"I can't sit by and let these two destroy each other… I've done enough of that when Valerie tried to shoot Danny down…" Andy said as he began to hobble towards the battlefield.

"But you'll get yourself killed!" Lopmon quickly said as he ran up to Andy. "You know that Takuya doesn't recognize you as he is, he'll just burn you."

"I know…" Andy said. "But I can't just let this go on… I have to take responsibility too. Shamanmon said that Takuya reaching his full potential also lies with me. I don't know what that means, but… maybe something I do will cause that… something I do here maybe… Takuya doesn't need to be beaten down, he needs to gain control of himself."

BurningGreymon let out another roar as he reached out to try to grab Valerie.

Valerie dodged BurningGreymon's grab, but just barely. "Geez, that was close!" Valerie exclaimed as she flew a distance away. "No wonder the Beast Spirit is difficult to defeat. That's sheer raw power right there."

"This is bad… even with your equipment, it's still not enough to take down a Beast Legendary Warrior." Salamon frowned.

"How are you going to help him gain control?" Lopmon asked Andy.

"I don't know yet… but he had some hesitation earlier when I called out to him… Takuya's still in there, somewhere…" Andy said as he kept moving forward. "I'm sorry Lopmon… I know he's strong… but please… I need to ask you to help me bring Takuya back."

"You know I will help you." Lopmon reassured Andy. "I will be with you no matter what you choose to do."

Andy smiled. "Thanks, Lopmon. Let's bring Takuya back!"

Lopmon suddenly felt power surging through his body. Andy's D-Arc started to glow as well. "Uuugh…!"

"Lopmon? What's happening to you?" Andy asked in concern.

"I can feel it… your determination… your desire to help Takuya… to keep your brother and friends safe…" Lopmon stated. "It's giving me power!"

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

The code vanished, revealing the new Digimon to Andy.

Turuiemon smiled at Andy. "Now, let's save your cousin."

Andy smiled, a wave of confidence filling him when he saw his partner digivolved. "Yes, let's!"

BurningGreymon began to trap Valerie and Salamon as he moved both of his claws around them.

"This doesn't look good!" Valerie gulped.

Turuiemon ran up and jumped high at BurningGreymon. He clenched his fists as the gauntlet claws on his fists came out. "Gauntlet Claw!"

Turuiemon punched BurningGreymon in the chest with enough force to stagger him away from Valerie and Salamon.

"W-wha?" Valerie blinked, seeing Turuiemon in front of her and Salamon. "Wow… thanks for the save…"

"No problem, but don't keep fighting. BurningGreymon isn't who you think he is," Turuiemon warned.

Salamon looked at Turuiemon. "You're already in your Champion form? Weren't you just reborn a month or two ago? You should be in a family as an In-Training right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Turuiemon said. "But you need to go. Andy and I will take care of BurningGreymon."

"Andy?" Salamon blinked as Andy managed to make his way over to them. "You mean that boy?"

"Valerie, are you okay?" Andy asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to this big bunny." Valerie said with a chuckle. "But what about you? Are you okay?"

"My foot's hurting, but I'll live," Andy replied. "This is… Turuiemon. He's my partner Digimon. He digivolved to help you two."

"Partner Digimon?" Valerie said as she looked at Turuiemon. "Huh… Well, I guess I owe you one, Andy." She said as she looked at Andy. "Thanks for having him help us."

BurningGreymon growled as he got back on his feet.

"Looks like he's ready for another round," Turuiemon noted as he got into a battle position.

Valerie put away her hoverboard. "This won't be good to me right now, the engine's been damaged."

BurningGreymon glared, seeing his original prey looking up at him. Turuiemon stood in front of him, preparing for battle.

BurningGreymon growled lowly in the very back of his throat, preparing to move to get at his original prey. He began to circle around on all fours, almost like a giant winged lizard, which was weird to see as BurningGreymon was actually bipedal, not a quadruped Digimon.

"Here he comes!" Salamon warned.

BurningGreymon charged at Andy. Turuiemon stood his ground and held out his hands at BurningGreymon. The gauntlet claws sunk into BurningGreymon's neck as he attempted to push the large dragon back. Turuiemon groaned as he was being pushed back a bit.

"No… you… don't…" Turuiemon grunted as he struggled to push BurningGreymon back.

BurningGreymon growled again, using his sheer physical strength to push Turuiemon back and get at his original prey. But Turuiemon didn't move aside so easily, using his own momentum to jump onto BurningGreymon's back and push him down to the ground, pinning the Beast Warrior of Flame down.

"That's it! Hold him down, Turuiemon!" Andy encouraged.

"Salamon, can you help?" Valerie asked.

"I'll try," Salamon replied.

Salamon ran over to BurningGreymon as he was being pinned by Turuiemon, and jumped on top of him, hoping to help keep him pinned down.

"So, what's your big plan now, Andy?" Valerie questioned.

"Well, he might not like this, but if it'll help him regain control…" Andy sighed. "I'll have to try."

Andy moved closer to BurningGreymon, making sure BurningGreymon could see him. "Hey… do you recognize me yet, you big hot head?"

BurningGreymon's eyes were locked onto Andy. He seemed to be studying Andy curiously, trying to figure out why this prey looked so familiar to him.

Why… does this prey look so familiar? BurningGreymon wondered.

"You have to remember… We've trained together to fight against ghosts, to protect people from invading ghosts. We went through the Digital World together, and we found our Digimon partners. We're supposed to be protecting the Digital World, not burn it to the ground. Come on, cuz… I can't believe you're letting the Spirit turn you into an animal, you're better than that," Andy said.

BurningGreymon seemed to pause, his eyes slowly turning from red to a purple shade. Protect… people… protect against ghosts… Ghosts… Ghost… Wait…! BurningGreymon's eyes finally shifted to a blue color as he finally recognized the boy before him. Wait… Andy?! W-what… At that point, BurningGreymon's eyes went wide as fear flooded his body. W-what did I just do?!

As if to shed his current form right away, fractal code surrounded BurningGreymon, forcing Turuiemon and Salamon to hop off of the Beast of Flame. The code vanished, revealing Agunimon in BurningGreymon's place.

"A-Andy?!" Agunimon finally muttered, looking somewhat freaked out. "W-what happened?! I just lost control! I couldn't control myself! Did I hurt anyone?! I didn't hurt anyone, did I? I… I…" Agunimon then gripped his upper arms tightly, shaking slightly. He was obviously very freaked out now.

"It's okay… it's okay… just sit down and take a moment to breathe," Andy said calmly.

Turuiemon gave a sigh of relief as fractal code surrounded him, reverting him back to his Rookie form. Lopmon sat down, completely wiped out.

Valerie walked over to them. "It seems there's a lot of explaining we both need from each other, Andy."

Andy looked up at Valerie. "So it would seem, Valerie. But not here… my brother and friends are here too, we need to catch up to them."

"Wait, they're here too? I'm surprised any of you were able to afford the beta. They're really expensive right now," Valerie noted.

"Well… we don't exactly have the game…" Andy sighed.

"What?" Valerie blinked.

"Just help me with Agunimon first, we can talk about it later," Andy said.

Valerie looked at the shivering Legendary Warrior, and actually felt pity for him. He looked completely freaked out, and it was hard to ignore how badly he was shaking. "Okay…" She sighed.

Agunimon finally managed to gain some control of himself, but he was still shaking badly. "S-sorry… I… I just… I couldn't control it…" Agunimon finally murmured, sitting down and trying to calm himself down.

"It's okay, Agunimon. Everyone is okay," Lopmon reassured tiredly.

"Lopmon is right. Nobody got seriously injured, and you were able to gain control before it got to that point," Andy comforted.

"How did you lose control in the first place? What even happened back there?" Valerie asked.

"The Beast Spirit," Salamon spoke up. "It's not an easy thing to control. The other Legendary Warriors needed time to control their own Beast Spirits as well. I take it that Agunimon just found his Beast Spirit, right?"

"Yeah," Andy answered.

"I see… that explains it then," Salamon sighed. "The first time is always the hardest to control. Because the raw power, and the primal instincts of the beast comes unexpectedly. It's very easy to lose control."

"W-will that happen each time I use it?" Agunimon asked worriedly. He was clearly not willing to use that Spirit again.

"Not necessarily, not unless you let it happen again," Salamon answered.

Agunimon looked down, questioning if finding his Beast Spirit was truly worth it now.

"Hey, Agunimon… you should try to look on the bright side of this," Andy spoke up.

"What's so bright about destroying the town and nearly killing everyone I saw?!" Agunimon snapped, showing his sharp canines.

"The town was going to be destroyed anyways," Andy pointed out. "And nobody was killed. Everyone was evacuated by the time you lost control. And… you helped me get Lopmon to digivolve."

"Glad I could help with that, at the cost of nearly hurting you…" Agunimon grumbled.

Andy tried to hide his injured foot from Agunimon. "We always knew it was a risk when we came into the Digital World. Beating yourself up isn't going to solve anything."

"He's right," Salamon said. "You can't change what happened by hurting yourself. If you want to make up for it, you need to focus on what you plan to do, and how to control your Beast Spirit."

"No way!" Agunimon snapped. "I'm never using it again! Not if it means losing control like that!"

"So what? You're just going to lock away that Beast Spirit?" Valerie asked.

"I can't just lock it away now that I have it, but I can sure as heck not use it." Agunimon grumbled. He had seen Andy's attempt to hide his foot, which looked like it was injured. "Not if I hurt others with it…"

"What a waste…" Valerie grumbled.

"Look, we can talk about this later… we need to meet up with the others," Andy spoke up, wanting to get off the subject. "We've been looking for you, Valerie. We've been worried about you."

"You have?" Valerie asked. "Why?"

"What do you mean why? You've barely been attending school lately, and when you do, you don't talk to anyone. And just disappear as soon as you leave," Andy pointed out. "You're my friend, of course I'm going to worry about you."

Valerie frowned before she looked down. "I… didn't think about that…" She admitted. "I've been so busy with coming here, I just… didn't realize others would notice."

"Come on, let's get out of here. Then you can tell me why you started coming here in the first place," Andy said.

Andy had to limp to move due to his injured foot, which only amplified Agunimon's guilt. Fractal code surrounded Agunimon as his spirit began to power down. But Takuya didn't want Valerie to know about him, so instead of reverting back to his human form, he turned into… a smaller Digimon?

Looking at himself, Takuya suddenly panicked. "WHAAA?! What happened to me?!" S-shit! What happened?! Why did I become this… form?! What is this form?!

Andy and Lopmon were staring at Takuya as well.

"What the…?" Andy blinked.

"That's… uh… new?" Lopmon blinked.

"What? Isn't this what usually happens to Digimon?" Valerie asked.

"Well… kind of… but… not Agunimon," Andy sweatdropped.

"Why? What's so special about him?" Valerie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Legendary Warriors don't usually have smaller forms," Salamon explained, likely knowing the situation. "So it's unusual for him to have this form."

"Huh… I guess you learn something new every day." Valerie joked easily.

"This is not funny!" The smaller Digimon snapped. "I don't even know how this happened!"

"It's pretty obvious what happened," Lopmon said. "You were too tired to maintain your Agunimon form, but you… didn't want to go back to your… alternate form… so I guess you ended up with that form."

"Can this day get any worse for me?!" The mysterious Digimon whined.

Andy heard his D-Arc beeping, so he decided to check it out. A holograph version of the mysterious Digimon came up, along with some information on it, and a name.

"Oh… looks like you're Flamemon now. It doesn't say what level you are, just that you're a hybrid. And you're a variable type. … Ah, it says you're Agunimon who lost its power, which makes sense," Andy noted.

"Great… I'm in a weaker form… what a great day…" Flamemon grumbled, folding his arms in a pout. His ears drooped down somewhat too, showing he was not in a good mood.

Andy couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Sorry… in that form, you kind of look like a lion cub."

"What?! You gotta be kidding me! Now I have to deal with being called cute and cuddly too?!" Flamemon groaned. "Someone just knock me out now…"

"I don't know about cute and cuddly, but you definitely like to throw a tantrum," Valerie sighed.

"Come on, be nice now, Valerie," Salamon lightly reprimanded.

"I wonder what Danny and the others will say when they see him?~" Lopmon grinned.

Flamemon groaned. "It'd better not be something to embarrass me…"

At least this helps keep his mind off his guilt for a little while. Andy noted.

---

"There you guys are," Danny said when he caught up to Tucker and Sam. "I had some trouble finding a way out of the town during all that."

"Luckily I was there to lead him out of it," Patamon remarked. "You don't seem to do well during a crisis, do you?"

"That's not it," Danny quickly said. The truth is, I was looking for a place to hide so I could go ghost and see if I could help Takuya, but… when I tried to transform, something stopped me. Not physically, but like… something was warning me not to transform while I was here…

Tucker sighed. "At least we're safe now. The Digimon that were watching seemed to have left already. Probably to find some help to rebuild their town, or find another place to live."

"Except my brother…" Biyomon grumbled, who was being hugged by Hawkmon.

"I was worried sick about you!" Hawkmon grumbled, refusing to let go.

Sam frowned. "Where did Andy go anyway?"

"I don't know." Danny frowned. "I just know we split up."

Tucker frowned. "You don't think he got caught by BurningGreymon, do you?"

"It is possible. BurningGreymon had to choose someone to chase. Everyone had a 50% chance to be that target," Kokuwamon answered.

"Or maybe he had something against Andy?" Biyomon asked worriedly. "But they seemed pretty close when we were at school together."

Biyomon was trying to push Hawkmon off of her while she was talking. "Although, not smothering close."

"O-oh! I'm sorry!" Hawkmon exclaimed as he let go of his little sister. "I was just so worried about you!"

Danny grew a bit pale in the face. "There's no way Takuya would have something against Andy! That's just not possible!"

"So why isn't Andy here with Lopmon right now?" Sam frowned.

"Wait… do you hear that?" Patamon asked.

"Hear what? I don't hear anything," Danny replied, getting anxious for his brother.

"Exactly. It's quiet. Shouldn't we be hearing loud roaring, and fire crackling in the background?" Patamon pointed out.

Danny, Sam, Tucker, Kokuwamon, Biyomon, and Hawkmon all realized what Patamon was saying.

"Yeah… we should be hearing something like that right about now." Tucker noted. "But it's silent… Maybe… Maybe BurningGreymon was stopped somehow?"

"Or maybe he got to Andy and -" Hawkmon was stopped from saying anything further by Biyomon clamping a clawed wing over his beak.

"Don't say things like that! It will upset Danny!" Biyomon hissed to her brother. "How would you feel if someone told you that something happened to me?"

Hawkmon frowned, but since he couldn't speak currently, he nodded his head.

"Even if he got to Andy, I doubt he would just stop rampaging," Patamon spoke up before Danny could go into panic mode. "It's like he disappeared. Look at the town… or what's left of it… there's no giant rampaging, fiery beast attacking it anymore."

"Then… did BurningGreymon just leave or… Did he get defeated by someone?" Tucker asked. "I want to say it's the latter, but… Who could possibly defeat a Legendary Warrior on a rampage?"

"Ugh…" Shamanmon groaned.

"Hey, don't move too much, you're hurt," Sam said in concern.

Shamanmon had been wrapped up with bandages over his arms. He looked around for a moment before chuckling. "I see, so I managed to survive after all."

"You thought you were going to die?" Tucker asked.

"It was a real possibility," Shamanmon answered. "When the Beast Spirit found me, and consumed me, many of my paths would've been my last before I was reborn into a brand new Digimon."

"Well, I guess we spared you being reborn." Danny said, feeling both relieved and a bit… disturbed at this information. Geez… why do I feel so conflicted about that? Digimon being reborn is a part of their life cycle, so it's a good thing, right? Why do I feel bad about stopping the life cycle from continuing, but also relieved I could save a life? This is too weird for me…

"Oh, maybe you can tell us where Andy and Takuya are right now," Tucker quickly said. "Did Takuya take Andy somewhere like King Kong did with-"

"Tucker, please, this isn't a movie!" Sam grumbled.

"I'm just trying to figure out what happened to them, Sam, give me some credit," Tucker pouted.

"We must consider every possibility," Kokuwamon agreed.

"Unfortunately, I am a bit too injured to do my ritual dance. So my visions are limited right now," Shamanmon explained.

"Do you really need to do that dance to see into the future?" Danny curiously asked.

"To truly see into the future, I do." Shamanmon explained. "But for simple predictions, it is not exactly necessary. It does help though if I want to be more precise in my predictions. The dance amplifies my visions. Only Celestial Digimon can see into the future without any kind of rituals."

Patamon frowned. "That's only if the Celestials have their full power. Otherwise, the visions come at random intervals, and are unreliable."

"I see you've done your research on Celestial Digimon, eh, Patamon?" Shamanmon replied, grinning at Patamon.

Patamon didn't look at Shamanmon's eyes.

Danny smiled. "It's great to know you know your stuff, Patamon."

Patamon only huffed, but didn't say anything.

"But how are we going to find Andy and Takuya now?" Sam sighed.

"Maybe Patamon and I could try flying around to see if we find them?" Biyomon suggested.

"That's dangerous!" Hawkmon quickly protested.

"Look, the town may be in ruins, but I don't see a giant, fire-breathing dragon tearing it apart anymore," Biyomon pointed out. "For all we know, Andy and Lopmon might be stuck in some rubble."

Danny began to panic at hearing that. "Wait… what?!"

"Way to go, Biyomon… And you told me to not say anything about something happening to Andy." Hawkmon grumbled.

Biyomon realized her mistake and was quick to correct herself. "Err… It's not that we know Andy and Lopmon are trapped for sure! I'm just saying someone should scout for them."

"The chances of Andy and Lopmon being stuck in rubble are 89%," Kokuwamon said. "Chances of them being too injured to move are 94%. The chances of them being dead are-"

"Kokuwamon, I think you've done enough calculating there," Tucker quickly said to his partner.

"My apologies," Kokuwamon replied. "I'm not quite used to my new form yet."

Danny tried to calm down, telling himself those calculations were indeed Kokuwamon just getting used to his new form, But the thought of Andy being injured or worse was making this thing in his chest ache, like he needed to help Andy now!

"C-Can we please just search for Andy, Lopmon, and Takuya already?!" Danny said, trying to keep his voice level. "We can't just stand here yapping away like this!"

Tucker put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Dude, relax. Andy's smart. I'm sure he found a way to escape BurningGreymon. If not, then he probably at least found a place to hide."

"We still need to look for him!" Danny replied, pushing Tucker's hand off. "Look, the town isn't being attacked anymore, right? So let's go over there and find him!"

"Danny, calm down, you're not going to find Andy being all riled up like this," Sam calmly stated.

Patamon looked up. "Besides, I don't think we'll have to look for him. Maybe he'll come to us."

"What do you-" Danny began to ask when his ears picked up the familiar sound of a vehicle's engine.

Looking up, everyone saw a familiar red-suit-wearing individual riding on her hoverboard, with a cute little puppy looking creature in the front. And a familiar boy in the back, holding onto the red suited individual's shoulders, while having a familiar chocolate rabbit clinging onto his head. Under the hoverboard was an unfamiliar looking lion, man, child thing running on all fours at them.

"Hey! That's Andy!" Danny cheered, seeing his brother looked alright, if not a bit shaken up. "And Lopmon!"

"And he's riding with… Valerie?" Tucker blinked. "That is Valerie, isn't it?"

"It looks like it," Sam replied.

"Wow, it's a good thing your hoverboard can repair itself when it's not in use," Andy chuckled. "Otherwise getting here with my injured foot would've been really difficult."

"Yeah, I'm still not sure how that works, but I can't complain about it myself." Valerie chuckled as she directed the hoverboard to fly down to the others below them.

Valerie could see Danny, Sam, and Tucker all waving at her and Andy as she flew down to the ground.

Since Andy's foot was injured, Valerie had to help Andy get down from the hoverboard. Lopmon helped by inflating his ears like a couple of balloons so Andy would feel light when he got to the ground. As soon as Andy was off of the hoverboard, Valerie minimized the hoverboard as Salamon jumped off, letting the now folded up tech back into her boots.

"Wow, that's some cool technology!" Kokuwamon said in awe.

"I'll say…" Tucker drooled. "I'd give an arm and leg to have tech like that…"

"Andy! You're okay!" Danny smiled as he rushed over to his brother to give him a hug. "I was worried that something happened to you."

"Sorry to worry you… but try not to squeeze me too hard… you are stronger than… uh… you realize," Andy groaned.

"Oh! S-Sorry, bro!" Danny said as he released Andy from the hug. "I… guess I need to watch my own strength…"

Sam then noticed the small lion-man-cub creature that was trying to stay behind Valerie. "Hey… who's that?"

"That looks like a Digimon," Biyomon noted.

"Indeed he is, but also not," Shamanmon chuckled.

"If you're trying to hide, it's not working. You're a lot taller than the person you're trying to hide behind," Lopmon chuckled.

"Is that supposed to be your partner?" Sam asked Valerie.

"No. Salamon here is my partner," Valerie replied as she picked up the little dog. "The guy behind me… well, it's best if he told you himself."

The Digimon behind Valerie flinched before he raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Um…" He trailed off, not sure to explain what happened to him.

"Where's Takuya?" Danny asked Andy. "Did you see what happened to him?"

"Uh, well…" Andy awkwardly began.

"What?" Danny frowned.

"You should tell them, if you don't, they're going to assume the worst," Salamon said to the unknown Digimon.

"Alright, fine…" The Digimon grumbled. "You wanna know what happened to Takuya? Well, you're looking at him. I'm Takuya… Just in a… weaker form…"

Everyone, except Andy, Lopmon, Valerie, and Salamon, stared at Takuya in shocked silence for a few seconds. Then the entire area shook. "WHAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

---

The evening sun had gone down. The darkness of night finally took over the long day. The stars, and the three moons were the only source of light the night sky had.

Danny, Patamon, Andy, Lopmon, Sam, Biyomon, Hawkmon, Shamanmon, Tucker, Kokuwamon, Valerie, Salamon, and Flamemon were sitting in a group circle, with a campfire in the middle. The campfire was keeping the group warm from the cold night, and being a good light source for them.

"Dude, I can't believe Andy and Valerie managed to stop you from rampaging!" Tucker said in surprise.

"And that Lopmon managed to digivolve into his Champion form," Patamon remarked. "That was quite a feat."

Valerie was still in her red suit, but she had her helmet off.

"Are you okay with the others knowing your secret?" Andy asked Valerie.

"At this point, I can't exactly keep it in the dark." Valerie sighed. "But as long as they don't say anything, I guess it's fine. It would help me out quite a bit actually, for possible cover stories or something. Besides, it's not like I can deny it since flame boy over there saw me go into the Digital World anyways, and you all came here looking for me."

"After the feats you pulled today, you fighting with ghosts is the least surprising thing we've learned," Sam remarked.

"Although that's still quite a bit of a shock to us. Ghosts aren't exactly beings we Digimon like to be around," Biyomon said.

"It's why most Digimon don't associate with undead Digimon types," Hawkmon added.

Danny paled a bit at hearing that. "Ah… right. I can see why…" Crap… Knowing this… I don't know if I can tell Patamon and Lopmon my secret now…

Flamemon definitely didn't look very happy though. "I can't believe I lost control though… Getting my Beast Spirit was supposed to be a good thing, and yet I went just berserk!" He exclaimed, hitting the ground with a fist.

"I'm still reeling in the fact that you're Takuya, and you're able to turn into a Digimon," Valerie remarked. "Although I guess at this point, it's not that surprising. You aren't the first Legendary Warrior I've met here."

"Losing control to the beast isn't unheard of. All the other Legendary Warriors lost control when they came into contact with their Beast Spirits," Salamon explained, hoping to make Flamemon feel a little better. "Although your Beast Spirit was especially wild. The Warrior of Flame must've had a lot of trauma when they got split. Your human spirit shouldn't have been sent into the human world in the first place."

"I guess…" Flamemon sighed. "It just…" Flamemon then processed Valerie's words. "Wait… I'm not? Who did you meet first?"

"Valere's been coming here for the past several months," Salamon explained. "Or I guess, weeks? Days? In your world?"

"It's been several months here," Valerie sighed. "And yeah. I met Salamon in a big castle when I first arrived in the Digital World. I was told by a Kyuubimon about the Celestial Digimon, and how they're in hiding after one of their own fell to some players. Salamon was only a Nyaromon at the time. Nyaromon wanted to go somewhere, so I decided to go with her to make sure she didn't get hurt. But I wasn't familiar with the world yet, so I was also hoping to learn more about it while I was following Nyaromon. I didn't know how to get home either."

Valerie then chuckled. "It seemed like a long time ago. We were attacked by a player who wanted to enslave Nyaromon. I wanted to protect Nyaromon, but I didn't have my suit with me at the time. So I had to use karate to try to fight off the Digimon. Nyaromon, seeing how I wanted to protect her, digivolved into Salamon so she could also keep me safe. But even though as Salamon, she was a lot stronger, the player's Digimon was able to digivolve into its Champion level. Salamon and I were quickly pushed back by them. We thought we were done for, when a large ball of yellow energy outlined with black came down on the Champion Digimon, striking them in the chest. The Digimon reverted back to its Rookie form and was unconscious."

"That Digimon who saved us turned out to be Lowemon, the Warrior of Darkness," Salamon stated. "After the player ran away with his tail between his legs, Lowemon decided to escort me and Valerie to a safer place. He explained about the Legendary Warriors to Valerie so she would know more about them."

"What really shocked me was when he turned human," Valerie admitted. "A 16 year old boy too. He just gave me a cheeky smile about it, it almost reminded me of Andy."

"What? I remind you of a 16 year old boy?" Andy pouted.

"His cheeky grin did at least." Valerie grinned at Andy.

"My grin isn't cheeky," Andy huffed.

Flamemon chuckled at hearing that. "That's kinda funny if I think about it." He then sighed. "Andy and I met a Legendary Warrior as well. His name is Beetlemon, and he is the Warrior of Thunder. Although, the circumstances in which we met were… not exactly ideal…"

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "This I have to hear."

"Well… basically… I thought Andy was… erm… a mastermind scumbag who stole Lopmon from Primary Village, with the intent on raising him to rule the Digital World," Flamemon sweatdropped.

"Go on, tell me how that happened." Valerie grinned.

While Flamemon was telling the story, Patamon went over to Salamon.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Patamon whispered.

"It has." Salamon agreed in a whisper. "I wasn't expecting to run into you here."

"I wasn't expecting you to have a human partner. With Lopmon, it can't be helped. He doesn't have his memories, yet. But why did you choose to have a human partner?" Patamon questioned.

"I didn't plan on having a human partner," Salamon admitted. "But Valerie and I bonded. She attacked a player's Digimon just to keep me safe. I had never seen a human act so brave before, especially for a Digimon. Besides, after we gave up our real powers, we're just as vulnerable, and weak, as any other Digimon. Maybe having a human partner isn't so bad. Valerie always came back to help me when I called for her."

Patamon huffed. "Even so, the players are human. We got lucky that the Legendary Warriors actually care about the Digital World. Regular humans, not so much."

"The Legendary Warriors were regular humans before they found their Spirits," Salamon pointed out. "And what about these humans right here? You can't tell me they've done nothing but hurt Digimon, can you?"

"Not on purpose," Patamon grumbled.

"Patamon," Salamon said in a lightly scolding tone.

Patamon sighed. "These humans aren't bad, but… I feel like they're hiding something. Specifically, the boy called Danny."

"He is?" Salamon asked with a frown. "What could he be hiding that makes you so suspicious of him?"

"I don't know. But don't you feel it? He feels… different, than everyone else," Patamon pointed out. "There's something strange about him."

"Well, I guess there is something a bit off about him. But he doesn't have any malicious intent, those would be easy to sense," Salamon stated.

"Yes, that would be a lot easier," Patamon agreed.

"It's driving you up the wall, huh?" Salamon chuckled.

"Very much so," Patamon grumbled. "I can't figure him out."

"I take it that you're still on a mission to find the ghost boy from the prophecy?" Salamon asked. "I'm surprised you didn't mention it this whole time."

"I don't want to scare these kids or draw them into it." Patamon replied. "The last thing I want is for them to get hurt when it could be a Digimon who defeats the ghost boy."

"I'm not so sure that's the reason," Salamon remarked.

"Of course it's not," Lopmon added, joining the duo. "Sorry, couldn't help but overhear. Big ears. Anyways, Patamon always kept talking about his mission to find a certain ghost. Though he never really went into details about why he had to find this ghost. Still, he didn't seem shy about asking for our help to look for this ghost."

"Lopmon, stay out of this, you don't know what we're talking about," Patamon hissed.

"Awww… you don't have to be so mean…" Lopmon pouted.

"Well, you have to admit, Lopmon is honest about overhearing us at least." Salamon chuckled.

"Whatever," Patamon grumbled.

"Come on, what's really going on?" Lopmon asked. "If you suspect Danny of something, I would like to know too. He's Andy's brother. Andy cares a lot about him."

"You haven't mentioned the prophecy, because you suspect Danny might be that ghost boy?" Salamon asked.

"What? Why would you think that?" Lopmon frowned.

"I don't know if he is or isn't," Patamon grumbled. "It's just a feeling I have. But until I have a confirmation, I won't act on it. Besides, I doubt someone like him could be the ghost boy. He's too… heroic… involved… nice."

"That's true." Salamon admitted.

"You bet Danny is nice!" Lopmon agreed with a grin. "He tries his hardest to make Patamon feel welcome!"

"Which, while a nice sentiment, is not necessary!" Patamon huffed, trying to hide the burning blush that was growing under his fur.

Salamon grinned when she noticed Patamon's blush. "Well, try not to worry about the prophecy too much, Patamon. Whether or not Danny is that ghost boy, you know the future isn't set in stone. There's always a chance to change it."

"I plan to, that's why I took it upon myself to find the ghost boy from the prophecy in the first place," Patamon replied.

"What do you plan to do to the ghost boy from the prophecy?" Lopmon asked.

"The best way to ensure that the prophecy doesn't come true, is to eliminate the ghost boy," Patamon stated bluntly.

Lopmon frowned, surprised to hear what Patamon planned to do.

"Is that absolute?" Salamon questioned.

Patamon hesitated before speaking. "Yes… it is…" He said at last, sounding resigned, like it was indeed for certain the future of the prophecy.

"But what if the prophecy comes true because of eliminating the ghost boy?" Lopmon asked innocently.

"There's a way to eliminate a ghost for good," Patamon said. "The prophecy can't come true without him. For he is the key…"

"The key to what?" Lopmon demanded. "What's so bad that you feel you have to eliminate a ghost child?"

"... to the end of all the worlds," Patamon finished.

Lopmon stopped, surprised, that wasn't what he expected to hear.

"What's more important, Lopmon? The afterlife of one ghost child, or the lives of trillions of people and Digimon?" Patamon questioned.

Lopmon didn't know how to answer.

"While that might be true," Salamon spoke up. "All the same, murdering a child, regardless of the reason, would put the blood of an innocent on your hands. You'll be going down a dark path, Patamon, and you know how dangerous that is for angelic Digimon, don't you?"

"I do." Patamon said. "And it is a risk I am willing to take."

"I would think hard about your path then." Salamon said seriously. "For once you take that first step, you can't go back. If you want my opinion… I think you've been keeping the law and order up for far too long, old friend."

Lopmon just cocked his head to the side innocently, confused as to what Salamon meant by that. "Huh?"

"Never mind, Lopmon. It doesn't concern you." Patamon said, trying to keep Lopmon from getting too involved in the conversation.

Lopmon pouted. "You're no fun…"

"Hahaha!" The conversation got interrupted when Valerie started laughing. "Oh gosh! I can't believe you nearly took Andy's head off while he and Lopmon were just enjoying themselves at a restaurant! That's a new level of paranoia!"

"H-hey! I already got the lecture of the year from Jazz, I don't need it rubbed in all over again!" Flamemon pouted, his ears drooping slightly. "It's bad enough I had to hear it once…"

Danny grinned. "Yeah, but you could say that you kinda deserved that lecture, Takuya." He teased the already blushing Flamemon.

Though Flamemon frowned as his embarrassment became guilt. "I almost hurt him… but… I actually hurt him this time…"

Flamemon sent a guilty glance at Andy's bandaged foot.

"Stop that," Andy scolded, putting a hand on his foot. "What happened in the past can't be fixed. Being guilty about it isn't going to fix it either."

Flamemon winced at Andy's scolding. "S-Sorry…" He stammered out. "It's… It's just… I… I could've really killed you… This… this power I have… I…" Flamemot didn't want to admit it, but he was now beginning to feel afraid of his own power. While it had been cool in the beginning and for a while afterwards, it was now starting to sink in that he could really hurt people if he wasn't careful.

Suddenly Flamemon's stomach growled. Despite his guilt, that Beast Spirit evolution really drained his energy. And now his body was hungry. Come to think of it, we never did get to eat after the gym training…

Lopmon sighed. "We really need some food…"

"We have some food we brought with us," Hawkmon offered. "But it was just meant for two Digimon. It can't feed all of you."

"There should be plenty of food back in the town," Shamanmon pointed out. "Someone could go there and scavenge for some food."

Lopmon grinned. "Oh! Can I go? I want to help!"

"Hey, why don't some of us go with Lopmon?" Danny suggested. "I mean, we do need to eat, so…"

"I would be very efficient for gathering sustenance," Kokuwamon offered.

"I'll be going too. I have to make sure I find some delicious meat for me!" Tucker smiled.

"The cabbages were good enough for you, you carnivore," Sam reminded.

Tucker chuckled sheepishly. "Right, that they were." He agreed. "But the real meat is always the best~"

"Well, you will need someone to transport all that food, and I'm the one with the hoverboard here, so that will be my job." Valerie grinned.

Andy began to stand up.

"What are you doing, Andy?" Sam asked.

"I'm going too," Andy said.

"But your foot-"

"I'm fine. I can still walk," Andy replied as he tried to walk, but the pain in his foot made him stagger instead. "... kind of…"

"Oh no, you don't!" Danny exclaimed. "You are staying right here with Sam, Flamemon, Biyomon, and the other Digimon."

"Perhaps I should assist as well. I still have my bag for shopping. I can stuff more food into it," Hawkmon offered.

"Don't worry, Andy, I'll be sure to bring you back a lot of tasty food!" Lopmon smiled. "I'll take care of you, like how you took care of me."

Andy sighed. "Just don't go too far."

"I won't!" Lopmon promised.

"I'll watch Andy for you two mother Swanmon," Patamon remarked, referring to Danny and Lopmon.

Danny blushed at being called a 'mother Swanmon'. "I… I do not mother Andy!"

Flamemon snickered. "I think it's safe to say you do~" He teased.

---

Danny, Lopmon, Tucker, Kokuwamon, Valerie, and Hawkmon headed into the ruined town to look for food.

Meanwhile, Flamemon, Sam, Biyomon, Shamanmon, Andy, Patamon, and Salamon stayed at the campsite.

"So what do we do now?" Andy asked. "We found Valerie, and we managed to stop Flamemon from… well, going wild. But we still have Technus in that Megadramon's body loose in the Digital World, and he could be anywhere by now."

"You said that a green fog engulfed him before this Technus ghost took over the Digimon's body while also fusing with the player?" Salamon asked.

"That's what we saw anyways," Biyomon confirmed.

"I was afraid of that," Salamon said grimly. "I've been noticing these green fogs leaking into our world lately. The Digimon were smart enough to stay away from it. But the fog seems to be expanding in areas. The fractal code starts to glitch out as the fog gets thicker."

"That doesn't sound good." Sam said with a frown on her face. "I mean… If the Digital World is affected by this fog… we could be affected also since we are made up of data here."

Flamemon groaned. "Out of one fire and into another, huh? We always seem to find ourselves in the thick of things."

"It would be best to stay away from the fog," Biyomon agreed.

"I'm worried about the player who got sucked into Megadramon's body as well," Andy said. "If he's gone, then he's pretty much a vegetable in real life. Is there any way to unfuse them?"

"It's difficult to say," Patamon said. "When a human fuses with a Legendary Warrior's spirit, both sides are in harmony with each other. Even when they're not, it's still possible to separate them. But with a case like this… I've never seen a human fuse with their Digimon before, it's hard to say what happened to the human, or their data and mind. They could be too tightly tangled up with the Digimon, that they're no longer their own entity. But that's the worst case scenario."

"The best case scenario is that the human is just unconscious while the ghost hijacked the Digimon's body, and, theoretically, if we can scan the fractal code of the body, it should release all who were fused to it," Salamon explained.

"That sounds complicated. How does one scan another's fractal code?" Biyomon asked.

"It's difficult, but possible if a Digimon had enough training," Shamanmon answered. "But for Legendary Warriors, it shouldn't be a problem."

"So… I would need to scan Megadramon's fractal code to free both the Digimon and the player?" Flamemon asked. "I guess I could try it if it's the only thing that would work."

"Oh yeah, you did scan BurningGreymon's fractal code when it had Shamanmon," Biyomon remembered. "With that weird device you had."

"That's called a D-Tector," Sam said. "I guess it has functions we're not aware of. Too bad Tucker isn't here, he'd go ballistic."

"Well, Tucker was the one who drew out BurningGreymon's Spirit with it, so I think he might be aware of that function now." Flamemon chuckled. "I just did the scanning."

"Well, regardless, we do have a method to save the human player and his Digimon partner now." Salamon remarked.

"Assuming it works," Patamon added.

"Patamon has a point, we can't just assume it will work. We might want to have a back-up plan in case things don't go how we want them to," Andy said.

"What brought this on all of a sudden?" Sam asked.

"Domino effect," Andy stated.

"What?" Sam blinked at the strange answer.

"When we went to stop Kuwagamon and his partner from hurting Shamanmon, we were expecting a straight forward battle, right? What happened then? Kuwagamon got covered in black fog while his partner was throwing a temper tantrum. Then that caused the green fog to appear inside the temple. That black fog could've been some kind of signal for the green fog. Then it snowballed from there. Kuwagamon went out of control, fused with his human partner, turned into an even bigger, badder Digimon, and the next thing we knew, Technus took over. Then the Beast Spirit took over Shamanmon. We thought scanning the fractal code would save him. And while it did, it ended up taking over Takuya instead," Andy explained. "Domino effect. All of these events were chained together, creating a bigger effect, one after the other. So we can't just assume everything will work out."

The group did frown at Andy's words.

Sam sighed. "I guess Andy does have a point…"

"We do need to have a plan." Flamemon agreed. "It's better to be prepared than just rush in and wing it."

"Which you have a bad habit of doing," Andy added.

"Why do you keep bringing that up?" Flamemon huffed, pouting.

"Because you keep doing it," Andy pointed out. "I had to shout at you to get you to stop throwing yourself into BurningGreymon's maw back there."

Flamemon, to his credit, had the decency to look embarrassed at that. "Right… I was an idiot…"

Sam snickered. "An idiot with a heart of gold, but still an idiot."

"No one asked you!" Flamemon pouted.

"Getting back on topic," Patamon cleared his throat. "What do we plan to do?"

"Well, finding where Megadramon is would be our first priority," Andy answered.

"But the problem is how to find him," Salamon remarked. "So what's the solution?"

"It's possible we'll be hearing a lot of screaming, or news, about a wild Megadramon destroying towns and cities, and causing chaos in general," Andy said. "If Technus is smart, he would try to lay low for a while. But he never really struck me as… smart. Considering he loves to shout out his plans and motives for all to hear."

"That's one problem solved, but what about when we do find him?" Patamon asked.

"Fighting him one-on-one is… possible, but very dangerous. Especially since Lopmon is the only Digimon who can digivolve into his Champion form among us," Andy said. "I get the feeling Megadramon is higher level than Champion."

"He's an Ultimate level," Salamon confirmed. "Higher than Champion, and much, much stronger."

"But he isn't stabilized, the ectoplasm and the data aren't working in harmony. Eventually he'll start to deteriorate if he stays in that body too long," Patamon added.

"So there's a chance he could be defeated by his own body." Sam noted.

"But we can't just wait for him to deteriorate over time. That could mean the human trapped in there would also die, and we can't allow that," Flamemon pointed out. "We could probably fight him as a team instead since Ultimate level is too risky to fight one-on-one."

"That's true. We fought BurningGreymon as a team and were able to beat him." Biyomon remembered.

"Well, at least when it was Shamanmon," Sam corrected. "We had to run when Takuya got it."

"It didn't help that our Digimon were too tired to keep fighting at that point," Andy added. "I just got lucky when Valerie came when she did, and Lopmon digivolved."

"Was it luck, or fate?" Salamon grinned.

"I would say it was probably luck." Sam chuckled. "But it doesn't matter. We need to stay focused on the topic and figure out how we would defeat Megadramon."

"We'll discuss more of that when the others come back," Patamon said. "Having more heads to think is better than just a few. And it'll be easier to think when our bellies are full of food."

"Good point," Flamemon agreed, his head, while still worried about his Beast Spirit, was also mostly thinking of roasting food.

Andy looked over at Shamanmon.

"Have you figured it out yet, Andy?" Shamanmon asked.

Andy wondered if Shamanmon was a mind reader on top of being a seer. "I don't know."

"Figured out what?" Biyomon asked. "How to beat Megadramon?"

"No, I was referring to the small advice I had given him before," Shamanmon said.

"It was only a coincidence, nothing more," Andy replied.

"Then see if your other dreams were just a coincidence," Shamanmon said back. "You can only say it's a coincidence so many times before you start to realize that it may not be."

"Andy, what's he talking about?" Flamemon questioned.

Andy hesitated for a moment. "... When you became BurningGreymon, and chased after me and Lopmon… I saw it happen before… in a dream…"

Flamemon's eyes went wide. "Wait… seriously? That's just too weird! I didn't expect to hear that from you."

"What? You're saying Andy saw the future in a dream somehow?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wait… humans seeing the future? Is that possible?" Biyomon questioned.

"Not normally," Andy replied. "I don't know… it could've just been a coincidence."

"You know… while it's unusual for a human to see the future, seeing the future in dreams isn't impossible," Patamon said. "Dreams are the gateway to the subconscious, and nobody knows what the subconsciousness is truly capable of."

"Do you like being mysteriously vague?" Salamon asked with a grin on her face.

Patamon huffed and looked away from Salamon. "I'm just stating the facts."

Andy chuckled a little. While Patamon and Salamon were very different from the humans taking care of them, Andy could see how alike they are too. Salamon seemed to represent the kinder version of Valerie, while also determined to keep her world safe from what she saw as dangerous. Patamon represents the mystery of Danny's two sides, as well as his responsibility to keep those around him safe, even when he feels it to be a burden.

I wonder if they even notice it themselves? Andy mused.

They heard the sound of Valerie's hoverboard heading towards them.

"We got quite the haul!" Lopmon's voice shouted happily.

"Sounds like we'll be eating good tonight then," Andy chuckled.

"I'll say!" Flamemon grinned, seeing the large haul of food. His mouth was drooling at the thought of eating so good.

Sam grinned as well. "I suppose we should help unload all that food then."

"Definitely!" Flamemon said as he stood up to go and help as Valerie landed her hoverboard nearby.

---

There was a lot of food, and the group began cooking the meats, or at least food that looked like meat, near the campfire. There were fish, meat apples, meat cabbages, actual meat sausages, and more. Sam was just glad there were actual vegetables among the load as well. Danny made sure to bring plenty of those for her.

When the meats were cooked, everyone began digging in. Sam was glad she could enjoy the taste of meat without actually eating meat in the form of the meat apples and meat cabbages.

"Once we finish eating, we'll probably have to sleep too," Tucker noted. "... Maybe we should go back to the town and sleep there… I don't want to sleep outside."

"Why not? The stars are nice out," Sam smiled.

"But none of us have any sleeping bags to sleep on. We'd have to lay on rocks," Tucker pointed out.

"We could always use leaves as sleeping bags." Sam said. "There are some pretty large sized leaves I saw around us earlier."

"You mean sleep in a leaf like a bug does in a cocoon? No thanks." Tucker grumbled.

"C'mon, Tuck, it's not like we're going to sleep in the Digital World often." Danny chuckled. "We may as well just sleep outside here because it's new to us."

"Besides, with the town abandoned and in ruins, bandits and players are likely to gather there soon. We don't want to be in the middle of that while sleeping," Lopmon pointed out.

"We'll have to sleep in shifts," Andy said. "Who knows what kind of dangers lurk around here. The green fog could start coming over here too for all we know."

"Great, now I'm not gonna sleep for sure tonight," Tucker groaned.

"Then I guess that means you get the first shift." Danny chuckled to Tucker, who grumbled.

"But who will take the next watch after Tucker's shift is over?" Sam asked.

"I think I can." Flamemon said. "I don't see why I shouldn't."

"I can take the next shift," Danny offered.

"I'll take the last shift then," Andy spoke up.

"No way," Danny quickly rejected.

"Why not?" Andy frowned.

"Your foot is still hurt." Danny pointed out.

"So? It's not like I'm gonna be patrolling around like a soldier," Andy argued back.

"What if something happens and you need to move quickly to wake us up?" Danny asked.

"Wouldn't I have to move quickly to get away from the danger anyways?" Andy grumbled. "I can take care of myself, Danny. I have Lopmon if I need help."

"No, no, you need your rest to help your foot heal," Danny stated firmly.

"Danny has a point, I'll take the last watch." Valerie said to Andy.

Andy muttered in annoyance to himself. "Overprotective brother… worse than Jazz… I swear… won't even let me take a few hours of watch…"

Flamemon snickered at Andy and Danny arguing like children. While he did feel bad about Andy's foot being hurt, seeing Danny act all protective of his brother really made him feel better.

"I can't say what having an older sibling is like, but Danny really does care about you, Andy." Valerie said gently. "Just remember that."

"It is kinda funny to see Danny acting like a mother Swanmon though." Salamon admitted.

"I am not acting like a mother Swanmon! I just want to make sure Andy's foot properly heals," Danny huffed before he gave Andy another plate of food. "And that means eating well, and sleeping well."

"I'm not a Digimon, Danny, I don't need the extra food to heal. I'll just get fat," Andy grumbled.

"Your body will break down the food so your body can use it to heal." Danny said. "After all, isn't that what biology taught us?"

That's the last time I help Danny with biology… Andy huffed.

Lopmon smiled. "Lucky, you get extra helpings."

"Stuff it, you," Andy grumbled.

---

After everyone finished dinner, Sam, Kokuwamon, Lopmon, Patamon, and Danny were setting up the piles of leaves for everyone to lay on.

Hawkmon gave Biyomon his satchel. "Here you go, little sister."

"Your satchel? Why are you giving me this?" Biyomon asked.

"Well… I know you're not likely to return home with me any time soon. You want to help your human partner, don't you?" Hawkmon pointed out. "As much as I rather have you back home with me, I don't want to stop you from wanting to help your partner. I know human and Digimon partners share an unbreakable bond. But I can't have you going out without some supplies. I've packed extra food in that satchel. And once that's empty, you can fill it with whatever else you need."

Biyomon took the satchel, feeling touched. "Thank you…" She said shyly, feeling proud that her brother wanted her to help Sam on this journey. "I will do my best to help them…"

"I know you'll do great out there, Biyomon. And… just remember, you're welcome back home at any time," Hawkmon promised. "I'll explain the situation to our parents."

Patamon was watching the two from afar. A part of him felt… envious, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe he missed having someone caring for him like that, if there was someone like that in one of his past lives. Don't get too sentimental. Getting attached will only hurt worse.

Biyomon hugged Hawkmon in response. "I'll make you proud, Hawkmon. You, and our parents."

Patamon just turned away from the two siblings, trying to ignore the longing he was feeling.

"So does this mean you're heading out?" Sam asked Hawkmon after seeing Biyomon taking the satchel. I wish my parents would be that understanding… and I had a sibling like Hawkmon.

"Yeah. My parents will be worried if I don't come home soon, especially with the destroyed town being on the news," Hawkmon explained. "I trust you'll take care of Biyomon, won't you?"

"I will." Sam promised. "I'll take very good care of her."

Hawkmon nodded. "I hope to see you again soon then. Good luck."

Hawkmon began to flap his wings as he flew away, looking at Biyomon one more time before he headed off.

"Heh, I guess you're not the only good brother wanting the best for his younger sibling," Andy chuckled at Danny.

Danny blushed. "I… I guess so…" He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Err… sorry if I seemed overbearing, bro… I just… I just want you to get better, that's all…"

"I know. I just don't like to be fussed over," Andy remarked.

"Okay everyone! We've got the 'beds' set up!" Sam called out to the group. "Time to come claim a 'bed' before they're gone!"

"Didn't you make one for all of us?" Tucker asked.

"We tried to, but the leaves began to run out. So, if we have to, we will try to sleep two to a bed." Sam admitted sheepishly.

"I do not need leaves to sleep on," Kokuwamon stated. "I will be good anywhere that isn't water."

"I can sleep on top of a rock or a tree branch just fine," Biyomon volunteered.

"So that leaves me, Danny, Andy, Tucker, Valerie, and the Digimon who aren't Biyomon and Kokuwamon," Sam noted.

"H-hey, what about me?" Flamemon pouted.

"Well, you are a Digimon right now, aren't you?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

Flamemon grumbled. "Right… Stupid… forgetting about that…"

"How many beds do you have?" Andy asked.

"There are 8 beds total." Sam replied. "And… half a bed, so to speak… We ran out of leaves halfway through bed 9…"

"So that's… me… Patamon…" Danny began counting.

"There's about 11 of us in total," Kokuwamon answered. "If we minus myself and Biyomon, that's 9."

"Not very good at math, are you?" Valerie chuckled.

"No…" Danny grumbled.

"Could I sleep with Andy?" Lopmon requested.

"I get the feeling Danny will also want to sleep with me," Andy grumbled.

Danny didn't want to admit it, but that did cross his mind. "Um… No, no, it's fine if Lopmon sleeps with Andy. I can take my own leaf bed…"

"There'll be plenty of room for me and you, Danny. Andy just has to hug me in his sleep like you do with your teddy bear," Lopmon pointed out.

Andy looked at Danny. "You told me it was a stuffed mouse."

Danny blanched. "Uh… It is! It is a stuffed mouse! It just looks like a teddy bear!"

I have to take a picture of Andy snuggling with Lopmon. Sam grinned to herself.

"Okay! How about we choose our beds and get some sleep? We can't face Technus while we're tired after all," Flamemon quickly said before Andy started freaking out about Danny's 'stuffed mouse'.

Tucker chose a good leaf pile. "This one's mine!"

Valerie selected one that was close to Andy. "And this one is mine."

Flamemon picked a bed next to Danny. "I guess I'll take this one then."

Sam chose a bed that was next to Tucker. "This one can be mine."

Salamon picked the bed next to Valerie. "I have this one."

Danny looked over and saw Sam had picked the bed next to him. "Ah… I guess I have the bed next to Sam then…"

Patamon flew over and picked the bed that was on the other side of Sam, trying to maintain a distance between him and Danny.

Danny wondered why Patamon always seemed so distant from him. Everyone else's Digimon were really close to them. A part of him had hoped that maybe Patamon could be his Digimon partner, but it didn't look like that was going to be happening.

Danny sighed as he got settled onto his leaf bed.

Flamemon got settled on his own leaf bed and curled up, looking like a sleeping lion cub as soon as he fell asleep.

Despite the unusual sleeping arrangements, it didn't take long for everyone, except Tucker who had the first shift, to fall asleep. Tucker was glad he brought his PDA with him, not only did it save their bacon when Shamanmon turned into BurningGreymon before, it was great for passing the time. He had quite a few games downloaded on the PDA.

---

Titanic X: ZAFT: Glad you liked what you read last week~ :3

DarkFoxKit: Yup, Technus was quite nasty.

pokemon fan 1991: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, Digimon have all sorts of Digivolution lines, lines you wouldn't think would fit them, but they can turn into them. I was looking at what kind of Digimon Kuwagamon could turn into, and ZAFT found a good one with Megadramon, so we went with it.

So, as you can see in this chapter, Andy had a different way to bring Takuya out of it, though it didn't automatically give Takuya control over BurningGreymon.

I… personally like the Biyomon line. Never been a huge fan of Falcomon's line though. And yes, Yokomon is a girl.

ZAFT: You will see what we have planned for the future… ^^' I can say this though. Takuya will have quite a roaring time trying to use his Beast Spirit. XD