ZAFT: New update~ :3
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, and we're finally heading back to Danny Phantom's side of things.
Andy: About time. We spent way too long in the Digital World.
ZAFT: You're gonna be wanting to be back there soon~ X3
Takuya: Why do I get the feeling it isn't going to be fun for anyone? ^^'
DarkFoxKit: Oh, it'll be fun… just probably not for you guys.
Andy: I hate working with you…
DarkFoxKit: Love working with you too, Andy.
ZAFT: Onto the chapter now~ I love working with you too, Andy~ X3
Andy: Shut up, both of you!
(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 37: A Guy named Johnny 13
Danny groaned as he opened his eyes. Going through that Digital Portal was rough, to say the least.
"Finally awake?" Patamon asked, looking down at Danny.
"I'm fine… But I need to work on my landing…" Danny groaned as he sat up, rubbing at his back. "Those portals just spit you out with no control."
"The portals weren't meant to be traveled like how we're using them," Patamon said. "Normally one would take a Trailmon through the portals. And even then it can be a rough ride."
"Well, hopefully I can learn to land on my feet, or at least not in a pile of limbs." Danny muttered as he stood up. "Ow… That will leave a bruise."
Danny noticed something in his hand, and he looked down at it. He was surprised to see it was the D-Arc Patamon had handed to him to open the portal.
"Huh… I guess this thing is real. At least I have a way back to the Digital World now." Danny mused before he pocketed the D-Arc.
"Don't misunderstand, I didn't give it to you because I've grown attached to you, or that I've accepted you as my partner. I gave it to you since it was the only way to go through the portal," Patamon stated firmly. "Now how about we go check on your sister that you were worried about? We can't waste too much time here, the longer we're in this world, the more time goes by in the Digital World."
"Okay, okay. Don't get your ears… err… wings all in a bunch." Danny grumbled, but he did want to check on Jazz too, and this thing in his chest was crying out at him to go check up on her, like right away.
Although it had been a few days since Danny was home, he didn't have time to appreciate being back in his room. He hurried to the door, and Patamon flew after him.
Danny went downstairs, hearing Jazz's voice talking to a man's voice that he wasn't familiar with.
"-ou do have a last name, don't you?" Jazz asked.
"Yeah, but everybody calls me Johnny 13. I've kinda got a reputation of being… unlucky," The man's voice, who had claimed to be 'Johnny 13', replied a little sheepishly.
"Well… you were pretty lucky for me." Jazz said gratefully.
Danny got to the point where he could see Jazz and this Johnny guy.
Johnny had blonde hair and green eyes. He had a sort of grayish skin color, and wore a white shirt with a dark gray jacket over it and a green skull necklace. He also had on biker gloves in the same color as his jacket. He also wore black pants and boots on his feet.
Johnny smiled as he handed Jazz a red jacket. "Here, try this on."
Jazz took the jacket and slipped it on, making Johnny grin.
Danny's eyes went wide when he saw the jacket had glowed for a split second, and Danny felt a bit of a ghostly presence. But it was gone so fast that Danny wondered if he imagined it.
Patamon frowned as he was looking over Danny's shoulder. He knew who Jazz was, but he hadn't really interacted with her. She seemed like a nice girl, if a bit high strung. Though he was getting bad vibes from that Johnny guy, though he couldn't put his fingers on it.
When Jazz and Johnny started to lean towards each other with their lips all puckered up, that was when Danny decided to let his presence be known.
"Hey, Jazz!" Danny called out obnoxiously loud. "Just thought I'd drop in to check on ya!"
Jazz didn't look very happy to see Danny. "Oh, go play somewhere else, Danny." She scoffed.
Danny knew Jazz wouldn't say something like that, but he didn't press the issue. He knew something was really wrong now, and he didn't like it one bit.
"Maybe I will later, I'm just going to grab a quick bite to eat," Danny said as he walked into the kitchen.
Patamon stayed hidden on the stairs, watching in silence.
Johnny turned to Jazz. "Hey, uh… ain't you got a place where we could be alone? You know… like a basement?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Jazz said with a conspiratorial look on her face. She then took Johnny's hand. "C'mon."
Jazz began leading Johnny into the kitchen. Danny knew a couple of people who could help out in this situation, although he couldn't believe he was about to get them of all people for help. But still, this wasn't exactly a ghostly problem where he could just suck a ghost into the thermos and be done with it. Some guy was trying to make a move on his sister, and he wasn't too thrilled with that.
While Danny was heading upstairs, Patamon decided to follow after Johnny and Jazz. He was small, so it was easy to hide from the two while tailing them. He could see that Jazz was leading Johnny downstairs, into that… lab. The one with the accursed Ghost Portal. He had heard about it from Danny and the others, however, he never really went into the lab himself. Now he was seeing the portal for the first time with his own eyes.
Jazz smiled as she placed her thumb on a control panel, and the doors that had kept the portal hidden opened up. Patamon hissed as he nearly shut his eyes when the Ghost Portal revealed itself in all of its ecto, bright green glory. The stench of it made Patamon want to vomit.
Johnny smiled when he saw the portal before him. "Cool." he said, obviously pleased by this.
"No, it's not." Jazz said sheepishly. "But at least my brother can't bother us down here."
Patamon didn't want to get any closer to that wretched portal, everything in his being was screaming at him to get as far away as possible from it. However, he could also tell something was not right. He felt he had to do something to stall for time. Although he wasn't sure why he felt that way, he shouldn't really care what this girl was doing with this boy, it shouldn't be any of his business. And yet, he found himself unable to ignore it.
Patamon quickly ran over to a table that had some vials. He grabbed one of the vials and dropped it to the ground, making a small, yet noticeable crashing noise. Patamon dropped down to the floor as well, and laid lifeless, looking like one of those plush toys he was told to look like while in public.
Johnny and Jazz both looked over, only to see the 'plush' on the floor.
Johnny frowned a bit. "What's that doing on the floor?"
Jazz walked over to the 'plush'. "I think I've seen this toy before… Yeah, I think Danny had a toy like this. Maybe he brought it down here and forgot about it?"
"Well just toss it aside, it's not important," Johnny shrugged.
Jazz picked up Patamon and put him back on the table, not even aware she had just picked up a Digimon. She returned her attention to Johnny. "Now, where were we?"
"JASMINE FENTON!" Jack's voice boomed through the house. "YOU KNOW YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO BRING UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL DOWN HERE!"
This shocked both Jazz and Johnny as they hadn't expected to hear such a booming voice.
"You know better!" Maddie's voice agreed.
They turned to see Danny, Jack, and Maddie standing at the doorway.
Danny had a smirk on his face as he was standing against the wall. Jack and Maddie did not look impressed either.
"You were about to let some strange punk activate the Fenton Portal?!" Jack and Danny said at the same time, causing both Jack and Danny to look at one another awkwardly.
Patamon wasn't sure if he would laugh or not if he could move.
"Hey, lay off! We weren't doing nothing, pops!" Johnny replied in annoyance.
"His name isn't 'pops'!" Both Danny and Maddie snapped, causing them to look at each other as well.
I guess like father and mother, like son. Patamon concluded. I wonder if Andy would be the same way if he was here right now.
Johnny didn't look impressed. "Yeah, whatever. This place was getting a little too cramped for my style anyway." He said as he put his hands in his pockets and walked up the steps leading out of the lab.
Jazz was quick to follow Johnny. "I'll walk you out, Johnny." She said before turning to Danny and her parents. "And could you be any more like them?!" She snapped at Danny before heading after Johnny.
This surprised Danny, but also angered him. He, Jack, and Maddie shouted at the same point while pointing at each other. "I AM NOT LIKE HIM!"
"Uh… this is awkward…" Danny said after they shouted like that.
After Jazz walked Johnny out, Jack and Maddie both frowned.
"I can't believe Jazz would just invite this guy to our house before even talking to us, this isn't like her." Maddie frowned.
Danny noticed Patamon lying on the table and walked over to pick him up.
"I must have left my… plush toy down here." Danny said as he picked up Patamon. "I'll just bring it up to my room."
"Hey, Danny," Jack spoke up. "Be sure to keep an eye on your sister. I've seen that look before, the look of infatuation. I knew it was going to happen once she became a teenager, but a parent is never truly ready for it."
Danny blinked, but nodded. "I will, Dad, don't worry." He reassured his father.
Danny quickly went upstairs.
"Oh wait, I forgot to ask him where his brother and cousin were, they could help keep an eye on Jazz," Jack grumbled.
"I'm sure everything will be okay, Jack," Maddie said. "It's likely just a phase Jazz is going through. Hopefully she'll realize that the guy she likes may not be for her."
Jack nodded. "I hope so too, Mads." He said worriedly. "But do you think Andy and Takuya are getting into trouble themselves?"
"What kind of trouble could they get themselves into?" Maddie chuckled.
Andy and Tucker were trying to survive BurningGreymon's fire attacks while Turuiemon and Guardromon were trying their best to keep them safe while fighting back against the roaring dragon.
"I guess, other than maybe a ghost attack, nothing too major," Jack agreed.
Meanwhile, Danny was in his room with Patamon. Although the room had a bit of a different feel to it now that he wasn't in a hurry to check on Jazz. It just hit him. It had been days, at least to him, since he had been home.
"Geez… I know time passes differently in the Digital World, but to feel it is a totally odd experience." Danny muttered. "It feels like I've been gone for days, which I have, but here in the real world, it's only been a few hours."
"The time differences can do that," Patamon agreed, able to move again. "Well, you checked on your sister. Now what do you plan to do?"
"I can't just go back, knowing that Johnny guy could come back…" Danny frowned. "I know it may seem like a minor thing to you, but-"
"No, I get it," Patamon said, surprising Danny. "That Johnny guy… there's something about him that doesn't feel… human. But I'm not sure what it is, other than maybe his weird, gray-ish skin."
"Now that you mention it, that is weird…" Danny noted. "I mean the grayish skin is weird. That Johnny guy looked like a zombie almost, what with how pale he was."
"I doubt he would just give up. He's bound to return soon," Patamon remarked.
"Yeah…" Danny agreed. "But how long can we stay here? I don't want to keep the others waiting for too long, they might need our help."
"Let's give it until 10 o' clock at night," Patamon said. "That's a lot of time, but I'm sure the others can handle themselves until then. We need to be sure that Johnny guy doesn't try to do anything to your sister first."
Danny frowned, but nodded in agreement. This seemed way more important to him, and he trusted Andy and the others to handle themselves. "Yeah… I think I can agree to that."
Then Danny blinked. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but why do you care about what happens to my sister?"
"I don't care," Patamon replied nonchalantly. "But if that Johnny guy isn't as human as we think he is, then that could be bad for humanity. And who knows what he could do if he gets access to the Digital World."
Danny blinked at Patamon's words. While the smaller Digimon tried to sound like he didn't care, Danny could hear the protective tone in Patamon's voice. Danny then chuckled. "Keep telling yourself that if you want then." He said, getting a funny feeling in his chest, like something was vibrating happily in the revelation that someone else cared about Jazz, even if they tried to deny it.
"Will you shut it? You sound like a purring Gatomon," Patamon grumbled in annoyance.
Danny blushed. "Ah… right… Sorry…" He said, the odd vibrations in his chest ceasing. Wow… that was weird…
"While we're here, we might as well get some food," Patamon said. "Without Lopmon here taking most of the meals, I can at least enjoy myself a little bit."
Danny smiled. "Sure, I could use a bite to eat myself."
Danny had missed the Nasty Burger, but he didn't intend to leave his house. He wanted to be near Jazz, and near the Digi-Portal in case there was an emergency. So he decided to see what they had in the fridge.
Meanwhile, Jazz was pouting as she was in her room. She couldn't believe her family, and how they didn't want to try to understand her or Johnny. She didn't have many friends to talk to about this… but there was one friend she made lately who she could talk to and be her truest self around without getting judged.
Jazz sat down near her desk, and turned on her computer. She got onto the familiar website. Ever since her cute little plant had evolved into a taller, bigger flower, she and her friend had been talking a lot. Although apparently something happened earlier that made Jazz worried about her friend, when her friend was in hiding and how she said something was happening to the other Digimon around her. But thankfully, that crisis seemed to have passed.
"Hello?" The female voice of Floramon asked before she realized who she was talking to. "Oh! Jasmine! It's so nice to see you again!" Floramon said with a smile before she noticed the scarf and jacket on Jazz. "Oh? It looks like you got some new clothes! They look nice on you!"
Jazz smiled, she knew her friend would understand. "Thanks, they do! A man named Johnny gave it to me when he saved me from being run over by a roller coaster."
"You almost got run over by a roller coaster? Are you okay?" Floramon asked in concern.
"I'm fine, thanks to Johnny." Jazz said before she sighed. "But my parents and brother are becoming too protective of me. It seems like they don't want me to be around him, even though he saved me. You think they'd be more grateful!" She huffed, folding her arms in a pout.
"That's a bit odd. From what you told me, your parents and brothers usually trust you to make your own decisions," Floramon remarked. "Who's Johnny?"
"Just the cutest guy! He is the one who saved me. He says he is called Johnny 13 because he supposedly has bad luck, but I think I was lucky with him." Jazz said in a dreamy tone.
"Aww, he sounds like a nice guy with unfortunate luck," Floramon replied. "If he saved you, then I'm sure he's a good guy. I don't know why your family seems to think otherwise. Although I haven't met him myself. Do you think maybe there's some kind of reason why they're acting so protective of you?"
"I don't know. I just think Danny and my parents are too judgemental." Jazz huffed. "They're openly against Johnny all because he looks like the bad biker dude."
"Biker dude? Hmm… the only equivalent to that I can think of is Beeazalmon, who's known for riding on a bike. Though I've never seen him, just heard stories about him. Actually, he sounds similar to Johnny now that I think about it. Beeazalmon is one of the seven demon Digimon, very powerful, very intimidating. But he once saved a human girl from a deadly enemy, wanting her forgiveness for something he had done. At least so the story goes. I wish I could go into your world and meet him," Floramon lamented.
Jazz smiled. "You would like him, Floramon. He is so sweet. He really likes me, and doesn't seem to judge me because of what my parents do for a living."
"It sounds like you've got it pretty bad for him," Floramon giggled. "But… wait, you said your brother Danny didn't like him, right? What about your other brother, Andy? Or Takuya, your cousin? Did they say anything about Johnny?"
"They're not here right now. But knowing those two, they would be against Johnny as well. Frankly, I'm glad Andy and Takuya are out doing whatever they are doing right now." Jazz grumbled. "They likely would agree with Danny and my parents. At least whatever they're doing isn't as painful as what I had to go through."
Andy just had Turuiemon literally stab BurningGreymon from behind, and BurningGreymon was screaming in agony.
"Hmm… Well, you know I trust you on your judge of character. Maybe you can have your parents and brother meet with Johnny and talk to him. I'm sure then they'll understand what kind of person he is, and won't keep trying to stop you from having a relationship with him," Floramon suggested.
"Maybe I will." Jazz agreed. "If they would listen, but that's a low chance of that happening."
"At least try it. People may surprise you," Floramon replied.
While Jazz was talking to Floramon, Patamon was passing by the room. He had a tray of food that he was taking into Danny's room since Danny's parents were coming upstairs, and couldn't see Patamon eating. That was when he heard Jazz talking to someone, but it wasn't Johnny. Patamon carefully opened Jazz's door just a crack to see who she was talking to, and was surprised to see Jazz was talking to a Floramon on the computer.
Hmm… that may come in handy for handling Johnny… Patamon realized, seeing the bond Jazz had with Floramon.
Jazz suddenly heard what sounded like a motorcycle's engine just outside her open window. Curious, she looked out the window, seeing Johnny on his bike, looking up at her with a grin. Jazz thought about taking Floramon's advice when she saw him.
"Hey, Kitten, why don't you come down here and we go for a ride?" Johnny suggested.
"Who's that?" Floramon asked, hearing the voice but couldn't see out the window.
Jazz's eyes lit up at the ride offer. "Sure! Give me a moment!" She called back before looking at Floramon. "That was Johnny! I've gotta go! He offered me a ride!"
"What? Aren't you-" Jazz shut off the computer before Floramon could finish talking.
Something in Jazz told her that her parents and brother wouldn't understand, even if she had them talk to Johnny. It would be better to just leave the house and go out with him instead.
Patamon quickly hid himself on the wall as Jazz rushed out of her room. Seeing where she was going, Patamon quickly flew into the kitchen. Jack was eating food, so he wasn't paying attention to much of anything. And Maddie was working on something at the table. Danny was grabbing some cereal when Patamon landed on his head and pulled Danny's hair.
"Go out, hurry!" Patamon whispered.
Danny blinked, but nodded. "Um… I'll be right back! I… forgot my computer was still on!" Danny exclaimed as he excused himself from the table.
As soon as Danny was out of the kitchen, he looked up at Patamon. "That was cutting it kind of close, you know." He said as he ran to the door.
"It was an emergency," Patamon quickly said.
"What-" Danny began to ask when all of a sudden, that familiar chill that he hadn't felt in a while, came up from his throat and out of his mouth.
At the same time, Danny heard a motorcycle engine, and saw Johnny driving into the horizon with Jazz sitting behind him.
"That's the emergency," Patamon pointed out.
Danny growled. "Now I get it. Thanks for the alert, Patamon."
"Can you catch up to them?" Patamon asked.
"Um… I don't know, maybe?" Danny frowned.
"While you figure that out, I have someone I need to get in contact with," Patamon said. "Jazz has… well, actually, I'll tell you later. You go catch up to your sister."
Patamon flew back into the house, heading into Jazz's room, leaving Danny alone.
Danny realized there was only one way he could catch up to Johnny, and he felt relieved Patamon had left to do whatever he had to do. Never thought I'd be grateful to Patamon having something else to do. Danny thought before he called upon his ghost powers.
The twin rings appeared around Danny's torso before then split and revealed Danny in his ghost form. Now as Phantom, Danny took off into the air like a rocket. It occurred to Danny it had been literal days since he used his ghost form. He had been stuck in his human form while in the Digital World, he had forgotten how good it felt to just fly instead of walking everywhere.
Wow, I will never take my ghost powers for granted ever again. I missed being able to fly like this. Danny thought as he felt the breeze of wind on his face and body. It felt so good, he just wanted to get lost in his thoughts and just fly around. But Danny knew he had something more important to worry about, so he forced the feelings from his mind and focused on the task at hand; chasing after Johnny himself.
However, what Danny didn't realize when he transformed was when his rings passed by his pocket, the D-Arc started to go crazy. The D-Arc glowed green as the screen started to flash, though Danny didn't notice it as he was chasing after Johnny.
Patamon opened the door to Jazz's room, and was heading to the computer when he suddenly felt a spike of stinging pain go through his body. Patamon gasped as he writhed on the floor. What's happening!?
Patamon's body was glitching out a little, a neon green glow flashed on his body. It hurts! It HURTS!
There was an image of someone in Patamon's mind, a figure walking into the Ghost Portal… but something was different, the portal was… inactive. It lacked the green swirl that led into the atrocious ghostly world. The figure walked into it, and then there was a loud sound, a bright flash of light, and someone screaming loudly.
Patamon ended up blacking out.
Oblivious to Patamon's plight, Danny was following after Johnny from the sky in his ghost form. He wanted to make sure his sister was safe from this suspicious guy. They appeared to be going up a hill that was a little bit away from town.
Danny was trying to keep a safe distance so he didn't get seen, but also to keep an eye on Jazz. Darn it, Jazz… what is going on with you? You've been different since you met this guy…
Johnny, however, noticed Danny was following them when he looked in his rear view mirror. He frowned, he couldn't have anyone interfering with his plans. So he gave a whisper to the shadow that was following him on the ground. "Shadow, defend."
The shadow sneered before flying up to meet Danny in the sky. It flew past Danny, catching him by surprise. "Hey!" Danny growled before flying after said shadow. Dang it… This guy is really getting on my nerves!
Danny paused for a moment, looking back at the bike that was going up the hill. He couldn't leave Jazz alone, but at the same time, he was worried what this shadow ghost was going to do if he let it loose in town. Normally he would call one of his friends to try to take care of the ghost while he stayed with Jazz, especially knowing this guy was definitely not normal since he seemed to be able to command a shadow ghost, but everyone was currently in the Digital World, so he was pretty much on his own. Danny knew Johnny would likely take his sister at the top of the hill. So knowing that, Danny decided to try to catch this shadow ghost as quickly as he could before returning to the hill.
Danny sped off after the shadow ghost, trying to catch up to it.
The Shadow didn't go very far, however, it seemed to have been waiting for Danny. It gave Danny a sinister grin as Danny fired a ghost ray at the shadow ghost. The ghost ray made a large hole in the shadow ghost's torso, but the shadow ghost didn't appear to be in any pain as it regenerated the hole rather quickly.
"Suffering spooks…" Danny growled before he realized something "'Suffering spooks'? Oh man… that's something Dad says!"
The heck? When did I start becoming more like my dad!? Danny mentally yelled, having a bit of a crisis.
The shadow took this opportunity to rush at Danny and cover him with its body, trapping Danny inside of it. Danny struggled a bit when he was inside the shadow ghost, realizing that it was very dark, and very sticky. The shadow seemed to be very flexible.
Okay, Fenton, calm down and think! Danny told himself. Just struggling in this thing is like struggling in a tar pit. Surely this thing must have some kind of weakness. It doesn't seem to be like normal ghosts, it seems to work on a different level. It's a shadow ghost… that Johnny guy summoned, I think. A shadow ghost… I wonder…
Danny began to light up his hands with his ghost ray, but he didn't fire right away, he wanted to see how the shadow ghost would react. Danny felt the shadow going brittle, and he managed to push his head out of the shadow ghost's torso, looking up at the shadow's face. The shadow ghost looked to be in shock, and worried. Danny looked down, his hands were still covered by the shadow's body, but he could see how bright his hands were with the ghost ray.
Danny had an idea cross his mind as he grinned. "You don't like the light? How about I brighten up your day?" He quipped, his ecto-ray getting brighter and brighter. The ghost ray was shot out, and broke apart the shadow, freeing Danny. But the shadowy pieces began to come back together, away from Danny and his glowing hands.
"So you're not like other ghosts, you can't stand bright light," Danny noted as he took a quick glimpse at the sun. "Except for the sun, you seem to be fine in the daylight." Could it be artificial light it can't stand?
The shadow ghost growled before it launched at Danny. Danny flew around it, not wanting to get stuck in it again. Well, if it's artificial bright light it can't stand, then I have an idea.
Danny quickly flew back into town, with the shadow ghost flying after him.
Danny looked back behind him, seeing the shadow was following him. He grinned. Time for a little surprise~ He thought before turning intangible as he approached the Movie Plex theater. Danny dove down inside, the shadow following him easily.
Danny made sure he was invisible too so he wouldn't freak people out. The last thing he needed was to cause panic in a public place. The shadow ghost also went invisible, it just wanted to go after Danny, though it wouldn't mind scaring people after it was done.
Danny floated in front of a big screen and waited. He hoped his timing wasn't off, but he had been to the Movie Plex so many times he practically had most of the movies' times memorized. He saw the shadow ghost flying up to him, preparing to grab him with its sharp claws.
However, just before the shadow could grab Danny, the projector started up, shining a bright light on the shadow ghost. Danny grinned. How about that for a bright day? He thought as a quip, not wanting to speak in case anyone heard his voice.
The shadow ghost screeched as the light burned its shadowy form. The shadow ghost broke into smaller pieces and then the pieces sped through the ceiling, trying to escape the bright light.
Luckily for Danny, the preview the movie was showing was loud enough for the audience to not hear Shadow's screech before its form was burned, so Danny wouldn't have to deal with a panicking crowd of people. Danny quickly flew out of the Movie Plex and headed back to the hill where he saw Johnny heading with Jazz.
At the top of the hill, Johnny and Jazz were looking out at Amity Park. The view was lovely, even when the sun wasn't setting. But Johnny wasn't here to just look at the view. He felt his shadow weakening even though it was pretty far away, so he knew he had to be quick.
"Jazz, you know, I've been thinking… and I know this is kind of quick but…" Johnny was speaking rather quickly as he dug into his pocket and had something in his hand. "How'd you like to be my girl?"
Johnny held out a golden ring, with a large green looking gem on it. The ring seemed to have glowed for a second, though that could've just been the trick of the sunlight.
Jazz was shocked at what she was seeing. "You… want to…" She felt elated for some reason, and her heart was racing with some excitement. "Oh gosh! That's so old school and so sweet!"
The shadow soon returned to Johnny, going back into his shadow. Johnny knew he didn't have much time, but he couldn't keep pushing or the spell on Jazz would break.
"So… what do you say then, Jazz? Want to be my girl?" Johnny asked, hoping to urge her on as a girl's face appeared on the ring's gem for a split second.
Jazz smiled. "You know what, Johnny? I'd like that very much…" She said as she held up her hand to take the ring.
Danny made it to the top of the hill just in time. He was on a tree the two were sitting under. He looked down, seeing Jazz was about to take the ring. Well, it's now or never.
Danny jumped from the branch, he quickly returned himself to his human form before he allowed gravity to take hold of him, making him fall in front of Jazz and Johnny, interrupting their moment.
"Ow!" Danny groaned before he looked up at the surprised couple. "Hiya, not interrupting anything, am I?"
Jazz didn't look too happy. She stomped over to Danny and picked him up by the back of his shirt. "Were you spying on us?" She asked, looking quite miffed.
"Um…" Danny trailed off, not sure how to respond to that.
Johnny, however, was more worried. This not only stopped him from giving Jazz the ring, but now it was going to take more time to butter her up to take it again. He knew that if he took too much time, a certain someone was going to be quite crossed with him. Not to mention the longer this took, the longer he had to go without… her.
"Johnny, I'm sorry about this, but we have to take him home," Jazz grumbled.
"If it will get him out of our hair, then fine." Johnny grumbled back.
Inwardly, Danny was smiling. He managed to stop Johnny from making a move on his sister, though he wasn't sure for how much longer with how crazy Jazz seemed to be for him. He better check in with Patamon once they get home and see if he found out anything on how to cure Jazz of this… 'love disease'.
When Johnny got Jazz and Danny home, or at least just outside of it, Jack and Maddie saw them and rushed outside. The moment they did, Jazz pointed an accusing finger at her brother.
"Before you say anything, you better punish Danny first. He was spying on us!" Jazz snapped.
Jack and Maddie both took on angry looks, but inside, both parents were proud of Danny for being such a good brother.
"Were you spying on them?" Maddie asked in a scolding manner.
Maddie and Jack were both leaning at Danny, making sure to cover him up.
"Alright, alright! Yes, I was spying on Jazz! But I…" Danny tried to come up with an excuse before Jack put a hand on Danny's back, giving him an approving wink.
"Good job~" Jack whispered.
Danny blinked, but was more than relieved his parents were not as mad as he would have assumed.
Maddie also nodded with a smile. "Yeah, way to go, Danny. And if you see Jazz with that hooligan again, you let us know." Maddie added, also in a whisper.
Danny could only blink, again.
"Oh, and if you see your brother or cousin, let them know about this too, so they can keep an eye on Jazz as well," Jack added quietly.
"Speaking of which, where are they? You three usually are inseparable," Maddie questioned.
"Um… They're…" Danny trailed off. Crap, how do I explain this one away?!
Luckily for Danny, Jack and Maddie noticed Jazz was looking at them with an annoyed face as Johnny drove off on his bike.
Jack and Maddie straightened up as they both said in a scolding tone. "And don't do it again!"
Then Jack leaned in to whisper to Danny. "But seriously, feel free to do it again."
Danny blinked, but nodded, not sure of what else to say. Wow… I don't know what to say to Mom and Dad, but I'm glad we're all on the same page…
"I'm going to take a shower," Jazz huffed as she walked past Danny and their parents. "Nobody talk to me, I'm not in the mood!"
"I just hope this phase will pass soon, I don't like seeing Jazz like this…" Maddie frowned.
"Speaking of our kids, it's starting to get a bit late," Jack noted as the sun was starting to set. "Danny, you might want to call Andy and Takuya soon, I don't want them staying out too late again."
"Don't worry, I'll call them if they don't get back in time." Danny said reassuringly. Oh man… if they aren't back soon, they'll be in serious trouble! I hope the others took down Megadramon….
Danny decided to check in on Patamon as everyone headed back into the house. He needed to see if Patamon found out anything. However, when he went upstairs, he saw Jazz's room was open. Jazz was currently in the bathroom, taking a shower, so she wasn't in her room right now. Danny frowned when he approached Jazz's room. He wasn't there to snoop, he went in because he saw a familiar orange figure lying motionlessly on the floor.
"Crap!" Danny hissed. "Patamon!" He ran over to the orange Digimon on the floor. "Hey! Wake up!"
There was no response as first. Danny kept trying to wake Patamon up. After about a minute, Patamon finally began to stir. The small Digimon coughed for a moment. "Ugh…"
"P-Patamon, are you alright?" Danny asked in concern. "What happened to you?"
"I… don't know…" Patamon answered, groaning. "I just… suddenly felt… a lot of pain… and… passed out…"
Patamon blinked open his eyes, and Danny's own eyes looked in shock.
Danny was sure Patamon's eyes were supposed to be blue, but the eyes he was looking at were instead an ecto-green color. "Um… Patamon… Why are your eyes green?"
"What?" Patamon frowned. "What do you mean my eyes are green? They've always been blue."
"Um… Just… I know your eyes are normally blue, but they aren't now. I swear…" Danny said, not sure how to explain what he was seeing.
Patamon frowned more before he rushed to Jazz's full body mirror to look at his eyes. "Why? Why are my eyes green!? How did this happen? I…"
Patamon frowned as he recalled his body glitching out, and how he had a neon green energy going through him before he passed out.
"Did I somehow… get infected with some ectoplasm…?" Patamon wondered. "My fractal code must've somehow contracted ectoplasm, and it somehow infected me, and turned my eyes green!"
Danny paled at hearing this. Shit… Why'd… Wait! Danny's eyes went wide when he realized he had put the D-Arc in his pocket. Crap! That D-Arc must've been in my pocket when I transformed into my ghost form!
Danny wasn't sure how the D-Arcs were supposed to work, but from what he could tell with Andy's D-Arc, it seemed to affect Lopmon whenever Andy did something with it. At least, that was what Danny thought. With Takuya's D-Tector, it held his Digimon's spirit. So these… devices seem to be a link between them and their Digimon partners.
Danny took out the D-Arc from his pocket to look at it. He paled when he saw the screen was glowing a neon green, and seemed to have the words 'error' written on it.
Shit… This is bad… This is really bad… Danny thought in alarm. How do I explain this to Patamon?! Danny felt this thing in his chest racing faster than normal, and it was not his heart, even if that was also beating faster than he had felt it beat since the accident.
Patamon looked at Danny, noticing that he was looking at the D-Arc with a very troubled expression. Patamon frowned, seeing the D-Arc had the glowing green screen.
"Did a ghost get a hold of the D-Arc?" Patamon asked in a tone that made it difficult for Danny to tell if Patamon was angry or not.
"Um… Maybe? I don't really know to be honest…" Danny said, trying to come up with a cover story. "But, I was following Jazz and that Johnny guy, so maybe it was taken while I was distracted?" Way to go, Fenton… You really suck at lying…
"You suck at lying," Patamon stated, saying Danny's last thoughts out loud. "What actually happened? Were you attacked by a ghost?"
"No… Okay, yes…" Danny sighed. "It was a shadow ghost to be exact…" Well, I guess I can admit to that, just not that I was fighting said ghost…
"I need more information. Where did the shadow ghost come from? What did it do to you?" Patamon questioned.
Danny frowned as he thought of how to weave the story in a more believable way. "Johnny… summoned it while I was following him and Jazz. It grabbed me, and pulled me inside it. But… I got lucky, I was able to use a flashlight I had on me to shine a bright light on it. The shadow ghost doesn't like bright light, at least… artificial light, it seems to be fine in the sunlight. The shadow ghost flew back to Johnny after that."
Patamon took a moment to think about Danny's story before nodding. "That might be what happened. When the shadow ghost had you inside it, it may have infected the D-Arc, and thus, infected me with some ectoplasm."
Danny inwardly sighed with relief. Good, that's out of the way… I swear I need to get better at lying… "Yeah… Sorry about that. I got a little careless there…"
"You couldn't have known Johnny was a ghost, or at least had the ability to summon a shadow ghost," Patamon sighed. "Once we're done here, maybe Sorcermon can purify me of this ectoplasm. But for now, other than the green eyes, it seems to not really be doing anything to me. Let's hope it stays that way."
Danny nodded. "Yeah… Sure." He said. "So… um… What were you doing in Jazz's room?"
Patamon looked up as he remembered why he was here in the first place. "Earlier, I saw your sister talking to a Digimon on her computer. She seems to have a bond with them, so I was hoping to get more information from the Digimon, and see if they could make your sister see what she's doing."
Danny blinked, but had to admit, that was a reasonable explanation. "That sounds like a good idea actually. Maybe someone else can make Jazz see reason."
"When will your sister get back?" Patamon asked.
"She's in the shower," Danny answered. "So about… 15 minutes?"
"We better get to work," Patamon quickly said, hopping up onto Jazz's desk and booted up the computer.
Luckily for Danny and Patamon, Jazz's computer was still on the website itself. She only put the computer to sleep when she hung up on Floramon earlier.
Danny quickly took the mouse and clicked on the 'speak to Digimon' icon.
They saw Floramon appear on the screen. Floramon looked to be making soup when she saw them.
"Huh? What?" Floramon blinked in confusion. "Wait… Jazz? No… you're not Jazz… Aren't you one of her brothers?"
"Um… Yeah. I'm one of her brothers." Danny confirmed. "My name is Danny. Nice to meet you."
"We've already met," Floramon reminded. "At Breezy Village, remember? Although I guess you probably didn't interact with me much, things got kind of busy by the time your group showed up. But, uh… why am I seeing you and not Jazz now?"
"Jazz is getting cleaned up in the shower. But… That's not important right now…" Danny sighed. "Jazz is… not acting like herself lately, and it's worrying me."
"What do you mean?" Floramon asked, now starting to worry herself.
"Floramon, do you remember me?" Patamon asked.
"Huh? Uh… you are… a Patamon, right? I've… never seen one with eyes like yours before," Floramon replied, sounding unsure.
"Yes, I'm a Patamon. Something happened that caused my eyes to get this color, but that's not important right now," Patamon sighed. "I'm with Danny, and I was watching his sister, the one you have a bond with. I can't say I know her as well as Danny and you do, but from what I can tell, she isn't acting normal. From what I've seen of her, she's usually a level headed, responsible, mature girl. The fact she's rushing into a relationship with this Johnny guy is very… unlike her, even if her emotions were running rampant around him, I just can't see her defying her parents and wanting to be with a practical stranger as much as she is right now."
"She… did talk a lot about Johnny," Floramon agreed. "But… is that really concerning?"
"For her, it's like Jazz is a totally different person." Danny groaned. "She is too focused on him, even willing to sneak out to see him!" Danny put his head on the desk.
Floramon frowned. "I didn't want to think something was wrong, but it was… unlike her to suddenly hang up on me to hang out with him. Especially since she never talked about Johnny before, so I wasn't sure how long she knew him. Do you know what's going on?"
"From what I could tell, Johnny may either not be human, or he has powers a human shouldn't have," Patamon explained. "He was able to summon a ghost, a shadow ghost."
Floramon looked horrified at that as one of her flower hands went up to her mouth. "What!? He's able to summon a ghost!? And Jazz is with someone like that?"
"Yeah… It's true…" Danny sighed. "And I was caught by that thing while trying to spy on Jazz. I got lucky in that I had a flashlight with me and that drove the shadow ghost off, but… It was close."
Floramon frowned, now very worried for Jazz. "If he's able to summon a ghost… it's likely he might have items that are ghostly on him. Whether he's a ghost or a human that can summon a ghost, he would definitely have something ghostly on him. Has he given anything to Jazz?"
"Why ask about if he gave anything to Jazz?" Patamon questioned.
"If Jazz is acting as weird as you say, and the fact this guy she apparently likes can summon a ghost, then… maybe… it's only a theory… he might be giving her ghost items that are… I don't know, brainwashing her? Hypnotizing her? Change or influence her mind in some way?" Floramon guessed. "I'm not really sure how ghosts work, but I know some undead Digimon can do that with items they give to another Digimon."
Danny paled. "Jazz was wearing a purple scarf and a red jacket…" He muttered in horror. "She doesn't have clothes like that…"
"I saw those on her when she talked to me earlier," Floramon confirmed. "I didn't think anything was weird since I don't know what kind of clothes she has."
Patamon frowned as he began thinking. "If your guess is correct, Floramon, then I doubt even your words would be able to snap her out of it. We would have to take that red jacket and purple scarf off of her to get her back to normal, assuming there aren't any lingering effects on her for having them on."
Danny nodded. "Right. But we have to be quick about it. I don't know how long we have until Johnny gets a permanent hold on Jazz."
"Please do. I would help if I could, but I'm stuck here." Floramon frowned. "Please, save Jazz, don't let that ghost get his filthy hands on her."
Danny was surprised to see how much Floramon cares about Jazz, even though the two hadn't met in person, it was clear that Floramon saw Jazz as someone really special to her.
Danny nodded at Floramon. "I promise, I'll save Jazz." He reassured her. This thing in his chest hummed in agreement with his words, which was odd, but Danny didn't dwell too much on it at the moment.
Danny heard Jazz grumbling to herself as her footsteps were approaching her room.
"We have to go," Patamon quickly said.
"We'll call you back later and let you know what happened," Danny quickly said to Floramon before he exit out of the chat.
But Danny didn't have time to turn off the computer, or put it into sleep mode. Jazz was already right by the door. Since Danny couldn't use his ghost powers with Patamon here, he picked up Patamon and ran into Jazz's closet to hide.
Danny shut the door to Jazz's closet and tried to make sure he was out of sight. Oh man… This is so awkward… Danny thought in embarrassment. I shouldn't be hiding in my sister's closet!
Jazz walked into her room, wearing bathrobes, though despite that, she still had her jacket and scarf on, and she had a towel on her hair. She noticed her computer was out of sleep mode. "Was someone messing with my computer?"
Jazz frowned before she looked around, knowing one of her brothers was able to use ghost powers, she began to shout. "Danny! If you messed with my computer, I will kick your butt! I know you can hear me!"
Danny didn't even answer, trying to keep quiet. He was trapped and he knew it. Crap, crap, crap! How will I get out of this one?!
Thankfully for Danny, Jazz didn't think to look in her closet since… well, Danny had ghost powers, why would he need to hide in her closet? So Jazz just grumbled to herself before she sat down at her desk to chat with Floramon.
"Hey, Floramon, did anyone else talk to you before I got on here?" Jazz asked.
"Uh… no, not at all," Floramon nervously replied. "I was just here… making some soup for dinner. How've you been?"
"I've been good. I just got back from an outing with Johnny, an outing that my brother Danny ruined…" Jazz grumbled.
"Oh, did he now? That's… too bad," Floramon replied, trying not to sound happy and relieved about that. "I guess brothers will be brothers, right? But, uh… what do you plan to do for the rest of the evening? Do you plan to hang out with Johnny again?"
"If it's possible, yeah, but if not, then at least I can find something else to do." Jazz replied. "But really, Danny can be such a bother. He knows spying on people isn't nice."
"I'm sure he does. Uh… I see you're still wearing that jacket and scarf. Do you plan to take those off at all?" Floramon asked. "I mean… Do you want to wear those in your sleep?"
Jazz grumbled. "Of course I take them off when I sleep…"
"Oh, okay. It's just… weird to see you wearing those while you're wearing a bathrobe," Floramon replied. "Although I don't wear clothes, so I guess I can't say whether or not that's weird."
"Are you alright, Floramon?" Jazz asked, sounding concerned. "You sound like something's on your mind."
For a moment, Floramon didn't reply. She just gave a bit of a worried expression. "Honestly… I don't think anything I say will… make you happy. Not now at least."
Jazz frowned a little. "Why do you say that?" She asked, confused and concerned now.
"Um… nevermind, it's nothing. But… I should go, I have some orders to fill at the restaurant," Floramon replied, sounding worried and sad. "I… um… hope to hear from you again later though, okay?"
Jazz frowned again, but nodded. "Okay. Don't overwork yourself though." She said.
"Thanks… You listen to your own advice as well, Jazz," Floramon said before she ended the chat herself.
While Jazz had been talking to Floramon, Danny slowly snuck out of Jazz's room while holding Patamon. Jazz was concerned about Floramon's behavior, because no matter when Jazz called her, Floramon had always been happy to talk to her even during her busiest days.
I hope whatever Floramon is going through isn't too bad. She seems worried for some reason. Jazz thought to herself.
However, before Jazz could think about Floramon anymore, she heard what sounded like a horn honking outside her still open window. Jazz looked out the window, and any thoughts or worries she had on Floramon were instantly gone the moment she saw Johnny standing outside, looking back at her.
Jazz smiled. "Hi, Johnny!" Jazz greeted with a wave of her hand.
Johnny smiled back at her. "Hey, Kitten. Is this a good time?"
Jazz looked at her door mischievously. "Yep. My parents are doing their own thing, and my brother is probably playing that game again in his room." She replied. "Want to come up and listen to some music or something?"
Johnny smirked. "Sure." He said as he made his way into the house.
"Oh, but give me a moment, I need to dress up," Jazz chuckled sheepishly, remembering she was in her bathrobe.
"Take all the time you need, Kitten." Johnny grinned.
After Jazz put on her regular clothes, as well as keeping the red jacket and purple scarf on her, and making sure her hair was dry enough, she opened the door to let Johnny in. For once, her parents weren't doing whatever in the lab, and were in their room talking about something. It didn't concern Jazz, so she ignored them as she and Johnny snuck downstairs.
Danny and Patamon, however, had been watching silently. Danny, still carrying Patamon, followed Jazz and Johnny downstairs.
Jazz led Johnny back into the lab. There was a small, nagging voice in the back of Jazz's head. She was wondering to herself, why was she showing Johnny the lab again? It wasn't like she was ever proud or happy to show off what her parents were doing before. And yet… here she was again, in the lab, with Johnny.
Johnny grinned as he held up the ring once more. "So, what do you say, kiddo? Want to be my girl?" He asked, smiling sweetly.
Jazz smiled at the ring and was about to reach for it once more, but a voice stopped her.
"She's nobody's girl." Danny said as he came into the lab, holding Patamon in his arms still.
"Stop spying on us!" Both Johnny and Jazz snapped.
"Wait, why are you holding that stuffed animal?" Johnny questioned, pointing at Patamon.
"That doesn't matter!" Danny frowned before he looked at Jazz. "And I won't stop, just like I know you wouldn't if it were me!"
"Danny, I don't care what messed up reason you have for ruining my relationship with Johnny, but you're going too far!" Jazz snapped back.
Danny approached his sister, he used his free hand to grab onto her arm that also had the scarf. He began to pull slowly, while Patamon subtly pulled on the other arm and scarf, trying to get the clothes loose. Danny noticed the jacket and scarf were glowing as they were coming off, and Jazz began to look like she was in a daze.
"I knew it," Danny realized. "It wasn't you who's been falling for him, these clothes were making you fall for him!"
Johnny scowled. "You just had to ruin things, didn't you punk?" He hissed. "I was so close to having your sister, and you come and stop me!"
"What do you want with my sister!?" Danny snapped as the jacket and scarf slipped off of Jazz.
"Johnny, get me out of here!"
Danny heard a small, but clear voice speaking from the ring in Johnny's hand. He sensed a small ghostly presence coming from the ring.
"What the…?" Jazz shook her head as her thoughts were becoming clear again, something she hadn't noticed until the clothes Johnny gave her slipped off. "Johnny? What… why've you been…"
Jazz's eyes narrowed as realization hit her. "... You never loved me, did you? You're not even human… you're a ghost. You were just using me!"
Johnny's eyes went wide as he realized Jazz had snapped out of the trance. "Oh, crud…"
Danny smirked. "Well now, it seems your plan has backfired." He said smugly.
Johnny narrowed his eyes. "Whatever, I guess that means we'll do this the hard way. Shadow, attack!"
Johnny's shadow suddenly came up from the ground, looking ominous and ready to sink its claws into some flesh.
Seeing this, Patamon didn't care about keeping himself hidden from Jazz anymore. He jumped up from Danny's arm, facing the shadow. "Boom Bubble!"
Not expecting a sudden attack from a Digimon, Shadow was hit in the torso by the Boom Bubble and hit a wall. Shadow hissed as it rubbed its stomach, which seemed to be regenerating much slower than when Danny hit it with his ghost ray earlier.
Jazz's eyes went wide. "Wait… is that…?" She asked in shock.
"Nice, Patamon!" Danny said with a big grin. "That was a bullseye!"
Patamon, however, was sweating a little. His body hadn't quite recovered from whatever happened earlier that made his eyes turn green. He wasn't sure if he could keep this up for long.
"You should… get Jazz, and get out of here…" Patamon instructed. "I don't know… how long I can… hold back this… shadow ghost."
Danny stared in surprise before he shook his head. "No. I'm not letting you face that shadow ghost alone." He said, but he knew Patamon had a point; Jazz's safety came first.
"How did that little monstrosity get in here?" Johnny hissed in annoyance. "Hmph, no matter, Shadow can handle that thing easily."
"Danny, that creature, isn't that…" Jazz began to ask.
Shadow flew at Patamon, tackling him to the ground. Danny gasped, seeing Patamon was in trouble. However, that distraction was enough for Johnny to grab Jazz's arm and yank her away.
"Hey!" Jazz shouted.
Before Jazz could try to throw Johnny off of her, however, Johnny put the ring on her finger. Jazz gasped as her thoughts went fuzzy, and it was difficult to think. At the same time, Shadow threw Patamon at Danny with enough force to push the boy into a wall. Shadow then grabbed onto the red jacket and purple scarf that were on the floor and put them back on Jazz.
Not long after the clothes were back on Jazz, her entire body glowed neon green. Jazz couldn't even move or scream, she felt like something cold was crawling through her body. Her eyes turned green for a moment as her mind began to melt into a puddle. Johnny grinned as he pulled Jazz over to the control panel, and put her thumb on the DNA scanner to open the Ghost Portal.
The portal opened, just as Johnny led Jazz to the opening. There was a ghost floating inside the portal's entrance, a ghost that had gray skin like Johnny, neon green hair and purple lips. Her eyes were red, and she wore a black tank top with a red skirt and black and green fishnet stockings. Her boots were black as well. This female ghost held out her hand and sent out energy that began to surround Jazz's body.
Patamon crawled off of Danny, and saw what was happening. So that's it.
Pushing his body to move, Patamon began running over as Jazz and the mysterious ghost woman began to trade places. Patamon jumped and snatched the ring off of the ghost woman's finger.
The connection was cut off as the ghostly woman screamed, leaving Jazz in the real world.
Danny looked up, seeing Jazz was still in the human world, and it seemed Patamon had saved the day, or at least bought them some time. "Hey, Patamon! Throw that ring over here!" He called out.
Shadow tackled Danny away before Patamon could throw the ring. Johnny growled as he launched himself at Patamon.
"Give that back, you little monster!" Johnny shouted as Patamon quickly jumped away from Johnny.
Despite being a ghost, most of Johnny's power seemed to come from the shadow… or maybe his powers are what gives the shadow its powers. So as long as Johnny and Shadow were separate, Johnny was more human than ghost. At least that was what Patamon could deduce.
Unfortunately, while Jazz didn't have the ring on her anymore, she was in a daze and couldn't move on her own. So Patamon and Danny would have to keep the ring away and find a way to defeat Johnny and his shadow if they wanted to keep Jazz safe.
If only we could get rid of that shadow… Then Johnny would be without his powers. Patamon thought. But a prolonged fight will make things worse for me since I haven't recovered from whatever happened to me earlier… We need to end this fight quickly…
Danny could tell Patamon was not up for a long fight, so that meant the fight had to be ended soon. Darn it… of all the times I could use my ghost powers, Patamon has to be the one fighting… Danny thought in frustration. But… we seem to be doing well, even without my ghost powers. Maybe fighting while human is not such a bad idea. I'll save my powers if we really need them.
While Patamon was busy dealing with Johnny, Danny could keep the shadow distracted, and he knew the shadow had a glaring weakness. Danny didn't need to leave the lab to find some bright light, he was in his parents' lab, he could figure something out. Andy would've already shined a bright light on the shadow, and get rid of Johnny, without needing ghost powers by now. Surely Danny could do the same.
"Over here, you ugly shadow!" Danny shouted as he ran across the lab, keeping the shadow's attention on him.
The shadow ghost turned to Danny, flying after the boy. Danny dodged the shadow ghost's attempts to catch him, thankful for Andy's training. I never thought Andy being such a drill sergeant would be so useful! I won't complain about the training ever again! Danny thought in gratitude.
"What? Can't catch me? It seems you have real butter fingers! Can't grasp anything because you're a shadow? Oh, wait, that's right, you are a shadow! A shadow of a ghost!" Danny quipped.
The shadow was getting quite angry, and began to go through a shelf, causing it to rot suddenly and fall down. Danny quickly jumped away from the shelf. Jeez, that shadow has quite the temper.
Johnny was still trying to catch Patamon.
"Give that back to me, right now!" Johnny growled.
Patamon gave Johnny a grin. "Or what?"
"You little beast!" Johnny swore as he tried to grab Patamon, but thanks to his smaller size, Patamon was able to fly out of Johnny's way and up higher above Johnny's head.
"What? Can't fly without your shadow?" Patamon said cheekily as he watched Johnny jumping to try and catch him.
"You are so dead!" Johnny growled
Patamon continued to fly around, trying to save his energy by not using his attacks.
Meanwhile, the ghost lady from before was watching the entire thing going down from in the portal. She couldn't leave the portal, at least not without Jazz's body, but it would seem Johnny may not be cut out for this since he was having trouble with a kid and a small Digimon.
With Danny and the shadow ghost, Danny was almost to his destination in the lab. Just a bit further, and then we can shed some light on this situation! Danny thought as he ran to the console in question.
Danny stopped however when the shadow managed to get in front of him. The shadow grinned malicious, eager to finally get its claws into Danny. Danny looked at the control panel behind the shadow ghost, if he could just get behind it.
Patamon noticed Danny was being pushed back by the shadow ghost. He gripped onto the ring tightly with his hand. It's not that I care about him, or his sister… I… just can't allow… such injustice to happen to these kids… especially with ghosts.
Patamon flew up to get out of Johnny's range before he blew himself up like a balloon. "Boom Bubble!"
You better make this count, Danny! Patamon thought to himself as he shot out the Boom Bubble at the shadow.
The Boom Bubble slammed into the shadow ghost's back, causing it to hit the ground. But this also caused Patamon to lose most of his energy, and he fell to the floor.
Danny, seeing his chance, jumped over the shadow ghost's form and landed on the other side by the console. He put a hand on one of the buttons and grinned. "Time for a little illumination on things." He quipped as he hit the button.
As soon as Danny hit the button, the lights in the lab turned on, throwing everything into bright light. The shadow ghost screeched and screamed as the lights were shining down on it writhing in pain.
Johnny gasped as he saw this. "No! My shadow! My powers!" He cried out as he felt the shadow ghost fading away.
Patamon grinned from the floor. "Checkmate… ghost."
"Johnny?" The ghost woman spoke up, looking concerned.
Danny looked at the ghost woman, he didn't know exactly what was going on, but it looked like the ghost woman cared for Johnny. Johnny looked over at her.
"I'm sorry, Kitty… I've failed you…" Johnny apologized.
Danny frowned before he walked over, taking the jacket and scarf off of Jazz. Patamon held up the ring, allowing Danny to take that too.
"I don't know what your story is," Danny said, giving Johnny back the stuff that was on his sister. "But if you needed to use my sister to get something, then of course I was going to stop you. If you need to be with your girl, then go be with her. Don't mess around with humans in our world, or you're going to regret it."
Johnny blinked. "Hold on, you're not going to… suck me into that thermos thing?" He had been sure the boy would do something like that, since rumors had spread of 'The Thermos' in the Ghost Zone.
"I only use it when I need to," Danny answered. "If you go back to the Ghost Zone on your own, then I won't need to. But if you try to run, well… you know the answer to that. What were you even trying to do anyways?"
"I needed a host for my girl, Kitty." Johnny replied. "We tried to escape the Ghost Zone, but the stupid doors closed on Kitten's hair and… trapped her between the Ghost Zone and your world. She needed a new host…"
"Can she still go back to the Ghost Zone or is she trapped in between the Ghost Zone and our world?" Danny asked.
"She can go back to the Ghost Zone to recover, but…" Johnny frowned. "That could take years. I didn't want to be separated from her for that long."
"Then why not go back to the Ghost Zone with her?" Danny asked. "Why try to take over my sister to get your girl over here?"
"I don't know if we'll be able to leave the Ghost Zone if we go back now," Johnny admitted. "We've been waiting for so long to see what changed in the living world after we had died… it would've been a waste if we gave up now because of the inconvenience. If I could get Kitty a new body, then we can be together again forever."
Danny shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that… but you can't just come into our world, and take someone's body to be the host to your girlfriend. That person still has a life, you know, and family that cares about them. The Ghost Portal will still be here if you had to go back to take care of Kitty."
"What? But wouldn't you, like, suck us into that thermos and send us back anyways?" Johnny questioned.
"I only do that to ghosts who are causing trouble," Danny explained. "If the ghosts just want to be left alone and do their own thing that isn't hurting or troubling anyone, then I don't mind letting you roam around the living world."
Johnny blinked before he smiled. "You know what? You're not that bad, kid. I'll be sure to keep that in mind if Kitty and I ever come back here."
"Just don't try taking over my sister again," Danny stated firmly. "You're lucky I didn't just smack you back into the Ghost Portal and never let you or Kitty back out ever again after this."
Johnny nodded. "I won't do that to your sister again. Not after this." He promised.
Danny sighed. "Then you're free to go. Just don't cause any more trouble."
"Okay, I can do that." Johnny grinned. "Then I'll head back to the Ghost Zone until Kitty feels better. You're not as bad as everyone says, I would've imagined you would be some kind of tyrannical monster, kid."
Danny blinked. "Me, a tyrannical monster?" He then began laughing. "I'm sorry, but I'm far from a tyrannical monster. I'm just a kid who wanted to protect his sister."
"There's been a lot of talk about you," Johnny explained. "Ghosts tend to not like being forced into a small, cramped thermos before being forced back into the Ghost Zone. I'd say be careful, not all the ghosts would be as understanding as me."
Johnny snapped his fingers, and his bike appeared behind him. Johnny got onto the bike. "But for now, later kid!"
Johnny rode his back into the Ghost Portal, where he picked up Kitty and put her on his seat.
"Maybe next time, Kitty," Johnny said.
Kitty rolled her eyes. "I heard. This is better anyways, I didn't want to be stuck in some other girl's body for the rest of eternity."
As the two went into the Ghost Zone, Danny went over to the control panel to shut the doors on the portal. He didn't want to deal with any more ghostly surprises for a while.
"Wow… I'm impressed… at how you were able to talk down those ghosts," Patamon admitted on the floor. "I didn't think such beings would listen to a human…"
Danny sighed. "Well, not all ghosts are evil. They just… are as complicated as humans in a way. I think… I'm not an expert on ghost psychology though…"
Patamon grumbled. "I never really want to understand them… ghosts always cause so much trouble, for humans and Digimon… just look at the mess they caused in the Digital World."
Danny knew Digimon didn't like ghosts, and vice versa, but it was weird seeing a Digimon he knew to show how much disdain he had for ghosts. It was especially awkward for Danny since he was half ghost himself. He had no idea how Patamon would react if he ever figured out he was half ghost.
"Instead of staring at me with those big, puppy dog eyes of yours, you should check on your sister," Patamon spoke up.
Danny blinked before he realized Patamon was right. "R-right…" He said as he turned to run over to Jazz.
"H-Hey, Jazz? Are you okay?" Danny asked when he reached Jazz's side.
Jazz groaned, rubbing her head. "I'll be okay… I saw what you did… you know, talking to Johnny and… his girlfriend."
"I'm sorry, Jazz… I know this must be painful for you…" Danny said softly, knowing what it was like to have someone he liked to not really share the same feelings.
"No, it's okay," Jazz replied. "I never really fell for him myself… it was those clothes I wore. I never really knew him, and… he was just using me."
"I… can't imagine how that feels." Danny admitted. "But… It will be okay. It will pass."
Jazz felt like her heart was ripped apart, but she also knew she had not really been herself, so it was an odd combination of emotions she was feeling. "I never knew anyone could feel disappointed, heartbroken, and relieved at the same time…" She muttered.
"Do you need to lay down?" Danny asked in concern. "I can help you to your room if you need to."
"I'll be alright, Danny… I just need some time to process all of this…" Jazz answered. "What about… that creature who helped us… That's… a Digimon, isn't it?"
Patamon looked up at Jazz. "I shouldn't be surprised you figured it out. After all… you have your own Digimon you talk to."
Jazz looked at Danny directly. "But… What is a Digimon doing here in the human world? I thought they were just part of a game."
"Remember what we talked about?" Danny asked.
"I mean the world is a game here, even if they are just as alive as we are, how is a Digimon able to escape from that world and end up here?" Jazz asked. "Floramon always told me she can't come to my world, because it's impossible for her to cross into our world."
"It is possible for a Digimon to exist here," Patamon said. "But getting here is a different story. A Digimon would need to be near a human who has a special device that opens a portal between this world and the Digital World."
Jazz blinked. "So that's how this Digimon got here? I didn't think that was possible."
Danny chuckled sheepishly. "Well, it is possible." He said as he reached into his pocket and took out the D-Arc. "This is the device in question. Although… this one may be a bit broken now due to that shadow ghost. That thing covered me in its shadows…"
"It's broken?" Jazz frowned.
"Yeah, it's screen has an 'error' message on it," Danny pointed out.
"That's not good… is that how you and the others go into the Digital World in the first place?" Jazz asked.
"Yeah," Danny confirmed. "Since we don't have the virtual helmet that would upload our consciousness into the game, we physically go there instead."
Jazz frowned. "Well, how are you going to get back if your device isn't working?"
"I don't know." Danny sighed. "But we have to find a way to fix it if that is the case."
"Where are Andy and Takuya?" Jazz asked. "I haven't seen them the entire time you've been here."
"They're back in the Digital World." Danny sighed. "They… had a more important issue to take on. A crazy Digimon/ghost hybrid was causing trouble, and they chose to remain behind while I came back here to check on you."
"You were able to get my text message?" Jazz remembered.
"Yeah," Danny confirmed.
"Even while in the Digital World?" Jazz blinked.
"I guess?" Danny frowned. "Why?"
"Well if you were able to receive my text message while in the Digital World, then maybe that means you can text someone right now and let them know what's going on," Jazz explained.
"Huh… Yeah, that may be a good idea." Danny admitted sheepishly. "Especially since Takuya and Andy were also worried about you."
Danny took out his cell phone to text Andy and let him know Jazz was okay, and that something was wrong with his D-Arc.
"Hopefully Andy will get this message soon," Danny said.
"In the meantime… how about we talk to Mom and Dad, let them know Johnny's not coming back?" Jazz suggested. "I know they must be worried about me… and… Floramon… I wonder if she knew? Was that why she was acting all worried before?"
"She knew," Patamon confirmed. "She has a bond with you, so she didn't want to upset you."
"I see…" Jazz frowned. "We should also take care of Patamon, he looks pretty hurt."
Danny nodded. "Yeah, we should. He was the reason I was able to get to the console for the lights." He said as he looked to Patamon. Danny got to his feet and walked over to the little Digimon before picking up Patamon.
"We better figure out how to get that D-Arc fixed…" Patamon grumbled.
"He sure is a grumpy one," Jazz chuckled.
"He's not used to being cared for like this," Danny chuckled.
"Hey! I'm still infected with ectoplasm! I have a right to be grumpy!" Patamon huffed.
Danny sighed. "Even if you are, that's no reason to be such a grump."
Jazz was giggling at the banter between Danny and Patamon. "Oh, Danny? Could you catch me up to speed on what's going on in the Digital World?"
Danny paused, not sure if he wanted Jazz to know what was going on.
"Uh… well…" Danny hesitantly began.
Titanic X: ZAFT: Yeah, that was fun with Agunimon and his Beast Spirit form! XD And the talk was kinda needed to help Tucker get to Guardromon, so it worked out well! X3
pokemon fan 1991: DarkFoxKit: Appmon? I'm afraid I have no idea what that is.
ZAFT: I watched bits of it. It's a series where the Digimon are basically representations of smartphone apps. Not really a Digimon series in the usual sense. ^^' But back on topic, I'm glad you liked the character development of Andy and Tucker! XD
DarkFoxKit: You'll likely know who the fourth main character will be once they show up, as the story will start putting more focus with them once they come in.
Heh, wasn't really my intention to follow the seven chosen children from the original Digimon series, it just kinda happened.
ZAFT: We already have Tucker's digivolution route for Kokuwamon planned, but those are some good options. :3
And as for Danny, again, the evolution route for Patamon is already planned, but you will like how it goes down. :3
Kittylover05: ZAFT: These reviews from Kitty are my favorites~ X3
DarkFoxKit: Well, sounds like you were at a busy place, but glad you enjoyed the chapter despite the loudspeaker.
ZAFT: I could never be a speaker like that. ^^' I hate being in public to speak. I clam up when in front of strangers I have nothing in common with in a large place. ^^'
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, I'm way too shy, and have trouble articulating words despite being a writer. If I have to talk out loud, my brain just shuts off. But getting back on topic… Yeah, I like making characters like Andy who struggles with a lot of self doubt, because it's from my own experience. Not only can I relate, but I can truly get into the skin of the character.
ZAFT: On topic, yeah, Andy being deliberate here was kinda fun to write out. :3 He was just too much fun to write. XD It can be hard to get into his head here, but that is the fun part. It's so different and makes the readers wonder what Andy is feeling and why. XD
DarkFoxKit: Admittedly, I was worried about pulling a twist like that, because it might've felt out of left field for people. But yeah, Andy is realizing just how in over their heads are with this. These players are no joke, they could easily wipe them out. Hardcore gamers having their skills weaponized is a very scary thing, especially considering what they can accomplish in these games. But Andy also needs to stop putting everything on his shoulders, and have faith that they can get through this, and he needs to not self sabotage himself if he wants to succeed.
ZAFT: Now, we get it. XD Bringing in Andy's flaws only shows that he is just a 14-year-old boy! X3 Andy going to extremes is kinda fun~ X3 You may see Andy doing something like 'not at all' soon, but I will not say more than that. XP
And as for Tucker… Yeah he is getting more development, but Sam will get more too.
DarkFoxKit: I'm not sure how much development we'll give them, since our main focus will be on our main characters. There's only so much we can do. But we do try to give them a spotlight when we feel it's necessary. Tucker and Sam are definitely not characters I would call my favorites, or close to being my favorites. But I acknowledge their roles are important. The episodes like King Tuck, rubbed me the wrong way because it kinda came out of left field that suddenly nobody wants to listen to Tucker, and Tucker acts like a brat.
ZAFT: We will definitely see what we can do with that episode so it is not so out of left field. XD That should be a fun one to re-do~
DarkFoxKit: And Valerie, while that death of Airdramon will be at the back of her mind, she knows she has an important duty to do.
ZAFT: So enjoy our next chapter~ X3