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.

79. Two Worlds, One Family

DarkFoxKit: So we updated on a special solar eclipse day. That's pretty cool. Now this chapter will forever be marked as the day we updated on a solar eclipse!

ZAFT: Yep! And I'm close to the area of totality, but not in it, so it will be near black out where I am. XD

DarkFoxKit: I wonder how a solar eclipse would affect certain ghosts and Digimon. Now there's a concept we should try exploring.

ZAFT: Oooh, that would be fun! XD Anyway, onto the chapter!

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Chapter 79: Two Worlds, One Family

"Are you okay, Andy?" Lopmon asked his partner in concern. "Do you… want to talk to Jazz?"

"I know Jazz cares, and I know she'll do what she can to help me," Andy sighed. "But right now, I would just feel patronized if I spoke to her."

"Maybe you could… talk to Dr. Carbon or whatever his name was?" Lopmon asked. "I think he's not a ghost like that Spectra woman was."

"I don't think I'd be able to tell him much about what my problem is, since he doesn't know about halfas and all that," Andy sighed.

"Then, who could you talk to?" Lopmon asked with a frown. "You need to talk to someone…"

"I don't know, Lopmon. This may not be something I could just talk to anyone to…" Andy replied. "I'm not sure if I can talk to Takuya or even Danny about it. They'll just worry about me… they don't really get it… They would think I'm just worried about them, or scared of them, but it's… deeper than that…"

"Andy… You're feeling like they'll leave you behind, but you know better than that, right?" Lopmon asked in concern. "They're your family. They want you by their side."

"What about me? Am I just getting in their way? Or am I actually helping?" Andy sighed. "You know I took a lot of risks, especially on that night, when Freakshow almost took them both away… It was the first time I saw both Agunimon and Danny Phantom looking truly… malicious. I can't get their faces out of my head. If someone like Freakshow could do that to them… who's to say someone else couldn't do that again? And what if we don't get as lucky next time?"

Lopmon frowned. "Andy… I think we need to have a serious talk about this. It's not healthy to worry about something like that so much. You worrying about it so much will only make things worse for you."

Lopmon looked down for a moment. "I… might have bits and pieces of my past life coming back to mind… I think I remembered feeling similarly like you do now… Worrying about the future, and what some people could do to Digimon. Maybe corrupting them or hurting them in a way they may never recover form. That kind of worry… can drive anyone up the wall, and lead to distrust… Andy, I don't want you start distrusting others because of your worry about everything."

Andy looked at Lopmon, surprised that he was starting to remember a little bit about his past. "You may have been a lot more like me in your past life then… that might explain how we became partners."

"I guess we probably are meant to be partners." Lopmon chuckled.

Andy stood up from his chair and stretched out. "I don't believe in destiny though. At least I don't believe in some greater force deciding what our fates are. I believe we create our own destiny. I like to think you and I bonded, and that's why we became partners, not because it was some greater destiny. Because if we say it like that… it makes it feel like we don't actually have any control over our path, you know?"

"True." Lopmon admitted. "There could be many reasons we became partners."

"The Digital World is a mysterious place, even without the human tampering," Andy remarked. "Maybe… we should go there for a little while. Just to clear our heads. I need to get away from Amity Park for a little while anyways."

"I think that would be a good idea." Lopmon agreed. "To get away from Vlad and the Ghost Hunters here would do you some good."

Andy walked over to his computer screen. He picked up Lopmon, then he held out his D-Arc. "Take us anywhere that's safe."

Andy didn't have a destination in mind, but he wanted to make sure the portal didn't dump him and Lopmon over lava or a battlefield or something.

Andy went through the vortex, his outfit changing to a dark blue T-shirt with white lines around the sleeves and neck area, and matching pants with white shoes. Lopmon was at his side.

Andy landed on his feet, since it was just him and Lopmon coming through the portal this time. Which Andy was thankful for, he didn't want to deal with a pile up mess of human and Digimon bodies right now. He looked around, and noticed they were in a forest. It wasn't the Forest Terminal, however, so Andy didn't recognize this place. But there didn't seem to be anything or anyone dangerous nearby.

"This looks like a good place for a stroll, wouldn't you say, Lopmon?" Andy asked.

Lopmon grinned. "It sure does! It feels so peaceful here!"

"Would you like to walk with me then?" Andy asked. "Or just stay on my head like you usually do?"

"I think I'll walk. If I get tired though, it's back on your head I go." Lopmon chuckled as he hopped out of Andy's arms and to the forest floor beside him.

The two of them walked for a little while, just enjoying the ambiance of the forest. Since time was currently in sync with the real world, it was night time. Andy wondered if the cricket noises they were hearing were Digimon or actual crickets. After all, there were actual fish in the water, so why not actual insects too? It was nice to just come out here and not have to worry about ghosts, or Vlad, or whatever scheme he was doing.

After a while, Andy and Lopmon decided to rest near a tree, both of them sitting down at the trunk. However, as they were sitting, they heard footsteps approaching them.

"Andy, do you hear that?" Lopmon asked as he lifted his ears at the sound. "I think I hear someone coming this way."

Andy stood up and turned around, wanting to see if whoever was coming towards them was a threat or not.

Eventually, the figure stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight. Andy was surprised to see the figure was a familiar young boy.

"Tommy?" Andy asked.

"Andy?" Tommy asked back.

"What are you doing here?" Both of them asked the other at the same time.

Lopmon tried to keep from laughing at the fact both boys had spoken at the same time. "Oh geez… that never gets old…"

"I had a lot on my mind, so I decided to come out here for a while," Andy explained to Tommy.

"Yeah? So did I," Tommy replied.

"How about we sit down then? Lopmon and I were just relaxing here," Andy suggested.

"Yeah, okay, I was just about to take a rest myself," Tommy agreed.

The two boys sat down by the tree's trunk.

"So what brings you out here?" Tommy asked. "It must be pretty bad if you're out here alone… well, with just Lopmon I mean."

"A lot's been going on in Amity Park," Andy sighed. "I've been worried about my brother and cousin, of course. But… lately it felt more complicated than that."

"Care to elaborate?" Tommy asked.

"Well… you know how you and Takuya can turn into Digimon?" Andy replied. "You guys have such great power, and the ability to do things no human could ever hope of doing. It… makes me wonder if Takuya would one day leave, and… join up with your group. Are we just slowing him down? Am I taking too many risks as a human and making him more worried about me than he should? Am I just… getting in everybody's way?"

"I see where you're coming from," Tommy said.

"You do? Despite being a Legendary Warrior yourself?" Andy asked.

"I wasn't always a Legendary Warrior. In fact, I used to think I was a bad guy, or was using a Digimon who was once a bad guy," Tommy explained. "It feels rather silly now, because only Legendary Warriors seemed to be capable of passing their Spirits onto someone else. But I didn't know that at the time, and everyone thought I was a rogue Legendary Warrior, which really didn't help things. I felt left out, like I wasn't worthy to stay with the group who were Legendary Warriors. And trust me, it was a long road before I finally found out I was a Legendary Warrior, and even then… I've made mistakes, things I wish I never did and could make up for."

"Sounds like you've had it quite rough for a while," Andy remarked.

"No more than you have, I'm sure," Tommy said. "I don't know what kind of special thing your brother has, but I can tell he's not a normal person. At least not quite fully human."

"You could tell that much by just looking at him?" Andy asked.

"It's hard to explain, but I just got the feeling he wasn't fully human. It's like a sixth sense I guess." Tommy admitted.

"It's likely a Digimon thing," Lopmon said. "After all, Patamon and I sensed something was off about Danny too."

"Right," Andy sighed. "Well, you're not wrong about that, Tommy. But it's not something I can tell you, because it's not for me to tell."

"But regardless… you feel like you don't fit in with them because of that, am I right?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah…" Andy agreed softly. "Even with my sister, and parents, I don't feel like I fit in. They have their own quirks… I just feel like an average person."

"I know how that feels… like you're just in the way in your family, and the older sibling makes you feel uneasy, even though you trust them with everything," Tommy remarked.

"You have an older sibling?" Andy asked.

Tommy nodded. "I do. I have an older brother. He's much older than me though. He's about 17 years old. "

"So he's about 6 years older than you? Wow, that's quite the age gap. At least my sister is only 2 years older than me," Andy remarked.

"Yeah. It wasn't always easy getting along with him… but I know he cares about me," Tommy admitted. "He's the only person in my life outside of the Digital World who knows about me going into the Digital World. I… needed someone to cover for me so my parents don't think I went missing again…"

"But isn't it a bit late for you to be out here?" Andy asked.

"Not really… I live in Japan, so it's not late there right now," Tommy reminded Andy.

"Oh, that's right… I forgot you're not… uh… living in America," Andy sheepishly replied.

Tommy chuckled. "It's easy to forget where we all came from in the real world when we're in the Digital World, especially since the Digital World allows us to speak the same language as the other."

Lopmon grinned. "One of the wonders of the Digital World~"

"But… you never answered my question, Tommy. Why are you out here?" Andy asked.

Tommy let out a sigh. "I wanted to find out more about the mysterious fog, now that time isn't going by too quickly in the Digital World. But I guess I also wanted to… go down memory lane. I didn't think it would actually bring me back to… where I was before though…"

"Where you were before?" Andy asked, looking over at Tommy, and noticed something glinting in the moonlight on Tommy's neck.

"I used to work for a player who wears black armor, and has a Digimon called PawnChessmon as his partner," Tommy explained. "He saw me Spirit Evolve into Kumamon for the first time, and… I didn't know anything about Kumamon or the Legendary Warriors. I just know I now had the ability to turn into a Digimon. I didn't know why I had this power instead of having a Digimon partner like everyone else though… And… the one who I was with thought I was a Digimon who can discuss himself as a human. His name is Sir Michael."

"Sir Michael?" Andy frowned. "We ran into him and his group once, but we haven't seen much of him since."

"They were pretty tough though," Lopmon added.

"They can be." Tommy admitted. "But they are a good group. Sir Michael only wants to help the Digital World, or so he says."

"What was your experience with him like?" Andy asked.

Tommy let out a sigh before he told Andy about how he used to work with Sir Michael as his 'second Digimon partner'. Though Tommy had been excusing it as him helping a friend. Sir Michael made him fight a lot to gain 'experience'. Though Sir Michael often liked to use him to 'teach others a lesson'.

"Eventually, when he wanted me to take out a little girl's Lunamon, that was when I… finally left," Tommy finished. "Sir Michael… I'm sure he means well, but he's going about all of this too far… I couldn't help but question his motives, and his methods. It seems like he wants to purge the bullies rather than try to rehabilitate them. While I don't like bullies myself…"

Tommy thought back on Katsuharu and Teppei.

"They're still people like we are… and fighting back to the point of hurting them… doesn't that just make us no better than them?" Tommy frowned.

"I agree… I don't like bullies either, but… I don't want to turn myself into a bully to get back at them," Andy said. "I had someone who was the king of bullies in my school. But lately, he's been trying to change… he even wants to join in on our future guild to help the Digital World. But… if Sir Michael is really as twisted as you say he is… why are you working for him again? Do you know?"

"I'm not sure… I had no intentions of working with him again," Tommy admitted. "Especially since I have our guild to look forward to, and I wanted to do what I can to help everyone there. But… I don't know… when Sir Michael started apologizing, and promising to treat me better… I just felt like I had to work with him again. And while I can see Sir Michael is… trying to change, things felt like they haven't really changed at all. Just earlier today, I… had to take out someone's Digimon partner again…"

Lopmon frowned. "Then it sounds like Sir Michael hasn't changed, at least to me."

"I agree… and I know this… but something keeps holding me back. Telling me that I'm wrong, or over-exaggerating… maybe I haven't changed at all, and just thought I did…" Tommy sighed.

Maybe I haven't changed at all, and just thought I did… The words rang through Andy's head, and he realized something. "Maybe that's what's making me doubt myself lately. I feel like nothing about me has changed at all… while I watch those around me change too much."

"But people get stronger all the time." Lopmon pointed out. "And you have changed, Andy. It's just not in a visible way like with Danny and Takuya."

Andy took a moment to think before he nodded. "Yeah. It may not be as obvious, but I have changed over the past several months. I doubt the old me would've done what I did to save Danny and Takuya from a mad ringmaster after all. Maybe others couldn't see it, but that doesn't mean it's not true." Vlad doesn't know anything about me. He doesn't have the right to judge if I'm just a useless human or not.

Andy looked back at Tommy. "And don't think that you haven't changed either, Tommy. You've gone through all sorts of crap, and still survived. Do you honestly think you were the same kid before you got pulled into the Digital World?"

"No… I don't." Tommy admitted. "I've… I've grown up since then. I no longer act so spoiled."

"But you know, it's not bad to still act like a kid every once in a while," Andy chuckled. "After all, you should enjoy your childhood while you can."

"Heh… I guess that's true," Tommy said. "It sounds like you're getting your spark back. I'm… glad I can help with that."

"I feel like, despite how different we are… we're a bit of a kindred spirit," Andy remarked. "By the way… Tommy, I've been meaning to ask, have you always worn an accessory around your neck?"

Tommy blinked. "No, why?"

So it must be what I think it is. Andy thought to himself. I could just tell him, or get it off of him, but… This is something Tommy has to overcome himself, if he really wants to get past his own inner demons, and Sir Michael. Still, it doesn't mean I can't nudge him in the right direction, just as he did for me.

"You're smart, try thinking about it. Why would you suddenly want to work for Sir Michael again despite knowing what you know about him, and seeing that he hasn't really changed?" Andy asked. "And… why I asked you about the neck accessory that you didn't always have."

Tommy looked down in thought. He reached up to rub at the back of his neck, thinking it was a necklace Andy had seen, but he felt something hard instead. "I… don't…" Tommy then trailed off as he ran a hand along the hard object, a chill slowly entering his body. "Do I…"

Andy stood up from his position. "I think it's about time we got back, don't you? There's some unfinished business the both of us need to get to."

Tommy stood up as well. He looked over at Andy. "I… I get it now. It all makes sense why I suddenly want to work with Sir Michael again…"

"Do you want any help?" Andy asked.

Tommy thought about it for a moment, his fingers moving across the collar around his neck, before he shook his head. "This is something I have to do for myself. If I can't face up to Sir Michael with this… slave collar, then I may never truly be able to stand up to him. But thank you, Andy."

"I should be thanking you, Tommy," Andy said back. "After all… you helped me remember something that I forgot."

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

Andy gave a small grin. "I'm Andy Fenton, I decide for myself what I want to do and who I want to be. Not anyone else. I only got as far as I did because I was just being myself after all, super powers or not."

Tommy smiled. "I'm glad I could help, Andy." He then fingered the collar again. "And I have to thank you… for helping me see that Sir Michael hasn't changed at all."

Lopmon grinned. "I think you two needed that chat. Look how much happier the both of you are~"

"Yeah… maybe we really are kindred spirits," Tommy chuckled. "I get the feeling if you were a Digimon, and I wasn't a Legendary Warrior, we would've been partners."

"You may be right about that," Andy chuckled as well. "But for now, the best we can do is support each other in a way the others can't. I trust that you'll be able to handle Sir Michael. Do you trust that I'll be able to face up to my own problems?"

Tommy nodded. "I do." He said with a smile. "Good luck, Andy, Lopmon."

"Good luck to you too, Tommy," Lopmon said.

"We'll see each other again soon, I'm sure of it." Andy smiled.

With that said, Andy and Lopmon walked back one way, while Tommy walked the other, going their separate ways. But they knew they had each other's backs. Tommy wasn't facing this alone, and neither was Andy.

---

It didn't take long for Tommy to make it back to the Nobel Guild. Now knowing what he knew, Tommy found the name to be rather ironic. He gently rubbed the collar around his neck. He knew he couldn't remove it himself, after all, if the wearer of a slave collar could remove their own collar, it wouldn't be much use. Andy offered to remove it, but Tommy wanted to do this without Andy's help. But he knew Andy had helped him, at least where it counted. The slave collar didn't have full control over Tommy, it just made him as complacent as he used to be with Sir Michael before he left.

But that all changes now. Now that Tommy was aware of the slave collar around his neck, and what it was doing, this was his best chance to confront Sir Michael, and his threat of using a slave collar to control Tommy, once and for all. I won't let you control me, Sir Michael, not ever again.

Tommy found Sir Michael in his room. Unlike most of the other humans and their partners, he and PawnChessmon were wide awake. Sir Michael appeared to be working on something, as he was writing down many things in a notebook.

"Sir Michael," Tommy said.

"Tommy, what did we say about you interrupting me when I'm in the middle of something?" Sir Michael grumbled, not even looking up from his notebook.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving," Tommy bluntly stated, making Sir Michael stop writing. "I don't belong here anymore. I haven't for a while."

"Oh?" Sir Michael asked as he looked up at Tommy. "And why's that? I thought you were more willing to stay this time."

"You lied when you said you changed," Tommy replied. "You could've easily changed that rule about having to turn a loser's partner Digimon back into an egg. But you left it because you wanted to teach anyone who dared to challenge you a harsh lesson. You threatened a Trailmon to take us here without a ticket. That's hard on the Trailmon itself, you know. And you used dirty underhanded tactics to get what you want. You're not a nobel knight, you just want to pretend that you are."

Sir Michael frowned. "But Tommy… I swear I am not trying to be mean." However, Sir Michael's fists were clenched; he was not appreciating Tommy's willingness to stand up to him, not with that thing on his neck.

Tommy felt his mind wanting to cave into Sir Michael's words, that he was being unreasonable, and he should work with Sir Michael more before judging him. Tommy shook his head, he had to fight off the collar's influence on his mind if he wanted to be free from Sir Michael.

"You put this slave collar on me when I was fighting with KnightChessmon, didn't you?" Tommy frowned, pointing at the collar on his neck. "Well, as you can see, I'm not becoming your slave. Oh, it tried, and it's still trying to get me to do what you want. But here's the thing you failed to take into account, Sir Michael. I'm not just a Digimon, I'm an honest to goodness human. I just happen to be able to become a Digimon."

Sir Michael frowned before clenching his fists as he stood up. "So, that's it huh? That's how you are able to resist the slave collar? Because you're a human?" How is that possible? I know I have seen him become a Digimon! There's no way that Tommy is also a human! It's just not possible!

"Oh, and even if I was only a Digimon, I have my own thoughts and feelings too. All the Digimon you hurt up to this point actually feel pain, Sir Michael," Tommy stated. "And many of them don't appreciate being treated like military dogs. I just can't support someone like you. So… I'd like to have my hat back, and I'll be on my way."

Sir Michael growled as he stood up. "You know what? You're really pushing it, Tommy."

"And you've been pushing it since you first saw me become Kumamon," Tommy replied. "You don't have the right to control me."

"I think I do." Sir Michael stated as he walked around from his desk. "You're just a Digimon to me. Whether or not you are a real human is irrelevant to me. Kumamon's power is all that matters to me. I tried to be civil about this, but you have pushed me too far."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Tommy asked. "We already know that I can take out your partner Digimon even in his Champion form."

"True, however, I am the guildmaster here," Sir Michael pointed out. "I have more than just one Digimon at my disposal now. If you won't join us willingly, then I'll capture you, and find a way to tweak that slave collar to make you obey me! Or better yet, I can take Kumamon's power for myself!"

"Heh… good freaking luck with that last one," Tommy muttered, though he also knew he was in trouble, because while he could take on Sir Michael and PawnChessmon alone, having to fight everyone else in the guild was way more than he could handle on his own.

Knowing what Sir Michael planned to do, however, Tommy ran out of Sir Michael's room. As he did, Sir Michael sounded the alarm, waking up everyone who were in the guild. Tommy didn't hesitate to take out his D-Tector, he was going to need to be Kumamon for this.

Tommy brought the D-Tector up to his face, and saw the symbol for ice. But he noticed something else on the screen. Huh? What's that?

Tommy tapped on the button of his D-Tector, seeing a new figure on the screen of his D-Tector. It looked… familiar. Wait, isn't that the prize I won on Datamon's game? Why is that in my D-Tector?

Tommy remembered how Datamon borrowed his D-Tector, and opened up the case. Datamon kept saying how something was missing in Tommy's D-Tector. Of course, at the time, Tommy didn't understand what that meant. But looking at it now… he was beginning to realize what this thing was, and why Datamon put it into his D-Tector.

Is this… what I think it is? Tommy frowned. Is this… my Beast Spirit? I've had it since the incident at Autumn Leaf Fair? … But I don't know if I would be able to control it!

"Catch that boy!" Tommy heard Sir Michael shouting.

There's no time to think about this now! Tommy hissed before he summoned his fractal code on his hand and scanned it into his device.

Tommy's body was wrapped in a cocoon of data before becoming Kumamon.

When the fractal code dissipated, Kumamon was in Tommy's place.

"So, you wish to fight after all, do you?" Sir Michael growled. "You'll regret this, Kumamon!"

"I told you, I just want my hat back and I'll be on my way," Kumamon replied.

Kumamon saw Ryan, Drake, that other knight with the Falcomon, and a few others with their own Digimon partners. He didn't see Kwan or Susie, however. They likely logged out before Kumamon went to confront Sir Michael. That was good, because it meant two less people and Digimon he would have to deal with.

"I think it's time for Kumaon to be brought to heel." Sir Michael stated ominously. "I will not let such a strong Digimon escape me, not again."

"But he has a slave collar on, how is he resisting you, Sir Michael?" The other knight questioned in confusion.

"Because I'm not just a Digimon, nor am I your slave to control," Kumamon replied.

Kumamon knew he had to be careful, but he wasn't leaving without his hat, not this time.

"I knew this was a bad idea." Ryan nervously said.

"You always think something is a bad idea," Drake grumbled. "Come on, Ghostmon, you can taken on this bear!"

"You're crazy," Ghostmon grumbled.

"Attack him, everyone!" The other tamers in the guild began to have their Digimon go at Kumamon.

Luckily, these Digimon were still in their Rookie stage. Sir Michael's strongest guild members were his four friends. Kumamon fired out his Crystal Breeze on the ground, icing up the guild. He let out his skis with his boots and began skiing around the other Digimon. He took out his gun and shot multiple snowballs into the air, letting the snowballs fall onto the tamers and Digimon's faces to blind them.

While many of the other guild members and their Digimon partners were blinded, Ryan and Drake, and their own Digimon partners, were able to avoid that fate. Sir Michael was very angry now. "You will pay for this, Kumamon!"

Sir Michael turned to Drake and Ryan. "Stop messing around! Have your Digimon digivolve now!"

"Y-yes, sir!" Ryan and Drake quickly said, seeing how angry their leader was.

"Kunemon! It's time to digivolve!" Ryan called out.

"You too, Ghostmon!" Drake shouted.

"Kunemon digivolve to…" Kunemon's body was wrapped with fractal code, like Tommy's was earlier.

Kumamon hissed as he looked back, seeing how they were about to get stronger.

"Ghostmon digivolve to…" Ghostmon's body was also wrapped with fractal code.

"Flymon!" Kunemon finished, having changed into a different Digimon. This Digimon was yellow primarily with a yellow and black striped rear end like a giant bee. It had red wings with an eye pattern on each of them, and it had Kunemon's head. It had six legs, two of which had yellow claws and the other four had black tips.

"Witchmon!" Ghostmon finished, having turned into a new Digimon as well. This Digimon looked like a human female witch on a broom. The hat was red, and the hair was short and blonde. The Digimon had blue eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. The cape worn was black, and the Digimon's gloves and dress were red. The boots were black, finishing the outfit.

"PawnChessmon, you digivolve too," Sir Michael ordered.

"Yes, Sir Michael," PawnChessmon replied before fractal code surrounded him.

"PawnChessmon digivolve to… KnightChessmon!" KnightChessmon was back and ready for another fight.

"Looks like you've got quite the crew now, Sir Michael!" Kumamon stated. "So tell me again why you want little ol' me?"

"Your power, Kumamon." Sir Michael replied. "Yes, the others here are strong, but few Digimon can match your power. In fact, you are on par with a Legendary Warrior's strength."

Oh the irony of that statement. Kumamon sighed to himself. "Sir Michael, I don't want to fight you."

"No, no you don't," Sir Michael replied before he looked at the others. "Get him!"

Flymon was the first to attack. "Brown Stinger!" He launched stingers at Kumamon.

Kumamon quickly moved around the icy field he created to dodge the incoming stingers. Even with his malleable body, he didn't want to get hit by those. They were also likely poisonous, the last thing he needed was to deal with being poisoned too.

Seeing this, Witchmon was the next to attack. "Baluluna Gale!" A magical gust of wind was kicked up right in Kumamon's direction.

Kumamon hissed as he couldn't dodge this one. The sharp winds cut through some of his armor and his skin. He had to act fast.

"Blizzard Blaster!" Kumamon fired his gun above them.

This time instead of harmless snowballs, it was sharp little icicles raining down on them.

Flymon was able to dodge most of the icicles coming down on him, as was Witchmon, but Flymon's wings were getting torn by what icicles hit him.

09

Seeing this, KnightChessmon moved into action. "Knight Lancer!"

Kumamon hissed as he had to stretch out his body to barely avoid the large lance from stabbing into him. Though his body did get grazed by the lance. Kumamon grabbed onto the lance after it went by him, ignoring the pain. "Crystal Breeze!"

Kumamon completely froze the lance in thick ice before letting go. He hurried to ski away before KnightChessmon could try something else.

Seeing this, Flymon flew after Kumamon. "Poison Powder!" Flymon scattered poisonous powder around the area.

Kumamon hissed as he responded with a weaker version of his Crystal Breeze, blowing away the Poison Powder. But while he had been focused on that, Witchmon was coming in for another attack.

"Aquary Pressure!" Witchmon launched magical water at Kumamon from behind.

Kumamon was hit by the water bullets from behind, and knocked him to the ground. His back hurt from that. When he was down, Knightmon dropping his frozen lance and galloped towards the bear.

"Gallop Whole!" KnightChessmon launched himself into the air, preparing to come in hard on Kumamon.

Kumamon gasped, seeing KnightChessmon coming down on him. He knew he wasn't going to move away in time, so he did the next best thing he could think of in the moment. Kumamon melted his body into liquid form as much as he could as KnightChessmon came down to trample on him. KnightChessmon frowned as he lifted up one of his hooves, seeing some of Kumamon's… liquidized body on it.

Despite the pain Kumamon was feeling, he managed to move his body away from under KnightChessmon, and turning the parts of him that was on KnightChessmon's hooves to ice, making it hard for KnightChessmon to move without slipping and falling.

Kumamon eventually solidified himself, returning to normal. But he was hurt. He had bruises forming on his body. He was starting to run low on energy. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.

Sir Michael noticed Kumamon was starting to look exhausted. "Well, it seems you can't handle a three on one match." He said with a smug grin. "It seems you can't escape me, even if you fight back as hard as you can."

Kumamon looked over at Sir Michael. "Heh… well, maybe. Although I think your KnightChessmon pummeled into me a little too hard."

Kumamon held up pieces of what was left of the slave collar, which KnightChessmon likely stomped on when Kumamon liquidized himself. Giving the bear his own thoughts back. Although, in his current situation, he wasn't sure if that made much of a difference.

Sir Michael gaped. The slave collar had been broken… but not by Kumamon… It was his own partner Digimon that had done it, even if inadvertently.

Drake wasn't sure whether he should laugh at the irony or be worried about Sir Michael's reaction later on.

"Oh… that's not a good thing…" Ryan gulped. "Flymon! Try to knock out Kumamon!"

"You too, Witchmon" Drake quickly said.

"Brown Stingers!" Flymon shouted, firing out his stingers at the tired out Kumamon.

Kumamon tried to dodge, and he was able to dodge at least 4 of the 5 stingers, but he wasn't able to dodge the last one. It pierced his shoulder, breaking some of his armor. Kumamon let out a scream of pain as his body was going numb from the paralytic of the stringers.

"Baluluna Gale!" Witchmon fired out the sharp wind at Kumamon.

Kumamon couldn't move, and the winds hit him at full force, cutting his body heavily. Kumamon fell to the floor face first. He couldn't hold onto his form anymore. Fractal code surrounded him, turning him back into Tommy. Tommy knew Kumamon had to do that, otherwise if Kumamon stayed, eventually his Spirit would've been exposed to the enemy.

Sir Michael grinned as he saw Tommy on the floor before him. "At last… you won't escape me again, Tommy~"

Drake grinned. "Hey, once we capture him again, can I have him, Sir Michael?"

"You wouldn't be able to control him, Drake," Sir Michael huffed. "I'm going to need to look into an upgraded slave collar to control him."

Tommy hissed and groaned. He wasn't paralyzed anymore when he turned back into Tommy. But he knew he wouldn't be able to escape without Kumamon. But then he remembered… he had his Beast Spirit, didn't he? Tommy frowned, he hadn't wanted to use it because he didn't want to end up losing control and turning violent like Takuya did. He didn't want to seriously hurt anyone here.

"Now, shall we try this again?" Sir Michael asked.

Can I use my Beast Spirit without losing control? Tommy frowned as he looked up at Sir Michael.

Then Tommy remembered something Andy said to him earlier. I trust that you'll be able to handle Sir Michael.

Yeah… after everything I've been through… I should be able to handle Sir Michael. Like Andy… I just have to remember who I am. While I like to call myself Tommy… I'm Tomoki Himi. I make my own choices, and make my own destiny. I will not be owned by anyone ever again! Tommy thought to himself as he slowly pushed himself back up onto his feet. "Sir Michael… I wish things could've been different between us. You were the first one to take me in when everyone else just saw me as a problem. And for that, I'm grateful. But… I can't let you just turn me into a slave just to use my power for your own selfish goals. You know I can't just agree to that, right?"

Sir Michael frowned. "So you've made up your mind. It's a shame, but as I said, I would rather not use force. However, it seems force is what is needed to keep you at my side."

"Sir Michael… you say you hate bullies, don't you?" Tommy asked as he held onto his D-Tector, preparing himself for what he had to do. "I know you won't listen to the words of someone you see as a 'tool', but at least think about what I'm going to say in the future. Bullies hurt people. And… what makes you any different from them?"

"I put them in their place, make sure no one else can bully the weaker." Sir Michael replied like it was that simple.

Tommy sighed.

"Now stop this rebellious act. You obviously can't fight anymore, and even if you could, we both know you can't stand up to 3 highly trained Champion level Digimon who are aware of your tricks," Sir Michael stated.

"You're right… I'm afraid tricks and tactics won't work as well here…" Tommy said. "I can only hope… raw power and instincts will guide me to freedom without hurting you all."

Tommy held up his D-Tector as a ball of fractal code appeared around his left hand. He ran the code through the scanner of his D-Tector. "Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution!" As soon as he said that, coding surrounded his body as he cried out. His body grew in size and strength, with white fur covering his skin. He gained gloves that had the symbol of Ice on them and his hair grew long before becoming braided together in long locks. His face became more beast-like, and he opened his eyes to reveal them as a blackish-brown color. He landed, crying out his name as twin axes came down and he grabbed them, swinging the blades. "Korikakumon!"

The fractal code dissipated, revealing a new Digimon in Tommy's place. This Digimon had white fur like Gorillamon, but looked more like a yeti almost. It had braided hair that looked like tentacles almost, and it had two large axes it wielded with ease. The lower arms were covered in armor that had the symbol for ice on them, and it had two horns extending from its head. The eyes were brown as well.

Everyone quickly stepped back at seeing this huge Digimon that was once a small child towering over them.

"W-what just happened!?" Ryan yelped, nearly wetting himself.

"D-did Kumamon digivolve!?" Drake squealed.

Sir Michael growled. "So he had another form? This changes things…" I know nothing about this form, what it can do, or what attacks it has. This is not a favorable situation.

With how big and menacing this bigger Digimon was, Sir Michael wondered if he was going to be more brawn than brains. Korikakumon held onto his two axes as he looked at the three before him.

"Don't just stand there! Attack!" Sir Michael shouted at Ryan and Drake.

Drake recovered his wits at Sir Michael's shout. "Witchmon, attack!"

Witchmon hesitated, but did as she was ordered. "Aquary Pressure!" Magical water was launched at the new Digimon before the group.

The magical wind hit Korikakumon directly. It cut off some of his fur, but it didn't look like it damaged his thick hide. Korikakumon was beginning to look annoyed.

"Poison Sting!" Flymon flew at Korikakumon with his large stinger coated in poison.

Korikakumon saw Flymon coming at him and swung his right arm at Flymon, hitting his stinger with one of his axes. Flymon let out a yelp as it was swatted away like an annoying little insect.

Korikakumon moved his head up for a moment before he lowered himself. The arrows that were his hair began to glow blue. It would appear that even as a beast, Tommy was still able to resist shouting out the name of his moves.

Not knowing what Korikakumon was doing, they could only stand there and brace themselves. The arrows shot forward, grabbing onto Flymon, Witchmon, and KnightChessmon. He brought them up and began to slam them down into the floor a few times.

"No way! This… How the heck is Kumamon so much stronger?!" Ryan exclaimed. "Flymon! Escape!"

"You too, Witchmon! Find a way out!" Drake yelled.

"Baluluna Gale!" Witchmon tried to use her wind attack to cut the arrows holding her and Flymon.

Despite being so big, Korikakumon was fast. He moved his arms quickly, using his axes to deflect the magical winds. He looked ready to butcher these three, but he hesitated. Korikakumon threw the three Digimon into a wall. And… confusingly, he got down to one knee, folded his hands together, and closed his eyes.

"What's… he doing?" Drake asked.

"He… looks like he's… praying?" Ryan blinked.

"Does it matter?" Sir Michael roared. "Get him! Have your Digimon attack with mine. We'll rush him all at once!"

Drake and Ryan looked at each other before nodding.

"Witchmon!" Drake yelled.

"Flymon!" Ryan shouted.

"KnightChessmon!" Sir Michael commanded.

"Attack!" All three shouted at once.

KnightChessmon groaned a little, but he picked up his lance. Despite it still being frozen in ice, he could still use it to stab someone with. He galloped forward with the lance.

"Aquary Pressure!" Witchmon shot out water bullets at the praying Korikakumon.

"Brown Stingers!" Flymon shouted, firing out 5 stingers at once.

"Knight Lancer!" KnightChessmon shouted.

Korikakumon sensed danger coming to him. He opened his eyes. The water bullets smashed into his chest. The stingers flew at his stomach. And KnightChessmon moved to Korikakumon in the chest. Korikakumon crossed his axes together, blocking the icicle lance from stabbing into his chest. The brown stingers made it difficult for Korkikakumon to move properly, but he wasn't completely paralyzed, just a little numb. KnightChessmon was trying to push the big yeti-like Digimon back. Korikakumon, despite the situation he was in, looked at them with calm eyes.

KnightChessmon was staring back at Korikakumon, confused. This was clearly a beast, yet somehow… it was acting calmly. Korikakumon moved his arrow hair at KnightChessmon, which KnightChessmon hadn't noticed until the arrows wrapped around his torso and picked him up.

"N-No way!" Drake exclaimed. "Can anything stop this beast?!"

Sir Michael growled. It was clear that Kumamon was far stronger than he had anticipated. "Everything has a weakness. We just have to find it!"

Korikakumon threw KnightChessmon at Flymon and Witchimon.

"He must be slowing down, after all of Flymon's 5 Brown Stingers hit him earlier!" Ryan called out. "Maybe if they could get in close, they could hit him at point blank range! Even his tough hide shouldn't be able to block all of that, right?"

Sir Michael grinned. "I like that idea. No Digimon can withstand an attack from three opponents at once."

Drake grinned as well. "Then let's do it!"

All three faced their Digimon partners.

"KnightChessmon, get in close!" Sir Michael instructed.

"Witchmon, provide cover for KnightChessmon!" Drake commanded.

"You too, Flymon!" Ryan instructed.

Korikakumon watched as the 3 Digimon started moving in closer to him. He got down on one knee and put his hands together, and appeared to be praying like last time.

"Now's our chance!" Sir Michael shouted.

As the 3 Digimon started to shout out their attacks, Korikakumon stood up abruptly and began swinging both of his axes at a rapid pace. "Avalanche Axes!"

It was the first time the others heard Korikakumon speak, outside of him shouting out his name earlier. His voice sounded similar to Tommy's, but deeper and carried a bit of an echo. The axes tore through all 3 Digimon, to the point their fractal codes were showing, and they degenerated back into their Rookie forms.

Korikakumon stopped swinging his axes, and he approached Sir Michael. Ryan and Drake both yelped as they ran back. The other members of the guild didn't know what to do either, so they stayed far away from this beast.

Sir Michael stared up at Korikakumon, for the first time seeing how tall the yeti-like Digimon really was. It made him feel… small… He tried to put on a brave face.

"W-what do you want?" Sir Michael was unable to help the stammer in his voice though. "Are you going to revert our Digimon partners back into Digi-Eggs too?"

Korikakumon stared down at Sir Michael. He raised up his right hand, and his axe.

"SIR MICHAEL!" The other members of the guild screamed in horror.

Sir Michael shut his eyes as Korikakumon brought his hand and axe down. However, he didn't have his axe on Sir Michael, instead, it was behind him. Korikakumon looked at Sir Michael, not with judging or raging eyes, but with calm eyes. He reached out to Sir Michael, and used his finger to pick up something Sir Michael had with him for a while. A small, familiar orange hat.

With the hat now in his grasp, Korikakumon stood up before he spoke. "Unlike you, Sir Michael, I don't bully the weak."

With those words said, Korikakumon turned and walked away, leaving the guild. The axe that was behind Sir Michael disappeared into fractal code.

Sir Michael watched the giant Digimon leaving. He had fully expected Kumamon to take his revenge, but he didn't. It surprised Sir Michael that such a powerful Digimon was so willing to spare him. Then, the Digimon's words hit Sir Michael. Wait… Did I just get called weak? And… a bully?

Sir Michael frowned to himself. He wasn't sure what to make of Kumamon's words to him.

"Sir Michael? Are you alright?" Drake asked in concern.

Sir Micahel didn't reply. He had a lot to think about.

---

Korikakumon didn't stop walking until he reached the forest. Once he did, fractal code surrounded his body, and he shrunk back down to his human form. Tommy fell on his butt, feeling quite exhausted.

"Jeez, that Beast Spirit takes a lot out of you…" Tommy groaned.

The boy looked down at the hat he had been missing for a while. He couldn't help but give a small smile at it.

"I did it… I actually did it," Tommy said. "I… defeated Sir Michael, and got my hat back."

Tommy looked at his D-Tector, staring at his Beast Spirit for a moment. "Thank you, Datamon, and Korikakumon… I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

Korikakumon was a little difficult to control, but… at least he wasn't violent like BurningGreymon was. Getting down to pray helped me stay focused, even if it did cost me some time to do so. Tommy thought to himself. It kept me from letting the instincts take control of me fully. I was able to lure the other Digimon close so I could hit them point blank. Even as a beast, I was still able to use my head. Wait until Takuya hears about that, he'll be so jealous.

Tommy put his D-Tector away into his pocket and he proudly put his hat back onto his head, where it belonged. "Well… Andy, Lopmon… I hope you two are able to take care of whatever it was you needed to take care of. Just know that on my end, I was able to do that. I'm not sure what Sir Michael will do from here on out, but here's hoping he'll at least take my words to heart."

Tommy let out a small sigh. "I better get back home though… can't have my brother worry too much about me."

Little did Tommy know, a small shadow was following him.

---

Andy and Lopmon were back in Amity Park, however, they weren't in their room. They were in some kind of back alleyway.

"Andy… I think you forgot an important detail…" Lopmon grumbled.

"I said for it to take us back to Amity Park… but not in Fenton Works… whoops…" Andy sweatdropped.

"Why did you not say 'Take us back to Fenton Works'?" Lopmon groaned. "You seem to be forgetting quite a bit lately."

"Well… not exactly," Andy said. "Something just told me not to mention Fenton Works… could be my gut, or some unseen vision in my head. All I know is that when I've trusted this feeling before, it hasn't let me down. After all, when I did that before, it took us to Candlemon Village."

"True." Lopmon admitted. "I won't deny it's been helpful, but it is still annoying to say the least."

Andy wondered why he felt the need to say what he did. Though he had come to learn to trust his instincts when it came to these things, he couldn't fathom why it wanted to lead him into a narrow alleyway. However, he and Lopmon heard a familiar engine stopping at the entrance of the alleyway.

"Stay hidden," Andy whispered to Lopmon.

Lopmon hid behind Andy and peered out. The engine stopped, and Jack Fenton emerged from the GAV, holding the Fenton Weasel in hand. Jack began to walk to the alleyway that Andy and Lopmon were in. Jack looked around. "Odd… I didn't think this would be a place to claim a reward."

"You need to stop and listen to me! You should know what you're getting into here!" A voice that sounded a lot like Danny's voice, only he had a slight echo to it, shouted from… in the Fenton Weasel.

Danny? What? What the heck happened while we were in the Digital World? Andy deadpanned in disbelief that his brother got caught so easily, though he stayed hidden himself, he felt that he needed to watch what would happen before he did anything.

"I know exactly what I'm getting into." Jack responded to the ghost in the Fenton Weasel. "A bigger place in my children's hearts."

Danny groaned from inside the Fenton Weasel.

Why does Dad feel like he needs a bigger place in our hearts? Andy frowned. Have we been ignoring him or something lately? … I guess it hasn't been easy working with him and Mom as long as they have their mindset that all ghosts are evil…

"Listen! Don't go any further! All of this is a trap set up by someone!" Danny called out from the Fenton Weasel.

"Oh, please ghost, why should I believe you?" Jack asked as he looked down at the Fenton Weasel.

There was a sudden feeling of heat and cold, which Andy noticed and Lopmon shivered from. And suddenly, reddish pink energy appeared around Jack and the Fenton Weasel that was in the form of a cage.

"H-hey!" Jack yelled in shock.

"Well, judging from your yell, you just figured out why you should've believed me," Danny sighed.

Jack frowned. "I… guess you were right…" He muttered, begrudgingly admitting that the ghost kid had been right.

"Andy… should we do something?" Lopmon whispered to his partner.

"Not yet…" Andy whispered back. Something was still telling him to wait.

They heard clapping, and a familiar ghost phased out from a wall, revealing himself. It was Vlad Plasmius, he was grinning as he was giving a mocking clap.

"You… the Wisconsin Ghost!" Jack realized. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know the deal. Just manipulating humans like they were pawns~" Plasmius sneered. "You're doing just as you were supposed to, coming here for your 'reward'."

"You set this up?" Jack frowned. "Why? To trap and kill ghost hunters?"

"The other ghost hunters aren't that much of a threat to me. They know nothing about how ghosts truly work. Can you believe most of them are using salt of all things to try to keep ghosts away?" Plasmius snickered. "That may work on Hollywood ghosts, but for the real deal, salt is nothing more than a condiment."

Jack frowned. That did sound amateurish at best. "And they claim to be ghost hunters? That's something even a novice ghost hunter knows doesn't work."

"Yes, well, you don't have time to worry about that," Plasmius said before he narrowed his eyebrows. "I've been waiting a long time for this moment, Jack Fenton. A moment to ruin your reputation in the eyes of the town, and most of all, your family, irrefutably."

Jack frowned, feeling a pang of sorrow in his chest.

In the Fenton Weasel, Danny grimaced. Ooof… Plasmius really knows how to tear into someone verbally…

"You don't need to rub it in." Jack grumbled. "I'm already a screw up in my boys' eyes."

"What do you plan to do with the other ghost hunters then? You clearly have no intention of paying anyone for my capture," Danny asked from the Fenton Weasel.

"So long as they are looking for the ghost boy, you will be hunted down for as long as you stay here," Plasmius replied, grinning. "The longer these ghost hunters stay, the more they will learn how to actually hunt ghosts. And before long, you will have more than just the Fentons to worry about. I would suggest you choose wisely on what you plan to do, ghost kid."

Plasmius purposefully left out Danny's name in front of Jack. He and the boy still had each other's identity held as their trump cards after all, and it was something they both wanted to keep close to their chest.

I see… Andy noted as he analyzed the situation.

Andy was glad he told Lopmon, and himself, to wait. Plasmius was giving out information that he could use to make things better for them. Ghost hunters will keep hunting down Danny if he stays here, in Amity Park. Vlad is hoping to push Danny to a point that he has to leave Amity Park for his own safety, and not put his family in danger. What an ingenious and sinister plot.

Andy recalled how Takuya's D-Tector was able to communicate with others who had D-Tectors as well, and D-Arcs apparently counted. Andy wondered if he could communicate with someone else who also had a D-Arc. But if he tried to call them up now, Vlad would be able to hear him. He needed someone to distract the older halfa first.

As if on cue, or reading Andy's mind, there was a surprise attack from above Plasmius. With a shout, Agunimon came down and landed a blow to Plasmius's face, his left hand ablaze with fire as he punched the other ghost on Plasmius's right cheek. The Legendary Warrior looked angry, far angrier than Andy had seen him.

"You think you can get away with this?" Agunimon hissed, his sharp canine teeth showing in his anger. "I won't let you hurt any of them!"

Heh, my hotheaded cousin coming in for the clutch. Andy chuckled silently. Well, he might get hurt, but this is just what I needed.

Andy quickly took his D-Arc out from his pocket and began to tap one of the buttons on it. He saw on the screen a picture of Takuya on it. He tapped the button again to see the screen scrolling to Danny's picture. He tapped it again to see the one he was looking for, Valerie.

While Agunimon was attacking Vlad, who was nonchalantly dodging his attacks, or going intangible, making Agunimon miss him entirely, Patamon, who had been invisible, flew to the cage. He analyzed the cage for a moment before he turned intangible and flew into the ground, then he came up beside Jack and the Fenton Weasel.

Patamon dropped his invisibility. "Jack Fenton."

Jack gaped. "Y-you're the ghost boy's pet, right?"

Patamon pouted. "I'm his partner, not a pet…"

Jack blinked before shaking his head. "Whatever you are… what are you doing here?"

"You don't trust ghosts, but… do you trust Digimon?" Patamon asked. "Surely you have a partner you trust, don't you?"

Jack blinked before nodding. "Y-yes… Why?"

"If you won't listen to the ghost boy because he's a ghost, then listen to me. I may have ghostly traits, but I'm still a Digimon. There are many Digimon with ghostly traits after all, but they are still Digimon," Patamon explained. "You need to release the ghost boy if you want to survive this."

Jack frowned. "Is that a given?" He asked.

"That ghost, you called the Wisconsin Ghost, is far more dangerous than you realize," Patamon warned. "He won't hesitate to tear your family apart. Agunimon can only do so much to him by himself. Legendary Warrior or not, the Wisconsin Ghost has more experience than he does, and Agunimon isn't equipped to handle a strong ghost like that. You will need to trust me, and my partner, to help you battle against this Wisconsin Ghost. Or do you not want to trust the ghost boy and risk endangering yourself and your family because of your mindset on all ghosts being evil?"

Jack blinked. When it was worded like that… Glancing out at the fight, Jack could see while Agunimon was trying his best, it was clear he was struggling to an extent. Jack frowned. Every time he himself seemed to be in danger, Agunimon came to his rescue. But Agunimon was just one Digimon, even with his level of power. Jack looked back at the ghostly Digimon and the Fenton Weasel. He didn't like the fact he had to trust a ghost, one that had attacked Andy no less, but…

Jack finally grabbed the Fenton Weasel and released the ghost boy. "Your partner really has a way with words, ghost kid."

"Yeah, he does that a lot," Danny chuckled sheepishly. "I know this is an uneasy truce, but do you trust me to help you?"

"At this point, I don't have much of a choice." Jack admitted.

"Then get ready, I'm going to get us out of here," Danny said before looking at Patamon. "Do you remember what Andy said before, about ghost energy being able to disrupt each other?"

"You'd have to have a similar amount or more than the energy currently being used to disrupt it. But I doubt Plasmius would've thought to use a lot of power to make this cage. After all, you were captured, and Jack is only human," Patamon replied.

"Andy… told you this?" Jack blinked, surprised.

"Um… yeah…" Danny, as Phantom, admitted. "He's a smart boy, that's for sure." If anything, he's probably our best ghost researcher in the truest sense. He often observes what my powers can do during training, and comes up with ways I could use them in practical ways.

"So you can… disrupt this cage?" Jack asked.

"I think so. After all, knowing Plasmius, that's the name of the ghost by the way, he's too cocky to think you would ever trust me enough to release me," Danny said before both of his gloves lit up with ghost energy.

Danny fired his ghost rays at the energy cage. The cage turned from reddish pink to green, and then dissipated.

Jack blinked before grinning. "I'd never thought I'd be thanking a ghost before, but that was incredible."

"We're not out of the woods yet," Patamon spoke up.

Agunimon was pushed into a wall, and blasted with Vlad's ghost ray, which hurt a heck of a lot more than Danny's ever did.

"Plasma Sphere!" Agunimon put up his shield, trying to fend off the ecto-rays that were being fired at him.

"Leave him alone, Plasmius!" Danny shouted before he fired his own ghost rays at Vlad.

Vlad hissed as he didn't expect Danny to be released. He was certain that Jack would never trust the ghost boy enough to release him from his container. "It seems the pawns don't all want to do as they're told."

Danny grinned. "Well, a real pawn doesn't have a mind of its own, or did you leave your own brain behind? That would explain why you didn't think very well~" He quipped.

Jack felt a chuckle escape him at the ghost boy's quip, despite the seriousness of the situation.

"So what will you do now, Plasmius? There's 4 of us, and only one of you," Agunimon said, getting some confidence back at seeing his allies.

"You can try duplicating yourself, but that also splits your powers up," Patamon said. "I'm sure even Jack could take one of your duplicates on."

Vlad frowned for a moment, before grinning. "Did you really believe I would come here without a back-up plan?"

"Back-up plan?" Danny asked, frowning. "Why does that sound ominous?"

"Because it is," Patamon growled. "What are you planning, Plasmius?"

"I didn't come here alone. Have you forgotten the vultures? I have many more pets where that came from," Vlad stated before he gave a loud whistle.

Agunimon, Danny, Jack, and Patamon found themselves surrounded by red eyes. Mutated ghost animals began to come out of the walls, approaching the group.

"Great… more ghostly abominations that you created…" Danny grumbled. "You really are a mad scientist, aren't you?"

"Focus, Phantom!" Agunimon hissed. "We can't get distracted."

Jack frowned, but he brought out his bazooka. He hadn't expected to fight alongside the ghost boy and Agunimon like this, but he had to fight back, in order to survive, and protect his family.

---

Meanwhile, Valerie and Salamon were at the Nasty Burger. Valerie was at a table while Salamon was watching from her bag. Valerie was writing something down on a piece of paper.

"I'm proud of you, Valerie. You're taking the initiative to get a part time job to help your father out," Salamon remarked in approval.

"Well, it's better than just sitting around at the apartment all day when school is not in session." Valerie admitted. "And it earns us some extra income, so I'll take it."

Valerie then felt her pocket vibrating. She blinked before reaching into her pocket to take out her D-Arc. She was confused as to why it was vibrating. She saw Andy's picture on the screen.

Valerie pressed a button. "Um… Andy? Is that you?"

"Valerie? Okay, good, you're there. Listen, I have a very important request. Do you know about the million dollar bounty on Phantom's head?" Andy asked.

Valerie frowned. "I remember. I didn't go after it because Phantom isn't evil. Admittedly, the million dollars would've been nice… but it made me think that maybe I should work for money instead. After all, knowing the ghost kid isn't evil, I haven't had as much of a reason to use my red huntress persona to go out hunting him down anymore. Might as well use my free time to be practical. Why do you ask?"

"I'm glad to hear you're doing what you can to help with the money situation. But this will require you using your red huntress persona," Andy said. "There are ghost hunters who are in Amity Park right now. The Groovy Gang and Scaredy Cat, the Extreme Ghost Breakers, and the Guys in White. Do you know about these guys?"

"How can I not? They're the best known ghost hunters, albeit not the best, but you get the idea." Valerie admitted. "What about them?"

"They may not be the best ghost hunters, but they are a problem. They're not gonna leave until they catch the ghost kid they're looking for. That million dollar reward is a nectar far too sweet for them to ignore. It'll be a problem if our one and only ghost ally got caught by them, not to mention what they could do to him if they do manage to catch him, if you know what I mean," Andy explained.

Valerie did. She shivered. "Yeah… I do." She admitted. "So, what's on your mind?"

"Being the town's second best known ghost hunter, right after the Fentons, you might be the person we need to pull this off," Andy replied. "It might take me a little while, but I want us to meet up at central park later. We're going to stage the red huntress capturing the ghost kid. After all, the ghost hunters would no longer have a reason to stick around if their golden nectar was taken by somebody else."

Valerie grinned. "Oh, I see where you're going with this." She said. "Count me in. If this keeps Phantom here and safe, I'm all for it!"

"Thanks, Val, I knew I can count on you. I'll give you the details later when we meet up. For now, I have something else I need to take care of first," Andy said. "Oh, and… good luck with your part time job, Valerie."

Valerie blushed a bit. "T-thanks, Andy…" She said. "I'll be there soon."

With that said, there was a click, and the D-Arc went silent.

"I can see you're feeling pumped up for this," Salamon noted.

"Yeah, I have an ally to help. How can I not be pumped up about this?" Valerie remarked. "Besides, for all of his faults, Phantom's a good kid."

Salamon smiled. "Then finish up that application so we can head out."

---

Meanwhile, back at the alleyway. The ghost animals were doing a good job at keeping Jack, Agunimon, Danny, and Patamon busy. Vlad was able to start scheming as he was left alone. However, Andy and Lopmon were nearby. They could get the jump on Vlad.

Andy looked at Lopmon. I may not be half ghost, nor am I a Legendary Warrior. But that doesn't mean I can't be strong in my own way. Lopmon and I… we're a team, and we can be strong together.

"Ready, Lopmon?" Andy asked his partner.

Lopmon smiled. "Yeah, you know I am, Andy."

Andy took his Fenton Rod out from his pocket, and extended it. "Then it's time to bring out the big guns."

Andy's D-Arc glowed as the words 'Digivolution' appeared on the screen.

"Lopmon, digivolve to…" Fractal code surrounded Lopmon. 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. "Turuiemon!"

The fractal code cocoon dissipated, revealing Turuiemon.

"I'm ready, Andy." Turuiemon said as he looked at Andy.

Andy and Turuiemon jumped out from their hiding spot, both of them aiming their weapons at Vlad. Vlad turned, shocked written on his face. "What the devil cake-"

Andy and Turuiemon slammed their rod and gauntlet into Vlad's face, knocking him to the ground.

"How'd you like that, fruitloop?" Turuiemon teased.

Vlad got back to his feet, glaring at the two who had interfered. "I didn't think you'd make an attempt to stop me so brazenly." He snarled, wiping away some ectoplasm that had come from a split lip.

Vlad could see his animals were busy with the others. No matter, he could handle the weak human, all he had to do was take down the Digimon and Andy was as weak as a newborn kitten. After all, what possible threat could a normal 14 year old boy cause him?

"I may as well entertain you for a little bit," Vlad remarked as he looked at Andy and Turuiemon.

"I know you're powerful, Plasmius. But I will warn you now, you shouldn't underestimate me," Andy warned.

Something about Andy's words made Vlad frown to himself. "That's awfully bold for a mere human to say. Are you sure you want to take me on?"

"I think you've been dealing with ghosts for so long, that you've forgotten how tenacious humans can be when pushed," Andy said.

"Then let's see if you can back up those claims," Vlad sneered.

Vlad flew at Turuiemon and punched him rather quickly, then fired a ghost ray at the rabbit's face, knocking him into a wall.

"Is that Andy over there!?" Jack yelled, hearing fighting going on beyond the animals they were fighting.

"Don't get distracted!" Phantom shot back. "Andy can handle himself! We have to worry about ourselves!"

Agunimon frowned. He knew Andy could handle himself, but this was Vlad they were talking about. Turuiemon wouldn't have enough power or experience to take Vlad down on his own.

Vlad duplicated himself into two. One of the clones went for Turuiemon to ensure he couldn't help Andy, while the other went for Andy. Andy held onto his Fenton Rod tightly as one of the Vlad duplicates flew at him. He swung his rod, trying to keep Vlad's fists from getting to him. But it was similar to when he fought against his dark reflection. Vlad's raw strength was getting too much for his arms. He didn't know if he could keep this up.

"You are foolish, boy! You should never have challenged me!" Vlad taunted to Andy.

"Andy's not alone, though!" Turuiemon said as he slammed his gauntlets into a duplicate, making it disappear.

Agunimon gritted his teeth. Andy can't handle Vlad alone, even with Turuiemon… But these ghost animals… I can't just go and help Andy either… It would leave Uncle Jack, Danny, and Patamon vulnerable…

With the duplicate gone, Vlad was back at full power. He turned around and grabbed onto Turuiemon's face before he started to unleash an electric attack on Turuiemon, shocking him. Turuiemon cried out in pain.

"Leave him alone!" Andy shouted as he tried to slam the Fenton Rod into Vlad's back.

Vlad used his free hand to catch the Fenton Rod and held onto it. "That's a dangerous toy you've got there, boy."

Andy hissed. We're not strong enough to take him on…

Seeing this, Agunimon knew he would need to do something. Turuiemon wouldn't last much longer, and Andy couldn't do much to fight back when his Fenton Rod was taken away.

"Jack… work with Phantom and his partner. I'm going to help Andy." Agunimon said seriously before he ran and jumped over a few of the ghostly animals, landing on the other side.

"Agunimon?" Andy frowned.

Vlad dropped Turuiemon when he saw the Legendary Warrior, and smirked. "What's the matter? Not wanting to just leave the human on his own? You must have little faith in him, don't you?"

"No, I don't have little faith in him." Agunimon replied as he got into a fighting stance. "I just wanted to give him a hand, that's all. He'll need it, especially against you!"

With that said, Agunimon coated his fists in fire and ran at Vlad. "Pyro Punch!"

Vlad went intangible, and Agunimon ended up going through him. Andy looked over at Agunimon. He could try using BurningGreymon, but that was way too big to fit in this alleyway, he'd cause more collateral damage, and risk causing the buildings to fall on top of them. Then Andy remembered something.

"Use those gloves! They should be integrated in your form!" Andy called.

Agunimon turned and grinned. "You got it!" He exclaimed as fractal code appeared around his hands, dissipating to reveal the Ghost Gloves. Agunimon slammed his fists together as red electricity began to crackle over the Ghost Gloves.

Using the Ghost Gloves, Agunimon launched another punch at Vlad, who had returned to a tangible form. Agunimon managed to land a hit on Vlad, right in the face. This was enough to send Vlad back into a wall.

Agunimon didn't hesitate to run at Vlad with the gloves. Even if Vlad went intangible again, the Ghost Gloves would still be able to grab him. Vlad quickly created two other duplicates. They both grabbed Agunimon and threw him back and away from Vlad himself.

While Vlad had been busy with Agunimon, however, Turuiemon and Andy ran at Vlad. Andy swung his Fenton Rod at Vlad while Turuiemon used his Gauntlet Claw attack. Vlad hissed as he pushed both of them back with his ghost ray. This hurt both of them since Turuiemon was a Digimon and didn't do well against a ghost attack, and Andy was still only human. They hit the ground pretty hard.

Agunimon grunted as he shook his head before backhanding both of the duplicates and making them vanish with the hits. He ran at Vlad again. "Leave Andy alone!" He shouted as fire coated his left fist. He punched at Vlad again, aiming for his left side.

"You know, I thought you were just an annoyance, but you've become a real thorn on my side!" Vlad hissed at Agunimon. "I think it's time I put you out of my misery!"

Vlad held out a hand, and Agunimon's body stopped moving. Agunimon gasped as he was being held by some invisible force and couldn't move. Andy looked up from his place on the ground, and realized what was going on. Vlad can use telekinesis…

Vlad grinned sadistically at Agunimon. "You think you can defeat me? That you can help these people? In truth, you're just as powerless as any human."

Vlad walked closer to the frozen Agunimon, and grabbed onto his leg. Agunimon felt electricity coursing through his body, his armor was unable to block it. He let out a scream as Vlad continued to pump more ghost electricity through Agunimon.

Despite the pain, Agunimon managed to gain enough clarity to counter Vlad's attack. He coated his free foot in fire, kicking Vlad as hard as he could, right at Vlad's hip.

Vlad let out a cry of his own, but didn't stop electrocuting Agunimon.

Danny, Patamon, and Jack looked up to see Agunimon in pain.

"Agunimon!" Danny and Patamon called out in concern.

A ghost cougar pounced onto Danny in his moment of distraction. Though surprisingly enough, it was Jack who got the cougar off of Danny.

"T-thanks…" Danny said to his father, grateful but surprised. "B-but… why? Why help me?"

"I need your help right now, ghost boy, if we are to get out of this alive," Jack answered. "Now I struggle to use the word 'alive' when it comes to ghosts, but… I can't say I want you to perish right now either."

"Ecto-Bubble!" Patamon blew back a large ghost moose that was charging at them. "We're not going to be able to get to Agunimon like this. Phantom could try to get past them, but that'll leave you to fighting these ghost animals alone."

Jack frowned. The ghostly Digimon did raise a good point. "Then… Why not clear the path for me? You two clearly have more power than I do, and that Wisconsin Ghost won't expect me to get in close while it's occupied."

Danny looked at Jack in shock. "Are you serious? The ghost won't hesitate to kill you if you get in close! Right now, he's just toying with them, but he won't hesitate to end your life!"

"It's either that, or he kills Agunimon." Jack retorted. "And to be honest, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least try to help Agunimon out."

Danny wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but… both his cousin and his brother needed help, that much was obvious. "Okay… we'll try to clear a path for you, and D- I mean… Jack? Try not to get killed." Heh, it's kinda cool to call Dad by his name.

Jack smiled at the ghost boy. "I won't get killed so easily."

"Okay, let's do this!" Danny said.

Patamon flew up next to Danny. Both of them flew up and then they charged straight ahead like a couple of bowling balls. They smashed through the ghost animals, knocking them to the sides.

"Go now, Jack!" Patamon called.

Jack didn't hesitate to run through the opening that Danny and Patamon had created. For such a large man, Jack Fenton could move fast when he wanted to. Jack took out the Jack-O-Ninetails and primed the weapon.

Jack threw the Jack-O-Ninetails at Vlad. The tentacles wrapped themselves around Vlad, throwing him off of Agunimon, who fell to the ground.

"Dad!? What are you doing?" Andy shouted. "Get out of here! That ghost will kill you!"

"I'm not letting this spook hurt anyone here!" Jack shot back. "Especially my boys!"

Vlad growled as he looked down at Jack. "So you really are begging for death, aren't you? I will be more than happy to grant that wish!"

With his strength alone, Vlad tore through the Jack-O-Ninetails's tentacles and charged at Jack. Jack's eyes went wide as Vlad tackled him into a wall. Jack hissed in pain.

"Dad!" Andy yelled out.

Andy saw that Agunimon was in no position to keep fighting. He was on the ground, barely holding himself together. Turuiemon was hurt too. Andy pushed himself up to his hands and knees.

"It is rather pitiful to see how easily manipulated you are, Jack, but then again, you are nothing more than a big oaf," Vlad hissed. "Too bad for you, without your weapons, you're as weak as any other human."

"Humans aren't as weak as you think," Andy stated as he managed to push himself up to his feet. "Whatever grand master plan you have, it'll all go up in smoke if you kill my old man."

Vlad sneered at Andy. "Says the boy who is helpless right now!"

Jack made his way to Andy's side, standing in front of the boy protectively. "And my son is not as helpless as you think!"

"Do you honestly believe you can keep him safe from me if I really wanted to hurt him, Jack?" Vlad questioned. "You're no more an obstacle than a giant roll of wet toilet paper."

"Maybe so, compared to you. But I still love my son, and I won't let you hurt him. Not as long as I draw breath," Jack stated firmly.

Andy was surprised. He knew his dad cared about his family, of course, but he never figured his dad would be willing to sacrifice himself to keep just one of them safe. "Dad… please… don't stand in front of this ghost, I don't want you getting hurt either."

Jack looked back at Andy and smiled. "I'll be fine, Andyroo. Just watch your old man in action."

Jack then took out his bazooka and aimed it at Plasmius. He made sure to target correctly before firing the bazooka at the ghost before him and Andy. Plasmius fired his own ghost ray, canceling out the bazooka's attack. He flew at Jack, looking ready to tear through Jack.

Jack braced himself for pain… but it never came. Jack blinked, seeing Turuiemon in front of him, holding the ghost back.

"Hey now, Jack, you may be Andy's father, but he's my partner. Leave protecting him to me, while you continue to be a father to him. Of course, you can't be a father to him if you die," Turuiemon said as he struggled to hold Vlad back.

Jack blinked before smiling. "Thanks, Turuiemon…"

Behind Plasmius, Agunimon managed to struggle to his feet. He was not going to let Vlad get through Turuiemon to Andy and Jack. "I'm not out either!" He hissed as fire coated his right hand. Agunimon ran at Plasimus, nailing him in the back with his fiery punch.

There was a loud sound before the ghost animals began to disappear. Andy looked over to see Danny was holding the Fenton Weasel's hose. "Hey, it's no Fenton Thermos, but it works just as well as one."

Andy smiled, seeing that he had his family with him, and his partner. They were all going to stand together and fight, defeating a stronger foe. It didn't matter if he had powers or not, because as far as he was concerned, he had all the power he could ever need.

I don't believe in destiny, I believe in making my own destiny. Andy thought to himself as he looked up at Turuiemon. Even if you were to remember your past life… would you want to go back to being who you were? Or would you rather forge a new future?

As if he heard Andy's thoughts, Turuiemon turned to Andy. "We've only gotten this far because we all worked together. What's one more time?"

Turuiemon and Andy walked forward, getting in front of Jack and Agunimon. Both of them looked strong, but they were both injured pretty badly.

"Agunimon. Take my dad somewhere safe. Turuiemon and I will finish things up here," Andy instructed.

Agunimon shook his head. "You need me… You can't handle this guy on your own, even with Turuiemon. Phantom can get your dad to safety."

"Agunimon, I think it's best that you listen to Andy," Turuiemon said. "You're weakened, if you take any more damage, you'll revert back… and I'm sure you don't want that to happen in front of Plasmius and Jack, do you?"

Agunimon frowned. He knew Turuiemon was right, but he still couldn't just leave Andy alone with this ghost. "No… but…" The Legendary Warrior looked torn between two decisions.

"It's okay, Agunimon. I've got this," Andy gave Agunimon a smile, one that was full of confidence, and one that promised a lot of pain for a certain someone.

Agunimon gave a bit of a smirk back. "Then give him some extra payback for me." He said before turning to Jack. "C'mon. Let's go."

"But my son!" Jack yelled before Agunimon picked him up and put him on his shoulder.

Jack was a big guy, so it was like carrying a large sack of potatoes.

"Just trust Andy. He knows what he's doing." Agunimon said gently, but firmly, as he began to leave the alleyway with Jack. "To be honest… I don't want to leave him either… but I know Andy always has a plan of some kind, even if he doesn't say it out loud." And even if I didn't leave, Andy would find a way to make me leave anyway.

While Danny and Patamon were thinning out the numbers of the ghost animals, Andy and Turuiemon still had to deal with Vlad. Of course, Vlad was hurt from dealing with all of their attacks, but he was still floating strong.

"You truly are foolish, boy. You let your only means of defense leave. Do you think I'm so weak that I can't take a beating?" Vlad questioned. "That was foolish on your part, and I'll make sure you regret it!"

Vlad fired his ghost rays at both Turuiemon and Andy. Andy quickly held out his Fenton Rod to block the ghost ray, and Turuiemon held out his gauntlet to block them as well. They began pushing.

"Maybe you're right, maybe I am just a weak, average human being," Andy said as he and Turuiemon were pushing against Vlad's ghost ray. "And maybe I am in over my head. But unlike you, I still have a heart and a conscience. I don't want my family getting hurt on my behalf, especially knowing there's still something I can do about it. There's nothing wrong with being human or ordinary. Just as there's nothing wrong with being a halfa or a Digimon. It's what you do that makes you what you are! And right now, I can't say you're a good person with what you were planning to do!"

Turuiemon smiled back at Andy's words. "And I will be there to help Andy, while you are alone, struggling to get what you want while Andy has more than enough support from his friends and family!"

The two of them were slowly gaining ground.

"I'm so tired and sick of someone trying to hurt or take away my brother and my cousin! I always feared that one day they'll succeed, that you'll succeed in taking Danny away! And if not you, then someone else, like Freakshow. But… even so, my friends and I stopped them from succeeding. And we will keep succeeding as many times as we have to!" Andy shouted. "You won't take Danny away, not now, not ever! As long as I'm still around… he will be my brother, not your son!"

"Or your evil apprentice!" Turuiemon added. "And even if you by some small chance succeed in getting Danny, Andy and I will make sure to remind him who he really is, no matter what!"

"Remember my name, Vlad Plasmius! I'm Andy Fenton, and this is my partner, Lopmon, or Turuiemon! We create our own destiny, and we become stronger with or without ghost powers!" Andy stated.

"Impossible! How are you two pushing back!? You shouldn't even come close to my power!" Vlad shouted before he pushed them back harder with his ghost ray.

Andy and Turuiemon strained themselves, both of them working together in sync to push Vlad back. Danny and Patamon couldn't help but notice this.

"What's happening?" Danny asked.

"I think I sense it… human and partner, becoming in sync with each other," Patamon noted before grinning. "Vlad is screwed."

The D-Arc in Andy's pocket glowed brightly, so much so it blinded Vlad, Danny, and Patamon.

Fractal code surrounded Turuiemon as a voice was heard from the D-Arc. "MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION"

"Turuiemon, digivolve to…" Turuiemon felt his skin peeling away. His skin began to reform on his arms, and then his legs. What looked like clothes formed on his body as well as the rest of his skin on his head and ears reformed as well. "Antylamon!"

The fractal code dissipated, revealing a brand new Digimon on Turuiemon's place. This Digimon was tall, taller than Agunimon and even Jack Fenton. The Digimon had brown fur like Lopmon, but it had pink ends to the ears, and cream fur in spots on its lower arms and head. The arms of this Digimon were long, going down to almost the feet. There were light purple pants on the Digimon's lower body, covering even the feet and the tail. There was a white cover on its chest and shoulders, and it wore a purple scarf as well. The eyes were pink, finishing the Digimon's appearance.

Danny blinked in surprise. "That's Turuiemon?!"

"Nope, that's Antylamon!" Patamon announced. "Lopmon's Ultimate form!"

With how big Antylamon was, he had to hop up onto the building's roof tops. Andy was on top of his head.

"Whoa… you got big, Lopmon," Andy remarked in shock, he honestly didn't expect Turuiemon to digivolve.

"That's because I'm Antylamon now." The new Digimon, Antylamon, said with pride. "Now, how about we finish this fight, partner?"

Andy smiled. "Yeah, but it's a bit too cramped down there, how about we bring Vlad up here?"

"With pleasure~" Antylamon grinned as one of his hands turned into a giant axe. "Bunny Blades!"

With careful precision, Antylamon made sure not to aim for Danny or Patamon, and aimed strictly for Vlad himself. Vlad gasped as he quickly flew up into the sky to avoid getting smashed by the axe.

"Ah, there we go~" Antylamon said with a grin. "How's the view from up here, fruitloop?"

Vlad was growling. There was no way his plan could be foiled by a human child and his overgrown rabbit. "You will not stop me!"

Antylamon jumped, avoiding Vlad's ghost rays. He used his large arms to slap Vlad into the air.

Heh, the irony that I'm the one on Antylamon's head now. Andy chuckled. And this is so weird. I should be falling off of Antlyamon's head with all the movements he's doing, but I'm not. It almost feels natural, like I can see what Antylamon is seeing… Is it because we were both in sync when Turuiemon digivolved?

"Let's see if you can stop this!" Antylamon shouted as he transformed his hands into axes again and began to spin around. "Bunny Blades!"

The spinning blades came at Vlad, who gasped when he saw how fast Antylamon was spinning around. It was like a literal tornado of silvery blades.

Vlad attempted to go intangible, but the blades' force was enough to knock him down into a building.

Still, Vlad refused to give up. He and Antylamon were going at it. Andy deflected whatever attacks Vlad tried to pull on him with his Fenton Rod. It was strange, he felt very aware of the environment around him. Like his own senses were enhanced from his partner's digivolution, when he was sure that hadn't been the case before. And if Vlad tried a sneak attack on Andy, Antylamon would see it immediately and react accordingly. Either dodging or smacking Vlad away like an annoying mosquito.

However, because Antylamon, and Andy, didn't want to kill Vlad, they couldn't go all out. Not to mention they wanted to keep collateral damage to a minimum. Vlad's ghost attacks, like his ghost ray and his electrical attacks, still hurt like hell. Both Andy and Antylamon were better at taking the attacks, but if this kept up, they may run out of steam soon.

There has to be a way to put this to an end without having to kill him. Andy hissed.

"What about the Fenton Thermos?" Antylamon asked in his head.

Huh? Antylamon, did I just hear you in my head? Did you hear my thoughts? Andy blinked, surprised. … Nevermind, those questions can be saved for later. Danny and Patamon are still cleaning up the animals. So take us to Fenton Works, we can grab a Fenton Thermos there!

"You got it, Andy!" Antylamon grinned mentally before he began to jump along the rooftops to Fenton Works so they could get the Thermos.

Vlad, of course, was chasing them down. He was too angry and riled up now to think clearly, and wanted to show this human boy that he was far stronger than he ever would be.

Heh, I guess even a grown man can become childish when pride is on the line. Andy couldn't help but chuckle, seeing that it was now Vlad who was falling into their obvious trap.

With how fast Antylamon was going, it didn't take long at all for him to reach Fenton Works. Jazz was the first one to run out of the house to see what all the commotion was, and she stared up at Antylamon in shock.

"Hey Jazz! Can you do me a favor and grab the Fenton Thermos please?" Andy called from Antylamon's head.

"Andy… what?" Was all Jazz could say in her confusion.

"Explanations later, get the Fenton Thermos now!" Andy quickly instructed.

Jazz didn't waste any time to duck inside and get the Fenton Thermos. She came back out with it in a few minutes. "Here, Andy!" Jazz called as she threw the Fenton Thermos to Andy.

Of course, Antylamon was too tall for Jazz to throw the Fenton Thermos to Andy, so the rabbit Digimon caught it, and handed it to Andy.

"Okay, thanks Jazz!" Andy said before he looked up. "Antylamon, I need you to get Vlad close so I can reach him with the Thermos."

Antylamon grinned. "With pleasure!" He said as he held up his large hands. "C'mere, little ghosty~"

"I will not have you make a fool of me, boy! I will show you your place!" Vlad shouted.

Vlad flew down at Antylamon and Andy, ready to grab Andy by the throat, and shock the boy into unconsciousness, while making sure he destroyed the stupid overgrown rabbit.

Antylamon saw Vlad coming in. He stayed calm before he put his hands together. "Mantra Chant."

Antylamon began whispering a chant and his body hardened, becoming as tough as steel. Vlad punched Antylamon's chest, hoping to get to his Digi-Core. But Vlad's fist was now in pain, and he didn't make a dent in Antylamon's chest. Hissing, Vlad flew back and fired his ghost rays at Antylamon.

"Forget it, Vlad, you're not strong enough to harm Antylamon. You might be better off coming after me instead," Andy teased.

Vlad sneered. "I think I will!" He said as he flew at Andy directly instead.

Andy looked up as Vlad flew at him, ready to grab the boy. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. Andy activated the Fenton Thermos, and Vlad realized too late he had fallen for this boy's trap.

"Goodbye, Vlad. I'll make sure to unravel the rest of your plans while you sit in time-out for a while," Andy said coldly as Vlad was being pulled into the Fenton Thermos.

"What?! NO!" Vlad shouted as the thermos sucked him in. He tried to resist it, but the beam of the Fenton Thermos dragged him in and then the opening went dark.

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Titanic X: DarkFoxKit: Well, here's the next chapter. Hope the wait was worthwhile.

ZAFT: It's gonna get good here! XD