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.

77. Troublesome Hunters

DarkFoxKit: We got a bit of insight with Andy's fears in the last chapter. So he's not scared of Danny and Takuya, but he's scared of what they could become, and how they'll feel about things regarding their unique status. That last one is especially for Danny since Takuya at least has the other Legendary Warriors for that, Danny only has Vlad to turn to for that. And Andy's read enough angsty stories to know characters in Danny's position usually falls into depression after a while. You can also blame the DP fanfics I've read for that idea. XD

ZAFT: We love to torment Andy so much~ XD And I can't blame the poor boi, since the only other person Danny can turn to is messed up in the head. XD Andy's fears are certainly not without valid reasons. :3

DarkFoxKit: Although, the funny thing here is that Danny is more worried about Andy than himself and his powers, because he knows his brother can, and will, blow things out of proportion, especially since he has a tendency to overthink. If anything, Danny believes if either of the two of them were to suddenly turn into a villain, Andy is the more likely candidate than Danny. And, in a way, he's not wrong. While Danny's ghost nature could turn him evil, like we see in The Ultimate Enemy, someone like Andy is more prone to accidentally becoming a villain with the best of intentions. Even Freakshow mentioned Andy is a mastermind in waiting.

ZAFT: XD Andy is certainly the more dangerous twin~ X3 Anyway, enough for this. Let's get to the chapter for the readers!

---

Chapter 77: Troublesome Hunters

Despite it being early in the morning, Danny was already awake. He had been waiting to talk to Andy since the haunted house fiasco last night. Patamon was looking up at Danny in worry. He could tell what happened was bothering him. Takuya came upstairs, and opened the door. He was still in his pajamas. None of them had told Jazz yet about what happened. They weren't going to involve her unless it became necessary.

Andy and Lopmon finally woke up. Both of them were pretty groggy, but they quickly noticed Danny, Patamon, and Takuya looking at them.

"Jeez, guys, at least let me comb my hair before you start staring at me," Andy grumbled.

"Ah… Sorry…" Takuya said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "We'll… let you get somewhat decent…"

"It was a joke, to help ease the tension," Andy said before yawning. "I don't think you guys want to wait though, that's why you're here."

"Pretty much." Danny admitted. "What happened yesterday… It's been on my mind lately."

Takuya nodded. "Yeah… I actually couldn't get much sleep because I was thinking about what happened with the Soul Shredder and your fears."

"Yeah, I get it," Andy sighed. "Well… might as well make yourself comfortable, Takuya. What do you want to talk about first? I've got a few questions of my own, but I think we should clear up some things you guys are probably thinking right now."

"You… the fakes we encountered…" Takuya began. "They said you were more afraid of us leaving, or at least that was implied by the way they talked to us. Is… Is that what's on your mind? You're worried about me and Danny just leaving you?"

"Well, you guys are gonna grow up and leave some time, right? I doubt you'd be staying here forever, Takuya, you'll eventually go back to Japan and live with your parents and little brother," Andy replied.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Takuya pointed out.

Andy let out a sigh. "These fears… they were always at the back of my mind, but I never made a big deal out of them because I didn't really think they could happen. But… well… after the incident with Freakshow, I guess the fear became more… real, in a sense. But I still had it under control, until… the Soul Shredder brought it all out to the forefront, making me witness it in such vivid detail that it was hard for me to think it was anything but real…"

"Andy… I'd never just up and leave like that." Takuya replied. "You should know me better than that. Besides, even if I do have the other Legendary Warriors to learn from, you have helped me learn more about my own abilities than they did before I even knew what I was. I couldn't do something like leave you suddenly, not if that was how I repaid you for helping me before I met the other Warriors."

"I know you wouldn't, Takuya. For a moment, I didn't believe the illusions, because I knew you and Danny wouldn't," Andy sighed. "But… the illusions continued… and they became more and more vivid as it went on. Lopmon tried to snap me out of it, but at one point, I…"

Andy looked at Danny to reassure himself that he was still here, unhurt and completely fine. "I saw… our parents… they killed Danny right in front of me. It wasn't real, I know, but… when you see something like that… right in front of your eyes… can you truly just sit there and say it wasn't real? You hear the scream, the pain, and… you can feel your heart stopping for a moment. All of that felt far too real… and right after that traumatic experience, Vlad appeared and had Danny with him. Saying how Danny deserved to be with someone who can attend to his needs and his ghost half, instead of living in the same house as murderers…"

Andy rubbed his head, trying not to show his tears. "And Danny said it was my fault, for not saving him… and for not understanding what he was going through…"

Danny frowned. "Andy… I would never go to Vlad, even if he is the only other half ghost in the world. I'd rather stumble along and learn as I go than ever get teaching from that fruitloop."

Danny sat down next to Andy and wrapped his brother up in a hug. "And… while our parents hurting me is something we both fear… I would never blame you for something they did. You're not responsible for their actions, bro… and while you may not be half ghost like I am, I think you understand me more than someone like Vlad ever could. Before you even knew I was half ghost, you were helping me with my ghost powers. You come up with theories and such by just watching me use my ghost powers, and they've been helpful to me."

"But what if there comes a time that your ghost half needs or does something none of us understands? And you need an expert to potentially save you from starvation or whatever?" Andy asked.

"Then I'll go into the Ghost Zone and find someone. No way in heck I'm going to Vlad," Danny stated in determination. "I know what happened with Freakshow was scary… I'm still pretty shaken up by it myself, and what could've happened… but I'm still here, bro… and so is Takuya."

"Yeah, and you'd be hard-pressed to get rid of me that easily." Takuya grinned back. "You don't need to be 'worthy' to hang out with me, or just be my lovable, yet overthinking cousin. And besides… The other Legendary Warriors, at least the non-rogue ones, want to help you. Shouldn't that be proof enough that they want us to work together rather than being a Legendary Warrior only club?"

"Yeah, they're not at all like the popular kids in your school," Patamon added. "They're happy to take our help, instead of wanting us to prove ourselves worthy for it."

"Thanks guys," Andy said in a soft tone. "Really, this does help. I can't say I'm fully okay with the situation, but… give it some time, I'm sure… I'll be able to come back from this."

Takuya grinned. "That's the Andy I know!"

Danny rubbed Andy's hair playfully. "And I won't let you forget what we talked about either, bro~"

Lopmon gave a small smile, glad to see Andy was starting to feel better.

"So… now I have some questions of my own," Andy said as he looked at Danny, Patamon, and Takuya. "Where did the Soul Shredder come from?"

"Ah… that's a long story…" Takuya sweatdropped.

"I've got time," Andy replied.

---

To say Tommy was being smothered by his parents was an understatement. After coming back from the Digital World, his parents refused to let him out of their sight. They were scared of losing him again. While Tommy couldn't blame them, it made it difficult for him to get any alone time.

Yutaka wasn't helping either. It had been clear he had been worried about Tommy, but now… Tommy realized that because he disappeared, and came back just fine twice, Yutaka was beginning to think Tommy was just running away and hid somewhere for a while before coming back to get attention from his parents. Tommy wished he could explain things to his parents, and especially Yutaka, but he knew they wouldn't believe him.

After being smothered by his parents for a week, Tommy finally convinced them to let him go out of the apartment they were living in. Tommy was getting cooped up and he was becoming more and more tempted to head into the Digital World just to escape from them, but he couldn't, not until the time stopping fog was cleared up.

Of course, Tommy's parents didn't let him go out without them. They had been homeschooling Tommy since he got back, instead of letting him go back to school on his own. So Tommy couldn't get away from them with the excuse of going to school anymore either. Not that Tommy had much to miss at school.

After a while of walking, Tommy decided to take a bit of a break by sitting on a park bench next to a fountain.

"Tomoki? What's wrong?" Tommy's father asked.

"Sorry, just tired," Tommy answered, though in truth he just wanted some time to himself.

"Poor baby, let's rest for a while." Tommy's mom smiled.

"Jeez, we haven't even walked that much yet," Yutaka grumbled.

"Your brother is still a baby." Mr. Himi said to Yutaka. "You have to treat him better."

Maybe I need a break from you guys, Dad… Tommy thought to himself. All this smothering is getting to be too much!

"Besides, he went missing twice, we have to make sure he doesn't strain himself," Mrs. Himi added.

Tommy wanted to groan, the only break he needed was from his parents anyways. Then he spotted an ice cream stand not too far from where they were. It was the cooler time of year, but there was a warm front today. Which gave Tommy an idea. The ice cream stand wasn't too far, so it shouldn't bother his parents too much to walk away from him and to it. It wasn't much, but at least it should give Tommy some time to himself.

"It's pretty hot today," Tommy said. "I'd like some orange juice, and maybe some ice cream too."

"Of course!" Mr. Himi said. "Now you stay here, my boy!" He said to Tommy as he got up to go and get some ice cream and orange juice for his youngest son.

"I'll make sure your father gets the right flavor," Mrs. Himi said before she looked at Yutaka."You keep watch, Yutaka. Is there anything I can get you?"

"No, thanks," Yutaka replied in a bit of an annoyed tone.

Mrs. Himi walked away to join Mr. Himi at the ice cream stand. Yutaka watched them go and let out a sigh. Tommy let out his own sigh, glad that he could get some time to himself.

Unfortunately for Tommy, Yutaka decided to sit down beside him. Tommy looked over at Yutaka and began to feel a bit awkward.

"So… you decided to run away twice?" Yutaka asked, trying to make conversation, but also to try to get some information on where his little brother had been.

"No," Tommy replied. "I never ran away…" I guess maybe I kinda did the second time, but I didn't know time was moving so much slower in the Digital World.

Yutaka raised an eyebrow. "Then where were you both times you went missing? Because as I recall, not coming home is either being kidnapped or running away."

Tommy wondered if the Digital World had technically kidnapped him when it suddenly transported him into it without him knowing. Although, he had no idea how he could tell Yutaka that he had been whisked away into a world that was considered a video game to most people.

"Why do you care? You just think I'm running away for attention, don't you?" Tommy frowned.

Yutaka frowned. While that had crossed his mind, it was not something that Tommy would do. No, it didn't seem like him to do that. "While that was a possibility, that doesn't seem like you."

Yutaka knew his brother was smart, way smarter than the average child his age. Although Yutaka never told Tommy that, he didn't want Tommy getting too big of an ego. While Tommy was smart, he was pretty spoiled, though Yutaka blamed that on his parents. However, lately, Tommy hadn't really been quite the same, not since when he first disappeared and returned home.

Yutaka was annoyed at his parents for smothering Tommy after a few weeks of returning home. He could excuse it the first few days, but it was becoming rather bothersome. He had been worried Tommy would revert back to being the spoiled kid that he was before. However, Tommy didn't look all that happy being smothered by their parents either. And lately, it hadn't been making a lot of requests like he used to, the last few requests looked more like excuses to get rid of his parents for a while than anything he actually wanted.

"I got lost in a world I didn't know," Tommy finally said, catching Yutaka's attention. "A world where I didn't understand the rules at first, and had to learn the hard way of what people do in that world. I was shoved with a responsibility I didn't ask for, nor was explained about what it was. I had to figure everything out on my own. You were right before, Yutaka, I really didn't have a clue about how the world works. But you were wrong about one thing… I was able to take care of myself when it came down to it."

Yutaka blinked. "Another world?" This was not what he had expected to hear. "What do you mean?"

Tommy had been hesitant about telling Yutaka, but he realized that he couldn't keep doing this alone. At this rate, the only chance he would ever get of returning to the Digital World with a peace of mind, was to have someone he could trust close to home. If there was anyone Tommy could tell, it was Yutaka. Despite their strained relationship, Tommy knew Yutaka understood Tommy better than his parents did, especially now.

"Do you know about that game? The one called 'Ruler of the Digital World'?" Tommy asked.

"I've heard of that, yeah." Yutaka replied. "Supposedly it uses high tech helmets to really bring you into the world, or something. Why?"

"I was in that world," Tommy answered. "Not… by using a helmet, because if I did, you'd see my body here. I was… physically in the Digital World."

"Wait… you were actually in the Digital World?" Yutaka asked. "Without that helmet? How?"

"I don't think that Digital World is just a program made by someone," Tommy answered. "I know it sounds crazy, but… it's a living, breathing world, filled with living, breathing creatures that live there called 'Digimon'. It's magical, it was able to bring me into its world. Granted, it happened without me wanting it to the first time… but it's where I've been the whole time. I was finally able to learn how to get back home, and that was when I returned the first time. The second time, I opened the portal into the Digital World on purpose to get away from our parents, but… time started to slow down in the Digital World, so I was gone for a lot longer than I thought I was… that's how I 'disappeared' the second time. It wasn't intentional, I promise."

Yutaka blinked as he heard Tommy's story. It seemed too fantastical to be true, but, at the same time, it also seemed to explain a lot about where Tommy had gone, and why he refused to explain it until now. Granted yes, there could have been a more realistic and… disturbing reason why Tommy had been gone, but Yutaka didn't want to think about that for his baby brother. He'd rather believe the fantastical tale his brother was telling him over the more real and likely scenarios.

"I know how it sounds," Tommy quickly said, seeing the skeptical look on Yutaka's face. "But I don't want to worry Mom and Dad, and… I don't want them to think I disappeared again if I had to go back to the Digital World. So… I think it was better I told you. If you want… I can prove it to you."

Yutaka frowned, but he was willing to give Tommy the benefit of the doubt. "I'd like that." He said at last. "At least, it would make the story more believable to me than the realistic scenarios that are running around in my head."

"Okay… thanks for giving me a chance to show you, Yutaka," Tommy said in relief. "When we get home, I'll show you the portal to the Digital World."

"Fine… but why do you think you'll need to go back there, if what you're saying is true?" Yutaka asked.

"I… have some friends there… who are counting on me… I can't just leave them," Tommy answered truthfully, but wasn't quite ready to tell Yutaka he was a Legendary Warrior.

Yutaka frowned, but if what Tommy was saying was true, then maybe his baby brother was starting to grow up. "Well, that's a good reason to want to go back, I guess." He said at last. "But as I said, I'd like to see if there is any truth to your story first. I know I'm being skeptical, but you have to admit, it does sound very fantastical."

"Yeah, I know… it sounds like something straight out of a movie or a video game," Tommy admitted. "But, hopefully… with you around, our parents will actually let me go to my own room without them breathing down my neck."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Yutaka agreed. But it might explain why Tomoki has changed so much, why he's not as spoiled as he used to be…

---

It was noon now. Jazz decided to drive her brothers, and cousin, to school today. Mostly because her sister senses had been tingling. She needed to get them away from the house so she could talk to them while driving.

"What happened last night?" Jazz asked. "And don't try to play dumb. There were teddy bears, people suddenly moving around like they were hypnotized, and Digimon appearing randomly all over the place."

"You'd have a hard time believing it if you didn't know about ghosts and Digimon." Takuya sighed. "Let's just say there was an incident with a ghostly sword."

"No playing dumb, Takuya." Danny grumbled before he decided to come clean. "Takuya, Patamon and I went into the Ghost Zone to investigate the source of that time-stopping fog, and we came across this ghostly castle. While checking it out, we came across this ghostly sword in a pumpkin and I was the idiot who decided to pull it out in hopes of stopping that fog."

Danny took a breath before continuing. "After I pulled out the sword, this ghost, called the Fright Knight, appeared from the pumpkin and well… he took back his sword, called the Soul Shredder. When the Fright Knight hit Andy with the Soul Shredder, it made all of Andy's fears come to life, literally."

"What?" Jazz frowned, nearly swinging her car off road, but managed to regain control. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner!?"

"Because we didn't want you freaking out about this!" Takuya pointed out.

"Did that Soul Shredder-" Jazz began to ask when Andy spoke up.

"The Soul Shredder didn't hurt me. I'm okay, physically. If you're worried about my mental health, I already have these goofballs talk to me about it. It might take some time, but I'll be okay. And I have Lopmon, so I'm never really alone," Andy listed out, mostly hoping to placate his sister before she could go on a tirade.

Jazz frowned. "That may be true, but still… The damage that could cause to your developing psyche could be bad."

"Maybe, but what can we do about it?" Andy shrugged. "It's probably not going to be the first time something like this happens, not in our line of work."

Jazz sighed. "That's true." She conceded. "But I still worry, little brother. About the three of you."

"That's all well and good, but just remember to worry about yourself too," Patamon stated. "I had to learn that the hard way."

Jazz blushed a bit. "Yes, well… I do worry about myself too." She said, trying to act like the adult she liked to think she was.

"We're just a bunch of kids that got roped into something much greater than we can imagine," Andy sighed before chuckling. "Kinda makes you think of a TV show, doesn't it?"

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Danny asked.

"I guess it depends on your perspective on it," Andy answered.

Danny chuckled. "I like to think it's a good thing because we have these cool powers and partner Digimon."

"But it also takes a toll on us mentally at times." Takuya pointed out.

"And not to mention if we didn't have Jazz, or our parents, to help us with time management, as well as our school work, our lives would be a complete mess right now," Andy remarked.

"That's true… I'd probably be falling asleep in classes and having to worry about failing grades a lot more," Danny agreed.

"I'd hate to be failing my classes." Takuya grimaced.

"Well, at least we have help now." Danny chuckled.

"And hopefully we can get rid of that fog in the Digital World soon," Lopmon added. "That way we won't have to worry about time management as much."

Jazz's car finally arrived at school. "I just hope Floramon is doing alright and didn't get caught up in that fog. But there's no use in worrying about it right now."

Everyone got out of Jazz's car after she parked it. The group gathered up their bags. Patamon and Lopmon went into their partners' backpacks before they walked into the school.

Danny stretched out as they were walking down the hallway. "I'm glad we never have to take the bus to school. Have you seen how cramped it gets in there?"

"You're telling me?" Andy chuckled. "I think Casper High needs another bus or something."

"That many kids in one vehicle is probably not legal." Takuya muttered. "I swear they are trying to cram as many students in there as possible."

"It's no wonder why most students are eager to get their driver's license as soon as possible," Jazz grumbled.

Suddenly there was an alarm going off. "GHOST ALERT! GHOST ALERT!"

Jazz immediately grabbed Danny. "Quick, hide!"

Andy took Lopmon out of his backpack, ready to fight, Patamon stuck his head out of Danny's backpack, and Takuya grabbed his D-Tector from his pocket.

"That's weird, I don't sense any ghost nearby!" Lopmon called from over the alarm.

The alarms soon turned off, and they saw Mr. Lancer walking down the hallway wearing an over the top demon mask over his face.

"OoOoOoh, I am a ghoOoOost," Mr. Lancer poorly mimicked a stereotypical ghost.

The other students looked at Patamon and Lopmon, curious, and surprised. Andy quickly picked up Lopmon from the floor and gave a nervous chuckle as he was starting to realize what was going on.

"Hey, don't give us those looks, you'd all totally want your own Digimon stuffed toys!" Andy said to the other students, most who had likely played Ruler of the Digital World to know what a Digimon was.

"I'd rather wonder who is going to fall for that whole 'ghost' act Mr. Lancer is trying to pull." Takuya muttered.

Tucker and Sam hurried over to the group.

"There you guys are," Tucker said.

"What's going on?" Danny asked.

"Didn't you get the memo? The school is doing ghost drills now," Sam answered. "I think your parents may have suggested this to our principal after last night's 'ghost attack'."

Andy felt a little guilty about that, but he tried not to show it.

"Ugh… Great…" Danny groaned. "I mean I guess it's not that bad. Having people be more prepared when a ghost attack might be a good thing."

"Is there a ghost attack!?" A familiar, boisterous voice shouted.

"Dad!? What are you doing in school!?" Jazz shouted as Jack ran in front of them.

"I got the memo!" Jack said as he held out a piece of paper. "And I suspect there are ghosts around here!" He was holding a device to track ghosts. "There was one recently detected here!"

Jack looked ahead, only to frown. "Wait… Isn't that your teacher, boys?"

"Yes… yes it is…" Danny said, feeling embarrassed to have his dad here.

"Dad, we're just running ghost drills, there's no actual ghost," Andy quickly explained. "So put the Fenton Peeler down before you hurt someone."

"Relax, Andy, the Fenton Peeler doesn't hurt humans," Jack reassured. "It might tear up their clothes, but it's harmless."

"Dad, please leave!" Jazz hissed. "We're trying to have a normal school day."

Jack frowned. "Oh, alright." He pouted before grinning. "Have a good day at school, kids! Your mother and I will be patrolling the town for any more ghosts, so you may see us out and about!"

Jack then ran off, making Danny facepalm himself. "I so want to turn invisible right now…"

"Maybe if we're lucky, we'll fade into invisibility from everyone else's minds soon," Andy grumbled.

"At least we know Mr. Fenton is ready for a real ghost attack," Tucker said. "It could've been a lot worse, right?"

"Yeah, he could've used the Fenton Peeler on Mr. Lancer," Jazz grumbled.

"Fenton…"

Andy, Danny, and Jazz turned to see who was addressing them.

"I mean the twins," The person spoke.

"Mikey?" Andy asked.

The nerdiest of the nerds was looking at Lopmon in Andy's arms. He also remembered seeing the Patamon in Danny's backpack. "Are those really toys?"

"Well, duh, it's not like we can bring Digimon to the real world." Andy replied, rolling his eyes. I hope he's not too smart for his own good.

Takuya sweatdropped. Uh oh…

Danny gave a small smile. "Yeah, if there was a Digimon in the real world, it would be all over the news and whatnot. I mean, really… Digimon here? That's impossible."

"I don't recall them selling Digimon merchandise though," Mikey stated.

"Well, of course not, we made these ourselves," Andy replied. "What? We're not allow to sew up our own stuffed animals?"

Mikey frowned for a moment. He remembered seeing some weird things last night, that included seeing some Digimon roaming the streets. One of the Digimon, Mikey noted, was very familiar to him. It made him think about something.

"I guess not," Mikey said before walking away. I better finish up any homework I have today. I have a place to be after school.

"That was close…" Jazz sighed in relief. "But… did you see the look in his eyes? It looked like he was ready for war."

"Probably meant to be his gamer's expression," Tucker said. "A lot of nerds who play video games often get that look when they realize something they have trouble getting past."

Takuya frowned. "But why would he direct that at us? He doesn't know we can actually get to the Digital World. And he just assumes we are regular noobie players."

"Maybe it wasn't for us? It could just be because of our 'stuffed toys' that made him think about something in a video game, or maybe he plays Ruler of the Digital World," Danny shrugged.

"Oh, speaking of the Digital World, Kokuwamon and I did some testing with the time earlier before I came to school," Tucker said. "Time seems to be speeding up again in the Digital World. Not to where it used to go faster than our world, but it seems the time between this world and the Digital World are the same now."

"Huh…" Takuya looked down in thought. "Maybe that fog was caused by the Fright Knight. Or… maybe something else is causing it to disappear."

"That fog is pretty mysterious, I doubt it was caused by the Fright Knight," Sam said.

"Whatever the case may be, at least going into the Digital World now won't make us lose too much time," Andy said. "But we still have to be careful since now we have to keep in mind that it's in sync with our time now."

"I'll let the others know about this," Takuya said. "At least this way they know it's safe to enter the Digital World again."

"Great, in the meantime, we should head to our classes," Sam said.

---

Tommy got a notification from Takuya on his cell phone. He saw the text message telling him how time in the Digital World was now in sync with the real world's time. That was good to know. He and his family got home before it got dark. This was Tommy's best time to show Yutaka the portal to the Digital World.

"I'm going to my room," Tommy said.

"I'll go with you, Tomoki," Mrs. Himi said.

"No need, I'll go with him," Yutaka spoke up.

Tommy looked at Yutaka with a grateful smile.

Mrs. Himi blinked before smiling. "Well, that's very nice of you, Yutaka."

"Yeah, well, with how much time you both spend being at Tomoki's side, I'm surprised either of you have time to go do your jobs," Yutaka grumbled. "If you're that worried about him disappearing, then I'll keep watch. You two need a break."

And so do I. Tommy silently added.

"Thank you, Yutaka." Mr. Himi said. "You're right. Your mother and I have to focus on our jobs."

"Yeah, whatever. I'll take Tomoki to his room then." Yutaka said, trying to act indifferent.

"Alright, thank you for being responsible, Yutaka," Mr. Himi replied. "I guess your mother and I could use a little bit of time to ourselves again."

Tommy and Yutaka walked into Tommy's room. As soon as Yutaka closed the door, Tommy let out a sigh of relief.

While Tommy knew logically it was good to have some kind of help, another part of him decided to tell Yutaka, at least about the Digital World, because he remembered seeing how much Danny and Andy cared about each other. And how Tommy's relationship with Takuya was one he wished he had with Yutaka. He hoped that maybe he could start having a better relationship with Yutaka by letting him in on his excursion in the Digital World.

"Okay, we're here now," Yutaka said. "How do you plan to show me proof about this Digital World?"

"By using this…" Tommy said, taking out his D-Tector from his pocket and showing it to Yutaka.

"What is that?" Yutaka asked, surprised. "I've never seen anything like that before."

"It… used to be my cell phone," Tommy admitted. "But it was transformed into this thing that's called a D-Tector when the Digital World pulled me into its world. I can use it to open up a Digi-Portal at a screen, like so…"

Tommy turned to the computer monitor in his room. He helped up his D-Tector at the monitor, and something glowed in the monitor.

Yutaka watched this with surprise and awe on his face. "That's… actually pretty cool…" He then frowned a bit. "But did it work?"

"Yeah, well… if I tell the portal to open, it'll suck me into the screen, back into the Digital World," Tommy explained. "I can do that, but then I'll suddenly be back in the Digital World, leaving you alone. Unless you stand too close, then you might get dragged into the Digital World too."

"I see." Yutaka said. "So that's where you've been going and 'run away' to."

"Yeah…" Tommy sighed. "It's where my friends are, so I wanted to talk to them after I got upset with everyone. Speaking of my friends, they said time in the Digital World is now in sync with our world now, so… that's good, although I think I preferred it when time in the Digital World was faster."

"Really?" Yutaka blinked. "Well, I guess it being a literal Digital World means time would be faster."

Tommy looked at the computer screen.

Yutaka looked at Tommy. "... You know… you never told us what happened to your hat. You used to never take that thing off until you went to bed. You just said you lost it. Did it have anything to do with… what happened in the Digital World?"

"Yeah," Tommy answered. "There are people using the helmet to get into the Digital World. They think the world is a game. I ran into a group of people, and…"

Tommy frowned, he couldn't exactly tell his brother the full story without telling him he could become a Digimon himself. But Tommy wasn't comfortable enough to tell Yutaka about that yet. "Well… some things happened that caused me to lose my hat, and the leader of that group took it."

Yutaka frowned. "I see. Have you tried to talk to them to get it back? I mean, it's important to you, right?"

"Yeah… and I…" Tommy frowned. "I've tried talking to them before, but they wouldn't listen to me. But still… I do plan on getting my hat back from them."

It was unusual to see such determination on his baby brother. Yutaka had to admit, whatever Tommy went through in the Digital World, it definitely had changed him. Tommy wasn't whining to their parents to buy a new hat, Tommy wanted to get the one he had back.

"Are you sure you should? What if you get hurt?" Yutaka asked.

"I've been through the Digital World on my own before," Tommy replied. "I can handle myself in there. And… I do have friends now who can help me."

"Then… do you plan to go back there now?" Yutaka questioned.

"Maybe, at least to make sure everything's okay," Tommy answered. "But I don't want to worry our parents…"

Yutaka sighed. "I… Okay… If Mom and Dad get concerned and you have to go back there, I can cover for you." He said at last. "It's clear you feel very strongly about going back to the Digital World, and you will find a way to do that even with Mom and Dad on you constantly, so I guess I should at least keep them off your back."

"Really? You'd do that for me, Yutaka?" Tommy smiled.

"While I rather you didn't go by yourself… I can see that you're determined to go either way," Yutaka sighed. "Just promise you'll come back soon, preferably before tomorrow morning. I can only cover you for tonight."

Tommy nodded. "I promise. I'm only going to take a quick look around. And thanks, Yutaka, I really appreciate it."

Yutaka smiled. "It seems going to the Digital World has been good for you." He said as he put a hand on Tommy's head and mussed up his hair. "You've grown up."

Tommy hadn't expected Yutaka to suddenly mess with his hair, though it wasn't an unwelcome feeling. It was nice for Yutaka to start acting like a big brother to Tommy, instead of like Tommy was only being a bother.

"Hopefully you can get your hat back too," Yutaka said.

Tommy smiled up at him. "Thanks. I hope so too. Thanks, Yutaka."

Tommy turned to the computer screen. "Digi-Port open! Take me to the Wind Factory!"

The portal opened up, and sucked Tommy into it. Yutaka stared in shock. Tommy told him about it, but it was so strange to see it happening before his eyes. It cemented that Tommy had been telling the truth.

"Ruler of the Digital World, huh? … I gotta get that game…" Yutaka whispered.

---

School was over for the night. Danny, Andy, Takuya, and Jazz were back at Fenton Works. They were finishing up their homework from school. Jazz had, of course, already finished her homework. She decided to go talk to her parents in the lab.

"Have you found out anything regarding the fog yet?" Jazz asked.

"No, not yet," Maddie sighed. "It would help if we knew where to look, but the Ghost Zone has endless possibilities. It's like searching for a needle in an entire farm of hay."

"It might help if someone didn't come barging in on our school during ghost drills," Jazz grumbled, looking at Jack. "You could've gotten all of us in trouble. Especially the boys, the teachers don't like them as much as they like me."

"Well, that's not fair." Jack said, frowning. "And I'm sorry, Jazzypants. I'll try to be more careful from now on."

Jazz sighed. "I'll hold you to that, Dad."

Maddie gave a sigh. "Perhaps we should get a break from all of this. Look at this place, the lab is a mess, Jack."

"You're telling me?" Jack sighed before he looked over at the Ghost Zone, and he looked at the side of it that had a meter showing the arrow pointing red.

There was a label on the control panel that read 'Ecto-Filtrator'. There was a glass container attached to the panel, and it appeared to be full to the brim with ectoplasm.

"The Ecto-Filtrator hasn't been changed for 6 months, not since the portal first turned on," Jack noted. "That can't be good. We need to get a new, clean container."

"But where can we find a clean container in this mess?" Jazz grumbled. "You guys almost never clean this place!"

"That's true, we've been slacking off when it comes to organizing and cleaning all of our equipment and ecto-containment things. I'll stop by a workshop later to see if I can pick up a clean glass container, we're going to need it to change the Ecto-Filtrator," Maddie sighed. "Maybe we have gone a bit too hard on trying to figure out where the fog is coming from in the Digital World. I can't help but worry for Wormmon."

"They'll be fine, Mads." Jack said reassuringly. "They know what the danger is and how to avoid it."

"I suppose so." Maddie conceded. "But I still can't help but worry."

"We should probably start organizing the lab too." Jazz grumbled. "I'd rather not have to stumble around here and risk getting ectoplasmic goop on me."

"Good luck not getting ectoplasmic goo on you in all of this mess," Danny said as he walked down into the lab. "We just finished our homework, we wanted to see how you were doing with the fog."

"No luck…" Jack sighed.

Andy and Takuya made their way down into the lab too.

"When was the last time you guys cleaned this place up?" Andy asked.

"Where did all this ectoplasm come from? Did you make another ghost explode or something?" Lopmon asked before covering his nose.

"No, just… some ectoplamsic residues got a bit… out of hand while we were experimenting on them," Maddie sighed.

"If you want to make sure your children are safe, make sure you clean up these ectoplasm, aren't they dangerous to humans?" Patamon frowned.

"Yeah, we'll get right on it," Jack sighed as he stood up. "But let's at least turn on the TV while we clean."

"Sure." Jazz replied. "At least it will help pass the time."

Takuya grumbled. "I never thought we'd be cleaning the lab as a family activity."

Jack grinned. "Hey, nothing says bonding than doing something related to ghosts, even if it is just cleaning the lab! Oh, uh, you 4 kids might want to put on a hazmat suit before we start cleaning. Patamon is right, ectoplasm is dangerous to humans after all."

Maddie turned on the TV that was down in the lab. She and Jack brought the TV down in the lab to help keep them from going insane while they were doing work in the lab. However, as soon as Maddie turned on the TV, a news reporter appeared on screen. The reporter looked a lot like Harriet.

"The hunt is on for the ghost boy." The reporter started, quickly catching everyone's attention.

"Uh oh…" Takuya paled.

"What are they going to say now?" Danny muttered, feeling his own face growing pale.

"Maybe it's not as bad as we think?" Jazz said in a soft tone.

"Shh!" Andy shushed everyone so they could hear what the reporter had to say.

"It is clear that even with the local ghost hunters, the Fentons, being on the job, we still have yet to have the ghost boy captured. It is unclear as to whether or not the ghost boy is a real threat to Amity Park, but many are still uneasy knowing the ghost boy is flying around town. Many speculate that the ghost boy now has a strange ghost bat that accompanies him. And the mysterious armored fire man, Flamma-Bill, may be in on the ghost boy's schemes." The reporter stated.

Takuya paled. Crap! They think I'm evil now?! Aw man!

"A ghost bat?" Maddie wondered. "I've never seen a ghost bat with the ghost boy before."

"Maybe it's a new development, Mads!" Jack exclaimed eagerly.

I'm not a ghost bat! Patamon fumed in his head.

Lopmon was snickering a little as he saw Patamon's very annoyed expression.

"However, in order to capture the ghost boy, a mysterious benefactor has offered a million dollar bounty on the head of Amity Park's most famous ghost. Bonuses are included with the ghost boy's bat companion, as well as Flamma-Bill, who may or may not be a ghost himself. The mysterious benefactor had hired the world's best ghost hunters to track Spectra-Al down. Maybe now Amity Park can rest easy," The reporter finished.

"A bounty?" Andy frowned. I suppose it was only a matter of time, but… still, I guess I didn't expect it to happen now…

Danny was looking nervous. "Um… Don't you think it's a bit much to put a bounty on one ghost?"

"Considering how famous the ghost boy is, and the fact that he…" Maddie hesitated as she frowned. "... May or may not have caused a lot of trouble by stealing things from banks and museums, and not to mention the incident at City Hall, and he may have a Digimon working with him… at least according to the public eye, as well as a new companion… I don't think it's 'a bit much', sweetie."

"Great, so Agunimon might get hunted down too," Takuya groaned.

"I do have to wonder why Agunimon is usually seen in Amity Park anyways, shouldn't he be in the Digital World?" Jack questioned.

"Well… Maybe he has his reasons…" Takuya admitted. "I… I mean… isn't that fog from the Ghost Zone? Maybe he thinks the answers are easier to find in the real world."

"It's just… how is Agunimon able to come into our world?" Maddie asked. "No other Digimon seem to be capable of doing that without a way to open a portal between the two worlds."

"He's a Legendary Warrior, he must have some way to do it," Andy shrugged. "And that's not what we should be focusing on now anyways."

"Andy's right. We need to focus on how we're going to catch that ghost kid!" Jack spoke up.

"Jack, aren't we supposed to be looking for a way to stop the fog in the Digital World?" Maddie frowned.

"Yes, of course! But I was thinking, if we can catch the ghost kid, we might be able to make him check out the Ghost Zone for us, and see where the fog is coming from," Jack negotiated.

"Whatever happened to you can't trust any ghost to work with us?" Andy asked, crossing his arms.

Jack gave a sheepish grin. "Well… sometimes you have to work with the enemy to get what you want." He admitted. "And besides, Maddie and I would find a way to keep the ghost boy on a leash!"

"Figurative or literal?" Takuya grumbled.

"Well, maybe not on a leash, but we might be able to have a collar or a tracking device on him," Maddie said.

"Or… you know, I'm just spitballing here… you can maybe ask him to help?" Danny suggested. "He looked like he's pretty open to help when asked."

"You can't trust a ghost's facial expressions." Maddie said. "They are known to mimic human expressions to get humans to lower their guard."

"Oh please, not this again!" Jazz groaned. "We need to focus on one thing at a time!"

"Mom, Dad, you guys need a break from the lab," Andy spoke up. "Maybe going out and meeting with these other ghost hunters might do you some good. Maybe they know something about ghosts you don't yet." At least, I hope so. Maybe if Mom and Dad won't listen to us, they'll listen to other fellow ghost hunters. Surely some of them have come across good ghosts in their life.

"You know what, Andyroo? That's a great idea!" Jack declared with a big smile. "It would be great to exchange ideas on ghosts!"

"Dad! What did we say about that nickname?" Andy hissed.

"Just be glad he didn't say that when he was at school…" Jazz sighed.

Danny was trying not to grin, it was pretty funny.

Takuya snickered. "I kinda like that nickname actually."

"Yeah, maybe he should call you 'Spicy Curry'..." Andy huffed.

"Does anyone know when these ghost hunters are supposed to arrive?" Patamon asked.

"Doesn't it say on the TV?" Lopmon pointed out.

"The reporter mentioned the ghost hunters will be meeting up at the Nasty Burger place at 7 PM tonight," Maddie stated. "I guess they wanted to grab a quick burger when they arrived before looking for the ghost boy."

"Great…" Takuya grumbled. This will not be the best night if a ghost shows up and I have to evolve…

"Well then, I think we should head over to the Nasty Burger around then, Mads." Jack grinned. "I can't wait to meet other ghost hunters!"

While Jack and Maddie were chatting about this, Jazz gave a concerned look at her brothers and Takuya.

"Are you okay?" Jazz asked in concern.

"I'm fine. I just have the world's best ghost hunters gunning for me, that's all…" Danny whispered.

"If ghosts have just recently appeared in the world… Can we say these ghost hunters are truly the best at what they do?" Patamon asked. "Maybe you're just worrying over nothing, Danny. For all you know, the best they can do is throw salt in your face."

"I don't know…" Takuya muttered. "Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie have all this advanced ghost hunting equipment, so if they have that, then maybe these ghost hunters do too. You'd be surprised at what some humans will do to prove something exists."

"So what do you think we should do?" Danny nervously asked.

"I think you should stay away from them," Jazz said. "Wait until this whole thing blows over."

"I doubt they'll just leave without their million dollar bounty, Jazz," Danny huffed.

"Well, what does Andy think then?" Jazz asked, knowing Andy was the one who came up with the plans.

"Huh?" Andy frowned. "Are you sure you want me to come up with a plan? What if I screw up and Danny or Takuya get really hurt?"

"Andy, you're the best planner here." Takuya pointed out. "We can't just rush in blindly."

"But we also can't just wait it out, because there's a good chance they won't give up, or even track me down in our home," Danny added.

"Who says I'm the best planner?" Andy huffed.

"Come on, Andy, you're the best we've got right now," Lopmon said.

Andy let out a sigh. "Fine… If you guys want to know what I think… I don't think this is the best idea, but we could go with our parents to meet with these ghost hunters. It's the best way we'll see what each of them are like, what they potentially may use to try to catch 'Specter-Al', and if there's a way we can have them leave without catching their precious bounty."

Takuya nodded. "That's actually a good idea. This way we know what they are capable of, and how to counter it." He agreed.

"But we should still be wary if they try anything." Patamon added.

"I'm a little hesitant on bringing Danny and Patamon," Andy admitted.

"Why?" Danny asked.

"Well, if the Fenton Finder can pick you up in your human form, who's to say the other ghost hunters don't have the technology to pick you up on their ghost radar things?" Andy pointed out.

Danny paled. "Oh… Yeah… I can see why you want me to stay here then…"

"At least if Danny and Patamon stay here, then they're safe, right?" Takuya asked.

"Maybe," Andy sighed. "I don't know. I also don't know if leaving Danny and Patamon behind is a good idea."

"Why's that?" Lopmon asked.

Andy gave Danny an annoyed look. "Because Danny has trouble butting out if he thinks I, or Takuya, or one of our friends, need his help. Just give it 10 minutes, he'll come flying to where we all are, ghost form and all."

Danny blushed. "I do not!" He squeaked out.

"Actually, I think you do." Takuya teased back. "You always seem to come out of nowhere and save either me or Andy."

Danny pouted. "You do too, Takuya."

Takuya blushed. "I do not!" He exclaimed before trailing off. "Uh… do I?"

"Oh, you definitely do." Patamon pointed out. "In fact, I think that tends to be the best, and worst, trait of this family."

Andy was covering his mouth as he was snickering.

"Hey! That includes you too, bro!" Danny pointed out.

"I never denied it, I'm just laughing at the comment," Andy innocently replied.

Danny pouted as Takuya grumbled. Patamon just looked smug as he laid on Danny's head. Much like Lopmon, Patamon seemed to like being on his partner's head these days. Not that Danny complained about it, especially on hot days when the sun was beating down on them. Patamon didn't seem to be bothered by the sun as much as Danny was.

"So are Danny and Patamon going there too?" Jazz asked.

"Just to make sure none of them does something stupid, I think it's good for them to," Andy answered. "We just have to hope the other ghost hunters don't have the technology that our parents do. Besides, I think Danny's gotten better at hiding from ghost radars over the months."

"Then we should be good." Takuya said. "Um… we'd better be on the alert in case something goes wrong though. You know our luck; it never lasts."

"Don't we know it…" Lopmon muttered. "Between the 4 of you, trouble just follows you all over the place. Or rather the 3 of you, Jazz just follows the trouble if it involves her siblings, which it does, a lot."

Jazz sighed. "And boy, that seems to be quite often."

"Maybe it's a ghost curse…" Danny muttered. "We didn't have so much trouble following us before the portal turned on…"

"Or maybe it's the Legendary Warrior's curse, most of the crazy stuff didn't happen until Takuya came around," Andy snickered.

"Hey! That's not true!" Takuya protested. "Maybe it's the Fenton luck curse."

"Then it would affect me as well." Jazz pointed out. "But it only affects you three."

"Hey, we need to stay on topic here. Ghost hunters after me, remember?" Danny pointed out.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to include Mom and Dad into the equation," Andy remarked. "And we should probably be more concerned about the identity of this 'mysterious benefactor' who gave you the bounty in the first place."

"Must be a very rich snob who really wants Da- sorry, 'Specter-Al's' head," Lopmon remarked. "Someone other than Skulker, since I doubt he'd have actual human currency."

"Yeah, but who'd want 'Specter-Al's' head?" Takuya wondered before a chilling thought entered his mind. "Unless… it's a certain crazy billionaire we encountered once before. But I doubt it'd be him."

"Considering he wants Danny alive, yeah," Jazz remarked.

"It might be dangerous to disregard him completely," Andy spoke up. " You never know what someone like him is capable of."

"Agreed." Jazz said. "But that's only if he comes around here."

"Why don't we focus on the ghost hunters for now? We may find out who this 'benefactor' is when the ghost hunters meet to talk." Takuya suggested.

"Should we call Tucker and Sam to join us?" Danny asked. "What about Valerie? She's a fellow ghost hunter, technically."

"It might be best to leave Valerie out of this. These ghost hunters might consider her too young and inexperienced, and won't take her seriously," Patamon pointed out.

"Although… if Valerie hears about the million dollar reward, she might be tempted to join in the hunt…" Andy said grimly. "Even though she's more willing to work with Phantom, she might be more desperate to make more money."

Danny shivered. "I hope not. She's been a big help with the ghosts…"

"As for Tucker and Sam, that's up to you guys," Jazz said. "They might be able to do something to help, or they might just make the ghost hunter question why there are so many teenagers there and may not want to talk."

"Maybe we won't have them join us at first, but they might be able to help us distract the ghost hunters if we need them to," Andy said.

"That may be a good idea." Takuya agreed. "They can run interference. Plus, it gives us some back-up if things get too bad for us. And if we're not all together, then it keeps the fact we're supporting 'Specter-Al' hidden."

"Then we should call Sam and Tucker and tell them the plan." Danny said.

"What are you kids talking about back there?" Maddie asked, noticing the group were whispering to each other.

"N-nothing too important!" Danny quickly said.

"We were just discussing about the Digital World and what to do about the fog and the time issues," Jazz explained.

"Tucker says the time in the Digital World sped up enough to where it's now in sync with our world's time," Andy added to the conversation, as well as letting their parents know about this new development. "So that's not too bad."

"Well, that's good news to hear!" Jack beamed. "At least this fog seems to be clearing up for the moment."

"Yes, but we need to focus on the ghost boy for now." Maddie said.

"Oh, we were talking about that too," Danny spoke up. "Is it alright if we came along?"

"You… want to come with us where we'll be meeting with other ghost hunters?" Maddie asked, surprised. "I thought you kids had no interest in actual ghost hunting."

"With how much ghosts attack our town, we started to become a little interested in how to hunt ghosts," Andy informed. "And maybe talking with the other ghost hunters might teach us a thing or two."

Jack beamed with fatherly pride at hearing that. "My boys are starting to take after their old man!" He sniffed, tears seeming to drip from his eyes. "I knew this day would come!"

Danny, Andy, and Takuya all sweatdropped at that.

"So now all of our children are interested in ghost hunting!" Jack smiled proudly. "Perhaps Jazzypants and Takuya told you about how we had to defend our house from those animal ghosts, and how awesome we were at doing it!"

"Yeah… sure…" Jazz grumbled.

"Just don't go announcing it to the other ghost hunters, please," Takuya groaned.

"Why not?" Jack questioned. "I'm sure they would be very impressed by what you kids have done!"

"It would… um…" Danny trailed off, not wanting to say 'embarrass us' to Jack. It would upset the older man.

"We don't want to make the other ghost hunters jealous that you and Mom have kids who have also done a lot of great things before really getting into ghost hunting," Andy smoothly said. "Besides, it isn't about us, but about how ghost hunters can come together for a common cause." Even if that cause isn't exactly a good one.

Jack beamed again. "You're right!" He exclaimed. "This is our moment to shine, so let's make it count!"

Takuya felt this would not be fun for any of the kids though. Yeah, a moment to shine and not in a good way…

---

Tommy was standing just outside of a large, metallic gate. He was standing in a mostly windy and sandy area that reminded him of a wasteland. It had train tracks, showing Trailmon ran through here. Tommy stared at the metallic gate for a while, thinking to himself as he felt the winds blowing against his hair.

This place… this was where I first met Sir Michael and the others… Tommy thought to himself.

Tommy had been alone, and was just wandering around aimlessly. He had been kicked out by another group of people because he couldn't find a Digimon partner, and they were tired of babysitting a child with no Digimon to contribute to them. It didn't help that these players only thought this world was a video game, and that Tommy could just log out at any time to go home.

Tommy was hungry and thirsty, not having been able to eat properly for a while. And he fell down from exhaustion near the open gates of this place. Tommy had likely passed out, because the next thing he remembered, someone was approaching him from behind.

Tommy remembered how he opened his eyes and quickly turned around to face this figure.

"What are you doing here, kid?" The figure had asked.

"I'm… looking for a partner…" Tommy had replied timidly. "But I'm not having… much luck…"

"Don't you know it's dangerous around here? You might as well go home." The figure grumbled. "You look pretty exhausted anyways."

"I… can't…" Tommy frowned, realization starting to hit him pretty hard, and tears began to well up in his eyes. "I… please, don't leave me alone! I don't want to be alone anymore!"

He looked back at me. "You're alone here?"

"Y-yeah… I… I can't find a partner, and… nobody wants me around…" Tommy sobbed, and he began wondering if his big brother had been right all along, that nobody really wanted to help him because he was just a spoiled brat who couldn't take care of himself.

The person in black armor gave a sigh before adopting a more friendly tone. "Well now, we can't have a kid just running around here." He seemed to be thinking for a moment before he seemed to come to a decision. "How about you come with us, kid? I'm planning to make one of the strongest guilds here in the game, and we would be able to protect you, at least until you get your own Digimon partner."

"R-really? What if… what if I never find my Digimon partner? Wouldn't… I just be a burden to you and your group?" Tommy asked, not wanting to be kicked out of the group again because of his inability to get a Digimon partner.

"Nonsense. We would help you find your partner, and in the event you don't, we will still find a way for you to help us out in our quest." The person in armor replied. "What do you say, kid? Want to be a part of my group?" He asked, holding out a hand.

Tommy frowned to himself as he remembered that offer made to him. And how quick he was to take Sir Michael's hand. If Tommy had been who he was now back then, he would've never taken that player's hand. He had no doubt that Sir Michael had meant well when he first saw Tommy… but when Tommy found Kumamon's Spirit, and spirit evolved for the first time… Sir Michael began treating him differently.

Tommy remembered how he often felt more like Sir Michael's pet than his friend. Tommy was ashamed to admit that he stuck around Sir Michael for far longer than he really should've. He wasn't sure why he decided to come back to this place when he opened the Digi-Portal instead of going back to the Forest Terminal. A part of him was hoping to maybe confront his past mistakes. But Tommy had no idea how he would go about it. He wasn't sure if Sir Michael was even in the Digital World right now… and if he could even face him alone.

"Hey! Hey you! Why are you standing there?" A high pitched voice called out to Tommy, making the boy jump.

Tommy looked up, seeing these strange little green Digimon that reminded him of bagworms, coming down from the roof of the gate, having a silky string attached to the roof.

"What are you doing here?" The first of the little green Digimon asked while swinging on its string.

The word 'Minomon' came into Tommy's mind. They were In-Training cocoon Digimon, so they were harmless for the most part.

"I was… looking at the entrance to the Wind Factory here," Tommy answered.

"Are you a tourist?" One of the Minomon asked.

"But isn't he a player? Is it safe to even let him in?" Another Minomon questioned.

"I don't see a Digimon on him, do you?" The last Minomon pointed out. "We shouldn't be rude to our potential guests even if they are players. Besides, what about the last group?"

"Fine, fine…" The first Minomon grumbled.

Tommy blinked, wondering what the Minomon were talking about. But he heard one of them mentioning a 'tourist'. "Do you give tours in the factory?"

"Yes, we do! Not often, but we do from time to time!" The second Minomon exclaimed excitedly.

Tommy hadn't planned to explore the factory, he mostly came here for memory sake. But he never got to see what was in the factory when he first got here. Besides, it would be good to know what they made here. It could be useful to them in the future. Despite time being in sync with the real world, Tommy decided to take his time before going back home.

"Then yeah, I'd like a tour of this place," Tommy said.

"Well then, come on in!" The Minomon all exclaimed happily.

Tommy followed the Minomon into the factory. He saw some Kokuwamon and Guardromon moving around the area. Though they were humming some kind of tune. As he went into the factory itself, he saw some Goburiomon hammering some bolts into a machine on a conveyor belt.

"So what do you guys make in this factory?" Tommy asked. I know it's called the 'Wind Factory', but how does one make wind?

"We make fans and we also generate the wind that comes through this valley!" The first Minomon said as he swung around on his string.

Fans… of course… Tommy facepalmed himself. That's probably the original way to make wind…

"The Kokuwamon and the Gobrimon work together to create electronic fans in order to make more wind," A Minomon stated. "And the Guardromon are keeping guard from any hostile players who try to attack the factory."

"Speaking of which, I wonder if the last group is finished with their tour yet…" The second Minomon mumbled.

"I think one of them had to go to the bathroom earlier," The first Minomon explained.

"I think they're at the cafeteria," The third Minomon reminded. "Though I don't think they like the food we serve here."

"What group are you talking about?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, it's just a group of players who were interested in the factory," The first Minomon answered. "Although…one of the players was wearing stuff that makes it hard to see their face, it's kind of annoying."

There's a group of players here? Tommy wondered. Should I try talking to them? It might be good to have more players be aware this place isn't just a video game… but would they even listen to me? I'm just a kid to them.

"The player with the stuff on their face really gives me the creeps!" The second Minomon shivered. "It's very eerie!"

"The players aren't really that important though. They just wanted a tour, so they're not causing trouble." The first Minomon reassured the second Minomon.

"Could I see who these players are?" Tommy requested.

"Are you sure?" The second Minomon asked. "They don't look like the kind of people who'd take care of… a human younger than them. And you look like you are."

"I just want to see them," Tommy replied. "I mean we are fellow humans after all."

"Fair enough," The third Minomon said. "Follow us."

Tommy was nervous as he walked down the hallway, following the Minomon. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to these players, but he had to start somewhere. He hoped, at the very least, they would try to listen to him.

"This is the cafeteria," The three Minomon announced before they had the door slide open.

Tommy could see Kokuwamon and Goburimon sitting at tables, eating food. The Kokuwamon were eating what looked like batteries and bolts. While the Goburimon were eating what looked like uncooked meat. Tommy could see why players would be turned off to the food here, as neither were exactly edible for human consumption.

"The players should be somewhere around here." The first Minomon said as he looked around.

Tommy started to walk around the cafeteria, looking for a group of humans. It didn't take him long to find them. However, he stopped as his blood went cold when he saw the group were familiar faces he hadn't seen in a while.

Susie, Numemon, Drake, Ghostmon, Ryan, Kunemon, Kwan, and… he had a different Digimon this time. Tommy noted the Digimon next to Kwan wasn't a Veggiemon anymore, but a green plant-like Digimon with green eyes. But the flower on the head was a deep purple color, and it had purplish colored claws, or roots from its hands. The Digimon stood on two legs and had a tail as well. Though Tommy had yet to see him with them.

"Seriously, you'd think they have more food than just double AA batteries and raw meat…" Susie grumbled.

"I think raw meat is good," Numemon said.

"Of course you do, but for us, it's very… unhealthy," Susie sighed.

"I don't mind taking some of these batteries home, they could be useful, but I wouldn't be able to take them with me," Drake grumbled.

"I don't know, maybe we could at least ask them to cook the meat, then we might be able to eat it," Kwan said.

"I like your idea, Kwan," The new plant Digimon chuckled. "I think it would've been better if they just grew the meat instead of buying it from the processed stores. At least the ground makes them cooked."

"What? You can grow cooked meat from the soil, Aruraumon?" Kwan blinked, surprised by that info.

"Well, here in the Digital World it's possible." Aruraumon, the plant-like Digimon, replied. "I don't know about your world though."

Kwan chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah. that's true. The meat would rot underground in my world."

"This place is really fantastical, too bad it's not real," Ryan grumbled as he watched Kunemon eating the meat and the battery with no issue.

Tommy slowly began to back away, hoping none of them saw him. However, as he was backing away, his back hit something solid and metal.

"Well, what do we have here?" A familiar voice said from behind Tommy.

Tommy let out a gasp, but a familiar black PawnChessmon stood in front of him, keeping him from running right away. An arm wrapped around Tommy's neck, making sure he couldn't escape so easily. Tommy hissed as he reached up to try to pull the arm off of him, but the person had a strong hold on him. Tommy looked up, seeing the familiar armor helmet looking down at him.

"Hello, Tommy, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has… Sir Michael," Tommy replied back.

"Come, take a seat," Sir Michael said, though Tommy knew it wasn't a request.

Sir Michael dragged Tommy over to the table where the others were sitting. Everyone looked up in surprise.

"Sir Michael? Is that…?" Susie began to ask, surprised at seeing the boy they never thought they would see again after he ran away.

"I would say our luck has turned around now." Sir Michael said as he stopped in front of the group. "He has returned to us."

Kwan looked at Tommy as Sir Michael forced Tommy onto a seat, and he looked away awkwardly. Out of the group, Kwan was the only one who had seen Tommy recently, and the boy had gotten stronger since then. But Kwan wasn't sure what to do about Tommy now.

"Do you think with Tommy back, you'll be able to take that guild?" Ryan asked. "We couldn't take the guild even with all of our Digimon combined."

"Yes, we can." Sir, Michael replied. "His power is just what we need. Maybe we can even try and get another one of those Digimon that can pass as human as well. But that last one will have to wait until we defeat this guild."

"It's about time we got an advantage." Susie said with a small grin.

"But didn't Tommy run away from you? What if he does it again?" Drake asked.

"Oh, I believe I have insurance for that," Sir Michael replied, holding up one of the slave collars he had been holding onto.

Tommy paled at seeing the collar. After hearing the horror stories of Agunimon and Lobomon being mind controlled, he definitely didn't want to add himself to that list of being mind-controlled by someone.

"You know, Tommy, I really missed you," Sir Michael remarked. "While I know I can count on PawnChessmon, you were always my favorite. So it was a big blow to us when you ran off like you did."

"I had a good reason to!" Tommy snapped. "You were going too far with my power, especially making me kill other people's Digimon partners! Don't you have any regrets doing that?"

"They were being mean to other players, and sometimes power means one has to do things they don't want to do." Sir Michael replied casually. "Besides, those Digimon were reborn, right? There's no need to worry, Tommy."

"You don't get it, do you? They were reborn, but they're not the same Digimon as they once were," Tommy pointed out. "They don't have memories of their past lives! We might as well have killed them! And you lied. You said you only did that to 'mean players', but what about that girl and her Lunamon? You know she wasn't a bully, yet you still wanted me to kill her Lunamon!"

"She wasn't going to surrender her guild." Sir Michael replied calmly, a complete contrast to Tommy's anger. "Sometimes you have to make a point through force, even if you don't like it. And besides, that's the rule for taking over a guild. I didn't make the rules, the girl should've known the risks."

"That doesn't give you the right to decide to end a Digimon's life," Tommy hissed.

"Are you through with your little tantrum?" Sir Michael asked in a condescending tone. "Were you able to get it all out of your system when you left?"

Tommy glared at Sir Michael and gritted his teeth. "If you think I'm coming back to your side, then you're sadly mistaken."

"Oh, I'm not mistaken." Sir Michael replied. "We need your power. Of course, we can do this the easy way, where you return to my side, or we can do this the hard way with the collar. It's your choice, Tommy."

"You're not getting that collar on me!" Tommy snapped.

"Are you sure about that? Look around you, Tommy," Sir Michael said, gesturing to the others with him. "You're outnumbered, Tommy. If you try to fight back, as strong as you are, you'll be overwhelmed quickly. Our Digimon have gotten stronger since the last time you saw us, including PawnChessmon."

Tommy looked at the others. Ryan, Susie, and Drake looked ready to fight if they needed to. Though Kwan was a lot more hesitant than the others. Still, Tommy didn't like his chances. Even if he had gotten stronger, so have they, and he was alone.

"What do you want me for anyways?" Tommy asked. "Sure you were able to take whatever you want without my powers."

"We need your power to defeat a new guild. We tried to fight them, but they defeated us." Sir Michael replied. "But with your help, we can now defeat them and expand our influence."

"Another guild? After you already took one over?" Tommy frowned.

"That guild was to help us get started, to train our Digimon partners," Sir Michael answered. "But this new guild is a lot tougher than we anticipated. But with your help, we should be able to handle them. We came here to the Wind Factory, hoping to see if there was anything worth taking here. But a bunch of fans isn't going to help us. But it looks like we get something out of it after all, since you're here now. I think it's about time I take you back into the fold, Kumamon."

Tommy narrowed his eyes. "I only helped you before because you were my only friend, or at least, I thought you were. But I have no reason to help someone like you, Sir Michael. You treated me like a pet, and only saw me as a Digimon with no feelings or rights of my own. Why would I ever want to return to you?"

"You can either run from me, and I will hunt you down, you can return to me willingly, or I can use the collar on you." Sir Michael stated as he held up the collar. "Which is it? Besides, no one else will respect you as I have, Kumamon. Everyone else will see you for what you really are, but I know better."

For a moment, Tommy returned to his state of mind when he had been with Sir Michael before. The smooth talk the guy had made it difficult to disagree with him, and how much of a commanding force he had. Sir Michael knew what he wanted to do, and how he wanted it to be done. He was pragmatic, and he was ruthless. He was making it clear that Tommy didn't have much of a choice. Tommy almost obeyed Sir Michael's demands, until he remembered why he wanted to confront Sir Michael in the first place.

I can't forget who I am… and what I've learned. I can't let myself become Sir Michael's puppet again. Tommy frowned. "Then try to catch me, if you can."

With no warning, Tommy kicked Sir Michael in the gut. Although Sir Michael was wearing armor, so it didn't hurt him, just pushed him back and caught him by surprise. That was enough to allow Tommy to get off of the chair and bolt away from the cafeteria.

"That little brat…" Sir Michael hissed. "I gave him the choice, but now it's time to go the hard way." He took out the slave collar. "We're going after him, guys! We can't let him get away from us again!"

Drake and Ryan, along with their Digimon partners, ran ahead to catch up to Tommy.

Susie and Kwan, however, were a little more hesitant.

"Are we sure we should be doing this, Sir Michael? After all, you had a moral code to never use the slave collar on a Digimon," Susie pointed out. "You saw it as bad as bullying the weak."

"Yes, but Kumamon is no ordinary Digimon. I wanted to give him the choice, and he ran." Sir Michael replied. "I didn't want to use it, but he forced my hand. I'm normally not willing to use the collar, but Kumamon escaped once. I can't lose him again."

Kwan looked nervous about this. "But could we handle Kumamon?"

"We don't have time to ask questions, we need to go after him before we lose him again!" Sir Michael snapped. "PawnChessmon!"

"Yes, Sir Michael," PawnChessmon said before fractal code surrounded him. "PawnChessmon digivolve to… KnightChessmon!"

The Champion form of PawnChessmon now stood on the lower body of a horse, and the whole lower body was covered in black armor with golden hooves. The upper body looked like a humanoid knight, covered in black armor as well. There were golden accents on the hands and joints, and the tail was red. The head looked humanoid, and had a black and gold helmet with greenish eyes. In its hands was a giant dart-like weapon that had red tail fins, a black body with golden accents, and a silver pointed tip.

Sir Michael didn't hesitate to hop onto KnightChessmon's horse-like body. As soon as Sir Michael was on, KnightChessmon galloped out of the cafeteria.

"Come on, let's go," Susie sighed.

"Aww, just when I was enjoying myself," Numemon whined.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Kwan?" Aruraumon asked his partner.

Kwan let out a sigh. "I don't think Sir Michael is going to stop until he gets Kumamon back."

Kwan and Aruraumon quickly followed after Susie and Numemon.

"Come again soon!" A Minomon waved to them.

"I don't think that went well for them," Another Minomon sighed.

"Oh well, not our business when players have drama with each other, just as long as they don't bring it here," The other Minomon shrugged.

---

Meanwhile, in the real world, in Amity Park, Jack and Maddie drove the Fenton RV up to the Nasty Burger as the sun was going down. Danny, Andy, Takuya, Jazz, Patamon, and Lopmon were sitting in the back. They already saw a large, colorful van that looked like it belonged in the 80s parked in the parking lot. There was also a silver, green, and black ATV, and a similar colored motorcycle parked there. Despite these colorful looking vehicles, the ordinary white van stood out the most because of how… plain and ordinary it was.

"Are you sure this will be okay?" Takuya asked. "I mean… these guys are the best known in the world."

Danny snickered. "Yeah, but they're not the best. It's a virtual who's who of who can't catch ghosts."

"That doesn't mean we should just assume they can't catch ghosts." Jazz warned.

"Alright kids, time to come out and see what these other ghost hunters are like!" Jack announced as he parked the RV.

Everyone exited out of the Assault Vehicle. Danny looked at so-called 'best ghost hunters'.

"The Groovy Gang and Scaredy Cat… The Extreme Ghost Breakers… And the government's ghost hunting squad, Guys in White," Danny noted. "I've heard of these guys. Supposedly the Groovy Gang managed to tame a white tiger to help them locate ghosts, but most of the time the ghosts turned out to be people in a mask. The Extreme Ghost Breakers are just people who love to do 'extreme sports', and added 'ghost hunting' into the mix to make it more extreme."

"The only biggest problem is probably the Guys in White, they're government funded," Jazz muttered.

"Even then, they seem more worried about keeping their coats clean and white rather than hunting a ghost," Takuya muttered, seeing how the two agents kept wiping their coats.

"Tell me about it." Danny grumbled. "I'd hate to be on the receiving end of those guys."

"At least we know something about these ghost hunters." Lopmon noted.

"Let's hope we don't have to find out what they are capable of though." Patamon pointed out.

"Just stay quiet, we don't want them thinking you're ghosts too," Andy said to Lopmon and Patamon.

"I'm more impressed with the white tiger. Tigers aren't exactly… animals to keep for pets," Jazz remarked.

"I wonder what Sam would say about that," Danny chuckled.

"She'd probably agree with me," Jazz grumbled.

"Hello, fellow ghost hunters!" Jack greeted the ghost hunters.

"Dude, check it out, these must be the local ghost hunters in these parts," A tall, lanky man from the Groovy gang pointed at Jack and Maddie.

Jack beamed. "You bet we are! We're the Fentons!"

"And we've been hunting ghosts in Amity Park for a while now," Maddie added.

"Nice to meet you!" The male member of the Extreme Ghost Breakers introduced. "That vehicle of yours is so extreme!"

Jack was grinning so widely, his face looked like it was going to split in half. "Thank you! The Ghost Assault Vehicle was built and designed by yours truly!"

"So extreme!" The male Ghost Breaker exclaimed.

"Maddie, I think we'll get along with these guys just fine." Jack grinned.

"Yeah…" Maddie replied, though she wasn't so sure about them herself. "What about the Guys in White?"

Jack looked at the two agents. "Hey there! Nice to meet you!"

"Is the big oaf talking to us?" One of the agents asked.

"Hey, don't call him an 'oaf'." Jazz frowned.

"We can call him that if we want." The second agent replied.

"Especially since he had never successfully caught the ghost kid, which was why we were called into action," The first agent stated.

Jack pouted, looking like a hurt puppy.

Takuya frowned, feeling bad for his uncle. "Wow… those guys are harsh…"

Andy frowned as well. He understood that feeling of being judged by others, and feeling useless.

"Jack, don't listen to them," Maddie said gently to her husband.

"Right, they don't know what we're capable of!" Jack smiled, bouncing back.

"And like… who are these kiddies?" An orange haired woman from the Groovy Gang asked as she looked at the kids.

"They're our children. This is our eldest daughter, Jazz. These two are our twins, Danny and Andy. And this is our nephew, Takuya, he's from Japan~" Jack proudly announced. "They wanted to come and see us ghost hunters in action!"

Danny groaned, rubbing his face. He hadn't wanted his dad to just announce who they were.

Takuya felt like hiding in a hole right then and there, he was blushing so much. "Is there a hole I can hide in?"

"Dad! That's embarrassing!" Jazz groaned, her own cheeks burning with a blush.

"What? There's nothing wrong with showing off our children," Jack replied.

"So… like… can you speak Japanese?" The man from the Groovy Gang asked Takuya.

"Maybe I should've taken your advice and stayed home…" Danny muttered to Andy.

"On the bright side… none of their ghost radars are picking up any ghost," Andy subtly said.

"True…" Danny admitted subtly.

Takuya blushed a bit. "Um… Yes? I moved there when I was 9…" Aw man… I hate being put on the spot like this!

While this was going on, Andy looked over at some buildings in the distance. Huh? … That was weird, I thought I saw something in the sky for a moment.

Andy looked away, then he saw Danny let out a small gasp as his ghost sense suddenly went off. That put Andy on alert before he looked up again, and saw three familiar looking ecto birds flying towards them.

Takuya got that flash of chills and heat down his spine and he gasped. "Uh oh…" He muttered before looking up and saw the same ecto-birds Andy was seeing. "We have a problem…"

"No crap we've got a problem!" Andy hissed.

The other ghost hunter's radars went off, and everyone else looked up, shocked that these ghost birds were boldly attacking a group of ghost hunters. Of course, since nobody expected a ghost attack right away, they all scattered, trying to get away from the swooping talons.

Jack didn't hesitate to bring out his Fenton Fisher from the assault vehicle. He handled ghost animals before, and this was a good chance to show the other ghost hunters what he was capable of. "Stand back, everyone. I've got the homefield advantage!"

Jack began to chase the ghostly vultures around, trying to catch them in the Fenton Fisher's line. He cast the line, and managed to snag one of the ghostly vultures. "Alright ghosts! Prepare to become the Fenton catch of the day!"

The big man began to reel in the ghost he caught with a grin on his face.

"Like… that's not the million dollar ghost," The woman from the Groovy Gang remarked in a bit of a huff.

"Then we should kick back and watch this," One of the Ghost Breakers said. "It'll be a riot."

"What? Aren't you going to help him? You guys are ghost hunters, aren't you?" Jazz frowned.

"Yeah, this isn't just watching some kid playing a sport, he could get hurt out there!" Andy added.

"Not our problem." One of the Guys in White agents said. "He's a fool to use just a fishing line to catch a ghost that isn't even the million dollar one."

"Children, relax, your father's got this," Maddie said, hoping to encourage Jack, although she was a little worried he was being too hasty with this.

"Alright ghosts, you're about to become Fenton's catch of the day!" Jack called out as he lashed out the hook of the Fenton Fisher as one of the ghost bird's talons.

"Gotcha!" Jack grinned, seeing how he succeeded in catching one of the ghost birds, and he started reeling the bird in.

Jack, however, forgot one important detail about ghosts. Ghosts had enhanced strength compared to humans. The ghost bird squawked as it began to pull away from Jack. Jack frowned, finding he was unable to pull back the bird, and it began to pull him instead.

"Dad! Let go of the Fenton Fisher!" Andy shouted in concern as he saw his dad being dragged on the road like a rag doll.

Jack did as Andy suggested, the ghostly vultures getting away from him. "Aw man… I was sure I could catch that one!" Jack pouted as the Fenton Fisher fell to the ground as the line came free from the ghost Jack had looped with it.

It was a good thing Jack let go when he did, he was only a few feet away from the Nasty Burger electronic menu for the drive thrus. That would've been a nasty bump.

"Not exactly the best ghost hunter ever if you can't even catch animal ghosts," One of the Guys in White remarked.

"But it was a pretty extreme scene!" One of the Ghost Breakers laughed.

Takuya grimaced. Wow… do I feel bad for Uncle Jack now… He tried so hard, and yet the ghosts made a laughing stock of him…

"I don't know whether to be mortified or just embarrassed…" Danny groaned.

"Shouldn't you do something? Those ghosts are still out there," Jazz pointed out.

"What do you want me to do? I can't go ghost here," Danny pointed out.

"And it's not like anybody's in any real danger yet, right?" Takuya added.

"Careful, you just jinxed us," Andy pointed out.

As if on cue, the other two ghost vultures flew down. One of them grabbed Jazz, while the other grabbed Andy. The two who had no special powers of their own. Luckily, Lopmon was in Andy's backpack when he got swooped up.

"And now they're in danger…" Takuya sighed.

"Who? My siblings or the vultures?" Danny asked. "They took Andy. You know, the same guy who tore through your plasma sphere to get to Freakshow?"

Takuya blinked before chuckling. "Ah, right." Then he paused. "Okay, now I feel sorry for the birds…"

"Wow… so this is what it's like to fly through Amity Park," Andy remarked as the vultures were carrying him and Jazz.

"How are you so calm about this!?" Jazz shouted.

"I have a secret weapon," Andy replied.

Lopmon poked his head out of Andy's backpack. "So, what's the plan?"

"Just be ready to catch Jazz," Andy said before he took out his Fenton Rod from his pocket.

The vulture that was carrying Jazz suddenly felt cold metal slamming into his behind. It let out a pained filled squawk before dropping Jazz from pure shock alone. Jazz let out a yelp before Lopmon jumped down and caught her hand, then he inflated his ears to gently float her down.

"T-thanks, Lopmon! But what about Andy?" Jazz asked, worried for her brother.

"He must have a plan, I trust him," Lopmon replied.

The vulture carried Andy to the top of a building, and dropped him in front of someone.

"Ah, well what do we have here?" The person in front of Andy mocked. "The human brother."

Andy looked up, and saw a familiar face. What stood, or rather, floated in front of him was the vampire ghost. The ghost he thought had possessed Vlad through some shady deal or something. But he knew this was Vlad, the same guy who tried to trap him, his brother, and his mother back at the Rockies. Andy had wanted to see where the vulture was taking him, but he probably should've remembered these were the same vultures Vlad sent out to go after his dad back then.

"What are you doing here?" Andy asked. "Shouldn't you be back in Wisconsin?"

"Why, I came here for a little fun~" Vlad taunted. "The ghost hunters here will give such a show! I must say though, I'm rather surprised you, Daniel, and Maddie managed to make it back here without needing transportation. How did you do it?"

"Like I'm going to tell you," Andy hissed.

"I'd watch that tone of yours, boy. Unlike your brother, you aren't worth that much to me. Just be glad you're Maddie's child, or I would teach you a harsh lesson in how you talk to me," Vlad warned.

Despite everything Andy had faced, Vlad always made him feel lower than dirt, and like he was just an ant compared to Vlad.

"Of course, with you here, that should lure your brother in soon~" Vlad grinned, showing off some of his fangs, making Andy briefly wonder if Danny would grow fangs someday.

"You're not going to use me as some lure," Andy said.

"And what are you going to do to stop me, hmm?" Vlad replied before he grabbed onto the back of Andy's shirt, and picked him up with ease. "After all, you're only a weakling. A coward, hiding behind your brother's shadow."

"I'm not a coward!" Andy snapped as he struggled against Vlad's hold.

"Oh, but you are. You like to act like you're just as capable as him, but all you are is a weak human. In fact, I'm sure your brother secretly resents you for it, being someone he has to protect all the time." Vlad sneered back.

"Danny wouldn't… wouldn't do that!" Andy spoke up.

Vlad found Andy's resistance to be quite annoying. He sent a small jolt of electricity through Andy's body, shocking him. Though Vlad was careful enough to make sure the shock wasn't lethal to a human. Andy let out a yelp from the shock and stopped struggling.

"That was just a tiny taste of my powers, boy," Vlad warned Andy. "If I wanted to, I could end your life in less than a snap."

Andy hissed, trying not to show fear as Vlad looked at him. "Duly… noted…"

"But relax, you are not who I want after all. I don't like wasting my time with the common, weak, average child after all," Vlad stated.

Andy frowned.

"Oh, don't give me that look. You know it's true. You're nothing but a burden to your brother, someone else he has to keep protecting, when he already has enough on his plate. His idiot father is hunting him down. Always living in danger in his own house. Always being around people who don't understand what he's going through. Daniel needs someone like him, someone who can provide him what he needs," Vlad stated.

Andy felt blood leaving his face, and his body going cold. Everything Vlad was saying was exactly like what the nightmare Vlad had said to him before… before he took Danny away.

"Is… is that why you're here? To… take Danny away?" Andy quietly asked.

"Of course not~ I merely wish to give Daniel what he wants of his own free will!" Vlad grinned. "All Daniel has to do is just renounce his father and come live with me~"

"You know that's never going to happen, don't you?" Andy replied, though a part of him was also trying to convince himself. This isn't a nightmare, this is real. I know the real Danny would never renounce Dad for this messed up fruit loop.

"Oh, he will… Once I make a fool of your old man~" Vlad grinned, showing his sharp fangs without any remorse. "I will tear down his, and Maddie's, respect for Jack, so much that they will leave him of their own free will. I will expose him for the incompetent ghost hunter that he is while I'm at it. And you can't stop me~"

"Expose him?" Andy frowned as he tried to ignore the taunts Vlad was obviously using to get under his skin.

It clicked in Andy's head. A mysterious benefactor put a million dollar bounty on Danny's ghost half, and hired the 'best' known ghost hunters to come to Amity Park to look for him. Vlad fit the description of a filthy rich a-hole who had too much time and money on his hands to pull a stunt like this.

"You were the one who put that bounty on Danny's head," Andy pointed out.

"I'm surprised you figured that out," Vlad remarked, looking a little annoyed that the boy figured it out so quickly. "You must have inherited your brains from Maddie then. No matter, this doesn't harm my plan in any way. After all, you can't do anything about it."

Vlad then looked up and grinned. "Looks like your brother is right on cue~"

Andy frowned before looking up, seeing a familiar black and white being flying towards them. Oh no…

"Let him go!" Danny called out to Vlad. "Leave my brother alone!"

Vlad grinned at the incoming Danny. "You want your brother? I will gladly give him to you~ But only if you join me."

"I'm never going to join you! Get it through your thick skull!" Danny shouted as he was about to fire a ghost ray at Vlad.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Vlad held Andy out in front of him, making Danny stop his next attack. "You wouldn't want to harm your brother, now do you?"

Danny came to a stop, releasing the ghost ray. "H-Hey! That's not fair! Let Andy go!" Danny exclaimed. "You're a dirty cheater, you know that?"

"Not a cheater, Daniel, just resourceful," Vlad replied. "After all, we can't negotiate and have a civilized conversation if all you ever do is try to fight me, Daniel. Your brother's safety is in my hands. So I would suggest you calm down before you do something you regret."

Danny frowned as he lowered his arms. "I won't join you, Vlad. You know that as well as I do."

"And what would you say if I threatened your brother's life?" Vlad asked.

'His brother', never 'Andy' or even 'Andrew'... Andy thought to himself.

Danny hesitated. He didn't want to have Andy's life forfeit for Vlad's own gain.

"Don't let him get to you, Danny, he's just using me to get his way," Andy quickly said.

"Be quiet," Vlad reprimanded. "The superior beings are talking."

Vlad punished Andy by sending another, non-lethal, jolt of electricity through his system. Andy let out a cry of pain.

"Andy!" Danny cried. "W-wait! Don't hurt him! Please!" It was clear Danny was concerned about Andy. Aw man! Vlad's really serious about this! Danny thought frantically. I have to stay calm… I still have one trick up my sleeve.

Andy hissed when Vlad stopped shocking him.

"That's better." Vlad grinned.

Maybe Vlad's right… maybe I am just a burden to Danny… look at the situation we're in now because of my own carelessness… Andy frowned. I'm only human… not a superhero… I should start acting like it before I get myself killed!

"What is it that you want, Vlad/" Danny asked.

"Daniel, you know what I want," Vlad replied.

"But you know I can't do that. I can't just renounce my dad just so you can take his place," Danny argued. "I love him."

"Really? Then tell me why, Daniel. What has your idiot of a father done for you?" Vlad questioned, who couldn't fathom the concept of 'love' apparently. "It was his invention that caused you to turn into a halfa in the first place, just like with me. And he's hunting your ghost half, harming it in ways that are illegal in the Ghost Zone. Your father may as well be a dangerous criminal to ghost kind, including you."

"Vlad…" Danny frowned. "I may not know much about my own ghost half, or how the Ghost Zone works… but I do know one thing that you obviously don't… My dad loves me, and cares about me, even if he doesn't know about my ghost half. And I love him too. I won't let you hurt him, just like how I won't let you hurt Andy."

A bubble of ecto energy blasted Vlad from behind. The surprise attack caused Vlad to fall forward, dropping Andy. Andy let out a gasp as he was falling. He hadn't noticed Vlad had been floating higher than the rooftop of the building.

Danny saw Andy was falling and dove down to rescue him. Danny managed to grab Andy by his waist and looked up once Andy was in his arms. Danny gave a grin to the small black and white form that was flying behind Vlad.

Andy blinked, he saw Patamon flying away from Vlad, who was still in shock at what happened. He used Patamon to get a sneak attack on Vlad while he distracted Vlad. Wow, when did Danny get so clever?

"What in the name of pancakes is that!?" Vlad hissed. "I've never seen a ghost like that before! Did you experiment with your own ghost animal, Daniel!?"

"I'm not some experimental animal!" Patamon snapped back at Vlad. "I'm just the ghost boy's partner."

Vlad blinked before sneering. "Well, is that so? Then it should be fun to figure out what kind of ghost you are, my little black and white friend."

Danny grinned. "There's more to the little guy than meets the eye~"

"Even so, don't think you and your little companion will be able to defeat me," Vlad said before he flew at Danny.

Danny's eyes went wide. He couldn't protect Andy and fight off Vlad at the same time.

Danny could overshadow me, he'd still be able to use his powers while using my body. This way he won't have to worry about- Andy began thinking before he stopped himself. No! What am I thinking? I could end up getting hurt, or worse! And what if Dad and the other ghost hunters see it? They would think Danny was possessing me and think worse about him! What do we do?

For once, Andy was out of ideas.

"Andy, if you have any ideas, now's the time to share them!" Danny quickly said as he and Patamon flew away from the incoming Vlad, though Vlad was quickly catching up to them.

"I-I don't know, Danny!" Andy replied.

"What?!" Danny exclaimed. "Andy! You must have some idea! Hell will freeze over before you run out of ideas, I swear!"

"What's going on?" Patamon frowned.

"J-just… uh… put me down and get Takuya to help you!" Andy quickly said in a bit of a panic.

"Andy, are you sure? That may not be the best idea right now." Danny said. "There're ghost hunters looking for Agunimon here…"

"Danny's right." Patamon agreed. "But we do have an angry ghost after us, so we need a plan, like NOW!"

Vlad began firing his red ghost rays at them. Danny and Patamon had to take a moment to dodge.

Were my plans always this risky? Always putting myself into the fray and danger? What is wrong with me!? Andy shouted at himself.

Patamon frowned, seeing Andy wasn't telling them anything. "Put him down, Danny, we need to at least make sure Vlad doesn't hurt him."

Danny frowned, but nodded. "Okay." He flew down into an alleyway and set Andy down. "You just stay here, bro, okay? I know this must be kinda scary, but… we'll get through this."

"Y-yeah… okay…" Andy replied before Danny gave him a worried look, then he and Patamon flew up.

"Something's wrong with Andy," Danny said. "What did Vlad say to him?"

"I don't know, but we need to fly higher before the ghost hunters find us," Patamon warned.

Danny could hear all the machines beeping, and the ghost hunters shouting out, "GHOST!"

Danny grimaced. "Yeah… good idea." He agreed before both he and Patamon flew up higher to escape the detectors. Of course, Vlad wasn't going to make it easy. He grinned as he waited for them to come to him.

While Danny and Patamon were dealing with Vlad in the sky, Lopmon was rushing to the alleyway where he saw Danny dropping Andy off.

"Andy! There you are!" Lopmon called before noticing something was wrong. "What's wrong? You look pale."

"I'm… I'm fine…" Andy frowned before he came out of the alleyway. "We… s-someone needs to help Danny and Patamon…"

Jazz and Takuya soon caught up to Lopmon, and saw Andy coming out of the alleyway.

"Andy!" Jazz cried. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"I swear, if that bird brain hurt you, it's lights out for that buzzard." Takuya growled.

Both Takuya and Jazz then noticed how pale Andy looked.

"Um… Andy?" Jazz asked.

"Y-yeah! Of course, I'm fine!" Andy spoke up before looking down. "I'm… fine, aren't I?"

"You tell us, are you?" Takuya frowned.

"Y-yeah, yeah… not a scratch on me… except I might've been electrocuted a couple of times…" Andy replied.

"What?! By who?!" Jazz asked in worry. "Who or what electrocuted you?!"

"By halfa- by the Wisconsin- vampire…" Andy was getting a bit tongue tied and flustered. "By Vlad!"

"Vlad?!" Takuya growled out. "That creep of a fruitloop did this to you?!"

Jazz felt anger filling her as she clenched her fists. "No one hurts one of my little brothers like that!"

"I think he's already hurting Danny," Lopmon pointed up in the sky.

Danny's wrist was caught by Vlad's hand, and Vlad grabbed onto Patamon's wings with his other hand. He began electrocuting them both with far more power than he did with Andy.

"Please, Daniel, even with your new pet, must I defeat you with one hand?" Vlad mocked.

Takuya clenched his fists. "Someone needs to help Danny!"

Andy hesitated. He could get Lopmon to digivolve, after all, the ghost hunters weren't looking for Turuiemon. And Turuiemon could jump high enough to reach Vlad… but what if something goes horribly wrong? What if the ghost hunters see Turuiemon, deem him dangerous, or see him close to the million dollar ghost, and decide to shoot him with weapons that were meant for ghosts, and seriously harm him? Not to mention Andy would likely be in the middle of it all.

I'm not a superhero… stop acting like it… this should be handled by someone with powers… Andy worriedly thought to himself. "Go help him, Takuya!"

Takuya blinked. "A-are you… sure…?"

Jazz frowned before looking at Takuya. "Just do it. I think I need to have a talk with Andy."

Takuya frowned as well, but nodded. "Okay. Just… please figure out what's wrong with Andy."

Takuya then turned and ran off to the alleyway Andy had come out of in order to Spirit Evolve.

Now as Agunimon, he rushed out of the alleyway and jumped up to Vlad to stop him from electrocuting Danny and Patamon.

"Ah, just in time, the digital man in armor himself~" Vlad grinned. "I knew you'd show up eventually. Now all the guests of honor are finally here."

Agunimon growled as he reached out to grab Vlad's arm and yank it back. "You won't get away with this!" He hissed to Vlad, showing his own fangs in his anger.

Since Vlad was still holding Danny and Patamon, he created a duplicate to handle Agunimon. The duplicate punched Agunimon down onto a building.

"Ugh…" Agunimon grunted as he got back to his feet, feeling his back aching from hitting the roof. "Okay, looks like this won't be so easy."

"Of course not." The duplicate replied with a sneer. "I'm still more powerful than you, even if this is a duplicate!"

While this was going on, Jazz and Lopmon were looking at Andy in concern.

"What's going on, Andy?" Jazz asked.

"Nothing's wrong!" Andy snapped. "I just… I don't like the plans I'm coming up with. They're too risky, and things could go horribly wrong and make everything worse!"

"Andy! Calm down!" Jazz exclaimed. "What's wrong with your plans? They've worked before, right? Why would you doubt yourself now?"

"Andy, this isn't like you." Lopmon agreed. "Didn't you say you wouldn't let the doubt get to you again?"

"I've been way over my head…" Andy rubbed his head, messing up his hair. "How many times… have I put myself in danger, Jazz? I always put myself in the middle of it all, where a Digimon or a ghost could easily end me. I think it was fine… but… why would I do that? Do I think I'm more than just human? Or that I want to be? If I keep going like this, I'll end up dead!"

"Andy, calm down." Jazz said gently. She then hesitated before speaking again. "... Andy… I do worry about you getting hurt if not worse, but I also know you can handle yourself. You only did that because your loved ones were in danger. I don't want you to think you're not helping anyone, or that you have to stay out of the thick of it. I just want you to do what you do best."

"But why don't you, Tucker, or Sam do the things I do?" I asked.

"We're not as confident as you are, and we don't always know what you have in mind when you do these plans," Jazz said.

"The plans I come up with are crazy, aren't they? Everyone keeps joking about it, especially after the Freakshow incident…" I sighed. "And they're right. I jumped onto a flaming bird, and then off of a moving train, having missiles fired with me to break a dome, and fall off a ravine. I am crazy!"

"Andy, you're crazy yes, but in a good way." Jazz reassured Andy. "You're crazy enough to do what you need to do to save the people you care about. Could we have come up with the plan that you did? Probably not. Would it have worked? Probably not."

"Andy, you don't have to be on the sidelines. That's not who you are." Lopmon agreed.

"I don't get you. Jazz, you of all people should know how dangerous this is… why are you letting me do what I do?" Andy asked. "I'm just like you. I don't have ghost powers, or the ability to turn into a Digimon."

"It's because I know how capable you are." Jazz replied. "I don't like letting you do these things, but I do it because I trust you to know what to do."

Vlad then tossed Danny and Patamon at Agunimon, causing all 3 of them to fall… right into the parking lot of the Nasty Burger. All of the ghost hunters immediately recognized Danny as the million dollar ghost, and the extra cash they could get with the 'bat' and the armored fire man, who all happened to be right in front of them, wrapped up in one package. All the ghost hunters pointed their ecto weapons right in Danny, Patamon, and Agunimon's faces. They could hear the weapons powering up.

Andy, Jazz, and Lopmon all gasped and paled when they saw this. They had walked right into Vlad's trap.

"We have to do something!" Jazz cried.

Surprisingly, the white tiger was showing its aggressive side, and was growling at Danny, Patamon, and Agunimon. The blond haired lanky man was holding out a bag that had the label 'kitty krunch'.

Danny, Patamon, and Agunimon were all frozen in one spot. One false move could end in their swift, and painful, demise.

Seeing that his family was in danger, Andy didn't hesitate to second guess himself. He quickly picked up a rock on the ground, and ran at the group, who were all hyper focused on their targets. Andy threw the rock at the white tiger's head. This caused the tiger to let out a surprised cat screech and pounced onto one of the Guys in White's agents. This caused a domino effect, where the agent and the tiger fell onto the other agent, which fell onto the two Extreme Ghost Breakers, which fell onto the other two Groovy Gangs. Jack was slammed into, but his build kept him on his feet.

"What are you doing? Don't take your eyes off the target!" Jack scolded.

Danny blinked and saw Andy gesturing to him to get away. Danny grabbed onto Agunimon's arm, and turned both of them intangible, and sank underground. Seeing this, Patamon quickly followed Danny's example, and sank a second after his partner.

Seeing the ghosts and the armored man got away, the ghost hunters frowned.

"Where did they go?" One of the Guys in White agents asked.

"We need to find them." His partner agreed.

"Like, what happened?" The male member of the Groovy Gang asked. "I thought we had the ghost boy and the armored man."

"Your stupid overgrown cat pounced me," The agent growled, shoving the white tiger off of him. "Why do you even have a tiger for ghost hunting?"

"True me, Scaredy Cat has his ways with dealing with ghosts, especially for a Kitty Krunch," The man from the Groovy Gang replied.

"It was weird that he would suddenly freak out like he did," The woman from the Groovy Gang sighed. "Something must've happened."

"Maybe the Fentons scared him. Maybe Jack Fenton's big body made Scaredy Cat think he was a big orange bear about to eat him!" The guy from the Ghost Breakers snickered.

Jack frowned. "I'm not that scary!" He exclaimed. "I'm just as capable as the rest of you."

"Don't go blaming my husband for what your pet did," Maddie scolded.

"That's not my pet, dude," The Ghost Breaker man grumbled.

"The truth of the matter is we had the million dollar ghosts, and the other two, but now they got away," One of the Guys in White agent muttered. "This is unacceptable."

"Come on, Jack, since the ghost boy and his armored friend are no longer here, we should head home," Maddie said.

"Yeah… I guess so… we shouldn't let the kids be put in danger anyways," Jack sighed.

Jack and Maddie began to make their way to the GAV in defeat. Jack had been hoping for a successful first meeting with fellow Ghost Hunters, but now… now that point was moot. He felt like a failure instead.

"Andy?" Maddie asked, noticing he was closer to the group than Jazz. "Where's your brother and cousin?"

"We're here, Mom!" Danny quickly said, now back in his human form, and holding Patamon in his arms.

Takuya came out from where Danny had emerged from, also back in his human form. "I saw what happened. Is Uncle Jack okay?"

"I'm fine." Jack sighed. "I just feel a bit like a failure for not catching that ghost kid and his pet."

"W-well… there's always next time, right?" Takuya said with a nervous grin.

"It's just… I made myself look like a fool back there, especially with the ghost vultures…" Jack frowned.

"We all have our off days, Dad," Jazz reassured. "I can think of someone else who might be having an off day."

Jazz glanced back at Andy, who was holding onto Lopmon, and looked away from her.

"I guess so, Jazzypants." Jack chuckled. "C'mon, let's get you kids home."

The kids all sat in the back of the GAV, while Maddie sat in the passenger seat.

"Don't think about it too much, okay, Jack?" Maddie said, hoping to help her husband feel better. "They're a bunch of stuck up snobs who think they know better. But they didn't do anything when the ghost vultures attacked, so you're already doing more than they are."

Jack smiled. "Thanks, Mads. You know how to cheer me up."

Takuya, Danny, Andy, Patamon, Lopmon, and Jazz all looked like they were affected by the sappy sweetness of the scene with big smiles on their faces. Or rather, they would if they didn't have their own things going on in their minds right now.

Andy was still feeling troubled about his risky plans, and his indecisiveness. He knew that wasn't going to help, but now he was becoming hyper aware of how much his plans usually entailed putting himself in direct danger. And how badly these plans could go wrong.

"Andy… what did Vlad say to you?" Lopmon whispered, sensing his partner's distress.

"... I'll tell you, and the others, when we get home," Andy whispered back.

---

Titanic X: ZAFT: Ooooh, we made you scared? That's something unexpected, but hey, it shows we made an impact on you with the intensity of the chapter~ XD

pokemon fan 1991: DarkFoxKit: To be honest, I really don't think the Fright Knight should've been a villain in the first place. The reason I say this is because of the lore. He's supposed to be the spirit of Halloween. People don't treat Halloween as evil, they enjoy it. So why would the Fright Knight be a villain? What's his purpose? Take over the world with scary stuff? Why? What does that have to do with Halloween? So ZAFT and I tweaked the story a bit. Showing the Fright Knight is scary, but he's not actually evil. He's not out to really hurt anyone, he just wants to scare people, then give them a treat if they are able to confront their fears. He sees that as helping the living grow, and the candy is a reward for it to incentivise them to keep trying to grow as a person. And considering that Pariah Dark is a thing, I think he was the one who forced the Fright Knight to become a villain, doing whatever he ordered him to do like killing people. Then, this is just my own head cannon, the Fright Knight grew sick of hurting people when all he wanted was to help them face their fears, and tried to rebel against Pariah Dark. So Pariah Dark imprisoned the Fright Knight into a pumpkin, likely putting a curse on him to get sealed away whenever his Soul Shredder was put into a pumpkin or a pumpkin-like object.

ZAFT: The description of the Soul Shredder being a mega level Nightmare Syndrome would be a good comparison I think, but only in the scares. In actually causing someone to hurt others, it is different from Nightmare Syndrome. But that is a good comparison you made. :3 And oh boy… Andy would probably be running from Monzaemon and the other evolutions of that line. XD

DarkFoxKit: Andy wouldn't run from the Monzaemon line. He'd find them disturbing, but they're still Digimon, not actual teddy bears. If he was gonna be terrified of everything and anything that looked like a teddy bear, he wouldn't go near Tommy when he turns into Kumamon.

Hmm? It sounds like you're making Digimon into ghosts.

ZAFT: Or maybe giving Digimon a few abilities from Ghost Game, where Digimon could be invisible to humans and possibly pass through things; the latter ability is only assumed for now since it wasn't shown. Only flight-capable Digimon should be able to fly though, just a nitpick otherwise.

Akhemphi: DarkFoxKit: I like to think a person with a strong soul has a high chance of becoming a ghost upon death. Danny definitely had a powerful soul, and the will to not die, which I believe played a big role in him becoming half ghost instead of a full ghost. Yeah, as I said to pokemon fan 1991, I didn't see the Fright Knight as a villain. You can look at my answer to pokemon fan 1991 if you want to see my full explanation on why we made Fright Knight this way.

As for what we would do if Andy stayed as a human, we wouldn't give him special powers per say exactly. That would defeat the whole purpose of keeping him human to begin with. Instead, we would show just how dangerous a human could be if pushed to their limit. It's why Andy is such a smart boy, since he lacks the power, he has to use his brain in these battles that would be impossible for an ordinary human to win alone. So there are benefits for leaving him human, though he will have his Digimon partner helping him out.

ZAFT: That was a good question. XD As for what we have in store for our boi, you will have to see. XD