ZAFT: Hope everyone had a good Valentine's day~ XD
DarkFoxKit: Yeah. Though I wonder if anyone appreciates the time and effort it took us to write out the last few chapters.
ZAFT: Oh, they do, it's just things that happen in life and stuff. XP
DarkFoxKit: So… that doesn't answer my question.
ZAFT: Perhaps people are just busy in life and don't really take the time to review, but they do read.
DarkFoxKit: Sure… let's just get to the chapter.
Chapter 26: Gathering Information
Tucker, Sam, Dash, and Valerie had to head home with their Digimon partners. Valerie made sure they woke up and were alright. Other than some scratches and bruises, the humans were okay for the most part. Their Digimon partners managed to protect them from any direct attacks the Legendary Warriors did. Valerie told Andy to let them know when they came up with a plan. But for now, they had to head home. With the city recovering from the battle, their parents would be worried about them.
Back at Fenton Works, after Danny turned back to human, he, Andy, and their Digimon were resting in the living room. Maddie, Jack, and Jazz were with them. Maddie cooked dinner for them to eat, since eating usually helped the Digimon feel better quicker. Andy told them what happened, leaving out his brother's transformation of course, just that Danny and Patamon found him and Lopmon when they couldn't move.
Jack turned on the TV to see what the damages were. They saw the news showing cops putting up tapes around what was the battlefield.
"As you can see, the unknown group caused a large bombing in the area," The weatherman who was reporting live on TV stated, showing the camera the destruction of the place. "There's also a destroyed tank with unknown contents."
"Too bad we couldn't save the Fenton RV," Danny remarked.
"Well, we can always rebuild it." Jack said confidently. "It did save our lives too. But we will have to reinforce the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle to withstand Digimon attacks too in the next version."
"And it looks like Dr. Carbon really made good on his promise about having Tapirmon making everyone else believe the destruction was caused by a terrorist attack," Jazz noted.
"It seems an ambulance was called to the outskirts of town, only to see a large crater that seemed to have been made unnaturally, and trees buried under soil," The weatherman continued. "But there didn't appear to be anyone out there. It's possible there were more to this unknown terrorist group that blew up the outskirts for unknown reasons."
"Are you sure you don't need to go to a hospital, Andy?" Maddie asked in worry. "You said you could barely move when Danny and Patamon found you."
Andy was currently laying on the couch with Lopmon laying next to him. Lopmon was munching on some cookies.
"I'm sure… I'm not hurt, at least not much… it's more exhaustion than anything," Andy explained. "I just need some time to rest, and Lopmon and I will be fine."
"It's very tiring using Antylamon," Lopmon agreed. "I'm surprised we were able to pull off the Digivolution again."
"Well, even if you did, I'm still not exactly happy you were forced to use such a draining evolution." Maddie stated in concern. "This will be something we have to examine later on, but for now, I would rather you hold off on using that evolution unless there is no choice, especially since it drains you both so much."
"I mean… there being no choice seems to be what sets off the evolution," Andy pointed out. "I wasn't able to do it unless the situation is really dire, like when we were fighting with Plasmius, or when everyone was getting beaten down by the Legendary Warriors."
"The evolution may only continue to be draining until we can figure out how to train it," Patamon said. "But that'll be something to figure out later. For now, we should think about what we're going to do now that we know where Takuya and the others are."
"Or rather who has them…" Jazz frowned.
"Maybe we could call the police and have them investigate Dr. Carbon's house?" Jack suggested.
"While that's a logical plan, Jack… I'm afraid this is something the police wouldn't be able to help with much," Maddie sighed. "The police are still trying to catch ghosts, but without proper training and equipment, at most, they're just distracting the ghosts or mildly annoying them. They're not going to be able to handle Digimon related problems, or children that can become Digimon. And I'm sure someone as clever as Dr. Carbon would be sure to keep the cops far away from where he's actually keeping the children."
Jack scowled. "What he is doing is sick. He's clever alright, but sick for doing what he is doing to those children!" Being the big softie he was, it didn't take much to piss off Jack Fenton when it came to children or his family.
"Dad, calm down." Danny said, trying to keep Jack calm so he didn't do something rash. "I know it's bothering you, and it's bothering me too. It's bothering all of us, but we can't just rush in, especially since we don't know where Dr. Carbon is keeping the Legendary Warriors. Do you want to risk getting arrested for breaking and entering or something else? Then we wouldn't be able to do anything to save them."
Jack gave a sigh. "I won't do anything rash, son… it's just… I can't stand by knowing Takuya, and those other children, are being brainwashed as we speak. It's bad enough that Freakshow was mind controlling him and we didn't know about it. Besides, I rather you and Andy didn't call your friends and risked your lives trying to save them by yourselves like you did last time."
"Don't worry, Dad, it's not like last time," Andy reassured. "You and Mom know what's going on now, and we know you'll do what you can to help us and keep us safe."
Jack smiled. "You bet we will!" He exclaimed.
"But that doesn't help us if we don't know where Takuya and the other children are being kept." Maddie noted somberly. "We need to find out where they are before we can do anything."
"But how will we do that?" Jazz asked.
"I don't know yet… It would help if we had some kind of spy drone that could sneak into Dr. Carbon's house and look for this place he's keeping them hidden, but we don't have that kind of technology," Maddie sighed.
"You don't? You can make a submarine out of the table and counter in the kitchen, but not a spy drone?" Jazz questioned in disbelief.
"That's horribly exaggerated, Jazz," Maddie huffed. "Besides, even if we could make a spy drone, the problem is that it could still get spotted by Dr. Carbon or his Digimon partner, and we wouldn't be able to get it past any walls or doors, Dr. Carbon would likely keep this place sealed off from any spy gear we make."
"Too bad we can't make them go invisible or intangible like ghosts, that would make it easier," Jack grumbled.
The comment gave Andy an idea. "What if we did have a spy that is a ghost?"
Jack blinked before he remembered that ghost boy. "You mean Phantom?" He wasn't exactly sure about trusting Phantom, but since Takuya trusted the ghost boy, and remembering the recent revelations he and Maddie had experienced about ghosts, Jack decided that if there was ever a chance to give Phantom a bit of trust, this was it. "Are you sure he would be willing to help us?"
"Is it even wise?" Maddie asked, she was less trusting of Phantom than Jack was, she never worked with the ghost boy, she only heard about how he helped Jack and the others second hand.
"We should at least try," Andy replied. "Phantom worked with Agunimon a few times, so I'm sure he'd want to find out what happened to him."
"And Andy's got a point, Phantom being a ghost means he could freely travel through Dr. Carbon's house without issue. He can fly, he can go invisible, and intangible. Dr. Carbon may know a thing or two about Digimon, but he may not know much about how to deal with ghosts, or that we may have a ghost who's willing to help us out," Jazz added.
Danny gave a nod of agreement. "And Phantom doesn't take kindly to anyone, human or not, hurting others he cares about. He won't hesitate to help." Ironic, since I'm talking about myself here…
Patamon nearly choked on the cookie he was eating, it sounded like he was trying not to laugh.
Maddie frowned. "I understand that asking Phantom for help may be our best choice… it's just…"
"You have a hard time trusting him?" Lopmon finished.
"Then trust me," Danny spoke up. "I know Phantom will help, even if you don't think he will."
Maddie sighed, but relented. "If he's the best choice, I won't object. It's hard to let go of previous thoughts and facts though."
Jack put a hand on Maddie's shoulder. "Well, think of this as a new learning experience for you then. You can see how a ghost like Phantom acts through a new lens. Perhaps he will even prove he is indeed trustworthy."
Andy gave a small smile, seeing that they were slowly reaching a breakthrough with their parents. It was a slow progress, but progress was progress. Before, his parents would've vehemently denied the idea of asking Phantom for help at all, and they would've had to have Danny do this behind their backs. But now they were relenting, even if reluctantly, to ask the ghost boy for help in order to save Takuya as well as the others.
"Great, then we'll see if we can ask Phantom for help," Andy said as he tried to get up from the couch, only to grunt.
"You don't move until you've recovered from the battle, mister," Maddie scolded.
"It's okay, I can fly, so I can see if I can find Phantom. He's usually flying around the city somewhere, though he's probably tired after helping people when Agunimon set the building on fire, so he's likely resting somewhere," Patamon suggested.
"Okay, just be careful, Patamon." Jack said. "Don't stay out too long."
Danny couldn't help but bite his lower lip to keep from laughing.
"I'm sure I'll find him before too long," Patamon said confidently.
Patamon looked back at Danny and whispered something to him. Danny just gave a slight nod before Patamon jumped down from Danny's lap and headed to the front door. After Patamon opened the door and went out, Danny stood up.
"Well, until we get Phantom's help, we should try to get some rest and prepare for what we'll do once we find out where the good doctor's keeping everyone," Danny said as he stretched out. "So I'll help Andy get to our room where he can get some sleep."
Maddie nodded. "Good idea, especially since he needs it."
Lopmon snickered.
"Don't think that doesn't include you, Lopmon." Maddie added, making Lopmon squeak as he stopped snickering.
"Okay, let's get you to our room, Andy." Danny said as he helped Andy to stand up.
"Thanks, bro," Andy said as he leaned on Danny.
Lopmon followed Andy and Danny upstairs while Jazz stayed downstairs to make sure her parents didn't walk in on her brothers while they were likely setting up for how 'Phantom' will agree to help them.
As soon as Danny, Andy, and Lopmon entered their room, Andy and Lopmon flopped down on Andy's bed while Danny closed the door.
"I hate feeling like my legs are made of lead…" Andy groaned.
"I'd hate to experience that myself." Danny admitted with a grimace. "But in my case, I think it would be my ghostly tail feeling like lead instead."
"How would that work?" Lopmon asked, curiously tilting his head to the side.
"Yeah, aren't you weightless as a ghost?" Andy chuckled.
"Where did you even get that idea?" Danny huffed.
"It's just a common theory that ghosts are weightless due to being able to float so effortlessly," Andy explained.
"Well, I'm not weightless, even as a ghost." Danny grumbled. "I mean, I can float, but it's not like I weigh as much as air or a gas… I still have mass."
"That may be true, but it could be due to the fact you're half human," Andy pointed out.
"Then doesn't that just prove I'm not weightless?" Danny asked.
"Touche," Lopmon remarked.
"We're getting distracted," Andy said. "You better open the window to let Patamon in."
Danny grumbled, but sighed. "Fair enough." He said before turning and heading to the window to open it. Sure enough, Patamon was outside.
Danny opened the window, smiling at his partner Digimon. "C'mon in, Patamon."
Patamon flew on, landing on top of Danny's head. "I found the ghost boy."
"Ha, ha…" Danny grumbled.
"So how do we want to do this?" Patamon asked.
"We keep things simple," Andy said. "We have Danny came in as his ghost form, saying how he was told about what happened, and he's willing to help investigate Dr. Carbon's house."
"That seems like a good idea, but how will we explain Patamon's disappearance?" Danny asked.
"Can't you transform without Patamon transforming as well?" Lopmon asked.
"It doesn't look like it," Patamon said. "I only transform when Danny does, and I don't seem to have control over that."
"Dang, that stinks." Lopmon grumbled. "It would make things so much easier. At least in terms of keeping your identities a secret for the time being."
"It's still doable, we just have to make sure we're smart about it," Andy said. "Patamon can come back before Phantom does, and let everyone know he found Phantom, and that he's on his way here, before heading upstairs to check on Danny. Then Phantom and Spectermon can show up."
Danny grinned. "Only you would think of something like that, bro. You're smarter than you give yourself credit for."
"I agree with Danny." Patamon praised. "That is a very workable plan."
Andy raised an eyebrow. "Are you guys patronizing me at this point? I feel like you could've easily come up with that."
"And besides, even if you do find out where that crazy dream doctor is keeping Takuya and the others, what will we do then?" Lopmon asked. "Andy and I are gonna be out for a while, and so are the rest of our friends with Digimon since they took quite the beating earlier."
"Right now, all that matters is gaining information. We can figure out what to do then," Andy said. "Since Mom and Dad agreed to work with Danny in his ghost form, our options are much more open to us now."
"And Patamon and I can do that easily." Danny replied. "What I think we should do is at least observe and then report back what we find. Based on what we find out, we should be able to plan what to do next around that."
"What do you mean?" Lopmon asked.
"I mean, it's likely Dr. Carbon has the Legendary Warriors in a dream state through some means besides just his Digimon partner." Danny explained. "Maybe we can find out what else he is using alongside his Digimon partner to keep them in that dream state, and then figure out how to work around that."
"But watching and reporting back would take too long," Andy said. "I have a better idea."
"What is it?" Patamon asked.
"After your introductions, maybe suggest to Mom and Dad to put a camera on you," Andy suggested. "That way they can also watch and hear everything that's going on right away."
Danny smiled sheepishly. "Heh… I guess I should've considered that."
"Either way, we still get information, so I can't object." Patamon agreed with Andy.
So Danny and Patamon pu their plan into motion. Patamon flew out the window and went around the house before knocking on the front door, prompting Maddie to open the door.
"Oh, Patamon, you're back," Maddie noted. "Were you able to find Phantom?"
"Yeah," Patamon answered. "And Spectermon. They'll be arriving soon. Where's Danny?"
"He went upstairs in his room so he, Andy, and Lopmon could rest for now," Maddie answered.
"Great, I'll go check up on them. Good luck with talking to Phantom and Spectermon," Patamon said before he hurried inside the house and up the stairs.
"What's the big hurry?" Jack asked.
"He was probably anxious about leaving Danny for too long," Jazz covered.
"Well, at least he found Phantom and his Digimon partner." Jack said, trying to lighten the mood. "That's a good start."
"He said Phantom will be coming soon," Maddie said. "How soon did he mean?"
"Uh… is now okay?" A familiar echoed voice spoke up.
Maddie turned back to the door, seeing the ghost boy himself standing there with his partner Digimon next to him.
"Oh! I didn't expect you to show up so soon!" Jack grinned. "Good to see you again, Phantom." Jack's face then became somber. "I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances."
Phantom blinked. "Really? What happened?" Danny knew that, as Phantom, he couldn't reveal he knew what was going on regarding Dr. Carbon and the Legendary Warriors; he had to play dumb, or at least out of the loop, for the time being.
"Didn't Patamon tell you?" Maddie asked, sounding more professional and detached.
"Uh, no, he just said that the Fentons needed to speak with me, and how urgent it was," Phantom replied.
"So what's so urgent about it that we had to go visit a couple of ghost hunters?" Spectermon asked.
"You know our cousin, Takuya, don't you?" Jazz asked, having walked over herself to try to make things easier for Danny.
"I think I've spoken to him a few times," Phantom answered.
"And you know that he's Agunimon?" Jazz added.
"Oh, yeah, it surprised me to see a human child turning into a Digimon," Phantom admitted. "But it's been nice having his help to take care of ghosts when they start getting out of hand."
"I remember Agunimon… err… Takuya explaining that you helped him learn what he could do." Jack noted. "I guess I owe you a 'thank you' for that."
Phantom blushed a slight green color. "I was just… you know… trying to help. I was a new ghost, so having someone in a similar situation was helpful, and I didn't feel so alone."
Spectermon was trying to keep from laughing, if his holding his little paws in front of his mouth was any indication.
"But getting down to business," Phantom quickly said. "What happened to him? I haven't seen Agunimon around lately, and there was that big battle going on. But I had to save the people who were in that burning building, so I couldn't help."
"Agunimon was kidnapped," Jazz explained. "He and the other Legendary Warriors, not counting the Rogue Warriors, were taken by a human named Maxwell Carbon. He's a psychologist in the local school, Caster High… and we just recently found out he has his Digimon partner out here in the real world. His Digimon can use dream abilities to influence people, and he used that to bring Takuya and the others to him."
"From what we understand, Maxwell brainwashed Takuya and his friends to try to be the 'Legendary Warriors they were meant to be', but something went horribly wrong in the process, and they turned into these… dark, corrupted version of themselves, and wanting to purge humanity for a master they were serving," Maddie summed up.
Phantom's eyes took on a menacing glow as he clenched his fists. "That is messed up! Mind control is bad enough when it happens to anyone, but as a victim of it myself, I feel like I should help, because it only makes someone another person's puppet!"
"Don't get too riled up now, Phantom," Spectermon spoke up.
"Brainwashing is probably worse. With mind control, at least you can eventually be snapped out of it… but brainwashing means your thoughts, your core personality… everything you were just gets changed," Jazz frowned.
Spectermon looked at Jazz. "Please tell us more before we do anything. You said the brainwashing went wrong, and it corrupted these poor children's minds. But… what happened after that? They don't seem to be on a rampage right now."
"They were defeated by Andy and Lopmon." Jazz replied. "But after that… Dr. Carbon took them away again, presumably to fix whatever went wrong."
Phantom sighed. "Sorry about getting riled up. I just… feel strongly about others suffering something similar, if not worse, to what I suffered."
Phantom then realized something. "Hold on, you said that this Dr. Carbon took them away to fix them? Does that mean there's a chance the brainwashing can be reversed then?"
"I guess? I don't know how he's doing it," Jazz admitted.
"But," Jack spoke up. "If he's able to 'fix' them, that means he is able to undo whatever he did to them in the first place."
"Then that means we have a chance to save them." Phantom realized. "But we will need to act fast, or at least find where he is hiding them, first."
"Yes…" Maddie agreed. "That means we'll need your, a ghost's, help to do so. I doubt Maxwell will have the technology to keep a ghost out, then again, a ghost probably normally wouldn't care what a random citizen is doing unless they have a vendetta against him."
"There's no vendetta involved." Phantom said resolutely. "I genuinely want to help because Takuya is a friend of mine."
"I think she means Maxwell likely wouldn't have a reason to have the equipment to keep his house safe from ghosts since ghosts usually leave him alone unless they have something against him," Spectermon explained. "Which I doubt most of them do."
Phantom gave a slight blush again as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Right… That too."
Lowering his hand from his head, Phantom then spoke up. "If this is going to work, I think I have a suggestion. Since Takuya is family to you, you will want to see what is going on, first and foremost, right?"
Jack and Maddie both nodded, wondering where Phantom was going with this.
"Well, I suggest, so you can see what is going on while I am spying on Dr. Carbon, that I have a camera strapped to me." Phantom continued. "At least this way you can see what is being done to the Legendary Warriors, as well as any equipment he may be using."
"That's…" Maddie paused for a moment. "... actually not such a bad idea… I'm surprised we never thought of doing that before. Could you imagine how much we could learn if we managed to strap a camera to a ghost?"
"Especially the Ghost Zone! We'd learn so much from that without having to worry about going in there ourselves." Jack smiled.
"Hey, can you two focus please?" Jazz spoke up. "We're not doing this to study ghosts, we're doing this to save Takuya and the other children!"
Although, Phantom thought it was a good idea for future reference, heck it may even help his parents open up more to the idea that ghosts had their own society and civilization in the Ghost Zone. But that would have to wait until after Danny knew a few more… non-violent ghosts, or just ghosts that didn't want to hurt him.
Jack and Maddie both gave sheepish smiles.
"Right, Takuya and the other children come first." Jack agreed.
"We can talk about that idea later." Maddie added before looking back at Phantom. "Since you're here, if you're willing, I'd like to see how strapping a camera to a ghost would work, at least for your spying on Dr. Carbon. I want to make sure the camera doesn't get noticed, as well as that it works while attached to you."
"Not to mention the camera should be able to go intangible and invisible with you," Jack added.
"That's usually not a problem. I can turn any object invisible and intangible as long as they're in contact with me," Phantom explained.
"We're going to need to make one that's small and easy enough for you to fly around with, but also allowing us to see and hear what's going on," Maddie added. "It might take a few hours, if you are willing to wait."
"Well, it might be wise for us to wait elsewhere until you are done," Spectermon said. "We are not that comfortable staying in your house for too long, considering all the ghost hunting technology you have here, especially the unseen weapons."
Jack actually gave a grimace. "Yeah… that's a good point. Um… would you mind waiting close by at least? I'm sure we could find a place to meet with you so you don't have to come in here if you're uncomfortable."
"It's fine. I actually…" Phantom hesitated, about to reveal he had a cell phone, but he wasn't sure if his parents were ready for the knowledge that a teen ghost still carried around a cell phone. "I… have my ways of knowing when you need me. You can just yell out the window for us."
"If that will work…" Jack sighed. "Okay, Maddie and I will get started on that camera, and we will let you know when it's done so we can test it."
Phantom gave a small smile. He wanted to make a quip about this invention being harmless to him, but he decided it was better to refrain from that for the time being. Making such a quip was probably not the best idea anyway. "Thanks. I'll be back when you finish."
Jack and Maddie working on the camera gave Andy and Lopmon time to rest for a while. Danny and Patamon decided to stay in the room as themselves while they waited. Danny was on the computer, having a video call on a website with everyone involved. Tucker, Sam, Valerie, and even Dash were on the chat.
"Is everyone doing okay?" Danny asked. "I know we all got pretty banged up when we were fighting with the Legendary Warriors."
"No kidding, those Legendary Warriors were no joke," Dash said. "I thought I was going to die!"
"Tell me about it." Valerie grumbled. "Duskmon was no pushover; he was not holding back."
"None of the Legendary Warriors were." Tucker admitted. "They are definitely stronger this time, but they also seemed to be more reckless too, attacking without considering who is in the crossfire."
"I can't believe Dr. Carbon is behind this though." Sam admitted. "I thought mind-controlling Phantom was bad enough, but brainwashing the Legendary Warriors? That's outright cruel right there!"
"No need to go all 'activist' on us right now, Sam." Tucker grumbled. "But you do have a point, one that I agree with."
"At least Gatomon is doing better. She wants to remain in her Champion form for the time being in case we get attacked again," Valerie said. "Since she's still small in her Champion form, it doesn't cause any inconvenience to stay in that form."
"Biyomon's doing better too," Sam remarked.
"Kokuwamon has a bit of a headache, but he seems to be doing okay," Tucker said.
"Labramon is doing fine too. At least none of our Digimon were severely injured," Dash said in relief.
"How're Andy and Lopmon doing?" Valerie asked. "They weren't looking too good when I saw the ghost boy taking them back home."
"We're doing better, Val!" Andy called from the bed. "Just recovering from the fight!"
"That's good to hear." Valerie said in relief. "You really had a nasty fight, didn't you?"
"Don't remind us!" Lopmon called back. "I feel like one big bruise still!"
"But how were Andy and Lopmon able to fight the Legendary Warriors off?" Dash asked.
"They were able to get Lopmon to Digivolve into Antylamon, Lopmon's Ultimate form," Danny explained.
"What? If they could do that, why didn't they do that sooner?" Dash questioned.
"It's… well… really draining for one," Danny said. "And Andy says he can't just Digivolve Lopmon into the Ultimate stage whenever he wants. He did try doing that after the first time it happened, but… well, they couldn't get it to work. It only worked this time because we were all down, and Andy and Lopmon were able to work in sync enough to trigger the evolution again. One other thing… it seems that the higher the Digivolution, the stronger the link is. Because Andy told me he felt every hit Antlyamon felt during the battle, that's part of the reason why he feels so tired."
"Wow… Sounds like that can be a double-edged sword." Sam whistled. "It grants great power, but at a great cost."
"That's how it seems to be in cases like this." Tucker chuckled.
"But it also seems to be one that's hard to access." Valerie noted. "We're just lucky it's not hard to control, unlike a Beast Spirit."
"It's also… I'm not sure how to explain it, but… when Lopmon becomes Antlyamon, it also feels like I'm a part of him. I felt the attacks myself, like I was doing them alongside Antylamon," Andy said.
"What, are you becoming your Digimon or something?" Dash jokingly said.
"How cool would it be if we could become Digimon like Takuya and the others?" Tucker smiled.
"Speaking of Takuya… you sure Phantom will be able to find them?" Valerie asked worriedly.
"You worried Phantom won't cooperate or something?" Sam frowned.
"No, I know Phantom will do anything to help. It's just… I'm not sure if Dr. Carbon, knowing that we know, would just keep them somewhere obvious like his house," Valerie pointed out. "Heck, I'm surprised he hasn't used Tapirmon to make us forget about the Legendary Warriors attacking the city."
"It wouldn't be easy to erase such vivid memories like that," Patamon said. "We were in the middle of that battle, while everyone else was kept afar, and the authorities may not even believe it was Digimon who was attacking. They rather believe it was ghosts, or better yet, terrorist attacks from other humans, at least they could handle that than something supernatural. Not to mention since you all have a Digimon partner, Tapirmon wouldn't be able to use his powers on you so easily."
"Although, what Valerie said may have some merits," Andy noted. "Dr. Carbon likely wouldn't just keep the Legendary Warriors in his house, he must have a separate place for them…"
"That's what worries me." Valerie agreed. "We won't be able to find the Legendary Warriors so easily if we don't know where they are."
"That's why Phantom is helping. As a ghost, he can get in and out of places easily using his invisibility and intangibility." Danny pointed out. "If anyone can find them, it's Phantom."
"Then yo- I mean, Phantom's best bet is to follow Dr. Carbon around until he goes to where the Legendary Warriors are, he'd have to go there eventually, right?" Tucker suggested.
"Nice suggestion there," Sam said.
"It's what most stealth quests do in video games," Tucker shrugged.
Danny chuckled. "And it's applicable here. I think this can be pulled off if Phantom does this just right." It's funny talking about my ghost half like this, since I am going to be doing this stuff anyway, but it's kinda fun too.
"Phantom has agreed to have a camera strapped to him, to give real-time video to Maddie and Jack as well." Patamon explained. "That camera will be very helpful in Phantom's mission, to say the least."
"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will work out," Andy reassured. "We just have to be ready when we're needed."
The winds were starting to pick up later that night. All the people of Amity Park were advised to stay home due to the 'terrorist attack', and the storm that was brewing.
Danny, however, couldn't afford to stay indoors tonight. He had a mission, and no storm was going to keep him away from it. He heard his dad's loud voice calling out to Phantom.
"Guess that's my cue," Danny said before he transformed into his ghost form.
"Will you be alright flying out in the storm?" Andy asked in concern.
"I can handle a little storm." Danny chuckled. "All I have to do is be intangible, and wind and rain go right through me."
"I'll make sure Danny doesn't stay out too late in the storm." Patamon promised.
"Hey! I'm not that bad with staying out in the weather!" Danny pouted.
"Still, it wouldn't be good to get caught out there. Just stay close to Dr. Carbon, and be careful around Tapirmon. He's a Digimon, so he may sense you if you're too close," Lopmon warned.
"That's the plan." Danny nodded.
Danny and Patamon, as Phantom and Spectermon, flew down into the living room.
"I heard you yelling, uh, Jack. You have quite the lungs," Danny noted.
Jack smiled. "Well then, I'm glad that you were able to hear me. We finished the Fenton Recorder!"
Maddie held out a tiny silver device in the palm of her hand. "We don't need to strap the camera onto you. Just put it somewhere on your body, it'll stick to your clothes like a magnet until you pull it out with some force. Just make sure you stick it where the camera can see most of what you see."
Danny took the little device, careful not to accidentally crush it with his fingers. It looked so frail. "Will this survive in a storm?"
"It's a lot tougher than it looks. It's meant to survive ghost attacks, and some Digimon attacks," Jack reassured. "We wouldn't have you going in with a fragile, low quality camera after all."
Patamon looked at the camera. "I'd say stick it either on your forehead or your chest."
Danny held up the small camera before he plopped it on his chest, on the right side. The small camera was stuck fast, which was a good sign. "Well, it's not coming off so easily, so that's a good first step." He chuckled before looking at Maddie and Jack again. "So, how does this thing work? I just push a button and it turns on?"
"Once the camera sets onto an object, or a ghost in this case, it will automatically turn itself on," Jack explained. "We figured that would be easier than trying to put an 'on and off' button on it since it's so… well… tiny."
"And this way if you bump into something, it won't accidentally turn the camera off and you wouldn't know about it," Maddie added. "You may be a speedy little ghost, but you are also a teenager, and most teen boys I know can get a bit clumsy."
Maddie was starting to lighten up a bit around Phantom, which he saw as progress.
Danny smiled. "That's a smart move. Thanks." He then blinked before pouting. "I'm not that clumsy!" He whined, folding his arms like a little kid. "I have good reflexes and balance…"
"Don't act like a child, Phantom." Patamon scolded from his spot beside Danny. "Maddie is right, so don't act so childish."
Jack gave a laugh while Maddie didn't seem to know how to react.
"Listen to your partner, he knows what he's talking about." Jack grinned.
Danny grumbled. "Alright, fine, whatever. Now that I have the camera, we should get going. Where does this Maxwell Carbon live?"
Maddie gave Danny a piece of paper. "His address is written here. Once you find it, get rid of the paper. We don't want him bringing evidence to point at us if he knows we're working together."
Danny nodded. "Don't worry. I will definitely destroy it. I think an ecto-ray will be enough to do that."
"We'd better get going then, Phantom!" Patamon called, ready to get going.
"Right! I'll be there, Spectermon!" Danny called back. He looked back at Jack and Maddie again. "Thanks for the camera. I'll be sure to do my best in tracking Maxwell Carbon."
"Just make sure you don't get caught too. I don't know what he'll do to you, but we don't want a repeat of what happened with Ferakshow," Jack said.
Danny nodded as well, he most certainly didn't want a repeat of that either.
It started to rain by the time Danny and Patamon reached Maxwell's house. Danny used a small bit of his ghost ray to destroy the paper with the address on it.
"Let's go, Spectermon," Danny said, having to use Patamon's ghost name knowing his parents were listening to everything on the camera.
"From here on out, we can't talk until we leave," Patamon warned. "Be as silent as possible, lest we get caught."
"Right." Danny nodded.
The two of them turned invisible and intangible before flying through the walls of the house. Danny was glad they were going to be spying on the man in his house rather than outside, especially with the rain coming in.
For a while, Maxwell and Tapirmon didn't seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary. Maxwell seemed to be doing bills while Tapirmon was snacking on something in the kitchen. Danny and Patamon didn't know how long they would have to wait until Maxwell did something suspicious.
But they remained patient. They knew they couldn't do anything until Maxwell made his move. They hoped the storm outside hadn't discouraged him from checking on the Legendary Warriors. Danny and Patamon also made sure to stay far away from Tapirmon, hoping the Digimon wouldn't sense them.
The clock ticked, an hour had passed… Maxwell looked up from the papers he was writing on and looked at the clock. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Tapirmon."
The man's partner flew over to him. "Yes?"
"I think we gave them enough time… the Dreamer should've erased everything that caused them to turn out evil and corrupted by now," Maxwell remarked. "We should get to work on them now, if we wait too long, they'll wake up before we can begin the process again."
"I understand. But it'll be difficult getting to them under these weather conditions," Tapirmon warned.
"I know, but we have to make sure they turn out as they are intended to be." Maxwell replied. "It's a shame we couldn't keep them here, but it's for the best that they are elsewhere. C'mon, we can't wait too long. I'd rather we get to them in this storm than wait for it to clear, which could take hours."
Tapirmon nodded. "Then pack your umbrella and let's go."
Danny felt his core buzzing inside. It took a while, but Maxwell was finally going to lead him where Takuya and the others were. Patamon kept him from moving too hastily. If they moved toward them now, Tapirmon would sense them.
Maxwell took his time putting on a raincoat and bringing an umbrella with him. "It's going to get really bad tonight. Thankfully we have our own generator to keep the Dreamer going even if we have a power outage. Alright, Tapirmon, stay close to me so you don't get too wet."
Tapirmon flew next to Maxwell as the man opened the front door. The storm has gotten really bad now. The winds were blowing hard, and the rain was pouring. Lightning was flashing, and thunder was booming. Danny wasn't sure if he would be able to fly in a storm this bad, but he knew he had to, for Takuya's sake. Danny held onto Patamon to make sure the smaller of the two didn't get blown away by the winds. Tapirmon clung onto Maxwell's shoulder to make sure he didn't get blown away.
Danny really hoped that Maxwell wasn't going too far, especially under these conditions. But Maxwell kept walking through the city, making Danny consider asking his parents to make some kind of weather simulator in the lab for weather training in the future. Though Andy would likely become a drill sergeant again.
Danny continued to struggle against the winds. Being intangible didn't quite protect him from the winds, just the rain. The winds were blowing with pure force rather than being a solid object. Danny had to stop flying before he got blown away, and walked behind Maxwell, keeping his invisibility and intangibility up. Though Danny made sure to lose some of the intangibility on his feet so he wouldn't fall under the surface he was walking on.
After a good minute, Maxwell walked up a hill, and it was only when Danny got closer to the building Maxwell was walking to did he see what that building was. Axion Labs!? He's… holding the Legendary Warriors in there?
Danny felt uncomfortable being back at Axion Labs because of what had happened with the ghost dog (who he had not nicknamed Cujo, thank you very much!), but he knew he and Patamon had to go inside to see if Takuya and the others were there. Okay… This is a different situation, no ghost dog this time… I can do this…
Maxwell used some kind of ID card to slide on a control panel in front of the door. The door slid open, allowing the doctor and Tapirmon in before the door closed behind them. Danny, still carrying Patamon, phased through the door with little issue. Now that they were inside, they no longer had to worry about being blown away by the winds.
Maxwell closed his umbrella, putting it to the side. Tapirmon continued to follow his partner as they walked down the hallway. The place seemed to be empty. Danny wondered if anyone worked here around this time, besides the night shift workers and Valerie's dad.
Maxwell stopped walking when a couple of night guards spotted him.
"What are you doing here? The Axion Labs are closed right now," The guard stated.
"I'm here on some important business," Maxwell stated.
"You'll have to come back in the morning then," The guard grumbled. "There was this terrorist attack, and this storm hit… and you're not supposed to be here anyway."
"Tapirmon," Maxwell said calmly.
"Nightmare Syndrome," Tapirmon shot out a mist of darkness at the guards.
The guards stumbled back a bit. Danny expected the guards to fall down and be fast asleep, but instead of that, they just shook their heads and remained awake.
"Oh, Dr. Carbon, you're here!"
"Are the Legendary Warriors still here?" Maxwell asked.
"Of course, sir, safe, sound, and still asleep!"
Danny frowned. Did… he turn them into sleeper agents? … Uh… kind of literally?
"Good. I came to check up on them. The fact they are still asleep is a good sign." Maxwell replied. "Now, if you'll just let me pass, I have some work to do with them."
"Of course, Dr. Carbon sir!" The two guards stepped to the side, allowing Maxwell and Tapirmon to pass.
Danny and Patamon continued to follow, the guards weren't going to keep two invisible and intangible ghosts from following them, nor were they aware of their presence.
They kept following Maxwell until he went into a large looking room. The room itself had 6 beds. The beds were hooked up to some kind of giant machine in the center of the room. Patamon put his paw on Danny's mouth to keep him from gasping.
In the 6 beds were 6 familiar children, including a certain cousin, lying asleep and dead to the world. Maxwell took off his raincoat, hanging it on a coat rack, and he put on a white lab coat.
"Ah, good. They are still sleeping like babies." Maxwell noted with a soft smile. "Now we can begin our work on them. Tapirmon, show me what state the Dreamer's in."
Tapirmon flew over to the big machine and put his right paw on it. On his right arm was a golden ring that looked similar to Gatomon's Holy Ring that was on her tail. Danny watched with curiosity as the ring on Tapirmon's arm began to glow. After a minute or two, Tapirmon flew over to Maxwell before taking a deep breath and letting out some kind of pink mist.
A picture appeared in the mist, likely some kind of 'daydream' Tapirmon was showing Maxwell. The picture showed where each of the children were, likely in the dream. JP was doing magic tricks at a Japanese school, Zoe was at some kind of toy shop with some other girls her age, who were looking at her with annoyance, Koji was doing kendo practice presumingly in his backyard, Koichi was getting grocery at some kind of store, Tommy was sitting at home with his parents, and his older brother looking at him in annoyance. And finally, Takuya was doing soccer practice with his fellow students.
Danny frowned as he saw the images in the mist 'screen'. This is different… What is going on? Is this… Are those the Legendary Warriors' memories or… are those the memories to be implanted?
Maxwell seemed pleased at what he was seeing. "Ah, good, good. It seems things have settled into how they should be for the children. The new memories are showing up crisp and clear."
Maxwell then walked over to a shelf. He took out some kind of headband, though the headband had some wires and lights on them. He secured the headband on Takuya's head. Tapirmon brought more similar headbands, giving them to Maxwell, who put the headbands on each of the children's heads.
"The beginning of their destiny… Tapirmon, make sure the Dreamer brings them back to this point if the virus were to sabotage the dream we have laid out for them again," Maxwell ordered. "We don't want a repeat of what happened last time."
"Understood, Maxwell." Tapirmon replied before dutifully setting about to make the Dreamer do just that. It took a few minutes for Tapirmon to adjust the dream, but it was soon done.
From what Danny could gather, the 'Dreamer' appeared to be the machine. The machine seemed to be some kind of simulation thing run by a super computer that only the Axion Labs could produce. Maxwell likely has it running with Tapirmon's dream abilities, hence the name 'Dreamer'. Apparently Maxwell has set some kind of dream journey for the Legendary Warriors to take, but some kind of virus messed it up. So Maxwell just had Tapirmon 'save stated' that point of the dream so they could go back to that in case something went wrong again.
Realizing that if Danny tried to get Takuya and the others away now, they could permanently be brainwashed, or their minds could be damaged. Their memories of what happened since they met in the Digital World, or in Takuya's case, since he came back to Amity Park as an exchange student, would still be gone. The situation was a lot more complicated than he would've liked for it to be. He knew he wasn't going to be able to solve this on his own, but that was okay, he wasn't alone. He wasn't here to dive in and rescue them, he was here to gather information.
Patamon flew over to the shelf that had the headbands. He grabbed one of the headbands, turning it invisible and intangible before flying back to Danny.
Danny flew to a large screen on the machine that was called 'the Dreamer'. Maxwell appeared to be using that to watch the dream journey he set up for the children. He saw Takuya sitting at home, apparently waiting for his dad to come home for his little brother's birthday party, and he was bored. Danny wasn't sure why Maxwell was focusing on Takuya here, but this gave him an idea. Since he had the 'Fenton Recorder' on him, he decided to stay near the screen so the camera would record everything the dream was showing them, so he, and everyone else involved, would see just what went wrong, assuming it would go wrong.
Patamon tapped on Danny's shoulder. Danny turned his head at Patamon, but kept his chest forward at the screen. Since they couldn't say anything, Patamon pointed at the headband. Despite being invisible, they were able to see each other. Patamon then pointed at himself, then at the door.
Danny realized what Patamon was trying to do. He wanted to let Danny know he was going to take the headband back to Fenton Works while Danny recorded what was on screen. Danny gave a slight nod to Patamon.
Danny returned his attention to the screen while Patamon turned intangible and flew out of Axion Labs back to Fenton Works. He had to make sure he saw all he could.
Maddie and Jack were sitting in some wheeled office chairs as they were looking at some monitors on some counters. Maddie looked out the window, seeing the rain hadn't let up since the storm started a few hours ago. Instead of doing this in the lab in their basement, they were doing this in the OP Center that was on the roof of their house. Thankfully, the OP Center had a built-in lightning rod, so they didn't need to fear the lightning or the storm in general.
While the Fentons could've easily watched what was on the Fenton Recorder in the lab, the OP Center was better for observing and analyzing. They also had windows so it allowed them to see what was going on outside too, whereas the lab didn't have any windows at all. This also made it easier for their ghostly allies, something Maddie and Jack still couldn't believe was real, to find them if they needed to come back and report something. The OP Center also had less… ghostly weapons lying around.
"Wow… so this is the dream world Maxwell created?" Jack noted as he watched the monitor that was showing them the live footage Phantom was seeing. "It's almost like watching one of those cartoons Andy likes to watch."
"I believe he calls them 'anime', dear," Maddie informed.
"Ah, so that's what they are." Jack chuckled sheepishly. He then looked back at the monitor again. "I wonder if Maxwell created this dream world based on one of those because he is a fan as well or something."
"Either that, or it seemed perfect considering all the Legendary Warriors, the human ones, are from Japan." Maddie mused in thought.
"Maybe Maxwell is a writer on top of being a psychologist?" Jack wondered.
Patamon flew through the storm, trying to fight back against the winds. The headband he was carrying weighed him down enough to not be completely blown away by the winds, but it was still quite the struggle for him to make it all the way back to Fenton Works. When he got close, he saw Maddie and Jack in that giant contraption on top of the house they were living in. That made it a little easier, he thought he would have to go down into the lab to find them, a place that he wasn't very comfortable in. Seeing how there was no Ghost Shield around their house, Patamon turned himself and the headband intangible and flew into the window, landing on the floor, dropping the headband. He let the water fall off of him while he was intangible before regaining his solid form.
"Spectermon?" Jack asked, surprised to see him.
"Phantom and I saw Dr. Carbon putting these headbands on the children," Patamon explained as he pointed at the headband. "He had extras he wasn't using, so I figured I would bring one back here. Since you two are scientists, I thought maybe you could analyze and study it so we can figure out what it does and maybe how to shut it down safely."
Maddie hummed, she saw those headbands too through the camera, but she was surprised that Phantom's partner brought one back alone in the storm while Phantom himself was still at the Axion Labs.
"Either way, thanks." Jack said gratefully. "Now we have a head start on how Maxwell is doing this."
"Yes, but why is Phantom still there? Is there something he is hoping to accomplish or see?" Maddie wondered. "I'm just surprised Spectermon came back here on his own."
"Phantom wants to be as thorough as possible," Patamon explained. "He didn't say it out loud, but I'm sure he wants to make sure the camera records everything the dream Takuya and the others are going through… maybe to see what went wrong, because Dr. Carbon mentioned a virus sabotaging everything."
"I do remember hearing him say that too," Jack noted. "And how he got his Digimon to make it so they can go back to the beginning in case it happens again."
"But that's clever, if we can see what happened in the dream, we can potentially use it to see what happened and how to reverse it later," Maddie noted. "As for the headband… you're right, that could be useful."
Jack got up from the chair and picked up the headband. "The technology in this baby looks complex."
Maddie got up as well. "Jack, you keep watching the monitor, I'll analyze the headband myself."
Just then, they heard the elevator being used. The elevator door opened, seeing Jazz, Andy, and Lopmon walking inside. Andy was still sore and tired, but he had recovered enough to be able to walk on his own.
"Kids, what are you doing up here?" Maddie asked.
"It's been a few hours and we haven't heard anything new," Lopmon said.
"We're just a little restless right now," Andy admitted.
"You guys don't mind if we were filled in on what's going on, do you?" Jazz asked. "There's no way we'll be able to sleep peacefully like this."
"Not to mention the thunder is really loud," Lopmon grumbled before he noticed Patamon. "Oh hi Pa- erm, Spectermon! Is Phantom back?"
"No, he isn't." Patamon replied."I only came back to drop off something important." He added, gesturing at the headband Jack was holding. "Phantom is staying behind to see what goes on for now. He will be back once he has recorded enough for us."
"What could Phantom be recording that is so important?" Jazz asked.
"Well, it has to do with this headband, kids." Jack replied, holding up the headband for Jazz, Lopmon, and Andy to see.
"That headband gives me the creeps." Andy frowned.
"It's a highly advanced technology, likely made in the Axion Labs," Maddie explained.
"The Axion Labs?" Andy replied in surprise.
"That's where Maxwell is keeping Takuya and the other Legendary Warriors," Maddie clarified. "He used Tapirmon to turn some guards into his sleeper agents. They probably keep the room hidden and locked up tight until Maxwell comes by. From what we saw, Maxwell put these headbands on the children before starting the process. So I'm going to analyze and study this one to see if there's anything I can do to disable it or turn it off safely."
Andy and Jazz nodded.
"I'll take this to the lab, I have more equipment there than up here for studying something like this," Maddie stated. "Let me know if something happens."
With those words said, Maddie walked over to the elevator and used it to take her down.
"I'd go back to Phantom, but it would be crazy to fly out in this weather without something weighing me down. The winds are too heavy for me to fly in," Spectermon sighed.
"Then stay here for now," Jazz said. "I'm sure Phantom would rather you stay safe than try risking going out in this weather."
Andy walked over to the monitor to see what was going on himself. He was surprised and confused to see Takuya, looking younger and wearing a different outfit, riding on some kind of train through a tunnel. He saw him talking to a younger looking JP and Zoe, and… he saw Tommy, though Tommy didn't look too different, he did look a little shorter than usual. Though he didn't see Koji or Koichi.
"What's going on here?" Andy asked. "Did Takuya and a few others escape?" But why do they look younger?
"No, I'm afraid not," Jack sighed. "What you're seeing is the dream world Maxwell made for them. Phantom is recording it. This computer-like machine Maxwell is using, the Dreamer he called it, is showing Maxwell what's going on in the dream. Maxwell himself is influencing the dream from what we could tell, using the machine and Tapirmon's Nightmare Syndrome, and whatever else he has in that machine."
"I… see…" Andy frowned.
"But why do they look… younger?" Jazz asked.
"The man reset their memories up until a certain point," Jack explained. "I'm not sure why, but he had them go back to when they were 4 years younger…"
Andy blinked, he remembered Takuya telling him the other Legendary Warriors had been doing this longer than he had, and he said they've had their Spirits for 4 years now. Why 4 years? Is it because… that's when the others got their Spirits? Is Dr. Carbon trying to make it so Takuya and Tommy were there when the other 4 got their Spirits? He did say he's trying to make it so they would be more like Legendary Warriors, whatever that means… I guess one way to do it is to make sure they all got their Spirits and worked together at the same time…
Some time had passed as they were watching the dream world unfold. Andy was attentive for a while, since, even though it had his cousin, and people he knew, in it, it almost felt like he was watching anime. In all intents and purposes, his life already felt like an anime itself. If he thought about it, his cousin and his friends were able to transform into superpowered monsters. They fought with other superpowered monsters. They traveled from place to place to reach a destination, and to fight the big grand evil bad guy of the story, which was apparently an evil Cherubimon.
Lopmon grumbled. "Okay, I get Cherubimon can be a jerk, especially since he kinda sent the Rogue Warriors on us, but did they really have to make him the big evil one here?"
"Well, Cherubimon in our Digital World did bring forth the Rogue Warriors." Jazz pointed out. "It makes sense, at least in context. Although I can't say it's that simple with the Cherubimon in our Digital World, since his reasons were more complex than just being the evil guy for the sake of it."
"That's true. It's like Maxwell wants the children to believe Cherubimon is genuinely evil." Jack noted, feeling a bit disturbed.
The kids each had their moment to shine and grow when they found their human Spirits. Andy never thought about how Zoe, JP, Koji, and Koichi reacted when they found their Spirits. Though Andy had yet to see Koichi in the dream world, and Koji often went off on his own. But it was kind of cool how they found their Spirits, it definitely fit the anime trope of epicness, and giving their main characters a time to shine.
There were two Digimon that were following the group, they were called Bokomon and Neemon. This intrigued Andy since he remembered seeing those Digimon back at the Flame Terminal, but he hadn't thought too much about them since. He wondered if they actually traveled with Zoe, JP, Koji, and Koichi 4 years ago in the Digital World. It would seem Bokomon was a walking encyclopedia, bringing out a book from his… bellywarmer, which also acted as a pocket dimension, to give information to the kids about whatever Digimon they encountered, and about the Legendary Warriors. And Neemon… Neemon was apparently just the resident comic relief.
"At least it seems Maxwell is giving them some form of guidance in the form of this Bokomon." Jazz noted. "Although… I'm not sure about Neemon…"
Jack furrowed his eyes in thought. "Maybe Neemon is there to relieve the stress? I don't know why else this Neemon would be included in their travels."
"I think he's funny, I like Neemon." Lopmon smiled. "He also drives Bokomon up the wall, which is also pretty funny. Bokomon is such a know-it-all, so I think it's kinda warranted."
As the dream went on, Takuya and the others got a message from a woman's voice in their D-Tectors, telling them to go to the Forest Terminal. But the voice remained cryptic to why. Patamon twitched his wings a little when he heard the voice. He recognized the voice, but he kept silent about that.
"Are they ever going to get to the Forest Terminal?" Jazz asked.
"It takes several episodes to get to where they need to be, Jazz, haven't you ever seen anime before?" Andy remarked.
"In case you forgot, Andy, they're not anime characters," Jazz argued.
"No, but the dream world apparently thinks they are," Andy responded back.
Jack scowled. "Well, when we have them rescued, I think we will need to have some words with Maxwell about that."
"Just calm down, Dad. We understand you're upset about this, and we are as well." Jazz said calmly. "But for now, we have to remain focused on what is going on next in this dream world."
At one point, when the group got separated because of Gigasmon, something Andy could relate to since it actually happened to them in real life, they got back together and went into TV Forest. What got Andy's interest was the fact Tapirmon himself was in the Dream World, and used a Nightmare Syndrome attack on the youngest of the Legendary Warriors, causing him to attack the others until they 'defeated' Tapirmon. Or rather, Tapirmon allowed them to defeat that version of himself.
"Why would Dr. Carbon have his partner test them there?" Lopmon questioned.
"I think this actually happened," Jazz stated. "I didn't see it happen myself, but Maxwell told me how Tapirmon accidentally caused Tommy to attack the others in TV Forest when they were looking for me. I guess he thought he should include it in the Dream World."
It started getting late, but they saw Takuya getting his Beast Spirit, and went on to attack his friends.
Lopmon couldn't help but wince as he saw Takuya going out of control. "That's never a good sight to see. And to think it took Takuya quite a while to control his Beast Spirit in real life too. I still get shivers when I think about the first time he got it."
Andy frowned as he watched BurningGreymon beating the living crap out of KendoGarurumon and Beetlemon, while Zoe and Tommy, who were missing their Spirits at the time thanks to a certain gnome, were trying to run to safety with Bokomon and Neemon.
"Yeah, that seems about right…" Andy groaned.
"Wait, you actually fought with Takuya while he was like that?" Jack asked, looking rather horrified seeing the destruction BurningGreymon was causing.
"Uh…" Andy hesitated. "It's… a lot… better than it looks…?"
Andy gave a sheepish grin, though he knew that was a lie. BurningGreymon was very strong, destructive, and could've easily killed him and the others if it weren't for their Digimon Digivolving.
"Andrew Fenton…" Jack said, folding his arms as he gave Andy a very stern paternal glare.
"What? It's not my fault it happened, Dad!" Andy quickly said, deciding not to go into detail exactly what happened, especially since it involved him being injured and unable to move to get away from BurningGreymon when it happened the first time, and if Lopmon hadn't Digivolved when he did, or Valerie didn't come in when she did, Andy would likely be a full ghost by now. And he also didn't want to mention the fact he had to fight BurningGreymon more than once.
Jack sighed. "When this is all over, I want to know exactly what happened when you fought Takuya in his Beast Spirit form."
Andy groaned.
Jazz looked at him, since she hadn't been there when it happened herself. She mouthed 'was it that bad?' to him.
Andy just gave a subtle nod.
Although, the way Takuya gained control over his Beast Spirit was surprising. It was Tommy of all people who managed to bring Takuya back from his feral rampage. Andy frowned, Takuya had shown he gained control of his Beast Spirit, but now that he thought about it, Takuya never said how he did.
"Did… Tommy actually do that?" Jazz asked, horrified of what almost happened to the youngest child of the group.
"I… don't know…" Andy admitted. "But I'm definitely going to ask them when this is all over." Kid's crazier than I am!
"Either that kid is crazy, or he is braver than anyone else I've seen." Jack admitted, whistling a bit to show his approval of Tommy's actions.
Andy looked at Jack. You'd definitely be angry if it was one of us though…
The dream continued, each of the children gaining their Beast Spirit, taking out Grumblemon in the process.
"If only we could take down the real Grumblemon…" Lopmon sighed wistfully.
"It's kind of amazing, but also scary, to see them turn into their Beast Forms. I mean the evolution scene they use for this looks really painful," Andy noted. "Takuya even mentioned it was painful when we asked him about it…"
"I can imagine… they're going from human to a beast form, that's gotta be painful," Jazz agreed.
"I'm more interested in the fact they met with Seraphimon, but then got turned into an egg, and Sorcermon got killed… ambigously," Patamon grumbled. "Why would they kill off Sorcermon?! He would be a much better asset going with the children! And now this… Bokomon is going to become Seraphimon's new mommy Digimon?"
Patamon sounded quite indignant about the whole thing. Not that Lopmon and Andy could blame him, knowing what they knew about Patamon.
"Sounds like you seem offended for some reason." Jack noted. "Then again, given how important Seraphimon is, I can't blame you, since he is one of the Celestials."
"Well of course! Seraphimon is very respected, so it makes sense that someone close to him should be the one to raise him. Bokomon isn't close to Seraphimon at all!" Jazz exclaimed.
"Why do you sound offended?" Andy asked Jazz. "And look, this is just a dream, it's not real."
Jazz blushed. "I… I'm just surprised Maxwell has someone who isn't close to the Celestials raising Seraphimon's egg…"
"Well, he did kill off Sorcermon, so he didn't have a lot of options," Lopmon noted. "It's not like he could just poof Danny in there and have him raise Seraphimon."
"Why would Danny be the one to raise Seraphimon?" Jack asked.
"... I'm just using an example, being random, like I usually do," Lopmon quickly said.
"Smooth…" Andy grumbled.
Jazz went to get some food for the family since a lot of time had passed. The storm was starting to let up at least. And they got to a point where the Legendary Warriors were making burgers to save a Burgermon, and that got everyone hungry. Andy was surprised at how patient Danny was. Danny hadn't left that spot for almost 6 hours now. Then again, maybe this anime dream had his brother captivated.
The dream went on, and eventually, they got to a point where they defeated all the bad Legendary Warriors, including Mercurymon, who had proven to be the most dangerous out of the bunch.
"Um… we haven't had much exposure to Mercurymon, but is he really going to be that bad?" Jazz nervously asked.
"I think Lopmon and I may have encountered him, though we didn't see him exactly…" Andy frowned. "But he sent us in another dimension fighting against dark versions of ourselves. It was not fun."
"No, no it was not," Lopmon shivered.
Jack frowned. "Something tells me a lot has happened with you kids, and some of it you're not telling your mother and I."
"It's not like I wrote it down, I'm not going to remember everything that happened…" Jazz huffed.
Andy nervously shifted in his chair. Jazz may not have written everything down, but he had been keeping a journal since the accident, and he had been writing down everything that had happened since.
"Mom was there when it happened," Andy stated. "It was when she met Wormmon."
"Well, that seems to explain some stuff, but I do want to hear more about these adventures you kids have been on later." Jack replied. "I do think it will give us a better idea of what to expect with the Digital World."
"I mean the dream version is pretty accurate… in fact, a lot of it seems to be based off of what actually happened to us," Andy noted. "How does Dr. Carbon know most of it?"
"He could've seen it through Takuya's memories," Jazz shrugged. And I might've told him a few things…
As the dream continued, they were surprised to see Duskmon was Koichi all along. It caught them off guard because Andy had seen Koichi's Spirits before, and none of them looked like Duskmon. Well, Andy did see Duskmon, very recently, and had defeated him, very recently, with Antylamon's help. But he hadn't really looked at Duskmon during the fight, a lot of the battle was a blur. Andy frowned, wondering if Maxwell made Koichi into Duskmon based off the corrupted form he used earlier.
However, Koji, Takuya, and the others managed to work together to bring down Duskmon, and finally have him return to his human form, bringing back his memories. Though Koichi, for some reason, in the dream was living separate from Koji. Andy couldn't fathom why Dr. Carbon made it so their parents had split up, because they were living together in reality, it just seemed strange to try to change their history altogether.
But the real battle was against the evil Cherubimon. It was Andy's first time seeing Cherubimon actually, he had only ever heard about Cherubimon before. He was… disturbed, to say the least, at what he saw. Lopmon looked just as disturbed.
"I think Dr. Carbon has a thing against rabbit Digimon…" Lopmon huffed.
"Does… Cherubimon actually look like that or is that a corrupted Digivolution?" Andy questioned.
Patamon looked at the Cherubimon on screen. "That's definitely a corrupted version. That's Cherubimon Vice, or as some would call it, to be more… blatant… Cherubimon Evil. What he's supposed to look like is… very different, the form being called Cherubimon Virtue, or in some cases, Cherubimon Good."
"Huh, didn't realize Cherubimon had different forms," Andy remarked.
"Though this… Cherubimon Vice looks kinda cool, like something you'd see out of Circus Gothica," Lopmon noted.
"Please tell me you're joking," Patamon deadpanned at Lopmon.
"What? I like spooky evil things, or at least that looks evil but aren't actually evil," Lopmon huffed.
"Andy, you've corrupted him," Patamon blamed.
"He was always like that!" Andy pointed out.
"I swear, you two are meant to be partners, and not just by choice. You two are made for each other." Patamon grumbled. "Why else would Lopmon like spooky stuff?"
"Hey!" Lopmon pouted.
Jack couldn't help but laugh at the banter between Patamon and Lopmon. "You two remind me of Andy and Danny when they get into arguments!"
"I know this is amusing, but we need to finish the dream first." Jazz grumbled, bringing everyone back on topic.
They watched as the Legendary Warriors had to pool all of their strength and power together, including the evil Legendary Warriors they had sucked up the data for in their D-Tectors to defeat Cherubimon. Though Cherubimon tried to get stronger himself by absorbing a large chunk of the Digital World's fractal code.
"A Digimon can do that? Just eat the world?" Jack frowned.
"I… guess? We saw Grumblemon doing that to the mountain and part of the beach earlier," Andy pointed out. "Well, the dream version. I don't recall the real one doing that."
"That's kind of gross, but also… fascinating," Lopmon said.
"Please… please don't go getting ideas…" Patamon begged.
"You make it sound like I would Digivolve into Cherubimon one day! Just relax, Spectermon, jeez," Lopmon rolled his eyes.
"Uuuuugh…" Patamon groaned.
But despite the power up, Takuya and the others managed to defeat Cherubimon. And when they did, for a second, they saw the real Cherubimon, the Virtue form Patamon mentioned. He was a lot brighter in color, he had two Holy Rings around the base of his ears, and he looked far… cuter. He gave a sad smile before he turned into a Digi-Egg. Not only that, but Ophanimon had sacrificed her life too.
"So wait… all the Celestial Digimon just… died?" Jazz frowned.
"It seems so…" Jack admitted, not liking what he was seeing. "It's like… Maxwell wants the children to be the ones who protect the Digital World and guide it…"
"I think… that's his intention…" Andy frowned.
"Hmph… considering how childish they made Seraphimon after he hatched into a Patamon, I'd say so," Patamon grumbled, not liking how his dream self had been portrayed. "They gave him part of Bokomon's data! That's how he has a bellywarmer! Like he needed to just be the cute, childish one!"
Jack had to agree with Spectermon. "I agree. That's an insult to someone who is supposed to be a great angel Digimon."
"But… they're just kids!" Jazz exclaimed. "Maxwell can't really be planning to make them the rulers of the Digital World!"
"Calm down!" Andy spoke up. "I'm sure Maxwell is aware that the Celestial Digimon always keep their memories, even if they don't remember them right away due to a traumatic experience. I mean Patamon in the dream definitely had a traumatizing death, so it's understandable he doesn't remember being Seraphimon. I think he just wants them to be able to protect the Celestial Digimon once they're able to run the Digital World again."
"How are you sure? I mean it ended with Ophanimon sacrificing herself and Cherubimon being defeated," Lopmon pointed out.
"Because the dream isn't over yet," Andy pointed at the screen.
Indeed, the dream kept going. They heard Maxwell's voice however.
"Why is it still going?" Maxwell muttered. "No… not again… Why do Dynasmon and Crusadermon keep showing up here!?"
"Should I cut off the dream?" Tapirmon asked.
"No, if you do that, they'll just wake up and who knows what that'll do to their psyche before the process is complete…" Maxwell frowned. "Let's see what happens. If it happens again, we'll immediately cut back to the beginning again. It's not ideal, but it's the best we can do to stop them from waking up and going on a rampage again."
"So this must be where it goes wrong then…" Andy noted, hearing the panic and frustration in Maxwell and Tapirmon's tones.
"Let's see what happens." Jack said with interest in his voice. "Maybe we can learn something."
Dynasmon and Crusadermon were shown attacking the Legendary Warriors in the dream, easily beating them despite the children's best efforts. During these battles, Dynasmon and Crusadermon even sent the Legendary Warriors to the Moons, where Koichi found out he wasn't really there in the Digital World, only existing as a spirit himself. Takuya and the others did get stronger each time they fought the two new Digimon though, eventually even defeating them. As the Legendary Warriors emerged victorious, the fractal code absorbed by the two Digimon was sucked into the very core of the Digital World, releasing a Digimon that had only been mentioned in stories before.
"So, in this dream, that Koichi kid is a spirit?" Jack asked, surprised. "I didn't think it was possible for a human spirit to enter the Digital World."
"We did see that he tripped and fell on the stairs in the subway trying to get to Koji," Andy noted. "At least when Takuya was sent back in time and turned into a Digimon for some reason… I still don't get what was going on there."
"But why make Koichi a spirit and not physically there?" Jazz asked.
"Who knows what this guy is thinking…" Lopmon grumbled.
"Shh, look…" Patamon pointed at the screen. "Something's happening…"
This Digimon that came out of the core of the Digital World looked like a child version of Angemon, without the helmet covering his eyes. There was something disturbing and sinister about this angelic Digimon.
"Lucemon…" Patamon grimly stated.
"That's Lucemon? But he… doesn't look all that threatening…" Jack frowned.
"Appearances are very deceiving," Patamon warned. "There's a reason why this Digimon was feared back in ancient times."
They watched as Lucemon turned into his 'Chaos Mode', which showed him as a more adult, but half his wings were more bat-like, resembling a half angel and half demon looking Digimon. In this mode, no matter what Takuya and the others did, no matter what Maxwell or Tapirmon did from the outside, they weren't able to stop this Lucemon. Lucemon laughed as he tormented each of the Legendary Warriors, until only one was left standing, that being Agunimon. Agunimon was hurt, he could barely stand.
Lucemon sneered as he looked at Agunimon. "Soon, you'll all be my worshippers and do my bidding~"
"No wonder Lucemon was so feared…" Jack whispered, almost in pure terror; even if it was just a dream, Lucemon's power was not something to dismiss lightly. "He just defeated the Legendary Warriors…"
After witnessing what the Legendary Warriors were capable of, that was saying something. There was no last minute plot armor, or anime power that would save them at the last minute. Lucemon just blasted Agunimon in the face, finishing off the last hope they had.
Maxwell let out a sigh. "This virus is making this impossible… Set it back to the beginning, Tapirmon. We can't have them waking up in this state. We need to figure out how to get rid of this virus…"
And just like that, the dream looped back at the beginning. Takuya was waking up at his home in Japan, like nothing happened.
Seeing this, Phantom finally decided to get out.
"I think we've seen all we're going to see," Andy noted.
"I'm just surprised Phantom stayed there that whole time, not getting anything to eat, or even move at all," Jazz muttered.
Andy nodded. "Maybe I better make some snacks for… uh… Danny and Patamon, I'm sure they'll be hungry when they wake up."
Jazz nodded in agreement. "Good idea." Although I wonder if Danny doesn't need to eat while in his ghost form. That would be an interesting thing to observe.
"Speaking of which, it's really late now. You kids should get to bed," Jack said. "I'll go help your mother with that headband and tell her what we just saw."
"We'll head to bed soon, Dad," Andy promised. We're going to need it for when we try to save them from this endless loop they're trapped in…
When Phantom came back, the storm had calmed down to just a light rain, making it a lot easier than when he had to follow Maxwell to Axion Labs earlier.
He handed the Fenton Recorder back to Jack before Spectermon and he flew away to get some rest. Though in reality, they just flew up to their window in their bedroom.
Danny and Patamon changed back to their human and regular Digimon selves before they hit the bed.
"Ugh… so tired…" Danny groaned.
"I'm surprised you're not stiff, having stayed in one spot for like 8 or so hours," Andy said as he brought up a plate of two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a bag of chips.
"Trust me, I'm feeling stiff… even hovering didn't do much to lessen that." Danny grumbled. "I need to move around, but I'm so tired, I just want to get something to eat and then sleep."
"I think we both need some food and sleep." Patamon agreed.
"I think that's also the longest time you were in your ghost form," Lopmon noted. "Congratulations?"
"No wonder I feel so dead…" Danny huffed.
"Was that meant to be a dead joke?" Andy asked before handing Danny the plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and the bag of chips. "I'd give you more, but with how sore and tired I still am, this was the best I could manage."
"I'll take it anyway." Danny said gratefully as he began to chow down in the peanut butter and jelly sandwich once he had picked it up. "Being in my ghost form for so long has left me starving."
"Dang, I've never seen you eat so ravenously before," Lopmon noted.
"Like you're one to talk," Andy huffed. "Though I do wonder if ghosts need to eat or if it's just because you're half human that you still require food."
"I don't know, it's never crossed my mind." Danny admitted. "And I don't want to even consider why I didn't need to eat in my ghost form."
"Well, either way, you did a good job out there, Danny." Patamon praised.
"Yeah, I'm impressed you held out for that long," Andy agreed.
"I was… determined to stick around until I saw everything," Danny sighed. "I wanted to make sure we had all the information we needed to save Takuya and the others. Takuya is family, but the others are also our friends and allies. We need them if we want to save the Digital World, and the Digidestined Guild sticks together."
"I knew that name would catch on." Lopmon smiled proudly.
Andy patted Lopmon's head, careful of the three horns. "Don't worry, we will save them. You did well out there. Now we just leave the rest up to our parents. Mom and Dad are analyzing the headband Patamon brought back as we speak."
"I hope they find something out so we can get to saving them soon." Danny grumbled. "It was hard to just float there, watching the dream world play out in front of me. I felt something telling me to act, to just rip those headbands off, but I knew I shouldn't do that."
"I'm glad you didn't… with how delicate this is, you could've caused brain damage if not worse," Andy said.
"For now, we should get some sleep. We won't be able to help anyone if we're too tired," Patamon stated.
"Yeah," Lopmon agreed. "I'm surprised we stayed awake for as long as we did…"
"At least we won't have school tomorrow," Andy said. "The news said that a lot of the schools in Amity Park will be shut down until further notice due to the 'terrorist attack'."
"That's some good news." Danny joked. "It means we can just recover from these incidents."
Shinshinjane: DarkFoxKit: Thank you for reviewing. I can't say much about this review, however, as it's talking about a potential future plot point.
CT7567Rules: ZAFT: You will find out by reading. No spoilers… ' But thanks for reviewing again! X3
Titanic X: ZAFT: Oh, we wanted to do that for a while. XD But glad you liked it! X3