FicWad

All Digimon characters are copyrights of their respective owners.

Author's Note: This story takes place right after the battle against Sandiramon, the snake Deva. I know that the specific time of the year is wrong for this story, but then, that's the beauty of writing. You can manipulate time to fit your needs.

Ghosts in the Night

"Come on Kenta! Get down here!" called Kazu as he put the finishing touches to his costume. He was going out as a (you guessed it) digimon, namely a very badly made Gabumon outfit. Kenta came down, dressed in a store bought Agumon costume.

"That looks so fake," said Kenta as he looked over Kazu's poorly made costume.

"I wouldn't be talking lizard boy," said Kazu. Just then, the doorbell rang. Kazu ran over to answer the door, finding Takato, Jerri, and Guilmon standing outside. Takato was dressed up in a homemade Guilmon outfit, which looked very little like the real thing. Jerri was dressed up as a Gatomon. Guilmon, being a digimon, needed no costume or disguise tonight, for it was Halloween, and everyone would think he was nothing more than a boy in a costume. In fact, he had been given many compliments just on the way over to Kazu's house.

"Dude, that costume looks so fake when compared to the real thing," said Kazu.

"I wouldn't be talking Kazu," said Takato.

"Where's Henry and Rika?" asked Kenta.

"Well, they said they'd join us when we came to Henry's house. He didn't want to take Terriermon out without some extra help watching him. You know how he can be around candy," said Takato.

"Hey, why are you all dressed up funny?" said a voice from behind the group. Everyone looked back to see Calumon standing behind them, his ears retracted.

'Oh hi Calumon," said Jerri as she picked him up.

"Hi Jerri. Why do you look like a kitty cat?" asked Calumon.

"Well, it's Halloween," said Jerri.

"Hallow what?" asked Calumon.

"Halloween. It's a day where kids dress up in costumes and go trick or treating for candy," said Takato. Calumon's eyes brightened and his ears extended at the mention of candy.

"Oh boy. Candy!" cried Calumon.

"Come on you guys, let's get going," said Kazu as he started walking away from the group.

"Hang on, Kazu. We're coming," called Takato. As the group left, they didn't know they were being spied on. As soon as they were out of sight, Impmon dropped down from his hiding place up in a nearby tree.

"For once, these humans have something good to offer," said Impmon. "A treat for tricking people, now that's an idea. Baboom!" With that, Impmon leaped back up into the tree and started off after Takato and his friends.

****

"Sir, I've just detected another wild one," said Riley as Yamaki watched the little light indicating the movement of the new wild one.

"As always, they never learn. Put a tracer on it and monitor its movement," said Yamaki.

"Tracer sent. Locking on," said Riley. But for some reason, the tracer couldn't achieve a lock-on. "Sir, for some reason, the tracer isn't working."

"Useless equipment," said Yamaki under his breath.

"Sir, the wild one's preparing to bio-merge. Estimated time, twenty minutes," said Riley.

****

"Hey Takato. What are we supposed to say again?" asked Guilmon as the group, which now included Henry, dressed up as Veemon; Rika, dressed up as princess, (only because her mother refused to let her wear any other costume); Terriermon; and Renamon, stood outside the first house on their route.

"Well, first we knock on the door, then when the grown-up answer's it, you say trick or treat. Then they'll give you a piece of candy," said Takato.

"Sounds simple enough," said Terriermon.

"Now remember, you're supposed to be kids in costumes, so don't do anything that a kid can't do," said Henry. With that said, Jerri knocked on the door, and an old lady answered the door.

"Trick or treat!" cried everyone.

"My my, what great costumes," said the old lady as she handed everyone a piece of candy.

"Thank you," said everyone as she closed the door.

"Yeah, I got a peanut butter chew!" cried Guilmon as he started to unwrap the piece of candy.

"No Guilmon. You're supposed to put it in your bag and then eat it later," said Takato. Guilmon let out a sigh, then reluctantly put the piece of candy in his bag. Back at the house, Impmon came out from his hiding place in a nearby tree, dropping down right in front of the house's front door.

"All that for one lousy piece of candy? Sheesh!" he said. He then looked at the door, a sinister smile working across his face. "I guess I'll have to show this town how to really get the most out of this Halloween thing." Impmon pounded his fist on the door, then took a step back. The lady opened up the door, a bowl full of candy in her hands.

"My, what a wonderful costume. Did you get it from the same place as those other kids who were just here?" she asked.

"What costume?" asked Impmon. The lady smiled as she handed him a piece of candy from the bowl. Impmon looked at the piece of candy, then back up at the lady.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Yeah, I forgot to do my trick," said Impmon, raising his index finger as a flame ignited above it. He then flung the fireball at a plant hanging from the edge of the roof, catching it on fire and burning it to ashes. The lady stared in horror as Impmon lit another flame above his finger. "Now that I've done my trick, how about that whole bowl of candy as my treat?" The lady threw the bowl at Impmon as fast as she could, shutting the door behind her. The bowl slammed into Impmon, knocking him off the porch and to the ground, the bowl spilling everywhere. Impmon sat up and rubbed his head. "Boy, some people just don't know a good trick when they see one."

****

"Sir, the wild one is thirty seconds away from bio-merging," said Riley. Yamaki looked up at the screen of Hypnos, watching as the small pink ball of light representing the wild one suddenly changed into a blank space with four arrows pointing towards it.

"Enjoy your ability to come to this world while you can. Soon, all of your kind will be erased from existence," said Yamaki to himself.

****

"Well, where to next?" asked Takato as they walked along the sidewalk near the school. Suddenly, Guilmon stopped and sniffed the air. Renamon and Terriermon both stopped in their tracks. Suddenly, Guilmon's eyes shifted over to their fierce look, and he let out a low growl.

"Hey, what's wrong with Guilmon?" asked Kazu. Takato looked back at Guilmon.

"On no, why tonight?" sighed Takato. Guilmon suddenly took off, running towards the schoolyard, Renamon and Terriermon right behind him.

"Why are we running into the school yard?" asked Jerri as they followed the digimon. Just then, a blast of fog started spouting from the middle of the school playground.

"Because there's a digimon coming. Stay out of the fog and wait for us," said Rika. As the fog of the digital field surrounded them, everyone looked around, trying to find the digimon. Takato was sweeping his D-Power back and forth, trying to bring up the new digimon's data. Suddenly, the screen lit up with the digimon. It looked like a badly made ghost costume made out of an old ragged bed sheet.

"Bakemon, virus ghost type digimon. Special attack, Dark Claw. Sometimes invisible, that's great to know," said Takato.

"You mean this thing's invisible?" cried Henry.

"Apparently," answered Takato.

"That's not going to make any difference. Renamon, find him," said Rika.

"As you wish," said Renamon, closing her eyes. She stood completely still, using her incredible sixth sense to find the Bakemon's presence. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she leapt into the air.

"Diamond Storm!" she cried as dozens of jagged crystals spread out in front of her. Then the crystals shot down at a spot near the ground. But before they hit, the Bakemon became visible again, moving out of the way of the attack.

"Nicely done. But you missed. Dark Claw!" cried Bakemon, his left hand stretching out, claws extended. But fortunately for Renamon, Rika was on top of the situation. Pulling out her D-Power and a card, she swiped it through the slot.

"Digi Modify! Hyper Speed activate!" cried Rika. Renamon felt the power of the card surge through her legs, and she quickly dodged the claw.

"Pyro Sphere!" cried Guilmon, spitting a ball of red fire from his mouth.

"Bunny Blast!" cried Terriermon, spitting a ball of green fire from his mouth. Both attacks flew straight at Bakemon, who blocked both attacks with his Dark Claw attack.

"No way! He blocked their attacks," cried Takato.

"Well well. Looks like the dumb dumb club found themselves a new playmate," said Impmon, who was sitting up in a nearby tree, munching on the candy he had collected over the course of the night. "This outta be a great show, baboom!"

"Digi Modify!" cried Takato as he swiped a card through his D-Power. "Hyper Wing activate!" Guilmon leapt into the air, three pairs of glowing wings sprouting from his back. Bakemon tried to claw Guilmon again, but Guilmon flew out of the way of the claw, then charged Bakemon, slamming into him. The two of them sailed towards the ground, but Guilmon grabbed Bakemon and make a sharp turn upwards, slamming Bakemon headfirst into the same tree Impmon was sitting in. Impmon was knocked off the branch he was sitting on by the force of the blow, and the unfinished candy fell to the ground below.

"Pyro Sphere!" cried Guilmon as he spit another ball of fire at Bakemon. This time, the attack hit home on the stunned digimon. Bakemon let out a cry as he was deleted. Guilmon landed next to Takato, his wings disappearing.

"Well, that wasn't so hard," said Terriermon. But Rika noticed something that wasn't right.

"Well, if that was it, then why isn't the digital field disappearing?" she asked. Just then, an evil laugh filled the cool night air.

"Very good. You were able to defeat my little friend with little trouble," said a voice. Suddenly, another digimon appeared. This one wore a cloak and hood, and he carried a big scythe in his hands.

"Phantomon. Virus Ghost type digimon. Uh oh, he's an Ultimate. Special attack Shadow Scythe," said Takato as he read off the digimon's data.

"Ultimate or not, Renamon can take him. Attack, Renamon," said Rika. Renamon leapt at Phantomon, claws ready to slash him. But Phantomon held up his scythe, blocking Renamon's attack. He then swung the scythe around and hit Renamon with the backside of it, knocking Renamon to the ground.

"Pyro Sphere!" cried Guilmon, spitting a ball of fire at Phantomon.

"Shadow Scythe!" cried Phantomon, slashing the scythe, sending a wave of black energy straight at Guilmon. Both attacks collided in mid-air, but the Shadow Scythe broke through, slamming into Guilmon, knocking him to the ground.

"Guilmon! Are you okay?" cried Takato.

"Look at all the peanut butter sandwiches...," said a dazed Guilmon.

"I guess it's my turn. Terrier Tornado!" cried Terriermon, spinning rapidly in place, whipping up a mini tornado. The whirlwind swirled towards Phantomon, but he cut through the wind with his scythe.

"Is that the best you have to offer me?" asked Phantomon. Takato took a step forward, lifting his D-Power and a card up into the air.

"Not even close," said Takato as he swiped the card through the D-Power. "Digi Modify! Digivolution activate!" Calumon's red gem in his head glowed brightly as Guilmon was enveloped in white light.

"Guilmon, digivolve to...Growlmon!" cried Guilmon as he digivolved into Growlmon.

"I hope that this is more of a challenge," said Phantomon, lifting his scythe up for another attack. Growlmon let out a loud roar as his left arm blade opened up.

"Dragon Slash!" cried Growlmon, slashing the air with the electrified blade. A wave of electric energy flew off the blade and slammed into Phantomon, knocking him to the ground.

"Now finish him, Growlmon!" cried Takato.

"Pyro Blaster!" cried Growlmon, breathing a blast of fire at Phantomon. The blast enveloped Phantomon, but Phantomon's scythe cut through the fire, no harm apparent on his body.

"No way!" cried Takato. Renamon, in the meantime, had snuck up behind Phantomon. She leapt into the air, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Diamond Storm!" she cried, sending dozens of jagged crystals at Phantomon. The crystals embedded themselves into Phantomon, but caused no real harm as he shook them off himself.

"Shadow Scythe!" he cried, swinging his scythe at Renamon, a wave of black energy cutting across her body.

"Renamon!" cried Rika. Growlmon tried to slash Phantomon with his sharp claws, but Phantomon easily dodged the attacks, then swung his scythe across Growlmon's chest, knocking backwards and to the ground.

"Growlmon, are you okay?" cried Takato. Growlmon sat up, shaking his head.

"I'm just fine, Takato," he said before charging towards Phantomon again.

"I think it's time to turn up the heat," said Rika, taking a card out.

"I agree," said Henry, taking out a card of his own. Both of them swiped the cards through their D-Powers.

"Digi Modify! Digivolution activate!" they both cried. Calumon's crystal glowed brightly as both Renamon and Terriermon were enveloped in white light.

"Renamon, digivolve to...Kyubimon!" cried Renamon as she digivolved into Kyubimon.

"Terriermon, digivolve to...Gargomon!" cried Terriermon as he digivolved into Gargomon.

"Foxtail Inferno!" cried Kyubimon, shooting a blue fireball from the tips of each of her tails. The fireballs flew right at Phantomon, but he spun his scythe around super fast, blocking the fireballs.

"Gargo Laser!" cried Gargomon, shooting several rounds from his guns. But this attack was also blocked in the same way.

"This fight is great! It just gets more and more pathetic by the minute! Still, that Phantomon did cause me to loose a whole month's supply of candy. Maybe I'll put a little of my special touch into this fight," said Impmon to himself as he watched from the tree. Down below, Growlmon tried another Dragon Slash attack, only to have it bounced off Phantomon's scythe once again.

"This is no good," said Henry. "As long as he has that scythe, we can't get near him."

"Then we'll just have to take it away," said Takato, taking out another card. "Digi Modify! Devimon's Death Claw activate!" he cried, swiping the card through D-Power. The power of the card surged through Growlmon as his arms became those of Devimon. "Now, grab that scythe!"

"Foxtail Inferno!" cried Kyubimon, shooting several more fireballs at Phantomon.

"Gargo Laser!" cried Gargomon, shooting several more rounds from his guns. Phantomon brought his scythe up and blocked the attacks, but the distraction was just enough for Growlmon to stretch the Devimon arms and grasp the scythe in his hands. Giving a hard yank, he pulled the scythe away from him. Then, sending the power of Devimon's Death Claw attack through the arms, he caused the scythe to delete.

"Now, finish him!" cried all three of the tamers at once.

"Bunny Pummel!" cried Gargomon, punching Phantomon and sending him flying into the nearby storage shed, the same one that Calumon had broken into several nights in a row to create his "soccer" field.

"Dragon Wheel!" cried Kyubimon, leaping into the air and rapidly spinning in a circle, a giant blue flame with a front end in the shape of a dragon's head appearing, then slamming into Phantomon. Badly hurt, but still not deleted, Phantomon tried to make his escape while he had a chance. As he fled, the tamers and their digimon pursued. Unfortunately, Phantomon was much faster than the other digimon were. But before he could exit the digital field, a small fireball hit the ground just in front of him. Stopping, Phantomon looked up to see Impmon, a flame lit over his left index finger.

"You know, you cost me a whole nights work of candy collecting," said Impmon. Phantomon stared at him, not knowing what the imp digimon was talking about. "So I think I'll get my treat by Badda Booming you into the next world. Badda Boom!" he cried, throwing the fireball from his finger. The flame hit Phantomon, knocking him backwards a few feet and to the ground. By now, the others had caught up and were watching Impmon and a fairly ticked off Phantomon circling each other.

"What does Impmon think he's doing?" asked Takato.

"I'm not sure," said Henry.

"Well, whatever it is, I think we should wait and see what happens," said Rika.

"Good idea," said Kyubimon. They watched as Impmon threw another fireball at Phantomon. But this time, Phantomon was ready. Leaping over the fireball, he slammed full force into Impmon, knocking him to the ground.

"Well, I guess we should have seen that one coming," said Rika. Kyubimon leapt forward, slamming her body into Phantomon, knocking him into the tree.

"Gargo Laser!" cried Gargomon, shooting several rounds from his guns. Phantomon shook as each shot hit his weakening body. Growlmon took a step forward as Takato swiped another card through his D-Power.

"Digi Modify! Attack Power Enhancement activate!" he cried. Growlmon let out a loud roar as he felt the power of the card surge through his body.

"Pyro Blaster!" he cried, shooting a blast of fire twice as big as the first one at Phantomon. The blast enveloped him, his form breaking apart as he was deleted. As the digital field disappeared, Impmon stood up and brushed himself off.

"Well that wasn't one of my better ideas," he said aloud.

"I would hope not," said Takato. Impmon looked over at Takato.

"Ah, what would you know!" he yelled.

"Well, I know you lost all your candy. Would you like to join us on the rest of our route?" asked Takato. Impmon closed his eyes and looked away.

"I wouldn't be caught dead with the likes of you humans and pet digimon," he said. He then opened one eye and looked over at Takato. "But, since I'll get some free candy out of the deal, what the hey."

"I guess even the most independent digimon can forget their ways for candy," said Henry. But Rika had something else on her mind.

"Good plan, goggle head, but how do we go to houses with our digimon like this?" she said, gesturing to Growlmon, Kyubimon, and Gargomon.

"No problem. I've got this one covered," said Kazu as he pulled out a card from his back pocket. "You can use this downgrade card. It'll cause them to go back to Rookies."

"For once, you actually have a good idea," said Rika as she took the card and swiped it through her D-Power. "Digi Modify. Downgrade activate." Kyubimon started to shrink in size until she had turned back into Renamon. Both Henry and Takato swiped the card through their own D-Powers, both Growlmon and Gargomon changing back into their Rookie forms.

"Ah, come on! I'm in the mood for some caramel chews, and I'm not going to get any standing around here all night!" cried Impmon.

"Okay, okay, we're coming!" called Takato.

"Takato, can I trade you for your peanut butter chews?" asked Guilmon.

"You and peanut butter," said Takato, laughing lightly as they walked out of the schoolyard. The rest of the night went without a hitch. Impmon was able to keep himself from using his Badda Boom attack around people thanks to some timely interventions from Renamon. And Guilmon was able to trade his candy for everyone's peanut butter chews.

****

"For a group of humans and pet digimon, you can be tolerable at times. But don't you ever expect me to hang out with the likes of you again. And never try and stop me from Badda Booming anyone ever again fox face! Baboom!" said Impmon as he leapt up into the nearest tree and bounded off with his bag of candy.

"You know, for a pain in the neck, he's not that bad," said Takato.

"Maybe, but you should see him when he's actually trying to be a pain in the neck," said Renamon. "Believe me, I've seen him."

"Well, I need to get home. My dad's probably wondering where I am," said Jerri. She placed Calumon on the ground and started walking towards her house. Calumon bounced after her happily humming to himself.

"I need to get home, too. Come on Renamon," said Rika as she walked away, Renamon following close behind.

"Yeah, I need to get home too. My mom's going to chew me up for being out this late without calling her," said Henry.

"Momonti, Henry. I'll bet ya she'll forget the whole thing if you give her some of your candy," said Terriermon as they walked off.

"We'll see you later too Takato," said Kazu as he and Kenta walked off. Guilmon put a claw up to his mouth and gave a yawn.

"Takato, now can I have a peanut butter chew?" asked Guilmon.

"Okay, but just one. Save the others for later," said Takato.

"Okay, Takato," said Guilmon as they reached Guilmon's shed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Guilmon," said Takato.

"Bye bye," said Guilmon as Takato ran off towards his home.

THE END