Another chapter and this one will lead off into all the Digiworld fun! It looks like I won't be able to get in another one before I'm gone for two weeks, but I'll leave you with this one because I have to update my other fic.

To,Tanner: In regard to what you said about twins, I really don't see a problem. Matty and Mickey don't act any different then Koji and Kouichi. I'm not trying to stereotype twins if that is what you're worried about. I know not all twins act like Matty and Mickey. In fact, I knew a pair of twins who absolutely hated each other. They were kind of annoying now that I think about it. But I also knew a set of male twins who went to elementary and high school with me and they were really close. Two of the sweetest guys I ever met. As you'll see farther on in this fic, Matty is willing to hug Dai and tell Dai he cares about him just as much as he does to Mickey. They act no different then Sam and Nao who aren't twins. If you think Matty and Mickey are going to end up making out in a closet or something, forget it. It's not going to happen. I've never liked those kinds of fics and you will never see me write one. Nothing I write between Matty and Mickey is meant to be taken in a sexual context. It's a sad world if we can't hug our siblings and tell them we care about them. Anyway, thanks for the review and tell your brother/sister (?) I said hi!

To, Helena: Do you mind telling me which thens and thans I missed? I'm not quite sure. For the names, I had a huge list to choose from, and I picked the names that flowed with the last names and made the characters seem real to me. Now, I can't imagine Davis naming his son anything but Daichi!

To, Violent Tomboy: In answer to your question about whether or not they'll have the same digimon as their parents, the answer is no. I won't say more because I don't want to give anything away! What did you do to get your last account terminated!

To, miricles-3: Another chapter is here!

To, Dark Qiviut: Dai and Ryoko are going to get even more interesting!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Following The Footsteps Of Destiny

Chapter 9: Digital Gateway

Makiya 'Mickey' Takaishi

Mickey hurried down the hallway glancing anxiously around for his brother and Dai. Where could they be? Dai had been suspiciously absent from the lunch room earlier, and he had a feeling it was mainly due to the fact that Ryoko had been there. I wish there was something I could do to help them get along.

"Mickey! Wait up!"

He halted and turned to see his twin racing towards him. Matty appeared completely oblivious to the chaos he was creating amoung the other students. His classmates leaped out of Matty's way with shouts and several glares.

His twin came to a stop in front of him, and Mickey smiled.

"Have you seen Dai?" They asked at the exact same time.

Mickey laughed and gently pulled his twin to one side of the crowd.

"Where do you think he might be?" Matty asked. His brother looked worried.

Mickey gave his twin a reassuring smile and put an arm around his brother. He loved the way Matty was always looking out for other people and trying to help them. His twin might get into trouble a lot, but that didn't matter to him in the least. Matty was still the sweetest and most caring person he knew.

"I'm not sure," he said softly. "Lets go find Takara and Sam. They might know where he is."

The two of them headed down the hallway and were about to head to Takara's locker when they spotted Dai.

Daichi was standing at his locker and frowning into it's interior. He didn't look at all pleased about the homework load that they had been given.

"Hey, Dai," Mickey called out. He and his twin stepped up beside their goggle headed friend and gazed curiously at him.

Dai sighed and shoved a couple of textbooks into his bag. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Actually, we were about to ask you the same thing," Matty said slowly.

"Huh?" Dai gave them a curious look and frowned. "What do you mean? If this is about Ryoko, forget it. I don't want to talk about him."

Mickey shook his head. "No. It's got nothing to do with Ryoko." He glanced around to make sure no one was listening and leaned closer to Dai. "This morning you said you needed to talk to us about something. What was it?"

For a moment Dai just stared at him in confusion, and then his face filled with understanding. "Oh that," he muttered. "It's nothing really."

Matty crossed his arms and gave Dai a dirty look. "If you're trying to get out of telling us it's not going to work. Come on, Dai. I know you're worried about something, so what is it?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

Mickey stared at Dai's anxious face in astonishment. What in the world? Dai hardly ever gets worried about anything!

Matty came forward and put an arm around Dai. "Hey, you know you can tell us anything," his twin said softly. "We would never laugh at you."

Dai managed to smile, but it was a rather weak attempt. "Okay. Lets go find an empty classroom or something. I don't need the whole school overhearing."

They started down the hallway, but they were intercepted by Taysuke and Ema.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ema demanded, her dark eyes flashing. "The school entrance is the other way."

"You know, you're pretty mouthy for a ten year old," Dai shot back.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway!" Ema giggled. She threw her arms around Dai's waist and gave her cousin a squeeze.

Mickey raised his eyebrows as Ema turned and batted her eyelashes at him and Matty. He had a feeling that that one was going to be a big flirt when she got older.

Dai just rolled his eyes and tugged on one of her spiky blue pigtails. "I wonder how Noah manages to put up with you!" Noah was the nickname that everyone used for Ema's brother, Nobunari.

"Are you kidding?" Ema snorted."More like the other way around. Teenagers are so weird!"

"And what does that make you?" Dai joked.

Ema was about to reply, but Taysuke interrupted her. "Have you guys seen Kara and Ryoko?"

"No, but if there's any justice in this world, Ryoko's gone and fallen off a cliff somewhere!" Dai said cheerfully.

Taysuke frowned at the goggle headed boy and turned to him with a smile. "If you see them, let them know we're looking for them."

"Okay," Mickey replied. "See you guys later."

Ema grabbed Taysuke's hand, and they watched her drag the poor boy down the hallway with no regard for the other students around her. Mickey smiled and shook his head. Ema was definitely a one-of-a-kind person.

The minute the two younger kids were out of sight, Matty grabbed Dai's arm and dragged him into the nearest empty classroom he could find.

Mickey quietly closed the door behind himself and sat down on a desk next to his twin.

Dai sat across from them looking rather nervous. He seemed unable to stare them directly in the eyes, and he kept fidgeting.

"Alright, Dai. What's got you so bent out of shape?" Matty demanded.

Dai's shoulders slumped and he gave them a defeated look. "The strangest thing happened to me in detention yesterday," he said slowly.

Matty leaned forward in his seat. His eyes were sparkling with curiosity. "What happened?"

"It was after everyone else had already left," Dai replied in a soft voice. "I was about to leave, too, when one of the computers started acting really funny."

"What do you mean?" Mickey asked, feeling confused.

"Well, for one thing, the computers were all off. Somehow this one happened to turn itself on," Dai said, sounding nervous.

Matty's eyebrows shot up. He looked like he was trying not to smile. "Are you sure someone didn't just turn it on during your detention?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Dai snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. Their goggle headed friend lowered his gaze to his hands and frowned at them. "No one touched the computers during class. Like I said, this one was acting really funny. All these numbers started to scroll down the screen and it kept flashing. Then, this weird message came up. At least, it looked like a message. I couldn't read it because it was written in some funny language."

Mickey and his twin stared at Dai in silence. This is weird. Dai couldn't possibly have seen all of these things. But if that's the case, then why do I feel so uneasy?

"Um...Dai?" Matty said quietly. "Are you sure about this?"

Mickey exchanged a look with his twin, and Matty put an arm around him.

"You don't believe me," Dai said flatly. His eyes had grown hard, and they were filled with hurt.

Mickey reached out and gently placed a hand on his friend's arm. "It's not that we don't believe you, but you have to admit, it does sound a little bit unreal."

"You do have a tendency to get a little overly dramatic about things," Matty added.

Dai gave him a very offended look. "I do not get dramatic!" He muttered.

"Okay...you...er...tend to exaggerate sometimes," Matty said with amusement.

Dai jumped to his feet and stared defiantly at them. Mickey was so startled by his friends sudden movement that he nearly fell off the desk. Matty grabbed his arm to stop his momentum, and Mickey sent him a grateful look.

"Alright, fine," Dai said loudly and crossed his arms. "Since you don't believe me, I'm just going to have to prove it to you! Come on." He turned and started out of the room leaving the twins gaping at each other in surprise.

"Hey, Dai! Wait up!" Mickey scrambled off the desk, nearly tripping over his brother, and was out the door in a flash with Matty right behind him. They caught up to Dai halfway down the hall and clung to each other gasping for breath.

"Where are we going?" Matty wheezed.

"To the computer room." Dai's eyes were narrowed in determination, and he continued on without even looking at them.

Mickey let out a groan. Once Dai got that look on his face there was no stopping him. He's really serious about this, but it just seems so impossible.

They turned a corner and nearly collided with Ryoko, Takara, and Sam.

Mickey managed to grab Ryoko before he accidentally knocked his cousin to the ground, and Matty did the same for Sam.

Takara was blushing furiously in Dai's grip, but she managed to compose herself and crossed her arms.

Mickey gave her a look and glanced at Ryoko. Ryoko was smiling slightly at him and straightened up. He had not seemed to notice Takara's weird behaviour. Why is she acting so funny lately? If anyone would know it would be Ryoko, but he doesn't seem to have noticed a thing.

"Where have you three been?" Takara demanded. "We've been looking all over for you!"

"Yes well, Taysuke's looking for you and Ryoko," Matty replied. He put an arm around Sam and smiled at the other boy. Sam smiled back and gave Takara a curious look.

Ryoko waved Matty's comment off and frowned at them. "Taysuke can wait. Right now I want to know what you three are doing. Where are you going anyway?"

"To the computer room," Matty said, completely ignoring Dai's warning glance.

Mickey shook his head and hid a smile. And Matty has the nerve to tell me I should be more tactful!

Ryoko's eyes widened in astonishment. "You're kidding, right? Daichi going to the computer room? I didn't think he even knew where it was!" His cousin fell in step beside Dai and smirked at the other boy.

"I don't recall asking you to come along!" Dai snapped and glared at him. Ryoko ignored Dai and continued walking next to his side.

"Um...why are we going to the computer room?" Sam asked. He seemed afraid to speak for fear of angering Dai even more.

Dai refused to answer. He appeared hesitant to say anything with Ryoko there.

"Dai," Mickey said softly. He took the other boy's arm, stopping Dai in his tracks, and turned the goggle headed boy to face him. "If they're going to come along, Ithink you should tell them what's going on. It doesn't look like they're going to take no for an answer."

Dai stared at him for a moment and finally nodded. "Alright," he said with a sigh.

Quickly Dai filled the others in on what he had seen. When he was done, Takara stared at him in shocked silence, Sam gazed at him with his mouth hanging open, and Ryoko burst into laughter.

"You have got to be kidding me, Dai," Ryoko said between laughs. "This must be the stupidest story you have ever come up with! I know you like to make stuff up to make yourself look good, but this is just getting ridiculous!"

Dai's face turned bright red with rage. "This his not a joke or a made up story!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Luckily there was no one around to hear it. "It really happened and I'm going to make you take back your words if it's the last thing I do!"

He shoved Ryoko out of his way and continued on with his face full of anger.

Ryoko looked ready to shout something after him, but Mickey kept a firm hold on his cousin's arm. "Ryoko, you shouldn't be so hard on him," he murmured softly into the other boy's ear.

Ryoko turned to gaze at him, and he was surprised to see sadness in his cousin's deep blue eyes.

"You don't understand, Mickey," his cousin said quietly. "That's what I love about you. Somehow, you always manage to see the good in other people even when it's buried deep beneath the surface."

He stared at Ryoko in shock. "Ryoko," he said, feeling suddenly concerned. "Are you feeling alright?"

Ryoko continued to stare at him, and he jumped as his cousin slipped an arm around him.

Is he talking about Dai or himself?

"Don't worry about it," Ryoko whispered softly. His cousin's golden head came to rest against his. Ryoko had a tendency to say the weirdest things at the most unexpected times. Matty was staring at Ryoko as if the other boy had gone insane. Mickey took a quick peek at Dai, but Dai was staring straight ahead and didn't notice.

They came to a stop in front of the computer room, and Dai hesitantly glanced inside. The room was empty.

"Well? Aren't we going to go in?" Takara asked, prodding Dai in the back.

"This is such a waste of time," Ryoko muttered.

Dai glared at him and stalked into the room.

"It was that computer right there." Dai pointed to the one at the far end of the room, and he stared at it as if he thought it might suddenly explode.

Mickey studied the computer and frowned. It didn't look any different from any of the other ones. Is this just another one of Dai's practical jokes?

At the moment, the computer was off and it looked harmless.

Ryoko grabbed Dai by the shirt and glared at him. "If you're trying to play some stupid trick on us it's not going to work! I've had enough of your pranks! Mrs. Hanari should stick you in detention permanently!"

Dai shoved Ryoko against the chalkboard and made a fist. He swung it at Ryoko, but Takara's voice stopped him in mid punch.

"What do you think it could have been? This computer seems fine to me," she said.

Mickey turned to discover that Takara had wandered over to the computer, and she was frowning at it.

Dai stared at her in disbelief. "You mean, you believe me?"

Takara turned and smiled at him. "Of course I believe you," she said softly. "You never get this upset over something unless it's important." She took a seat in the chair and frowned at the screen again. "But what would have caused something like that to happen?"

"A glitch?" Matty suggested.

Dai shook his head and sat down on the edge of Takara's chair. "I don't think so. A glitch wouldn't have sent that message." He smiled at Takara and gave her a grateful look.

Ryoko raised and eyebrow and poked Dai in the shoulder to get his attention. "Now you think someone sent that message? Are there no limits to your crackpot stories?"

Dai grabbed Ryoko by the arm and the computer screen suddenly flickered to life.

Mickey was so startled that he leaped back and crashed into Sam who was standing behind him.

Ryoko staggered in shock and ended up falling into Dai's and Takara's laps.

"Ouch! Ryoko, You're heavy!" Takara yelped.

Ryoko didn't answer. He was too busy staring wide-eyed at the computer screen.

Dai peeked around Ryoko's shoulder and gasped. "Look! It's doing it again! This is exactly what happened last time!"

"What is it?" Ryoko whispered.

Mickey clung to his twin and stared at the screen with uneasiness. He had a strange feeling about this. He was about to tell Dai so when something shot out of the screen and headed straight towards him.

Whatever you think just came out of that computer, I can guarantee you're probably way off! Please review!