Dork Lotus wins the prize for most creative guess! I had a great time, but I'm glad to be back with another chapter. Did you miss me? Thanks to Digi-girl101, Helena, Catwarrior, rialisis, miricles-3, The Violent Tomboy, Dorklotus, and Dark Qiviut for reviewing! As for your guesses, I'll say yes to some, but I was looking for something a little more specific. Also, Izzy, Joe, Cody, and their wives will be appearing in the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

A special thanks to Digi-girl101. I love new reviewers! Oh. If I get any Digimon names, attacks, etc, wrong, don't hesitate to correct me. I'll be happy to fix mistakes. Check my spelling please! Hurry! Go read! I love this chapter!

Following The Footsteps Of Destiny

Chapter 10: Summoned

Sam Ichijouji

"Mickey, look out!" Sam grabbed his friend and dragged the other boy to the ground beside him. The thing had just brushed the top of Mickey's head before it had disappeared through the door.

"Mickey! Are you alright?" Matty gasped. He reached out and touched Mickey's shoulder as if afraid his brother had sustained some major injury.

Mickey managed a shaky smile. "I'm okay," he said quietly. Matty did not look very convinced and continued to gaze at his twin with concern.

Takara, Ryoko, and Dai were sprawled on the floor in a tangle of arms and legs. The chair must have toppled backwards when the thing had come out of the computer and caught them by surprise.

"What was that thing?" Ryoko gasped. He pulled Dai into a sitting position and scrambled off of Takara.

Takara groaned and rubbed her ribs which Ryoko had almost flattened.

Good question. Sam glanced towards the door and his eyes widened. What if someone spots that thing, or worse yet, what if it attacks someone!

"Ouch. I think the chair hit the back of my head," Dai moaned. He held out a hand to Ryoko who accepted it without comment. That was a surprise. Under normal circumstances, Dai never would have made such a gesture towards Ryoko, and Ryoko never would have taken the offer. What's up with those two? Dai pulled Takara up as well, and she smiled shyly at him. There was a faint blush on her cheeks, but neither Dai or Ryoko noticed.

"Guys!" He said loudly to get their attention. "We've got to stop that thing and quick! What if someone gets hurt?"

The others stared at him, and Dai's face took on a stubborn look. "Sam's right," his friend said with determination. "Come on. Lets go."

Dai grabbed his arm, and Sam found himself being dragged out of the computer room with the others on his heels. The hall was empty except for a spinning pink ball which was hovering at the end of the corridor. It appeared to be waiting for them.

"What is it doing?" Takara whispered. She clung to the back of Dai's shirt and gazed at the thing with apprehension.

Dai frowned. "I don't know," he said slowly. "But I am going to find out!"

"Dai, wait!" Sam cried.

Naturally, Dai did not listen to a single word he had said.

"After it!" Dai shouted instead.

The minute Dai spoke, the thing took off at lightning fast speed.

Dai charged after it, and he had no choice but to follow with the others.

"Wait! Can't we talk about this first?" Mickey tried to reason. Dai ignored the blond and continued at a fast pace.

That figures. Dai never gives up once he gets some crazy idea into his head. I have a bad feeling about this. Something is very wrong, but how am I going to get Dai to listen? They raced down the stairs after the pink ball, and his lungs started to burn. There was no way they were going to catch it.

"We have to corner it somewhere!" Matty shouted. It was almost as if his friend had read his mind. "Otherwise it's going to get away!"

They turned another corner and found the thing spinning around a water fountain. Dai made a grab for it, but it slipped through his friend's fingers and spun back down the way they had come.

"Whatever it is, it's tricky," Ryoko said, gasping for breath.

"Don't just stand there! Lets catch it!" Dai shouted.

"Dai! Wait for us!" Takara squealed.

They started back the way they had come and watched the thing bang open a door before whipping inside. They were about to follow it in when Takara suddenly stopped short and turned bright red in the face.

"What's the matter, Takara?" Mickey asked curiously.

"That is a boy's bathroom," she said with dignity. "I can't go in there!"

Matty groaned loudly and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Takara. We don't have time for courtesy!" The blond grabbed her arm and dragged her inside the bathroom. Luckily there was no one inside, and Takara let out a sigh of relief.

"There it is!" Ryoko pointed, his eyes growing wide with uncertainty. The pink ball was hovering against the wall opposite them. Suddenly it stopped spinning, and they all gasped in utter shock. Sam felt his heart stop. The thing was not a thing after all. It was very much alive, and it was staring right at them.

Impossible. I must be dreaming! He pinched himself, but the small pink creature did not disappear. It continued to stare at them, and it look amused about something.

"Well, you're in better shape than the last group of couch potatoes I trained!" The thing had large eyes, small wings, and it resembled a fluffy ball of pink cotton candy. It settled itself on the edge of one of the sinks and regarded them with interest.

"It talked!" Takara shrieked and hid her face against Dai's shoulder. Dai put an arm around her and stared at the thing with his mouth hanging open. His face was pale, and he looked about ready to collapse.

Mickey was hugging Matty tightly, and his face was filled with horror. "It's a little talking monster," the blond whispered, sounding frightened.

The little creature gave Mickey a very indignant look. "Talking monster, indeed! Don't you humans have any respect?"

"Somebody pinch me," Ryoko moaned. He clung to Matty's other side and buried his face in his cousin's shoulder.

Matty pinched his arm, and Ryoko let out a yelp. Nothing changed though.

Sam resisted an urge to run and took a hesitant step forward. He felt a strong desire to scream, but he turned to the little creature instead. "If you're not a monster then...what exactly are you?" His heart was pounding, and his voice sounded faint to his own ears.

The creature stared at him as if he was stupid. "I've heard some pretty ridiculous questions in my day, but this has got to be the most ridiculous one yet!" It finally said.

Sam snapped his mouth shut and fell silent. He did not know what to say to that. This can't be happening. Creepy little monsters don't suddenly come shooting out of compters as if it happens all the time! It's just crazy! So why is that thing staring at me as if I should already know the answer to my own question?

"You really don't know?" The creature's face filled with surprise. "Interesting. I thought for sure they would have said something!"

"Um...what are you talking about?" Takara asked; Her voice was timid and she sounded frightened.

"Forget it," the creature said briskly. "We have more important things to worry about!" It ruffled it's wings, as if brushing off their concerns, and puffed himself up. "My name is Piximon," the creature said importantly.

Sam and the others just stared at the thing.

Piximon's wings drooped. "The name doesn't ring a bell?"

"Um...no," Dai choked out.

Piximon's face filled with disgust. "When I get my hands on that goggle headed fool, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" Piximon muttered.

"Uh...Piximon?" Matty said uncertainly. "You didn't answer Sam's question. What...are you?"

Piximon ruffled his wings and gave Matty a stern look. "I am a Digital Monster or Digimon if you prefer."

Sam frowned in confusion. "A digital what now?"

"A Digimon!" Piximon said in exasperation. "I should whip you into shape for your foolishness!"

Sam jumped and quickly backed away from the so-called digimon. He felt calmer now that it looked as if Piximon wasn't going to attack them, but that did not mean he wanted to risk making the digimon angry.

"What exactly is a digimon?" Ryoko asked. The blond still seemed to be in shock.

Piximon's mouth fell open, and he gaped at them. "I was reconfigured for this!" The digimon shrugged. "Oh well. I suppose I'll just have to make due. The others weren't much better before I had a chance to make something out of them!"

Sam frowned. "Who do you keep talking about, and what did you say about a goggle headed fool? Were you talking about Dai?"

"Hey!" Dai shouted.

Piximon sniffed loudly. "It's none of your business who I'm talking about!" He pointed at Dai. "Although this young whipper-snapper could use a little disciplining himself! I only wish I had a chance to meet those other four. They could have used some professional guidence, too! As for what I am, the name explains itself. I'm a digimon named Piximon. I'm an ultimate level data type digimon. My special attacks are Force Field and Pixi Bomb."

"So you are a monster!" Dai grinned.

"Absolutely not!" Piximon snapped. He hopped angrily on the counter and glared at Dai. "Your ignorance is astonishing even to me!"

"You have special attacks? You're not going to attack us...are you?" Takara squeaked.

Piximon snorted. "That would defeat the purpose of me being here in the first place!"

"Then why are you here?" Sam asked. Besides scaring us to death!

Piximon eyed him and flapped his wings. "Actually, I'm here to see you six."

His mouth dropped open. "Us? What do you want with us?"

"It's not what I want. It's what the Digital World needs." Piximon gave them a look that was surprisingly sympathetic.

"The Digital World?" Matty frowned and wriggled out of Ryoko's grasp. "Okay. Now you're confusing me. What's the Digital World?"

Piximon gave him a disapproving look. "It's where digimon live."

Ryoko snorted. "Another world? Yeah right. This isn't some fantasy novel. I think it's time for a reality check!"

"Er...Ryoko? I think reality went out the window a long time ago," Mickey said weakly.

"Besides, how else can you explain Piximon?" Sam said quietly.

Ryoko glared at him and fell silent. The blond's eyes were dark and his face clouded.

Dai stepped forward and gave Piximon a hard look. "What do you want?"

Piximon studied the goggle headed boy for a moment and finally nodded. The little digimon seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion though Sam had no clue as to what it was that Piximon had been debating. "You will do nicely," the digimon said.

Dai opened his mouth to ask what the digimon meant, but Piximon suddenly smiled and motioned them to move closer towards him.

They hesitated and finally crowded around the sink with curiosity.

"I have been sent here to give you something," the digimon said, his tone serious.

This has got to be some sort of a joke. That thing can't be a digimon, whatever that is. I wonder if Dai knows ventriloquism. Piximon could be a puppet on strings. Sam frowned. "What is it, and who sent you?"

Piximon's face filled with deep sadness. "A friend," he said quietly. "A friend who wanted me to give you this."

Piximon flapped his wings together, and Sam let out a gasp. There was a flash of light and a strange glowing blue orb appeared in front of Piximon. It was almost as big as the little digimon was.

"What in the heck is that?" Dai blurted. He edged away from it as if it might explode.

"A Digicore," Piximon replied. "This belongs to a friend of a friend of mine. It is very powerful. In fact, it just might be the key to saving the Digital World."

"And why would you want to give it to us?" Dai asked slowly.

Sam closed his eyes. He had a feeling he already knew the answer to that, and his heart leaped into his throat.

"What do those goggles mean to you?" Piximon asked, his face deadly serious.

Dai stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" He touched the goggles on his head and gave Piximon an odd look.

"Who gave them to you?" Piximon asked.

"My dad," Dai said softly.

"Who's your father?" Piximon demanded.

Dai gave him a startled look. "Davis Motomiya, why?"

Piximon appeared to absorb that imformation and nodded. "Why did he give them to you?"

Sam turned to Dai and gave the other boy a thoughtful look. It was a good question. Dai had worn those goggles for as long as he could remember. His friend never went anywhere without them. But why had Davis given them to him in the first place?

Dai turned to look out the window, and he smiled softly. "When I was really little, my dad gave them to me as a present. He said that if there was ever a time in my life when my courage failed me, that they would give me the strength to find myself again. He said that they were to remind me of him, and to remind me of how much he believes in me."

"That's amazing," Ryoko said softly.

Dai stared at him in astonishment, and Ryoko blushed before turning away.

"Well," Piximon sniffed. "At least that one had some sense! Daichi Motomiya, if those goggles mean that much to you then you will understand why I am giving this to you."

Dai gaped at the digimon in shock. "How did you know my name?"

Piximon smiled slightly and gave Dai a look. "You would be surprised by how much I know about you and your friends. Enough talking. We've wasted too much time already. All of you hold out your hands and place them on the Digicore."

"What is a Digicore?" Mickey asked.

Piximon gave him an impatient look. "I'll explain everything later. Now what are you waiting for? Hold out your hands."

Sam hesitated. What if it's a trick? What if that thing burns our fingers to ashes? He opened his mouth to voice his opinion, but Dai promptly stuck out his hand and touched the Digicore. Sam groaned inwardly. When was Dai ever going to think before he acted? It was strange, but for some reason, Dai seemed to trust Piximon. When it became apparent that Dai's fingers were not going to fall off, Sam placed his hand on the Digicore, and the others copied him.

At first nothing happened. Then the Digicore's surface grew warm against his hand. It started to glow, and abruptly the thing exploded with light.

San threw an arm over his eyes, and Takara screamed. Streams of coloured light burst out of the Digicore and started to streak around the bathroom in a whirl of bright sparks.

"Look out! They're headed right for us!" Matty shouted in fear.

One of the beams shot straight towards Sam. He tried desperately to leap out of the way, but the thing caught him in the stomache and sent him tumbling towards the floor. He landed flat on his back and let out a groan. The coloured lights disappeared and the room was silent except for the occasional moan coming from one of his friends.

"Is everyone alright?" Dai called out.

Sam opened his eyes and found himself staring at the ceiling. He felt like he'd been punched in the stomache. Slowly he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He could already feel a bruise forming beneath his hair. What happened? Is Piximon trying to kill us? Those lights could have caused real damage! He glanced down and let out a loud gasp. There was a strange digital device in his lap that definitely had not been there before. The thing was white and purple in colour, and it measured about the size of his hand. It had a screen, several buttons, and it was oval in shape. A purple rim surrounded the screen and ran down both sides of the gadget. The thing's screen was blinking furiously, and it was filled with purple mist.

"What is this thing!" Dai gasped in astonishment.

Sam turned at the sound of his friend's voice and froze. Dai held a gadget exactly like his only it had red in place of the colour purple. He glanced at the others and realized that they held digital gadgets as well. Takara's was green, Mickey's was orange, Matty's was yellow, and Ryoko's was blue. Every single one of them was staring at the things in shock.

"Those gadgets are called Digivices," Piximon said proudly. The Digicore suddenly disappeared from the room leaving only the Digivices behind.

"Digivices? You mean ...all those coloured lights turned into these things?" Matty asked. He squirmed out from under his brother and shot to his feet with excitement.

The others managed to stand up and glanced at Piximon with suspicion.

"What exactly are they?" Sam asked slowly. He turned the thing over in his hands and stared at it in amazement. He had never seen anything like it before.

"I told you. They are the keys to saving the Digital World," Piximon smiled. "You humans are the key."

"Where exactly is this Digital World?' Dai asked hesitantly.

Piximon leaped to the bathroom floor and smiled at them. "Come with me, and I will show you where it is."

"This can't be happening," Ryoko said weakly, his ocean blue eyes filling with disbelief. "Other worlds don't exist. This is crazy talk! There's no way I'm going to fall for this scam. I refuse to believe it!"

"Ryoko," Takara said softly. She put her arms around him and hugged him close. "I don't think you really have a choice anymore. Piximon is not a figment of our imaginations. He is as real as you or I. There is no reason not to believe him."

Ryoko buried his face in her hair and did not reply.

"Why are we the key to saving this Digital World?" Mickey asked with a frown.

"That," Piximon said softly," You will have to discover on your own. Lets just say that you are following the footsteps of destiny. You have certain ties that have given you a wonderful gift. It may help you save lives. Come on. The gate is waiting."

They exchanged confused glances and followed Piximon out of the room. Strangely enough, the hallway was still empty. Sam gave a start when he realized that Piximon had led them back to the computer room.

Piximon hopped onto the desk of the computer he came out of and turned to Dai. "Hold out your Digivice."

Dai hesitated and slowly held it up. The computer screen stopped flashing and a sudden message appeared on it. It was written in odd symbols, and Sam had no clue what it was suppose to say.

"It's back!" Dai gasped, his eyes growing wide. "That's the same message I was telling you guys about earlier!" He turned to glare at Ryoko. "See? It wasn't a joke!I really did see that message and here's the proof!"

Ryoko just stared at him and did not reply. He seemed numb with shock.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Dai," Matty said softly.

Mickey nodded in agreement and gave Dai a guilty look.

Dai smiled and put his arms around them. "It's okay. You're forgiven."

"Um...what exactly does it say?" Takara gave the screen a disappointed look. "There's no way we'll be able to read it."

"Of course there is," Piximon scolded. "That message is written in a rare form of computer code. It is the language of the Digital World. It is used mainly in things like written prophesies. Since you humans are the Digidestined, there should be no problem in trying to decode it."

"Digi-what?" Sam asked.

"Digidestined." Piximon's voice sounded as if he was talking to a two year old. "Go on, Dai. Use your Digivice."

Dai stared at the Digivice for a moment and frowned. "Er...how?" The Digivice in his hand beeped and a sudden stream of red light shot out of it. It hit the computer screen, and suddenly they were able to read the message. Somehow Dai's digivice had decoded it. The message read:

Digidestined,

Once again the fate of the Digital World is at stake. Only you have the power to drive away the evil that looms on our doorstep. Time is running out. You must hurry if you want to stand any chance of defeating the darkness that threatens our world. Have faith in the Digivice, and may your digimon guide you safely on your quest.

I will be waiting.

Gennai

Sam stared at the message. He was at a complete loss of what to say. The others didn't seem to be though.

"What does it mean by 'our digimon?'" Matty asked. "And what exactly are the Digivices for?"

"Who's Gennai?" Takara asked in confusion.

Piximon nudged them towards the computer and smiled. "Those answers you must discover on your own. All of your questions will be answered, and in time, you will understand what it is you are fated to do. Until then, enjoy the ride. You might want to close your eyes. The first time is always a bit rough."

Sam was about to ask what he meant by that when the computer screen filled with light. He felt himself being dragged inside, and his last thought was a prayer that he would somehow make it out of this alive.

Did anyone think of Piximon? Onto my other fic. Please review!