Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon
A/N: Oh no, I forgot Andromon's attacks! Pathetic. And I call myself a Digimon fan! Sorry about that! Oh yeah, and this title gives a little hint. Did you all think I was going to forget about Veemon and the others? Don't worry, they'll have a role, too! (eventually!) Feel free to correct my spelling and grammar.
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 21: The Heirs Of Angemon
Makiya 'Mickey' Takaishi
File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World
Mickey stared at the city in awe. Somewhere inside of there were his and Matty's digimon partners.
"It's going to take us all day to get there!" Ryoko complained.
"Not with Embermon, it won't." Dai grinned and turned to smile at his partner. "Do you mind giving us all a ride?"
"Not at all," Embermon replied. "Embermon digivolve to, Dragermon!"
"Everyone hop on," Dragermon said, lowering one of his wings so that they could climb up.
"See? I told you my plan would work eventually," Dai said, sending Ryoko a triumphant look.
Ryoko turned up his nose and made a point of sitting as far away from Dai as possible.
Mickey sat next to his twin and gazed anxiously at the city as Dragermon flew up into the sky. I wonder what kind of digimon my partner is. What if... he doesn't want to be paired up with me?
"Are you nervous?" Matty asked, turning to look at him.
Mickey managed a weak smile. Matty always could read him like an open book. "Yeah," he said quietly.
"It's okay. I am, too," Matty replied, wrapping an arm around him. "Don't worry, though. I'm sure everything will work out."
"Fly low, Dragermon!" Dai called out, patting his digimon's long neck. "I don't want anyone to see us coming in case there are any evil digimon working for Vampiramon in there."
"Wow! That's the first bright idea you've had all day!" Ryoko said sarcastically, from his seat next to Sam.
Dai, who sat next to Takara, glared at him before turning his attention back to the city.
"Matty," Mickey whispered, leaning close to his twin so that the others would not overhear. "What if my digimon doesn't think that I'm good enough to be his partner? What if he doesn't like me very much?"
"Mickey, how can anyone not like you?" Matty replied, a smile slipping across his face.
Mickey blushed and sighed. Matty was always saying nice things about him, but that did not mean that everyone else felt the same way.
"Actually, I was thinking the same thing," Matty admitted, his amber brown eyes growing uneasy. "Only I have more reasons to worry than you do."
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," he said softly and gave Matty a gentle smile. "Just because you mess up once in a while doesn't mean that you're a bad person. Look at Dai. He gets into trouble all the time, and it doesn't bother him. Does that mean he's not a good person? Of course not. Dai's one of the most amazing people I know. If you didn't make mistakes once in a while then you wouldn't be you, and we all love you exactly the way you are."
"I tried to tell myself the same thing," Matty said quietly, looking away from him. "Only it sounds more convincing coming from you."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Matty," he said quietly.
The look on Matty's face made him laugh. "Yes, even me," he added.
Matty shrugged, looking a little embarrassed, and sighed. "I know that. It's just...you've always been an amazing brother to me so I guess everything else just slips my mind."
Mickey's face turned pink, and he quickly ducked his head. "Thanks," he whispered.
"You're so shy!" Matty laughed, giving him a warm hug. "I'm your brother. You're not suppose to be shy around me!"
"I can't help it," Mickey mumbled, his cheeks turning a darker shade of red. He loved it when people treated him so nicely, but it always made him feel really shy. He never let it stop him from returning the favor though.
"Um...Matty? Does it bother you that you're the one always getting into trouble instead of me?" he asked hesitantly.
Matty's comforting arms went around him, and he bit his lip.
"No way," his twin said firmly. "You can't change who you are, and I have nothing but total respect for you. You're like my role model. Everytime I see you, it helps me to do my best to become a better person. Without you, I'd probably be worse than Dai! You always keep me in line. Besides, one troublemaker in the Takaishi house is enough, I think!"
"I don't know," Mickey laughed. "I think Rina might give Mom and Dad more trouble than you do when she gets older!"
"I know. Isn't she great?" Matty said proudly.
Mickey laughed and shook his head. "Don't give her any ideas!"
"Yeah. You're definitely the older twin!" Matty said with affection and hugged him tightly.
"Dragermon, set us down in those trees over there," Dai suddenly said. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way. Otherwise we'll be spotted."
They all climbed off Dragermon, who turned back into his rookie form, and huddled at the edge of the trees to gaze at the city which was encased in a large transparent dome. The entrance was currently being watched by two digimon who looked like robots.
"Those are digimon, right?" Dai whispered.
"Yeah," Embermon replied, standing protectively in front of them with his eyes narrowed.
"But, which digimon are they exactly?" Sam asked.
The raven haired Digidestined's Digivice gave off a sudden beep, and they all jumped in surprise.
"Look!" Sam gasped in amazement.
They all crowded around him and stared at his purple Digivice. There was a picture of the digimon standing at the entrance to the city on it's screen, and it had a whole bunch of information with it.
"It says here that those digimon are Guardromon. They're champion level virus type digimon, and their special attacks are Warning Laser and Guardian Rush."
"Does that mean that they're evil digimon?" Takara whispered.
"Not necessarily," Sam replied. "Don't you remember what Leomon said? Being a virus type digimon doesn't really mean much. You have to look at the bigger picture."
"So what exactly are we going to do? Walk up to those digimon and say, hey, we're looking for a couple of our partner digimon. Do you mind letting us in?" Ryoko said sarcastically.
"We might not have a choice," Sam said seriously. "The only way into the city is to get past those Guardromon."
"I knew you were going to say that!" Ryoko muttered.
"In that case, some of you should stay behind until we know for sure if it's safe to go in," Dai said, taking control of the situation. "I'm obviously going to have to go because so far I'm the only one with a digimon who will be able to protect us if things go wrong, and the twins should come as well. After all, it's their digimon that are in there."
"Do I have to?" Mickey whispered, feeling frightened.
"Excuse me? You're not leaving me behind!" Ryoko snapped. "I'm not going to let you get my cousins killed!"
"They're my friends, in case you've forgotten!" Dai shouted back. "I'm not going to let anything happen to them!"
"Yeah right. You-"
Matty put his hands on Ryoko's shoulders, stopping the blond in the middle of his sentence.
"Listen, Ryoko," Matty said. "I appreciate the fact that you care and all, but seriously, shut up. We'll let you guys know when it's safe to follow, okay? There's no use risking more people than we have to."
"Don't get yourselves killed," Ryoko mumbled, turning away from him.
"We won't," Matty replied.
"At least we hope not," Mickey muttered, saying exactly what he knew Matty was thinking at that moment.
"Come on," Dai said quietly. "And, Embermon? Be ready to digivolve if we need you."
"Alright, guys, let me do the talking," Embermon said as they started towards the city."They're probably more likely to listen to me since I'm a digimon."
Both Guardromon looked up as they approached, and Mickey tensed.
The two digimon watched them suspiciously, but fortunately they did not attack.
"Hello, there," Embermon called out, stopping a few feet away from them.
"No one is allowed into this city without permission," one of the Guardromon replied. "State your names and your business. Then we will decide if you may cross."
Embermon nodded. "Fair enough. My name is Embermon, and this is my human partner, Daichi Motomiya. He's a Digidestined, and so are these two. They are Masato Takaishi and Makiya Takaishi."
The Guardromon did not reply, but their expressions changed into identical looks of curiosity.
"Hold out your Digivices," Embermon muttered out of the side of his mouth.
Mickey quickly held his up, and the other two did the same.
His heart was pounding with terror. What if they don't believe us?
"You two, come here," the other Guardromon said, pointing at himself and Matty.
He let out a gasp and clutched Matty's arm in fear.
"Go on," Embermon said, giving them a push.
They slowly moved forward and clung to each other for strength. He could feel Matty trembling and patted his twin's back with reassurance. Truthfully, though, he was as scared as Matty.
One of two Guardromon stepped in front of them and studied them for a long moment. Mickey shrank back and stared up at the digimon with wide eyes.
Finally the Guardromon turned to each other and nodded.
"State your business," one of them repeated.
"We were sent by Leomon to find the digimon partners belonging to Mickey and Matty," Embermon replied.
"Then you may enter, Digidestined," the first Guardromon said with a bow and motioned them towards the entrance to the city.
Mickey let out a long sigh of relief, and so did Matty.
"Thanks," Dai laughed. "Is it alright if our other friends come with us? Their names are Takara Kamiya, Ryoko Ishida, and Sam Ichijouji. They're Digidestined, too."
The Guardromon both nodded, and Dai motioned for the others to join them. "It's okay, guys! They're on our side!"
A moment later, Ryoko and the others came running up to them.
"Daichi, I'm going to kill you!" Ryoko shouted, his face pink with anger.
"When are you ever going to learn to trust me, Ishida?" Dai smirked.
"Never," Ryoko said bitterly.
"Hey," Dai said, looking a little hurt.
That's interesting. If Dai hates Ryoko so much then why would Ryoko's comment cause that sort of a reaction?
Unfortunately he did not have much time to think about it because they had more important things to do.
"You will find your digimon partners at the centre of the city," one of the Guardromon said, turning to himself and Matty. "Andromon will be there waiting for you."
"Who?" Takara asked in confusion.
"You'll see," the second Guardromon replied. "Just head straight down this road. It will lead right to the digimon you seek."
"Okay. Thanks, guys," Sam replied.
"And I thought I was scared when Crystalmon attacked us!" Matty moaned. "It's way worse not knowing what you're up against. Any longer, and I think I would have needed to use the bushes!"
"Hello? Have you forgotten that there's a lady present? Boys," Takara sniffed, giving Matty a disapproving look.
"Oh, is that what you call yourself?" Matty joked, earning himself a slap from his female cousin and a glare from Dai.
"Matty, you shouldn't be so crude," Mickey sighed, shaking his head in amusement.
"Hey, when you got to go, you got to go," Matty shrugged.
"Will you quit talking about having to go? Otherwise I'm going to have to go!" Dai complained.
"They could have picked another girl, but no. I got stuck with five boys. Five!" Takara muttered. "Didn't this world ever hear of balance?"
Mickey was about to reply when they reached the centre of the city, and the words died in his throat.
In the middle of the square sat two pedestals exactly like the one that Embermon had come out of. Both of them stood beneath a huge marble statue of an angel.
"It's beautiful," Takara whispered, her face filling with awe. Ryoko, Dai, and Sam looked stunned.
Mickey was speechless. The angel statue had his wings spread out, and he was kneeling with his hands folded in prayer. It was so lifelike that it appeared almost to be real.
"Mickey," Matty whispered.
His younger twin's head came to rest on his shoulder, and Mickey hid his face in Matty's golden hair.
Apparently Matty was so overcome with emotion, that he could not put his feelings into words.
Mickey felt the exact same way. What could it mean, and why is it here of all places? It seems so out of place in this city.
A digimon suddenly stepped out from behind the base of the angel statue, and Mickey jumped in surprise.
"Greetings, Digidestined," the digimon said with a smile. "I was wondering when you would show up. Gennai's had me guarding this city for quite a long time now. I was beginning to think that you might not come. Not that that would have been a bad thing. I was starting to enjoy a world free of darkness. I suppose it was not meant to be, and since the darkness has returned, I am glad that you are here."
"Hello. You must be Andromon," Sam said, stepping forward with a smile.
Andromon nodded his grey metal head. "That's right. I am Andromon. I am an ultimate level vaccine type digimon. My special attacks are Lightning Blade and Gatling Attack. I see you have already found one of your digimon."
"I'm Dai's partner, Embermon. Leomon was looking out for me," the rookie said with a grin.
"Of course, Leomon. He is an honourable digimon and a good friend of mine," Andromon replied with a smile.
Mickey jumped as Andromon turned to look at himself and Matty.
"Now it is your turn to receive your digimon, Mickey. And you as well, Matty. Are you both ready?"
Mickey looked at his twin, and Matty gave him a shaky smile.
"Come on, Matty," he said softly, taking his brother's hand and gently tugging him towards the pedestals.
Heart pounding, Mickey placed his hand on the left pedestal, and Matty placed his on the right pedestal. Nothing happened.
Mickey looked at his brother in confusion, and Matty shrugged.
"Try switching," Ryoko suggested.
It's worth a shot.
Mickey changed places with his twin and found himself gazing at the image of a rising sun which was carved into the right pedestal. Matty was now standing in front of the left pedestal which had the image of a shooting star on it. The star was shooting towards the right in a wide arch. That was when Mickey realized that the orange arrow from his Digivice was indeed pointing to the right pedestal, not the left. Matty's yellow arrow was pointing to the left.
He placed his hand on the pedestal and the symbol immediately began to glow a bright orange. So did the stream of light coming from his Digivice which slammed into the image of the rising sun.
The golden light from Matty's Digivice hit the image of the shooting star. Orange and yellow mist rose into the sky from the pedestals, and Mickey could make out two small shapes. He closed his eyes at the harsh glare, and when he opened them again, the light had faded away. A gasp of astonishment escaped his lips which was echoed by Matty and the others. The two digimon standing on the pedestals were similar in appearance, but each one had slight differences. Both were of standard rookie size and looked vaguely human in appearance. They both had pure white skin and walked on two legs. Their arms, legs, feet, hands, and faces looked human, but each one had two small white, fluffy wings sticking out of their backs, and two white, feathery ears sticking out of their heads. The one in front of Mickey had large sky blue eyes, and the rookie also had bands of orange armor circling his wrists and ankles. One of the bands on the rookie's arm looked like a small gun. The little digimon was also wearing what looked like a small orange skirt around his waist which fell to just above the knee. It reminded Mickey of what ancient Egyptian men used to wear. Matty's digimon was dressed exactly the same, only that little rookie's armor was yellow, and the eyes were bright green instead of blue.
"Hello, Mickey," his digimon said softly, and gave him a warm smile. "I've been waiting so long to meet you. My name is Halomon. I'm a rookie level vaccine type digimon. My special attacks are Halo Rings and Halo Noose. You have the orange Digivice which means that you and I belong together."
The other rookie smiled at Halomon before turning to Matty.
"You have the yellow Digivice, Matty. That means that you belong with me. It felt like you were never going to come, and I was getting worried. My name is Celestimon. (Se-les-tee-mon) I'm a rookie level vaccine type digimon. My special attacks are Spirit Mist and Celestial Sun Ray."
Mickey turned to look at Matty who pulled him into a hug.
"Oh, Matty," he whispered into his brother's shoulder. "Our very own digimon partners!"