Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

A/N: Sorry it's short, but it's kind of a bridge into what happens next. The next one will be longer again!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 22: Where Light And Darkness Meet

Masato 'Matty' Takaishi

File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

Matty stared at his digimon in awe and Celestimon beamed back at him.

I can't believe I really have a digimon! This is so amazing!

Mickey let go of him, and Matty watched his twin gently stroke one of Halomon's fluffy ears.

Halomon laughed at his partner's soft touch and flung his small arms around Mickey's neck in a hug.

Matty smiled and turned his attention to his own digimon. "I hope you like having me for a partner," he said softly, reaching out to run his fingers over one of Celestimon's small wings.

Celestimon fluttered up into his arms, and the little digimon's tiny cheek came to rest against his shoulder.

"Matty, I like you already. You have no idea how much," Celestimon replied, his green eyes filling with affection.

Matty felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He hugged Celestimon tightly and buried his face in his digimon's soft feathery ears. "Same here," he whispered, his heart filling with happiness.

Mickey, too, no longer seemed afraid that Halomon would not like him, and Matty grinned. Halomon was cuddled against his twin's chest, and the two were smiling fondly at one another.

"They're so adorable!" Takara giggled, reaching out to tickle Halomon's ears.

Matty let out a groan, and his twin blushed a bright red. Despite his and Mickey's reactions, Halomon and Celestimon did not seem to mind Takara's words. They both beamed at the female Digidestined and exchanged a small smile.

"You guys are so lucky. I can't wait until I meet my digimon," Ryoko said softly.

"You will soon enough," Matty replied, grinning at his cousin.

"Hi, guys! Welcome to the team!" Embermon said, joining Halomon and Celestimon who had settled themselves on the ground. "We didn't get a chance to meet before Gennai had us stored away. I'm Embermon!"

"Hello," Celestimon said with a smile.

"We are all going to make a great team!" Halomon added, shaking Embermon's hand and happily fluttering his wings.

Matty introduced the rest of his friends who all took turns inspecting the new rookies.

"You guys are definitely the cutest digimon I've seen so far!" Takara squealed, kneeling next to Halomon and stroking one of the little rookie's small wings.

"Will you quit saying things like that!" Matty complained, feeling his face heat up. "It's embarrassing!"

Takara rolled her eyes at him and promptly burst into giggles as Halomon started to play with her hair.

"Humans are fascinating," Mickey's partner said, staring at Takara with interest and letting his small fingers slide through her chestnut ponytail. "You're so different from us."

"Yeah, but you and I will still be a great team and the best partners ever," Mickey said softly, giving Halomon a warm hug. Halomon gave Mickey a fond smile in return and happily wiggled his ears.

Matty knelt next to Celestimon and rested his cheek against the top of his partner's head. "So will you and I," he murmured.

"It's just like Leomon said. Our digimon are a reflection of ourselves," Sam murmured, gazing thoughtfully at the two new digimon.

"I guess that's why Halomon and Celestimon look like twins even though they're not the same digimon," Takara added. "It's because Mickey and Matty are twins."

Celestimon and Halomon exchanged a mysterious smile before throwing their arms around each other in a hug.

Matty turned to look at his twin, and found Mickey smiling softly at him. He and his brother glanced at their digimon before turning to gaze at one another again.

Matty laughed.

"Just like us," he said softly.

"Yeah," Mickey whispered, hugging him tightly.

"Alright, what do we do next now that we've found Mickey's and Matty's digimon partners?" Dai asked.

"You better start searching for the three remaining digimon that belong to Ryoko, Sam, and Takara," Andromon replied. "These digimon aren't going to be as easy to find as the other three were. In fact, they are not even located here on File Island."

"Then where are they?" Sam asked, looking confused.

"I believe one is on Server, and the other two are on Text."

"What are Server and Text?" Dai asked, scratching his head.

"The Digital World is made up of four hemispheres," Andromon replied, standing over them as they sat down at his feet in a semicircle. "There are four main land masses here in the Digital World with one located in each hemisphere. The Northern Hemisphere holds the continent of Net, the Southern Hemisphere has the continent of Text, the Western Hemisphere has the continent of Cyber, and the Eastern Hemisphere has the continent of Server. Each hemisphere is looked after and protected by it's own guardian digimon. We call them The Four Guardians. They keep their section of the Digital World safe from the Powers of Darkness. Gennai works with them to help maintain peace."

"So which continent are we on?" Takara asked.

"None of them," Andromon replied.

Matty's mouth dropped open. "But you just said-"

The area that you are standing on at this very moment is File Island. It is located in the Eastern Hemisphere and holds the largest existing gate to the human world. Azulongmon is The Guardian who looks after this hemisphere. File Island is known as the island of prophecy. It is where light and darkness meet, but they cannot be allowed to cross."

They all remained silent, unsure of what to say in response to this revelation.

Finally Ryoko spoke. "Now that you mention it, I do remember Leomon saying something about File Island. So we have to go to Server and the Southern Hemisphere to find the rest of our partners?"

"That's right," Andromon replied in a low voice.

"So how do we get there?" Matty asked.

Andromon was about to answer when sudden loud cries of terror filled the city.

Matty turned to see a Guardromon and several other digimon racing past them. They looked like they were trying to escape from the city.

"What's going on?" Takara cried.

"We're being attacked!" the Guardromon shouted in fear. "Run!"

"I hope you're all fans of nightmares because you've just stepped into one!" a voice sang out behind them.

Matty jerked around in fear and found himself gazing at two of the ugliest digimon that he had ever seen.

"Careful, Matty!" Celestimon gasped, stepping in front of him.

The digimon wearing a jester's hat did a little dance and fixed him with a nasty smile. "And the fool triumphs over his enemies. It's too bad that Vampiramon's not here to watch!"

Matty's heart sank. There are more of them?

The digimon grinned at them, his red eyes filling with excitement. "It's time to have some fun!"