Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Remember, if you start to lose track of the characters, I do have an FTFOD guide on my profile now. Be sure to check it out! I'll update it as I get further into the story with new stuff to add.

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 25: Where Angels Don't Fear To Tread

Makiya 'Mickey' Takaishi

File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

"Are you alright, Mickey?" the angel asked.

"I am now," he replied with a smile.

The angel landed gracefully on the ground, and Mickey stared up at his rescuer in awe.

"You're an angel," he whispered. "Is this Heaven? Did I die?"

He felt a sudden stab of panic. What if I did hit the ground after all?

"No," the angel said with a laugh and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You are not dead yet, my friend. You won't be for many years to come. Halomon, myself, and the rest of your friends will make sure of that!"

Mickey smiled up at the angel and nodded. "Thank you," he said softly.

"Mickey!"

He turned around to see his friends racing towards him and screaming out his name. He barely had a chance to take a breath before they trampled him.

"Mickey! Do you know how scared I was? You could have died! Mom and Dad would have killed me if I had let anything happen to you! Why do you always have to make me worry so much? Oh, I hate you for this!" Matty moaned, hitting him in the chest and then hugging him tightly.

"You mean you were only worried about what Mom and Dad would do to you when you got back home?" he asked, pretending to look hurt.

"Shut up!" Matty laughed, giving him a shaky smile.

"Are you okay?" Dai asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking concerned.

"Yeah. Now I am," he said softly.

"We were so worried," Takara whispered, squeezing him tightly.

Both Ryoko and Sam put an arm around him and nodded.

They all turned to look at the angel who smiled at them.

"Celestimon, you digivolved," Matty whispered in awe.

"Of course I did," the angel digimon replied, resting his hand on top of his partner's golden head. "Your brother was in trouble, and I know how much you wanted to save him. I wanted to help him, too. That's why I digivolved. My name is now Angelicmon. I am a champion level vaccine type digimon, and my special attacks are Celestial Star, Litany Spear, and Zenith Point."

Mickey gaped at Angelicmon in shock. The angel digimon had long blond hair and bright green eyes. His skin was pure white, and his outfit was made up of different shades of yellow, white, and gold. He wore knee-length boots, gold gauntlets, and an Egyptian style skirt like Celestimon. His chest was partially covered by criss-crossing bands of armor, and he had two white feathery ears sticking out of the top of his head. He also wore golden bands around his upper arms, and his wings were made up of white and gold feathers.

"You're the best," Matty whispered, hugging Angelicmon tightly. "I can't believe that you're an angel. It just seems so weird. I never expected any digimon to take on this type of form."

"Digimon can be anything. That's what makes digivolution so interesting," Angelicmon replied, stroking Matty's hair and smiling down at him. "You humans make it even more interesting. After all, I am a reflection of you, Matty."

Matty's mouth fell open in astonishment, and Mickey smiled at his twin.

"But, I'm not like you at all..." Matty whispered, his voice trembling.

"Don't be too sure about that," Angelicmon replied, looking amused.

"See, Matty?" Mickey said, smiling softly at his twin. "I was right about you after all!"

"Be quiet before I throw my Digivice at you or something!" Matty muttered, blushing furiously.

Mickey suddenly froze, and his heart filled with sudden dread. Speaking of Digivices, Jestermon still has mine!

"Angelicmon!" he gasped, grabbing the angel digimon's arm.

"I know," Angelicmon murmured, turning to glare up at Jestermon.

Jestermon was staring down at them looking both angry and pleased at the same time.

"Allowing Celestimon to digivolve was a mistake," the jester digimon said calmly. "I know my master will be angry, but I'm sure he won't be for long once he sees what I have managed to get my hands on! Your little human friend survived, this time, but next time he won't be so lucky and neither will the rest of you!"

"Yeah, well your luck had just run out!" Matty snapped, his eyes blazing with fury.

Mickey stared at his brother in surprise as Matty turned to face Angelicmon.

"Andromon and Dragermon can deal with Zombiemon," Matty said to his partner. "You can deal with Jestermon!"

"My pleasure," Angelicmon replied, leaping into the air. "Celestial Star!"

A huge golden star shot out of Angelicmon's hands and headed straight for Jestermon. It sparkled in the sun, and it was followed by a brilliant beam of light that travelled after it in a wide arch.

Jestermon dodged out of the way with a yelp of surprise.

The blast missed, but by that time Angelicmon had reached the rooftop, and the angel kicked the virus digimon in the ribs.

"There's no way that I'm letting you take it back!" Jestermon snapped, stumbling backwards.

Angelicmon snapped his fingers and a long golden spear appeared in his hand. "We'll see about that," the angel said softly. "Litany Spear!"

Angelicmon plunged his spear straight into Jestermon's stomache.

Unfortunately the weapon only grazed Jestermon's side. Somehow the mega had managed to sidestep it, but the area where the spear had made contact began to burn. Smoke and golden sparks started to rise off of Jestermon's skin, and the virus digimon let out a cry of pain.

"Angelicmon!" Mickey shouted, clenching his hands into fists. Who knows what might happen if Jestermon gets away with stealing my Digivice! I have to get it back or we could all be in big trouble!

"You fool!" Jestermon shrieked, grabbing onto his side and falling to his knees. "I will destroy you for this!"

"Fool? You're one to talk!" Angelicmon snorted.

Mickey let out a gasp as his Digivice fell out of Jestermon's hand and hit the rooftop with a loud clatter. "Hurry, Angelicmon! Now's your chance!"

Jestermon let out a snarl of rage and reached for the Digivice, but Angelicmon was quicker.

"Celestial Star!" the angel digimon shouted.

Jestermon was blasted off of his feet, and he fell over the side of the roof.

The virus digimon hit the ground with a loud bang, and Mickey looked up just in time to see Angelicmon grab his Digivice.

"Now that's what I call justice!" Dai cheered.

Angelicmon landed on the ground in front of them, and Mickey quickly hurried over to the angel digimon with his friends right behind him.

"Here you go, Mickey," Angelicmon said softly, holding the Digivice out to him.

Mickey took it and gave Angelicmon a smile. "You're amazing, you know that?" he said softly.

Angelicmon merely smiled back at him and ruffled his hair.

"Look out!" Dragermon suddenly shouted, and Mickey turned just in time to see Zombiemon's sword connect with Andromon's stomache.

"You had better go help them out," Matty said, tugging on one of Angelicmon's wings to get his attention.

"But-"

"Don't worry, we'll stay clear of Jestermon," Matty interrupted, and gave his partner a reassuring smile.

Angelicmon did not look convinced, but the angel finally nodded and flew up into the air again.

"Mickey," a small voice suddenly whispered, catching their attention.

Mickey turned and spotted Halomon slowly getting to his feet.

"Halomon! Are you alright?" he cried, hurrying towards his partner.

Halomon caught sight of him and let out a gasp of relief.

"Mickey!" his partner whispered tearfully, flying into his arms. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you."

"Don't worry about it," he murmured, hugging Halomon tightly and hiding his face in his digimon's fluffy ears. "I know you would have if it hadn't been for Zombiemon. You did everything that you could."

"I'm glad that you're safe," Halomon murmured into his chest.

Mickey smiled fondly at his digimon and gently stroked the little rookie's wings. He had been very afraid that Halomon might have been hurt badly by Zombiemon, but his digimon appeared to be okay and that was enough to make him sigh with relief.

"I am, thanks to Celestimon," he murmured. "And I'm glad that you're safe, too."

Halomon turned to look at Angelicmon, who had just hit Zombiemon over the head with his spear, and the little rookie's eyes widened in astonishment.

"You'd better go help them out," Mickey laughed, giving his partner a squeeze. The look on Halomon's face made him smile in amusement.

Halomon nodded wordlessly and flew off to join the battle, but Mickey could not help noticing that his partner seemed unable to look away from Angelicmon.

"It's now four against one, Zombiemon!" Dragermon shouted, glaring down at the evil digimon. "I think that you had better give up now while you still have the chance!"

"Never!" Zombiemon snapped. "I'm not leaving until all of you are destroyed!"

"Well, you can't say that we didn't warn you!" Halomon shot back, landing on top of Dragermon's head. "Halo Rings!"

Zombiemon ducked under the blast and was met by Andromon on the ground.

"Lightning Blade!"

The attack sliced through Zombiemon's cloak, and the virus digimon lost his balance.

Dragermon dived down and caught Zombiemon in one of his huge claws.

"Now's your chance, Angelicmon!" Dai's partner shouted, lifting Zombiemon into the air.

"Celestial Star!"

The golden star hit Zombiemon right in the face and sent him tumbling back towards the ground.

"Gatling attack!" Andromon shouted, shooting his missiles up at Zombiemon and sending the virus digimon back into the air.

"Guys, this is a battle, not a tennis match!" Halomon laughed, leaping off of Dragermon's head and ramming himself into Zombiemon's chest.

"Don't just stand there, do something, you idiot!" Jestermon screamed.

Mickey turned to see the mega digimon getting to his feet.

"Hurry up, guys!" Dai shouted to their digimon, keeping one eye on the battle and one eye on Jestermon.

"It is time to send you back to the shadows!" Angelicmon shouted. "Litany Spear!"

The angel digimon threw his spear at Zombiemon with enough force to make it whistle through the air.

The virus digimon tried to leap out of the way, but the spear caught him by the cloak and pinned him to the ground.

"I'll help hold him! Halo Noose!" Halomon shouted, the glowing rope once again catching Zombiemon around the neck.

"It is time that this battle came to an end," Andromon said softly, advancing on Zombiemon. "Gatling Attack!"

The attack hit Zombiemon in the back of the head, and the virus digimon fell over onto his stomache.

"Your human partners will pay for this!" Zombiemon screamed, trying to wriggle free of Halomon's and Angelicmon's attacks.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Dragermon snapped. "Ring of Fire!"

Zombiemon's body was suddenly surrounded by fire and there was a huge explosion.

Angelicmon gazed down at the virus digimon from where he hovered in the air, and the angel digimon slowly shook his head.

"May you someday find you way back to the light, Zombiemon," Angelicmon said softly.

The angel digimon raised one arm into the air and pointed his finger towards the sky.

"Until then, you must answer for the crimes that you have committed against innocent digimon. Zenith Point!"

A golden ray of light shot out of Angelicmon's finger and flew straight into the sky above him.

That one glowing beam suddenly exploded into seven blinding rays which lit up the ground below. Each one arched out of the sky and slammed into Zombiemon with enough force to knock the virus digimon flat onto his back.

Zombiemon screamed and disappeared in an explosion of golden light.

When the blaze finally died away, Zombiemon was nowhere to be seen.