Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: They're going back to the Digiworld again! Sam is going to have a conversation with Ken, but that'll happen after Kara gets her partner. Please review!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

"I'm seeing things. Either that or a dog eared bunny rabbit just flew by!" -Impmon (Season Three, Episode 8: A Question of Trust)

Chapter 40: Rina Learns the Truth

Makiya 'Mickey' Takaishi

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

Makiya Takaishi slowly opened his eyes, and he let out a huge yawn.

It's a good thing that tomorrow's the weekend because I really need to catch up on my sleep.

"Mickey! You're awake! Can I have some breakfast?" Palelymon asked, hopping onto his stomache.

He wrapped his arms around his partner and smiled at the little digimon. "Of course you can, but first I have to get up."

He turned to glance at his brother, who was still sleeping, and laughed. Unlike him, Matty moved around a lot during the night, and his twin often woke up with the blankets tangled around his body. His brother also snored occasionally, but Mickey had gotten used to it. After all, they had shared a room since the day that they were born. He had had no choice but to get use to it.

Currently Matty was sleeping on his side, and most of his blankets were lying in a big pile on the floor.

"I bet Goldmon wants some breakfast, too," Palelymon added.

"In that case, I'd better wake up Matty!"

He quickly climbed out of bed and sat down next to his brother. Matty's eyelids fluttered, and his twin let out a soft sigh.

"Matty! Wake up!" he said loudly, shaking his brother by the shoulders.

"No, go away!" Matty mumbled, rolling over onto his stomache.

Mickey smiled in amusement and started tugging on his twin's shirt. "Don't make me sick Palelymon on you!"

"Come on, Matty. Don't you want something to eat?" Palelymon asked, rubbing against the younger twin's cheek.

Goldmon's eyes suddenly popped open, and he hopped onto Matty's back. "Did someone say food?"

"That's right!" Palelymon said cheerfully, jumping up next to Goldmon and wrapping a fluffy ear around the other digimon's small body.

Goldmon had been sleeping against Matty's stomache earlier, but now the little digimon appeared to be wide awake. The same could not be said for Matty.

"Do you want Mom to come in here and yell at us?" Mickey asked, frowning at his twin. "If she does, I'll tell her it's your fault we're taking so long to get ready."

"No you won't," Matty said, giving him a sleepy smile.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you!" he laughed, smacking his younger twin's cheek to wake him up.

"Ouch! Alright, you don't have to assault me!" Matty shouted, sitting up and giving him a dirty look.

Mickey was about to answer when a sudden voice made them both jump.

"Mickey, Mommy told me to tell you and Matty to get up," Rina said, coming into the room and giving them a big smile. She was still dressed in her pink nightgown, and her hair was pulled back in a short high ponytail.

Mickey let out a gasp and leaned over Matty to cover up the two digimon who had tumbled off of his younger twin's back. There was only one problem. He had not reacted fast enough. Rina had already spotted Goldmon and Palelymon, and her mouth fell open in surprise.

"Uh-oh," Matty said, giving him a weak smile.

Mickey covered his face with his hands and groaned. It was too late to pretend that the digimon were stuffed animals. Rina had already seen them move on their own, without the help of human hands.

Dai's going to kill us when he finds out about this! What if Rina tells our parents?

"We're so dead," Matty muttered, gazing at Rina with wide frightened eyes.

Mickey could only nod, and he stared at his sister in horror. His heart was pounding so fast that he could barely hear himself think.

I knew this was going to happen! We should have been more careful!

Rina slowly moved towards them, and she came to a stop when she reached the edge of Matty's bed.

Mickey had expected her to be afraid of the two digimon, but that did not appear to be the case. Instead of fear, her bright blue eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

"They're real," she said softly, climbing onto the bed and holding out her hand to Palelymon.

"Hello!" Palelymon said happily, hopping into her lap. "I'm Palelymon. Your brother's my human partner. It's nice to finally be able to talk to you, Rina."

Rina let out a giggle and gently stroked Palelymon's ears. "You're so cute!"

"Palelymon!" Mickey gasped. "What are you doing?"

"She already knows about us, so there's no point in hiding anything from her anymore," Palelymon said reasonably.

"That's right," Goldmon added, joining Palelymon in Rina's lap. "It's nice to meet you, Rina! I'm Goldmon."

"So much for trying to keep them a secret!" Matty moaned, flopping back against his pillows.

Rina glanced between the two of them and frowned. "Palelymon and Goldmon can talk. I've never seen an animal do that before. What exactly are they?"

"They're digimon," Mickey replied, letting out a sigh of defeat. "They're not from this world."

"Oh," Rina replied, looking a little confused. "But I thought there was only one real world. I learned all about the solar system in school. There are lots of other planets, but no one lives on them."

"That's what we use to think, too, until we found ourselves being transported to the Digital World," Matty said quietly. "That's where digimon live."

"It sounds like something out of a storybook," Rina giggled.

"Trust me," Mickey murmured. "The Digital World is as real as you and I are."

Rina smiled and nodded. "That's good because I thought all that talk about the solar system was really boring! This is much more interesting! Where is the Digital World?"

Matty shrugged. "We're not exactly sure, but it's out there somewhere."

Rina glanced down at the digimon and studied them with interest. "They're not aliens, are they?"

"No," Mickey laughed. "Definitely not!"

"Well, at least not in the way that you think!" Matty grinned.

"What's an alien?" Goldmon asked.

"They're our friends," Mickey said softly.

"And they need our help," Matty added. "There are some evil digimon who are trying to take over the Digital World, and we're trying to stop them."

"Wow!" Rina said, her eyes filling with excitement. "That makes you both heroes! You won't let the bad guys win, will you?"

"Not a chance!" Matty said softly. "That's why Goldmon and Palelymon are our partners. They help us defeat the bad guys."

"Mickey! Matty! Are you two getting up?" their father called from the kitchen.

Mickey slowly turned to look at Rina, who was sitting between himself and his twin. "Um...Rina..."

Rina looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, Mickey," she said softly, giving him a hug. "I won't tell Mommy and Daddy about the digimon, and I promise not to tell anyone else, either. No one would believe me anyway. They'd just think that I was telling stories."

"You mean you believe us?" Matty said in disbelief.

Rina giggled and nodded. "Goldmon and Palelymon are real enough for me! I know you're not just telling me a story because the proof is right in front of me!"

"Thanks," Matty said softly, giving her a hug.

"Besides, you guys are the best big brothers in the whole world. I don't want you to get into trouble," she said seriously.

"And you're the best little sister," Mickey said softly, kissing her cheek and giving her a squeeze.

"Rina, you'd better get dressed!" their mother called out.

"And tell Mickey and Matty to get moving!" their father added.

"Okay!" Rina called back, jumping off of the bed and racing for the door.

She paused in the hallway and turned back to look at them. "Promise me you'll win against the bad guys?"

"We promise," Mickey said softly.

"See you later, Rina!" Goldmon called out.

"Bye!" Palelymon added.

"I believe in you guys, and I'm glad that the stuff that happens in books really isn't so impossible after all," Rina said softly, before disappearing around the corner.

Mickey turned to look at Matty, and his twin made a face at him. He felt good about the fact that Rina thought so highly of them, but at the same time, he still felt uneasy.

"Great," Matty muttered. "How are we going to explain this to Dai and the others?"

Mickey sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea, but I do know one thing. They're not going to be happy with us at all..."

Takara Kamiya

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

Takara entered the computer room, and her eyes immediately fell on Dai. "What happened last night? Did your parents find out about your bruises? Are you feeling any better?"

"One question at a time!" Dai replied, looking amused. He was sitting in a chair next to the computer with Ryoko and Sam hovering over him. She had wanted to ask Dai a ton of questions all day, but there had always been too many people hanging around. She had not wanted to risk someone overhearing about the Digital World, especially considering the fact that Ema had been hanging around them again today. The only reason she had even managed to make it to the computer room without Ema following her was because Taysuke had purposely distracted the other girl. That had given her a chance to get away.

I'll have to remember to tell him what an amazing brother he is when I get home.

At least one of the younger kids was on their side.

"I feel much better today," Dai said, capturing her attention. "Unfortunately my dad and Ken saw the bruises on my back. Don't worry, though. They don't have a clue about what really happened. They think I got injured playing soccer. My mom just thinks that I'm sick, and she's driving me crazy! She kept bugging me last night to see if I was okay."

"Good," she said softly, stepping forward and taking Dai's hand. "I couldn't sleep last night because I was so worried about everything."

"Well, you don't have to worry anymore," Dai replied, giving her a warm smile. "Even Ami and Miya don't suspect a thing!"

She smiled back at him and squeezed his hand. His fingers were warm against her skin, and her whole arm felt like it was on fire.

What is it going to take to make him change his mind about me?

She looked up and jumped when she realized that Ryoko was watching her. The blond's eyes were focused on her's and Dai's hands. A small smile slipped across his face, and she frowned. He looked more amused than angry, and she blushed bright red.

She quickly snatched her hand out of Dai's grip and avoided Ryoko's eyes. "Well? Are we going, or not?"

"We have to wait for the twins," Sam said quietly.

Takara turned to look at him and frowned. Her friend's face was pale, and he seemed uneasy about something.

He's been acting really strange all day. I wonder what's going on.

"Sam, what's-"

The door suddenly opened and the twins came into the room.

"Hey, guys," Matty said, looking a little nervous.

"Hi, Matty!" Goldmon said happily, hopping up next to the computer.

"What's up?" Takara asked, giving her cousin a suspicious look.

Mickey and Matty turned identical shades of pink.

"Nothing," they said at the exact same time.

She exchanged a look with Ryoko, and her frown deepened.

They're definitely hiding something.

"Are you sure?" Ryoko asked, raising his eyebrows.

Mickey and Matty glanced at each other and quickly looked away again.

"Yes," Mickey mumbled. "We should probably-"

"-get going," Matty said quickly. "Who knows when Ema might come walking in on us? She could be lurking outside the door at this very moment for-"

"-all we know," Mickey muttered.

Takara crossed her arms and gave them a look. Mickey and Matty had a habit of finishing each other's sentences when they were nervous about something.

I wonder what it is they're not telling us.

"Evil, she is," Dai grumbled, getting to his feet. "Alright, guys, hold out your D-Coders. This time we're heading to the Southern Hemisphere!"

Takara glanced at Dai and sighed.

He didn't even notice that I was holding his hand! Why do boys always have to make things difficult? What am I suppose to do, hold up a neon sign?

She turned to look at Ryoko, and the blond gave her a sympathetic smile. Her heart skipped a beat, and she held her breath.

He doesn't suspect something, does he? Wait. If he does, then why isn't he angry?

"Everyone ready?" Dai asked, picking up DemiEmbermon.

"Yeah, now let's go find the rest of our friends," Iramon said softly.

"Alright," Dai replied, holding up his D-Coder. "Take us to the continent of Text! Digiport open!"

The last thing she saw before she was swept through the gate was Mickey whispering frantically in his twin's ear.