Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Takara's partner appears in the next chapter!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
"Hearing noises is a bad sign." -Kazu Shioda (Season Three, Episode 23: A World Apart)
Chapter 41: Music Without Sound
Takara 'Kara' Kamiya
Text, Southern Hemisphere, Digital World
Takara slowly opened her eyes, and she let out a gasp of astonishment. "Wow! Look at the view! It's amazing!"
She and her friends had just arrived in the Digital World, and she was pretty sure that the gate had transported them to the Southern Hemisphere in response to Dai's request. They were standing on the edge of a large cliff, which gave them a fantastic view of the ocean. Several digimon were playing in the water, and the sun was shining brightly overhead.
This is definitely the continent of Text. It's so warm here!
"Forget the view! If we don't hurry up and find your partner, I'm going to end up sweating to death!" Dai complained.
"Don't forget about my partner," Sam said softly.
"I agree with Daichi," Ryoko said quietly. "Vampiramon and her gang are probably going to try and stop us from finding Sam's and Takara's partners. We can't let that happen."
"You're right," Takara said softly. "There's only one problem. How are we going to stop them from coming after us?"
"We have to be quick," Ryoko replied. "I'm hoping that we can find your partner before we end up running into Vampiramon or one of the others. That way we can leave the Digital World as soon as possible. If we're lucky, the bad guys won't even know that we've been here until it's too late, and that way we won't end up having to participate in another huge battle. The same goes for Sam's partner."
"Sounds good to me," Matty replied.
Ryoko turned to look at Dai and raised an eyebrow. "You agree with me, right? After all, it's your idea."
Dai stared at him in surprise. "It is?"
Ryoko gave the goggle headed leader a look, and Dai blushed.
"Of course it is! Come on, guys, let's get going!"
"Well, it's about time," Takara said, giving the goggle headed leader a small smile. "My D-Coder can't sense the direction that my digimon is in if we're just standing here!"
They started towards a set of stairs that led down to the beach, and Takara frowned. "Guys, don't you think it's weird that Vampiramon and the others always know where we are?"
"I've been wondering the same thing," Sam said seriously. "They must be following us."
"Impossible," Mickey said quietly. "We would have seen them."
"They probably have some way of keeping tabs on us that we don't know about," Embermon muttered. "How else would they be able to tell which continent we're on at any given moment? They always manage to attack us when we're vulnerable, and they always arrive on the scene with enough time to try and stop one of you humans from finding your digimon partner."
"Good point," Alopemon murmured. "I've never believed in coincidences, especially when they happen that many times in a row!"
"I guess we'll just have to make them tell us!" Dai said, his brown eyes filling with determination.
"Haven't you risked your life enough times already?" Ryoko snapped.
"No," Dai said softly. "You've only saved my life once. That means that you still owe me, remember?"
"You're stupid, you know that?" Ryoko mumbled, blushing furiously.
Dai frowned at him. "Are you trying to back out of our deal?"
"What are you talking about?" Ryoko said, looking exasperated. "We never made any deal!"
"Yes, we did," Dai said quietly, avoiding his eyes. "Obviously you weren't paying attention, were you?"
"Daichi, are you sure you didn't hit your head when BlackWidowmon attacked you?" Ryoko asked.
Dai blushed and gave the blond a dirty look. "No! We promised each other, and you know it! Well, we didn't actually say the words out loud, but you know what I mean!"
Ryoko stared at Dai in disbelief, and the blond suddenly smiled. "Trust me, Daichi, I don't plan on being in your debt for very long!"
"I know," Dai murmured, his eyes sparkling with sudden emotion. "Um...listen. You'd better have a good reason for wanting to save my life. I don't want you to do it just because you feel that it'll make us even again, okay?"
"Are you asking me to make a promise?" Ryoko asked, staring hard at Dai's face.
Dai hesitated and finally nodded.
"I promise," Ryoko whispered.
Takara glanced between the two of them and smiled at the expression on Dai's face. The goggle headed leader was staring at Ryoko in shock, and there was a spark of hope in his eyes that had not been there before.
How can Dai be so blind? Ryoko obviously cares about him. That's the only explanation that makes sense.
"Thanks," Dai whispered, avoiding Ryoko's eyes.
Ryoko blushed bright red and did not reply.
She smiled slightly and shook her head.
I guess Dai's not the only person who's blind around here.
She was just as guilty when it came to being unable to see the truth. She had never even suspected that Ryoko might care about Dai until recently.
He acts as if he hates Dai, but I bet he really wants to be friends with him. Why else would he have agreed to make such a crazy promise?
"Kara, has your D-Coder started to spew any mist yet?" Dai asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"No," she replied, frowning at her D-Coder.
"Mine hasn't either," Sam said softly.
"Sam, what's wrong?" Mickey asked, looking concerned. "You've been really quiet all day."
Sam made a face and managed a shaky smile. "It's my dad."
"What do you mean?" Halomon asked, hopping up and down in the sand.
Sam quickly told them about what had happened with Ken, and Takara gave her friend a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Sam. I'm sure you'll be able to work things out with your dad. Have you talked to him yet?"
Sam shook his head. "No. He wanted to talk to me last night, after we got home from Dai's house, but I managed to avoid a confrontation by pretending to be tired. I went to bed right away, and I didn't see him again until earlier this morning."
"Did he try to talk to you during breakfast, as well?" Ryoko asked.
"Yes," Sam replied. "Luckily Miya had come into the room at that moment, and I managed to slip out of the house before he could say anything to me."
"Miya helped you get away by distracting Ken?" Dai asked, looking a little surprised.
"Not intentionally," Sam murmured, smiling slightly. "She had no idea that she was helping me!"
Takara wrapped an arm around Sam and gave him a gentle smile. "I know you don't like lying to your dad, but you really don't have a choice. We have to keep what we're doing a secret."
"I know," Sam said softly. "Don't worry, Kara. I'll be okay."
Mickey turned to Dai and frowned at the other boy. "What about your dad? Did he see your bruises, too?"
Dai quickly filled the twins in about his dad, and Mickey gave the goggle headed leader a stern look. "You're very lucky that Davis didn't figure out the truth. The next time that we end up in another battle with an evil digimon, we're going to have to make sure that no one else gets hurt. Our parents are definitely going to get suspicious if we all end up with bruises, or worse."
"Hopefully there won't be a next time!" Matty muttered, glancing nervously at his twin.
Takara nodded, and her D-Coder let out a sudden loud beep.
"Look!" she gasped, holding out her green Digivice. "My partner must be somewhere nearby!"
"Oh," Sam said softly, looking a little disappointed.
Green mist had started to seep out of her D-Coder, and she smiled at the green arrow that was hovering above it. "Finally! I feel like I've been waiting forever to meet my digimon partner!"
She glanced at Sam and gave him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry."
"Don't be," Sam replied. "We'll find my partner soon enough. Besides, I'm really happy for you. You deserve to have a chance to meet your partner."
"Thanks," she whispered, giving him a quick hug.
"Well, we're definitely in the Southern Hemisphere," Dai said.
"Obviously. Why else would it be so hot on this continent?" Ryoko snorted. "Come on, let's keep moving. Which way?"
Takara looked down at her D-Coder and frowned. "You see that section of the beach that's sticking out into the ocean? I think the arrow's pointing in that direction, but it's hard to tell."
"Well, it's worth a try," Dai said. "Come on, guys."
The goggle headed leader began to walk quickly across the sand, heading towards the small cove that she had pointed to a couple of seconds ago.
Several digimon stared at them as they walked by, but Takara barely noticed. She was too busy trying to catch up to Dai.
So much for being injured!
"Dai, wait up!" Embermon shouted, racing after the goggle headed leader.
Ryoko was right behind the little rookie, and the blond's eyes were glittering with emotion.
"I bet you a week's worth of dessert that Dai falls over halfway there!" Celestimon whispered in Halomon's ear.
"You're on!" Halomon laughed, shaking Celestimon's hand.
The two little rookies fluttered off after Dai, and Takara found herself being left behind.
"Guys! Wait up!" She cried, racing across the sand. Apparently Sam and the twins did not hear her because they were running after Dai and shouting at the tops of their lungs.
It was obvious that Ryoko was worried about Dai because the blond seemed hesitant to stray too far from the goggle headed leader's side. It looked as if Ryoko wanted to be there to catch his friend if Dai ended up falling unconscious again. Unfortunately the goggle headed leader was too busy racing towards the cove to notice that Ryoko was sticking closer to his side than usual.
Takara looked up and realized that she and her friends had almost reached the cove. Dai and the others were so far ahead of her now that she could barely see them.
"Guys!" she squealed. "How can you leave a girl behind like this?"
Her foot suddenly hit a rock that had been hidden in the sand, and she let out a shriek of surprise. She ended up falling on her face and a loud groan escaped her lips.
"Those boys are in big trouble!" she muttered, glaring at the rock that had caused her to end up with a mouthful of sand.
She slowly got to her feet and let out a sudden gasp of horror.
Dai and the others had disappeared.
"Dai? Ryoko? Where are you guys?" she cried, her eyes darting frantically around the beach.
They must have reached the cove already. I don't understand. Why didn't they wait for me? I'm the one with the glowing D-Coder! They'll never be able to find my partner without me!
"I guess I'd better hurry up and find them," she muttered.
She started towards the cove again and almost tripped over Sam. Her friend was lying motionless in the sand, and his eyes were closed. He looked like he was in a very deep sleep.
"Sam?" she whispered, reaching out and placing a hand against his cheek.
What's going on? How did Sam end up falling unconscious, and where are the others?
"Sam!" she shrieked, grabbing onto his shirt and shaking him as hard as she could. "What's wrong with you? Wake up!"
Her heart was pounding so fast that she was beginning to feel light-headed. It was no wonder that she had missed seeing her friend earlier. Her fear was making her unable to think straight, and it was making her overlook things that she normally would have seen right away.
"Please, Sam," she whispered, hugging her friend tightly. "We have to find the others. They could be in big trouble, and if we're not there to help them, who knows what might happen?"
Her D-Coder gave off a sudden spark of light, and Sam slowly opened his eyes.
"Sam!" she gasped, leaning over him and staring anxiously at his face. "Are you okay?"
What just happened here? Did my D-Coder help Sam regain consciousness?
Sam quickly sat up and turned to look at the cove. His eyes were glazed over, and he looked like he was in a world of his own.
"Sam, what's wrong?" she asked, her heart pounding with fear.
"Did you hear that?" Sam murmured.
His voice was barely above a whisper, and she frowned. "Hear what?"
"Music," Sam said quietly. "I hear music."
"What are you talking about?" she cried, grabbing onto his arms and shaking him. "Sam, we don't have time for jokes! We have to find the others!"
Sam suddenly scrambled to his feet, and she let out a gasp of surprise.
"Hey! Where are you going?" she cried, staring at him in shock.
"I have to follow the music," Sam whispered, turning his back on her and heading towards the cove.
She let out a moan and quickly hurried after him.
This is insane! Sam must have hit his head on a rock or something. Why else would he be acting so weird? I hope we find Dai and the others real quick because something strange is definitely going on here.
Unfortunately her friends were not the only ones in trouble.
I better find my digimon partner and quick. If I don't, I might not ever get a chance to meet her!