Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Takara's partner has finally arrived! Well, I'm off to start another chapter for MBFG so I'll be back next week! No wait! I won't be. It'll be about two weeks so after Christmas. Sorry!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
"There's never a dull day around here!" -Rika Nonaka (Season Three, Episode 19, Impmon's Last Stand)
Chapter 42: Spritemon's Trap
Spritemon
Text, Southern Hemisphere, Digital World
"I can't believe my plan is working perfectly!" Spritemon giggled, hopping up and down on a large rock. "Wait until DarkAngelicmon hears about this! Vampiramon and the others are going to be so jealous of me!"
"I agree, mistress," the digimon beside her said softly. "Daichi Motomiya and the others will not be able to help their female friend find her partner if they are fast asleep!"
Spritemon leaped off of the rock she was standing on and knelt next to Ryoko's side. "That's right," she said, smiling at the blond who was lying unconscious next to her foot. "Takara Kamiya is going to be very vulnerable without her friends and their digimon partners hanging around!"
"What's next?" the female digimon asked, giving her a curious look.
Spritemon's eyes came to rest on a stone pedestal that was nestled in a clump of bushes, and she smiled. The cove was littered with large trees, small bushes, and huge rocks that made it quite shady and peaceful. It was a perfect place to destroy the Digidestined.
"Our little human friend is going to be following the signal of her D-Coder right to this spot. That's when we'll get her and her digimon partner!"
"What about the boy?"
Spritemon turned to look down at the four boys who were lying next to the pedestal and frowned. "Which boy?"
"The Emperor's son. He's still with the girl."
"So what?" Spritemon replied. "It's not like he's going to be able to do anything to stop us! He doesn't even have a partner! Besides, he's still under your control. He'll just end up falling asleep like the others, once he gets here. Don't worry, Sirenmon, our plan is going to end up working perfectly. In fact, Sam Ichijouji's going to lead Takara right into our trap! BlackWidowmon was stupid enough to have forgotten the fact that she had needed Ryoko in order to steal Alopemon in the first place! I'm not going to make the same idiotic mistake!"
"You're right, of course," Sirenmon replied, smiling slightly. "The pedestals cannot be removed from their rightful homes. That means that we can't steal them and take them to our master. It's like you said. The only way to get our hands on Takara's partner is to have her release the digimon from the pedestal first."
Spritemon nodded and smiled down at the four rookie digimon who were lying next to their human partners. "That's right. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for our prey to come to us! This is almost too easy!"
Sirenmon turned to gaze out at the sea and sighed. "You're right. Those humans had better hurry up and get here soon, otherwise I'm going to end up dying of boredom!"
"Will you pay attention?" Spritemon snapped. "I think you'd better use your attack again. Sam's the reason that Takara's getting here so quickly, and I don't want him to end up regaining total consciousness before she arrives."
"Takara will come to the cove with or without Sam's help," Sirenmon murmured. "She is following the arrow that hovers above her D-Coder."
"True, but Sam is the real reason she's heading this way. Humans have some funny ideas about friendship."
"Humans are pathetic," Sirenmon replied, wrinkling her nose.
Spritemon nodded in agreement and smiled to herself.
No one gets away with ruining my master's plans. The Digidestined are going to pay, and I'm going to be the one who finally stops them!
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she snapped, glaring at Sirenmon. "Use your attack on Sam and move the rest of these boys away from the pedestal. I don't want Takara to know that this is a trap until it's too late!"
"Um...mistress? What if BlackWidowmon wasn't trying to steal Alopemon?" Sirenmon said, sounding hesitant. "Alopemon may not have had anything to do with her plans. Maybe she was trying to destroy the humans before they found another digimon. Wouldn't that make more sense?"
Spritemon narrowed her eyes and frowned. "Yes, but I have a different plan than BlackWidowmon. I'm going to steal the D-Coders, destroy the Digidestined, and then I'm going to make their digimon become my master's servants. I know that will make him very happy. That's why I need Takara's partner. The humans are going to pay for trying to ruin our plans, but I'm going to make them suffer a lot of pain first, before I end up killing them!"
Takara Kamiya
Text, Southern Hemisphere, Digital World
Takara quickly caught up to Sam and glanced anxiously at her D-Coder.
At least we're heading in the right direction. I hope my partner's okay.
"Can you hear it?" Sam whispered, turning to gaze at the ocean.
"What are you talking about, Sam? I don't hear any music," she replied, giving her friend a worried look.
Sam did not answer, and she felt her heart sink.
Where's Dai when I need him?
She turned to stare at the beach and jumped in surprise. It was deserted. All of the digimon who had been present earlier were missing, and she had no idea of what had happened to them.
Where could they have gone? I just saw them less than a minute ago!
She felt a sudden stab of fear and hugged herself.
Ryoko, Dai, and my cousins might be in big trouble, and Sam's acting like he's lost his mind! What am I going to do?
They reached the edge of the cove, and Sam came to a sudden stop.
"Sam?" she whispered. "What's wrong?"
Sam frowned and shook his head. "The music," her friend said quietly. "It's louder here."
She wrapped her arms around him in a protective embrace and felt her eyes sting with tears of frustration."Sam, there's no-"
"Look," Sam whispered, pointing towards a large clump of bushes.
She turned to see what he was looking at and let out a gasp of astonishment.
She had just found her digimon partner.
A stone pedestal stood in the centre of the bushes, and it was surrounded by a small ring of rocks.
Her heart filled with excitement, and she smiled.
I can't believe it! My partner's really here! I just know she's going to be amazing!
"The music is so beautiful," Sam whispered, his violet eyes sliding out of focus again.
Takara bit her lip and glanced uneasily at the pedestal that stood before her.
Something's not right. Where's the digimon who's suppose to be guarding it?
She glanced nervously around at the landscape, but there was no one else in sight. She and Sam were completely alone.
Something's wrong. I can feel it. It's too quiet here.
She glanced towards the pedestal again and straightened her shoulders.
Dai and the others need me, and the only way I can help them is by joining up with my digimon partner. It looks like I have no choice. I'm going to have to get my partner out of the pedestal whether it's dangerous or not.
She turned to look at Sam and placed a hand against her friend's cheek. "Sam, listen to me," she said softly. "I'm going to release my partner from that pedestal, and then you and I are going to go find the rest of our friends. Wait here for me, okay?"
Sam's forehead wrinkled into a frown, and he nodded. "Hurry, Kara. We have to follow the music."
"Whatever you say," she replied, giving him a worried look.
Sam's behaviour is starting to make me think that I'm walking right into a trap! Unfortunately I'm going to have to take that risk. Dai and the others are depending on me!
"I guess I'd better get this over with," she muttered, taking a hesitant step forward.
She walked slowly towards the pedestal and gently placed her hand against it's smooth stone surface. There was a symbol on it that looked like a bird's wing, and it made her smile.
"Don't worry," she whispered softly to the pedestal. "I know you're in there, and I'm going to set you free."
Her D-Coder was glowing bright green, and she gently placed it on the pedestal. The symbol on it began to glow and soon the whole pedestal was surrounded by emerald mist.
There was a flash of green light, and she quickly closed her eyes against the harsh glare.
I hope I'm strong enough to be a great human partner...
"Takara?"
Takara jumped at the sound of her name, and she slowly looked up. She found herself staring at a small digimon, and her eyes filled with sudden happy tears.
"My partner," she whispered, reaching out her hand and stroking one of her digimon's small wings.
The little rookie snuggled against her hand and smiled at her. "That's right. My name is Dovemon. I'm a rookie level data type digimon, and my special attacks are Opal Laser and Feather Storm."
Dovemon was of standard rookie size, and she resembled a small bird. Her whole body was covered in white feathers, and her eyes were violet in colour. There was a small green jewel placed in the middle of her forehead, and she had two small wings.
Takara threw her arms around the little rookie and hugged her partner tightly. "I've been wanting so badly to meet you! I'm glad you're finally here."
"Me, too," Dovemon said softly. "You and I are going to be amazing partners, Takara."
"I know," she whispered, giving her digimon a big smile.
"The music is getting closer," Sam suddenly whispered, interrupting her thoughts.
She turned to look at her friend and frowned. "Sam, are you okay?"
"No," Dovemon murmured, anxiously fluttering her wings. The small jewel on her head turned white and quickly turned back to green again. "Something's not right. Kara, we have to get out of here now!"
Sam's eyes suddenly rolled up into his head, and Takara let out a shriek as her friend promptly collapsed onto the sand.
"Sam!" she shrieked, racing over to her friend's side and kneeling next to him. "Are you okay?"
Dovemon landed next to Sam's shoulder and gently touched his cheek with her wing. "Sam, wake up!"
"I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you, rookie, but your little friend Sam is not going to be waking up anytime soon!"
Takara gasped at the sudden voice and slowly looked up. She found herself staring at two female digimon, and her heart sank like a rock.
I knew this was a trap! Great. Now what am I going to do?
There was no doubt about it. She had just come face to face with another one of Vampiramon's buddies, and there was no one around to help her and Dovemon fight.