Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Okay, so Tirimon's name came from the Inuit or Inuktitut name for the arctic fox which is Tiriganiaq. The twins and their sis, and Sam and the Emperor are going to be coming up soon! Please read and review!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

"Nothing worth doing is ever simple." -Takuya Kanbara (Season Four, Episode 46: To Make the World Go Away)

Chapter 46: Making Plans

Takara 'Kara' Kamiya

Text, Southern Hemisphere, Digital World

Takara gave Whamon a warm smile and nodded. "I thought so. It's too bad Sirenmon's attack worked on you, too. I could have used your help."

"What exactly happened here?" Whamon asked, sounding confused.

She turned to look at Dai, and he gave her a quick nod.

"Well, it all started with Sirenmon," she said slowly, making a face. She quickly told him about what had happened to them on the beach while he was asleep, and then she proceeded to tell him about their earlier adventures which had involved the rest of Spritemon's buddies. She finished off her story with the news that Gennai had been captured and finally fell silent again.

"This is not good," Whamon murmured. "They would not have wasted a lot of time trying to capture Gennai without a good reason. He must have some information that could help you defeat them."

"That's what we think, too," Dai replied, his eyes dark with anger.

Takara crossed her arms and let out a sigh. "I hope Leomon and the others can find Gennai before Vampiramon and her buddies decide to finish him off. He doesn't seem like the type of guy who's going to just tell them everything they want to know. That's not going to make Vampiramon very happy."

"That evil witch," Ryoko muttered, looking disgusted.

"Takara, I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you," Whamon said, turning towards her again. "I should have been more prepared for something like this. I guess I haven't done a very good job of protecting your partner, have I?"

"That's okay," she said, patting his head and giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure that Gennai will understand."

"I take it that Takara has passed your test?" Sam asked, looking amused.

Whamon nodded. "Yes, she has."

"I thought that was pretty obvious!" Dovemon laughed.

"You're right, Dovemon," Whamon replied. "Your human partner has a remarkable amount of courage. I think she may even rival Dai when it comes to being brave."

Takara's mouth fell open in surprise, and she turned to look at Dai.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a warm smile. "That's for sure. She's the most amazing girl I know."

Takara felt her face turn red, and she quickly lowered her eyes to the ground.

Does he really mean that, or is he just trying to be nice?

"Is that the reason Kara passed her test earlier?" Sam asked, his eyes sparkling with interest.

"That's one of the reasons, but it's not the only one," Whamon replied. "One day you will understand why we're able to judge so quickly whether or not you are who you say you are, but that day will only come when you finally realize why you were all chosen to be Digidestined in the first place."

Takara rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. "You're not going to tell us anything, are you?"

Whamon shook his head, and Dai let out a loud groan. "Figures," the goggle headed leader muttered.

"Have you met any other humans before?" Mickey asked, giving Whamon a curious look.

"Yes," the whale digimon replied. "Unfortunately I cannot tell you anymore than that. Gennai will decide when the time is right for the past to be revealed."

"Gennai's in no position to be telling anyone anything!" Takara muttered.

She let out a sigh and turned to look down at Dovemon, who was standing next to her side. "You did a great job today," she said softly, giving her partner a warm smile. "I can't believe that you and I are finally together, and I know we'll be great partners."

Dovemon fluttered into her arms, and Takara hugged her partner tightly.

"You're right," Dovemon murmured, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "We'll be great partners. In fact, I think we already proved that today with Sirenmon and Spritemon."

"I can't argue with that!" Matty laughed, reaching out and stroking the top of Dovemon's head.

"You're lucky to have Kara for a partner," Dai said softly, running his fingers over one of Dovemon's snowy wings. "She's a pretty amazing person."

Takara felt her face turn pink, and she gave Dai a radiant smile.

Maybe he isn't so hopeless after all...

Dovemon gave Dai a warm smile and nodded. "I know," the little rookie murmured.

"Welcome to the team!" Embermon said enthusiastically, leaping into Dai's arms and holding out a hand to Dovemon. He had reverted back to his rookie stage, and he seemed eager to welcome the little bird digimon into their group.

Dovemon beamed at him, and she extended one of her small wings for Embermon to shake. "Thanks. I promise I won't let any of you guys down!"

"We know," Angelicmon replied, looking amused.

"She's not the only one!" Tirimon said softly.

Takara turned to look at the large fox digimon and smiled. Ryoko had his arms wrapped around Tirimon's head, and his cheek was resting against his partner's nose. There was a soft smile on the blond's face, and he did not look as if he was planning on moving from his current position anytime soon.

"Thanks for helping me out, Ryoko," she said softly.

Ryoko smiled at her and gently stroked his digimon's head. "Don't thank me," he murmured. "Thank Tirimon."

"She already did!" Tirimon laughed.

"You really are amazing," Ryoko murmured, giving his partner a fond look.

"No kidding," Sam said softly.

Dai's face flushed with sudden anger, and he glared at Ryoko. "He's not that great!" the goggle headed leader muttered.

"What's wrong with you?" Ryoko snapped, his sapphire eyes sparkling with sudden hurt and anger. "You should be glad that Alopemon digivolved! If he hadn't, Takara would have ended up dead! Is that what you want?"

"No, of course not!" Dai shouted, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment. The goggle headed leader stared at the ground for a moment, and he carefully avoided Ryoko's eyes. "I just thought that when Alopemon finally digivolved, it would be because of...um...nothing. Just forget it," he mumbled.

Dai's deep brown eyes sparkled with emotion, and Takara frowned at him. "Dai, are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he muttered, sounding rather defensive.

Mickey and Matty glanced at each other, and they both rolled their eyes.

Takara turned back to Ryoko, and she almost burst out laughing. Her blond friend was staring at Dai as if the other boy had grown an extra head.

"I couldn't just stand by and let Takara get hurt," Ryoko said quietly, staring hard at Dai's face.

Dai gazed back at him for a moment and nodded. "I know," he said softly. "I would have done the same thing."

"You almost beat me to it," Ryoko replied, smiling slightly.

Dai let out a sudden laugh and shook his head. "Close, but not close enough, I guess."

Ryoko nodded and placed a hand on the goggle headed leader's shoulder. "Maybe next time," he said softly.

Takara raised her eyebrows, and she exchanged a look with Sam. She had a strong feeling that they were no longer talking about her at all anymore.

Dai blushed bright red, and then he frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I'm assuming that Tirimon will eventually digivolve to the ultimate level. After all, we are Digidestined, and according to Leomon, that makes achieving the higher stages of digivolution entirely possible," Ryoko replied.

"Only time will tell," Gabrielmon murmured, exchanging a look with Angelicmon.

The two digimon smiled at each other and turned to gaze fondly at their partners.

Takara felt a spark of excitement and nodded. "I can't wait for that to happen," she said softly.

Dai raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. "Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? Dovemon still needs to digivolve to champion first!"

"You're right! I almost forgot!"

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and turned to smile at Ryoko. "You guys are the best, you know that?"

They both blushed, and Matty gave her an indignant look. "Hey, what about us?" the younger twin complained, gesturing to Mickey, Sam, and himself.

Takara laughed and put her arms around him. "You guys are awesome, too, but if any of you boys ever leave me to fight on my own again, you're all going to wish that you were facing Spritemon again, instead of me!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Dai replied, trying not to smile.

"I'd take Spritemon over her any day!" Matty whispered into the older twin's ear.

"That's for sure!" Sam muttered.

Mickey gave her a sheepish look, and Ryoko smiled in amusement.

"Boys," she muttered, glaring at each and every one of them.

Gabrielmon placed a hand on Mickey's shoulder and smiled at the older twin. "It's getting late. We should get back to the human world before your parents start to wonder where you are."

Mickey snuggled against his partner's side and smiled up at him. "You're right. Come one, guys, let's head back to the gate."

"In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can find Leomon and the others. The sooner we rescue Gennai, the better," Whamon said.

"Good idea," Dai replied, giving the whale digimon an approving nod. "While you're doing that, we're going to be looking for Sam's digimon partner. According to Andromon, the little guy is somewhere here on Text."

"That's right. Good luck, Digidestined."

"You, too, Whamon," Takara replied.

They watched the whale digimon glide out into the ocean before turning back towards the beach.

"I hope we find my partner soon," Sam said quietly. He was clutching his D-Coder tightly in his hand, and Takara was surprised to see that he looked very uneasy about something.

"We will," Dai replied, wrapping an arm around the other boy and giving him a smile.

Takara followed the others up the stairs, which were carved into the side of the cliff, and she quickly stepped in front of the gate.

I hope Sam's okay.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. The ocean was once more filled with digimon, and that was enough to convince her of the fact that she and her friends would save the Digital World, no matter what it took. In the end, they would conquer the Powers of Darkness, and that was definitely something that was worth a few risks.