Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

A/N: Okay, last update for this week. Hopefully I'll be back next week with another chapter of MBFG. Please review!

"Evil in all it's forms must be stopped!" -Takuya Kanbara (Season Four, Episode 47: When Knights Fall...)

Chapter 51: The Powers of Darkness

Sam Ichijouji

Text, Southern Hemisphere, Digital World

Sam slowly opened his eyes and sat up. His dark blue gaze settled on a large forest, which stood about ten feet away from him, and he frowned in confusion. Is this really the Southern Hemisphere? This place feels so...strange.

He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. The forest seemed peaceful enough, but for some reason he still felt uneasy.

The beach was peaceful, too, until Sirenmon and Spritemon decided to attack us. What if the same thing happens here? What if there's an evil digimon out there waiting for a chance to destroy us?

The back of his neck prickled, and he quickly averted his eyes from the forest. Someone was watching them.

No way. Now I'm just being stupid. There's no one in the forest.

"Check out this forest," Dai said, sitting up and adjusting his goggles. "Talk about creepy."

"We better not be walking into another trap," Embermon muttered.

"We're not!" Sam snapped.

Everyone stared at him.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Dovemon asked, her wings drooping slightly. "You seemed so happy when we were at Ryoko's house. Did you see an evil digimon or something?"

"No." Sam gently stroked Dovemon's wings and turned to look up at the sky. The sun was shining, but for some reason it did not appear to light up the Digital World as much as it should have. The light radiating from it's fiery surface was weak.

Sam rubbed his arms and lowered his eyes to the grass. There were shadows everywhere.

Why can't I feel the light of the sun on my skin? This is the Southern Hemisphere. I should be sweating like crazy by now, but I'm not. Instead, I feel cold. It's almost as if the sun has been covered by a shadow.

Somehow that shadow was stopping the sun's light from reaching the ground.

"I don't like this place," Celestimon said, nervously fluttering his ears.

"There's something not right here," Halomon murmured.

Sam nodded in agreement and tightened his hold on his D-Coder. "This place is nothing like the beach where we found Dovemon."

"Can you feel it?" Mickey whispered.

"Feel what?" Dai frowned and stared at the older twin in confusion. "What are you talking about? I don't feel anything."

"Darkness," Mickey murmured. "This place is covered in darkness. Why do you think there are no digimon here? Something's coming. Something very bad."

Matty stepped closer to Mickey and glanced apprehensively at the forest. "Can we please find somewhere else to look for Sam's partner? This place is...evil."

"We have to get away from here, right now!" Mickey gasped.

Sam stared at the twins in surprise and swallowed hard. "You mean...you guys feel it, too?"

"Yes," Matty murmured, giving him a penetrating look.

The twins glanced at each other and turned to look at their digimon. Celestimon and Halomon were clinging tightly to each other, their eyes bright with fear. Both digimon kept glancing at the forest and nervously fluttering their wings.

"What are you three talking about?" Ryoko asked, sounding annoyed. "As much as I hate to agree with Daichi, I don't feel a thing."

"Me either," Takara said quietly.

Halomon's blue eyes widened in surprise, and the little rookie buried his face against Mickey's leg. "How can you not? The darkness is so strong."

"Don't worry, Halomon, everything will be okay," Mickey said, trying to smile.

Halomon did not look at all reassured. His small hands were clutching the left leg of Mickey's jeans, and his whole body was trembling. "Something bad is going to happen. I just know it!"

Celestimon nodded in agreement and fluttered into Matty's arms. The little rookie let out a moan and hid his face in his hands.

Will my digimon be able to understand me as well as Celestimon and Halomon understand their partners?

Somehow Celestimon was able to pick up on Matty's emotions, and the younger twin's uneasiness was clearly upsetting the little rookie. Apparently Mickey's and Halomon's relationship worked the same way.

I guess that's true for all human and digimon partners. Alopemon always seems to know what Ryoko's thinking, and the same goes for Dai and Embermon. Then there are Takara and Dovemon. Those two are always on the same page when it comes to knowing what the other is thinking. I hope I can be that close to my partner.

"Alright, you guys are starting to freak me out," Dai said, crossing his arms and frowning at the forest. "I know this place seems a little quiet, but that's nothing to get excited about. We have to stay focused."

"Dai's right," Embermon said quietly. "We have to concentrate on keeping ourselves out of danger. If we don't, Vampiramon and her buddies will destroy us before we even have a chance to blink, and then Sam's partner and the entire Digital World will be doomed."

"And where exactly do you suggest we start looking for Sam's partner?" Alopemon asked.

I don't care where we start looking as long as we don't end up going into the forest.

He could not explain why the forest frightened him so much. There was just something...strange about it.

I can almost hear it calling out to me...

"We must have been transported to this exact spot for a reason," Takara murmured. "The gates have always sent us to areas that were relatively close to where our partners were. I don't see why this time would be any different."

"Sam, has your D-Coder started reacting to anything yet?" Embermon asked.

Sam glanced at the purple D-Coder in his hand and frowned. "Not yet."

"Great," Ryoko muttered. "Now what do we do?"

"Start walking, I guess," Matty sighed.

Sam was about to reply when his D-Coder suddenly let off a loud beep. He looked down in surprise and smiled. His Digivice was glowing.

Finally! I hated being the only one without a digimon. It made me feel so...alone...

"No, we can't!" Mickey cried.

Sam turned to stare at the older twin and frowned in confusion. "Mickey, what's wrong?"

"Look," the older twin whispered, pointing towards the sky.

Sam looked up and felt his heart leap into his throat. There was a bright purple arrow hovering above his D-Coder, and it was pointing directly at the forest.

"We can't go in there," Mickey said, his voice trembling with barely concealed fear.

Matty wrapped his arms around the older twin in a protective embrace and glared at the forest. "Sam, I'm not entirely sure, but I think the darkness we're feeling is coming from inside the forest. If we go in there, someone's going to end up getting hurt."

Matty's right. That forest is full of evil.

"We don't have a choice," Dai insisted. "Sam's partner's in there!"

Sam felt a chill race down his spine, and he wrapped his arms around himself. Last night his dad had managed to ease all of his fears, and when he arrived at Ryoko's house that morning, he had felt better than he had in quite a while. Unfortunately it looked like his good mood was not going to last very long. All of the things that had frightened him earlier were starting to creep back into his heart again, and he stepped closer to Dai for comfort. He had been looking forward to meeting his partner, but now he was starting to have second thoughts.

Why is my partner located in a forest surrounded by darkness? What does that say about him...and me?

"Sam, you know we have to go in there," Alopemon said seriously. "You do want to find your partner, don't you?"

"Of course I do," he whispered.

Alopemon placed a hand on his leg and nodded. "Then what are you waiting for?" the little rookie asked quietly.

Sam slowly straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath. "Let's go."

My partner's not evil, but something in that forest is, and I have to stop it from getting anywhere close to my digimon. I know my partner's safe inside his pedestal, but I'd feel a lot better if he was in my arms and away from the darkness. I just hope I can find him before the darkness finds me first...

"No!" Mickey moaned, stumbling backwards and trying to move as far away from the forest as possible. "I won't go in there! I won't!"

Matty let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around the older twin's shoulders. Mickey's whole body was trembling badly, and he looked like he was ready to collapse from pure terror.

"Mickey, I know how you feel, but Alopemon and the others are right," the younger twin said softly in his brother's ear. "The sooner we find Sam's partner, the sooner we can leave. You don't want Vampiramon and her buddies to hurt him, do you?"

Mickey tightened his fingers on Matty's sweater and shook his head. "No," the older twin whispered.

"Then you know what we have to do," Matty replied, giving his twin a gentle smile.

"Don't worry, Mickey," Halomon said softly, fluttering into the older twin's arms. "I'm right here with you, and so is your brother. You can't forget about the rest of your friends either. We're not going to let anything happen to you or to Sam's partner."

The fear on Mickey's face did not fade away. If anything, he looked even more frightened than he had before.

"Come on. Let's go before we end up wasting the entire day away," Ryoko said quietly, glancing anxiously at Mickey.

Sam slowly followed the rest of his friends into the forest, and he swallowed a sudden lump of fear in his throat. The sun was still shining overhead, but it's golden light did not filter through the trees and cast shadows on the ground the way it should have. In fact, it was so dark in the forest that he could barely see where he was going. If he had not known any better, he would have said it was the middle of the night.

A slight breeze rustled the leaves of the trees, and he shivered. "It's too quiet," he murmured. "I would have expected to see at least a few digimon in here."

"This place is full of evil," Mickey whispered, his amber eyes sparkling with fear.

Sam wrapped his arms around Mickey and hugged the older twin tightly. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry for putting you through this."

"No, Sam. It's not your fault," Mickey murmured. "You had no idea this was going to happen. Trust me, this darkness has nothing to do with you."

Sam gasped in surprise and felt his face heat up when he realized that both Mickey and Matty were watching him closely. He had an uneasy feeling that they had known all along what he was thinking. "Mickey-"

Mickey gently placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled sadly at him. "That's what you're afraid of, isn't it."

Sam was about to reply when the forest suddenly turned pitch black. "What's going on?" he cried.

"Don't tell me this is another trap!" Ryoko shouted.

The darkness is coming for me. I can feel it getting closer.

Sam tried to respond, but a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over him, and everything started to spin. He heard Takara scream and felt something brush against his cheek.

Am I on the ground?

That was his last conscious thought before the voices of his friends faded away, and the darkness finally claimed him.