Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Takara's lines were making me laugh while I was writing them! Finally they come face to face with the leader of the evil digimon! Please review!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

"You had to be cute, didn't you?" -Rika Nonaka (Season Three, Episode 10: The Icemon Cometh)

Chapter 54: Enter Vampiramon

Takara 'Kara' Kamiya

Text, Southern Hemisphere, Digital World

Takara's eyes fluttered open, and she found herself gazing up at a pitch black sky. She tried to sit up and gasped when she realized something was pinning her to the ground.

Where did all this darkness come from, and what in the Digiworld is lying on top of me?

She sucked in a sharp breath and tried her best not to panic. Whatever it was, it was heavy, and she could feel it breathing, it's stomache pressing against her own with every new intake of air. That was not the only thing she could feel. She could also feel it's heart thumping against her chest, the sound filling her head and ringing loudly in her ears. The thing was alive.

What if it's an evil digimon? I bet it's just waiting for me to wake up because it wants to taunt me first and then slash me to pieces! Evil digimon tend to brag a lot before they get around to the actual killing part!

Turning her head from side to side, she felt someone's cheek brush against the side of her face, and several strands of silky hair tickled her nose. Takara blinked in surprise. It was not an evil, murderous digimon after all. It was a human!

Or it could be an evil digimon with human characteristics...

She managed to free one of her arms and gently ran her fingers through a head of thick, glossy hair. Her hand brushed against a pair of goggles, and she froze, her mouth dropping open in shock. The thing lying on top of her was definitely not an evil digmon. It was Daichi Motomiya.

Takara felt her face heat up, and she quickly yanked her hand away from Dai's hair. She was pretty sure her face was as red as a tomato, and for the first time that day, she was grateful for the darkness surrounding her.

"This is so embarrassing!" she moaned. "How am I going to get myself out of this predicament?"

"Takara, you're awake!" Dovemon cried. "I started to get really worried when you wouldn't respond to my voice."

"Dovemon!" Takara gasped in surprise. "You're here, too?"

"So am I," Embermon said quietly.

Takara spotted Dovemon and Embermon standing next to her, and she felt her face turn red again. The two digimon were just barely visible in the darkness, but that did not make her feel any less embarrassed. If she could see their outlines, then they could see Dai lying on top of her. She squirmed in humiliation and gasped when she suddenly became aware of the warmth of Daichi's body soaking into her skin. Goosebumps made her shiver from head to toe, and her heart started to pound at an alarming pace. Aware of the fact that her partner and Embermon were witnessing the whole embarrassing incident, Takara quickly wiggled her other arm free and pushed against Dai's chest. Unfortunately he was too heavy for her to move on her own, and she collapsed against the ground in defeat.

"Now what?" she moaned. The goggle headed leader had not budged even an inch.

"We have to wake him up," Embermon replied.

"Are you crazy?" she squeaked, blushing furiously. "There's no way I'm going to let him see me like this!"

"We don't have a choice, Kara," Dovemon insisted.

Takara bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. Dovemon was right. Two rookie digimon would not be able to lift Dai, and she had tried already and failed. There was no point in having Dovemon digivolve either. Both digimon needed their strength for when Vampiramon and her buddies decided to attack.

I hope this situation doesn't end up becoming really awkward.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and gently shook the goggle headed leader's shoulder. "Dai, wake up," she said softly, her lips brushing his ear.

At first, Dai did not respond, but then he buried his face against her neck and groaned softly, his lips brushing her skin.

Takara's breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat. She felt like she was going to faint at any moment. "Dai?" she whispered.

She felt the goggle headed leader's body move slightly, and he slowly lifted his head.

"What? What's going on?" he mumbled, his eyes fluttering open.

Takara tried to speak and found she was unable to utter a sound.

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure. I'm glad you're alright," Embermon said, pressing his face against Dai's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dai replied.

"That's the best news I've heard all day," Takara said softly.

Dai looked down at her, and for the first time since waking up, the goggle headed leader seemed to realize she was there. Their eyes locked, and Takara lost herself in Dai's intense, dark brown eyes.

"Takara?" he said in confusion. "Where are the others?"

Takara's blush faded away, and she stared at the goggle headed leader in shock. Dai appeared to be completely unaware of the fact that he was lying on top of her! She was so shocked, her mind went blank, and she could not find the words to reply.

Apparently he was not really expecting an answer because he pulled himself off of her and stood up.

I can't believe him! He's acting like this kind of thing happens all the time and isn't worth mentioning! What does a girl have to do around here to get an apology for almost being flattened to death? If he's going to manhandle me, he could have at least finished the job by trying to kiss me or something! Boys have no clue what to do with themselves when it comes to romance!

Takara slowly sat up and shivered. Now that Dai's warmth was no longer surrounding her, she felt cold.

We were so close to each other. I don't understand. Why wasn't he able to feel the electricity between us?

"We've searched everywhere, but all of the others have disappeared," Dovemon said quietly, jerking Takara out of her angry thoughts.

"Well? What are we standing around here for? Let's go find them!" she snapped, pushing past Dai and heading into the trees again.

"Someone's in a bad mood!" Dai grumbled, following her out of the clearing.

Takara felt her eyes fill with tears, and she wrapped her arms around herself. "Do you think Ryoko and the others are alright?" she whispered.

"I'm sure they're fine," Dai said softly. "I know Sam and the twins are scared of this forest, but Ryoko will watch out for them. He would never abandon any of his friends. You know that as well as I do."

"I hope you realize that includes you, too," she said softly, glancing sideways at him.

Dai's face turned pink, and he quickly looked away from her. "Maybe," the goggle headed leader murmured.

"Um...guys? Where exactly are we going?" Dovemon asked. "The others could be anywhere in this forest. What if we head in the wrong direction and start moving away from them instead of closer?"

"You're right," Takara groaned, rubbing her arms and shaking her head. "There's no point in moving forward if we don't even know which direction we're suppose to be heading in. Why is it so cold out here, and where did all this darkness come from? It's giving me the creeps."

"I can't even imagine what Sam and the twins must be feeling right about now," Dai muttered. "How could they have gotten separated from us?"

"Huh?" Takara turned to look at him and gasped when the goggle headed leader suddenly stepped in front of her. His chest brushed lightly against her heart, and she blushed when she realized she could feel the heat of his skin through his shirt. He was standing so close to her, she could have easily counted the freckles on his nose, and for a moment, she completely forgot about the darkness surrounding her.

"You look like you're freezing to death," Dai said softly, gazing at her with concern in his eyes.

Takara was too busy admiring his long, dark eyelashes to bother with a reply.

Wow! I'd kill to have eyelashes like that! I can't believe he doesn't realize how handsome he is! I know Ryoko inherited long eyelashes from his mom, but they don't stand out as much because they're light. Dai's lashes are the complete opposite, and they're extremely cute!

Dai suddenly pulled her into a hug, and she swallowed a gasp of shock. The warmth of his body made her shiver again, and she buried her face against his shoulder. He smelled kind of like the forest, which was not really surprising considering the fact that they had been lying in the dirt for at least several minutes, if not longer.

What time is it anyway? It looks like the middle of the night out here!

"Feel better?" Dai murmured into her hair.

"Yes," she whispered, gently placing a hand against the back of his neck. "Much better."

Dai slid his arms around her waist and smiled at her.

She smiled back at him and flushed. His face was only inches away from her own, and she could feel his warm breath against her lips. The sleeves of his shirt were pushed up, and she lightly touched his arm. Immediately, his skin responded to her touch. The hairs on his arm rose up, and goosebumps began to pop up on his skin. Unfortunately Dai did not seem to notice. He was too busy staring at the trees with a frown on his face to pay much attention to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, gently placing her hand against his heart.

"Did you hear something?" Dai asked, his arms tightening around her waist.

She stared at him in surprise and shook her head. "No. Dai, what-"

"Let's go find the others," Dai said quickly.

"But, Dai-"

"You're right." Dai turned to his partner and gave the little rookie a serious look. "Embermon, how are we going to find the others?"

Embermon was about to reply when the forest around them suddenly lit up with bright red light.

"Look out!" Dai gasped.

"What's going on?" she cried.

Dai pushed her roughly against a tree, and a bright stream of light shot past them. She could feel the goggle headed leader's heart pounding against her chest, and she hugged him tightly.

"Stay back!" Embermon warned, his voice sounding deadly serious.

"What was that?" Takara whispered, glancing in the direction where the light had come from.

Dai held her protectively against his chest and gave the forest around them a dirty look. "Takara, I don't think we're alone anymore," he said quietly.

Something stepped out from behind a tree, and Takara gasped when she realized it was a digimon who resembled a young woman. She had long, red hair, bright green eyes, pale white skin, and long, sharp fangs. She was dressed in red and black silk skirts, black elbow-length gloves, a long, black cape, and a strapless, black top that showed off her belly. Two small horns stuck out of the top of her head, and a small knife appeared in her hand.

Although Takara had never seen the female digimon before, she knew immediately who it was. Vampiramon had finally decided to make an appearance, and the look of fury in her eyes indicated she would not back down until every last D-Coder was in her possession and every last Digidestined standing in her way was destroyed.