Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: I don't have any more chapters ready yet! Don't worry, I'll try to get one done as soon as I can. Please review! (one of my longer chapters!)
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 60: The Problem With Twins
Sam Ichijouji
Text, Southern Hemisphere, Digital World
"Where did he go?" Mickey whispered, glancing anxiously around the dark forest.
Sam slowly shook his head and hugged Glowmon tightly against his chest. Why would DarkAngelicmon help me find my partner and then leave without even trying to steal my D-Coder? None of this makes any sense! Is he hiding somewhere in the forest, or is he really gone? Maybe he's waiting for me to let down my guard, and then he's going to try and steal Glowmon right out of my arms!
"He's gone," Gabrielmon said quietly, his sapphire eyes scanning the dark sky. "I can no longer sense his presence."
Glowmon fluttered his wings and let out a small sigh of relief. "That's good. I don't know who this DarkAngelicmon is, but I'm glad he's gone. He sounds like an extremely evil digimon."
Mickey slowly lowered himself to the ground and glared at the dark trees surrounding them. "He is," the older twin mumbled, a hint of sorrow in his voice.
"Did this DarkAngelicmon try to attack you?" Centaurumon asked, crossing his arms.
Sam stroked Glowmon's small wings and shook his head. "He never touched us."
"That's very strange," Centaurumon murmured. "I wonder what he's up to?"
Sam smiled slightly and nodded. "I'm wondering the same thing, Centaurumon."
Gabrielmon suddenly knelt next to Mickey and gently placed his hand on his partner's golden head. "Mickey, are you alright?" the angel asked, sounding concerned.
Mickey touched Gabrielmon's smooth, white cheek and gave his partner a fond smile. "You're not like him and neither is Angelicmon," the older twin whispered, resting his forehead against Gabrielmon's chest. "Please don't let that evil angel hurt Matty and Angelicmon. I know he wants them, and I refuse to let him get anywhere near my brother."
"I promise," Gabrielmon whispered, wrapping his arms around Mickey in a tight hug.
Mickey nodded and gave the angel's hand a warm squeeze. "Thank you."
"Sam! Mickey!"
Sam jerked around in surprise and was almost trampled by Dai.
"Dai, will you be care-"
"Sam, are you okay?" Dai gasped, his deep, brown eyes glittering with fear and determination.
Sam grabbed Dai's arm to steady himself and nodded. "I'm fine. Where did you come from? Are the others with you?"
"We're right here," Ryoko said softly, strolling out of the trees. Matty and Takara were practically stepping on the blond's heels, and all three of them had expressions of relief on their faces. Dragermon and the other digimon were keeping close to the edge of the clearing, and they all had their gazes focused on the forest. Obviously they were keeping watch in case Vampiramon and her buddies decided to show themselves.
It's a little too late for that! DarkAngelicmon did an excellent job of making his presence known already!
"I guess you guys remembered the trackers on your D-Coders, after all," Sam said softly, giving Dai a warm smile.
The goggle headed leader glanced at Ryoko and flushed. "Um...yeah..."
"Daichi forgot all about the D-Coders!" Ryoko snorted. "I was the one who had to remind him!"
"Shut up, Ishida!" Dai mumbled.
"I remembered the D-Coders," Matty said softly.
Takara blushed and gave Ryoko a sheepish look. "I didn't."
"Sam, why didn't you come looking for us?" Dai asked, frowning in confusion.
Sam smiled softly and held out his digimon. "Mickey and I were just about to come searching for you guys, but as you can see, we got a little sidetracked. This is my partner. His name is Glowmon."
"Hello," Glowmon said, looking extremely shy.
Takara let out a squeal of delight and gently stroked Glowmon's head. "He's so cute! Oh, Sam. I'm so happy for you. I know how much you wanted to meet your partner."
"You're really lucky, Sam. Glowmon's a great digimon," Ryoko said softly.
Matty nodded and tickled one of Glowmon's wings. "Welcome to the team, Glowmon."
"Thanks," the little rookie said softly.
Dai patted Glowmon's head and laughed. "I've never seen a shy digimon before. I'm sorry I didn't see you earlier, but it's a bit dark out here."
Glowmon beamed at the goggle headed leader and happily fluttered his wings. "That's okay. I'm just glad I can finally help you guys out."
"We feel the same way," Angelicmon said softly, fluttering over to Matty's side and giving the little rookie a warm smile.
Sam glanced at Takara's partner and raised his eyebrows. "I take it Dovemon digivolved?"
"Yes. This is her champion form," Takara replied. "Her name is Ibismon."
"She's really pretty," Mickey said quietly, startling everyone.
Sam blinked in surprise and turned to stare at the older twin. He had almost forgotten about the other boy because Mickey had not said a single word throughout the entire conversation. Matty's presence usually brought a smile to Mickey's face, but this time the older twin barely even glanced in his brother's direction. Instead, his eyes were focused on the ground in front of him, and there was an odd expression on his face.
"Mickey, what's wrong?" Matty asked, his amber eyes growing dark with fear. The younger twin slowly sat down next to his brother and placed a hand on Mickey's arm.
Mickey shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. "Dovemon wouldn't have digivolved unless you guys were in trouble," the older twin whispered. "What happened?"
Takara made a face and sat down next to Gabrielmon. "Vampiramon attacked us. She tried to kill Dai, but Dovemon digivolved and saved him."
Mickey let out a gasp and glanced anxiously in Dai's direction.
The goggle headed leader shrugged and gave Mickey a reassuring smile. "I'm okay. She tried to kill me twice, but Matty and Ryoko showed up just in time to help me out. Tirimon was able to stop her second attempt to finish me off, and I can't thank him enough. He was awesome, and the same goes for Ibismon."
"I'd never let anyone hurt you," Tirimon said quietly, his icy blue eyes coming to rest on Dai's face.
"Same here," Ibismon said softly.
Dai blushed and nodded. "Thanks, guys," he mumbled.
"You're welcome," Tirimon replied.
Sam swallowed a gasp and stared at Matty in shock. "You guys met Vampiramon?"
Matty nodded and gently rubbed his brother's shoulder. "Yeah, we did," the younger twin murmured. "She makes Jestermon and the others look like good guys!"
"She's creepy," Takara whispered.
Sam shook his head in astonishment and glanced at Ryoko. "How did you guys manage to get away from her?"
"Apparently she didn't think stealing our D-Coders was worth the risk of facing four champions in battle," Ryoko said dryly. "You can tell she's their leader because she's the only one in their whole group who even makes an attempt to use her brain! Her problem is her ego. It's as big as Daichi's ego, and you know what his is like!"
"Hey!" Dai shouted.
Ryoko ignored the goggle headed leader and frowned thoughtfully at the trees. "I wonder how many digimon Vampiramon has on her side. Like I said before, there could be hundreds of them, and that's going to make our job a lot harder. What kind of odds are we up against? We'd have a better chance of saving the Digital World if we knew the answer to that question."
"There are five of them," Mickey whispered, hiding his face against Gabrielmon's arm.
"How do you know?" Dai asked, scratching his head and looking confused.
Mickey shivered and wrapped his arms around Gabrielmon's waist. "Their master only has five servants."
"I guess that makes sense. Crystalmon worked for Vampiramon, and Zombiemon worked for Jestermon. The same goes for Gnomemon and Sirenmon. Those four digimon were only at the ultimate level, and obviously Vampiramon's master thought they were expendable," Takara said quietly.
Dai kicked at a fallen tree branch and snorted loudly. "They were soldiers. Vampiramon and her buddies are the ones we have to worry about."
"Daichi's right," Ryoko murmured. "Vampiramon's the voice of their master, and she'll make sure BlackWidowmon and the others follow her orders."
Matty's shoulders stiffened, and he slowly turned to look at his brother. "You said five," the younger twin choked out, his hand tightening on Mickey's arm. "We've only met Vampiramon, Jestermon, Spritemon, and BlackWidowmon. Who's the fifth one?"
"No," Mickey whispered.
"I mean it, Mickey!" Matty snapped, his fingers digging into the older twin's arm. "Tell me right now! Who's the fifth one?"
"I can't!" Mickey shouted, his eyes filling with sudden tears. He pushed Matty away and tried to scramble to his feet, but the younger twin dragged him back down and pulled him into a hug.
"Please?" Matty whispered.
Mickey flinched and buried his face against the younger twin's shoulder. "He's going to try and kill you! I can't...I'm so confused. Matty, I..."
The older twin began to tremble violently in Matty's arms, and a soft sob escaped his lips.
"Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?" Matty whispered, his amber eyes glittering with uncertainty and fear. He held the older twin tightly against his chest and sent Gabrielmon a frantic look.
Gabrielmon sighed and gently stroked Mickey's golden hair. "Sam, I think you'd better tell them about DarkAngelicmon."
Sam jumped at the sound of his name and gave the angel digimon a dirty look. Why do I have to be the one to explain? Poor Matty. He's never going to be the same again after he hears about DarkAngelicmon...
"Sam, they need to know," Glowmon said softly.
Sam took a deep breath and quickly told the others about the fallen angel. He made sure he did his best to tell them everything, and when he was finished, there was dead silence.
"Unbelievable!" Dai finally whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "This DarkAngelicmon must be one evil angel if he can cover a whole forest in darkness!"
Takara nodded and bit her lip. "We should have known one of Vampiramon's buddies was responsible for separating us! As if we didn't have enough problems already. Now we have to deal with an evil angel digimon, as well?"
Ryoko shook his head and did not reply. His face had turned a sickly shade of green, and he looked like he was about to puke.
Matty was the only one who did not look as if he was ready to die from shock. The younger twin's eyes were glued to the back of Mickey's head, and his face was completely void of expression.
"Matty, what's wrong? Say something," Angelicmon whispered. The angel digimon sat down on the ground next to his partner and gently placed his hand on Matty's knee.
Matty ignored his partner and continued to stare at Mickey with a blank expression on his face. "I take it DarkAngelicmon is the reason why you don't want to come anywhere near me?" the younger twin said calmly.
Tears started to stream down Mickey's cheeks, and his face turned a rosy shade of pink. "Matty, it's not-"
"Shut up, Mickey! Just shut up!" Matty shouted at the top of his lungs.
The younger twin's eyes filled with sudden tears, and he gave Mickey a hard shove to put some distance between them.
Mickey let out a small moan of despair and stared at Matty as if he could not believe what had just happened.
"Matty!" Angelicmon gasped, his emerald eyes growing wide with shock.
"Angelicmon's not evil, and neither am I," the younger twin whispered, his whole body trembling with emotion. "We're not like him, and we never will be."
Sam winced and gave his friend a sympathetic smile. Oh, Matty. Do you really think Mickey believes you're evil?
"Please don't fight," Takara said tearfully, standing up and huddling between Ryoko and Dai.
"Matty, do you really think I don't know that?" Mickey gasped, looking absolutely horrified. The older twin flung his arms around Matty's shoulders in a fierce hug, and he hid his face against the back of his twin's neck. "I'm sorry, Matty," he whispered. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I know you're not evil. Angelicmon's presence just brought back a few unpleasant memories, that's all. He looks so much like DarkAngelicmon, and I guess I just got a little confused. Please don't be mad at me."
Matty slowly nodded and turned to face his brother. He gave the older twin a hesitant smile and lowered his eyes to the ground. "I was worried about you."
Mickey hugged his brother tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. "I was worried about you, too," the older twin whispered. "Matty, DarkAngelicmon's going to come after you and Angelicmon. I know he is, and I swear I'll stop him from hurting you if it's the last thing I do!"
Matty's amber eyes began to sparkle with determination, and he lifted his chin a little higher. "DarkAngelicmon wants to fight me, does he? Well, if he ever comes near you again, he's going to find out just how powerful Angelicmon really is! Mickey, will you promise me something?"
Mickey quickly nodded, and Matty gave the older twin a serious look. "Promise me you won't end up putting yourself in danger for my sake. "
"Only if you promise me the same thing," Mickey said stubbornly.
Matty hesitated and finally nodded.
"Um...Matty?"
"What?" Matty asked, looking confused.
Mickey gave his twin a weak smile and shrugged. "You know we're going to end up breaking our promises to each other, right?"
Matty stared at the older twin for a moment, and a small smile slipped across his face. "Yeah, you're probably right."
"Are we okay now?" Mickey asked, giving his brother a shy look.
Matty tightened his arms around Mickey's waist and nodded. "We're okay," he whispered.
"We should have said something a long time ago," Angelicmon said quietly, glancing anxiously at Gabrielmon. "If I'd known our strange feelings had anything to do with DarkAngelicmon..."
"You're right. You should have said something, and the same goes for Gabrielmon," Dai replied, sounding extremely annoyed. "You guys could have saved us a lot of trouble if you had told us about your ability to sense DarkAngelicmon's presence a long time ago!"
"Well, what's done is done, and the only thing we can do is move forward," Centaurumon said quietly.
Dai glanced at the centaur digimon and frowned. "Who are you?"
"I am Centaurumon. I'm the guardian digimon who was chosen by Gennai to protect Glowmon."
"Did you know that Gennai has been captured?" Ryoko asked.
Centaurumon shook his head, and Sam quickly told the champion about Vampiramon and her quest to steal the D-Coders. Obviously the news about Gennai came as a surprise to Centaurumon because he gave Glowmon's pedestal a thoughtful look and shook his head in disbelief.
"Are you going to go help Leomon and the others?" Takara asked, glancing curiously at the centaur digimon.
Centaurumon slowly nodded and glanced at the twins.
"What's wrong?" Matty asked, his amber eyes filling with fear.
"If you were evil, you would not be a Digidestined," Centaurumon murmured, gazing directly into the younger twin's eyes.
Sam hugged Glowmon tightly against his chest and frowned. "How can you be so sure?" he murmured.
"The Digimon Emperor," Centaurumon replied, his face deadly serious. "You might not believe me, but I know you'll believe Wormmon. If you don't, you'll end up losing one of the most important people in the world to you, and then the Digital World will be doomed."