Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Well, I only have two chapters left for MBGF so I'll being doing them next week. That means I won't get back to this story till after that, but at least then my other story will be out of the way then. Here's the new chapter!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 86: The Battle Begins

Sam Ichijouji

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

Sam Ichijouji slowly headed down the sidewalk towards the Motomiya residence and frowned when he spotted Matty and Ryoko walking ahead of him. "Hey, guys! Wait up!"

"I thought we were all supposed to meet at Dai's locker after school," Glimmermon whispered from his backpack.

"So did I. Come on, we'd better find out what's going on."

"Okay. I hope Noriko gives us a snack before we have to face Vampiramon and her evil buddies. I can't fight on an empty stomach, you know."

Sam rolled his eyes and quickly hurried towards his friends who were waiting for him to catch up. "You had something to eat already."

"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to try, does it?"

"Sorry, Glimmermon. I think you're out of luck today. We're already late, and you know how impatient Davis and Noriko can be. Maybe next time, okay?"

"Alright," Glimmermon sighed.

Sam skidded to a stop next to Matty and raised his eyebrows at the angry look on Ryoko's handsome face. "What are you guys doing here? I thought we were supposed to meet at Dai's locker."

"Yeah, too bad Dai didn't bother to show up!" Ryoko snapped, looking extremely irritated.

"Besides, we could say the same thing about you. How come you're not at Dai's locker?" Matty grumbled.

Sam blushed and sent the younger twin an apologetic look. "Sorry. I had to make a quick stop at the library. I did get to Dai's locker eventually, but I was late so I figured you guys must have left without me."

"Yeah, we waited for twenty minutes but Ryoko and I were the only ones who showed up. You don't know where Dai and Kara are, do you?"

Sam was about to answer, but someone suddenly shouted his name, and he turned to see Dai and Takara racing towards them.

"Don't worry, Daichi, take your time. You're already late!" Ryoko said sarcastically.

Dai came to a stop next to the golden-haired Digidestined and managed a weak smile. "Sorry about that. Mrs. Hanari tried to give me a detention for talking to myself in the hallway. Can you believe her? She's such a witch. Luckily Kara showed up, and somehow she managed to convince our lovely teacher to let me go. Thanks a lot, Kara. I owe you one."

"You're welcome," Kara mumbled, her face turning bright pink.

Ryoko started to laugh, and Dai rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Ishida. I wasn't actually talking to myself. I was talking to DemiEmbermon, obviously."

"I didn't say anything. Wait a minute. You were talking to DemiEmbermon? She didn't see him, did she?" Ryoko asked sharply, his sapphire eyes turning into angry slits.

"How stupid do you think I am? DemiEmbermon was in my backpack. Mrs. Hanari never suspected a thing."

Ryoko looked like he was ready to protest, but Takara quickly cut him off. "Come on, guys, we don't have time for an argument. We're late enough as it is already. Let's get going. If we don't hurry up, Izzy's going to start to wonder what happened to us."

Sam was about to follow the others down the sidewalk when he suddenly realized there was someone missing. "Um...where's Mickey?"

They all turned to look at Matty, but the younger twin merely shrugged and lowered his troubled eyes to the ground.

"Matty, we can't go to the Digital World without him," Takara said gently.

Sam studied the younger twin's pale face and felt a stab of fear in his heart. What happened between them last night? All of us got home really late yesterday. It's not like they had that much time to talk. I know because I never even got a chance to talk to my father...

"I'm not sure," Matty finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. "He might be at Noriko's bookstore. He always goes there when he wants to be alone."

"Well then what are we standing around here for? Let's go find him," Ryoko said shortly.

They started down the street towards Noriko's bookstore, and Sam wrapped his arm around Matty's slumped shoulders. "Has Mickey been avoiding you?"

A faint smile slipped across Matty's face, and the younger twin shrugged his shoulders. "I'd say that's a definite yes after what happened this morning."

"Why? What happened?"

Matty sighed softly and shook his head. "It's a long story. Listen, I don't want to talk about Mickey right now. I want to talk about you. How are you holding up?"

Sam turned away from the golden-haired Digidestined and gazed up at the cloudy sky. He had managed to calm down quite a bit since yesterday evening, but the fear inside of him still remained, and it was stronger than ever. He had made one last attempt to get his father to tell him about the Emperor, after they had gotten home last night, but his dad had told him to go to bed and get some sleep. It had been after eleven when they had finally left Davis' and Noriko's house. The next morning he had awakened from a restless sleep filled with nightmares only to discover that his dad had left the house before he had even opened his eyes. There was only one explanation for his father's strange behaviour. The man was avoiding him, and that made him feel even worse than he had before. Currently the only thing keeping him sane was Mickey's unwavering belief that he was not evil...

My father knows the Emperor's true identity. They all do. Wormmon said so. Besides, why else would they be acting so secretive? I just don't understand. Why won't they tell me the truth? I wonder if the Emperor used to be their friend. That would explain why they're reluctant to talk about him.

"Sam?"

"I'm fine, Matty. Actually I'm more worried about Mickey than I am about the Emperor, and I'm worried about you, too. Did you guys have a chance to ask your parents about Devimon and the Dark Ocean?"

Matty wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No. My parents made us all go to bed as soon as we got home."

"Same here. What about this morning?"

"They spent most of their time trying to get Rina ready for school. She's always grumpy in the morning if she doesn't get enough sleep. Mickey and I were sort of left to fend for ourselves."

"I know what you mean. My dad didn't say anything to me either. Actually, he spent most of the night shouting at me to go to bed because Taysuke and I stayed up for hours talking about the Digital World!" Takara giggled. "What about you, Ryoko?"

Ryoko lowered his sapphire eyes to the ground and slowly shook his head. "My dad hasn't said anything yet, but I know he will. He always keeps his promises. I think he just needs some time to sort out exactly what he wants to say to me."

"That sounds like Matt," Dai agreed. "Come on. My mom probably hasn't left the bookstore yet. She'll be able to tell us if Mickey came here or not."

They spotted Noriko's bookstore up ahead, and the five of them quickly hurried towards the familiar brown building. Noriko spotted them as soon as they entered, and she sent them a disapproving look. "Dai, aren't you and your friends supposed to be going to the Digital World? Your father and the others are waiting for you back at the house, you know."

"We know," DemiEmbermon said cheerfully, poking his head out of Dai's backpack. "There's only one problem. We don't know where Mickey is."

A sad smile slipped across Noriko's face, and she nodded towards the back of the store. "You'll find him sitting in a chair next to the fireplace. He seems a lot more quiet than usual. I hope he's not too upset about DarkAngelicmon. I'm worried about him, but he's a fighter. Don't worry, Matty, I'm sure he's going to be fine. We'll keep an eye on him, and you know my son and the rest of your friends will, too."

"I know," Matty said, giving her a grateful smile. "Thanks."

Noriko stepped out from behind one of the two cash registers, which were placed on a long wooden counter next to the door, and motioned them towards the back of the room. "Go on. You'd better hurry up or Izzy will throw a fit. I'll meet you guys back at the house as soon as Imoko shows up. That girl has got to be the laziest person I've ever hired. Well, what are you all waiting for? Mickey could do with a little bit of cheering up."

"On no! There goes my snack!" Glimmermon moaned.

Sam followed the others towards the electric fireplace at the back of the store and smiled at the rows of books on either side of him. He had no trouble understanding why Mickey spent so much time checking out the selection of books Noriko sold in her store. The place was quite small, but it was comfortable and had a cozy feel to it. The room was lit by crystal chandeliers hanging above the tall, wooden bookshelves, and there were several dark brown, comfy looking chairs spaced around the room. The carpet was a deep burgundy colour, and the ceilings were unusually high for such a small building.

"This place is so cool!" Goldmon gasped, wriggling out of the opening in Matty's backpack and gazing at the ceiling in awe.

"Anyone see Mickey yet?" Ryoko asked.

Sam pointed to a head of golden hair, which was resting on the arm of one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and sighed. "He's right there."

The back of the store was elevated a little higher than the front of the building, so they had to climb three steps in order to reach the chairs that were placed in a half-circle around the fireplace. The area looked sort of like a small stage, and the back walls were lined with several bookshelves.

"Hey, Mickey," Takara said softly.

Mickey jumped at the sound of her voice and almost dropped the book he had been flipping through. He turned towards them with a guilty look on his face and managed a weak smile. "Hey, guys."

"How come you didn't meet us at Dai's locker?" Takara asked.

"Mickey just wanted some time alone," Palelymon said softly from his seat on his partner's lap. Luckily there was no one else in the bookstore at the moment so the little digimon went unnoticed.

Ryoko snorted, and Mickey's face turned pink. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make us all late."

"Don't worry about it," Ryoko replied, his expression softening into a smile. "Daichi never bothered to meet us at his locker either."

"That was entirely Mrs. Hanari's fault," Dai piped up in an effort to defend himself.

Sam ignored the goggle-headed leader. Instead he turned to look at Matty and frowned when he realized the younger twin was gazing at Mickey with the strangest expression on his face. Mickey must have sensed the younger twin's gaze on him because he turned bright red in the face and made a point of avoiding Matty's eyes.

I wonder what happened between them this morning. Mickey's obviously embarrassed about something, but I have no idea what Matty might have done to make him act so self-conscious. Somehow I don't think I'm ever going to understand those two.

"Are you coming?" Matty asked politely, the barest hint of a smile slipping across his handsome face. "The Digital World won't wait forever, you know."

Mickey muttered something under his breath and quickly scrambled to his feet. Sam had no clue what the older twin had said, but Matty must have had some idea because the younger twin raised his eyebrows and smiled in amusement.

They made their way back towards the front of the store, and Noriko gave them a warm smile. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, we'll see you later," Mickey said quietly.

Noriko gave the older twin a quick, reassuring hug and gently kissed Dai's cheek. "I'll see you guys as soon as you get back, okay? Please be careful."

"We will," Fluttermon said happily, poking her head out of Takara's backpack and beaming at everyone.

They made it to the Motomiya residence in record time and nearly ran over Shadow in their haste to reach the computer.

"Dai, you're back!" DemiVeemon cheered.

"And you're also late," Izzy scolded, attempting to keep DemiVeemon away from the computer and failing miserably.

Ryoko shrugged and gave Dai a cool look. "It's Daichi's fault, as usual."

"Actually, it was more Mickey's fault this time," Matty said, sending his brother a sly smile.

T.K. and Kari raised their eyebrows, and Mickey promptly turned away from them and proceeded to ignore his twin.

Sam glanced around the small room and smiled when he realized the place was crowded. Noriko had turned one of the smaller bedrooms into an office because she had needed a place to do her paperwork for the store. Even Davis reluctantly used it when he needed to do paperwork for his noodle cart business, and Ami and Dai were constantly using the computer for their homework. The forest-green walls were lined with bookshelves, a filing cabinet, two desks, and several family photos, and the cream-coloured carpet was littered with school books which clearly belonged to Ami. It was a nice room, but the best part about it was the fact that it was perfect for travelling to the Digital World.

"Are you all ready?" Izzy asked, turning around in his chair to smile at them.

"They'd better be!" Ema snorted.

Sam rolled his eyes and exchanged a smile with Miya. Kari, Noah, Izzy, Taniko, Miya, Nao, Rina, Mimi, Taysuke, Ema, Ami, and his mother had come to see them off, and he was grateful for their support. Unfortunately the others were not able to make it because of work and other plans, but he knew they were there with them in spirit.

"Of course we're ready, right, Dai?" Davis said, grinning at his son.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," T.K. sighed.

Sam glanced anxiously at his father, but his dad refused to look at him.

I can't believe my own father's trying to avoid me. Please, Dad, tell me what's wrong. Why are you so afraid to tell me about the Emperor? I just want to help you...

"Are you kidding me? I'm more than ready!" Dai laughed, depositing Shadow in Noah's arms and heading towards the computer.

"Alright then, you guys know what to do. Remember, Gennai might be in the same place as the crests, but we'll let Leomon and the others focus on getting him while you guys focus on the crests. Make sure Whamon gets my message otherwise Gennai might get lost in the shuffle. You can meet up with Leomon and the others later, okay? Vampiramon and her buddies will have even more confusion to deal with if we're hitting them from two different angles. I'll be monitoring your progress through the computer, so if you need any help just give us a shout okay?" Izzy said, his dark eyes sparkling with excitement. "Your Digivices are connected to the computer, and I must admit that makes my job a lot easier. As soon as you arrive in the Digital World colourful dots representing your D-3s and D-Coders will appear on my screen, which means I'll be able to follow your path just by watching the map on the computer. We'll be with you guys the whole time. I've done my part, now the rest is up to you guys. And, Dai? Whatever you do, don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Hey! Since when have I ever done anything stupid?" Dai shouted, looking annoyed.

"Would you like that alphabetically, chronologically, or in order of stupidity?" Ryoko smirked.

Mimi crossed her arms and frowned at her son. "Ryoko, that wasn't very nice."

"Yeah, don't even start," Davis warned, grabbing Dai's arm before his son could hit Ryoko in the face.

Ryoko turned bright pink and sent his mother an apologetic look. "Sorry, Mom."

"Yeah, right!" Dai snorted.

Mimi slipped her arms around Ryoko and kissed the golden-haired Digidestined's forehead. "Be careful, sweetie. I love you."

"I love you, too, and I'll bring back Palmon, just like I promised."

"I know. By the way, your dad told me to tell you you'd better come back in one piece or you're grounded for the rest of your life!"

Ryoko started to laugh, and he gave his mother a warm smile. "Don't worry. That's exactly what I intend to do."

"Stay safe," Kari whispered, giving both her sons a quick hug.

"Yeah, go kick some evil digimon butt!" Taysuke cheered. "Oh, and, Davis? My mom and dad told me to remind you to make sure you look after Kara."

"I will," Davis replied, looking surprised and pleased that Tai and Sora would trust him with such a huge responsibility.

Sam bit his lip and turned towards his mother. He opened his mouth to say something and was immediately pulled into a tight hug.

"Oh, Sam. I love you so much. Stay strong, okay? I know you'll get through this otherwise you wouldn't be your father's son."

Sam glanced shyly at his dad, and to his complete surprise his dad actually smiled back at him.

"Don't come back until you've turned Vampiramon into a pile of data!" Ema said cheerfully.

Noah laughed and reached out to ruffle Dai's hair. "Good luck, Dai, but I don't really think you'll need it."

Apparently Shadow agreed with Noah because the puppy began to lick Dai's face with enthusiasm.

"Have fun!" Rina giggled.

Sam felt someone tug on his sleeve and he glanced down to see his little brother gazing up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"What's wrong, Nao?" he asked, leaning down and placing his hands on his brother's thin shoulders.

Nao's eyes filled with tears, and Sam felt the youger boy's small arms wrap around his neck.

"Nao-"

"Please don't die, Sam," Nao whispered sadly in his ear. "I don't want to lose my big brother like Daddy did."

Sam felt his own eyes begin to sting with tears, and he hugged his little brother as tightly as he could. "Don't worry, Nao, I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Miya was standing close enough to hear what they were saying, and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight squeeze. "Good, because we're going to hold you to that promise. Right, Nao?"

"Right."

"Hey, Dai, you'd better not disappoint us!" Ami said, grinning at her brother.

Dai sent his sister a sour look, and Taniko waved her hands to get everyone's attention. "You guys had better get moving. My dad and I will keep things under control here. You guys focus on stopping DarkAngelicmon and the rest of our new evil buddies, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Izzy said, beaming at his daughter who was sitting beside him at the computer.

"Well, Dai? Would you like to do the honours?" T.K. asked, waving his hand towards the computer.

Izzy and Taniko quickly scrambled out of their seats, and Sam reluctantly stepped up beside the others who already had their Digivices out.

"Alright, guys! Here we go!" Dai shouted, pointing his D-Coder at the gate on the screen. "Take us to Patamon and Wormmon in the Western Hemisphere! Digiport open!"

Sam managed one more fearful look at his father before he was blinded by the light from the computer and swept through the gate.