Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: There will be a battle in the next chapter, but I will also tell you Glowmon won't digivolve until the big crest battle. Now, I have family coming up from the U.S. so I won't have much time the rest of this week to write. I've decided I'm going to put up the first chapter for my new story since it's short and won't take me long to write. I'm not going to say what it's about. Read it to find out! (when it's up) Please review! Oh, and Candlemon normally digivolves to Wizardmon, but he can digivolve to Meramon (which makes more sense in my opinion) which you'll see with Mina's digimon.
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 87: Crest Hunting
Masato 'Matty' Takaishi
Cyber, Western Hemisphere, Digital World
Masato Takaishi tumbled out of the gate, and a grunt of pain escaped his mouth before he could suppress it. Unfortunately Ken had ended up landing heavily on top of him, and as a result his ribs felt like they had been crushed into pieces. "Ouch! Dai, I think we should let the adults go through the gate first next time!"
"You won't hear any arguments from me on that point!" Dai groaned, glaring at T.K. who had almost flattened him. "The next time one of us opens the gate, you adults can be the lucky ones who end up on the bottom of the pile."
"Thanks. That's very kind of you," Davis replied, rolling his eyes at his son.
"I'm sorry, Matty. Are you alright?" Ken asked, his voice full of concern.
Matty allowed Sam's father to help him to his feet and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Um...where are we?"
"The Western Hemisphere," his own father replied. "This is the spot where Izzy told us to meet Patamon and Wormmon. I don't see them anywhere, do you?"
Celestimon fluttered into the sky and pointed eagerly towards the ocean. "There they are! Oh, Agumon and the others are with them, too, and so is Whamon!"
Matty took off towards the shore before his father could stop him and skidded to a halt in front of Whamon's large head. "Hey, guys! We didn't expect to see all of you here!"
"Patamon, you came!" Celestimon cheered, fluttering around the other rookie's head with excitement.
Patamon beamed at his fellow digimon, and Matty watched as the little rookie leaped off of Whamon's back and flew directly into his father's arms.
"T.K., I've missed you so much! I was really worried when you didn't come to visit me for so long, but the gates are open again, and now you can come and see me whenever you want. You will come and see me often, won't you?"
"Of course he will," Matty replied before his father could utter a sound. "If you want, Patamon, you could come back to the human world with us and that way you could spend as much time with my dad as you want."
"Really?" Patamon asked, turning to gaze hopefully at his partner.
Matty stared into his father's eyes for a moment and smiled when his dad gave him a grateful look.
"Of course, Patamon. I've missed you, too. You have no idea how much."
Patamon cuddled against his partner's chest and let out a happy sigh. "Yes, I do. I've missed you just as much as you've missed me, if not more. You look different, but a lot of time has passed by, hasn't it. Mickey and Matty are proof of that. I really like them, T.K. They're nice, and their digimon are just like me!"
"And me!" Gatomon added, leaping off of Whamon's back and coming to join them. "Hey, T.K. How's Kari doing?"
"Great. She misses you, though, but you'll be seeing her soon."
"Patamon's right, you know. Mickey and Matty are great humans."
"Thanks," Mickey mumbled, his face turning a rosy shade of pink.
Matty could not help smiling at his brother's embarrassment, but he did not attempt to tease his twin like he normally would have. After what had happened earlier that morning, he did not think his brother was in the mood for jokes.
"I know what you mean, Gatomon. I couldn't have asked for two better sons."
Matty realized his father was gazing fondly at him and his twin, and he felt his own face turn a bright shade of red. "Dad, you're embarrassing us in front of the digimon!"
T.K. started to laugh, and Matty smiled as his father cuddled Patamon against his chest. "I'm glad you love them as much as I do. Don't worry, Patamon, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on."
"Me, too," Patamon sighed, settling himself on his partner's head and making himself comfortable.
"Ken!" Wormmon gasped, a hint of fear in his voice. The little rookie jumped off Whamon's back and hurried over to his partner's side at a speed he did not look capable of achieving.
Ken lifted the little digimon into his arms and buried his face in his partner's soft, green skin.
"Ken, I...didn't...I never said a word," Wormmon insisted, gazing anxiously into his partner's eyes.
Ken stroked his digimon's small head and managed a bitter smile. "I know, Wormmon. Thank you. It's good to see you again. I...um...I really need you right now."
"I know," Wormmon said sadly. "Don't worry, Ken, we're together again, and we're both going to help Sam."
"Really? Well, if that's the case then neither one of you has been doing a good job of it!" Sam said sarcastically.
"Sam, that wasn't very nice," Glowmon said sternly, fluttering anxiously around his partner's head.
Ken lowered his eyes to the ground and did not say a word. It was obvious he agreed with Sam, but that only made things worse instead of better.
"Agumon, what are you doing here?" Davis asked curiously, bending down so he could look the little rookie directly in the eyes.
Agumon smiled at him and nodded towards Gabumon and the others. "We've decided we're going to help Whamon and his friends find Gennai. You don't think Izzy will mind, do you?"
"No way. Actually, that's a great idea!" Takara said enthusiastically. "We could use the help. Hey, Whamon? Did Patamon and Wormmon tell you we think Vampiramon and her buddies are hiding out right here on Cyber?"
Whamon nodded his large head and waited patiently for Gabumon and the others to slide off his back. "Yes, that's why I thought it would be a good idea if Agumon and his friends came with me. First I have to find Leomon and the rest of my digimon friends, and then we'll follow your trail. I think Benjamin and the others must have come to the same conclusion because last I heard they, along with Leomon and the others, were heading for the Western Hemisphere. We'll look for Gennai as soon as we find them, and then we'll meet up with you guys, or the other way around. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me," Dai replied, nodding his head with approval. "You guys be careful."
"You, too," Biyomon said anxiously.
"I'll see you later, Gabumon," Ryoko murmured, wrapping his arms around the digimon's furry head.
Gabumon glanced at Alopemon, before turning back to Ryoko, and smiled. "Say hi to your dad for me."
"I will."
Gatomon leaped into T.K.'s arms and wrapped her tail around his waist with affection. "T.K., will you tell Kari I want to meet Rina?"
"Of course," T.K. replied, looking amused. "Rina's going to love you."
"That's for sure," Veemon muttered.
"Oh, go choke on a furball!" Gatomon snapped.
"But...I don't get furballs."
Matty suddenly noticed three digimon he had never seen before and stared at them in surprise. "Hey, who are you guys?"
The rock digimon standing closest to him smiled and executed a polite bow. "I'm Rosa's partner, Gotsumon."
"And I'm Mina's digimon, Candlemon. My champion form is Meramon," the candle digimon added.
"What about you?" Dai asked, turning to the last digimon.
The penguin digimon jumped in surprise and gave Dai a hesitant look. "My name's Penguinmon. I'm the rookie form of Noriko's digimon. Veemon told me you were my partner's son."
"That's right. It's nice to meet you Penguinmon. Are you guys going with Whamon, too?"
Dai gently stroked the rookie's short wings, and Penguinmon beamed up at the goggle-headed leader. "Of course. There's no way I'm going to let Noriko down!"
"That's the spirit!" Dovemon laughed.
T.K. gave Takara's partner a warm smile and turned to look at Whamon. "You guys had better get going. We'll meet up with you soon, okay?"
"Wait!" Ryoko suddenly cried.
Matty glanced impatiently at his cousin and raised his eyebrows at the stubborn look on the other boy's face.
"What's wrong, Ryoko?" Mickey asked, his amber eyes growing dark with concern.
Ryoko wrapped his arms protectively around Palmon and glared defiantly at Davis and Daichi. "Palmon's coming with us."
"Now what's gotten into you? You're wasting our time," Dai said, clearly irritated as a result of Ryoko's sudden interruption.
"I promised my mom I would bring Palmon back with us, and I'm not going to break my promise!"
"Really? You mean I get to see Mimi?" Palmon gasped, her whole face lighting up.
Dai turned to look at his father, but Davis merely shrugged and patted his son's shoulder. "It's your call. What do you think we should do about Palmon?"
Dai glanced at the angry expression on Ryoko's face and sighed. "Alright, I guess she can come with, but make sure you keep an eye on her. She can't digivolve without Mimi, and I don't want Vampiramon and her buddies to take advantage of that."
Ryoko had been all ready to protest, but at Dai's words he quickly closed his mouth and stared at the goggle-headed leader in surprise.
"I can't digivolve either," Glowmon said sadly, his glowing belly flickering with sorrow.
Sam gave his little digimon a fierce hug and shook his head in denial. "You'll digivolve soon, Glowmon, and when you do you'll be a great champion."
"He's right, Glowmon," Ken said quietly.
The little rookie cheered up instantly and beamed at both Ken and his partner. "I'll do my best."
"Thanks, Dai. I can't wait to see Mimi. I guess it'll be hard for her to come to the Digital World because of the new baby," Palmon said seriously.
Ryoko stroked the petals on her head and nodded. "That's why I'm going to bring you to her. Come on, let's go find the crests."
"Good luck!" Whamon said.
Gatomon gave T.K. an affectionate squeeze, and the group of digimon quickly headed back towards Whamon.
"Don't get yourselves killed!" Gomamon called cheerfully as the whale digimon began to swin off down the shoreline.
"And tell Yolei to quit threatening Tentomon!" Hawkmon shouted, his words clearly directed at Ken.
Ken laughed and waved in acknowledgement. "I will...at the risk of getting a few threats myself!"
"Thank you," Tentomon called out with obvious relief.
Armadillomon waved his tail at them, and after a few more hurried shouts the whale digimon disappeared beyond their sight.
"Now what do we do?" Halomon asked curiously, his bright blue eyes travelling over Mickey's pale face.
"We start walking!" Davis and Daichi replied at the exact same time. The two of them stared at each other for a moment and promptly burst into laughter.
"That's it?" Ryoko snapped, clearly disgusted.
"Well, that's what we've done every other time, and let's face it, Ryoko, we don't have to go looking for trouble. Why should we when trouble always finds us first?" Sam said glumly.
"Too true," Alopemon muttered.
Ken placed a hesitant hand on his son's shoulder and turned slowly to look at Dai. "You're right, Dai. I think we're just going to have to keep walking until T.K. and I can pick up the signals for our crests."
"We'll find them. Come on, everyone. Let's go hunt some crests!" Patamon said cheerfully.
They started off in silence, and Matty found himself walking at the back of the group with Sam, Glowmon, and Celestimon. Dai, Davis, Ken, and Takara walked at the front of the group with their digimon, and Ryoko, Palmon, his father, his twin, and their digimon walked in the middle. Mickey kept glancing shyly back at him, but he turned his face away and pretended not to notice.
Why doesn't he just tell me what's really bugging him instead of making it look like he doesn't care what's going on anymore. I know he wants to tell me. I can feel it. Why else would he have acted so strange this morning?
"Matty, will you please tell me what's going on between you and Mickey?" Sam whispered in his ear, interrupting his thoughts.
Matty realized his friend was watching Mickey closely and smiled in amusement. "What do you mean?"
"Like you need to ask. Mickey's obviously avoiding you for a reason. What did you do to him?"
"I didn't do anything to him. He did it to himself."
Sam stared at him, and Glowmon started giggling loudly.
"Matty, if you don't tell me what happened earlier this morning-"
"Alright, alright! Keep your voice down, would you?"
"Why?"
"Because I don't want Mickey to overhear us."
"Matty..."
Matty glanced nervously at his twin and pulled Sam closer to his side. "I woke up this morning and found Mickey sleeping on the edge of my bed. I think he must have been watching over me because he was sort of propped up against the headboard. He must have sensed my gaze on him because he suddenly woke up and stared at me as if he couldn't remember where he was. When he realized I was watching him he turned all red in the face and practically fell of the bed in an effort to get away from me. I know he was watching over me while I was sleeping, and you can probably guess why, too."
"Mickey's really worried about you," Sam sighed.
"I know, and he shouldn't be. Nothing's going to happen to me. He wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the morning, you know, and he's been avoiding me ever since."
"You're upset about that, aren't you."
Matty gave his friend a startled look and managed a weak laugh. "When Mickey and I were younger and one of us had a nightmare, we used to hide under the blankets together and talk about it until we fell asleep, but Mickey hasn't come to me like that in a long time, until now. Why is he so afraid to tell me what's going on when it's obvious he wants my support?"
They both turned to look at Mickey and smiled at the shy expression on the older twin's face. Mickey had handed Halomon over to his father, and T.K. was currently admiring the little digimon who was blushing furiously at being the centre of attention. Alopemon had also gotten a lot of attention from T.K., but that little rookie seemed more pleased than anything else.
"Oh, don't forget about me!" Celestimon gasped, fluttering over to Halomon as fast as his small wings could carry him. Matty laughed and turned to look at Davis who was gushing over Embermon. Ken was stroking Dovemon's white head, but Matty did not fail to notice the way the raven-haired Digidestined kept glancing back at his son.
"Um...Sam, I think your dad wants to talk to you."
"Then he can come back here and tell me what's going on because I'm not going up there!" Sam said stubbornly.
Matty was about to answer when Ken suddenly let out a gasp and came to an abrupt halt. T.K. ended up stumbling into Ken's back, and Matty watched his father put a hand on the raven-haired Digidestined's shoulder to steady himself.
"Ken, what's wrong?"
"T.K., look at your D-3!" Ken gasped, holding up his own Digivice for emphasis.
T.K. obediently held up his D-3, and a slight smile slipped across his face. Both Digivices were glowing.