Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: I guess I should explain Luciamon a bit. Basically she is a female version of Lucemon, just as there are Angemon and Angewomon. There is also a female version of Angelicmon which I've created named Angellamon, but she has yet to appear in any story. Please review!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 89: Celestial Guide

Takara 'Kara' Kamiya

Cyber, Western Hemisphere, Digital World

Takara smiled at the embarrassed look on Mickey's face and wrapped her arm around Luciamon's shoulders. The female digimon had lowered herself to the ground earlier, in an effort to catch her breath, and the look she cast over her shoulder was filled with fear. "I hope your digimon don't end up getting hurt because of me."

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," Matty said confidently, giving the angel a reassuring smile. "So your name's Luciamon?"

Luciamon beamed at him and nodded. "That's right. Please, allow me to formally introduce myself. I'm a rookie level vaccine type digimon, and my special attacks are Hand of Judgement, Lunar Force, and Trinity Wraiths."

"Are you serious? You're a lot bigger than any rookie I've ever seen!" Dai said slowly.

"Yes, well, Gatomon's not exactly your average champion either, is she!"

Takara's mouth fell open, and she stared at Luciamon in astonishment. "You know about Gatomon?"

Luciamon smiled at her and nodded. "Who doesn't know about the Digidestined? You guys have caused quite a stir here in the Digital World, and I'm not just talking about your team, Kara. There isn't a digimon alive who doesn't know about humans. Leomon, Agumon, and the others have made sure of that!"

"Well, that puts us in our place!" T.K. laughed. "There's still one thing I don't understand. Why are those two digimon chasing you?"

Luciamon was about to answer, but before she could open her mouth they were interrupted by a loud cry. Vulturemon had managed to hit Stingmon in the back with one of his attacks, and the champion digimon fell to the ground. Tirimon just barely managed to get out of the way before Stingmon could flatten him, and Takara groaned as the insect digimon landed on his stomach with a loud crash.

"Stingmon, be careful!" Ken gasped, clinging tightly to his son for support. "Someone help him!"

"I don't think so!" Vulturemon snarled, diving under ExVeemon and focusing his gaze on the insect digimon below him. "Vulture's Eye!"

The red blast hurtled towards the ground, but ExVeemon was quicker. The reptile digimon managed to grab Stingmon under the arms, and he lifted his DNA partner to safety before the blast could make contact with its intended target.

"Thanks, buddy," Stingmon said, giving his fellow digimon a pat on the back.

ExVeemon nodded and they both turned to look at Dragermon.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting bored with this fight!" Tirimon growled. "Let's hurry up and finish this!"

"What do you think, Dragermon?" ExVeemon shouted.

"I think I'm going to have to agree with Tirimon. Let's send this flying nuisance back to Primary Village! Dragon Fire Spin!"

A large blast of fire shot out of Dragermon's mouth, and the flickering tornado slammed into Vulturemon's body. The evil champion's wings burst into flame, and he dropped dangerously close to the ground.

Tirimon quickly leaped forward and aimed his attack towards the sky. "Arctic Blast!"

A shower of snow and ice engulfed Vulturemon's body, and the flames spreading through his feathers abruptly went out. The evil champion hit the ground in front of Tirimon and glared at the arctic digimon. "You won't get away with this! Vampiramon will find a way to destroy all of you, and then the Digital World will be ours!"

"Not if we can help it! Vee-Laser!" ExVeemon shouted, aiming his blast towards the ground. The attack hit Vulturemon in the face, and Stingmon used that opportunity to finish the job.

"Have a nice trip! Spiking Strike!"

Stingmon plunged his stinger right into Vulturemon's heart, and the evil digimon disappeared in an explosion of colourful sparks.

"That's one down and one more to go!" ExVeemon said, looking very pleased with himself.

"Hey, Dragermon, a little help over here would be nice!" Ibismon shouted, ducking to avoid one of Falconmon's large wings.

"Right. Sorry, I almost forgot! Dragon Fire Spin!"

Falconmon flew above the attack and swooped towards Ibismon and the other angel digimon. He came to a stop about five feet in front of them and spread his wings out as far as they would stretch. "Feather Tornado!"

Ibismon and the angels were surrounded by a storm of feathers, and the force of the wind swirling around them sent the four digimon tumbling out of the sky in a tangle of arms, legs, and wings. The group hit the ground with enough force to cause a small earthquake, and Takara flinched.

"Angelicmon! Are you okay?" Matty cried, clinging to his father's arm in fear.

"Oh, no. This is all my fault!" Luciamon moaned.

Mickey looked like he was going to be sick, but somehow he managed not to throw up and hid his face against his brother's shoulder instead.

"Come on, Angemon, you have to get up!" T.K. shouted, his face turning pure white.

What if Ibismon's really hurt?

"Oh, Sam, we have to help them!" Glowmon cried.

"But how?" Ryoko gasped, his arms tightening around Palmon's neck.

Takara turned away from the battle and jumped when she suddenly felt Dai's arms go around her shoulders. "Dai, what are we-"

"Don't worry, Kara," he said quietly in her ear. "Dragermon, ExVeemon, and the others will help them."

Takara felt her cheeks turn red, and she buried her face against his neck. "I know. Thanks, Dai."

"I'm getting really tired of being knocked out of the air all the time!" Ibismon groaned, sitting up and brushing long, green hair out of her emerald eyes.

Angemon, who was sprawled on the ground beneath her, winced and nodded in agreement.

"Are you ready to surrender?" Falconmon smirked. His black eyes were focused warily on Dragermon, but the triumphant look on his face was directed at Ibismon.

"Never!" Angelicmon snapped, leaping up and pulling Gabrielmon to his feet. "Celestial Star!"

The blast clipped one of Falconmon's wings and sent him spinning towards ExVeemon.

Ibismon and Angemon were on their feet in an instant, and on Angelicmon's signal the four digimon launched themselves into the sky again.

"Everyone at once!" Dragermon shouted, swooping towards ExVeemon and motioning for Stingmon to follow him. "Dragon Fire Spin!"

"Vee-Laser!"

"Spiking Strike!"

"Our turn!" Angemon shouted. "Hand of Fate!"

"Holy Sceptre!"

"Celestial Star!"

"Cyclone Fury!"

The sky became filled with colourful blasts, and Falconmon disappeared in a huge explosion. The ultimate level digimon crashed to the ground in a ball of energy, and Tirimon had the honour of finishing the job.

"Winter Inferno!"

The arctic digimon leaped at Falconmon and slashed the bird with his tail. Falconmon disappeared in an icy blue blast, and by the time the light died away even his data had disintegrated into nothing but a memory.

"Yes, you guys did it! Score one for the good guys!" Matty cheered, pumping his fists into the air and nearly hitting poor Mickey in the nose.

Dragermon and the others quickly hurried towards them, and Takara threw her arms around her digimon in a tight hug. "You were amazing, Ibismon!"

"Well, I'm glad you think so anyway. I'm still trying to figure out how I could have let myself get knocked to the ground like that!"

Takara laughed and buried her face against her digimon's pink stomach. "Forget it. You were awesome."

"See? I told you everything would work out," Dai said softly in her ear.

Takara slowly turned towards him and gently squeezed his hand. "And you were right, as usual."

"Are you okay, Angemon?" T.K. asked, looking concerned.

Angemon wrapped his arms around T.K.'s shoulders and gave his partner a tight squeeze. "I'm fine, T.K. What about you, Luciamon?"

Luciamon placed a gentle hand on Angemon's arm and nodded. "I've never been better. Listen, I...um...I'm sorry about all the trouble I've caused."

"Don't worry about it," Ryoko said quickly, giving her a warm smile. "We were happy to help."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Luciamon's pale blue eyes filled with tears, and she promptly threw her arms around Ryoko in a spontaneous hug. "Oh, thank you. I never knew humans could be so nice. No wonder Vampiramon doesn't like you guys very much!"

"You know about Vampiramon?" Sam asked, looking surprised.

Luciamon nodded vigorously and rested her cheek against the top of Ryoko's golden head. "Every digimon in the Western Hemisphere knows Vampiramon and her gang of evil digimon are after the Digidestined. They're not exactly secretive about it, if you know what I mean. Why do you think I'm so glad to see you guys? Vampiramon might think you're all easy prey, but I know better. You will defeat her, won't you?"

Davis smiled in amusement and shrugged. "Well we're sure going to try."

"That's the best news I've heard all day," Luciamon sighed, giving Ryoko a tight squeeze.

The golden-haired Digidestined blushed and glared at Dai as if daring him to say something.

Takara frowned in confusion and tugged on Luciamon's arm. "Why were those two digimon trying to capture you anyway? You never had a chance to tell us earlier."

Luciamon's face fell, and she abruptly let go of Ryoko. "I think you guys had better sit down. It's kind of a long story."

Since most of them were already seated it was merely a matter of getting comfortable, and within seconds everyone was ready and willing to listen.

Takara settled herself between Ibismon and her Uncle T.K., and after a moment of thoughtful silence she turned her attention to Luciamon. "Did those digimon work for Vampiramon?"

Luciamon glanced at Gabrielmon on her left and slowly nodded. "Vampiramon and her gang of evil buddies are always sending their servants after digimon in the Western Hemisphere. I think they're trying to recruit more digimon to help protect their master and guard Gennai. Why do you think the Western Hemisphere seems so deserted? It's because most of the digimon here have gone into hiding to aviod being captured and turned into slaves. That's probably what happened to Vulturemon and Falconmon. Vampiramon has ways of getting digimon to obey her, you know, and none of them are pleasant."

"That makes sense. I thought the Western Hemisphere appeared to be rather...empty," Ryoko said, scratching Tirimon gently behind the ears. The large champion's head was resting in Ryoko's lap, and he looked like he was asleep.

"You probably would have been better off going into hiding, too," Ken said seriously, his uneasy gaze coming to rest on Luciamon.

The female angel giggled and ran her fingers through her golden hair. "You're right, but I've always been a rebel. You would be, too, if you were stuck running for your life all the time! The good news is Vampiramon and her evil buddies never come on any of their recruiting trips. None of us would stand a chance if they did. I guess it's because they have more important things to do so they just leave that part of their job up to their flunkies. If you ask me, evil digimon can be really lazy sometimes."

"Well, Angemon, it looks like you've finally gotten an answer to your question," Angelicmon said, smiling across the circle at T.K.'s digimon.

Angemon smiled back at him and nodded. "Yes, and for once it's not an answer that only leads to more questions!"

"Luciamon...do you know who Vampiramon's master is?" Sam asked, clutching Glowmon tightly against his chest.

Luciamon sent the raven-haired Digidestined a sympathetic look and shook her head. "No, I've never seen him, but I've definitely heard about him. From what I've heard he doesn't sound like a very nice digimon. How can he be when he's got his servants brainwashing innocent digimon so they'll go along with his plan to take over the Digital World? That's one of the tricks Vampiramon likes to use all the time."

Mickey shivered and tightened his hold on one of Gabrielmon's gold and white wings. The older twin had been sitting with his cheek pillowed against his partner's shoulder, but at Luciamon's words he straightened up and gazed at her with fear in his eyes. "How did you know Gennai was captured?"

Luciamon flinched and wrapped her arms around herself. "I know because I saw Vampiramon dragging him into the old castle she and her friends are using as a base. They call it their fort, and I can see why. It's become more of a fort than anything else these days. It even looks like one since they've got their guards hanging around the perimeter and leaning over the castle walls."

"Do you know anything about the crests?" Matty asked eagerly, his amber eyes beginning to sparkle with excitement.

Takara let out a gasp and felt her uncle's arm go around her in a comforting hug. She gave him a grateful smile and turned to gaze anxiously at Luciamon. Could she really know where the crests are?

Luciamon gazed thoughtfully at the sky for a moment and wrinkled her tiny nose. "I'd heard the crests were stolen. You know what? I bet they're in the same place where Gennai is! Obviously Vampiramon must have stolen them. Who else would have had the nerve? Yes, I'm sure of it! They must be in the castle where Vampiramon's master is!"

"Do you think you could tell us where it is?" Dai asked, his dark eyes flashing with determination. "Obviously you've seen their base before otherwise you wouldn't have known where Gennai was. How about it? Do you mind helping us out a little bit?"

Luciamon raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly. "Not at all. It's the least I can do after everything you guys have done for me, only I'm not going to tell you where it is."

"Why not?" ExVeemon demanded.

"Because, I'm going to make your jobs easier by taking you right to it."