Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: It's like a light bulb clicked on over my head or something because I've just had huge inspiration for this fic. You'll see what I mean as the story continues!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 93: In Enemy Territory

Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya

Cyber, Western Hemisphere, Digital World

"Excuse me, guys, but shouldn't we wait for some instructions from Izzy first?" Takara said dryly.

Daichi Motomiya came to an abrupt stop and grinned sheepishly at his female friend. "You're right. Hey, T.K., has Izzy sent you an e-mail yet?"

"Not yet, but he will as soon as he comes up with a plan. Sorry, Kara. I guess I was getting a little ahead of myself, wasn't I."

"That's okay. We're all a little excited, and a little nervous, too, I think." Takara laughed.

Including me.

Daichi smiled at his own eagerness to get inside the castle and glanced over Mickey's shoulder at the D-Terminal in T.K.'s hands. "Well, what's he waiting for? I thought he was supposed to be a genius. Shouldn't he have come up with a plan by now?"

"Even geniuses need a little time to think," Ken replied, a faint smile slipping across his handsome face.

Dai rolled his eyes and was about to come up with a creative retort when T.K.'s D-Terminal suddenly let off a loud beep. "Don't those things ever shut up?"

"Don't worry, Dai, the guards are too far away from us to be able to hear anything," T.K. said, giving him a reassuring smile. "It's an e-mail from Izzy." The e-mail said:

T.K.,

Brilliant idea! I couldn't have thought of a better one myself! Now listen closely. I've got the image of the castle on my screen. I'm positive the crests can be found on the fifth floor in a room next to the main staircase. It's going to be dangerous, and that's why I'm going to use the shortest route possible to get you guys there. Make sure you avoid the guards as much as you can. If they do spot you, you're going to have to get rid of them before they can let Vampiramon know you've gotten inside the castle. Don't worry, I've already got an escape plan ready in case things don't work out. Hopefully you won't have to use it! We'll be watching over you at all times so just follow my lead. I'm glad Tentomon and the other digimon have joined up with Leomon and the others, but I'm still worried. I, too, have no idea why they haven't shown up yet. If they don't come soon you guys will have to rescue Gennai, but we'll worry about that after we've found the crests. He's probably in the dungeons, but if you do see him make sure he goes with you even if you have to tie him up and drag him along by the back of his robe! Good luck, and whatever you do, please be careful!

Izzy

P.S. You were great, Matty!

"You heard the genius, let's get moving!" Matty joked.

"Good job, Matty. Izzy doesn't get impressed very often!" T.K. laughed, gazing proudly at his son.

Matty blushed and shrugged his shoulders. "It was just an idea."

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Ryoko snorted.

Dai elbowed the golden-haired Digidestined in the ribs and frowned at the castle. "We still have to figure out how we're going to distract the guards long enough to get inside."

"That's the easy part," Luciamon said confidently. "Hey, Ibismon, do you mind helping us out a little bit?"

Ibismon smiled at the female angel and shook her head. "Not at all. What do you want me to do?"

"First we have to get closer to the castle, and then I'll let you know. Come on, guys, follow me."

Dai quickly joined his father and Takara at the front of the group, and Luciamon gave them a reassuring smile. "Stay close to me. We'll have to be careful. Vampiramon probably has guards watching for anything suspicious."

Dai and the others stuck close to the edge of the forest and slowly made their way towards the castle. The trees ended about fifty feet away from the Vilemon who were patrolling the left wall, and as a result they had a perfect place to hide while they studied their surroundings.

"What have we gotten ourselves in to?" Takara muttered, gazing nervously at the castle.

Dai hesitated and slowly took her hand. "It's okay. I won't let anything happen to you or any of our other friends."

"I know, and I'll do the same for you, okay?"

"Sounds good to me."

Takara blushed and gently squeezed his hand. "I'm worried about Leomon and the others. Where could they be?"

I wish I knew. If only Agumon could have found a way to contact us and let us know what's going on. Kara looks about as scared as I feel. If only there was something I could do to make her feel better...

"Do you think they're okay?"

Dai wrapped his arms around his female friend and rested his cheek against her shiny hair. "I'm sure they're fine, and don't worry about Gennai. He won't get left behind. You heard what Izzy said. Someone will rescue our elusive friend."

Takara slipped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him. "Thanks, Dai. I feel much better now."

Dai nodded and held her tightly in his arms. He knew he should probably let go of her, but since she did not make any objections regarding his close proximity he chose to remain exactly where he was. He liked being able to hug her. It felt...nice.

"I think Kara needs rescuing more than Gennai does!"

Dai jumped at the sound of his father's voice and felt his face turn red. "Dad!"

"What?" his father asked innocently.

Dai glared at the former Digidestined leader and quickly pulled away from his female friend. "Will you please stop embarrassing me all the time?"

"That's what parents are for, Dai!"

Dai sent his father a dirty look and glanced anxiously at Takara, but surprisingly she did not look the least bit upset. In fact, the expression on her face was filled with surprise, and there was a faint blush on her cheeks.

Thanks a lot, Dad! She's probably never going to want to come anywhere near me ever again! Unless...

"Now what?" Alopemon asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Dai frowned and pointed at the little imp-like digimon. "Who are they exactly? Luciamon called them Vilemon."

"She's right, they are Vilemon," T.K. replied. "They're champion level virus type digimon. They may be small, but appearances can be deceiving. Trust me, they're a lot tougher than they look."

"I bet we could beat them easily," Dragermon muttered.

"You heard what Izzy said. We have to be as inconspicuous as possible," Sam said sternly, shaking his finger at the large dragon digimon.

"Fine, but that doesn't mean we have to like it," ExVeemon grumbled.

"Besides, I told you guys already, we don't have to fight in order to get inside," Luciamon giggled. "Ibismon, do you see that large cliff hanging slightly over the castle?"

"Obviously. How can anyone miss it? It's huge!"

"Well, if you can hit it with one of your attacks it might cause a big enough distraction for us to get past the guards. What do you think? You have a lot of green on you so the trees will hide you from view. Am I brilliant, or what? Oh, and, Dragermon, you'd better turn back into your rookie form. You're too big. One of the guards will definitely spot you if you go flying towards the castle in plain sight. Besides, there's no way you'll be able to fit through the weak point in your current form."

Dai nodded in agreement and smiled at Ibismon. "Are you ready?"

Ibismon fluttered her wings and winked at him. "I'm always ready."

"Be careful," Takara whispered.

Ibismon crouched behind a large clump of bushes and waited in silence. As soon as the Vilemon were looking the other way, she leaped into the air and sent her green blast flying into the cliffside. At first nothing happened, but then a shower of rocks began to rain down on the left-hand side of the castle. The Vilemon went flying in all directions trying desperately to avoid getting hit on their heads by large boulders.

"Now!" Luciamon whispered.

Dai burst out of the forest and sprinted towards the castle as fast as his legs could carry him. He reached the stone wall a split second before the others, and Luciamon stumbled into him. "The weak point is right here," the female angel whispered, pointing at a rock on the ground.

"Alright, everyone inside." Without hesitation Dai ran straight through the wall and almost tripped in surprise at how easily he had been able to enter the castle. The others quickly appeared behind him, and a sudden shout coming from outside made them freeze in their tracks. It was one of the two dinosaur digimon, and his voice sounded like it was coming from the spot where they had been standing less than a minute ago.

"What are you fools doing over here?"

Dai glanced at the weak point and jumped in surprise when he realized he could actually see the dinosaur digimon and a group of Vilemon standing less than a foot away from him, but for some reason the dark digimon could not see him or his friends.

Weird.

"I think it has something to do with our Digivices," T.K. whispered, as if reading his mind. "Those Gazimon couldn't see Tai twenty-nine years ago either, and yet we could see them."

"There was another rock slide," one of the Vilemon complained. "This place is dangerous. How many times do I have to say it? One of these days we're all going to be buried alive!"

"Who builds a castle in a deep valley beneath a cliff anyways?" a second Vilemon muttered.

The first Vilemon nodded in agreement and made a face. "I don't know why the boss didn't pick a safer place to carry out his evil plans!"

The dinosaur digimon merely grunted and stomped back to the front of the castle to maintain watch.

Dai let out a sigh of relief and tugged on Luciamon's right wing. "They've had rock slides here before?"

"Of course. That's why I chose to use a rock slide as a way to get inside the castle. I knew they would never suspect anything out of the ordinary."

"Good idea," Palmon said enthusiastically.

"That was still a little too close for comfort," Mickey mumbled, gazing nervously down the narrow corridor. "Let's hurry up and find the crests. The less time we spend in here, the better."

Another e-mail suddenly popped up on T.K.'s D-Terminal, and Dai took a quick look at it. It said:

T.K.,

Great, you guys are in! I'm not even going to ask how you managed it. Step one has gone off without a hitch, and that means it's time for step two. The next weak point will lead you to a set of stairs you have to ascend in order to reach the second floor. All you have to do is keep heading down the hallway you're currently in until you reach a dead end. Then I want you to turn left and make another left as soon as you've gone about twenty feet down the next hallway. It will also lead you to a dead end. That's the weak point which leads to the stairs. You'd better get moving. We have no idea what Vampiramon's master is capable of, and that worries me. Remember, keep your eyes open and pay attention to what's going on around you.

Izzy

Dai took a deep breath and slowly lifted his chin. "Alright, guys, let's get this over with."

Spritemon

Cyber, Western Hemisphere, Digital World

Spritemon was about to tell DarkAngelicmon she did not think SkullSatamon was a suitable guard for Gennai when a faint rumbling noise caught her attention. She was standing in the dungeons next to the fallen angel, and the sound made her glance warily at the ceiling. "What was that?"

DarkAngelicmon leaned against the bars of Gennai's cell and shrugged his shoulders. "Probably another rock slide. We do seem to have a lot of them, don't we? I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"It'd better not be. Luciamon should be getting here soon, right?"

"I guess that depends on how long they've been sitting around talking. Now what in the name of Hades has got you so bent out of shape this time?"

Spritemon crossed her arms and glared at him. "SkullSatamon! He's a useless digimon! The Digidestined would flatten him if they showed up right now and made an attempt to rescue Gennai! He's also lazy. I've seen him sleeping on the job when he's supposed to be watching our prisoner. If you ask me, I'd say we're lucky Gennai hasn't escaped already!"

"Hey!" SkullSatamon growled, jumping angrily to his feet.

DarkAngelicmon placed a restraining hand on the digimon's shoulder and glanced casually at Devidramon. The large, winged digimon was watching them all warily, and there was an angry expression on his face.

"The Digidestined aren't going to be getting anywhere near Gennai. Luciamon's bringing them directly to me, remember?"

"Maybe, but what if our little friend here trys to escape? You need decent guards to keep an eye on him."

"SkullSatamon and Devidramon will do well enough, I think. Come, Spritemon, we have to prepare ourselves for Luciamon's arrival. You don't want to miss all the fun, do you?"

Spritemon reluctantly took the arm he offered her and frowned at the man sitting quietly in his cell.

Gennai had not said a word through the whole exchange, but there was a strange glint in his eyes, and she could have sworn she saw a small smile slip across his face before quickly disappearing.

What's he so happy about, and why do I have a feeling he knows something we don't? Impossible. I'm getting as jumpy as a Digidestined! What would Vampiramon say if she knew?

Spritemon winced at the thought and quickly dragged DarkAngelicmon out of the dungeons. The fallen angel looked surprised, but she pretended not to notice. She could not explain it, but for some reason she had an uneasy feeling something was going to go wrong, and being around Gennai had only made her wonder even more if things were going to go as well as DarkAngelicmon seemed to think they would.

I hope they do because if they don't someone's going to have to explain what went wrong to our master...