Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: I can't believe it! Chapter 100! In the next chapter the Digidestined will test their strength against DarkAngelicmon!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 100: The Power of Hope
Ryoko Ishida
Cyber, Western Hemisphere, Digital World
Ryoko Ishida gaped at the glowing feather in DarkAngelicmon's hand and shook his head in disbelief at what he was seeing. Although the light could not be considered strong, it was still there, and it made DarkAngelicmon seem different somehow.
I don't believe it. DarkAngelicmon's a creature of darkness. How can Angemon's feather be glowing?
"Daichi Motomiya and the Digidestined," Spritemon smirked, fluttering into the room and coming to a stop almost directly in front of Takara. "What a surprise. I guess DarkAngelicmon knew what he was doing after all."
Ryoko glanced anxiously at DarkAngelicmon and realized the fallen angel was gazing at the feather in his hand with something close to astonishment. Clearly he had not expected the feather to react to him in such a way that would suggest there was more to him than what he had revealed so far. Apparently Spritemon was too busy glaring at Takara to notice what was going on with DarkAngelicmon because so far she had not once glanced in the fallen angel's direction.
What will she do when she sees the feather in DarkAngelicmon's hand?
"Give that back!" Mickey suddenly shouted, leaping forward and yanking the feather out of DarkAngelicmon's hand.
The fallen angel did not even try to resist. He allowed Mickey to take it from him, and he stared at the older twin as if he had seen a ghost.
"Makiya Takaishi! Get back here right now!" T.K. snapped, reaching out and pulling the older twin against his side. "If you try something like that again you're never coming back to the Digital World, do you understand me?"
"You gave me that feather, and I'm not going to let him take it away from me!" Mickey mumbled, glaring angrily at the fallen angel.
Matty lightly punched his brother in the arm and let out a soft sigh. "Mickey, didn't you listen to a single thing I'd said earlier? I told you not to put yourself in danger!"
"He's right, Mickey. You must be careful," Gabrielmon said quietly, giving his partner a disapproving look.
Ryoko did not bother scolding his cousin. He was too busy fuming to waste his time trying to come up with a coherent sentence.
I can't believe we fell for such an obvious trap! I should have said something to the others, but I...well...I thought there was a chance I might be wrong about Luciamon...
All of the commotion must have captured Spritemon's attention because the female digimon suddenly turned to look at DarkAngelicmon and crossed her arms. "If you even think about gloating, I'll stick the Crest of Courage up your nose! Speaking of crests, what in the Digiworld do you think you're doing letting the Digidestined get their hands on something we worked so hard to steal? Our master would have a fit if he knew!"
Somehow DarkAngelicmon managed to compose himself, and he gave the sprite digimon a sweet smile. "The crests are useless to them at the moment. Daichi and his friends are no more of a threat to us with or without them. Besides, they need the crests in order for us to get our hands on the Spirit Chips."
"That's no excuse! Luciamon, I thought you would have been able to talk some sense into him at least!"
"Honey, it's like talking to a brick wall. It all goes in one ear and out the other!"
Spritemon sniffed and sent the female angel an impatient look. "And just how did you manage to sneak into the castle with the Digidestined on your heels? I knew DarkAngelicmon was keeping things from me, and I don't appreciate it one bit! Someone had better tell me the truth about what's going on, or else!"
Unbelievable! She never even noticed a thing!
Ryoko stared at the sprite digimon in disbelief and slowly turned his attention back to DarkAngelicmon. Mickey had grabbed the feather out of the fallen angel's hand before Spritemon had had a chance to spot it, and as a result the female digimon had no idea of what had just occured. Luciamon was the complete opposite. She had seen the feather react to DarkAngelicmon, and the neutral expression on her face had changed immediately.
She looks...excited about something. Is it because Angemon's feather had reacted to DarkAngelicmon in a way that suggests the fallen angel isn't really who he appears to be? Strange. I wonder what's going on...
"Angelicmon, why didn't you and the other angels sense him coming?" Dai demanded, waving his hand in DarkAngelicmon's direction.
Angelicmon's cheeks turned pink, and he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Dai. I had my attention focused on the crests, and I didn't realize he was so close until it was already too late."
"Same here," Gabrielmon sighed.
"No kidding," Luciamon muttered. "I knew he was nearby, but I didn't realize he was that close!"
"What was that?" Spritemon snapped.
DarkAngelicmon raised his eyebrows and gave the sprite digimon a small smile. "Don't mind Luciamon. She likes to joke around a lot, and making smart remarks is her specialty. I must admit, I've been a little foolish myself. There are other angel digimon in the castle, so of course Angelicmon's presence would have gone unnoticed to me, and the same goes for Angemon and Gabrielmon, but that's still no excuse. I should have understood what was going on as soon as I got close enough to the crest room to realize I wasn't alone, but I was too busy thinking about other things to realize what was happening. Oh well. We all make mistakes, including evil digimon."
"They make the most!" Alopemon shot back.
"Considering the digimon I've worked with so far, I'd have to agree," DarkAngelicmon said dryly.
"Excuse me, but can't you tell the difference between a fallen angel digimon and a regular angel digimon?" Takara asked hesitantly.
"Not in this castle. The Powers of Darkness are everywhere. How am I supposed to tell whether or not the presence of evil is coming from a digimon or the castle itself?"
"So you say," ExVeemon snorted.
"I can't believe we fell for such an obvious trap! Ishida, why didn't you say something earlier?" Dai complained.
Ryoko crossed his arms and glared at the goggle-headed leader. "Don't try to blame me for this, Daichi! If you weren't such an idiot to begin with-"
"Ryoko, now is definitely not the time for you to be starting another fight with Dai," Davis interrupted.
"Hey! He started the first one, not me!"
"Really, Ryoko, you should be a little nicer to your friends," DarkAngelicmon scolded.
Ryoko stared at the fallen angel with his mouth hanging open and let out a loud snort. "What would you know about friendship?"
"More than you, obviously."
"Ouch, now that's what I call an insult!" Dai smirked.
Ryoko felt his face turn red, and he sent the fallen angel a dirty look. He knew DarkAngelicmon was trying to catch him off guard, but he had already fallen for one trick that day, and there was no way he was going to fall for another one!
"I still can't believe we let ourselves get tricked so easily!" Takara moaned, covering her face with her hands.
Ryoko nodded in agreement and wrapped an arm around his female friend's shoulders. "I know exactly how you feel, Kara. We've walked right into the middle of a huge disaster!"
"Maybe, maybe not," Ken said quietly.
Ryoko turned to look at Sam's father and realized the man was gazing curiously at Luciamon. He looked confused about something, and his gaze kept drifting back to T.K., Mickey, Sam, and Matty.
None of this makes any sense. Matty told me he couldn't feel the Powers of Darkness radiating from Luciamon like he could with DarkAngelicmon, and I bet the same goes for Ken and the others, as well, but if that's the case then how can Luciamon be evil, and more importantly, why hasn't DarkAngelicmon realized his friend doesn't hold the same kind of connection to darkness that he holds? I don't understand. Our angel digimon can tell the difference between a fallen angel and a regular angel, even here in the castle, so why can't DarkAngelicmon?
"Ryoko, what's wrong?" Alopemon asked anxiously, his pale blue eyes narrowing into a frown.
Ryoko ignored his partner and turned his attention to Luciamon instead. "Why? Why can't he feel the difference?"
Luciamon glanced at DarkAngelicmon, and a sad smile slipped across her face. "Sometimes we only see what we want to see, Ryoko Ishida."
What in the Digiworld is that supposed to mean?
"I'm sorry, Ryoko. I know Matty and I can't sense angel digimon exactly, but we can sense DarkAngelicmon's evil. I guess we should have been paying more attention to what was going on," Mickey said quietly.
Ryoko quickly shook his head and smiled at his cousin. "No, Mickey. You said it yourself. We had the crests to worry about."
"Enough talking!" Spritemon suddenly snapped, angrily fluttering her wings. "I don't know about you, DarkAngelicmon, but I think it's time we had some of the guards escort the Digidestined to the dungeons before they try to escape. The sooner they're locked away, the better. Our master can deal with them when he gets back. Hey! Are you listening to me?"
"What?"
Ryoko turned to look at DarkAngelicmon and smiled in amusement when he realized the fallen angel had not been paying attention to a single word of what Spritemon had said. The evil digimon's green eyes were focused on Luciamon, and the look on his face clearly stated he did not have a clue what the female angel had meant by her last comment, but it was obvious he intended to find out as soon as he had a chance to speak to his fallen friend without anyone listening in on their conversation.
"Wait a minute, are you saying your master isn't here?" Dai interrupted, a sudden smile slipping across his face. "What about Vampiramon, Jestermon, and BlackWidowmon? Where are they?"
Spritemon crossed her arms and glared at the goggle-headed leader. "None of your business! So tell me, Daichi, are you ready to join your friend Gennai in the dungeons?"
"Not a chance!" Sam snapped, his dark blue eyes burning with fury. "Do you really think we're just going to let you drag us down to the dungeons without putting up a fight? Think again! There are only three of you and ten of our digimon, counting Palmon. What makes you think you can defeat all of us at once? We're not going to give up until we rescue Gennai and send the two of you running back to your master with another failure on your hands!"
"Now that's more like the Sam I know!" Dai cheered, sending the raven-haired Digidestined an approving smile.
"No," Luciamon pleaded. "No, you have to go to the dungeons. You have to! Please..."
"Spritemon, tell BlackGatomon and some of the others to get in here and help us take the Digidestined to the dungeons," DarkAngelicmon said, sounding distracted. "We'll deal with them once they're safely locked away."
Great. Now what do we do?
Ryoko edged closer to Dai and tugged anxiously on the goggle-headed leader's shirt. "Daichi, we have to go to the dungeons in order to rescue Gennai, but if we let ourselves become surrounded by DarkAngelicmon's guards we'll never be able to escape!"
Dai watched Spritemon leave the room and slowly nodded. "You're right, Ishida. If we want to get out of here with the crests we're going to have to make our move now while we only have DarkAngelicmon and Luciamon to deal with. Besides, Vampiramon and her master could come back at any moment, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to be around when they show up. We have no choice. We have to leave now otherwise we're doomed."
"But...what about Gennai?" Takara whispered, overhearing their conversation. She came closer to them, and the fire in her hazel eyes froze both of them in their tracks. "We can't just leave him here! If we don't save him now then we might as well not bother trying to rescue him at all because we'll never have another chance to do so. Do you two honestly think we'll have another opportunity to sneak inside the castle? Give me a break! DarkAngelicmon knows we want to get our hands on Gennai, and if by some miracle we manage to get out of this place without getting captured, he, along with Vampiramon and the others, are going to have so many guards around this place it'll be impossible for us to sneak in a second time. They're not completely stupid, you know. They know we'll try to come back eventually if we leave without Gennai, and as a result every digimon in this place will be watching for us. The only reason we were able to get in this time is because Luciamon practically invited us here. Maybe Spritemon and some of the guards didn't know the details of DarkAngelicmon's plan, but they will next time, if there even is a next time! And don't think we can count on Leomon and the others either. How do we know they've managed to come anywhere near the castle let alone get inside?"
Ryoko hesitated and slowly slipped his arm around his female friend. He could feel her shoulders trembling, and the look on her face was filled with despair. "Kara, listen to me. I know how you feel, but what else can we do? Who knows how many guards Spritemon's bringing back with her? There's no way we can take on all of them, and once we get to the dungeons it'll be almost impossible to escape. If we want to get out of here we're going to have to act now. Luciamon and DarkAngelicmon are powerful, but they're only two digimon. We'll never have a better opportunity to escape. I know it's hard, but..."
"We don't have a choice," Davis finished, glancing helplessly at his son.
"But-"
"Kara, Izzy already has an escape plan worked out, remember?" T.K. said quietly, glancing calmly at Luciamon and DarkAngelicmon to see if they were listening. The two angels had their heads bent close together, and they appeared to be having some sort of an argument.
"Yes, what about it?" Takara asked, lifting her head and gazing curiously at her uncle.
"How much do you want to bet Izzy's plan takes us right past the dungeons, and if it doesn't I'm going to make sure he alters it in a way that's going to lead us right to Gennai's cell!"
Takara wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Uncle T.K., Luciamon knows about the weak points. I get the feeling DarkAngelicmon doesn't know about them yet, but he will as soon as Luciamon has a chance to tell him!"
"Yes, Luciamon knows about them, but she doesn't know exactly where all of them are! Izzy does!"
"And how are you going to let Izzy know we need to go past the dungeons?"
T.K. smiled slightly and held up his D-Terminal. "The same way I tell him everything else."
"Why?" Ken suddenly whispered, his dark blue eyes travelling across Luciamon's face. "Why did she disobey DarkAngelicmon's orders? She was supposed to have brought us here by way of the North Tower, but she used the weak points instead. It's obvious DarkAngelicmon doesn't have a clue how she got inside the castle, which means, like Takara said earlier, he must not know about the weak points. You heard Luciamon. She kept avoiding DarkAngelicmon's questions, and she told him she had to change his plans, but she didn't give him a decent explanation as to why. We were with her the whole time, and you guys know as well as I do that DarkAngelicmon's plan would have worked just as well, so why did she change it?"
"What are you saying?" Sam gasped, gazing at his father in astonishment. "Are you saying Luciamon isn't really evil after all?"
Ryoko stared at Sam's father with his mouth hanging open and jumped when DarkAngelicmon suddenly spoke. "Daichi Motomiya, are you and your friends trying to come up with an escape plan?"
Dai glared at the fallen angel, but DarkAngelicmon waved his hand for silence. "Oh, by all means, go ahead. It'll be interesting to see what you come up with. Your plan won't work, obviously, but nevertheless I'm sure I'll find your efforts to be rather amusing, wouldn't you agree, Luciamon?"
Luciamon gazed miserably at the floor and did not reply.
"Well, are we going to do this or not?" Matty demanded.
Ryoko nodded and gently let go of his female friend. "What about you, Kara? Are you with us?"
"You're not mad at me, are you?" Dai asked, gazing anxiously into Takara's eyes. "We'll save him. I promise."
Takara stared at the goggle-headed leader for a moment, and reaching out she gently squeezed his hand. "No, Dai, I'm ready. We'll find a way to rescue Gennai. I know we will."
"Me, too," Mickey said softly.
"Well, what's it going to be?" DarkAngelicmon asked, looking amused. "Are you going to come with us peacefully or are you going to fight?"
Ryoko glared directly into the fallen angel's eyes and held out his Digivice. "What do you think? Come on, Alopemon, let's digivolve!"
"Well it's about time! Alopemon digivolve to, Tirimon!"
"You, too, Angemon." T.K. said quietly, holding up his crest. Its shiny surface began to glow a bright yellow, and the shadows in the room were immediately driven back into the walls. "No one tortures my sons and gets away with it!"
"I will protect Mickey and Matty with my life, T.K. Angemon digivolve to, MagnaAngemon!"
I don't believe it! Angemon digivolved to his ultimate level!
Ryoko gazed at his uncle's partner in astonishment, but the look on his face was nothing compared to the identical looks of awe his twin cousins wore.
DarkAngelicmon's green eyes narrowed into a frown, and he quickly motioned for Luciamon to block the only door in the room. "You are willing to fight me without knowing the true extent of my power?"
"We are," Gabrielmon said firmly, stepping up next to MagnaAngemon. Angelicmon stood on MagnaAngemon's other side and nodded in agreement.
"We all are," Stingmon said quietly.
Ken was right! DarkAngelicmon doesn't know about the weak points! We still have a chance to escape! He made Luciamon block the door, but no one's blocking the weak point. If he knew about it he probably would have blocked it himself, but there's still one thing I don't understand. Why isn't Luciamon saying anything? She has to know or suspect we're going to try to use the weak point as part of our escape plan, so why isn't she warning DarkAngelicmon?
"You are a fool, T.K.," DarkAngelicmon murmured without looking at the golden-haired Digidestined. "I would not have hurt you sons, at least not in the way you think, but if this is how it has to end then so be it. We will fight, and your digimon will die for it!"
MagnaAngemon pointed his finger at the fallen angel and motioned for the other digimon to gather around him."Prepare yourself, DarkAngelicmon. It's time you learned to fear the light!"