Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: I have to say I can't wait for Chapter 103. It's one of my favorite chapters I've written so far, and of course Glowmon digivolves in it! This is only the beginning of the fight.
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 101: Trapped
Sam Ichijouji
Cyber, Western Hemisphere, Digital World
"You have made your choice, Digidestined, and now you will face an enemy unlike any digimon you have ever faced before," DarkAngelicmon said quietly. "Do you think you can defeat me, MagnaAngemon? Very well then. Show me your power and I will show you mine!"
"Celestial Star!" Angelicmon shouted before MagnaAngemon could respond. The glowing star flew straight at DarkAngelicmon's chest, but the fallen angel leaped out of the way before the attack could hit him and the pedestal that used to hold the Crest of Courage exploded in a flash of bright yellow light.
Matty rolled his eyes and gave his partner a disapproving look. "Angelicmon!"
"What? He was starting to get on my nerves!"
"That was close, but not close enough," DarkAngelicmon smirked, hovering over the remains of the broken pedestal. The fallen angel snapped his fingers and a long dark spear appeared in his hand. He pointed it at the three angel digimon, and a small smile slipped across his face. "Anyone else want to try?"
"Everyone get back against the wall and stay out of the way!" Davis shouted, pushing his son against the wall that stood opposite the door Luciamon was guarding.
Sam Ichijouji found himself being dragged away from the battle by his father, and he let out a cry of protest. "Wait, shouldn't we try to make a run for the weak point?"
"We can't!" Takara moaned. "The weak point is practically on the other side of the room from us. We'd have to run right through the middle of the battle to get to it, and we can't leave through the door unless our digimon can find a way to get rid of Luciamon without getting themselves killed by DarkAngelicmon first."
Sam glanced at the weak point, which was on an angle from where he stood huddled against the wall, and felt his heart sink. Takara was right. They were trapped.
"Besides, the weak point is useless to us without Izzy's escape plan," T.K. whispered, glancing warily over his shoulder.
Sam frowned at the golden-haired Digidestined and huddled closer to his dad's side. "What do you mean?"
"Izzy wanted us to use our original route to get back to the first floor, but that plan's not going to work anymore. Luciamon knows exactly how we got to the crest room and she'll have DarkAngelicmon and the others following us as soon as she realizes what we're trying to do. I'm sorry, guys, but our original weak points are useless to us. The only one that may be useful now is the one we used to get inside this room in the first place."
Exactly, so why hasn't Luciamon told DarkAngelicmon to block it yet? Is she keeping quiet because she knows we can't reach it without getting stuck in the middle of the battle?
"Yes, but how do we know Luciamon really is evil?" Ken said quietly.
Sam turned to stare at his father in shock and slowly shook his head in denial. "Dad, you heard what DarkAngelicmon said. She has to be evil. Why else would she have led us to the crests when she knew DarkAngelicmon was going to be here, too?"
"I don't know, Sam, but I have a feeling we're going to find out."
Sam quickly shut his mouth, and after a moment of tense silence Davis motioned for T.K. to take out his D-Terminal. "T.K., you'd better e-mail Izzy while you still have a chance and tell him we're going to have to use his escape plan, and tell him to make sure it takes us close enough to the dungeons to give us a chance to rescue Gennai."
Dai sent his father a grateful smile and turned to look at Takara. "I promised you I would make sure we rescued Gennai, and I'm going to keep my promise."
Takara hesitated only a moment before throwing her arms around the goggle-headed leader in a tight hug. "I know, Dai. You're amazing, you know that?"
"Yea, I bet," Ryoko muttered, looking amused.
Sam smiled at the faint blush on Dai's cheeks, but before he could say anything a huge blast of light captured his attention and he turned to see Ibismon and Stingmon lying on their backs in the middle of the floor.
"Ibismon, be careful!" Takara cried.
"Hurry, T.K.," Davis whispered, nudging the golden-haired Digidestined in the ribs, "we'll try to slip past the battle as soon as Izzy gives you the details of his plan. ExVeemon and the other digimon can slip out after us. Hopefully we'll find an opening that will allow us to make it to the other side of the room without getting ourselves blown to pieces!"
"Thanks for the words of encouragement, Dad!" Dai said sarcastically.
Sam could hear T.K. scolding Davis for jiggling his arm while he was trying to type, but the words never reached the raven-haired Digidestined's ears. He was too busy watching the battle in front of him to notice what was going on with Dai, the adults, and the rest of his friends.
"Is that all you've got?" DarkAngelicmon asked, leaning against the wall and twirling his spear in his hand. "Really, I was looking for more of a challenge, but I guess I'm going to have to suffer a huge disappointment. What about you, Gabrielmon? Are you going to take me on, as well?"
"You are not as brave as you appear to be, DarkAngelicmon. Holy Sceptre!"
DarkAngelicmon ducked under the orange blast and launched himself into the air again. "We shall see about that! Wrath of Hades!"
Sam gasped as a huge purple blast shot out of DarkAngelicmon's hands and flew straight towards Gabrielmon. MagnaAngemon managed to drag the less experienced angel out of the way, and the glowing ball of energy slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the room, just narrowly missing the weak point.
"Gabrielmon, are you alright?" Mickey gasped, clinging tightly to his dad's arm.
Gabrielmon nodded and managed a weak smile. "I'm fine, Mickey. Don't worry about me. I promise I'll be more careful next time."
"Dai, can I please digivolve now? I want to fight, too!" Embermon complained, his forked tail twitching angrily against the stone floor. The little rookie stood next to his human partner with a frown on his face, and the look he sent DarkAngelicmon was filled with disgust.
"Trust me, Embermon, I know exactly how you feel," Palmon muttered.
"You're not fighting anyone without my mom!" Ryoko snapped, glaring at his mother's partner.
Palmon's whole body wilted, and she gazed miserably at the floor. "Then I'll never help you guys fight, will I."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, if I were you," Takara said slowly. "Don't worry, Palmon, I have a feeling you'll end up helping us out just as much as the others."
"Really?"
"Yes, if Mimi has anything to say about it!"
"Hey, what about me?" Embermon interrupted.
Dai gently patted his partner's head and gave the reptile digimon an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but Dragermon's just too big to fit in this room. I know it's hard, buddy, but I think you're going to have to sit this one out."
"No way! I-"
"Please let us help!" Glowmon cried, fluttering anxiously next to Mickey's shoulder.
Sam pulled the little rookie into his arms and quickly shook his head. "No, Glowmon. I know you're strong, but you haven't had a chance to fight yet, and I don't want your first opponent to be DarkAngelicmon!"
"But-"
"No! Not unless you absolutely have to!"
"We're not finished yet, DarkAngelicmon! Feather Darts!" Ibismon shouted.
"Celestial Star!"
DarkAngelicmon managed to avoid Ibismon's attack, but Angelicmon's golden blast hit him in the chest and sent him crashing to the floor. The fallen angel leaped to his feet as if he had suffered nothing worse than a bruise and tackled Angelicmon in a flurry of dark feathers. "Twilight Spear!"
"Look out!" Matty shouted.
Angelicmon managed to squirm out from under the fallen angel before the spear could catch him in the stomach, and there was a flash of light and a loud clang as MagnaAngemon's sword connected with the evil champion's spear.
"Your sword is no match for my spear!" DarkAngelicmon smirked, swinging his weapon in a flurry of sharp jabs and driving the ultimate digimon back against the wall. MagnaAngemon immediately crouched into a defensive position and held his sword steady to block the blows.
"Now what?" Tirimon growled. "We can't use our attacks because there's a chance we might hit MagnaAngemon!"
"None of this would have happened if all of you had just come to the dungeons without putting up a fight," Luciamon said sadly.
"Who asked you?" Ibismon snapped. "Emerald Flare!"
Luciamon let out a squeal of surprise and fluttered into the air before the green blast could hit her in the face. "Hey, what was that for?"
"That was for leading us into a trap, you little traitor!"
"I'm sorry, MagnaAngemon. I really didn't want to have to kill you, but you know how it is. Twilight Spear!" DarkAngelicmon shouted. The fallen angel's weapon began to glow a bright purple and he swung it at MagnaAngemon's head. The ultimate digimon managed to duck before DarkAngelicmon's spear could hit him in the chest, and he swung his sword at the evil weapon, knocking it out of the fallen angel's hand. DarkAngelicmon immediately lunged for it, but Stingmon knocked it out of reach and sent the fallen angel stumbling into MagnaAngemon with a good, swift kick to the ribs.
"Goodbye, my fallen friend," MagnaAngemon said softly, holding the evil angel in a tight grip. "Gate of-"
"No!" Luciamon shrieked, her voice echoing off the stone walls. "I won't let you kill him! Trinity Wraiths!"
Sam turned just in time to see three ghostly forms separate from Luciamon's body and fly straight at MagnaAngemon. The three glowing spirits circled around the angel's impressive sword and ripped it out of his grasp. The weapon went flying across the room in a blaze of yellow light, and it clattered against the wall before MagnaAngemon even had a chance to make a grab for it.
"Well, it's about time you decided to join in the fight. I was starting to wonder if you'd fallen asleep over there," DarkAngelicmon laughed, his green eyes settling on Luciamon's face.
The female angel blushed and quickly lowered her eyes to the ground. "You told me to watch the door."
"Yes, well nevertheless your help is appreciated."
"I thought you said you could defeat us all on your own," Tirimon smirked.
"I could, but it is nice to have a little bit of assistance once in a while. It makes the battle go much quicker, if you know what I mean. MagnaAngemon may have relieved me of my spear, but it was luck, not skill, that allowed him to do so. That won't happen again, I assure you. Now, are you ready to resume our fight or are we just going to stand around and chat all day?"
"This isn't working!" ExVeemon shouted, glaring angrily at the fallen angel. "We need to get rid of him and Luciamon before the others come back."
"Oh, is that part of your plan to escape from the castle?" DarkAngelicmon smirked.
ExVeemon ignored him and motioned for the others to listen closely. "Stingmon, I want you, Ibismon, and Tirimon to stop Luciamon from interfering, and the rest of us will take on DarkAngelicmon, alright?"
"Hey, wait! Can't we talk about this?" Luciamon squealed.
"No. Cyclone Fury!" Ibismon shouted, sending Luciamon crashing into the ceiling in a tornado of pink feathers.
"Nice one. Now it's my turn," Tirimon smirked. "Winter Inferno!"
The arctic fox digimon leaped at Luciamon and slashed her with his tail just as she hit the ground. The female angel managed to roll out of the way before she was engulfed in an explosion of ice and snow, but unfortunately for her she came to a stop near Stingmon's left foot. The insect digimon dragged her to her feet, but she kicked him in the knee before he could use his Spiking Strike attack and fluttered back into the air again. "You guys aren't very nice. I was trying to help! Lunar Force!"
Luciamon held up her arms and a trail of glowing comets spiraled towards Stingmon and the other two digimon, but at the last moment the blast turned to the side and flew harmlessly into the wall.
Sam's mouth fell open, and he stared at the female angel in shock. At first glance it looked as if she had misjudged the direction she was supposed to be aiming in, but on closer inspection he realized she had missed her target on purpose.
I don't believe it! Maybe my dad was right after all. Could Luciamon really be on our side like he had suggested earlier?
Stingmon and the other digimon did not seem to realize what had happened because they continued to shoot their attacks at the female angel in a whirl of colourful blasts.
No, you guys can't kill her. We need her!
"Hurry, we're running out of time!" ExVeemon shouted, shooting his Vee-Laser attack in DarkAngelicmon's direction.
Sam tightened his fingers around Izzy's crest and gazed silently around the room. The darkness had almost overwhelmed him earlier, but ever since they had found the crests its presence appeared to have retreated back into the walls of the castle. He knew his father and his friends were worried about him, but their fear only made him want to prove he could fight against the darkness and win. He did not know why he felt stronger all of a sudden, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the Crest of Kindness, and he was going to prove to DarkAngelicmon that he was stronger than the fallen angel thought he was.
He knows the Emperor's true identity. How am I going to get him to tell me the truth? He's right about one thing. My parents and the rest of my friends aren't going to tell me. I need to know, but if Angelicmon and the others kill him, I'll never find out the truth. How am I going to stop them from hurting him, and Luciamon, as well, without causing all of us to end up getting ourselves thrown into the dungeons?
"Oh no, look!" Glowmon cried, interrupting his thoughts. "Spritemon's back, and she has a whole gang of evil digimon with her! We're too late!"
Sam held his digimon close and swallowed a lump of fear in his throat. Glowmon was right. Spritemon had just entered the room with BlackGatomon and a group of dark digimon behind her, and the look on her face was filled with rage. "Move it!" the sprite digimon snapped, elbowing Luciamon out of her way and stalking into the room. "What did I tell you, DarkAngelicmon? I knew they would try to escape!"
"Obviously," Luciamon muttered.
DarkAngelicmon looked up from where he was sprawled on the floor in a tangle of arms and legs with Gabrielmon and let out a dramatic sigh. "Will you quit spoiling my fun? I have the situation well under control, thank you very much!"
"Yes, I can see that."
"Stay out of this!" Gabrielmon snapped, yanking his arm out of DarkAngelicmon's grip and pointing his weapon at Spritemon. "Holy Sceptre!"
The sprite digimon let out a shriek as the bright orange blast hit her in the side and sent her stumbling into Luciamon. Both digimon fell to the floor in a heap, and BlackGatomon smirked at them. "Smooth move, Spritemon."
"Shut up!" the sprite digimon screamed, leaping to her feet and glaring angrily at the guards. "What are you fools waiting for? Destroy Gabrielmon and the others, and bring the Digidestined to me!"
"This is bad!" Glowmon whimpered, his small body trembling with fear.
Sam buried his face against his father's chest and let out a sound of distress. They were now officially trapped, and if Izzy did not e-mail them soon, they were going to end up sharing a cell with Gennai.