Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: The next chapter will be exciting since the last rookie will digivolve!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 102: The Crest of Knowledge

Yolei Ichijouji

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

Yolei Ichijouji glared impatiently at the computer screen in front of her and poked Izzy between the shoulder blades to get his attention. "Izzy, why aren't they leaving? We know they have the crests because the dots in the crest room have joined up with the dots representing their Digivices, so why don't they get out of there before someone catches them?"

Izzy frowned at the screen and slowly shook his head. "I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't."

"You don't think they're in trouble, do you?" Noah asked hesitantly. "T.K. said he and the others would wait until they made it back to the first floor before they decided what to do about Gennai, but if they don't hurry up they're going to get spotted and then the decision will be made for them."

"How much do you want to bet Dai's the one who's screwing everything up?" Ema muttered.

Yolei held her younger son tightly in her arms and exchanged a worried look with Kari. T.K. had sent his last e-mail just before he and the others had entered the crest room, and since then they had heard nothing from the golden-haired Digidestined about the crests or Gennai. It was obvious Dai and the others wanted to get to the dungeons, but they were also using their brains and being cautious, which was evident in the way they had decided to wait on rescuing Gennai until they were certain of what was going on with the situation around them.

Oh, Sam, please stay safe. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you.

Kari must have sensed what she was thinking because her best friend's arms suddenly went around her waist in a tight hug, and she buried her face in the younger woman's dark hair.

"Don't worry, Yolei, I know Sam's going to be just fine. Ken will protect him and keep him safe."

Yolei slowly nodded and managed a weak smile. "I know, Kari. I trust Ken, I really do, but I can't help feeling a little bit worried. Sam means so much to me. I'd never be able to stand losing him."

"It's okay, Mommy, Sam will come back. He promised me he would," Nao mumbled into her shoulder.

Yolei gently kissed her younger son's lavender hair and held him close to her heart. "I know, sweetie, it's just..."

"Daichi won't let anything happen to Sam," a voice said softly from the doorway. "I know my son, and I know he would die before he would ever let anything happen to his friends. Dai might get into trouble a lot, but he has a heart of gold, and that's why he's more precious to me than any perfect child who has never put a foot wrong ever could be."

Yolei glanced over her shoulder and spotted Noriko leaning against the door frame with a proud smile on her face and a look of determination in her dark eyes. Her expression clearly stated she believed in her son more than she had ever believed in anything else in her life, and she was going to make sure everybody else knew it.

"Noriko, I was wondering when you were going to show up," Izzy said, turning in his seat to smile at the female Digidestined. "Did you leave Imoko in charge of the store?"

Noriko rolled her eyes and made a face. "I did, but I'm not so sure that was a very good idea. That girl is clueless when it comes to running a business. I'll be surprised if the place is still standing tomorrow morning, but my husband and my children come first before anything else. How are Davis and the others doing?"

"Great! They've just found the crests!" Ami cheered, leaping up and throwing her arms around her mother in an enthusiastic hug. "I knew Dad and Dai could do it! Um...just don't tell Dai I said that!"

Noriko laughed and kissed her daughter's cheek. "It's nice to finally hear some good news! Does that mean they're coming home now?"

"Look!" Rina suddenly squealed, pointing at the computer screen. "Daddy sent another e-mail!"

Yolei's arm tightened around her son and she squeezed her daughter's hand in an effort to calm herself. What if they're in trouble?

Izzy quickly pulled up the e-mail, and almost immediately a loud gasp escaped the computer expert's mouth.

"What is it? What's going on?" Mimi cried.

Izzy swallowed hard and motioned for everyone to gather around him. "You guys had better read this for yourselves."

"Why?" Ema demanded.

Yolei did not wait for an answer. She scrambled over to Izzy's side, nearly trampling her small son in the process, and stared at the computer screen in horror. The e-mail said:

Izzy,

We've got the crests, but we need your help and quick! Luciamon has betrayed us! She's actually working for DarkAngelicmon, and she tricked us into coming to the castle with her so the fallen angel could capture us like he did Gennai. We're in the crest room surrounded by evil digimon, including Spritemon and DarkAngelicmon, and we have no way of reaching the door or the weak point without putting ourselves in danger. Now would be a good time to use that escape plan of yours! There's only one problem. Now that we've been caught, we'll never have another chance to save Gennai so we have to save him now. I'd like to explain everything a bit more but I don't have time. You're escape plan does take us past the dungeons, right? If not you'd better change it and quick! I've had to change this e-mail several times before sending it because things are happening all at once, so hurry before something else goes wrong and our digimon end up losing the fight!

T.K.

There was a moment of terrible silence and then everyone started talking at once.

"Izzy, do something!" Mimi wailed, shaking the computer expert by the shoulders.

Izzy tried to say something, but Noriko interrupted him. "Who's Luciamon, and what's all this about being stuck in a battle? Where exactly are they, and what did T.K. mean about rescuing Gennai? I don't understand. Has something happened to Dai, and what about Davis? Are they alright?"

"We'll explain everything later," Kari said firmly, motioning for everyone else to lower their voices. "Right now we have some work to do. Izzy, you'd better e-mail T.K. back and give him the directions he and the others need to take in order to escape from the castle, and don't forget about Gennai. I know what Dai's like. He's a lot like his father in more ways than one, and I know he won't leave, even if he says he will, until he has at least made an attempt to rescue Gennai."

"Okay, but...um...well...there's only one problem. My escape plan doesn't take them anywhere near the dungeons."

"What?" Yolei shouted at the top of her lungs. She glared at the computer expert with enough force to send even a digimon like MaloMyotismon running for cover and crossed her arms. "Please tell me you're joking or else you're going to be in serious trouble, Izzy!"

The computer expert at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed, and he gazed miserably at his feet. "I wish I was joking, but I'm not. I originally wanted them to take their old route back down the stairs because that's the easiest way out of the castle, and there's a weak point on the first floor of their old route that would take them directly to the dungeons, but unfortunately that plan's not going to work anymore. Luciamon knows those weak points like the back of her hand now, because of me, and she would catch them long before they made it to the dungeons."

"Why don't they just let DarkAngelicmon take them to the dungeons?" Miya suggested. "He would be doing their dirty work for them and then you wouldn't have to worry about changing your plan. I'm sure they could rescue Gennai and still find a way to escape without getting themselves locked in a cell."

"Too risky. They would be putting themselves in an extremely vulnerable position. I doubt they would be able to escape easily once DarkAngelicmon had them locked up in the dungeons. What good will they be to Gennai if they can't even rescue themselves?"

"Good point. Hey, Izzy, don't blame yourself for what's happened. How could you have known Luciamon was a traitor? She must have been a pretty good actor if she was able to fool Dai and the others long enough to get them to the crests without anyone suspecting a thing. There's no use beating youself up about it. These things happen, and we just have to deal with them before we let ourselves give in to fear," Noah said quietly.

Izzy took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "You're right, Noah, I shouldn't blame myself for something that was completely out of my control."

"Do you mind explaining your plan to us? Maybe we can find a way to help you alter it in a way that will take them on a path to the dungeons," Taysuke offered.

"Well...my escape plan is a set of weak points that are closer to the main staircase than the original route I chose to get them inside the castle. My original route only went near the main staircase once it reached the fifth floor and got close to the crest room. My escape route is the exact opposite. It's a lot more dangerous and that's why I didn't want to use it until I absolutely had to. It's the shortest route to and from the crest room, but because of the dangers, instead of using it at the beginning, I chose the shortest route possible to get them to their destination that didn't go near the main staircase longer than necessary. Unfortunately none of that matters anymore because the castle guards know they're inside the castle so the main staircase isn't any more dangerous than the rest of the fort. That's why I don't have a problem with letting Dai and the others use my escape plan at this point in time, but like I said before, it doesn't have a weak point as close to the dungeons as my original route did. I knew they would want to rescue Gennai if they had the chance, and I also knew there was no way we could count on Leomon and the others showing up. That's why I made sure their original route took them close to the dungeons, but I didn't do the same for my escape route because I figured by that time they would have already lost their chance to rescue Gennai."

"Well they haven't lost their chance yet, and it's all thanks to Luciamon!" Taniko said triumphantly. "You said it yourself, Dad. Luciamon knows there are weak points in the castle, but the only ones she can use to her advantage are the ones Dai and the others used to get inside the crest room. You know what that means, don't you? If we use your escape plan, it'll take precious moments for Luciamon, DarkAngelicmon, and the guards to search the walls in order for them to figure out where Dai and the others have gone. That will give our side a huge head start. All we have to do is alter your plan a little so it leads to the dungeons on their way out of the castle. I know that means it'll take them longer to escape, which is what you were trying to avoid, but it's a risk we're going to have to take."

Izzy stared at his daughter and slowly pulled her into a warm embrace. "Taniko, I've always been proud of you, but now more so than ever. You're right, as usual. Okay, I don't know about the rest of you, but I think it's time we got to work. My original route took them through the west side of the castle and led them straight to the crest room, but my escape route is a little different. It goes west before heading north on the left side of the fort. It would have gotten them to the crest room from their starting weak point, as well, by heading south and then east, but like I said earlier it takes them very close to the main staircase. It also means they'd have to use the same weak point they used to get into the crest room in order to escape, but that's the only weak point from my original route they would be using. It's the only one that leads to the crest room. If I alter my escape route slightly on the first floor, I may be able to get them to the dungeons."

Izzy used his finger to trace his escape route out on the screen, and Yolei made a face. "And just how do you plan to alter it enough to get them to Gennai?"

"I know!" Taniko interrupted, pointing at the screen to trace out another route. "My dad wanted Dai and the others to escape from the castle using the West Tower. That way they could fly back over the forest and make their way towards the gate, but look here. There's a weak point on the northeast side of the castle that will take them to the dungeons. It's on the first floor. If we take them northeast instead of northwest they can rescue Gennai and leave the dungeons using a weak point on the southeast side of the castle. That way they can leave the castle using the East Tower! The path going northeast also takes them away from the main staircase, though I guess that doesn't really matter anymore. It's a longer route to the dungeons than the path on the left-hand side of the castle, and it's also a longer escape route than the path leading northwest, but it'll work. They'll have to take a bit of a detour over the forest to get back to the gate, but it'll be worth it! Remember, Embermon can't digivolve inside the castle because of his size. That means he'll have lots of energy left to digivolve into Dragermon and fly them out of danger. It's just like you said, Dad. The only original weak point we'll need to use is the one that got them inside the crest room in the first place."

"You're right, Taniko. Great job!" Izzy said, beaming at his daughter. "Well, so much for my escape plan. Your route is completely different from the route I came up with earlier, but that will work to our advantage. Who would have thought considering your route is going in the opposite direction of mine!"

"What can I say, Daddy? I'm a genius!"

Yolei scrambled forward and hugged Taniko as tightly as she could. "What a great idea! You're brilliant, Taniko! Maybe...maybe Sam and the others will get out in one piece after all, no thanks to Izzy!"

"Hey! I've gotten them this far, haven't I?"

Yolei glared at the computer expert and shook him roughly by the shoulders. "Well, what are you waiting for? Start typing before I hit you over the head with your laptop, which I see you've still insisted on bringing with you even though Davis and Noriko have their own computer! We've wasted enough time already!"

Izzy hastily typed out a message to T.K., and Yolei pulled her younger son back into her arms and held him close. She was even more scared than she had been when she had ended up getting stuck in the world of the Dark Ocean, and all she could do was wait to see if her husband, her son, and her friends could make it out of there alive.

"Wait! Won't Luciamon try to follow them when they make their way towards the gate? She's the one who led Dai and the others to the castle in the first place so she'll know which direction they'll be heading in. Remember, they're going to need to use the same path they used to get to the castle in order to make it back to the human world," Miya said slowly.

Noah gently touched her arm and smiled slightly. "Luciamon wasn't there when they came out of the gate so she won't know exactly where they're going. Besides, how do we know she doesn't know about the gate already? She could have already guessed that was where they came from. I say let her follow. I believe in Dragermon. He'll get Dai and the others safely away from DarkAngelicmon. I know he will."

Yolei smiled and nodded in agreement. Kari was right about one thing. Dai was a lot like Davis, and she knew he was too stubborn to just let DarkAngelicmon win. He was Davis Motomiya's son, and although she would never admit it to the former Digidestined leader, that meant things would probably work out alright after all.