Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: I'm posting pretty early this time! Actually, I'm hoping to post a chapter for another story this week so we'll see if I can do two stories in one week!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 121: Destiny at Work

Kari Takaishi

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

"Here you go, Mom. Your crest is really pretty," Mickey said, avoiding her eyes.

Matty smiled at his twin's obvious embarrassment and beamed at the Crest of Light. "Mickey took real good care of it while we were trying to escape from DarkAngelicmon and Spritemon."

"Matty wanted Mickey to hold onto it because unlike Mickey, he has a really bad habit of losing things all the time," T.K. laughed. "Isn't that right, Matty?"

"Well, yes, but you're not supposed to tell everyone that!"

"Like we don't already know!" Taysuke snorted.

Kari barely heard her nephew. It had been a long time since she had seen her crest, and although she had known about its sudden reappearance ahead of time, the sight of it glimmering in Mickey's hand made her throat close up. She knew it was only a symbol of what was already inside of her, but even so, its shiny surface had always been a source of comfort whenever the darkness had tried to close in around her. Her crest had always been a beacon of light to guide her and the others through the shadows, and now that it had finally come back to her, she knew it would give her even more strength to not only believe in herself, but in her sons as well.

I still can't believe this is really happening. How could our crests have come back after we gave them up to create a protective barrier over the Digital World?

"Here, Mom, take it," Mickey mumbled, his face turning bright red.

Kari reached out a trembling hand and wrapped her fingers around the Crest of Light in a tight grip. She held the small object close to her heart and smiled at her sons. "Thank you, both of you."

"It feels great, doesn't it?" T.K. laughed, holding up his own crest and admiring its shiny surface. He handed it to Rina, and the youngest member of the Takaishi family let out a squeal of delight. "What do you think, Rina? Mickey and Matty thought it was pretty cool."

Rina dangled the Crest of Hope in front of her face and nodded vigorously in agreement. "It's beautiful, Daddy. It looks like a star shooting right up into the sky! Mommy's looks kind of like a pretty flower, and it's pink! That's my favorite colour!"

Kari gave both of her sons a quick hug and dropped her crest into Rina's hand. "I'm glad you like it, sweetie."

"I do, Mommy, but I like all of the digimon even better!"

"What about the rest of the crests?" Tai asked curiously.

Daichi suddenly leaped to his feet and plopped down next to Takara's father with a big smile on his face. Tai raised his eyebrows and studied the goggle-headed leader's cheerful expression, but Dai pretended not to notice. Instead, the current Digidestined leader held out the Crest of Courage and beamed at Tai. "I took real good care of it, you know."

Tai laughed and gently ruffled the goggle-headed leader's dark hair before taking the crest in his hand. "I wouldn't have expected anything less from the new Digidestined leader. Thanks a lot, Dai."

"It's no big deal."

"The symbol on it looks sort of like an abstract image of the sun," Taysuke said slowly, reaching out and running his fingers lightly over the surface of his dad's crest. The small object suddenly began to glow bright orange, and Taysuke quickly pulled his hand away in surprise. "What...what was that all about?"

Tai gave his son a rather odd look, but instead of commenting on the strange behaviour of his crest, he merely smiled at Taysuke and gave his son a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry about it, Tay. I'm sure it was nothing."

"Really?" Taysuke glanced at his mother for confirmation, but Sora was too busy sending meaningful looks in Tai's direction to notice her son's need for reassurance.

"We're sure," Dai said cheerfully, but Kari did not fail to notice the look that passed between Takara and the current goggle-headed leader.

My crest didn't react to Rina, and neither did T.K.'s, but that doesn't mean one or both of them might not eventually. I wonder if...

"I think your crest is really amazing, Dad," Takara said, beaming at her father and leaning over to give him a big hug. She had joined her parents and brother earlier in order to sit with them, and the smile on her face was bright enough to light up the entire room.

"Where's Mom's crest?" Taysuke asked, eyeing his sister.

Takara suddenly scrambled into her mother's arms, and pulling out the Crest of Love, she slipped it around Sora's neck. "It's right here. Your crest is perfect for you, Mom. I don't think any other trait could have suited you better. The same goes for Dad."

"You know what, Kara? I think it really suits you, too."

"Huh?" Takara stared at her mother in surprise and turned slowly to look at Dai. Sora glanced at Dai, as well, and when Takara realized what her mother was looking at, her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. "Mom, I..."

Sora smiled at the look on her daughter's face and held up a hand for silence. "We'll talk later, sweetie."

"About what?" Tai asked, glancing suspiciously at his wife and daughter.

"Nothing important," Takara mumbled, avoiding her father's eyes. The female Digidestined sent her mother an anxious look and bit her lip, but Sora didn't appear to notice. Instead, the Child of Love turned to her son and reached out to stroke his carrot-coloured hair. "What do you think, Taysuke?"

Taysuke beamed at his mother and reached out to run his fingers over the Crest of Love's shiny surface. This time, though, he did not let his hand linger on the small object for too long. Obviously he was afraid his mother's crest might start acting really strange like his father's had earlier, and that was clearly something he wanted to avoid, at least for the moment anyway.

If what I suspect is true, he won't feel that way for long. Maybe someday...

"Kara's right. Your crest is perfect for you," Taysuke said softly.

Sora smiled at her son, and Taysuke beamed back at her. "Thanks, Tay. I've always tried my best to live up to my crest, so I'm glad you feel as if I've done a good job of representing myself and who I really am inside. You know, the most important part of having a crest is staying true to yourself."

"I bet it's the same with the Spirit Chips," Kara said thoughtfully.

"I bet you're right, Kara." Tai tugged gently on his daughter's ponytail and gave her a warm smile. Takara managed a shy smile in return and quickly hid her face against her mother's shoulder. Obviously the female Digidestined was a little nervous about something, especially when it came to telling her dad, but Sora's reassuring hug seemed to comfort her somewhat, and she managed another smile, though it was rather weak.

"Oh, that reminds me, here's your crest, Joe." Davis quickly handed over the Crest of Reliability, and Joe held it up to the light with a smile on his face.

Ema and Noah both crowded around their father in order to get a closer look at the object in his hand, and even Jun moved closer for a better look. She might not have been a Digidestined, but clearly Davis' sister was still very interested in her husband's crest and everything that had happned to him in the past.

"I still think it's completely unfair that Dai got to be a Digidestined and I didn't," Ema grumbled, making a face. "I want something cool like a Spirit Chip or a crest, too!"

Joe dropped his crest into Ema's hand and pulled his daughter close into a warm hug. "I'm sorry, Ema, but I can't say I'm too disappointed about you not being a Digidestined. At least that means I don't have to worry about you getting yourself into trouble all the time."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Dad. Ema might not be a Digidestined, but that doesn't mean she won't find other ways to get herself into trouble!" Noah muttered.

"Hey! Who asked you?"

Noah swiped the crest from his sister's hand, and ignoring Ema, he turned to smile at his father. "Reliability, huh? Well, you've always been a pretty reliable dad. You've never once disappointed either Ema or myself when we've depended on you for help in the past, and you're always there when we need someone to talk to. I guess that means Gennai and the others, along with that weird entity thing, knew what they were doing after all when they made the crests."

Joe blinked at his son in surprise, as if he couldn't quite believe a laid-back, easygoing sixteen year old boy he had miraculously helped create could possibly think so highly of him, and managed a faint smile. "Oh, I...thank you, Noah."

"Is something wrong, Dad?"

Joe scratched the bridge of his nose and straightened his glasses, but despite his nervous gesture, he appeared pleased by his son's sudden, unexpected praise. "Not at all. I just...I think, besides my friends, you, your sister, and your mother are the best things that have ever happened to me."

"Well, I could have told you that!" Ema snorted, kissing her dad's cheek. "Without us and your friends, you never would have learned to lighten up a little!"

"Ema!"

"She's right, you know," Jun interrupted, smiling at her husband. "From what Tai and the others have told me, you've changed a lot since you were a kid, but there's still a lot about you that has stayed the same, and I'm glad. You're the voice of reason in our crazy, out of control family. Where would we be without you?"

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Jun."

Jun smiled slyly at her husband and motioned for her son to hand over the Crest of Reliability. Noah quickly dropped it into his mother's palm, and Jun dangled the necklace in front of her husband's face. She smiled at the curious look in the blue-haired Digidestined's eyes and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. "I may be a little crazy sometimes, Joe, but I more than make up for it with my other good qualities. I might not have a crest, but anyone with enough brains can tell what my strongest quality is."

"And what would that be?" Davis demanded.

Jun crossed her arms and smirked at her brother. "Spirit, obviously. What did you think I was going to say? I might lack a little sense once in a while, but I make up for it in spirit. I don't need a crest to prove what all of you already know to be true!"

"That's for sure," Noah muttered, earning himself a rather mischievous smile from Miya.

Jun ignored her son and gently pressed the Crest of Reliability into her husband's hand. "You know what I love about you, Joe? You wear your heart on your sleeve without even realizing it, and your crest only makes it even more obvious."

"Oh...really?"

"Yes, Dad," Ema snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Definitely," Noah said firmly.

Joe wrapped his arm around his son's shoulders, and the two of them smiled at each other. Joe's cheek was resting against the top of Noah's head, but despite being a teenager and being in front of his friends, the dark-haired boy did not seem to mind his father's public display of affection in the slightest. It was an obvious sign of maturity, which was something Ema still had yet to learn. And in Kari's opinion, there were a lot of other kids out there the same age as Noah who were in the same boat as Ema. Unlike Ema, though, they didn't have the excuse of being young and would benefit from following in Noah's footsteps.

I hope Mickey and Matty do, and judging from the way they've matured so far, I'd say the signs are looking pretty good, even for Matty. He might be my black sheep, but he's still my angel, and nothing's ever going to change that.

"Hey, Dad, aren't you going to let me see your crest?" Taniko asked, frowning impatiently at her father.

Izzy spun around in his chair and stared at everyone as if he couldn't quite remember where he was. The computer expert had just narrowly avoided getting flattened when Daichi and the others had come through the gate, and since then he had been tapping away on the keyboard and gazing thoughtfully at the screen, as if searching for the answer to a question he had not bothered to ask. "Oh! Sorry, Taniko. Of course you can. Uh...where exactly is my crest?"

"I have it," Sam said quietly. The raven-haired Digidestined squirmed out of his mother's arms and handed Izzy the Crest of Knowledge. The computer expert beamed at the necklace resting in the palm of his hand and held it out to Taniko. "Here you go."

Taniko wrapped her fingers around the Crest of Knowledge and smiled at her mother. "It fits Dad perfectly, doesn't it?"

Mina nodded in agreement and gave her husband's crest an admiring look. "Yes, it does, but it also fits you too, Taniko. You're a smart girl, and I don't mean just with computers."

"I think I have to agree with your mother on this one," Izzy said, beaming proudly at his daughter.

Taniko handed the Crest of Knowlege over to her mother and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, look who my parents are. It's no wonder I get a nice balance of everything!"

"Right," Ema smirked, making a face.

Taniko ignored her blue-haired friend and turned her attention to Ken. "Can we see the Crest of Kindness? If it helped bring JewelBeemon to life then it must be pretty cool!"

Ken held the Crest of Kindness out in the palm of his hand, and Yolei let out a happy sigh. "It looks exactly the same as it did twenty-five years ago, but this time you have a tag to go with it. Gennai and the others must have made you one after you gave it to them for safekeeping. It's so beautiful. I have to admit, it kind of makes me wish I had a crest."

"I wonder what mine would be if I had one," Miya said thoughtfully.

"The Crest of Craziness!" Sam joked.

Miya whacked the raven-haired Digidestined over the head with one of Ami's textbooks and wrapped her fingers tightly around the Crest of Kindness. She stared at it for a moment, and shaking her head in wonder, she handed it over to Nao.

The youngest member of the Ichijouji family cradled the crest gently in his hands and smiled shyly at its pale purple surface. "I like your crest, Daddy. Do you think maybe I can be as kind as you when I grow up?"

Ken pulled Nao into his arms and gently ruffled his son's thick, lavender hair. "Trust me, Nao, I don't think that's something you're going to have to worry about."

"Nao, you're already a lot like Dad, and that's definitely a good thing," Sam said quietly.

Ken stared at the raven-haired Digidestined in surprise, and a warm smile slipped across his face. He pulled all three of his children close and rested his head against Miya's raven hair. "Thank you. I hope all of you will always feel that way."

Sam frowned at his father, but instead of commenting on Ken's odd behaviour, he turned to Ryoko and raised his dark eyebrows. "Hey Ryoko, aren't you going to give your parents their crests?"

Ryoko muttered something under his breath and turned slowly to look at his parents.

"I knew you would take good care of them," Mimi said softly, smiling at her son.

Ryoko blushed and quickly dropped the Crest of Sincerity into his mother's hand. Mimi ran her fingers over its pale green surface and turned to smile at Palmon. "What do you think?"

"Well, I wish you could come to the Digital World with me because I'd love to fight Vampiramon and her gang of evil digimon as an ultimate or even a champion, but as long as your crest is safe from DarkAngelicmon, I guess I can't complain."

"Let's just hope DarkAngelicmon doesn't try to attack the real world otherwise Mimi might end up having to fight," Matt muttered.

"And if that happens I'll be here to protect her," Palmon said confidently.

Mimi gave her partner a quick hug, and reaching out, she gently placed her hand against Ryoko's cheek. "I wonder if the Spirit Chips will have their own special meanings. If they do, I think your Spirit Chip will be very special. I bet Gennai had a hard time choosing what it would represent, if they are in any way like the crests."

Ryoko impatiently brushed a few strands of golden hair out of his eyes and frowned in confusion. "Why do you think that?"

"Isn't it obvious? You have so many good qualities, I don't know how Gennai could possibly choose which one would best represent your strongest trait. You're so much like your father, but you have a lot of me in you, too, and that makes you very well rounded, just like Taniko."

"Mom!"

Mimi smiled at the embarrassed look on her son's face and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Both your father's crest and my crest suit you so well, but...looking at you now, I think I know which trait Gennai would have chosen, or at least a form of it."

"Huh?"

"Isn't it obvious? He would have picked the one you need the most right now."

Ryoko bit his lip and glanced cautiously over his shoulder. The golden-haired Digidestined's sapphire eyes came to rest on Daichi's face, and the two of them stared at each other in silence. Dai was clearly confused about what was going on, but Ryoko seemed to understand because the blond suddenly turned back towards his mother and nodded slowly. "I've never really thought about it before, but...I guess you're right."

Matt crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. He glanced first at his son, then at Mimi, and shook his head in amusement. "Mimi, you never cease to amaze me, you know that? Just when I think I finally understand you, you go and say something that throws me completely off guard."

"Well, at least I make life interesting!"

"Why do you think we've been married for seventeen years?" Matt smirked.

Mimi elbowed her husband in the ribs and crossed her arms over her chest. "Matt, aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"Your crest," Ryoko mumbled, avoiding his father's eyes. The golden-haired Digidestined held out the Crest of Friendship and thrust it in his dad's direction.

Matt stared at the necklace dangling from his son's fingertips and smiled at its shiny blue surface. After a slight hesitation, Ryoko dropped the crest into his father's hand and lowered his eyes to the floor. "I...I think I understand, and I know Mom believes in me, but...I don't know if...if I can be like you..."

Matt smiled slightly and shrugged. "You won't know unless you try."

"But..."

"Ryoko, I used to find it hard to believe in anything when I was younger, but that all changed after I met my friends. You might not think you can get past the barriers, but that doesn't mean I feel the same way. Look, we'll talk about this later, okay?"

Ryoko glared at his father and crossed his arms, but despite the irritated look on his face, he wrapped his arms around his dad's neck and smiled at the Crest of Friendship. "You and Mom have great crests. There was no way I was going to let DarkAngelicmon steal them back from us."

Matt pulled his son even closer and squeezed the Crest of Friendship tightly in his hand. "I know. Thanks, Ryoko."

"We're proud of you, sweetie," Mimi said firmly, squeezing her son's hand.

I think Ryoko might even be a little bit like me...

Kari smiled fondly at her nephew and reluctantly turned her attention to Izzy. "Hey, Izzy, you've been pretty quiet lately. What do you think about everything that's happened?"

"Don't even get him started!" Davis groaned.

"He's not the only one who has a few things to say!" Noriko interrupted, glaring at her son.

Dai sent his mother a sheepish look, but before he could say anything, Izzy held up a hand for silence and pointed at the computer screen. "Actually, there are a few things I want to say, but most of all we have to plan for tomorrow."

Kari glanced at her sons and sighed. Tomorrow. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...