Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Well, this will be my last chapter until after Christmas, so I hope you enjoy it! Also, this is your last chance to vote for the FTFOD challenge so make sure you have your say. The winner will be announced after the poll closes on January 1st. As usual, visit the forum for details. Also there's a new fun poll up where you can vote for your two favorite main FTFOD characters. Poor Dai and Matty need more votes, and Mickey's leaving the competition in the dust! Also, I have not forgotten about WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. They're coming, just wait! Merry Christmas everyone!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 138: Vampiramon's Targets
Ryoko Ishida
File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World
Sam! No...why? Why did you leave? Is it because of...of me? Oh no! This is all my fault!
"Sam? Sam, where are you?" Tai shouted, turning around in a full circle and glancing anxiously around at the landscape. "Answer me!"
"No, this can't be happening," Mickey moaned, covering his face with his hands.
Ryoko slowly sank to the ground and let his D-Coder tumble half-heartedly across the grass. The glow coming from its screen cast a bright beam of blue light straight up into the sky, but he barely even noticed. He knew why Sam had left, and he had no one to blame but himself.
Sam left because he thinks I hate him, and if something happens to him, it'll be all my fault. I shouldn't have been so rude to him. I should have just told him the truth about the Emperor, but there's nothing I can do about it now. We have to find him! I need to tell him before...before it's too late.
"Uh...guys, are you sure he didn't just leave to use the bushes or something?" Dai asked hesitantly, glancing hopefully at his partner before turning his attention to the rest of the group.
Mina slowly shook her head and let out a deep sigh. "No, if that were true, he would have been back by now."
"He would have told us," Mickey whispered, tears forming in his big amber eyes. "Sam's very conscious about things like that. He doesn't like causing trouble or making his friends worry about him, if he can avoid it. He wouldn't want us to think something terrible had happened to him. Don't you guys feel it?"
"Feel what?" Tentomon asked.
"The darkness," Matty murmured, glancing nervously at the ocean.
"What do you mean?" Takara squeaked.
Mickey turned to look in the direction of the ocean, as well, and he slowly shook his head. "We can't feel it exactly, but there's something not right about Sam's disappearance. I didn't really notice while you guys were all arguing, but now I know it in my heart. Whatever it is we feel must be the Powers of Darkness, but it's too far away for us to confirm that."
"I'm not sure, but...I think it might be coming from the ocean," Matty mumbled.
"It's different from what we've felt before," Mickey whispered. "I think what we're feeling might be the darkness in Sam's heart. That would explain why it isn't as strong as what we felt in the forest. Well, that and the fact that it's still quite far from us."
No, Sam...why are you doing this to yourself?
Ryoko slowly lifted his head and he glanced fearfully at his father. "What are we going to do?"
I shouldn't have been so mean to him. I should have apologized for acting like a total jerk. I should have...I don't know...I should have done something! Sam, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for being such a lousy friend...
His father stared at him for a second and turned slowly to face Takara's father. "Tai, we're in big trouble. If Vampiramon or DarkAngelicmon finds Sam, they're going to keep him captive until we give them the Spirit Chips. And even if we do find the Spirit Chip of Bravery, or any of the other Spirit Chips, and hand them over, there's no guarantee they won't just kill Sam instead of making a trade. That'll be one less Digidestined getting in the way of their plans. Why weren't you keeping an eye on him?"
"Me?" Tai yelped, glaring at the golden-haired Digidestined. "How is this my fault? You were the one standing next to him! Is your eyesight going or what? You can't be getting old that fast!"
"In case you didn't notice, I had other things on my mind!"
"Well, so did I!"
Ryoko glanced at Dai and the two of them rolled their eyes. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ryoko couldn't help smiling at the ridiculous argument going on between his father and the former Digidestined leader, and he could tell Dai felt the same way.
Is that how Dai and I sound when we argue? No wonder Kara and the rest of our friends think we sound like a couple of idiots.
It had only lasted a few seconds, but that brief moment of understanding between himself and Dai made him feel slightly better, and suppressing a burst of laughter, he stared at his father and Tai in amusement.
"Like what?" his father snorted, poking Tai in the chest. "Don't tell me you were listening to Izzy because I know what you're like. You lose interest halfway through one of Izzy's theories, and then when it becomes important, you expect the rest of us to fill you in."
"Is it my fault Izzy rambles a lot? You only need to listen to half of what he's saying in order to get the gist of it."
"Hey, I put a lot of thought and effort into my theories! Thanks a lot, Tai!" Izzy said indignantly.
Ryoko exchanged another look with Dai, but his father hadn't finished yet. "Tai, Ken is going to kill us if he finds out we lost his son!"
"Oh, right. I hadn't thought of that."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Forget Ken. Yolei's going to murder you two," Izzy muttered.
"Will you guys give it a rest?" Sora groaned, frowning at her husband and poking Matt in the shoulder. "I guess some things never change."
"I kind of missed their arguing," Agumon said thoughtfully.
"I know what you mean," Gabumon agreed.
"We're not arguing!" Tai and Matt both shouted, glaring at their partners.
Alopemon sniffed and turned his attention to Izzy. "What do you think we should do?"
"Well..."
"Isn't it obvious?" Dai interrupted, stepping into the middle of the circle and holding up his glowing D-Coder. "We have to find Sam before he gets into trouble, and the best way to do that is to use our D-Coders. We can use them to track our friends, remember? Sam's purple dot is right here on my screen, and look, Mickey and Matty are right. He's heading towards the ocean."
Without a word, Ryoko scrambled to his feet and snatched his D-Coder off the ground. The purple dot indicating Sam's whereabouts was glowing brightly on the Digivice's small screen and it stood about halfway between the ocean and the large group of glowing dots representing himself and the rest of the Digidestined.
Of course! Why didn't I think of that? I have to admit, Dai might get a bit carried away sometimes, but he sure knows how to stay calm and cool when something unexpected happens. That's why he's such a great leader. He really knows how to keep his head in dangerous situations.
The rest of the Digidestined must have realized the same thing because all of them were staring at Dai in surprise, and some of them looked a little bit sheepish, including the former Digidestined leader.
"Great idea, Dai! If we hurry, we should be able to catch up to Sam before he reaches the ocean," Embermon said, beaming proudly at his partner.
"But...why did he stop?" Candlemon asked anxiously, nodding his flickering head at Dai's D-Coder.
"Do you think Vampiramon might have found him?" Mickey whispered.
Mina wrapped her arm around the older twin's shoulders and glanced nervously towards the ocean. "There's only one way to find out."
"I think we'd better digivolve just in case," Dovemon piped up.
Takara nodded in agreement and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Sounds good to me. We want to be ready in case Sam needs some serious help."
"Finally! I've been waiting a long time for this moment!" Tentomon said enthusiastically.
"Let's go save Sam!" Biyomon cheered.
"You're not going anywhere!" a voice shrieked from somewhere behind them.
Ryoko felt his heart skip painfully in his chest, and turning to face the forest, he let out a gasp of fear. Vampiramon was standing at the edge of the trees, her long, red hair swirling in the breeze, and there was a small digimon who looked similar to a Bakemon hovering beside her. The ghost digimon had a hat on his head, and he looked entirely too pleased with himself for Ryoko's liking.
"You!" Dai snapped, his grip tightening on the D-Coder in his hand. "What have you done to Sam?"
Vampiramon glided slowly towards them and placed her hands on her hips. She was staring at Dai with a slight smile on her face, and there was a hungry look in her eyes that made Ryoko take a few steps closer to the goggle-headed leader. "Me? I've done nothing to your useless little Emperor friend. In fact, until you mentioned the ocean, I didn't have a clue where he was, and at the moment, I could care less what he's up to. He wandered off all on his own and you were too stupid to see it. I will warn you, though, you should learn to keep better track of your friends before something...happens to them."
"Leave Sam alone!" Halomon shouted, fluttering out of Mickey's arms and glaring fiercely at the evil vampire digimon.
"We're not going to let you get away with this!" Mickey snapped.
Vampiramon dismissed the older twin's words with a wave of her hand and tugged irritably on her long red and black skirts. "I told you, your little Emperor is of no importance to me at the moment. Oh no, Makiya Takaishi, right now it is your fool of a leader and your cousin who concern me."
Ryoko frowned in confusion and turned to look at Dai, but the goggle-headed leader merely shrugged his shoulders and sent the vampire digimon a dirty look.
"What do you mean?" Alopemon asked slowly, his pale blue eyes growing icy cold.
"You really are a bunch of fools. Did you not think to cover your D-Coder Digivices, and what about the crests? Four glowing beacons of light shooting high into the sky aren't exactly hard to miss. Not that we needed to see them, but it did make it easier for Soulmon to keep an eye on you."
Ryoko rested his forehead against the palm of his hand and let out a soft groan. Vampiramon hadn't been staring at either him or Dai when she had mentioned them to Mickey. She had been staring at their D-Coder Digivices. We're so stupid! Why didn't we think to cover them a long time ago? Any digimon who happened to be in the area would have been able to see the light, but...wait a minute, what did she mean about Soulmon keeping an eye on us?
"You must be Vampiramon," Tai said calmly, his tone suggesting he had been expecting her to be much more impressive. "And here I thought you were actually going to be a challenge."
"You're going to regret trying to hurt our children!" Matt snapped.
Vampiramon smiled at the two adult Digidestined and stroked one of her pearly white fangs. "Tai Kamiya. So, you finally decided to show up, did you? I don't know if you knew, but you've become something of a hero here in the Digital World. It's pathetic really. Digimon looking up to a human. It's sickening is what it is, but no matter. My master will take care of all the humans and all the digimon who support them. Soon, you will all be either destroyed or under our control, starting with the new Digidestined leader. What do you think, Tai? After I have the Spirit Chips in my possession, your little apprentice gets to die first. I wonder what Davis Motomiya will think of you then."
Tai's dark eyes narrowed into angry slits and he took a step closer to the evil mega. "You're not getting anywhere near Dai. Agumon, it's time to digivolve!"
"The rest of you had better digivolve too," Sora added, holding out her Digivice.
Biyomon nodded and turned to Agumon. "Let's do this."
"Just like old times! Agumon digivolve to, Greymon!"
"Biyomon digivolve to, Birdramon!"
"My turn! Embermon digivolve to, Dragermon!"
"Candlemon digivolve to, Meramon!"
"Don't forget about me! Dovemon digivolve to, Ibismon!"
"Alopemon digivolve to, Tirimon!"
"Gabumon digivolve to, Garurumon!"
"Our turn now! Come on, Halomon! Celestimon digivolve to, Angelicmon!"
"Halomon digivolve to, Gabrielmon!"
"Wait for me! Tentomon digivolve to, Kabuterimon!"
"Time to take out the trash!" Greymon growled, advancing towards Vampiramon.
"I'm right behind you!" Dragermon called out, swooping over the orange dinosaur digimon's large head.
Vampiramon held up a hand to stop them, and growing suspicious, both Dragermon and Greymon came to a stop a few feet away from the evil vampire digimon. "Attacking me isn't going to help you find the Spirit Chips, is it?"
"What do you mean?" Sora asked quietly, her fingers tightening around Tai's upper arm.
Vampiramon rolled her eyes and let out a loud snort. "You're pretty slow for someone who's been a Digidestined for twenty-nine years. Did you really think you could keep your conversation with Gennai a secret? The forests in the Digital World are full of digimon. Someone was bound to overhear you, and that someone happens to be me."
"And me!" the ghost digimon cackled, bobbing up and down in the air and twirling around in a circle. "And then there's BlackWidowmon. She overheard your conversation with Gennai, too, and Vampiramon has sent her on a little mission."
Vampiramon smirked and nodded in agreement. "Indeed. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Sora, but thanks to the conversation you and your friends had with Gennai, we know exactly how to get our hands on the Spirit Chips. In fact, Soulmon's been following your little group ever since you fools left the forest."
"So that's what I saw!" Dai shouted, sending the ghost digimon a dirty look.
Ryoko whirled around to face the goggle-headed leader and crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you talking about, Daichi?"
"I thought I saw something moving in the forest a while ago, but I just assumed I was letting my imagination get the better of me. I...er...sometimes get a bit carried away, so I didn't think it was important. I guess, for once, I really was seeing things."
"Daichi, you jerk! Have you learned nothing since coming to the Digital World? As if you would keep something like that a secret from-"
"Ryoko, now is definitely not the time," Tirimon said quietly, nudging him in the ribs.
"Ryoko, be quiet," his father said sharply, glaring not a him, but at Vampiramon and Soulmon.
Ryoko scowled at both Tirimon and his father and rubbed his side where Tirimon's nose had poked him rather harder than necessary in the ribs. As much as he wanted to scream and shout at Dai, he contented himself with a series of dirty looks directed at the goggle-headed leader before lapsing into a sullen silence. Tirimon seemed to sense how he was feeling, though, because the fox digimon gently nuzzled his side, and smiling to himself, he stroked his partner's large, furry head.
"I've heard about Soulmon before," Kabuterimon said suddenly, hovering above Izzy's head. "They're ghost digimon who can disappear and reappear at will. Dai must have caught a glimpse of him in the trees just as he was disappearing."
"A tricky digimon who likes to disappear. This should be fun," Ibismon said dryly.
"Did you not think to place any guards in the forest to watch for anyone trying to listen in on your conversation?" Vampiramon hissed. "We saw Gennai's gorup head into the trees before you and your partners even showed up in the Digital World. We were there the whole time, and now we know exactly how to stop you from ruining our plans."
"But...that's impossible!" Mickey wailed, his hands wrapping tightly around his D-Coder. "There's no way you could have been in the forest. Halomon and Celestimon would have known..."
"We felt nothing," Gabrielmon murmured, glancing at Matty's partner for confirmation.
Angelicmon slowly nodded and frowned at Vampiramon. "DarkAngelicmon couldn't have been anywhere near us. If you were in the forest, we would have felt his presence."
"Unless DarkAngelicmon was never in the forest!" Matty gasped, turning to look at Vampiramon. "You said you were with your companions when you were spying on us in the forest. If that's true, why weren't Halomon and Celestimon able to sense DarkAngelicmon's presence? Wasn't he with you when you were listening in on our conversation?"
"Where is he?" Mickey shouted, his cheeks turning pink with anger. "Where's DarkAngelicmon?"
Vampiramon let out an angry snarl and tugged viciously on her skirts. "Did you not listen to what Soulmon just said? I have no idea where DarkAngelicmon is, but I do know that fool angel definitely wasn't with me in the forest. You should have taken that into consideration, but obviously you didn't. You and your brother rely too much on your angel digimon, Makiya Takaishi. One of these days it's going to get you killed! Although, that would certainly make my life easier."
"Don't you dare threaten our partners!" Angelicmon snapped, holding out his spear and pointing it straight at Vampiramon's chest.
The female mega gave Angelicmon's weapon a contemptuous look and wrinkled her nose. "Only fools ignore good advice. Next time keep in mind that DarkAngelicmon might not always be around to warn you when there's danger close by."
"Are you threatening one of your own allies?" Mina asked, raising her eyebrows.
"What have you done to DarkAngelicmon?" Mickey snapped. "If you've hurt him..."
"I haven't done anything...yet," Vampiramon snarled, her emerald green eyes focusing on the older twin's face. "Your precious DarkAngelicmon is probably off trying to capture Lucemon if, for once, he's actually following our master's orders. I suppose there's a first time for everything."
"No!" Mickey whispered, clapping his hands over his mouth in horror. "Lucemon..."
"He can't!" Matty cried. "Lucemon was his friend!"
I can't believe it. The Ruler of Darkness has ordered DarkAngelicmon to capture Lucemon? That can't be true. DarkAngelicmon wanted to kill Lucemon! Besides, I thought he was supposed to try and stop us from getting the Spirit Chips. None of this makes any sense. Why does the Ruler of Darkness want Lucemon in the first place? Is it because Lucemon betrayed him? Obviously Vampiramon's been sent to steal the Spirit Chips, so why wasn't DarkAngelicmon ordered to help her?
"Tell me, Makiya Takaishi, why are you so interested in DarkAngelicmon?" Vampiramon asked suspiciously. "What use would you have for a fallen angel digimon?"
"Your companion has caused my partner a lot of pain and sorrow," Gabrielmon said before Mickey could answer. "He must be stopped, especially if it means saving Lucemon."
"Really, then why do you care what happens to him? If I kill him or not, why would that matter to you?"
"Because, that's our job," Angelicmon said simply.
Ryoko raised his eyebrows and stared at the two angel digimon in disbelief. What they had said made sense, but he had a strange feeling there was a hidden message behind their words. Mickey seemed unusually interested in DarkAngelicmon, and often the older twin would defend the fallen angel if anyone said something bad against him.
DarkAngelicmon does have a pretty mysterious past and Lucemon's story suggests he may not have always been seduced by the Powers of Darkness. Is that why Mickey keeps defending him? Does Mickey really believe DarkAngelicmon used to be a good digimon?
"Forget about Lucemon," Vampiramon smirked, her green eyes glittering maliciously in the light from the sun, "You know what DarkAngelicmon's like. He probably isn't even looking for that little traitor like he should be. Who knows? Maybe he's gone after your little friend. Sam Ichijouji might not be so alone after all."
No, Sam!
Ryoko turned to look at Mickey and winced at the expression on the older twin's face. Without a word, Mickey turned towards the ocean, but before he could get very far, Angelicmon grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. "Let go! We have to fin-"
"You're not going anywhere!" Angelicmon snapped, keeping a firm grip on the older twin's arm.
"But, Sam..."
"Don't you think I know that?"
Mickey frowned at Angelicmon and turned towards his own partner. "Gabrielmon, tell him to let me go! We have to-"
"I'll do no such thing! You're staying right where you are!"
"But-"
"Mickey, you're going to drive me crazy one of these days," Matty groaned, shaking his head.
"Matty, tell-"
"Not a chance."
"Gabrielmon, how can you-"
"I'd let DarkAngelicmon order you around if it meant stopping you from doing something stupid," Gabrielmon shot back, frowning at his partner.
Mickey blushed, and letting out a soft moan, he buried his face against Angelicmon's chest. "I don't know how I know, but I can feel it. DarkAngelicmon's gone after Sam. He's going to take advantage of the darkness in Sam's heart! We have to save him!"
"We will," Angelicmon said softly, his hand coming to rest gently on the top of Mickey's golden head, "but it won't help if we lose you, too."
"He's right," Matty said firmly.
"Mickey, I think you try to make me worry," Gabrielmon sighed.
"Welcome to the club," Matty muttered.
The two of them smiled at each other, and Matty gave Gabrielmon a sympathetic pat on the arm.
"Don't forget about me!" Angelicmon laughed.
"That doesn't mean you three have to gang up on me all the time!" Mickey complained, but despite his words he smiled fondly at his brother and the two angel digimon.
"If I were you, I'd worry more about your leader and your cousin than Sam!" Vampiramon snapped, annoyed at being interrupted.
Ryoko turned to face her and let out a loud snort. "If you're trying to scare me it's not going to work."
"We need a plan," Izzy muttered, tapping frantically on his laptop.
Vampiramon snapped her fingers and a small, thin knife appeared in her right hand. "Have you forgotten already? I know everything. That Spirit Chip on Infinity Mountain belongs to either you, Ryoko, or your goggle-headed leader. The light coming from both your D-Coders and the crests proves it, which means the two of you are about to become my prisoners. You're going to hand that Spirit Chip over to me whether you like it or not, and it Tai, Matt and Joe refuse to break the seal connected to their crests then I will have both of you killed! How does that sound?"
"You're not getting anywhere near my son or his friend!" Matt shouted.
Ryoko turned to look at his father and slowly shook his head. Forget about me, Dad. What about Sam? If Mickey's right and DarkAngelicmon really is after Sam then...if Sam gets hurt, it'll be all my fault...