Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Time for some familiar faces! Now, I wrote this chapter before Christmas back when I was really busy and lacking my usual inspiration, so if you're a bit disappointed with how the chapter turned out, trust me, I won't be offended. I'm actually quite disappointed myself. I wanted our two favorite megas to have a more dramatic entrance, but as you will see, it didn't quite work out as well as I had hoped it would, though I do make up for it with some nice chapters coming up! Also, a big thank you to RoyalKnightX for for the awesome chapter title!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 141: Two Halves of a Whole
Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya
File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World
"Don't tell me you two losers know about the Spirit Chips, too!" Ryoko groaned, shaking his head in defeat.
I knew it! So, they really weren't with Vampiramon. I wonder why...
Spritemon clasped her hands together behind her back and gave the golden-haired Digidestined a wicked smile. The triumphant look on her face wasn't exactly encouraging, and neither was Jestermon's enthusiastic little victory dance. "Ran into Vampiramon, did you? That would explain why some of your little friends are missing. Of course we know what's going on. Did you honestly believe Vampiramon and her companions were the only ones lurking in the forest? You really should pay more attention to your surroundings. We know everything, and we intend to make good use of Gennai's information. Isn't that right, Jestermon?"
"For once, the fool agrees with you. As unlikely as it might seem, you have been known to be right on occasion, much to Vampiramon's annoyance."
"I do wish someone would tell DarkAngelicmon that."
Dai turned slowly to look at Ryoko and managed a sheepish grin. "She does have a point, you know."
"Who, Spritemon?" the blond snorted. "I don't like it either, but she's right about one thing. We really do need to start paying more attention to what's going on around us."
"Where's DarkAngelicmon?" Mickey suddenly shouted, his sharp words cutting through the air like a knife. "Tell me right now, and what have you done with Sam?"
Jestermon tripped over his own feet in surprise at Mickey's outburst and fell face first onto the grass. Muttering to himself, the fool slowly lifted his head and stared at Spritemon in confusion. "The little Emperor?"
Spritemon ignored the fool and gave Mickey a suspicious look. "Not that it's any of your business, but as far as I know, DarkAngelicmon is around here somewhere. As for your little Emperor friend, we have no idea where he is. Isn't he with Vampiramon and the rest of your annoying Digidestined allies? The last time we saw him, he was with you."
"That's a lie! If you've done anything to hurt him..."
It's not a lie, it's the truth.
Dai quickly placed a restraining hand on Mickey's shoulder and turned to gaze curiously at Jestermon and Spritemon. Both megas seemed genuinely surprised at the news of Sam's sudden disappearance, and their eyes kept traveling over the group, as if expecting to see Sam standing in their midsts.
"We know DarkAngelicmon's close by," Matty snapped, glaring angrily at Jestermon. "That's not what Mickey was asking. You say you don't know where Sam is, but what about DarkAngelicmon? Why isn't he with you, especially since he's obviously in the area."
"We're the ones asking the questions here, not you!" Spritemon snapped.
Jestermon slowly stood up and began to juggle his customary set of three black balls in his deft hands. The fool's deep red eyes were narrowed in concentration, and there was a frown on his wrinkled, green face. "Angel boy also knows exactly what you're planning and he sent us on ahead to follow you on your journey to reach Infinity Mountain before nightfall."
"How come?" Angelicmon asked suspiciously.
"Who knows?" Spritemon snapped irritably, rustling her wings in frustration. "Since when has DarkAngelicmon ever made sense?"
"He said something about needing some time alone to think," Jestermon murmured, gazing thoughtfully at the black balls spinning effortlessly in front of his face.
"Like we're going to believe that," Tirimon growled.
"How could DarkAngelicmon know what we're planning? He wasn't in the forest," Gabrielmon said quietly.
Spritemon rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "You're pretty dumb for a champion, Gabrielmon. In case you didn't notice, DarkAngelicmon is not exactly stupid. At least...not most of the time. Do you really think he wouldn't have taken the presence of other angel digimon into account? He knew you would sense him if he came anywhere near the forest, so he got us to do his spying for him."
"Speaking of spying, we overheard you and your friends talking about finding one of the Spirit Chips," Jestermon smirked, his glowing red eyes traveling over Gabrielmon's handsome face. "If that's true, then why are you heading in the opposite direction of Infinity Mountain?"
"It's none of your business what we do," Matty shouted before Gabrielmon could answer.
"I don't care about the Spirit Chip of Bravery!" Mickey snapped, his whole body growing tense beneath Dai's hand. "I just want to find Sam."
"I told you," Spritemon hissed, "we don't know where your depressing little friend is, and to tell you the turth, we don't really care. His Spirit Chip isn't on top of Infinity Mountain, is it. We saw the blue, orange, and red lights shooting into the sky, and don't think we don't know exactly what it means. Even Jestermon can put two and two together when it counts. If we cut you out of the equation, Makiya Takaishi, then it's easy to figure out what's going on, especially since you pretty much told us which Spirit Chip you're looking for. At the moment, the little Emperor is of no use to us, but your goggle-headed leader and his little blondie sidekick are. They're the ones we want, and we don't intend to leave here today without them!"
"I don't believe you," Mickey said stubbornly, shaking his head in denial.
Before Dai could even blink, Spritemon suddenly reached out and grabbed a fist full of Mickey's golden hair. The older twin stumbled, nearly falling on his face, but Spritemon's grip on his hair kept him from losing his balance. With a little bit of effort, he somehow managed to stay on his feet, but in order to do so he had to grab onto one of Spritemon's fragile, transparent wings for support. Despite the fact that Mickey had nearly banged his nose against Spritemon's forehead, the female mega refused to relinquish her grip on his golden hair. Instead, she forced the older twin to look her directly in the eyes, and she gave his silky, blond tresses a sharp tug. "Listen to me, you fool, if Sam Ichijouji really is with DarkAngelicmon, then you can be sure he's in good hands. If I were you, I'd be more worried about-"
"Let go of me!" Mickey gasped, struggling in Spritemon's grip.
"Birdramon!" Sora shouted, pointing at Spritemon.
Dai felt a strong breeze ruffle his spiky brown hair, and lifting his gaze, he looked up just in time to see Birdramon dive out of the sky and wrap her large talons around Spritemon's small body. With one powerful sweep of her wings, Birdramon took off into the air again and circled around Jestermon with the female mega still gripped in her talons.
Now that Spritemon was no longer holding him up, Mickey's strength finally gave out and he tumbled to the ground in a heap. Angry at himself for losing his grip on the older twin's arm, Dai quickly hurried over to his friend's side and helped the golden-haired twin into a sitting position. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Mickey blushed and gave him a shy smile. "No, I...sorry, Dai. I'm doing it again, aren't I."
Dai let out a soft laugh and patted his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I should yell at you, but I'm not going to. I'm sure Matty will be happy to do that for me."
Sure enough, Dai could see Matty and Gabrielmon standing a few feet behind Mickey, and both of them looked completely exasperated with the older twin's behaviour. Mickey must have sensed their gazes on him because he turned to glance sheepishly at his brother, and receiving a dirty look in return, he shifted his attention to Gabrielmon instead and gave his partner a weak smile. Like Matty, Gabrielmon was not at all impressed, but he did soften up enough to shake his head in amusement.
"Get your filthy claws off me!" Spritemon shouted, her muffled shrieks just barely audible over the sound of Birdramon's attempts to keep them airborne. The breeze stirred up by the force of her large wings ruffled the grass beneath Jestermon's feet and made the bells on his hat sing a catchy little rhythm. Gaping at the sky, the fool let his black balls tumble to the ground in a heap, and they rolled across the grass, eventually disappearing beneath a large clump of bushes tangled with weeds. Unable to escape, Spritemon continued to scream at the top of her lungs.
"Now, Birdramon!" Sora called out, beaming at her partner.
Birdramon immediately let go of Spritemon, but before the little mega could do much more than spread her wings, Birdramon let her attack fly. "Meteor Wing!"
Spritemon disappeared in a blaze of light and her small body began to descend towards the ground at an alarming pace. Streams of fire trailing behind her, she resembled a meteor falling out of the sky, and unfortunately for Jestermon, the female mega's smoking body was heading right towards him. Crying out in surprise, the fool attempted to duck out of the way, but before he could take more than a step, Spritemon crashed into him. They ended up in a tangled heap on the ground, but despite the fact that tendrils of smoke were drifting into the air from Spritemon's skin, the little mega appeared entirely unhurt by Birdramon's attack. "You're going to pay for that, human!"
"More like the other way around. That was for trying to hurt my daughter!" Sora shot back, smiling in satisfaction. "And you'd better keep your hands off my nephew, too, or there'll be more where that came from!"
Tai glanced at his wife and managed a weak smile. "Remind me again never to make you angry. I think you've been hanging around Mimi a little too long."
"Tell me about it," Matt muttered, gazing cautiously at Sora before turning to look at Tai. "I thought you would be the one to try and take out Spritemon."
"So did I!"
"Why aren't you with Vampiramon and BlackWidowmon?" Ryoko asked slowly, frowning at the two megas. "I'm assuming BlackWidowmon is with Vampiramon's gang, even if we didn't see her. At least, that's what Soulmon hinted at earlier. I mean, you said it yourself. You want to get your hands on me and Daichi, as well as the Spirit Chip of Bravery. According to Vampiramon, she and her allies want the exact same thing, so why aren't you guys working together, or are you?"
"Don't talk to me about that power hungry, little witch!" Spritemon shrieked, leaping to her feet.
"I thought she was a vampire digimon," Matty snorted.
"You know what I mean! She wants all the glory, does she? Well, I'll show her who's better at fulfilling our master's orders!"
Dai crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "It sounds like you and your evil buddies are having a bit of a fight. Don't you know that's bad for teamwork?"
"You're one to talk!" Spritemon snapped, angrily fluttering her wings. "You argue with your stupid human friends all the time. That doesn't exactly make you a very good leader, does it."
Dai glared at the female mega, but before he could say anything, Ryoko pushed past him, walked straight up to Spritemon, and poked her sharply between the ribs. "What would you know about having a good leader? Your master doesn't stand a chance against Daichi! Where is he, huh? If the Ruler of Darkness is so strong and powerful, then why is he hiding like a coward? Why doesn't he fight us like a real dark digimon would? Instead of sitting here yakking about the Spirit Chips and trying to capture people, why don't you take that message back to your precious master?"
"Why you little-"
"Ryoko Ishida! What do think you're doing? I swear you're getting as bad as Mickey. Get back here!" Matt snapped, catching hold of his son's arm and pulling the golden-haired Digidestined behind him.
Ryoko tugged on his father's navy shirt and whispered something Dai wasn't quite able to catch, but whatever the golden-haired Digidestined said must have been pretty significant because Matt's expression suddenly softened into a smile, and shaking his head, the former musician gently ruffled his son's hair.
"You know I'm right," Ryoko mumbled, avoiding his father's eyes.
"Of course you are, but putting yourself in danger isn't going to stop your enemies from insulting your friends!"
"Dad! Keep your voice down, would you?"
Are they...are they talking about me?
"Why?" Matt asked, smiling in amusement.
Ryoko blushed and gave his father a dirty look, but Matt pretended not to notice. Instead, the former musician turned to Spritemon and his sapphire eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Since, for whatever reason, you obviously aren't working with Vampiramon, why would your master have bothered to split you guys up into two different groups if you were all just going to spy on us? Why wouldn't he have just made all of you work together? Unless...are you sure DarkAngelicmon hasn't just run off and left you here in order to look for Lucemon or something? He might not have gotten very far yet, but that doesn't mean he isn't trying to leave you behind."
Jestermon jerked his head up in surprise and quickly straightened his red, blue, and green hat before it could slip off his head. "Hey, how do you know we were ordered to capture Lucemon?"
"Lucky guess," Tai smirked, glancing at Matt.
"Yeah, something like that," the former musician snorted.
"Are you-"
"You idiot, Jestermon!" Spritemon shrieked, stomping on the fool's foot. "What do you think you're doing telling them our master's plan?"
"I didn't! They just-"
"Vampiramon certainly seems to think you've been ordered to capture Lucemon," Ryoko smirked.
"I had a feeling she suspected us of being involved in our master's plans concerning Lucemon's fate," Spritemon muttered, making a face. "I suppose I'll have to warn DarkAngelicmon, if he hasn't come to the same conclusion on his own already."
"I can't take this anymore!" Mickey suddenly cried, tugging anxiously on Tai's arm. "We have to find Sam right now!"
"The longer we take to find him, the more danger he's likely to be in," Matty said quietly, tugging on Tai's other arm.
Jestermon snapped his fingers, and immediately the three black balls he had dropped earlier appeared right back in his hands. He began to juggle them in a wide, lazy circle and a small smile appeared on his sickly green face. "We meet again, Makiya Takaishi. As much as I enjoy your company, your constant whining is starting to get on my nerves. The same is true for your brother. The fool can only handle so much, and I'm afraid I've just gone over my limit. I ought to capture you both, just to keep you quiet. It's only fair, after all, and you know I'm a firm believer in fair play."
"In case you didn't notice, our idea of fair play is a lot different from yours!" Matty shouted.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the cells in our dungeon back on Cyber are quite comfortable. Ask Gennai if you don't believe me. Would you and your brother care to try them out?"
"Leave our nephews alone!" Matt and Tai shouted at the exact same time.
Jestermon quickly ceased his juggling, and red eyes narrowing into angry slits, he glared at the two adult Digidestined. "The fool should have destroyed your nephews while he still had the chance! Shadow Spheres!"
"Watch out!" Ryoko shouted.
Tai grabbed onto Matty's shoulders and dragged the younger twin out of the glowing orb's path just in time. One of Jestermon's three dark balls had flown straight at Matty, and despite the fact that Tai had been quick to react, the dark sphere just narrowly missed hitting the younger twin directly in the forehead. The other two spheres headed for Matt and Mickey, and letting out a gasp of surprise, Matt shoved Mickey towards the ground and covered the older twin's head with his arms. Both orbs streaked through the air just inches above Matt's golden hair and flew harmlessly off into the distance.
"That's it! Now you've gone too far!" Tai shouted, leaping to his feet and depositing Matty into Sora's arms. "Come on, Matt, let's show this jerk what happens to evil digimon who try to mess with our nephews!"
"Oh, are we supposed to be scared?" Spritemon smirked, raising her eyebrows.
Matt glared at her and tightened his arms around Mickey. "You two think you're so tough, but let's see what happens when you have to face WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon!"
"Now you're talking!" Greymon growled, advancing towards Spritemon and Jestermon.
"Finally, a real challenge!" Jestermon said gleefully, twirling around in a circle and doing a little jig.
"You won't be so cheerful when we're done with you!" Matt snapped. "Come on, Garurumon, it's time to fight mega with mega! You know what to do."
"You too, Greymon!" Tai shouted.
Dai watched in awe as Greymon and Garurumon returned to their rookie stages. Both digimon turned to face their partners and Tai and Matt quickly held out their Digivices. The two digimon disappeared in flashes of orange and blue light, Agumon surrounded by orange light and Gabumon surrounded by blue light, and immediately they began to take on new forms.
"After you, Agumon!"
"Right! Agumon warp digivolve to, WarGreymon!"
"Gabumon warp digivolve to, MetalGarurumon!"
Where Agumon and Gabumon had been standing only moments ago, there now stood two large, impressive digimon whose shiny armour sparkled in the afternoon sunshine. WarGreymon stood on two feet with the image of the Crest of Courage split into two halves on what looked like armoured wings on his back. When the two halves were placed together, the image of the crest became whole and created a shield. MetalGarurumon stood on four legs, and he too had shiny armour all over his body, those his was mostly a silvery blue colour instead of a combination of yellow, red, and silver.
"Wow," Ryoko said weakly, reaching out a trembling hand and touching MetalGarurumon lightly on the nose. The large mega gently nuzzled Ryoko's shoulder, and face glowing, the golden-haired Digidestined turned to look at Tirimon. "Hey, Tirimon, do you think you'll ever become a mega?"
"For you, Ryoko? If that's what it takes to defeat the Ruler of Darkness, then with your help, I will do everything I can to become a mega. You know I would do anything for you."
"I know."
"Hey, don't forget about us!" Sora interrupted, holding up her glowing, red crest. "Birdramon may not have reached mega yet, but she's still a powerful ultimate!"
"That's right, I almost forgot!" Matty gasped, smiling up at his aunt.
"Do your thing, Birdramon!"
"One ultimate, coming up! Birdramon digivolve to, Garudamon!"
"Terra Force!" WarGreymon shouted, leaping into the air and launching a huge ball of energy at Jestermon and Spritemon.
"Metal Wolf Claw!" MetalGarurumon growled, ducking under two of Jestermon's black spheres and hitting the fool in the face with his icy, blue blast. The wolf digimon quickly leaped out of the way just as WarGreymon's attack reached Jestermon and Spritemon, and seconds after WarGreymon's feet touched the grass and MetalGarurumon had joined him, Jestermon and Spritemon disappeared in an explosion of fire.
"Time to teach these two a lesson!" Garudamon shouted. "Wing Blade!"
"Run, you fool!" Spritemon shrieked, abandoning Jestermon and leaping behind a clump of bushes to avoid Garudamon's attack.
Somehow the two megas had managed to survive WarGreymon's Terra Force attack, but despite that the results were encouraging because neither Spritemon nor Jestermon appeared to be too steady on their feet. On top of that, both digimon looked a little caught off guard at the power of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, but Dai knew it was only a matter of time before they recovered, and when they did, they would fight back with a vengeance.
"Dai? Dai! Earth to Dai, are you listening to me?"
Dai reluctantly dragged his gaze away from WarGreymon and found himself staring directly into Tai's deep brown eyes. The former leader was gripping him tightly by the shoulders and there was an anxious look on his face. "Dai, listen to me. Don't worry about Spritemon and Jestermon. Matt, Sora, Matty and I can keep them busy while you, Mickey, and Ryoko find Sam. Both you and Ryoko are in danger if you stay here, and there's no telling what DarkAngelicmon might do to Sam."
"But...Tai, there's no way only three of us can stand up to DarkAngelicmon! He's oddly strong for a champion."
Tai shrugged and gave him a warm smile. "I have faith in you. I wouldn't have asked you to confront DarkAngelicmon if I didn't think you could. You don't even necessarily have to fight him. What you need to do is find Sam, and if you can get him away from DarkAngelicmon without a fight, all the more better."
"I...I guess so. Okay, I'll do it! Mickey, Ishida, come with me. You too, Gabrielmon, and you, Tirimon!"
"Be careful," Angelicmon said quietly, catching Gabrielmon's arm and giving his fellow angel a meaningful look.
Dragermon quickly reverted back to his rookie form, and Dai turned to look at his partner in surprise. "What's up?"
"I can digivolve again if you need me. Right now we need to be inconspicuous. You don't want DarkAngelicmon to see us coming, do you?"
Dai lifted his partner into his arms and gave the little rookie a big smile. "Thanks, Embermon."
"Dai, please, please make sure Mickey doesn't do anything crazy," Matty suddenly whispered in his ear, giving him a pleading look.
Dai nodded and patted the younger twin's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll watch him."
"Come on, Dai!" Mickey wailed, coming up behind him and tugging anxiously on his arm. "Sam needs us!"
Dai turned to look at the older twin and crossed his arms. "Mickey, normally I let you and the others get away with a lot, but this time I'm going to have to put my foot down. Stay close to me, and if you put so much as one toe out of line, I'm going to handcuff you to my arm the next time we come to the Digital World, understand?"
Mickey blushed and meekly lowered his eyes to the ground. "Yes, Dai."
"Be careful," Sora said anxiously.
"You know how much I hate this, don't you?" Matt said quietly, staring at his son.
Ryoko nodded and bit his lip. "I know. I'll be careful."
"You be careful, too," Mickey mumbled, hiding his face against Matty's shoulder before quickly pulling away.
Matty nodded and smiled at his twin. "Go before I'm tempted to stop you from leaving."
"Lead the way, Embermon!" Gabrielmon said softly.
Embermon settled himself on Tirimon's large head and pointed towards the ocean. "Don't worry, Sam. We're coming!"
Dai raced after Tirimon, with Mickey and Ryoko on either side of him, and glanced uncertainly over his shoulder at the battle still taking place behind him. He couldn't understand why, but for some reason Tai believed in him, and he had a feeling Matt did, too, even though the golden-haired Digidestined hadn't said a word. There was only one thing he wasn't quite sure of, and that was whether or not he believed in himself.