Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Okay, so the next chapter after this we get back to the Ichijouji family. How is Sam going to react? (And if you're bored by this chapter, I won't be offended. I admit, it's not one of my more exciting ones. I'll be getting to those very soon though!)

Chapter 153: The Future Begins

Makiya 'Mickey' Takaishi

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

Letting out a gasp of surprise, Mickey tumbled unceremoniously out of the computer screen and nearly landed on top of his little sister, his arms flailing widely to stop himself from falling. Luckily, Rina saw him coming, and leaping to her feet, she quickly scurried behind Davis just in time, her large blue eyes peeking curiously around the former leader's legs for a better look at what was happening. Unable to maintain his balance any longer, Mickey fell forwards onto the carpet, his face smacking painfully against the floor, and a soft groan escaped his lips. He had been expecting a pretty rough landing, but even so, it was amazing how hard the carpet could be if you landed on it with enough force.

"You're back, Mickey," Rina said sadly, her voice lacking its usual enthusiasm. "I was really worried something bad might have happened to you and the others."

Sam...he's the one we should all be worried about...

Mickey slowly rolled over onto his back, and opening his eyes, he found himself gazing up into his little sister's anxious face. Rina was leaning over him on her hands and knees, and she was staring at him as if uncertain of whether or not to say what was really on her mind. Her thoughts were obviously somewhere else, but despite that she still seemed to think he might be able to give her some answers to the questions she wanted so badly to ask. "We're fine, Rina. Well, most of us are. I can't really say the same for Sam..."

Rina's expression relaxed a little bit, and she gave him a weak smile. "I know, Mickey. I saw Sam when he came through the gate. He looked so lost and scared. Miya and Nao have gone after him."

"I figured they would. Ken and Yolei should be getting home from the Ai-Mart right about now. Sam's not wasting any time, is he. I wish I could be there for him, but...in a way, I'm glad I'm not. It's not something I really want to witness, and besides, it wouldn't be right for us to intrude. At least, not right now."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Rina asked curiously, her small forehead wrinkling in confusion. "You're not making any sense, silly."

Mickey let out a deep sigh and gently ruffled his little sister's dark hair. "You'll see what I mean soon enough."

"I know what you said, Mickey, but I still think we should go after Sam," Palelymon insisted, hopping onto his lap and giving him a pleading look. "Someone needs to be there for him after he talks to his parents."

"I know, but..."

"Mickey, Sam won't want to be all alone and you know it."

Palelymon's right. Eventually Sam's going to need us, and if we wait too long...

"Ryoko, are you okay?" Mimi gasped, kneeling next to her son and placing a hand on his arm.

"Well, I would be if I could breath."

"Matt, honey, get up! You're crushing our son. You too, Gabumon."

"Shame on you two!" Palmon scolded.

Glaring at Palmon, Matt quickly helped his son into a sitting position and sent the golden-haired Digidestined an apologetic look. "Sorry about that."

"I'm sorry, too," Gabumon said sheepishly.

"Where's Sam?" Dai demanded, untangling himself from the arms of his parents and glancing around the room as if he expected the raven-haired Digidestined to suddenly appear out of thin air.

Taniko slowly sat down in a chair next to the computer and gave the goggle-headed leader a weak smile. "Um...about that...what is going on with Sam? He looked really upset when he came through the gate earlier, and he wouldn't talk to any of us, even his own siblings. I'm assuming he went back home. Like Rina said, Miya and Nao have gone after him."

"Well, that's that," Izzy sighed, picking himself up off the floor and leaning over to kiss his daughter's forehead. "Great job, Taniko, I knew you'd keep an eye on us."

Taniko beamed at him and pointed hesitantly at Tentomon. "He's your digimon partner, right?"

"Yes, this is Tentomon. Tentomon, this is my daughter, Taniko."

"Hello, Taniko! It's nice to meet you. I can tell you're a very likable human, and Izzy always speaks very highly of you. From what I've heard about you so far, you remind me of both my partner and Mina."

Taniko gently ran her fingers over Tentomon's head and turning slightly in her seat, she gave Candlemon a warm smile. "You must be my mother's partner."

"That's right. It's so nice to meet you, Taniko."

"You, too."

"She's a great daughter, isn't she?" Mina said proudly, winking at her partner.

"You are very lucky, Mina," Candlemon said seriously.

"I know I am, trust me."

"Thanks, Mom," Taniko said softly, wrapping her arms around Mina's neck in a tight hug.

"Well? Isn't anyone going to tell us what's going on?" Noriko said impatiently, frowning at her son and glancing suspiciously at Izzy.

Ignoring Noriko's gaze on him, Izzy quickly took the chair next to Taniko and frowned thoughtfully at the ceiling, his mind clearly on Sam and what had happened earlier that afternoon. After a moment of silence, the computer expert turned slowly to look at Matt and he gave the former musician a helpless look. "I hate to say it, but...maybe you're right, Matt. Maybe it is better if Sam confronts his parents instead of us. I know it will be hard on them, but maybe Ken will finally get the message. There's no point in hiding anything. In the end, the truth always comes out."

"The only problem is he's going to get the message a little too late for it to be of any use," Matt snorted.

"Telling Ken about what has happened today before Sam can reach him would accomplish nothing," Sora said seriously, settling herself on the floor between Tai and Mimi and letting out a deep sigh. "If anything, it would probably only make things worse. It would give Ken too much time to think about ways of trying to get around the situation instead of confronting his fears head on. Now he has no other choice."

"No kidding," Takara mumbled, snuggling under her dad's arm and resting her head against his shoulder.

"What in the world are you guys talking about?" Jun asked curiously.

"Wait a minute," Rosa said slowly, turning to gaze uncertainly at Izzy, "you don't mean..."

"Ken," Cody murmured.

A soft gasp came from somewhere off to Mickey's right, and turning in surprise, he realized the sound had come from his father, who was sitting next to Davis. Beside the golden-haired Digidestined, Matty was staring miserably at his hands, and the uncertainty glimmering in his amber eyes made Mickey's heart ache with sadness.

It's all my fault...

"What's wrong, T.K.?" Patamon asked anxiously, soaring into his partner's lap and burying his face against the golden-haired Digidestined's stomach.

"Sam knows, doesn't he. He knows the truth about Ken."

"I knew it," Kenzo groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Taysuke asked, frowning at his dark-haired friend.

Matt raised his eyebrows and gazed calmly at Kenzo for a moment, his expression unreadable, before turning to look at his brother. "Yes, he knows."

"Oh no! That's bad, isn't it," DemiVeemon moaned, scrambling onto Shadow's back and peeking between the little puppy's fuzzy ears.

"What's so bad? What's going on?" Ema shouted, banging her fist on the table, her hand coming dangerously close to the keyboard. "Tell us right now!"

"Well..." Izzy said slowly.

Noah suddenly slammed his own fist against the door, causing everyone to jump, and Mickey turned to gaze uncertainly at the older boy. "Um...Noah, is something wrong?"

"Izzy, you need to tell us what's going on, right now!" Noah snapped, ignoring him and glaring at the computer expert. "We deserve to know. You didn't see Sam's face when he came through the gate, but we did. And what about Miya and Nao? You didn't see their faces either, and if you had, you would know why this is so important. Sam isn't the only one who's suffering! And if whatever you're saying is true then it sounds like things are only going to get worse!"

"Look, Noah, I know you're worried about Miya, but that doesn't mean you have to take your frustration out on Izzy," Davis interrupted, looking amused.

"Yeah, that's more your style, Davis," Mickey heard his father mutter, "or Tai's."

"Hey!" both former leaders shouted at the exact same time.

Noah blushed and glared at Davis. "I'm not worried."

"Of course you are," Ema snorted, stalking over to her brother's side and placing a hand on his arm, "and I don't blame you. Besides, I know you're worried about Sam and Nao, too, but it must really stink for you to see Miya suffering so much."

"I guess, but...hey, what's with you all of a sudden? You're usually not so nice."

"Of all the nerve! Can't I be worried about my big brother at least once in a while? Honestly, you're as bad as Tay."

"He is not!" Tay shouted. "Wait, I mean..."

"Somehow I don't think that came out right," Taniko giggled.

Noah glanced down at Ema, and smiling softly, he tugged gently on her spiky pigtails. "Thanks, little sis."

"And trust me, Noah, we saw enough of the look on Sam's face to last us a lifetime," Ryoko said bitterly, gesturing towards Dai, and then to Mickey's surprise, the golden-haired Digidestined pointed in his direction. "It's not like we don't know what you mean."

"Izzy, don't you think we should tell them what's going on?" Biyomon asked hesitantly.

"It's only fair since Dai and the others already know the truth," Agumon added.

Izzy turned slowly to face the two digimon and he gave them a brief smile. "I never had any intention of keeping the truth from Taniko and the others. What would be the point? Dai and his friends will just tell them what's going on regardless of what we feel might be the best course of action. And besides, personally, I think it would be for the best if we told them."

"Really?" Ami gasped, perking up immediately and smiling hopefully at the computer expert. "If you don't, Miya will just tell me what's going on herself. I want to help her and Sam..."

"Yes, I've already taken that into account, Ami, if of course Miya can get Sam to talk to her. Only...before I tell you what happened in the Digital World, I think we should phone Kari and Joe and tell them to get over here as soon as possible. They need to hear this, too."

"What about Ken and Yolei?" DemiEmbermon asked hesitantly, hopping onto Shadow's back and settling himself next to DemiVeemon.

"Don't forget about Miya and Nao," Fluttermon chirped.

Mickey watched both of his uncles and both of his aunts exchange meaningful looks and all four of them turned at once to face Izzy, their expression clearly stating they didn't think that would be a very good idea right now. Izzy must have agreed with them because he slowly nodded his head and let out a deep sigh. "I think this is something Ken and Yolei need to work out on their own."

"What do you mean?" Ema demanded.

"They won't be in the dark for long, trust me," Tai said reluctantly. "Sam will tell them what's going on. I have no doubt of that. Don't get me wrong, I want to help Sam and the others just as much as everyone else, but I think this is something they need to work out as a family."

"It wouldn't be right for us to intrude on their privacy just yet," Sora said quickly. "There's not much we can do until Ken and Yolei find out about what happened today. Once they do know, that's when it's our turn to step in."

"Sora's right," Mimi said miserably. "I don't know exactly what's going on yet, but it doesn't take a genius like Izzy to get the hint. We don't have the right to warn Ken and Yolei about Sam. Only Sam has the right to tell them what he knows."

There was a moment of tense silence, but it was quickly interrupted by the sound of Davis getting to his feet. Startled by the former leader's sudden movements, Mickey quickly looked up and winced at the expressions on the faces of his friends and family. Everyone looked so gloomy and helpless, even the digimon.

"Where are you gong?" Noriko asked glumly, lifting her head and glancing up at her husband in surprise.

Davis made a face and shrugged his shoulders. "Someone has to phone Kari and Joe, right?"

"Tell them to hurry," Goldmon said urgently, his small body nestled in the crook of Matty's arm.

"What's wrong, Davis?" Iramon asked, his deep blue eyes travelling over the former leader's unusually pale face. The little in-training digimon was sitting in Ryoko's lap, and he looked quite concerned, which was odd since he was usually as calm and cool as his partner.

Looking a bit surprised, Davis merely shrugged his shoulders and gave the little digimon a sad smile. "I wish Ken would have listened to me earlier, back when we first found out our children had become Digidestined. I went along with Ken's plans to keep the truth about the Emperor a secret, but now I really think that probably wasn't the best thing to do. He knew I was disappointed in him, but I never pushed the issue. I should have somehow convinced him to tell Sam, but I didn't and now look what's happened. He was so scared of losing his kids, but by hiding the truth, he might have done more harm than good. If there was one time when he really needed to trust me, this was it, even more so than...than when he finally became one of us."

"You can't blame yourself for this, Davis," Noriko said firmly, "You did what you could, and that's all anyone can expect from you."

"Maybe but...I feel like I've let him down somehow. I should have tried harder to convince him to change his mind..."

"And that's why you were our leader, why you're still our leader, and why you're such a great friend," T.K. said softly, smiling slightly.

Mickey blinked in surprise, momentarily distracted by his dad's overwhelming amount of praise for Dai's father, and because of his unfortunate lack of concentration, he almost missed spotting the faint blush on Davis' cheeks before the former leader quickly bolted for the door, apparently in search of a phone. It was possible Davis had merely forgotten there was a phone sitting on the desk right next to the computer, but considering their current location happened to be the Motomiya residence and Davis was probably the one who had put the phone there himself, Mickey had to conclude that the possibility of memory loss was highly unlikely.

People can change. All of our parents are proof enough of that. If only Sam would understand...

After several minutes of tense silence, Davis finally entered the room again, looking slightly more composed than he had before leaving the room, but despite his sudden presence, nobody bothered to strike up another conversation. Instead, they all waited quietly for Kari and Joe to arrive, each of them lost in their own thoughts, Mickey included. In fact, he was so wrapped up in reliving what had happened earlier with both Matty and Sam, that he almost failed to notice his mother bursting into the room right on Joe's heels. The two of them had managed to arrive at the Motomiya residence right at the exact same time, and judging from the looks on their faces, it was obvious they were worried and unsure about whatever it was Davis had told them over the phone.

"What's up, Izzy?" Joe asked by way of greeting, sitting down next to his wife and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Ema immediately flung herself into the cobalt-haired Digidestined's arms and gazed up at him with wide, frightened eyes. "Dad, I don't know what's going on, but we've got big trouble."

"And I want some answers!" Noah snapped, flinging himself onto the ground next to his mother and sending Izzy a dirty look.

Joe blinked at his son in surprise, clearly startled by Noah's unusual behaviour and nervously scratched his head. Obviously he wasn't used to seeing his mild, easygoing son acting so hostile towards another human being. "Uh...Izzy, I think you'd better start talking. Davis sounded pretty worried over the phone, and he usually isn't in the habit of acting so pessimistic when something bad happens."

"You mean like you?" Mimi joked.

"I wasn't being pessimistic," Davis grumbled.

Instead of answering, Joe ignored both of his fellow Digidestined and kept his attention focused on Izzy. "Well?"

"Where do I even begin?"

"At this point, any information would be nice," Noah snorted.

"Nobunari Kido, you watch your tone!" Jun scolded, poking her son sharply in the shoulder. "Izzy's doing the best he can. I know you're worried, but that's no excuse to act so disrespectful."

"Tell that to Ema! She's rude to people all the time."

"I am not!"

"Kidding, sis, I'm kidding. Well...sort of."

"Hey!"

Ignoring the usual squabbling between the Kido children, Mickey quickly made his way over to his mother's side, Rina and Palelymon close on his heels, and slipped his arms around her in a tight hug. "Hey, Mom."

"Mickey, you sound so sad."

"I am sad right now."

"I think we're all a little sad," his father said softly, wrapping an arm around Matty's shoulders and giving the female Digidestined a quick kiss on the lips. "I wish you could have been here earlier, Kari."

"I feel the same way."

"It's bad, Mommy," Rina sighed, hugging Palelymon tightly against her cheek. "At least that's what the others keep saying."

"Why can't everyone just be happy again?" Matty suddenly whispered, his voice carrying across the room, which had gone quiet after Jun had shouted at her children to stop arguing. Everybody turned to look at the younger twin, but Matty didn't seem to notice. Instead of responding to the unusual amount of attention he was receiving, the younger twin meekly continued to stare at nothing, his gaze focused on some far away place.

Mickey glanced anxiously at his mother, and frowning slightly, she quickly pulled Matty into her arms and rested her cheek against the top of his head. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Are you sick?" Rina asked curiously, peering into Matty's eyes and poking him on the nose.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Matty pressed his cheek against Goldmon's small body and quickly shook his head. "I just want things to go back to the way they were before. I just want all this darkness to go away."

Me too, Matty. If only you knew how much...

Mickey wanted desperately to comfort his twin, but unable to think of anything to say, he chose to remain silent. Instead, his father hugged Matty and gently ruffled the younger twin's hair. "I wish it were that simple, Matty, but sometimes we don't have a choice. I know it's hard, but if you keep fighting and you never give up, you can make it go away sooner than you think."

"But not soon enough."

It's my fault, isn't it. I'm sorry, Matty. I'm sorry I've made you so sad, but you need to understand...

And yet, if that were true, then why did he feel like such a horrible brother?

Maybe it's because I am a horrible brother..

Unable to suppress the sudden emotions swirling around in his heart, Mickey hesitantly placed a hand on his twin's shoulder, but before he could say anything, his mother suddenly nudged Matty gently into their father's arms and turned to look at Izzy. "Please, Izzy? Tell us."

"Well, you see...it's kind of hard to believe, but it all sort of started with Gennai and the ocean..."