Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Another chapter is here! Well, this is where all the exciting stuff really starts to begin, so I hope you all enjoy what will be coming up soon!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 178: Playing the Hero

Davis Motomiya

File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

Holding tightly to his wife's hand and frowning thoughtfully at the back of his son's dark head, for the first time in just over fourteen years (his first child having been born just a little over fourteen years ago) Davis couldn't wondering if maybe perhaps he had ultimately failed as a parent after all, despite the reassurances of both his family and his friends.

What am I going to do? I can't help him if he won't let me...

It was strange, but as Dai turned to glance back at him, instead of gazing upon the cheerful face of his young son, Davis felt like he was staring at a complete stranger, one who, at the moment, was merely pretending to be the boy both he and Noriko had named Daichi Motomiya.

Davis knew, thanks to many of his actions in the past, that he was not the type of person who scared easily, but the thought of perhaps losing his son to the darkness frightened him more than he was willing to admit.

Darkness. Is this what Tai was hinting at? Does he really think my son will fail?

"Davis, Dai's going to be just fine," Noriko suddenly said softly in his ear, giving his fingers a quick squeeze. "I know he's upset right now, but considering how he feels about Kara, it's only natural he should be worried. How can we call ourselves parents if we can't even believe in our own son?"

Taking extra care to watch his step, Davis reluctantly nodded in agreement, and realizing suddenly the meaning behind Noriko's words about Kara, he said in surprise, "You mean, you've noticed it too?"

"Of course I have, and I don't blame Dai for feeling a little bit confused. He is only a thirteen year old boy after all. I think all he needs is a little time to sort out his feelings, and once he does...well, I guess we'll see what happens. He's young, which means he still has plenty of time to come to terms with his emotions, but once he does, I'm sure he'll make all the right decisions."

"All the time in the world, huh? That might change if we can't reach Kara before Vampiramon loses her patience."

"We'll save her," Noriko said firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Dai will make sure we do, even if it means risking himself."

Avoiding his wife's piercing gaze, Davis said quietly, "Does that scare you?"

"Yes, but there's not much I can do about it. After all, it's in his blood. You would do the same for me."

Lifting his head, Davis gazed directly into his wife's dark eyes, and smiling slightly he said, "Yeah, I would."

"I think our biggest mistake would be to underestimate Dai. Sure, he might be just as vulnerable to the darkness as the rest of us, but that doesn't mean he's going to let it stop him from doing what he knows is right."

"Hey, Noriko...what do you think about Kara? I mean...how do you feel for her sake?"

Noriko stared at him, and leaning in to kiss him gently on the lips she said softly in his ear, "I think, like me, Takara is the luckiest girl in the world."

"Really? Wow, do I know how to pick a wife, or what?"

Laughing, Noriko slapped him playfully in the side, and turning to look down at Veemon, who was tugging vigorously on the legs of his blue jeans, he said curiously, "What's up, Veemon?"

"I'm worried too, Davis, but I promise you I won't let anything bad happen to Dai."

"Same here," Penguinmon chirped, nodding his head towards Dai. "And we're not the only ones. You know Tai and the others won't let you down."

"I know. Thanks, guys."

And yet, despite their attempts to cheer him up, he still felt like there was a huge weight resting upon his shoulders.

Glancing once more at his son, Davis could understand why none of the others appeared to want to get too close to the goggle-headed leader at the moment. Dai was clearly brooding over the injustice of their current predicament and the stormy expression on his face didn't exactly encourage any type of conversation, either with him or about him. He looked as tense as a rope about to snap, and Davis had a feeling even just one wrong word might be enough to cause Daichi to slip over the edge of his anger. Even Embermon, who was walking next to Dai, didn't seem to want much to do with his partner at the moment. Dai was walking a fine line between anger and despair, and judging from the look on Embermon's face, he too did not seem to know just how to cheer Dai up, so instead of attempting to engage the goggle-headed leader in conversation, Embermon wisely chose to remain silent.

Dai...you know it's not a good sign when your own digimon partner starts to act like he's afraid of you. Can't you see what's happening? Don't you understand?

"How far exactly have we managed to climb this stupid mountain? I feel like we've been walking forever," Matty suddenly groaned, interrupting the tense silence hovering thickly in the air around the entire group. "Can you check your Digivice, Mickey? I'm too tired to look."

Frowning at his D-Coder, Mickey said quietly, "We're not quite halfway yet."

"Excuse me?" Dai snapped, turning on his heels to glare at Mickey. "Not quite halfway? What is that supposed to mean?"

"We...we're almost there. It shouldn't be too long now. Takara's signal is still coming from the top of the mountain so I think we're still okay for the moment..."

"You only think we are? Great, now I feel so much better! Just because her signal's still coming from the top of the mountain that doesn't mean she isn't hurt...or...or...worse!"

Mickey gazed calmly at Dai, his expression unreadable, and shaking his head he said softly, "I know that, Dai. Trust me, I know."

"Then why are we still wasting time? According to you, we still have more than halfway to go, which means by the time we get there, it might be too late!"

"I know you're worried, Dai, but-"

"Oh just forget it!" Dai shouted in disgust, dismissing Mickey with a wave of his hand. "You're just as useless as everyone else!"

"Hey, he is not!" Matty cried indignantly, pointing an accusing finger at the goggle-headed leader. "I don't know what your problem is, but don't you even think about going all Sam-like on us!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Davis caught a glimpse of Sam's face, which had turned a deep shade of red at Matty's outburst, but despite the raven-haired Digidestined's obvious discomfort, surprisingly he too seemed more concerned about Dai than he did about himself.

Turning his back on Dai, Mickey lowered his amber gaze to the rocky ground beneath his feet, and holding tightly to his D-Coder he murmured, "Dai, I know you're not really mad at me, so I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear what you said. I'm not offended because I know you didn't mean it, but there's something I want you to think about. If Kara were here now, what do you think she would have to say about the way you've been acting lately?"

"I don't know, Mickey!" Dai said coldly, his dark eyes glittering like frozen ice chips in the sunshine. "I can't answer that because Takara's not here, is she!"

"You idiot," Ryoko muttered, slapping a hand against his forehead.

Standing next to Ryoko, Sam raised his eyebrows, and elbowing the golden-haired Digidestined in the stomach he said teasingly, "What's with you and calling everyone idiots?"

"Well, I wouldn't have to if you'd all just stop acting like idiots!"

"Speak for yourself."

For a moment, the two boys just stared at each other, their eyes locked in some silent conversation Davis couldn't even begin to comprehend, but then to his surprise, instead of getting angry, both Sam and Ryoko smiled hesitantly at each other before quickly turning their attention back to the fuming goggle-headed leader standing before them.

"Dai, don't you think we should keep moving?" Embermon mumbled, gazing anxiously at his human partner. "I mean, you're the one who keeps saying we should rescue Takara as soon as possible..."

"Exactly! So, why isn't anyone listening to me?"

"Don't you feel it, Dai?" Kari asked quietly, coming up behind the goggle-headed leader and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We're definitely being watched. I can sense it on the back of my neck. Don't you feel the same way?"

"So then why are we standing around here doing nothing? If we're really being watched, shouldn't we be trying to find our spy? And then, once we find him, shouldn't we be doing everything we can to get rid of him?"

"Dai-"

"See? You know I'm right! Everything I've said so far is true, but all of you keep acting like I don't know what I'm talking about!"

"Are you done yet?" Tai asked quietly, his intense gaze never wavering even once from Dai's flushed face.

"No, I'm not done! And if you're thinking about giving me another speech, I don't want to hear it! In case you didn't notice, you're part of the problem!"

"And you're just making the problem even worse," Matt countered, stepping up next to Tai and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Nobody asked you for your opinion!" Dai shot back, scowling at the golden-haired Digidestined.

Matt raised his eyebrows and leaning close to Tai he murmured, "Don't let him get to you. We were no different. Never forget that."

"By all means, keep talking about me like I'm not even here. We'll just ignore the fact that I'm standing right in front of you," Dai said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Dai, if you would just stop and think for a second, you'd realize this kind of fighting is going to get us nowhere," Tai said wearily, a small sigh escaping from his lips. "I know you-"

"You think you know what's best for me, but you don't!" Dai shouted, his hands clenching into tight fists. "Who are you to tell me what to do? You're not even my dad!"

"Daichi!" Noriko scolded, frowning at the goggle-headed leader.

At this point, Davis felt he should probably intervene and taking a step towards his son he said seriously, "Tai might not be your father, but I am, and I think you should listen to what he has to say."

"Are you serious? Dad, I can't believe you're siding with him over me! How can you-"

"I'm not siding with anyone, Dai. I just think you should listen to what he has to say before you start jumping to conclusions. When it comes to the Digital World, Tai has more experience than even I do. If you just take the time to listen to him, you might learn something useful. Whoa, wait a second, that totally didn't sound like me just now!"

"Your father's right, Dai," Joe insisted, reaching out to give his nephew a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "I know it's hard, but if we try to take too many risks, Takara could end up in just as much trouble as she would if we were to reach her at a time when it would already be too late for us to rescue her."

"If Kara were here now, she would be very upset," Dovemon whispered, burying her face against Tai's chest.

Dai stared at the little rookie in Tai's arms, and hanging his head he mumbled, "None of you understand. You just don't get it."

"We understand better than you think, Dai," Tai said gently, giving the goggle-headed leader's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Flinching at the sudden contact, Dai quickly pulled away from the former leader, and turning to his digimon partner he said flatly, "Embermon, digivolve now."

"W-what?"

"Dai, what are you up to?" Alopemon asked suspiciously, grabbing onto Embermon's arm to stop the little rookie from obeying the goggle-headed leader's orders.

Ignoring Alopemon, Dai snapped, "Now, Embermon!"

"B-but...I'm kind of big as Dragermon. Someone might-"

"Now!"

"Okay, okay! Embermon digivolve to, Dragermon!"

Fully expecting Dai's D-Coder not to work, Davis was surprised when Dragermon suddenly materialized on the edge of the cliff above their heads, his large red wings stretching out to catch the warm rays of the sun. Apparently, though not entirely himself, Dai's heart hadn't yet fallen completely to the Powers of Darkness and as a result his behaviour was not preventing his Digivice from working properly.

At least not yet, but if he continues to ignore all of our warnings, who knows what might happen?

"Our spy will have seen the unmistakable light of digivolution," Angelicmon sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Dai, what have you done?"

"You are not a fool, Dai," Gabrielmon said quietly. "Don't insult us by acting like one."

Backing up towards the cliff where Dragermon was perched on the edge above him, Dai said bitterly, "I'm not going to be Vampiramon's pawn any longer! Don't you see? You're playing right into her hands! This is exactly what she wants from us, and maybe the rest of you don't care, but I'm not going to fall for it!"

"Dai, what are you saying?" Agumon asked anxiously, glancing at his partner for clarification.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm out of here. The rest of you can do what you want, but I'm leaving."

"You don't mean that," Gomamon snorted, shaking his head in denial.

"Dai, can't we talk about this?" Joe said quietly, his dark eyes pleading for the goggle-headed leader to reconsider.

Dai gazed mournfully at the cobalt-haired Digidestined and shaking his head he said regretfully, "Uncle...even you don't understand."

"Dai, you do realize you're making a huge mistake, I presume?" Angewomon said pleasantly, her fingers running lightly over the taunt string of her bow.

"Dai, please," Glowmon whimpered.

"If you leave now you'll regret it," Gabumon warned.

For a moment, Dai looked like he wanted to reconsider, but then his face hardened and he turned his back on all the intense gazes burning into his soul. "I guess we'll find out, won't we."

"Do you really think we're just going to let you walk away?" Tai said coldly, staring at the goggle-headed leader in disbelief.

Dai slowly began to back away from the former leader and lifting his head to look up at the cliff above him he shouted, "Dragermon!"

"Dai, no!" Noriko shrieked, racing towards the goggle-headed leader.

With lightning speed, Tai lunged towards the goggle-headed leader, grabbing him roughly by the arm, and struggling in the former leader's grip Dai shouted, " Hurry, Dragermon!"

Sensing Dai's need for help, Dragermon leaped off the edge of the cliff, sending up a cloud of dust in the process, and diving towards his partner he said regretfully, "I'm sorry, Tai!"

"Huh? What are you..."

Dai hit the former leader hard in the chest and letting out a gasp of surprise, Tai tumbled backwards onto the rocky ground, his grip loosening on Dai's arm.

Pulling free from the former leader's grasp, Dai raced towards Dragermon, nearly slipping on the sea of pebbles beneath his feet, and just as Dragermon swooped towards the group the goggle-headed leader leaped onto his partner's back, his arms wrapping tightly around the champion's long, slim neck.

Dai, no!

Completely shocked by his son's behaviour, since the goggle-headed leader was usually a bit more level-headed than he was, Davis was unable to move a muscle, despite having already known exactly what his son was planning to do even before Tai had made an attempt to stop the goggle-headed leader. Both his mouth and his body had become frozen upon witnessing his son's bizarre actions, but realizing all of a sudden that Dai was not in fact joking around, it was like his body gained a sudden burst of energy. "Dai!"

"You idiot! You're going to pay for this!" Ryoko shouted, shaking his fist at the goggle-headed leader.

"Dai, how could you?" Mickey moaned, covering his face with his hands.

Coming to a stop next to Tai and Noriko, Davis gazed up at his son hovering above the mountain on Dragermon's back, and shielding his eyes from the sun's glare he snapped, "Daichi, come back here right now! Don't make me ground you again!"

"I'm sorry, Dad!" Dai shouted, unable to look at him. "I'll see you when you reach the top. Hopefully..."

"Dai, wait! This isn't just about Kara!" Tai shouted, the breeze stirred up by Dragermon's wings causing his dark hair to fall into his eyes. "Don't you get it? I..."

Whether or not Dai heard the former leader's words, Davis didn't know, but considering the fact that his son probably wouldn't have answered Tai either way, it didn't really matter whether the goggle-headed leader had been listening or not.

"Dragermon, stop! Don't do what he says!" Angelicmon cried, leaping into the air and fluttering directly into the large champion's path.

"I'm sorry, but Dai is my partner. I can't just abandon him!"

"But-"

"Forgive me, Angelicmon, but you might want to move out of the way. Dragon Fire Spin!"

Without warning, a huge swirling stream of fire shot out of Dragermon's mouth, hurtling through the air where Angelicmon hovered above the dragon digimon, and taking the hint, the celestial champion quickly swerved out of the way, the stray feathers he had left in his wake turning to ash from the raw power of Dragermon's attack.

"Angelicmon!" Matty cried, his amber eyes widening in shock.

"I'm fine, Matty."

"But-"

As far as Davis could tell, it didn't look as if Dragermon had been trying to hurt the celestial digimon. It was more like he had been trying to distract Angelicmon in order to give himself an easy escape route, but even so, the fact that he had used an attack on a fellow digimon didn't bode well for the current state of Dai's mind.

"You made your digimon attack my partner, Dai!" Matty shouted furiously, his words cutting through the tension in the air like a knife. "If you want me to forgive you, you're going to have to make it up to me big time!"

Instead of replying, Dai motioned for Dragermon to head towards the peak, and as the dragon digimon disappeared from view, Davis was left wondering what in the name of the Digiworld had just happened.

Spritemon

File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

Crouching behind a small group of large, jagged rocks high above the Digidestined, her small form hidden from view, and leaning over the narrow ledge jutting out from the side of the cliff, Spritemon frowned thoughtfully at the empty path down below her, trying unsuccessfully to prevent herself from getting impatient with the humans. At the moment, Daichi and his friends were just out of her line of vision, since the humans had yet to navigate their way past the sharp bend in the path, and since she was lying in wait, just a little ahead of Daichi's gang, it meant she would not be able to get a good glimpse of them until they rounded the curve. That had been the case for most of the afternoon, so far, since it was necessary for her to stay out of sight, and although it was essential for her to remain one step ahead of the Digidestined, unfortunately keeping herself hidden meant she had to take her eyes off of them, sometimes for several minutes until she could find herself a new hiding place somewhere ahead of the humans on the path.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to lose track of them so easily. I may not be able to see them, but I can still hear them!

And hear them she did.

Thanks to the brisk breeze swirling around Infinity Mountain, the voices of the Digidestined drifted easily towards her on the wind, and judging from their angry tones and harsh words, it sounded as if they were having a huge argument.

"Pardon me, my lady, but don't you think it's a little worrisome that the Digidestined know they're being watched?" DemiDevimon whispered, hovering anxiously next to her shoulder.

Rolling her eyes, Spritemon snorted, "I'd be more concerned if they didn't know. What do you expect, DemiDevimon? The Digidestined aren't stupid. I would expect them to know they're being watched. It doesn't matter as long as they don't discover our hiding places. In fact, knowing they're being watched means they'll do exactly what we want them to do. With a spy on their tail, they'll be less likely to try anything heroic."

"They sound like they've gotten themselves into a really big argument," DemiDevimon said hesitantly. "Do you think maybe we should-"

"Dai, wait!" the voice of Tai Kamiya suddenly shouted, his words echoing off the side of the mountain. "This isn't just about Kara! Don't you get it? I..."

"Dragermon, stop! Don't do what he says!" the voice of Angelicmon cried a split second later.

There were sounds of a commotion down below and around the corner of the path, and Spritemon blinked in surprise when she spotted a flash of fire shoot up into the air. A moment later, a large red dragon digimon suddenly appeared in the sky high above the line of cliffs she herself was using for cover, and even from so far down below she was able to spot a small human clinging to the champion's long, slim neck.

Daichi!

"Look, it's the Motomiya boy!" DemiDevimon whispered in awe.

Realizing all of a sudden what Daichi was trying to do, Spritemon let out a small gasp of surprise. "He's trying to separate himself from the rest of the group!"

"But...he can't!" DemiDevimon protested. "I promised DarkAngelicmon..."

"What?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Spritemon turned to frown suspiciously at the little rookie hovering beside her. Thankfully, the hiding spot she had chosen gave them enough cover to prevent Dragermon from spotting them while in the air, but even so she still felt annoyed by the dragon digimon's disruption of her plans. "DarkAngelicmon? What are you talking about? Vampiramon was the one who ordered us not to allow the Digidestined to become separated, not DarkAngelicmon."

Ignoring her words, DemiDevimon suddenly leaped into the air, and fluttering discreetly after Dragermon's retreating form he shouted back over his shoulder, "I'm going after Dragermon! You keep an eye on the others. Whatever you do make sure they don't split up. We can't have some of them trying to follow the Motomiya boy while the rest remain behind. If they do end up separating into several groups they'll have a better chance of catching Vampiramon and the others off guard! Our master won't be pleased if they manage to steal the Spirit Chip and the Kamiya girl right out from under our noses. Vampiramon's plan has a better chance of succeeding if we keep our eyes on the Digidestined at all times, and the best way to do that is to make sure they stick together, so we can watch them closely. I'll report back later."

For a moment, Spritemon just stared after the rookie with a stunned look on her face, and realizing all of a sudden what had just happened she snapped, "Who do you think you are telling me what to do, rookie? I'm the one who's supposed to be giving the orders around here!"

DemiDevimon ignored her, and watching the little rookie disappear from view, Spritemon was left standing on the edge of the cliff with her mouth hanging open.