Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Sorry about the wait, everyone, but here finally is the next chapter. And before I begin, Sam would like me to inform you all that he has not in fact forgotten about his father, and he wants you all to know that their issues will become a central part of the story again. (There, how was that, Sam?)
Sam: Good. I was hoping you wouldn't forget!
B.A.: Me? Never!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 181: Making Choices
Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya
File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World
Sitting comfortably on Dragermon's back, Daichi carefully studied the mountain below him, conscious of the fact that he needed his partner to land before Vampiramon and her evil allies could spot the large champion from the peak, though he was sure he was still far enough below the top of the mountain to avoid being spotted. Then again, much to his frustration, Dragermon unfortunately stood out like a sore thumb, which meant if he wanted to have even a chance of rescuing Takara, he was going to have to be discreet.
And somehow I don't think flying around on a huge red dragon digimon is going to help my chances any...
Smiling faintly, Daichi quickly pointed to a large alcove about halfway up the mountain, and raising his voice to be heard over the sound of the wind he shouted, "We need to land, Dragermon! Do you see that big platform dug into the side of the mountain? It's at the halfway point."
"I see it. Do you think it's big enough for me to land on?"
"I think so. As a bonus, it's also covered by an overhang, which means it'll keep you hidden from view. See how the platform is carved into the side of the cliff? It's the perfect landing spot."
"I'm sorry, Dai."
"For what? It's not your fault you're a large champion. That's just who you are. Besides, despite what Tai might think, I'm not as stupid as the others seem to think I am."
"Is that what you really believe?" Dragermon asked quietly, sounding a little bit disappointed. "Dai, your friends don't think you're stupid. They just think you're being a bit too...hasty."
"Really? Well, you wouldn't know it from the way they were acting earlier. It's not like I'm just going to fly up to the very top of the mountain and snatch Kara right out of DarkAngelicmon's hands. Do you think I'd be dumb enough to risk putting her life in danger like that? I know I have to be careful, which is why I'm not heading straight for the top of the mountain, but that doesn't mean I'm going to take all afternoon to get there either. I'm going to move at my own pace, and Vampiramon had better not get in my way!"
"Dai, you do realize that if we land at the halfway point, Tai and the others won't be too far behind? Doesn't that make our escape kind of...uh...well...pointless?"
Pointless? Some partner you are, Dragermon! Just whose side are you on?
Feeling his face heat up, Dai glared at the back of his partner's head and snapped, "No! I'm still going to be moving faster than they are! Besides, we're not going to stay halfway down the mountain for very long. I just need a moment to plan what we're going to do next. Tai and the others still have a little ways to go. By the time they reach our hiding spot, we'll be long gone."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Listen, Dai, I will go along with your plans, but...that doesn't mean I have to agree with them."
Dragermon...
Squeezing his eyes shut, Dai whispered, "I know. Come on, let's go."
Lowering his head and pulling his wings closer to his body, Dragermon quickly dived towards the alcove carved into the side of the mountain, the golden armour covering the top of his head gleaming brightly in the sunshine.
Landing gracefully on the edge of the cliff, instead of demanding to know what their next move would be, Dragermon proceeded to curl himself up on the rocky plateau for a leisurely nap, his large emerald eyes fluttering closed and his head coming to rest gently on the ground next to Dai's left knee.
Despite our current situation, he looks so relaxed. Could it be? I mean, does he really think I'll be able to come up with a plan to save Kara in time before something terrible happens to her? How can he have so much faith in me when I don't even know myself if anything I do will make a difference? And then there's my Spirit Chip. I still have to find a way to get it before Vampiramon can trick me into handing it over to her. If it's even mine. I still don't know. I definitely don't feel very brave at the moment...
After sliding off Dragermon's back, Daichi proceed to gaze unseeingly at the puffy clouds floating leisurely in the sky above the peak of Infinity Mountain, his thoughts drifting constantly back to the group of friends he had left behind, and feeling a sudden wave of guilt wash over him with the force of a tsunami, he wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his face against his knees.
Tai...I'm so sorry...
"Dai, what's wrong?" Dragermon asked quietly, without opening his eyes.
Slowly lifting his head, Dai said quietly, "Ryoko's right. I am an idiot."
"No one can blame you for being upset."
"No, but they can blame me for being a jerk. Matty probably hates me now. Well, at least this will solve one of my problems."
If Matty does hate me, I won't have to worry anymore about having a talk with him. I can't reassure him about a friendship that's already broken...
"Matty might be angry, but he doesn't hate you," Dragermon said firmly. "Besides, it was my decision to obey your orders. If anyone should be angry, it should be Angelicmon, and he should me angry at me, not you."
"You only did it because I'm your partner."
"And if Matty had been in your place, he would have acted the same way you did."
Dai made a face, and frowning at his knees he said stubbornly, "Mickey wouldn't have."
"Do you regret leaving? We could always go back."
Tai, you probably think I'm the worst leader ever...
Dai hesitated, and reaching out to stroke Dragermon's large head he said seriously, "No, I...I wish...I wish I could take back some of the things I said, but I don't regret leaving. I still believe I'm doing the right thing."
"If that's true then you must stop doubting yourself," Dragermon replied, cracking open one eye to give him a stern look. "How do you expect to save Kara when you cannot even believe in yourself? It doesn't matter how well you're prepared. If you don't believe your plan will work, you will ultimately fail, regardless of your strength and the amount of effort you put into defeating your enemies. That is why good tends to triumph over evil. Unlike our enemies, we truly believe in our hearts we can win. Our foes merely rely more on being overly confident, instead of putting their whole heart and soul into battle, which eventually leads to their destruction. If you want to save Kara, then you have to believe you can, otherwise you too will fail."
"I know, but I..."
"What is it, Dai?"
Turning his face away, he mumbled, "Dragermon, do you think Tai hates me?"
"What do you believe?"
"If...if I do fail to save Kara, Tai will never forgive me for putting his daughter's life in danger."
"If that's what you believe, then do what you know is right. Don't ignore what your heart is trying to tell you."
But...what is my heart trying to tell me? I just don't know...
Shaking his head, Dai hugged his knees against his chest, and making a face he said, "I bet my mom's totally freaking out right about now, and my dad...he's probably really disappointed in me."
"I'm sure they're all disappointed in you."
"Ryoko's never going to let me forget this, and I doubt it's going to be easy to get back on Matty's good side. Sam already hates me so it's not like I can make that situation any worse between us, but Mickey..."
"Mickey definitely isn't angry with you," Dragermon said confidently.
Dai let out a soft sigh, and gazing miserably at his feet he mumbled, "I know. Mickey doesn't get angry. He gets really sad, which is even worse. I'd almost prefer he did get mad at me..."
I'm sorry, guys. Dad, Mom, Tai, Matty, Mickey, Ryoko...I hope you'll all forgive me...
Nuzzling his left knee, Dragermon said quietly, "Have you come to a decision yet?"
"I think we'll fly a little further up the mountain, but once we're about three quarters of the way up, you're going to have to turn back into Embermon. From there we'll sneak the rest of the way up. I doubt we'll be able to steal Kara without them noticing, but that doesn't mean I want to lose the element of surprise either. It might just make the difference, especially if we just use it to our advantage."
"So...you've made your choice. Very well then, Dai, let us hurry before we're spotted here."
Kara...am I doing the right thing? You don't know how badly I wish you were here with me...
Dai quickly got to his feet, conscious of the fact that Ryoko and the rest of his friends could be appearing around the corner at any moment, but before he could hop onto Dragermon's back again, a voice shouted, "Stay where you are! I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to!"
Fully expecting to come face to face with an evil mega digimon, Dai whirled around in fear, but to his surprise, instead of confronting a digimon like Vampiramon, he found himself gazing at a little bowling ball with wings, who looked no bigger than a rookie. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Hey! And just what is that supposed to mean?" the little rookie cried indignantly, fluttering his wings in frustration.
Dai exchanged a look with Dragermon, and turning back towards the little rookie he said impatiently, "What do you want? I'm kind of busy here."
"Didn't you hear what I just said? You humans must have incredibly low attention spans."
"Oh, you mean the part about me not leaving? Er...don't take this the wrong way, little guy, but was that supposed to be some sort of a threat?"
"Laugh all you want about my size, but if you don't do what I say then you're going to be in a lot of trouble!" the little rookie warned, smiling triumphantly at his own boldness.
Frowning sightly, Dai said slowly, "So...you're working for them, are you?"
"Took you long enough to figure it out! My name is DemiDevimon, and I was ordered to keep you in line, Daichi Motomiya!"
"Really. Wow, I'm so scared."
"You'd better be because if you think I'm going to let my master down, forget it!" DemiDevimon snapped, settling himself on the edge of a large boulder blocking the path up ahead, his large eyes narrowing into angry sits.
He's definitely brave, I'll give him that much, though I wouldn't say he's very smart. I mean, come on, does he really think he can beat us?
Shaking his head in amusement, Dai turned to Dragermon and said, "Hey, didn't Tai and his friends have to deal with an evil little DemiDevimon?"
"Yes, they did. Do you think this might be the same one?"
"Can't be. If I recall, that other DemiDevimon was eaten by VenomMyotismon. Well, kind of. You know what I mean."
"Even so, that DemiDevimon could have been reconfigured and the little guy we're dealing with now is the result."
Dai scrutinized the little rookie in front of him for a moment, and letting out a loud snort he said, "I don't think so. That little DemiDevimon was a bit more crafty than this little guy."
"Hey, I can be sneaky when I want to be!" DemiDevimon protested, hopping up and down on one foot and angrily fluttering his wings.
"Yeah right. You're not acting shady at all. You're just a big whiner, and no offence, but I don't have time to deal with you right now."
"You must be the spy who was sent to follow us," Dragermon interrupted, frowning suspiciously at the little rookie. "It seams our suspicions were correct."
"So what if I am?" DemiDevimon shot back, his tone indicating it didn't matter to him whether or not they knew the truth. "And just so you know, I'm not the only one who was ordered to spy on you and your friends, but unlike Spritemon, I don't care about Vampiramon's orders."
Dai glanced at the rookie in surprise, and crossing his arms over his chest he said, "Are you telling me Spritemon was with you earlier? If that's true, then where the heck is she now?"
"Beats me. If she actually listened to me earlier then I'd assume she's still watching the Ishida boy and the rest of your lame friends. The only reason I left was to follow you. You're going to pay for trying to mess up our plans!"
"So...the two of you were watching us the whole time?"
"Pretty much," DemiDevimon cackled, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "We arrived on the scene after your little girlfriend was stolen, and I have to say I haven't had this much fun in forever! You Digidestined sure know how to put on a good show!"
My...girlfriend?
Dai felt his cheeks turn pink, and glaring at the little rookie he snapped, "What do you know, you little twerp! Wait a minute, are you saying Spritemon's still following my friends?"
"I would assume so. Then again, I'm just a rookie and Spritemon's never been good at following orders."
Shooting quickly to his feet, Dai turned to look at his partner, and eyes growing wide he gasped, "Dragermon, you don't think our friends are in trouble, do you?"
"If Spritemon has decided to attack them, they could be."
No...If...if anything happens to them, it'll be all my fault...
"If Spritemon has decided to go after your friends, don't you think it would be best to join them again?" DemiDevimon said coyly, and evil smile flitting across his small face.
Dai scowled at the little rookie, and shaking his head he snapped, "You're just trying to trick me, and I'm not going to let you get away with it! How dumb do you think I am?"
Then again...if Spritemon does attack my friends and they get hurt, it'll be all my fault because I wasn't there to protect them...
"Don't tell me you're giving up on your friends!" DemiDevimon snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. "I have to admit, I expected better from the leader of the Digidestined."
There's only one reason why Spritemon would attack my friends. It's because I left the group. It really is all my fault. If I had stayed, she might have decided to stay in hiding, at least for a little while longer...but can I trust DemiDevimon? What if Spritemon wasn't spying on us at all? What if DemiDevimon is our only spy and Spritemon is really waiting for us at the top of Infinity Mountain with Vampiramon and DarkAngelicmon? Tai and his friends all trusted a little DemiDevimon and look what happened to them. I can't make the same mistake. I just don't know...
"Well?" DemiDevimon demanded.
Dai stared at the little rookie for a moment, and clenching his hands into fists he said suspiciously, "Why do you really want me to join up with my friends again?""
Making a face, the little rookie grumbled, "I promised DarkAngelicmon I wouldn't let you guys split up and you're trying to make me break my promise!"
Dai froze, and remembering DemiDevimon's earlier outburst about Vampiramon he said uncertainly, "You mean...you're not following Vampiramon's orders? I thought she was the little leader of your operation!"
"DarkAngelicmon's orders are more important than Vampiramon's!" DemiDevimon shot back, angrily ruffling his wings. "I mean, of course Vampiramon's orders are important, but DarkAngelicmon...he's counting on me. He personally requested my assistance. I can't let him down! I promised him..."
Wow, this little guy must think pretty highly of DarkAngelicmon. I wonder why...
"You seem quite fond of DarkAngelicmon, DemiDevimon," Dragermon said seriously, obviously picking up on the little rookie's enthusiasm. "Why is that?"
"He's a great master, unlike Vampiramon, whose always punishing us, even if we haven't done anything wrong! DarkAngelicmon never punishes us, unless he has a reason to, and wait... why am I even telling you all of this? You're supposed to be joining up with your friends again!"
Ignoring the little rookie, Dai said softly to himself, "Why? I don't get it. Why does DarkAngelicmon want us all to stick together so badly?"
"Beats me," DemiDevimon replied, tilting his head to one side. "I'm just following orders."
"Dai?" Dragermon asked quietly, lifting his head and pulling himself to his feet.
Dai gently patted his digimon's neck, and pointing towards the peak he said, "Come on, we should get moving. Takara needs us!"
"Dai..."
"But...but what about the rest of your friends?" DemiDevimon protested. "Besides, the Kamiya girl's fine."
Dai gave the little rookie a dirty look, and rolling his eyes he snorted, "As if I'm going to believe that."
"I'll...I'll stop you!" DemiDevimon cried, moving quickly to block the road leading to the peak of Infinity Mountain.
No...don't make me do it...
"If you get in our way, we'll be forced to stop you," Dragermon warned.
"Do your worst! I'm not afraid of you!"
Dragermon solemnly bowed his head, and spreading his large wings he murmured, "Dai, it looks like we have no choice."
"I know, but..."
"Dai?"
He's so little...It just doesn't seem fair...
"Dai, are you listening?" Dragermon said gently, his emerald green eyes growing dark and serious.
Letting out a soft sound of despair, and turning his back on the little rookie, Dai squeezed his eyes shut and said quietly, "Do it!"
"Huh?" DemiDevimon gasped, "Do wh-"
"Dragon Fire Spin!"
Dai turned around just in time to see DemiDevimon avoid the large stream of fire shooting out of Dragermon's mouth, and crying out the little rookie shouted, "Hey, you're not playing fair! Take this! Demi Darts!"
Not being the fastest rookie, though he certainly wasn't the slowest, DemiDevimon aimed his attack right at Dragermon's head, but luckily the large champion was able to move his head in time to avoid the attack, despite his size, and taking advantage of the little rookie's surprise he once again shouted, "Dragon Fire Spin!"
This time, DemiDevimon wasn't so lucky. Unable to fly out of the way fast enough, the little rookie was engulfed in flames, and tumbling out of the sky, he landed on the ground with a loud thud, streams of smoke swirling up into the air from his singed body.
"Finish it, Dragermon," Dai ordered, once again turning his back on the little rookie, unable to watch.
Kara, Ryoko, Sam, Matty, Mickey...I'm sorry. You guys are never going to forgive me...
Beside him, Dragermon turned back into his rookie form, and shaking his head he said quietly, "I am no Vampiramon. I will end this fairly, though...I believe it's already too late for that."
"You...can't...leave," DemiDevimon gasped, his voice just barely above a whisper.
Unable to respond, Daichi clapped his hands over his eyes, and behind him he heard Embermon shout, "Ember Blaze!"
There was silence.
Courage. What is real courage? I don't have it at all. I'm not like you, Tai. I'm not like my dad. I'm not like Kara. I'm not the leader I should be...
"Come on, Dai, we need to get moving," Embermon said quietly, coming up suddenly beside him. "You said you wanted to fly about three quarters of the way up the mountain, right? I'll digivolve back into Dragermon and that way we can start putting our plan into action."
Dai hesitated, and slowly turning around he let out a soft cry before once again putting his face in his hands.
DemiDevimon was gone.
"Dai," Embermon insisted, "we need to hurry. Unless you've changed your mind. Are you sure you don't want to join up with Tai and the others again?"
"No, I...they'll be fine. My dad and Tai will look after them. Kara needs us."
"If you're sure, let's go then."
Feeling a sudden overwhelming wave of emotion wash over him, Daichi quickly climbed onto his newly digivolved partner's back, and burying his face against the large champion's neck, he tried unsuccessfully to swallow a huge lump in his throat.
Please, Dad. Tai...watch over my friends. If we fail, it'll be all my fault...