Disclaimer: I don't own...oh forget it! I'm so tired of doing the disclaimer! Ryoko, get over here!
Ryoko: What? I'm kind of busy here.
BA: Er...wrong choice. Mickey!
Mickey: Yes?
BA: Will you please do the disclaimer for me?
Mickey: Of course! Don't mind Ryoko, he's just in a bad mood. Okay, Broken Angel01 does not own Digimon! But, she does own us, but I don't mind.
Dai: *snorts*
BA: Moving on! New chapter!
A/N: Really, do I need one after that?
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 182: True Strength
Tai Kamiya
File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World
"So, you're the one who has been watching us! News flash, Spritemon, but you make a lousy spy!" Matty shouted, glaring at the female mega.
"If you think we're going to let you tell us what to do, forget it!" Ryoko snapped, shaking his head in disgust.
Tai expected Spritemon to get angry, but surprisingly, instead of throwing a fit, she merely smiled and said, "You all think you're so smart, but really you have no idea what's going on. I must admit, I'm a bit disappointed. How do you fools expect to save your precious Takara when you can't even keep track of your own leader? How pathetic!"
"You're one to talk," Alopemon snorted, his pale blue fir bristling at the insult. "Ryoko, we don't have time for this."
"I know, but..."
"Tai, what should we do?" Agumon asked quietly, lowering his voice in an effort to prevent Spritemon from overhearing their conversation.
Shaking his head, Tai took a small step towards the female mega, and crossing his arms over his chest he said cheerfully, "We don't know what's going on, do we? If that's true then why don't you explain to us exactly what you're planning?"
Dai, hang on. We're coming, I promise.
For a moment, Spritemon merely stared at him in disbelief, and angrily fluttering her wings she snapped, "Do I look that stupid to you?"
"Do you really want us to answer that?" Matt smirked, smiling in amusement.
"Quiet, you! It's simple really. My orders were to keep you all together, and that's all you need to know. Daichi may have left, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let the rest of you split up to go looking for him. We can't afford to have a bunch of Digidestined crawling all over Infinity Mountain, which means I'm going to have to put you all in your place! You know what they say. Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. You fools aren't so smart now, are you!"
"In other words, you're afraid if we split up, we'll be able to steal the Spirit Chip of Bravery right out from under your nose," Kari interrupted, ignoring the female mega's attempts to insult them. "That's good to know. Even Vampiramon can't keep an eye on us if we're coming at her from all different directions. Or...is there another reason why you don't want us to split up?"
"What do you mean?" Spritemon asked suspiciously, frowning at the female Digidestined.
"DarkAngelicmon," Mickey whispered. "He knows. He understands. Without us, Dai might not make it..."
Mickey...could he possibly suspect the truth?
Reaching out to place a hand on his nephew's shoulder, Tai said quietly, "Mickey...I..."
"Uncle, I don't know what's going on with you, and I don't know what happened in the past, but I do know Dai needs us badly," Mickey said softly, his amber eyes growing dark and shadowy. "Anyone with enough common sense knows the risks of giving in to despair. Everyone is vulnerable to darkness, even Dai, which means if he gives up on himself, he might not be able to get his Spirit Chip. That much I know is certain, and it...it scares me."
It scares me too, Mickey.
"Uncle, what's really going on?"
Tai gazed into his nephew's amber eyes for a moment, and pasting what he hoped was a reassuring smile on his face he said quietly, "I think Vampiramon and DarkAngelicmon must have different reasons for wanting to keep us all together."
"Huh?"
To protect themselves or to protect Dai. The difference is so obvious. Why couldn't I see it before? They know Dai can't become a victim of the darkness if he wants to get his Spirit Chip, but DarkAngelicmon is the only one who seems to understand that in order to remain free from the darkness, Dai is going to need the help of his friends. We're the key, not so much Dai himself...
"Answer me!" Spritemon snapped, her brown eyes narrowing into angry slits. "Why do you question my motives?"
DarkAngelicmon, I don't get it. What is it you hope to achieve? What is your real reason for wanting the Spirit Chips so badly, you'd even risk yourself to make sure Dai overcomes the darkness within himself?
"We're not questioning your motives," Joe informed the female mega. "You've made it pretty clear why you're here."
Scowling at the cobalt-haired Digidestined, Spritemon snapped, "If you think you can distract me from carrying out my orders then I must warn you, you are sadly mistaken. If I have to, I'll destroy all of your digimon and then I'll drag you all up the mountain myself! Once your annoying little leader reaches the peak, Vampiramon can deal with him, which I'm sure she'll enjoy. As for me, I'm not going to let all of you cause trouble, nor am I going to let you ruin my master's plan. Now then, are you all going to come with me quietly, or am I going to have to beat you into submission?"
"What do you think?" Noriko snapped, pulling out her Digivice.
Spreading her wings, Spritemon quickly hopped onto the ground next to Angelicmon, and pointing her finger at Noriko she said calmly, "Is that how it's going to be? Well then, prepare yourselves, Digidestined, and know this to be true. In the name of my master, the Ruler of Darkness, your digimon will die here today!"
"All of you, digivolve now!" Matt shouted.
"Let's hurry, Sam!" Glowmon cried, leaping into the air. "Glowmon digivolve to, Dracomon!"
"Alopemon digivolve to, Tirimon!"
"Gomamon digivolve to, Ikkakumon!"
"Veemon digivolve to, ExVeemon!"
"Penguinmon digivolve to, Sabirdramon!"
"Agumon warp-digivolve to, WarGreymon!"
"Gabumon warp-digivolve to, MetalGarurumon!"
"Arctic Blast!" Tirimon shouted, a stream of ice encased in pale blue light shooting from his mouth.
Doing a back-flip, Spritemon easily avoided the attack by landing on a large rock just behind Angewomon, and realizing Tirimon's attack was heading straight towards her, the female angel quickly leaped to one side, the blast just missing her right wings.
"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to defeat me!"
"We've only just gotten started. Dragon Stingers!" Dracomon shouted, launching himself into the air and sending a volley of glowing purple needles straight at Spritemon.
Once again, the little mega dodged the attack, and landing on a small ledge above ExVeemon's head she said, "You really are a bunch of fools! Do you honestly think I was the only spy who was sent here to keep tabs on you?"
"What do you mean?" MetalGarurumon growled, exchanging a look with Tirimon.
"There are a lot of eyes following us today it seems," Gabrielmon murmured, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the forest.
Tai frowned in confusion, but before he could ask the celestial digimon what was up, Spritemon suddenly laughed and said, "Even now as we speak, your little leader is being followed by my companion, which doesn't bode well for all of you. If Daichi makes it to the top of the mountain on his own, Vampiramon will surely teach him a lesson, but if he doesn't make it, you'll know my companion has done his job properly."
For a moment, all Tai could do was stare at the little mega, and feeling his heart leap into his throat he said quietly, "You wouldn't dare hurt Dai. Your master needs him just as much as we do."
"Oh, you're right, of course. I wouldn't hurt Daichi, but I cannot speak for the rest of my colleges," Spritemon smirked, smiling in amusement. "It's true my master has a use for Daichi, but you know Vampiramon. She has a pretty nasty temper, and even BlackWidowmon and Jestermon have been known to fly off the handle once in a while. In other words, Daichi's spy might have a hard time keeping his temper in check."
"It's Jestermon, isn't it! He's the one who's following Dai!" Mickey cried, his hands clenching into tight fists.
"There's only one way to find out, isn't there!" Spritemon shot back, glaring at the older twin. "If you want to protect your leader and keep him safe, all you have to do is come with me. I'll lead you to Daichi in no time, and then all of you annoying little humans can make your way to the top of the mountain together like you're supposed to. As it stands now, I can't guarantee Daichi's safety. The choice is yours, Digidestined. Fight me and face the consequences, or come with me like a good little flock of sheep. What's it going to be?"
"I believe we've already given you our answer," Angewomon said coldly, fluttering into the air and aiming her bow straight at the female mega. "Do you honestly expect us to trust you?"
"You can't keep Dai safe," WarGreymon growled, launching himself into the air. "This is all just some trick of yours and we're not going to fall for it!"
"Enough talk. We're not going to let you stand in the way of our mission to find Dai!" Angelicmon snapped, fluttering into the air to join Angewomon, Gabrielmon right behind him. "We don't need your help! Celestial Star!"
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted, letting loose her glowing arrow.
"Holy Sceptre!" Gabrielmon cried, a huge orange blast erupting from the staff in his hand.
Sensing the three attacks coming straight towards her, Spritemon quickly leaped into the air again, and diving towards the ground, all three attacks missed her by several feet.
Yellow and orange light exploded against the cliff the little mega had been standing on, and Angewomon's glowing pink arrow disappeared on impact. The force of their blasts was so powerful, a piece of the cliff broke off, sending an avalanche of debris raining down from the mountain above the battle field.
Motioning for the rest of the Digidestined to take cover, Tai quickly flattened himself against the ground, his arms going over his head to protect himself from the worst of the debris.
"Careful, guys!" Kari warned, her arms going around Mickey and Sam to protect them from the debris.
"What are we going to do, Tai?" Dovemon wailed, burying her face against his shoulder. "She's too fast. All of my friends' attacks are missing and Spritemon's not even as fast as Vampiramon!"
"She's right," Joe said slowly, sitting up and pointing his finger at Spritemon. "It looks like they weren't kidding when they said they were going to start showing us their real power."
Tai nodded in agreement, and leaping to his feet he said firmly, "Then I guess it's time we started showing them what our digimon can really do! WarGreymon!"
"I'm on it! Terra Force!"
Circling above Spritemon, WarGreymon directed his huge fiery ball of energy at the little mega's back and looking up in surprise, Spritemon quickly leaped into the air again, trying unsuccessfully to avoid the attack. Having been caught off guard, WarGreymon's blast engulfed her in a ball of fire, but when the smoke cleared, there wasn't a single scratch on her body.
If anything, she looked bored, and there was a slight smirk on her face. "You call this a fight? I expected better from you, WarGreymon. You are a mega, after all."
"I don't believe it!" Noriko gasped. "It didn't even faze her!"
"I think...we're in big trouble," Davis said slowly, shaking his head in disbelief. "ExVeemon!"
"All of you, attack all at once!" Matt shouted, his sapphire eyes narrowing in concentration. "She can't avoid every blast when they're coming at her from all directions!"
"You think so?" Spritemon said coyly, raising her eyebrows. "If you're sure then prove it! Hit me with your best shot!"
"You asked for it!" ExVeemon shouted, leaping into the air and planting his fist into the female mega's lower back.
Whirling around to face the champion, Spritemon kicked him in the stomach, and shoving the small weapon equipped to her right gauntlet into his face she snapped, "Fairy Cannon!"
A huge green ball of energy exploded into ExVeemon's face and falling backwards he shouted, "Vee Laser!"
Easily avoiding the dragon digimon's blast, Spritemon fired another green ball of energy at ExVeemon, this one from her left gauntlet, hitting him in the chest, and crying out in pain, the large champion slammed into the rocky ground below, stirring up a cloud of dust.
"Try avoiding this attack!" Ikkakumon shouted. "Harpoon Torpedo!"
"Take this!" Sabirdramon cried. "Nitro Arrow!"
In response to Ikkakumon's challenge, Spritemon dived beneath the champion's attack, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid Sabirdramon's arrows. Two of the bird digimon's black arrows pierced her side, but instead of crying out in pain she merely pulled the arrows free form her body, looking completely unfazed.
"Your attacks are worthless against me! Fairy Cannon!" Spritemon snarled, letting loose another green blast from her right gauntlet, this one directed at Sabirdramon.
Two more green blasts followed in quick succession, careening into Sabirdramon's right wing, and unable to stay airborne, the bird digimon quickly dropped into a steep dive, heading straight towards Spritemon. "Mach Shadow!"
Slamming into the ground on her back, Spritemon quickly threw up her arms to protect her body from Sabirdramon's sharp beak and long talons, and rolling to the side, she launched another green blast at Sabirdramon, this one hitting the bird digimon directly in the eyes.
Crying out, Sabirdramon tried to launch himself into the air again, but before he could make it very far Spritemon screamed, "Pixie Dust!"
A shower of green dust exploded out of the little mega's body, completely engulfing Sabirdramon in a cloud of green sparkles, and crying out in pain, the bird digimon quickly reverted back into his rookie form, his energy completely drained.
"No, Penguinmon!" Noriko gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth in horror.
"Ikkakumon!" Joe called out, holding out his crest. "This fight is going to be even harder than I thought. You'd better digivolve again."
"Right! Ikkakumon digivolve to, Zudomon!"
"I don't get it, normally the green blasts from Spritemon's guns are small, and they combine to from one big blast, but this time she's shooting her blasts separately from each gun and they're huge!" Matty cried, his voice trembling with fear. "This must be her true strength and it's even greater than it was the last time we fought her!"
"And even then she kept insisting she was using her full strength," Matt said quietly, his eyebrows narrowing into a deep frown. "Obviously she still had some in reserve. Both her power and her strength are enormous. There seems to be no limit to the energy she possesses."
"We just barely stood up to her the last time. If this keeps up our digimon are done for!" Matty moaned, covering his face with his hands.
Frowning slightly, Tai gave his nephew's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and turning to his partner he shouted, "WarGreymon, we have to stop her! Whatever you do, don't let her drain your energy!"
"Help him out, MetalGarurumon!" Matt added.
"You too, Zudomon," Joe called out.
"We're not done yet, Matty," Ryoko said firmly, his sapphire eyes sparkling with determination. "You can't give up so easily."
"We'll win. We have to," Sam whispered, almost to himself.
"Get her surrounded!" MetalGarurumon shouted, shooting into the air and taking advantage of his ability to fly, "Giga Missile!"
"Terra Force!" WarGreymon growled, joining MetalGarurumon in the air and sending his fiery blast in the female mega's direction.
Slamming his hammer into the ground, Zudomon shouted, "My turn. Vulcan's Hammer!"
All three attacks came at Spritemon from different angles, and rolling her eyes the female mega snorted, "Is that all you've got?"
"It's no use, our attacks aren't going to hit her!" Joe groaned, shaking his head in despair.
At first, Tai was confused, but watching Spritemon drop to a lower altitude, he could see that the cobalt-haired Digidestined was right. In the air above his head, all three of their digimon's attacks exploded together on impact, completely missing the little mega.
"Too slow!" Spritemon smirked, rising up into the air again. "Pixie Dust!"
Twirling around, a cloud of green dust exploded from her body, surrounding WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon and raining down upon Zudomon's head.
"Too strong. My energy is being depleted," WarGreymon groaned, falling backwards out of the sky and crashing somewhere down the mountain two levels below the battle field. MetalGarurumon landed near the edge of the cliff with a crash, nearly falling on top of Kari, Sam, and Matty, and doing his best to stay upright, Zudomon attempted to use his Vulcan's Hammer attack a second time, without any results.
Because of his lack of strength, the destructive wave of energy from his hammer was too wide, missing Spritemon by several feet, and with an echoing crash, his attack slammed into the side of the cliff, causing another avalanche of rock and debris.
"Come on, we must help them!" Dracomon ordered, motioning for ExVeemon and the angels to follow him."If we don't stop Spritemon soon, we'll either lose all our energy or the mountain will come crashing down on our partners' heads!"
"Let's move! Holy Sceptre!" Gabrielmon shouted, darting in behind Spritemon, a blast of orange light erupting from his staff.
"Litany Spear!" Angelicmon cried, taking aim with his glowing spear and throwing it at Spritemon like a javelin.
Gabrielmon's blast hit the female mega in the back, but she was able to recover fast enough to avoid Angelicmon's spear, which sailed harmlessly past her left ear.
"Your energy won't last forever! Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted, aiming straight for Spritemon's heart.
"Now, Dracomon!" ExVeemon ordered, leaping into the air. "From both sides. Vee Laser!"
"Lighting Spark!"
Twisting to avoid Angewomon's arrow, Spritemon quickly back flipped out of the air, once again diving towards the ground, and glaring at the group of digimon surrounding her she snapped, "I won't be taken down so easily! Fairy Cannon!"
Her first green blast hit Angelicmon in the ribs, sending him crashing back down to the ground, and it was followed by a series of even more powerful green blasts that took out the rest of the digimon attacking her one by one.
Dracomon and ExVeemon slammed against the wall of the cliff with a thud, and Gabrielmon and Angewomon landed on a ledge just above the two fallen champions.
"Now what?" Mickey wailed, gazing anxiously at his partner.
"Now, you do what I say!" Spritemon cried triumphantly, rising once more into the air and twirling around in a circle. "Pixie Dust!"
Once again, green sparks erupted from her body, raining down onto the battle field, and groaning Angelicmon moaned, "Can't...hold...on..."
"We're...going to be...rookies," Dracomon gasped.
"Sorry, Davis," ExVeemon muttered, his eyes falling closed.
No! We can't lose! We have to find Dai! WarGreymon...
It was almost as if the mega had heard his thoughts because all of a sudden WarGreymon erupted into the air from somewhere down below, and lifting his arms he shouted, "Terra Force!"
Startled by the mega's sudden appearance, Spritemon wasn't able to dodge the blast in time, and letting out a gasp of surprise, she slammed into the cliff wall, her entire body disappearing in a ball of fire.
"I'd like to see her get up now! Giga Missile!" MetalGarurumon growled, appearing suddenly in the air next to WarGreymon and shooting his artillery at the cliff wall for good measure.
Sitting up, Angewomon waved to the two megas, and smiling she said, "You're just in time. That was a close call."
"Yeah, nice timing!" ExVeemon called out, nodding his head in approval. "We were nearly turned back into rookies!"
"Tai! Davis! I think we need to get out of here!" Noriko suddenly cried, picking up Penguinmon and pointing towards the cliff. "Look!"
"Oh no! The entire ledge above us is starting to crumble!" Dovemon cried, anxiously fluttering her wings.
Holding the little bird digimon tightly in his arms, Tai quickly looked to where Noriko was pointing, and feeling his heart leap into this throat he said quickly, "We've got more problems than just the mountain falling on our heads. Spritemon's already recovering from the blasts. It looks like WarGreymon's attack didn't even faze her and the same goes for MetalGarurumon's attack!"
"Tai, we need to get out of here." Kari said firmly, repeating Noriko's words. "There's no way we're going to win this battle in our current condition, and if we stay here any longer we're going to get buried in an avalanche!"
"But, where will we go? If we all try to find Dai, she'll just follow us!" Sam protested.
Tai frowned thoughtfully at the raven-haired Digidestined, but before he could say anything Spritemon suddenly zoomed out of the crater her body had left behind in the side of the cliff, and brown eyes blazing with anger she snapped, "You're gong to pay for that! Fairy Cannon!"
"Mickey, look out!" Kari shrieked, racing towards her son.
Unfortunately the female Digidestined was too far away form her son to reach him in time, but luckily Matt was standing right beside the older twin, and reacting instantly to Kari's screams he pushed his nephew out of the way just seconds before the green blast would have hit the older twin right in the head.
"Mickey, are you okay?" Matty cried, racing over to his brother and placing a hand on the older twin's arm.
Though he was trembling badly in Matt's arms, Mickey managed a quick smile and a firm nod. Giving Matty a reassuring pat on the back, he said softly, "I'm okay."
"Tai, Kari and Noriko are right! We need to get out of here now!" Matt snapped, holding Mickey protectively against his chest.
"You're not going anywhere!" Spritemon shrieked, once again taking aim with her weapons. "Fairy Cannon!"
"Tai!" Kari screamed.
Diving behind a large rock, Tai quickly covered his head as a shower of green sparks exploded into the bolder, almost cracking it in two, and leaping to his feet he shouted, "Get out of here, all of you! Ryoko, Matty, come with me. We'll look for Dai. The rest of you split up and get your digmon to fly you out of here. Spritemon can't follow us all at once! We'll meet up again when we get to the top of the mountain."
"Well, it worked before, why not this time too?" Matty said cheerfully, trying to smile.
"Matt, Mickey, you guys come with me," Kari ordered, motioning for them to follow her.
"That means Joe, Sam, and Noriko, you guys come with me," Davis shouted. "Let's split!"
I hope this works...
Racing towards WarGreymon, Ryoko and Matty on his heels, Tai shouted, "Remember to keep heading towards the peak! We all need to be there for Dai to have any hope at all of getting his Spirit Chip!"
"Don't worry, Tai, Matt and I will be there," Joe shouted, waving in response. "We haven't forgotten that Dai needs our crests."
"We'll all be there!" Kari said firmly, nodding her head for emphasis. "Be careful, Tai!"
"Tai!" WarGreymon shouted, diving towards him.
Holding tightly to Dovemon and scooping up Alopemon, who had just reverted back to his rookie form, Tai quickly hopped onto his partner's shoulder, and a moment later he was joined by Matty and Ryoko, whom Angelicmon had scooped up and dropped onto WarGreymon's other shoulder.
"We're ready. Lead the way, WarGreymon," Angelicmon ordered.
"Right!"
They waited just long enough to see that Kari's group had made it safely onto MetalGarurumon's back, and that Dracomon and ExVeemon had picked up Joe, Davis, Noriko, Sam, Gomamon, and Penguinmon, and flying off in three different directions, they left Spritemon trying to avoid the sudden avalanche of rocks cascading down the side of the mountain.
Be careful, guys. If anyting happens to any of you...
"Uncle, do you think Mickey and the others will be okay?" Matty mumbled, glancing anxiously over his shoulder.
Climbing his way over to the two boys and ruffling his nephew's golden hair, Tai said quietly, "They'll be fine, Matty. Right now we need to focus on rescuing Dai."
"Whatever he's doing," Ryoko muttered.
Dai...whatever you do, please don't do anything you'll regret...