Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I've finally gotten back to this story! Hope you all like this new chapter. It's basically the start of a downward spiral for...well...you'll see!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 186: Rivals

Tai Kamiya

File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

Standing a little apart from the three boys, who seemed to have temporarily forgotten he was even there, Tai wanted desperately to answer Daichi's question, but for reasons he did not want to admit to himself, he could not find the courage to speak, despite his aching heart.

It was his fault Dai had run away in the first place, and for the two of them to confront each other now, there was no telling what might happen. If the goggle-headed leader decided to leave again, there was no guarantee they would be able to catch up to him a second time, since he'd likely end up reaching the peak before they could make a move to stop him, and by that time it would already be too late. Attempting to catch up to Dai after he'd already reached Takara and the Spirit Chip would be meaningless, and therefore trying to stop him would no longer serve a purpose.

Dai...you need to know the truth. You need to know about my past. I can't let you make the same mistake I made...

"Well?" Dai demanded, a hint of fear in his voice. "Where did everybody go?"

Taking a deep breath, Tai took a small step towards the goggle-headed leader, but before he could answer Ryoko said shortly, "Maybe if you would pay attention to your Digivice once in a while you would know. This mountain is dangerous, and although knowing exactly where your enemies are at all times is important, that doesn't mean you can just ignore everything else going on around you. You don't want to be caught off guard, do you?"

"It's already too late for that," Alopemon snorted, angrily tossing his head. "Relieved to see us? More like surprised to see us, I think."

Turning his back on the goggle-headed leader and ignoring his partner, Ryoko said quietly, "If we want to rescue Kara successfully and get our hands on the Spirit Chip, we have to do everything we can to avoid putting ourselves in danger. Have you forgotten so quickly, Daichi?"

Blushing a deep shade of red, Dai mumbled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do, which means I don't think I need to tell you why I'm so disgusted with you at the moment."

Frowning, Dai quickly opened his mouth, clearly intent on denying the golden-haired Digidestined's accusation, but realizing almost immediately that to do so would not only be pointless, but also a complete waste of time, he lowered his head to the ground and said quietly instead, "Tell me where the others are."

"They're gone," Ryoko said coolly, turning slightly to gaze directly into the goggle-headed leader's dark brown eyes. "They might even be in danger, but we have no way of knowing for sure until we reach the peak."

"W-what?"

Unable to stay quiet any longer, Tai forced himself to say, "After you left, we were attacked by Spritemon. We managed to get away, but only because we decided to split up into three groups to escape. Apparently Spritemon was the spy who had been sent to keep an eye on us."

"So...he wasn't lying then. What he told me was the truth..."

"Dai, what's wrong?" Matty asked hesitantly, instantly picking up on the goggle-headed leader's sudden discomfort. "W-who are you talking about?"

So much sadness in his eyes. Dai, what happened to you?

"Dai?" Agumon prodded, tugging on the goggle-headed leader's jeans.

Realizing all of a sudden that everybody was staring at him, Dai quickly shook his head and mumbled, "It's nothing. Um...whatever happened to Spritemon?"

"Well, since it appears we aren't being followed we assume she must have gone after either your dad's group or my aunt's group," Ryoko explained, making a face. "Unfortunately, like I said before, we have no way of knowing who her target is."

Kari, Matt, Davis, Joe, Noriko...Be careful, guys...

"But...what about the Spirit Chip?" Dai asked slowly, frowning in confusion. "And Kara..."

Taking another step towards Daichi, Tai said quietly, "I told them to meet us at the top of the mountain as soon as possible. After all, we need Matt and Joe if we want to break the seal protecting your Spirit Chip. Hopefully they'll manage to shake Spritemon off, no matter who she's gone after, which will at least give us some time to rescue Kara and the Spirit Chip before we have to take on all five of the Ruler's flunkies at once..."

"It's not mine."

Huh?

Collapsing onto the ground and wrapping his arms around his knees Dai said quietly, "The Spirit Chip. It's not mine. I'm not brave. I'm...I'm not what you think I am."

Silence.

A deep impenetrable silence.

No comment followed from either Matty or Ryoko, and even all of the digimon remained silent. It was a silence that conveyed their emotions more vividly than any words would have been able to do.

Dai...is that what you really believe?

Not quite sure what to say, Tai merely stared sadly at the goggle-headed leader, a spark of fear settling uneasily in his chest, and unable to speak he shook his head in despair, his dark thoughts swirling menacingly inside his head.

Spreading her wings, Dovemon suddenly leaped out of his arms, and settling herself comfortably on Dai's knees she gently nuzzled her cheek against the goggle-headed leader's forehead, an unmistakable gesture of affection.

"Dovemon, I...I'm sorry," Dai mumbled, avoiding the little rookie's eyes.

"For what? It's not your fault Kara was captured."

"But..."

"The Spirit Chip of Bravery is yours, Dai," Dovemon said softly, gazing directly into the goggle-headed leader's eyes. "But...if you don't believe me that's okay. You don't have to believe in yourself right now. I'll just have to believe in you twice as much until you're finally able to see the truth on your own."

Instead of responding, Dai pulled Dovemon into a tight hug, and holding the little rookie close to his heart he said quietly, "What are we going to do about Spritemon?"

"Oh, so now you're worried," Matty said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "That's funny, weren't you the one who wanted to go running after Kara, leaving the rest of us behind in the process? Why should you care about Spritemon? It's not like you're going to try and stop her or anything!"

"I thought you guys said you were cool," Ryoko snorted, shaking his head in amusement.

Glancing at the golden-haired Digidestined, Matty said quietly, "I lied. We're not fine. We won't be until...We can't..."

"I said we'd talk later. Besides, I don't know what you're so worried about. You're the one who's going to try and get out of it, not me," Dai said testily, frowning in annoyance.

Blushing, Matty turned his back on the goggle-headed leader, and holding out his D-Coder he mumbled, "It's hard to tell what's going on. Both my mom's group and Davis' group appear to be on the move, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're heading towards the peak. One group might be, but the other one could just be moving around either to avoid Spritemon's attacks in a fight or to just plain avoid her completely. When the direction you're supposed to be heading in is vertical instead of horizontal, the D-Coder's directions are almost impossible to read."

"Which could actually be a good thing," Alopemon interrupted, "I don't mean for us, but since Vampiramon and her allies probably know we're coming, thanks to Kara's D-Coder, the distortion of our location on the mountain will stop them from knowing exactly where we are."

"No kidding. The only reason we were able to find you so quickly, Dai, is because we pretty much assumed we had to keep heading up," Agumon explained. "Once we were on the same level as you, it was easy then to judge our positions by how close our dots were to you."

"Hopefully, that means Vampiramon won't know where we are until we're right on top of her," Dovemon added.

"Daichi, you weren't being followed, were you?" Ryoko suddenly asked quietly, watching the goggle-headed leader closely. "I mean, there wasn't someone trying to follow you, was there?"

I can't believe I almost forgot! There were two spies! Spritemon said she'd had a companion...

An ally who had been sent to follow Daichi.

Kneeling next to the goggle-headed leader and placing a hand on his shoulder, Tai said hesitantly, "Spritemon told us you were being followed, but we never spotted a spy on your tail..."

"You're not hurt, are you?" Dovemon gasped, gazing fearfully at the goggle-headed leader and anxiously fluttering her wings.

Instead of smiling, Dai's face suddenly turned almost pure white, and slowly lifting his head he mumbled, "I...there was no one."

He's lying. He was definitely being followed, but what could have happened to the digimon who had been tracking him? There's no way Dragermon could have taken out a digimon like Jestermon all on his own...

Apparently, Ryoko appeared to have come to a similar conclusion because instead of dropping the subject the golden-haired Digidestined frowned at Dai and said skeptically, "Are you sure?"

"I told you, I never saw anyone. If there was a digimon on my tail, he must have gotten tired of following me. He probably left to join up with Vampiramon again. By the way, you never answered Embermon's question. Where's Angelicmon?"

"He...left," Matty said quietly, avoiding the goggle-headed leader's eyes.

"Huh? What do you mean he left?"

"DarkAngelicmon's no longer waiting for us at the top of Infinity Mountain. While we were trying to catch up to you, Angelicmon sensed DarkAngelicmon's presence nearby, and then...he...he left us. I think he's gone to confront DarkAngelicmon."

"Now that Vampiramon probably knows we've all been separated, you don't think DarkAngelicmon was the spy sent to follow Daichi, do you?" Alopemon asked curiously, gazing intently at the younger twin.

Shrugging his shoulders, Matty said wearily, "I have no idea. I don't think so, but you never know."

"I have to agree with you, Matty," Ryoko interrupted, frowning thoughtfully at his D-Coder. "Like I said earlier, for some reason, the idea of DarkAngelicmon possibly being the spy just doesn't sit right with me. Something about it just doesn't fit."

"I wouldn't sound so confident if I were you," Dai suddenly said coldly, giving the golden-haired Digidestined a dirty look. "You don't know that for sure."

"Maybe not, but you do!" Ryoko countered, lifting his chin and gazing directly into the goggle-headed leader's eyes. "So, how about it, Daichi? Why don't you enlighten us all?"

Glaring furiously at the golden-haired Digidestined, Dai snapped, "I don't know anything! You think you're so superior compared to me, but you're not! I don't know what your problem is, and frankly I don't really care, so just shut up and leave me alone!"

"Stop treating my cousin like he's a piece of dirt!" Matty shouted, angrily clenching his hands into tight fists.

"Then tell him to stop treating me like a piece of dirt!"

"You're the one who keeps insulting everyone! First my brother and now my cousin? Leave my family alone, you jerk!"

"I don't know what you're so upset about. You're probably glad I'm always making fun of Ishida!" Dai shot back, glaring viciously at the younger twin.

Blushing a deep shade of red and avoiding not only the goggle-headed leader's eyes, but also his cousin's penetrating blue gaze, Matty mumbled, "That's not true! I...I'm not like that. You don't know how I feel. Stop trying to pretend you do."

"I know you're probably ecstatic over the fact that Ishida and I can't stand each other!"

Dai...

Shaking his head in despair, Tai turned slowly to gaze at the golden-haired Digidestined, who had suddenly somehow become an important topic of conversation, and although he desperately wanted to intervene, his instincts were telling him it was probably best if he just stayed silent and let the three boys fight it out amongst themselves.

Dai, don't you realize why this is happening? It's because everybody cares so much about you...

"Um...guys?" Embermon said hesitantly, glancing nervously between the three rookie Digidestined and earning himself an elbow in the ribs, courtesy of Alopemon.

Both Dai and Matty were staring at Ryoko, and meeting their challenging stares without so much as flinching the golden-haired Digidestined said very quietly, "Don't you two dare make this about me."

For the second time since meeting up with Dai, and unsettling silence fell over the group, and trying unsuccessfully to lighten the mood Agumon said cheerfully, "At least we're all safe for the moment."

"We are, maybe, but what about Kara?" Dovemon whimpered, hiding her face against Dai's chest.

Though Tai had heard his partner's words and Dovemon's obvious fear, at the moment his attention was focused on Matty and Ryoko. The two boys were gazing intently at one another, and placing a comforting hand on the younger twin's shoulder, Ryoko said so softly Tai just barely heard him, "Matty, I'm your cousin, not your enemy."

Normally, unlike his brother, Matty wasn't usually so quick to succumb to his emotions, but at the moment, the younger twin looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Mickey, Mom, Angelicmon...Why does everyone keep leaving?"

"No one is leaving you behind," Ryoko said firmly, giving his cousin's shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze. "I won't let them."

Matty, is that what this is all about? You're afraid everyone is going to forget about you?

Feeling a sudden need to comfort his nephew, Tai quickly stood up and slipped his arm around the younger twin's trembling shoulders, and blinking rapidly to clear away the tears in his eyes, Matty said hastily, "We shouldn't stay here too long. We don't know for sure where Spritemon is, which means there's still a chance she could be following us."

"Matty's right. She might even be watching us right now, waiting for the right moment to attack," Alopemon agreed, nodding at the cliff above their heads for emphasis.

Ever since catching up to Daichi, Tai had known instantly that the rookie leader was trying to avoid acknowledging him, but seeing as how he was not the type to back down from a challenge, instead of allowing Dai to continue acting as if he wasn't even there, he stepped directly in front of the goggle-headed leader and said, "Well, Dai? Where do we go from here?"

"If you've come to stop me from reaching the top of the mountain then you might as well just turn around and leave. I'm going to rescue Kara, and if you don't want to help me then I'm not interested in hearing what you have to say."

"Do you want help?"

Blinking in surprise, Dai said uncertainly, "I...well..."

"If you want help then we'll go together. I can't make any promises, but you never know. Agumon and I might come in handy. We'll do our best to back you up."

"Tai..."

"So, is that a yes? If you want our help, just say the word."

Taking a deep breath, Dai finally looked directly into his eyes, and giving him a shaky smile the goggle-headed leader said sheepishly, "If you don't mind. A little bit of help would be nice."

"Idiot," Ryoko muttered, shaking his head in amusement.

"Lead the way, Uncle," Matty said quietly, a small smile slipping across his face.

Motioning for the others to follow him, Tai quickly started up the path towards the peak of the mountain, and frowning he said seriously, "I hope the others make it in time."

"I'll bet my mom's really mad at me," Dai said gloomily, wincing at the thought of having to deal with his mother's wrath, which he would be unable to avoid once she caught up to him.

"Right now, she's mostly just scared, but once she catches up to you she's going to be furious. It serves you right for running off on us," Matty shot back, his resentment towards the goggle-headed leader still an obvious issue that would need to be dealt with later.

Turning slightly to glance at Matty over his shoulder, the goggle-headed leader said shortly, "I'm sorry about Angelicmon."

"Why?"

"He ran off because...If I hadn't left..."

"Stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault," Matty scowled, making a face. "You didn't make DarkAngelicmon leave the peak of the mountain."

"No, but I'm probably the reason why he felt he needed to leave, even if you're right and Vampiramon didn't send him after us. Do you think Angelicmon will be okay?"

"He'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should go after him."

"He'll be fine," Matty said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I might not trust DarkAngelicmon as much as the rest of you do, but even I'm not stupid enough to think he'd risk letting my Spirit Chip slip away from him. Right now, we need to help Kara. Angelicmon made us promise we would find her, and you too. I'm not going to break my promise. Vampiramon and the others...they might know we're coming, but that's no excuse to give them the upper hand."

"Matty, listen...I...about before, when Ishida accused me of lying..."

"What is it, Dai?" Matty asked anxiously, sounding just a little bit frightened.

"I...nothing. Forget it."

If Matt could see us now...

Walking next to the goggle-headed leader, Tai felt a huge weight settle upon his heart, and shaking his head he let out a soft sigh of frustration. There was something Dai wasn't telling them, something important, and if they didn't find out what the goggle-headed leader was hiding soon, he had a feeling it might make the difference between a loss and a victory.

Hang on, Kara. We're coming....