Disclaimer: I still do not own Digimon. *sigh*

A/N: Back again with another chapter! Okay, so before we get to it, there's been one question that I've gotten several times now, so instead of sending answers to everyone who asked, I'm just going to explain it here. With regards to Daichi, I've been asked many times now why the rest of the Digidestined are so worried about him and the darkness when both Tai and Davis never really had big issues with darkness the way someone like a Ken or a Kari did, so why the concern? To answer the question, it's because Daichi is NOT Tai and he is NOT Davis, and therefore the Digidestined have many reasons to be concerned. As my characters have stated several times now already, no one is immune to darkness, not even a Davis or a Tai. Tai especially of the two proved that several times in season one despite his courage. So, that's my answer! And now, onto the next chapter!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 195: A Bleeding Heart

Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya

File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

For a moment, all Dai could do was stare at BlackWidowmon, his face a mask of fury, and somehow managing to find his voice, he said quietly, "You want my Spirit Chip? Give me Kara, and it's yours. All I want is my friend back. I don't care about the stupid Spirit Chip!"

"Dai," Joe warned, his black eyes growing dark and serious, "be careful when making demands. In this case, I don't think bargaining with the enemy is a very good idea."

"You would choose the girl over your own Spirit Chip?" BlackWidowmon interrupted, shaking her head in disbelief. "I will never understand humans."

"And we'll never understand evil digimon!" Ryoko shot back, glaring at the female mega.

BlackWidowmon crossed her arms over her chest, appearing almost as if willing to consider the proposition for a moment, and glancing at the Spirit Chip, she said slowly, "Tell me, Daichi, if I take you up on your offer and hand over the girl, how do I know you'll keep up your end of the bargain?"

"How do I know you will?"

"Good point. Well then, it seems we've reached a bit of a standstill, haven't we."

I can't believe this...

Dai glanced past BlackWidowmon, his gaze coming to rest on WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon who were hovering in the air, apparently waiting to see how this new scenario would play out before making their next move, and crossing his arms over his chest, he said icily, "It seems we have."

On the surface, Dai knew he appeared calm and composed, but deep inside his heart the amount of fear he felt for his female friend was so overwhelming, it was amazing he hadn't completely self-destructed yet. Not only that, but the amount of guilt he felt over the death of DemiDevimon, and the way he had been treating Matty only moments ago, left him feeling as if he were on the verge of losing his sanity. He was walking a fine line between anger and despair, and no matter which way the pendulum ended up swaying, he knew the result would be the same.

He would lose everything.

Takara, his friends, the Spirit Chip. If he didn't find a way to overcome his fears, he would lose everything he cared about.

Gone as if they had never existed to begin with.

Matty deserves a better friend than me, and Kara...I'm so useless. She, too, deserves someone better than me. Someone smarter, someone braver, someone who isn't as likely to screw everything up all the time the way I do. The Spirit Chip of Bravery, huh? What a joke. I might act tough, but let's face it. When it comes to my friends, they're all a lot braver than I am. Mickey, Matty, Ryoko, Kara, and Sam...I'm the biggest coward out of all of us. A fake pretending to be someone I'm not...

"How about this?" BlackWidowmon suddenly suggested, interrupting his thoughts. "I don't trust you to hand the Spirit Chip directly over to me, but if your father and his friends agree to break the first seal surrounding the Spirit Chip, I may consider handing over the girl as a reward."

Turning his face away, Dai said quietly, "That Spirit Chip might not even be mine."

"It's red, isn't it? It has to be yours!"

"That doesn't mean anything! That doesn't mean I deserve it! That doesn't mean it'll want me..."

It can't be mine. I'm not worthy enough...

BlackWidowmon studied him closely for a moment, making him feel slightly uncomfortable, and crossing her arms over her chest, she said simply, "I'm willing to take that chance. So, what do you say, Daichi? You're getting the best end of the deal. You not only get the girl, but you also still get a chance to claim the Spirit Chip for yourself. The second seal will still be in place. All I receive is merely a slight chance at claiming the prize. Though truthfully, that's all I really need."

"Don't do it, Daichi," Ryoko said sharply, glaring suspiciously at the female mega. "It has to be a trick."

"Dai, please think this through reasonably," his mother pleaded, a slight tremor in her voice. "Just this once don't you dare act like your father."

"Hey!" the former leader shouted, glaring indignantly at his wife.

"Well? What do you expect? Honestly, Davis, you do tend to act a little reckless sometimes, even you have to admit it."

"That doesn't mean you have to announce it to the whole Digital World!"

Mom, Dad...

Uncertain of how to proceed, Dai glanced uneasily at Tai and Dovemon, and nervously flapping her wings, Dovemon said anxiously, "Don't do anything you'll regret later, Dai."

"Do what you think is right," Tai said simply, his words gentle but firm. "Only you can make that decision, but whatever you decide, you have to believe it's the right thing to do."

But...what if I don't know what to believe anymore?

Dai had to admit, he was still undecided, and turning to gaze at his father, he said quietly, "Dad, what do you think I should do?"

"Do what you have to do. Like Tai said, do what you believe in your heart is the right thing to do."

"But..."

"Whatever you do, I'll always be proud of you," his father insisted, the force of his words leaving no room for argument. "Never forget that."

Dad...How can you still believe in me after everything I've done?

"Jestermon, bring the Kamiya girl here to me," BlackWidowmon ordered, gesturing for the fool to make it quick.

Hefting the unconscious Kara over his shoulder and bouncing his way over to BlackWidowmon's side, Jestermon nodded his head towards WarGreymon and the other two remaining digimon and said gleefully, "What about them?"

"Stand back, WarGreymon," BlackWidowmon commanded, glaring at the mega digimon. "You and your two worthless friends. Stand where I can see you all."

MetalGarurumon growled in response, but despite his obvious impatience he quickly landed on the ground next to Zudomon, keeping well back from the Spirit Chip. A moment later, WarGreymon joined them, and shaking his head, he called out, "Be careful, Tai."

Instead of responding, Tai turned to BlackWidowmon and said shortly, "What exactly are you trying to pull? Dai hasn't agreed to anything yet."

"Exactly!" Ryoko snapped, tossing his head. "He needs some time to think. At least give him that much."

"What's there to think about?" BlackWidowmon said airily, waving her black-gloved hand at the pedestal holding the Spirit Chip. "We need the Spirit Chip and so do you. The only way either one of us is going to get it is if someone breaks those seals preventing everyone, including your precious friend Daichi, from getting their hands on it, and the only people who can do that are Daichi, his father, his uncle, and your father."

"Your point?" Dai snapped, speaking up before Ryoko could have a chance to defend him.

He didn't deserve it. Not from Ryoko.

"Look, the way is clear. Sooner or later you and your digibuddies are going to have to break those seals, unless you want your Spirit Chip to remain on Infinity Mountain forever. Might as well get it over with while you have the chance. Just the one seal and the Kamiya girl is yours. The second seal can be broken at any time of your choosing. Then, and only then, will we fight it out for the Spirit Chip. We're not going to attack you or any of your friends while the seal is in the process of being broken. You have my word on that."

Glaring at her, Dai snapped, "Your word means nothing to me."

"It's your choice, Daichi. Have your father and his friends break the seal and the Kamiya girl is yours. Refuse, and I take her directly to the Ruler of Darkness. Once she is in my master's possession, I cannot be responsible for what happens to her after that."

"Changing the rules now, are you?" Davis shouted, clearly outraged. "Taking Kara away from Infinity Mountain wasn't one of the conditions when you outlined the deal!"

"Maybe not, but I need to get something out of this deal, too, don't I? And, if threatening to hand over the Kamiya girl to the Ruler of Darkness is enough incentive to keep Daichi from backing out of our agreement then he can't very well go back on my offer, now can he."

"What a dirty trick!" Dovemon cried, fluttering her wings in frustration.

"Well, Dai? What do you want to do?" Tai asked quietly, watching him closely.

Dai wanted to respond, but he still had no idea what would be the best course of action, so instead he merely stood there staring at the Spirit Chip, the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears, and feeling his father's arm go around his shoulders, he said quietly, "Do it. Break the seal. I don't like the conditions of this deal any more than the rest of you, but BlackWidowmon is right about one thing. Eventually we're going to have to break those seals whether we want to or not. Might as well get it over with now while we still have a chance."

For a moment, Tai looked like he was about to say something, but then instead of responding, he merely turned to Matt and Joe and motioned for them to join him by the Spirit Chip. "You guys ready?"

"Let's hope this works," Joe murmured, falling back into his usual pessimistic thinking, which earned him an exasperated look from Matt.

Together, the three older Digidestined surrounded the Spirit Chip in a circle and held out their crests, waiting for something to happen. Almost immediately, all three crests began to glow brightly beneath the warms rays of the sun, causing a flutter of excitement from those watching.

As Dai stared in fascination, a beam of orange light burst out of Tai's crest and streaked into Matt's crest, causing it to spark with orange and blue light, and a moment later a beam of blue light from Matt's crest streaked into Joe's crest, causing a spark of orange, blue, and grey light. The process finished with a grey beam of light from Joe's crest connecting with Tai's crest, and to Dai's complete astonishment, all three of the older Digidestined began to glow with bright light, corresponding with the colour of their respective crests.

The scene stayed like that for a moment, a triangle of multicoloured light connecting the three Digidestined together, and then all of a sudden three separate beams of light, one orange, one blue, and one grey, burst out of each of the three crests and slammed into the orb of blue, grey, and orange mist surrounding the Spirit Chip, creating a blinding flash of light. Just as Gennai had predicted, the mist surrounding the Spirit Chip evaporated into thin air, leaving only a barrier of brilliant red light surrounding the small chip sitting on the stone pedestal.

"Excellent!" BlackWidowmon cried gleefully, clapping her hands together in excitement. "One down, one to go!"

"We've kept our end of the deal, now you have to keep yours," Matt interrupted, scowling at the female mega. "Hand over Kara."

In response, BlackWidowmon hissed at the former musician, and waving her hand at the fool standing behind her, she said, "Jestermon, the girl. Bring her here."

"We're really giving her up?" Jestermon complained, clearly disappointed.

"A deal is a deal."

Kara!

Heart pounding, Dai quickly moved to meet Jestermon half way, but just before the court jester could drop the female Digidestined into his arms, a voice shouted, "I don't think so!"

Huh?

Dai whirled around in surprise and he let out a gasp as Spritemon suddenly dived over his head, just missing the goggles perched on his spiky hair by mere inches, and pulling Takara's limp body away from the court jester, she snapped, "What do you think you idiots are doing? How dare you give up our bait without first getting your hands on the Spirit Chip! You're lucky Vampiramon isn't here otherwise you two would be nothing more than itty bitty pieces of data right about now!"

"Just because I was willing to give up the girl doesn't mean I don't have a plan to still steal the Spirit Chip," BlackWidowmon snarled, whacking the little sprite digimon on the back of the head with a well aimed slap. "Now, thanks to you, my plan isn't going to work anymore."

Dai was frozen in place. Just standing there staring at nothing. It was as if all the life had been drained out of him. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to hit something, but he knew no matter what he did, it wouldn't make him feel any better. The only thing that was going to save him was saving Kara.

Kara...

Somewhere deep inside his heart he felt a sudden spark of rage bubble up to a boiling point, and staring at the three mega digimon, his vision blinded by rage, he managed to say, "You were going to trick us."

"Well, yes, in a manner of speaking," BlackWidowmon agreed, shrugging her shoulders. "But true to my word, along with tricking you, I was still going to give you the girl."

"Not with me here, you won't!" Spritemon interrupted, rubbing the back of her head and glaring at the female spider digimon. "I don't care what kind of a plan you had in mind. We're not giving up the girl. Period!"

"Revenge will have to wait, Spritemon," Jestermon warned, cackling like a maniac. "Takara is off limits until the Ruler of Darkness deems her no longer useful."

"I know that, you sorry excuse for a fool!"

"Pardon me, but is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?" Jestermon smirked. "It could go either way, you know."

Spritemon glared at the court jester, her brown eyes narrowing into angry slits, and throwing Takara over her shoulder, she snapped, "I hope the Ruler of Darkness turns you into data."

"Now, now, that was rather harsh, Spritemon," Jestermon cried dramatically, placing a hand against his heart. "You've wounded me terribly. I'm so distressed!"

"Just shut up already, would you?"

Takara...They're going to keep her. They're not going to give her back...

Stunned by the blow of losing Kara yet again, Dai tried to speak, but before he could manage to get out a coherent sentence, Tai took a step forward and said in a low voice, "Give me back my daughter."

"You didn't say please," Jestermon cackled, hopping up and down and twirling around on his heels in a strange little dance. "What do you know, Spritemon? Dare I say you've actually come up with a good idea for once?"

Scowling, Spritemon snarled, "Didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut?"

"Great, so we keep the girl, as annoying as she is," BlackWidowmon snorted, shaking her head in annoyance. "Pardon me for asking, but how exactly is hanging onto the girl going to help us get the Spirit Chip? I'm assuming you have some sort of a plan, at least?"

"What are you planning to do wtih Kara?" Ryoko demanded, glaring suspiciously at the three evil megas.

"Well..." Spritemon thought for a moment, and smirking slightly, she said evilly, "You know, BlackWidowmon, I think I like your idea of taking the Kamiya girl to our master. Heard you talking just before I decided to intervene. What an interesting proposition. If I bring the Kamiya girl directly to our master, perhaps then he will relent and allow me to have my revenge."

Horrified, Dai managed to gasp, "No!"

"He won't let you!" Dovemon cried, shaking her head in denial. "Not until you get her Spirit Chip at least!"

"Maybe, but I'll worry about that part later," Spritemon shot back. "Right now all I need to worry about is Daichi's Spirit Chip and if bringing the Kamiya girl to my master is the only way to obtain it, then so be it. Jestermon, BlackWidowmon, take out WarGreymon and the other two remaining digimon. I'll deal with Daichi and the Spirit Chip!"

"No!" Noriko shrieked, her sudden shout shattering the tension in the air and sending everyone into motion.

Spritemon quickly leaped into the air, Kara still hanging from her shoulder, and without another word she flew to the edge of the cliff on the opposite side of the peak from the Spirit Chip, keeping herself out of the battle.

Upon hearing Spritemon's command directed at the other two mega digimon, WarGreymon, Zudomon, and MetalGarurumon immediately leaped into action, but unfortunately they weren't able to react fast enough. Before WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon could even get off the ground, they were bombarded by black spheres and thick, silky strands of thread. Zudomon got caught in the crossfire and he was quickly engulfed in a huge sticky web, unable to move. As a result, he had no chance of avoiding Jestermon's deadly black balls. After being knocked unconscious, that left only WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, who had no choice but to get themselves out of there as quickly as possible.

No...we're going to lose...They're going to take Kara away from us forever...

The force of Dai's desperate thoughts was so powerful, for a moment he was unable to move or to even make sense of what had just happened, but then all of a sudden he knew what he had to do.

The Spirit Chip! If I can get the Spirit Chip, Dragermon will be able to digivolve and I'll be able to rescue Kara!

"Dai, wait!" Tai shouted, pushing past Matt and reaching out to grab his arm as he flew past.

Ignoring the former leader and his father's shouts from further back, Dai quickly stumbled to a halt in front of the pedestal holding the Spirit Chip, his breath coming in short gasps. He pulled out his D-Coder and quickly held it out in his hands, his gaze focusing on the inscription carved into the pedestal, a description he could not for the life of him understand, since it was written in a strange language he had never seen before except on the walls of the fortress where he'd found Embermon, and concentrating hard on the Spirit Chip he waited for something to happen.

Only nothing did happen. Instead of the barrier reacting to his D-Coder, it remained unchanged, glowing with a bright red light.