Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: We're getting to the end of this Spirit Chip, I promise! How it turns out, though, you'll just have to wait and see!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 196: Inner Demons

Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya

File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

Daichi stared blankly at the Spirit Chip, his D-Coder trembling precariously in his outstretched hand, and realizing instantly what had happened, he did not even attempt to stop the Digivice from slipping out of his grasp, his body remaining frozen in place even as his D-Coder clattered loudly against the rocky ground near the base of the pedestal, a sharp sound that echoed faintly in the air like unseen ghosts mocking him from the sky.

Contrary to popular belief, the Spirit Chip of Bravery, which appeared at least on the surface to belong to him, had not reacted to his Digivice or his presence at all.

To put it plainly, the Spirit Chip of Bravery had blatantly rejected him, its failure to respond not only a deep blow to his ego, but also to his confidence, which was already suffering thanks to his inability to protect not only Takara, but also the rest of his friends.

I knew it. I knew this was going to happen. Why wouldn't they believe me? Why wouldn't they understand? I kept trying to tell them, but they wouldn't listen...

"Dai!"

Turning his head slightly, Dai spotted both his father and Tai racing towards him, and sinking to his knees in front of the pedestal, he stared unseeingly at the D-Coder Digivice lying on the ground just within his grasp, his heart racing and his mind growing numb with shock. Even though he had kept insisting the Spirit Chip wasn't his, a small part of him had still been hoping that maybe, just maybe, he was wrong. But now, thanks to the Spirit Chip's failure to respond to his D-Coder, his hopes had been dashed completely, leaving him with nothing but a deep sense of loss and a terrible ache in his heart.

Kara...I'll never be as brave as you are. And I'm sorry...I'm sorry I can't be more like you...

"Dai, hey, come on. It's not what you think," Tai said quietly, kneeling next to him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Dai felt a sudden surge of anger deep within his heart, and jerking away from the former leader, he snapped, "What do you mean it's not what I think? How else can you explain this? I told you it didn't belong to me! I told you, but you're just so...so stupid! You wouldn't listen to me!"

"Dai!" his father said sharply, interrupting before Tai could respond.

Dai ignored the angry flash in his father's dark eyes, his hands clenching into tight fists, and glaring at the two former leaders kneeling on either side of him, he said coldly, "I kept insisting, but you just wouldn't listen. You never listen!"

"That's not true and you know it," his father said quietly, the intense look in the former leader's eyes never wavering even for a split second. Laid back and easygoing, Dai had never seen his father looking so serious before, and though the former leader's gaze was strong and steady, there was something about his expression that made Dai feel like he was missing something very important. "In fact, you couldn't be further from the truth."

"Really? Tell that to Ryoko and Matty! Tell that to Mom, why don't you? They never listen to me! Nobody ever takes me seriously! I'm nothing but a joke to all of you! A source of entertainment! And you know what? I'm sick of it! I'm sick of everything!"

"Dai, I know sometimes I can be strict, but that doesn't mean you're not important to me," his mother choked out, coming up suddenly behind him with Matt and Joe, her face tight with worry and her dark eyes sparkling with tears. "It doesn't mean I don't hear you and that I don't listen to what you have to say. I might get a little carried away sometimes, but no matter how much you believe I'm not treating you fairly, that doesn't change the way I feel about you. It doesn't change how much I love you."

"No matter how much I wish we could be, not everyone is like you, Dai," Matt interrupted, an unreadable expression on his face. "For some of us, it's not always easy to express our feelings in words, but that doesn't mean we aren't capable of feeling every bit the same way you do."

Conscious of the fierce battle raging behind them with their digimon and the enemy, Dai whirled around to face the former musician and he shouted accusingly, "Your stupid jerk of a son is the worst one of all! Don't act like you understand how I'm feeling because you don't!"

"Do you even understand how you're feeling at the moment?" Matt countered.

Huh?

Confused, Dai merely stared at the former musician, uncertain of how to respond, and gazing back at him, Matt raised his eyebrows, clearly expecting an answer. When he didn't reply, the former musician shook his head and said quietly, "That's what I thought."

"Dai," his father interrupted, shaking him gently by the shoulders to get his attention, "I know what it feels like not to be taken seriously, and I hated it just as much as you do, but...just because it might not look like anybody is taking you seriously, that doesn't mean they aren't."

"How would you know, Dad? You didn't have to deal with someone like Ryoko!"

"No, but I did," Tai muttered, turning to smile at Matt, who rolled his eyes in response.

"Dai, we're not trying to upset you," his father insisted, studying him closely. "We're just worr-"

"Maybe not, but you're sure doing a good job of it! I don't care what you have to say! All I want is to get Kara away from those creeps, so just...just shut up!"

"Dai!" his mother gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth in horror.

Realizing all of a sudden what he had said and following his mother's example, Dai quickly clapped his hands over his mouth in surprise, shocked by his own outburst, and glancing anxiously at his father he felt his face heat up, a sudden wave of guilt hitting him with the force of a tsunami. Never in his life had he ever spoken so harshly to his father before, the one parent he always got along with, and staring at the former leader now, he couldn't help wondering what in the Digiworld had possessed him to say such a thing. Normally his father was the one he always turned to for guidance and support, his source of comfort when everybody else treated him like he was nothing but a troublemaker and a cause for concern. Since they were so much alike, his father had a way of understanding him unlike anyone else, except perhaps for Matty, and now, without intentionally meaning to, he was alienating the one person who might have stood up for him regardless of whether or not the others took him seriously, especially now at a time when he needed the support more than ever.

What's happening to me? I barely even recognize myself anymore...

Dai glanced uncertainly at his father, unable to speak for fear of saying something even more hurtful, and gazing back at him, his father remained silent, an unreadable expression on the former leader's face. It was unnerving, and it scared Dai more than even the enigmatic Ruler of Darkness himself.

His father, the legendary Davis Motomiya, was never quiet.

"Maybe we should focus on freeing Zudomon and the other digimon from BlackWidowmon's webs," Joe interrupted, clearly anxious to change the subject. "It's the least we can do to help WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon."

"But even if we manage to get them free, they're still unconscious," Matt reminded the doctor.

Frowning, Dovemon nodded in agreement, but then her face suddenly brightened and she said hopefully, "Well, maybe you guys can use the Digivices to wake them up. It worked when Kara used her D-Coder to wake the boys up from Sirenmon's music..."

"Good point," Joe agreed, smiling at the little rookie. "It's worth a shot."

"I don't think so!" Spritemon shouted, a dangerous edge to her words. "Jestermon, deal with them, would you?"

Dai shot to his feet, but before he could shout out a warning, Jestermon turned from his battle with MetalGarurumon and launched three deadly black spheres towards Matt, Joe, and his mother. Caught off guard, the three older Digidestined tumbled to the ground unconscious, and stumbling over to his mother's side he shook her shoulder and gasped, "Mom! Mom, wake up!"

"Don't waste your breath. She won't be waking up any time soon!" Spritemon smirked, shifting Kara over her shoulder into a more comfortable position. "Looks like you're out of luck, you pathetic excuse for a leader."

Stung by the insult and blinded by rage over what the female mega had done to his mother, Dai said quietly, "You won't get away with this! I'll stop you! I swear I'll stop you if it's the last thing I do!"

"And how do you plan to do that without your Spirit Chip?" Spritemon shot back, her words cutting deeply into his heart. "It won't even respond to you! You realize what this means, don't you? You're useless to my master! Worthless. All we wanted was for you to release the last seal surrounding the Spirit Chip so we could steal it, but apparently you can't even do something as simple as that without screwing it up! How dare you mess with our plans!"

Dai lowered his gaze to the ground and he shook his head in denial, a bitter smile grazing his lips. He gave his mother's limp hand a gentle squeeze, but she didn't respond. "You can't blame me for this. I tried to warn everybody, including your flunkies. It's your own fault for being stupid enough to believe DarkAngelicmon. And where is he now, huh? He couldn't even bother to show up for the finale. Can't face the truth, can he? The fact that he was wrong about me? Just like everyone else."

Ignoring him, Spritemon turned to the court jester and snapped, "Jestermon! Let BlackWidowmon deal with WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. You take care of Daichi for me."

"Say what now?" Jestermon replied, scratching his wrinkled green forehead in confusion. "Er...I thought we needed him for the Spirit Chip!"

"True, but with the way he is now, he's obviously useless to us at the moment. Just shut him up and will figure out what to do about him later."

"Are you sure that would be...um...wise...Spritemon?"

"It's not like we have a choice. He's being a nuisance," Spritemon grumbled, making a face. "Just do it, would you? We'll figure out how to get his Spirit Chip once we've subdued WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. With them out of the way, it'll be easier for us to concentrate on the Spirit Chip."

"As you wish, Spritemon," Jestermon cackled, hopping up and down in excitement. "My, my, this game is taking an interesting turn, I must say."

Ignoring the fool, Spritemon grumbled, "Honestly, the one time we could actually use DarkAngelicmon's help and he goes and disappears on us! And where in the Digiworld is Vampiramon?"

"She went chasing after angel boy," Jestermon replied. "Knowing her, she should be back pretty soon, but whether or not she'll have angel boy in tow is another story all together."

"Figures. Well, what are you waiting for? It's time to send our little goggle-headed leader into dreamland where he belongs!"

"Dai!" WarGreymon shouted, dodging around BlackWidowmon's long strands of silky threads and attempting to move towards him.

Realizing the sudden seriousness of the situation and outraged over what had happened to his partner, MetalGarurumon also attempted to get past BlackWidowmon's deadly webs, but unfortunately her relentless barrage of spider thread refused to cease and they were unable to get past her.

Which, as Dai was quick to pick up on, left him completely unprotected.

Uh oh...

Dai quickly leaped back from his mother's limp body and he stared at the court jester, refusing to back down.

"Shadow Spheres!" Jestermon shouted, smiling evilly.

I'm such a failure...

Knowing it was useless, nonetheless Dai attempted to duck, and at the last moment somebody jumped in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders and blocking his smaller form from taking the brunt of the attack. As Dai watched in horror, two of Jestermon's black spheres hit his rescuer right between the shoulder blades and the third sphere flew harmlessly off to the side, just barely missing Dovemon.

No!

Dai let out a gasp of horror, and without a second thought he grabbed his father around the waist just as the former leader sagged against him, causing both of them to stumble. Since he was the smaller of the two, he was unable to withstand the taller man's weight, and letting out a grunt of pain, he fell backwards onto the ground, his father's unconscious body nearly crushing him in the process.

Forcing their way past Blackwidmwon's webs, MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon sent their attacks careening through the air towards Jestermon and letting out a yelp of surprise, the fool disappeared in a ball of fire, which Dai pleaded silently would keep the court jester out of commission, at least for a little while.

Dad!

Rolling to the side, Dai stared down at his father's unconscious body, and dark eyes stinging with sudden tears, he whispered, "No..."

This is all my fault. He tried to protect me, even after the way I yelled at him. Even after everything I've done...

"Dai? Are you okay?" Dovemon cried, fluttering anxiously over to his side and rubbing her cheek against his ribs.

Coming up behind Dovemon, Tai stood there looking at him, clearly at a loss of what to say.

"Not exactly what I was expecting, but I suppose it will do," Spritemon said airily, nodding her head in approval. "Well, well, well, Daichi. It seems your family and friends are falling like flies. Soon there will be no one left to take a hit for you or to stand in my way. Poor little leader. It's only a matter of time before you're all alone. What will you do then, I wonder."

Dai wrapped his arms around his father's neck, and resting his head against the former leader's dark hair, he didn't respond.

After all, what could he say? Spritemon was right. He had proven himself weak and worthless. How could anyone bounce back from such a terrible discovery like the one he had been forced to accept about himself?

Dad...what do I do? What would you have done? I can't do this. Please, help me...