Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: And onto another chapter! We're back to the kids again. Now with this part coming up you're going to see what's happening on both sides, and if you don't know what I mean by that you'll soon find out. We start off with the boys' side and next will be the girls' side.

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 222: Unseen Eyes

Sam Ichijouji

Server, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

"Sam?"

Sam slowly lifted his sapphire gaze from the deep red carpet stretching across the floor of the main room in the lodge, and his eyes came to rest on Mickey, who was standing hesitantly in the doorway. After bringing him some dinner, Mickey had left to join the other Digidestined outside by the fire, leaving Sam alone with only his dinner and his own depressing thoughts for company, which had suited him just fine.

Without having to say a word, Mickey had understood that he wanted to be left alone for the time being, and speaking with Matty and the others, who had still been inside the lodge during the confrontation Sam had had with his father, Mickey had asked them to join him outside, ignoring their obvious concerns. Mickey had done an excellent job of dodging questions, and the group had left without another word, the others trailing along behind Mickey in slight confusion.

Despite that, though, Sam hadn't failed to notice the way Matty and the others had been staring at him, but instead of commenting he had merely avoided their gazes, a slight blush staining his pale cheeks, one of which was slightly bruised thanks to a certain goggle-headed Digidestined leader, who in Sam's opinion could be a bit too free with his fists sometimes.

He knew Dai or one of the others would tell Matty's group what had happened before the night was over, but at the moment he didn't much care what they had to say about him. He knew without being told he was a terrible person, and curling himself deeper into one of the two sofas in the room, he stifled a soft cry of despair, his eyes squeezing shut to hide the pain glimmering beneath the surface of his empty gaze.

Deep within his heart Sam knew his father would never hurt him, but even though his mind kept telling him the former Emperor had only uttered those words in an attempt to reach through to him, trying desperately to understand the situation and to fix what was wrong between them, hearing his dad speak of such terrible things had still hurt him deeply, making him lash out in such a way that was entirely uncommon for him. Even now there were tears in his eyes and his hands and lips were trembling with all the emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

His dad loved him, he knew that, but he was afraid one day if he continued to ignore what was in his heart, his father's words really would ring true, and if that happened Sam knew he would never be able to live with himself. Just the thought of his father hating him was enough to make him lose his appetite, hence the reason why his dinner still sat only half eaten on the end table beside him.

Even though he was the one who had the power to change the course of the future, he didn't know what to do. Every part of him was screaming at him to forgive his father, but there was still that one part of him that refused to let it go. As a result Sam had tried both physically and mentally to hurt his father, lashing out because he was confused, afraid, and uncertain of what it was he really even wanted anymore.

He didn't deserve forgiveness, but he knew his father would forgive him anyways, and that perhaps was the part that hurt the most.

"Sam?"

Sam had almost forgotten Mickey was there, and glancing again at his golden-haired friend he let out a soft sigh, reluctant to speak but knowing he didn't really have a choice. "What is it?"

"We're just going to go wash off in the spring now before the weather gets too nasty. Yolei wants all of us kids to go first. The adults are going to take their turn while we're doing our homework."

Sam frowned at his, though it was quickly replaced by a faint smile. "Seriously? My mom still hasn't given up on that idea?"

"Did you really think she would?" Mickey replied, laughing softly. "This is your mom we're talking about after all."

"True."

"Plus, it gives her an excuse to make sure we don't take too long in the bath, since the adults want to get in before the rain starts too."

"Mimi mostly, I bet."

Mickey nodded in agreement, a smile on his face, but it quickly faded to be replaced by a hesitant look. "Are you...going to come and join us?"

Truthfully Sam wasn't really in the mood, especially since Dai would be there, further reminding him of the earlier fiasco with his father, but he knew Mickey wouldn't take no for an answer, and he did still feel pretty sticky from the heat of the swamp. "I guess so."

Mickey's face instantly lit up, and stepping closer the older twin held out his hand, which Sam grabbed somewhat reluctantly, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Oh, and we needed someone to take over for Uncle Matt on watch duty," Mickey added, a sheepish look overtaking his handsome features. "Since Glowmon wasn't there the rest of our digimon partners kind of volunteered him for the job. I'm really sorry about that."

"Those meanies," Glowmon grumbled, fluttering his transparent wings in annoyance. "I wanted to go in the water too!"

Sam glanced at his partner, who was snuggled up beside him on the coach, an apologetic look instantly appearing on his face. "I'm guessing they didn't want to give up their chance at playing in the water, though I'm surprised Embermon didn't volunteer for watch duty. He hates water."

"He volunteered to watch the fire," Mickey replied, smiling slightly. "Uncle Matt thought it would be best to put the fire out completely so as not to attract our enemies, but Embermon refused, insisting all Vampiramon has to do is stroll by and she would know someone was staying here regardless of the fire. Personally I think it's mostly because Embermon went to so much trouble trying to find the right kind of wood that he doesn't want to see his masterpiece get snuffed out so quickly."

"Sounds like Embermon," Glowmon sighed, shaking his head in amusement. "I guess I'd better digivolve and join Leomon then."

"Just remember...save your energy and make sure you eat well tomorrow morning," Mickey warned, growing suddenly serious. "Dai doesn't want you wasting your energy unless you obviously have to. Hopefully we won't get attacked tonight, but you never know."

Poor Glowmon, and it's because of me. If I hadn't gotten mad at my dad, I never would have left and he wouldn't have gotten stuck with watch duty.

Glowmon must have sensed what he was thinking because his digimon fluttered into his arms, giving his chest a reassuring nuzzle. "It's okay, Sam, I don't mind. I'm sure Leomon will have some great stories about his travels here in the Digital World. You go spend some time with your friends, I think it will be good for you."

"If you say so."

Sam could tell Mickey hadn't brought up the issue about Dai and his father because the older twin wanted to give him some time to collect his thoughts, but the matter would come up eventually, and when it did Sam had no idea what he would say. He knew he didn't deserve Mickey's sympathy, and he didn't even blame Dai for hitting him. They were both trying to help him in their own way, but he wished they wouldn't. His actions were inexcusable, and the more they tried to help him, the guiltier he felt.

"Come on," Mickey said softly, tugging lightly on his arm.

"In a minute. First I need to help Glowmon digivolve."

Mickey was about to respond when they heard a noise in the foyer. Apparently the rest of their friends and digimon, along with their parent's digimon, had come inside, and Sam waited until he heard them moving towards the back of the lodge before heading into the foyer himself with Glowmon. Stepping outside he spotted the adults sitting around the fire with Embermon, the low murmurs of their voices making it difficult for him to hear what they were saying. Leomon was still sitting watch, and holding out his D-Coder Sam quickly had Glowmon digivolve into Dracomon before the adults could spot him.

"Be careful."

"Sam, please...don't give up," Dracomon said quietly, reaching out to gently touch the side of his face. "I couldn't bear it if anything were to ever happen to you."

Sam quickly turned his face away, unable to look his partner in the eyes, and realizing all of the adults were beginning to turn in his direction, having spotted the light from his Digivice, he quickly scurried back into the lodge, leaving Dracomon to fend for himself. Mickey was standing just inside the door, an eyebrow raised, and Sam blushed a brilliant shade of red at the look on his friend's face. "Let's go."

Without waiting for a reply, Sam quickly dragged Mickey towards the back of the lodge, and realizing all of a sudden he didn't have a clue where he was going, he stopped and mumbled, "Uh...which way to the springs?"

"This way."

Mickey led him to one of two changing rooms at the back of the lodge, and stepping inside Sam took notice of the room's interior, liking what he saw. There was a huge shelving unit on the left-hand side of the room, where towels were stored, and the right side held two sinks and a large mirror, along with a small alcove that led to what appeared to be two bathroom stalls and several urinals. It always amused Sam that many of the structures and buildings in the Digital World were made to suit humans, but seeing as the Digital World was made up of data created from the human world it didn't really surprise him. The door to the actual springs was on the north wall and several benches occupied the centre of the room. It almost reminded Sam of the boys' locker room at his school, though it was lacking the showers to complete the image.

Currently Matty was the only person in the room, and Sam assumed all the digimon, including Mickey's partner, along with Dai and Ryoko, had already stepped outside into the springs, judging by the noise they were making through the half open sliding glass door.

"Where's Kara?" Mickey asked his brother, grabbing onto the hem of both his green t-shirt and the long-sleeved white shirt he wore underneath and pulling them over his head.

Matty, who already had his shirt and blue hoodie off and was currently in the process of removing his jeans, one leg sticking out while the other remained trapped within the material, forcing him to hop up and down on one foot, looked up in confusion, and spotting who had come into the room with his brother, he promptly fell over onto his backside, his legs sticking up into the air in the most comical fashion.

Well, that certainly answered Sam's question about whether or not someone had told Matty and the others who had still been in the house earlier about the fight he'd had with his father.

Not that he'd been expecting anything less.

"Sam!" Matty gasped, scrambling into a sitting position, his amber eyes growing to twice their size. "Um..."

"I'm fine," Sam mumbled in response, avoiding the younger twin's eyes and feeling very much ashamed of himself.

"Kara?" Mickey gently reminded his twin, sitting down on one of the benches to pull off his socks and shoes.

Matty quickly wiggled the rest of the way out of his jeans, and yanking off his socks he gave his brother a rather sheepish look, his earlier embarrassing actions having yet to be entirely forgotten. "Oh, right. She's in the other changing room. Luckily the springs are split up into two sections, one for girls and one for boys. That way none of us have to wait our turn."

"Planning to get off the floor anytime soon?" Mickey asked, favoring his twin with a teasing smile.

Matty glared at his brother, and yanking off his boxer briefs he promptly stomped out the sliding glass door in all his naked glory, a towel swinging angrily back and forth in his hand.

Sam shook his head at his friend's naked backside, and sitting down on the bench opposite Mickey, he proceeded to remove his own clothes, his thoughts once again becoming dark and dreary.

"You okay?" Mickey asked quietly, pausing in the middle of taking off his own jeans to glance over, a concerned look on his face.

Sam quickly pulled off the rest of his clothes, leaving them pooled in a heap on the floor, and running a hand through his dark hair, he let out a soft sigh. "I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

"Sam..."

Mickey looked like he wanted to say more, but instead of saying what was on his mind he merely shut his mouth and proceeded to finish undressing in silence, a frown on his normally peaceful face.

I know he's worried about me, but there's nothing I can do about it. No matter what I do, I just seem to end up hurting more people...

It was a depressing thought, and growing angry with himself he quickly grabbed two towels from the shelf and handed one to Mickey, who had finished undressing.

Together the two of them headed outside to where the springs were located, and spotting them Ryoko sat up slightly in the water, his sapphire eyes narrowing into a deep frown. "There you guys are. We were beginning to think you weren't going to come."

"Sorry," Mickey replied, tossing his towel aside and stepping gingerly into the water. "We had to wait for Glowmon to digivolve."

"He agreed to take up watch then?"

"Yes, but not without complaining first."

Halomon, who was splashing around in the water with Celestimon, suddenly paused mid-splash, and leaning over to his fellow rookie, he whispered, "Glowmon's going to give us a big talking to later."

"Well, maybe he should have come outside then," Celestimon whispered back, a smug look on his small face.

Sam slowly let his towel fall to the rocks beneath his feet, the fluffy, wrinkled ball of cotton having slipped almost unconsciously from his hand, and glancing around the spring, he felt a small shiver race down his bare spine. For reasons he couldn't identify, he suddenly felt very much naked and vulnerable, exposed to unseen eyes, which was starting to make him extremely uncomfortable. It wasn't because of his friends, who had seen him naked on numerous occasions over the years and who could care less what he looked like, with or without clothes on, nor was it because of their digimon partners. He almost felt as if they were being watched, and not by something friendly either. The darkness didn't feel particularly strong, so he doubted it was anything horrendously evil, but even so he still felt very uneasy, making him wonder if he was just being paranoid or if he was going insane.

"Aren't you coming in?" Dai demanded, making Sam jump in surprise.

He looked up to find Daichi watching him from the opposite side of the medium-sized pool of water, and remembering what had happened between himself and the goggle-headed leader earlier, he felt his cheeks turn a deep shade of red, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Ryoko, who was lounging in the water next to Dai.

Unable to look at his friends, Sam quickly stepped into the pool and he sat down close to where Mickey and Matty were watching their partners playing together in the water, his sapphire eyes taking note of their peaceful surroundings. The spring itself was surrounded by rocks and the water was cool, allowing Sam to relax and to recover from the heat a bit. On the right was a tall screen that separated the girls' spring from the boys' spring, and on the left and to the north the spring was surrounded by thick trees, effectively cutting it off from a view of the swamp that surrounded the lodge. The south side was blocked by the lodge itself, connecting the spring to the lodge with the sliding glass door Sam had stepped through only moments ago, and arching his body to stretch the tired muscles in his back and shoulders he quickly settled back and closed his eyes, trying to get himself to relax.

Sitting on the rocks to the left, as they were determined not to get their fur wet, Sam cold hear Gabumon and Alopemon talking quietly to one another while Armadillomon and Tentomon had made themselves comfortable in the shallow water near the edge of the spring, their voices carrying as they attempted to duck the water flying their way, courtesy of Halomon and Celestimon.

The only other digimon present was Wormmon, who was sitting near the edge of the water close to Dai and Ryoko, and Sam, who still had his eyes closed, could feel the little rookie watching him intently, which was making him feel worse than he already did.

He should hate me for what I did to his partner...

"Wow, the water feels so nice!" Takara's voice suddenly called out from the other side of the screen, which was followed by a soft series of splashing sounds as she presumably suck into the water.

Sam slowly opened his eyes, and he watched as Dai made his way over to the edge of the spring near where the screen was, forcing Mickey and Matty to relocate to a different spot. Climbing half out of the water, his arms resting on the rocks and his chin resting on his arms, he called back, "What's it look like on your side?"

"Beautiful! I like it. It's really pretty," Takara replied, her voice sounding closer than it had been before. Judging from where her words had come from, Sam figured she was most likely sprawled close to the screen in a position similar to Dai's, the two of them facing each other on opposite sides of the barrier. "I'm guessing my side looks the same as yours, only reversed."

"You boys are very noisy over there," Palmon complained, a disapproving note to her voice.

"Let them have their fun, Palmon," Dovemon interrupted, clearly amused. "We might not have another chance to relax like this until after we get the Spirit Chip."

"Very true," Hawkmon added from Takara's side, his words quickly being backed by Gotsumon.

Hearing Hawkmon's and Gotsumon's voices Matty quickly made his way over to Dai's side, his arms flailing above his head in a rather amusing display of outrage. "Hey! How come those two are over on your side? They're boys like us!"

"They're digimon," Takara snorted in response, a hint of amusement in her tone. "They don't care about stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?" Celestimon interrupted, tugging on one of his long ears in an adorable display of confusion.

"See what I mean?" Takara said smugly, laughing softly to herself at Celestimon's cute response.

"That's not the point," Matty shot back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Help me out here, Mickey. No boys should be ogling our cousin, with or without clothes on."

Mickey, who looked like he was trying very hard to keep a straight face, merely shrugged his shoulders at Matty's indignant response, his amber eyes watching Dai, who was steadily turning red by the minute as the conversation continued to revolve around Takara's nakedness.

"Oh, Matty," Takara giggled, her laughter carrying into the trees. "You're such a sweetheart."

"I am not," Matty grumbled, making a face.

"Yes, you are. Always the overprotective one. Me, Rina, Ryoko, Mickey...I love that about you."

"Yeah well...someone has to watch out for you guys," Matty grumbled, ignoring the smirk Ryoko sent in his direction.

"Does that mean we can come over and visit you?" Halomon asked shyly, fluttering over to the screen and placing his fluffy ear against it to hear Takara's response.

"Of course you can! Celestimon too, if he wants to."

Halomon immediately dived over the screen, Celestimon following behind him, and there was a huge splash as they tumbled into the spring on Kara's side, sending water flying in all directions.

"Traitors!" Matty shouted after them, shaking his fist at the screen.

Sam, who was trying to relax, promptly gave up on what was obviously a wasted effort, and gazing miserably into the trees, he suddenly blinked in surprise, his sapphire eyes falling on something small and dark that seemed to be moving in the bushes.

What's that?

Sam quickly glanced at his friends, who minus Ryoko were still chatting with Kara, and moving slowly through the water he came to a stop near the edge of the spring by the trees, his eyes squinting deep into the foliage.

"Sam? Is something wrong?"

Sam jumped when he suddenly felt Ryoko's hand on his shoulder, and turning to face his friend he quickly shook his head in denial. "No, I just...It's nothing."

Sam could tell Ryoko didn't believe him, but instead of trying to convince the golden-haired Digidestined of something that obviously wasn't true, he turned his gaze back to the trees.

There was nothing there.

I must be imaging things. It's all this talk about my Spirit Chip, the Emperor, and all this darkness...right? There can't really be anything in the trees, can there?