Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Another new chapter! So, now we're getting back into the main story again, and there will be a lot of interesting stuff coming up!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 226: Unforgiven

Sam Ichijouji

Sever, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

In the darkness of the cabin, Sam slowly opened his eyes and proceeded to sit up in his sleeping bag, waiting patiently for his sapphire eyes to adjust to the gloomy atmosphere of the night. On his left, Matty was snoring softly, and to his right Mickey slept undisturbed, as the older twin did not share Matty's nightly habit of making a lot of noise. Ryoko was sleeping soundly next to Matty, and on the end next to Mickey, Takara kept shifting restlessly from side to side in her sleep. It did not look particularly as if she were having a nightmare, but Sam was quite sure she was at least having an unpleasant dream. Dai was on the opposite end next to Ryoko, and occasionally the goggle-headed leader would mumble something in his sleep, though Sam couldn't make out any of the words he was saying.

I wasn't seeing things, and neither was Kara. I'm sure of that now, but if we really were seeing something, what could it have been? I need to know. I'll never be able to fall asleep if I don't.

And that, of course, was the reason why he was awake in the middle of the night while his friends continued to explore the world of dreams and imagination.

If only I could escape my pain so easily...

The rain that had been threatening to fall earlier in the evening had finally come, and Sam could hear it pounding ominously against the roof of the cabin. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and occasionally a flash of lightning would light up the sleeping faces of his friends, making them appear pale and ghostly in the darkness. Sam shivered as he watched the heavy drops beat against the two glass windows decorating the front wall of the cabin's main room, but despite the unpleasant weather and how it would mostly likely leave him cold and drenched, he was determined to put his mind at ease.

I have to know what's out there.

Checking once more to make sure all of his friends were still asleep, Sam slowly climbed out of his sleeping bag and crept as silently as he could towards the front windows. He could see Dracomon and Ibismon keeping watch near the fire pit, and knowing they were getting all wet, he felt a strong stab of pity for them.

It didn't last long though because he was on a mission and due to become very wet himself.

If I'm going to do this, I have to do it now before Gabrielmon relieves Dracomon from his shift.

Sam glanced at where the remaining rookies who weren't on watch duty were curled up on the sofa, and creeping down the hallway with extreme caution towards the back of the cabin, he passed by the first room where Matt and Mimi were curled up together on the bed, their arms around each other as they continued to dream without becoming aware of his presence. The second room revealed Izzy sprawled out with his laptop lying next to him on the bed, and in the third room Cody and Rosa were also sound asleep. He found his parents in the final room with Hawkmon and Wormmon curled up near their heads, and slipping in he slowly made his way over to the bed. His mother had an arm wrapped around his father, and she appeared to be sleeping peacefully, though there was a slight frown on her face. His father was asleep, as well, but unlike his mother, the former Emperor appeared to be caught in some sort of nightmare.

"Dad?"

Sam hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bed, and reaching out he placed a hand on his father's shoulder, instincts taking over for his brain. His father jerked at the touch, but he didn't wake up. Instead, Sam was sure he heard his father mumble his name. The name of the son who had hurt him deeply earlier in the evening.

Is he dreaming about how terrible I was to him? That would explain why he'd be having a bad dream...

Sam almost choked on the thought, and leaning over he hugged his father gently around the neck, displaying all of the affection that had been missing from him several hours ago.

"I'm sorry, Dad, I just need time."

Time he didn't have.

Fighting back tears, Sam quickly scrambled off the bed and quickly headed towards the door. He needed to hurry towards his next destination before Dracomon returned to him for the night, which didn't leave him much time for an investigation of sorts.

Better hurry.

Tiptoeing away from the bed, Sam quietly headed back the way he had come towards the men's change room, and slipping inside he glanced warily at the door leading to the springs. He knew Embermon was out there keeping watch, and Armadillomon was on the other side surveying the woman's spring. Somehow he needed to slip past Embermon just long enough to make it into the trees on the other side of the springs. Once he managed that, he would be home free.

I can do it. Embermon can get distracted pretty easily, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

In theory at least.

Better get this over with.

Taking a deep breath, Sam slowly moved to the side of the sliding glass door, and peeking out he spotted Embermon sitting near the edge of the forest. It looked as if the little rookie was setting fire to a bunch of small branches that had fallen from the trees, and he appeared to be hurling them into the spring out of sheer boredom. He also seemed to be conversing with Armadillomon on the other side of the screen as he watched the branches fizzle out in the water.

There's no way I'm going to get past him like this...

A problem indeed, but luck must have been on his side that night because Embermon suddenly leaped up and started around to the other side of the screen in response to Armadillomon saying he might have spotted something.

Perfect timing!

Knowing he probably wouldn't have another chance, Sam quietly slid open the door and made a break for the forest, aware of the fact that Embermon could come back at any moment. Running as silently as he could, he dodged around the pool in his bare feet and slipped into the trees, miraculously without being seen despite having almost slipped on the rocks. Unfortunately there was still a chance that Embermon and Armadillomon might spot him from where he was standing, so he moved further into the underbrush and placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath. The adrenaline running through his system and the fear he felt at possibly getting caught had left him gasping for breath, and thus he needed a moment to allow his heart rate to slow back down to a more normal pace.

The rain wasn't quite as heavy here in the forest, since the trees blocked a lot of the downpour, but even so Sam had still gotten soaked from his mad dash to the edge of the springs. Out here, the sound of thunder was much louder than in the cabin, and aware of the fact that he needed to be careful of lightning, Sam glanced anxiously through the canopy of leaves above him at the sky before straightening slowly to his full height. Thankfully, there appeared only to be sheet lightning and not forked lightning, which was much less of a threat to his safety in the forest.

Now what?

Sam frowned in slight confusion at his own thought, and shivering in the t-shirt and sleep pants he wore, he glanced uneasily at his surroundings. Minus the thunder, the forest was eerily quiet, and with the night sky being so dark it was hard to see much further than a few feet in front of him. The only noise in the forest was the sound of the rain pattering against the leaves on the trees, and not wanting to stray too far from the cabin, Sam made sure to keep the faint lights above the change room doors within sight. Luckily, he also had his Digivice with him, so if he did get lost he could use the signals of his friends' Digivices to make his way back to the cabin.

Well, I can't just stand here all night. I guess it's time to go searching.

Taking a deep breath, Sam started forward into the trees, the voices of Embermon and Armadillomon fading behind him, and it wasn't long before he suddenly felt like he was being watched.

Coming to a stop, he lifted his head and said calmly into the night, "I know you're here."

At first there was only silence, and Sam suddenly realized it probably hadn't been a very smart idea to come wandering into the forest by himself, especially without a single digimon to help him fight, but before panic could set in he noticed several sets of eyes watching him from the trees. They were the same eyes he had seen staring at him in the springs earlier in the evening, and he froze in his tracks, unsure of what to do. "What do you want? Come out where I can see you."

More sets of eyes appeared, and then dark shapes began to materialize out of the undergrowth. The figures slowly moved towards him, and when they were close enough he realized they were a pack of Vilemon.

Sam had dealt with Vilemon in the past, and his experience with them had not been very pleasant, therefore it was understandable that he was a bit suspicious. "Well? Is anyone going to answer me?"

"You're a human," the Vilemon closest to him said in awe, inching hesitantly closer.

"You must be a Digidestined!" A second Vilemon gasped, a note of disbelief in his voice.

Sam frowned, unsure of what to make of this sudden development. "Yes, I am. Who are you guys?"

"We're Vilemon," a third one informed him, sounding excited and eager to speak. "This swamp is our home."

Sam blinked in surprise at this, and crossing his arms over his chest, he said, "Seriously? You guys live in a place like this?"

"Sure," the first Vilemon replied, coming right up to him and bouncing lightly on his feet. "The murky atmosphere of this place is just perfect for us."

"Huh...I guess I can see how that would be true."

"We've lived here on Server in this swamp all our lives," the second Vilemon added. "We even know the Syakomon who used to run this place."

"Wow! Really?"

"That's right," the third Vilemon said happily, beaming at him. "That was quite a long time ago, though."

Sam felt his shoulders relax a bit, and glancing around at the group he realized there were twelve Vilemon in all. Each one appeared eager to talk, and letting his guard down a bit, Sam decided to indulge them. "You were the ones watching us in the springs earlier, am I right?"

"Sure," the fourth Vilemon said. "That was us."

"We didn't mean to scare your friend," a fifth Vilemon said soberly, looking rather sheepish.

"You mean Kara?"

"If by Kara you mean the human girl, that's right," a sixth Vilemon confirmed.

"Don't worry about it. You just startled her, that's all. But...I do have a question for you guys. Why were you watching us anyways?"

A seventh Vilemon perked up at his, and nodding vigorously, he said, "We were just curious. It's been a long time since we've seen any humans..."

"And the last time it...it wasn't very fun for us," an eighth Vilemon said solemnly, shaking his head in regret. "You seem different though."

"Yes, you and your friends seem very nice," a ninth Vilemon said cheerfully, smiling at him. "You're here to help save our world from the Ruler of Darkness, right?"

Sam nodded quickly in agreement, his hands clenching into tight fists. "That's right. We're going to do whatever it takes to stop him so all of the digimon in this world don't have to live in fear of the darkness anymore."

"That's great!" the tenth Vilemon butted in. "News of the Ruler of Darkness has spread all over the Digital World, and digimon are afraid to come and go freely in their own lands without fear of being deleted or brainwashed."

"None of us want to be forced to fight...not like before," the eleventh Vilemon said sadly. "That's why it's great to have the Digidestined here helping us. It'll be nice to be able to trust humans again..."

Huh?

Sam frowned at this, feeling slightly uneasy. "What do you mean by that?"

The Vilemon all exchanged meaningful looks, and shifting closer, the twelfth Vilemon said, "We've all heard the stories about how our world was saved by the humans several times. From GranDracmon, Apocalymon, the Dark Masters, and even MaloMyotismon. They've done many wonderful things for us, but-"

"Wait, you know about GranDracmon?" Sam asked eagerly.

The first Vilemon regretfully shook his head, and sounding apologetic, he said, "No, not really. Just that he tried to take over the Digital World and was stopped by humans. We never came across him or anything like that."

"But...we did come across someone else during the time of MaloMyotismon," the second Vilemon said uneasily.

"Oh? Who?"

"Well...most of the Digidestined have been a benefit to our world, and without their help our world would have been lost long ago, but...there was one human during that time who wasn't so nice."

Sam felt his heart start to race, and hands beginning to tremble, he whispered, "The Digimon Emperor."

There was a long, terrible silence, and then the second Vilemon said quietly, "He used us for his experiments with the Dark Rings and Spirals. We were tortured endlessly, and even now I can still remember the screams of all the digimon who suffered because of him."

"We heard he changed his ways and joined the Digidestined in the end to defeat MaloMyotismon, but even so...you don't forget something like that so easily," the third Vilemon mumbled.

"He's with you, isn't he? We saw him earlier tonight," the fourth Vilemon said bitterly, turning his face away. "Humans grow up and get bigger, right? He looks a lot older, but we can still tell it's him. You don't forget a face like that."

It was a moment before Sam could bring himself to answer. "Yes. He...he's my father."

All of the Vilemon leaped back a few paces at this startling piece of news, and muttering amongst themselves they glanced fearfully in the direction of the cabin.

"What?" Sam managed to choke out. "What is it?"

The sixth Vilemon grew courageous enough to approach him again, and hesitantly, he said, "But...you...you're not like him, are you?"

"Of course I'm not! I...I would never hurt any innocent digimon like he did!"

The Vilemon all exchanged looks again before as one they circled him in the same fashion as earlier, and nodding, the eighth Vilemon said, "You do seem different from him."

"Well...there's my mom, too. My mother is the one with the glasses and lavender hair. At the time, she would have gone by the name of Yolei Inoue."

"As yes, she's one of the ones who fought against the Emperor and defeated him," the fourth Vilemon said in recognition. "That's right, humans get married in your world, and then their genes are carried on in their children. Gennai has told us a lot about humans. You must take after your mother. But...why would she marry a man who would hurt innocent digimon?"

Sam paused to ponder the question, and unable to come up with an answer, he felt the uneasiness grow inside his heart. "I...I don't know. I guess because he's changed since then."

"Has he?" the ninth Vilemon asked quietly. "It's not so easy to change when you become set in your ways."

"Of course he's changed! And besides, I thought all of the digimon here in the Digital World had forgiven the Emperor for his past."

"Is that what he told you?" the fifth Vilemon demanded. "Or maybe it was your mother who said it? Did you never stop to think that maybe they were only trying to protect you from the terrible truth?"

"It's not so easy to forgive when you've been hurt by someone you thought you could trust. Humans had helped us and our world in the past, earning our trust, and then he came along and destroyed that trust. It's hard to get past something like that," the tenth Vilemon said sadly.

"Don't get us wrong, we still believe in you humans and we trust you to save our world, but we can't forgive the Emperor," the seventh Vilemon said stubbornly, looking very unwilling to change his mind. "And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are many digimon who feel the same way as us. Digimon who were tortured by that human's hands."

"I wouldn't trust him too much either if I were you," the second Vilemon warned. "Even if he is your father. One day he may do something to betray your trust as well, and you would do well to be prepared for when that time comes."

Sam could feel his heartbeat ringing in his ears, and shaking his head in denial, he whispered, "No. No, my father would never hurt me like that."

"We didn't think a human would hurt us either, but we were wrong," the eleventh Vilemon countered. "You seem more like the others. Like the ones who did much to help us. The same is true for your friends from what we've observed. We would hate to see anything bad happen to you guys."

"Don't let his lies deceive you," the third Vilemon cautioned. "You never know when the past might catch up to you."

Sam didn't want to admit it, but the Vilemon were right. It wasn't so easy for humans to change or to put the past behind them. Maybe his father had stopped torturing digimon for now, but if the darkness were to ever tempt him again, would he be able to turn away from its alluring pull without giving into temptation?

His mother and the others had made out as if all of the digimon in the Digital World had forgiven the Emperor for his crimes, but obviously that wasn't the case. Maybe none of them had been able to forgive him, and all this time they had been carrying bitter resentment within their hearts.

And if that were true, how could Sam himself find the strength inside his heart to forgive his father for the terrible things he had done?

Do people ever really change?

"You shouldn't be out here in this weather," the ninth Vilemon scolded, tugging lightly on his arm. "You should go back to your friends."

Sam blinked in surprise, and it was only now that he realized he was still standing in the rain, which had succeeded in chilling him to the bone without him noticing. Upon becoming aware of it, he realized he was shivering and that his teeth were chattering, though he didn't think that was due entirely to the cold. "I...I..."

"Just think about what we said, and be wary of your father," the first Vilemon warned. "Don't take your eyes off him."

"And please save us from the Ruler of Darkness," the twelfth Vilemon pleaded. "Help us regain our full trust in humans again."

"We believe in you," the fifth Vilemon added.

Before Sam could respond, the group of champions faded back into the shadows, their dark bodies disappearing into the night. He was left standing there all alone in the rain with only the sound of the leaves to comfort him, and blinking stray drops from his eyes, he ran a shaky hand across his wet forehead, his sapphire gaze revealing little to no emotion.

He felt numb all over, and though a flash of lightning lit up the night sky just then, the light failed to reach him.

It was a few minutes before he could bring himself to walk back to the cabin, and though he wasn't aware of it as he shuffled along, the shadows around him grew thicker and the darkness hovering at the edge of his vision grew more intense.

And emerging from the shadows behind him, the dark waters of an ocean pulsed with ominous intent before its presence was swallowed by the trees.