Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: This is the second of three chapters that I wrote out while I was on vacation. The third one will be coming soon!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 265: Eyes in the Dark
Masato 'Matty' Takaishi
Net, Northern Hemisphere, Digital World
Matty stepped carefully over the broken chunks of ice scattered across the floor, and squinting into the darkness up ahead, it looked like the path was glowing a strange emerald colour. They had left the path with the crystals behind some time ago, but Matty was sure they hadn't seen the last of those shadowy mirrors.
It was growing late in the evening, and Matty was cold and tired. How long were they going to have to trudge through the Ice Caverns before they finally caught up to Dai and Ryoko?
I don't know how much more of this I can take...
"The ice is disappearing," Gabumon spoke up, catching Matty by surprise.
Glancing around the tunnel, he was surprised to discover that Gabumon was right. The stone walls were no longer covered by a thick layer of ice. Instead, the walls had grown damp, and beneath their feet the melted ice had left little streams of water running through the cracks in the stone. It had been slippery before with the ice, but the damp stone didn't make it any easier to navigate the path. It was strange to think only moments ago they had trudged through snow, and listening closely he thought he heard the sound of running water.
That's strange. Is there a river or a stream down here?
"It's also warmer here," Palmon commented, her petals twitching as she glanced curiously at the wall closest to her. "I can almost feel myself thawing out."
Matty took a closer look at the wall, and placing a gloved hand over the cracks in the stone, he was surprised to find that he could feel a sense of heat seeping through the cracks. It felt good on his fingers, and he held up his other hand to warm those fingers as well.
"How is this possible?" his mother asked, pressing her ear close to the wall and letting the heat wash over her face. "Not that I'm complaining or anything. Feels nice to have a bit of relief from the cold."
Joe crossed his arms over his chest, and frowning, he said, "I'm not really sure, but this cave seems to have some kind of ventaliation system. Perhaps there's some underground volcanic activity here. Maybe there's just enough to produce some heat in this vast labyrinth, and the ventilation system is carrying it to other parts of the cavern."
Matty froze, and gaping a Joe, he said, "Are you saying there's a chance a volcano could explode down here and we could end up getting smothered to death by ash and lava?"
Joe shook his head, and smiling slightly, he said, "I think the chances of that happening are fairly slim. Most likely it's the same sort of effect you get with a natural hot spring."
"I almost don't want to move now," Takara said softly, hugging the wall and letting the heat soak into her wool jacket.
"We'll stay here for a few moments to warm up, and then we'd better keep moving," Tai announced, leaning his back against the wall to let the heat soak in between his shoulder blades. "We need to make sure we're at least keeping pace with Dai and Ryoko. I'm not exactly sure where they're headed, but they looks like they're moving in the direction of the Spirit Chip."
Sam pulled out his D-Coder, and everybody watched in silence as the light from its surface shot down the corridor up ahead. They, too, were still on track to find the Spirit Chip, though the idea of doing so had been pushed to the side a while back.
"You don't think they're going to try to find the Spirit Chip by themselves, do you?" Mimi asked, turning to warm her hands against the stone.
Matty could tell she was worried, and truthfully he was worried himself. Were they really going to attempt such a dangerous move?
"It's hard to say," Matt said quietly, standing next to his wife. "We can't choose our path in these caverns, at least not fully. It could be that they simply have no choice but to head in that direction."
"They'll be fine," Mickey spoke up, crouching next to the wall and wrapping his arms around his knees. "They don't have any celestial digimon. They're safer off than we are."
It took Matty a moment to digest what his brother was saying, but once the words sunk in he realized Mickey was right. Because of the celestial digimon with them, they were the real targets, not Dai and Ryoko.
"Well, excuse me," Celestimon said, looking rather offended.
"I didn't mean it like that," Mickey said softly, giving the little rookie a reassuring smile. "I just meant that I don't think Dai and Ryoko are in any kind of immediate danger. I'm not worried they're going to get attacked by a digimon. It's...other things I'm worried about."
Matty studied his brother's sober face for a moment, and any relief he had felt at the thought of Dai and Ryoko being safe vanished almost instantly. Though the two boys and Alopemon might be safe from any hostile digimon, they were still vulnerable to the darkness.
And with the way Ryoko had been acting lately over the last few weeks, it was the darkness that would end up being their worst enemy.
What if they end up like Sam and get dragged into the World of Darkness?
Everybody seemed to understand the implications of Mickey's words, and the atmosphere within the cave grew more tense. After a moment of silence, Matt said, "The greatest danger is if they become too confident. They must realize that they're safe from DarkAngelicmon's radar for the time being, and if they allow themselves to get too complacent, they'll make themselves vulnerable to the real enemy."
"The Powers of Darkness," Dovemon finished, her voice a mere whisper in the darkness.
Matty huddled against the wall to gain what warmth he could, and glancing back down the tunnel he froze when he thought he saw something moving in the darkness. It had looked like a flash of blond hair and a streak of blue.
Huh?
Matty slowly pulled away from the wall, and frowning he squinted down the tunnel for a closer look.
Once again something moved in the darkness, and Matty thought he saw a familiar face.
That looked like...like Ryoko.
Matty quickly pulled out his D-Coder, and when he saw that Ryoko was sill somewhere up ahead with Daichi, his heart started to thump faster with uneasiness.
I must be imagining things. There's no way that could have been Ryoko.
"We should probably get moving again," Sam spoke up, stepping away from the wall. "I don't want Dai and the others to get too far ahead of us."
"Do you really think I would let that happen?" Ogremon snorted, leaping to his feet from where he had been sitting against the wall. "Come on, Glowmon! Let's show these amateurs how it's done!"
"Okay!" Glowmon said happily, once again taking the lead.
They started down the tunnel again, and about ten minutes later they came across a small stream that ran across the path. It was small enough to jump over, but the sound of the water passing through it echoed down the tunnel.
That must have been what I heard earlier!
"I'm starting to think this place must be full of underground channels," Gomamon commented, sniffing the air. "I smell water. Lots of it."
"You're probably right," Joe agreed, jumping over the stream and holding out his hand to help Mimi across. "All of these caves are clearly connected in one way or another."
Matty hopped over the stream himself without much trouble, and looking over his shoulder at the water he frowned as he took a closer look. For the most part it seemed clear, but on closer inspection he realized it seemed to have a strange violet tinge to it.
That doesn't look very natural...
Matty crouched down for a closer look, but a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He quickly lifted his head, and gazing back the way they had come he thought he saw a flash of red.
...Dai?
"Are you coming, Matty?" Agumon asked, waving a claw across his face to get his attention.
Matty blinked, and climbing quickly to his feet, he shook his head and said, "I'm coming."
They continued down the tunnel, and every so often Matty couldn't resist looking over his shoulder. Once or twice he thought he saw a flash of colour and the shadow of a person following them, but on his D-Coder Digivice Dai and Ryoko remained somewhere up ahead of them.
Maybe I'm going crazy...
Eventually the tunnel started to glow a faint pink colour, and Matty felt his heart start to sink. That particular glow had only signified one thing up until that point, and somehow Matty didn't think this time was going to be any different.
"It looks like there are more of those crystals up ahead," Ogremon called back, his voice sounding rough in the darkness. "Everybody stay on your toes, and don't touch anything!"
Matty let out a pained sigh, and steadying his nerves he followed the others into the mass of crystals that covered both the walls and the ceiling. The strange purplish-pink glow emitted by the crystals made Matty want to close his eyes, but the floor was slippery, so keeping his eyes shut wasn't an option. As much as he tried not to look at the crystals, he couldn't stop himself from glancing at them out of the corners of his eyes, and even without looking directly at them he could still see the shadows moving within.
What do they want with me?
"The path splits up ahead!" Glowmon called out, coming to a stop at what appeared to be a four-way intersection. "At least two of the paths look like the crystals carry on for some time."
"Which way should we go?" Halomon asked,hovering next to Glowmon.
"Whichever way leads to Dai, obviously," Embermon shot back.
"Let's take a look at our Digivices to find out," Matty heard his mother say.
All around him the others began to pull out their Digivices, but Matty didn't have the heart to look at the moment. He felt exhausted, and dropping into a crouch he curled his arms around his knees and proceeded to gaze down the tunnel leading to the right as he waited for the others to decide.
He didn't know how much longer he could go on, and the longer he remained inside the Ice Caverns the thicker the darkness seemed to swirl around them.
It can't just be my imagination.
Gazing down the path to the right, Matty almost jumped when he spotted a figure gazing back at him in the darkness. It was a very familiar face wearing very familiar clothing, but there was something off about his expression. The face gazing back at him was staring at him with amber eyes that were full of anger and hatred.
Mickey?
Matty gasped, and leaping to his feet he stumbled backwards, his body colliding with the person standing behind him. Warm hands caught him by the shoulders, and with a strangled cry he twisted around to see what monster had grabbed a hold of him.
His breath caught when he found himself gazing into the same amber eyes that had glanced at him through the darkness, but this time those eyes were full of concern.
"Matty, are you okay?" Mickey asked, his voice soft and full of reassurance. "What's wrong?"
Matty glanced quickly down the right tunnel again, but it was empty. Within the tunnels the crystals continued to glow, but their strange light didn't seem to penetrate the darkness.
"Matty?"
Matty turned back to his brother, and taking a deep breath he realized he was visibly trembling. If Mickey hadn't been holding onto him, he was pretty sure he probably would have dropped to the ground. "I...I'm fine."
"You don't seem very fine to me," Mickey scolded, holding tightly to his shoulders. "What happened?"
Matty shook his head, and moving closer to Mickey he allowed his brother's warmth to wash over him. His twin felt solid and real, and closing his eyes he sensed his heart settle a bit.
Those eyes. Those horrible eyes...
"Hey, don't forget I'm here with you," Mickey whispered to him, gently rubbing his back. "Everything's going to be fine."
Matty wasn't sure he believed that, but he didn't have the strength to argue with his twin. Instead, he clung to Mickey for a few more moments before gathering his composure and pulling away.
"So, what have we decided?" Mickey asked, addressing the crowd that was still huddled together in a circle with their Digivices.
Thankfully the others had been so focused on the Digivice signals of their missing friends that they hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary happening, thus Matty was spared any further questions.
What was that thing? It couldn't have been Mickey. Mickey was standing here with me the whole time...wasn't he? And the others, Dai and Ryoko...
"Judging from the signals, it looks like we need to take the left path to reach Dai and Ryoko," Matt announced, putting away his Digivice. "They're definitely coming from that direction."
Having heard his uncle's conclusion, Matty couldn't help feeling relieved. The left path was the one where it looked as if the crystals came to an end.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Ogremon spoke up, taking the lead.
They had only been walking for about fifteen minutes when the tunnel opened up and they found themselves in a small chamber that looked relatively cozy. A stream that was quite a bit larger than the one they had come across earlier flowed freely at the other end of the chamber, but it did not block the exit that Matty could see off to the left. This particular chamber also felt quite warm, and the heat seemed to come from the large cracks in the stone wall. The water itself flowed at a steady pace, and once again it looked like there was a violet tint to it.
At least it's warm in here.
"What is it, Tai?" Joe asked, glancing at the former leader.
Tai was frowning thoughtfully at his Digivice, and lifting his head, he said, "It's Dai and Ryoko. Their signals have stopped moving."
"It is getting late," Gatomon commented, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe they've called it a night."
"By the looks of it I would have to agree," Joe said pleasantly, tucking his own Digivice away. "And I think it might be best if we do the same. As much as I want to catch up to the other three, we're not going to do ourselves any favours by running ourselves ragged."
"And Ryoko and the others are smart enough to realize that, too," Takara sad firmly, nodding her head in agreement. "Pus, this seems like as good a place as any to stop for the night. At least we'll be warm."
While Takara's suggestion made sense, Matty felt uneasy. The chamber seemed innocent enough, but despite its serene appearance, he couldn't help feeling like they were being watched.
No place in here is probably safe.
"Let's set up camp near the exit," Matt suggested. "It seems warmest over there."
"I'll send an email to Izzy to let him know what all happened today," Joe added. "He'll want to hear about Dai and the others."
Matty followed the others without protest, and pulling out his sleeping bag he rolled it out next to Mickey's on a dry patch of stone. They all had a quick bite to eat, and once they had filled their tummies a little everybody began to turn in for the night.
Matty was quick to curl into his sleeping bag, and shivering he made sure to stay as close to Mickey as possible for warmth. He didn't know why he felt so cold all of a sudden, but he had a sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with the actual temperature.
"Relax, Matty," he heard his brother whisper in the darkness. "I don't like this place any more than you do, but we need to be strong."
Matty wasn't sure he could pull it off, and just before drifting off to sleep he thought he saw the face of his cousin sitting by the river, those bright blue eyes glaring at him in the darkness.