Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Because there's quite a bit going on with Matty, I ended up splitting this into two chapters. That way in the next chapter I can focus on fleshing that part out more to my liking. Hope you enjoy!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 268: Whispers in the Night

Masato 'Matty' Takashi

Net, Northern Hemisphere, Digital World

Matty knew he was dreaming, but he couldn't seem to wake himself up. It was like he was trapped within the darkness, and all around him the shadows would not let him pass. And then there were the eyes. He could feel the eyes watching him, and their cruel gazes seemed to burn right through his soul. No matter how hard he tried to run, he couldn't seem to get away.

And why did they look so familiar?

Stop following me! Leave me alone!

Matty woke with a start, and breathing heavily he quickly shut his eyes again to block out any unseen dangers that might be lurking in the darkness. The first thing he noticed was how quiet it seemed, and though he was warm for the most part he could still feel the cold stone beneath his sleeping bag. Though he was by no means alone in the cave, he felt strangely detached from his companions. They were so close. He could even hear the soft sound of their breathing, which was the only sound in the cavern, but even so he still felt very much alone.

But there was that light. Somewhere in my dream I saw a spark of light.

Matty curled himself tighter into a ball, and still keeping his eyes closed he clutched his Digivice tightly to his chest. He felt very strange, but he couldn't put his finger on a reason as to why.

This feeling, all over my body...

It almost felt like his skin was tingling, and in his head his mind suddenly brought forth an image of Ryoko. It almost felt like his body had filled with light at some point during the night, and he could still feel the residue of that golden glow lingering on his skin.

But who am I feeling?

Matty still felt a bit groggy, and taking the time to become familiar with his surroundings, he could feel that something was off.

Celestimon was curled up again his shoulder in a small ball of smooth skin and feathery wings, and taking comfort in the little rookie's warm touch, he absently reached out to give Celestimon's fluffy ears a gentle scratch. At his back, Matty could feel his twin brother curled against him for warmth, and the faint sound of Mickey's breathing reassured him somewhat. Halomon was curled against Mickey's chest, and as far as he could tell the two of them were still fast asleep.

On his other side, facing him, Sam and Glowmon were huddled together in the raven-haired Digidestined's sleeping bag, and they were close enough that the two could feed off his body heat to stay warm.

The rest of the Digidestined remained close by, and opening his eyes Matty could see Kara and his mother, along with their digimon, lying in their sleeping bags on Mickey's other side. Across from him, Matt, Mimi, and their digimon were curled up to stay warm, and next to Matt, Tai, Davis, Joe, and their partners were trying to keep themselves warm. As for Ogremon, he was snoozing with his arms wrapped around his club, and the creepiness of the cave didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

Everybody was accounted for, so why did he feel like something was off?

There's something not right here. Something feels wrong.

Matty slowly sat up, and rubbing his eyes to clear his vision, he stared uncertainly into the darkness hovering around him.

What was that sound?

As soon as the thought entered his mind, he realized it was the trickling sound of the small stream running through the cavern. It was a quiet, peaceful sound, and yet Matty still felt uneasy. Underneath that pleasant trickle there was a menacing undertone that he couldn't quite identify. He didn't know why, but for some reason the stream felt dangerous to him.

It feels like there are eyes everywhere...

Matty could see the exit, since they had decided to camp near the far chamber door, and squinting into the darkness he was relieved to see that nobody was watching him through the opening in the rocks.

But even so he still felt like there were eyes following his every move.

Why does the water scare me so much?

Matty slowly crawled out of his sleeping bag, being careful not to disturb Celestimon, and pushing it up against his brother's back so the older twin wouldn't feel the sudden loss of warmth, he carefully made his way over to the stream.

He was conscious to remain as quiet as possible, and crouching with his arms wrapped around his knees he gazed curiously at the water flowing towards the gap in the wall.

Something about it was definitely off. Though the cave was dark, the water seemed to pulse and glow with an eerie, irridescent light. The stream was still clear enough that Matty could see his own reflection gazing back at him, but there was no denying now that the water was tinted a strange violet colour.

As he continued to gaze into the water, Matty could tell that there was something off about his reflection. Though he was clearly looking at himself, it felt like he was staring at a stranger. The face in the water was hard, and his eyes looked dangerous. There was also a bitter smile on the figure's face, and its entire expression was full of hatred.

That's not me. I've never looked like that in my whole life.

As Matty continued to gaze into the water, two more faces appeared in the rippling stream. Like his own reflection, these faces were distorted, and Matty could see the hatred in their eyes as they gazed back at him.

If they hadn't been so familiar, Matty might have been able to ignore those two new faces, but because of who they were he couldn't stop a sudden gasp from escaping his lips.

The faces looked like they were gazing over his shoulders into the water, and jerking around Matty quickly scanned the darkness around him, fully expecting to find that he had some company.

He could feel his own heart beating rapidly in his chest, but there was nothing to be frightened off.

He was alone.

But those faces...I could have sworn I could feel them looking over my shoulders...

Despite how sure he felt, there was no proof to suggest that there had been anyone crouching in the darkness behind him.

And besides, it was impossible that those two particular faces could have been there at all. Ryoko and Dai were still somewhere far away from him.

Or at least they should be...

Matty checked his Digivice just to make sure, and it told him exactly what he had already guessed for himself. Ryoko and Dai were still in the exact same spot they had been in before he fell asleep, which meant it was impossible they could have been in the cavern with him only a minute ago.

But those faces...

A soft sound at the door on the other side of the room caught Matty's attention, and jerking around again he thought he saw a shadow hovering just to the left of the entrance. It was the door they had used to enter the chamber earlier in the evening, and all of a sudden Matty felt afraid of it.

There's someone there...

A quick glance at the water reassured him that the other faces had disappeared, and is own face once again looked exactly like it always did, if you didn't count the sudden fear in his eyes.

The shadow near the door moved again, and Matty suddenly realized it wasn't the same shadow that had moved the first time. There were at least two figures standing by the door, and Matty knew instinctively that they were waiting for him.

"Matty? What are you doing awake at this hour of the night?"

The sudden voice startled him, and Matty turned to see a small white figure fluttering towards him.

He waited until Celestimon was hovering right in front of his face before muttering, "You should be sleeping."

"So should you," Celestimon shot back. "What are you doing? You should be getting some rest for tomorrow."

Matty was about to reply when he saw the shadows move again, and feeling his heart speed up he took a step towards the door on the other side of the cavern. They were calling to him, and he could tell they wanted him to follow.

"Where are you going?" Celestimon demanded, his words coming out in a fierce whisper.

Matty hadn't even realized he was moving until he could hear Celestimon fluttering in the air behind him in a frantic attempt to keep up. He was sure he'd seen a flash of red, and though it made no sense he could not deny what his eyes were seeing.

"Matty, wait up!" Celestimon cried, managing to catch up.

The little rookie clung to his shoulder, and whispering softly, Matty said, "I'm sorry, Celestimon, but I need to follow. I need to know what's going on."

"Follow what?" Celestimon asked, looking confused.

That made Matty pause, and frowning, he pointed up ahead and said, "Can't you see them?"

"See who? It's all dark up ahead."

Matty didn't bother trying to explain. He was wasting time, and if he didn't hurry he was going to lose them. "Come on, let's go."

It was almost as if the shadows had heard him because they suddenly slipped out of the cave like wraiths beckoning him to follow.

Where are they going?

Without a backward glance, Matty burst out into the corridor, and racing down the tunnel he came to an abrupt stop when he spotted the shadows waiting for him in the middle of the intersection up ahead. Uncertain of how to proceed, Matty took a few cautious steps, and he felt his sense of uneasiness growing as the shadows continued straight ahead down the path.

They've taken the tunnel where I saw Mickey earlier.

"Matty, what are you looking at?" Celestimon asked, tugging anxiously on his coat.

Matty took a deep breath, and ignoring the path they had used earlier that had initially led to the intersection he continued on straight ahead. His mind was screaming at him to go back because he didn't want to follow that path, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from chasing after the shadows. It was like his body was moving all on its own.

"Matty, I don't think this is a very good idea," Celestimon insisted, sounding nervous. "This way leads to more of those awful crystals. We could go back to the others."

"In a minute," Matty murmured, not really hearing his partner's words.

It was true that the tunnel seemed to lead to more of those strange crystal mirrors, as Matty could see a pink glow further up ahead, but even that didn't seem to be enough to stop him from turning around and going back to the others.

Although he could not explain why, he needed to see the shadows in full view. He needed to know if it was really who he thought it was.

It can't be them. That's impossible...

As Matty continued down the path, it began to fill with pink and violet crystals that seemed to sprout out of the walls, ceiling, and even the stone floor. In this particular corridor the concentration of crystals was unusually thick, and Matty could feel them crunching beneath his feet.

Up ahead the shadows suddenly flitted around a corner, and Matty picked up his pace. He quickly hurtled himself around the bend in the tunnel, and slipping on the fragments of pink crystal that were scattered across the ground he skidded to a stop and grabbed onto the wall to catch his balance.

As he glanced down the corridor, his mouth dropped open in confusion.

The shadows were gone.

"What's wrong?" Celestimon asked, picking up on his surprise.

Matty shook his head, and frowning he let his amber gaze sweep over the corridor one last time.

There was nothing.

I know I saw them! They couldn't have just disappeared into thin air. I wasn't that far behind them!

"Look, Matty," Celestimon whispered, his words faltering.

At first Matty was confused, but then his eyes widened in shock when he realized what the little rookie was referring to. In this part of the corridor, the walls were lined with the same crystal mirrors that they had seen several times already during their travels, only this time there seemed to be a greater number of them all closely lined up next to one another. No place on the wall was free of their luminescence, and it gave Matty the strange sensation that he was surrounded by a wall of mirrors.

It's like I'm in some kind of twisted version of a funhouse...

These mirrors were glowing with the same purplish-pink light as the one that had warped Dai and Ryoko to some other part of the caves, only there was something slightly different about them. These mirrors didn't just glow with a pulsing light. The mirrors themselves seemed to be alive.

"I don't like this place, Matty," Celestimon whimpered, hovering anxiously next to his shoulder. "We should go back."

Matty ignored the little rookie, and squinting up ahead he could see a stream of water running across the path. A faint purple mist seemed to hover over the water, and Matty could swear it was being absorbed by the mirrors.

This tunnel is filled with darkness.

"Matty, why aren't you answering me?" Celestimon wailed.

Matty slowly stepped towards the mirrors, and leaning over to peer into the one closest to him, he let out a gasp of surprise.

He could see shadows moving within the mirror, and two of those shadows looked familiar.

In fact, they were the two shadows he had been following only moments ago.

Did they somehow enter the mirrors just before I turned the corner?

The darkness radiating from within the crystals seemed a lot stronger than the last time he had looked into one of the mirrors, and it made him shiver with fear.

I'm not alone here. There's something in the mirrors, and the darkness is definitely coming from within them.

A voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like his Uncle Matt warned him to look away from the mirror, but he couldn't seem to avert his gaze.

The mirrors were everywhere, and they were all watching him.

What do you want from me?

The longer he stared into the crystal mirror, the more defined the shadows became, and once again they began to take shape.

He could hear them whispering inside his head, only this time the words were clear to him.

"You're not my best friend anymore. I've got someone better now."

"Don't you trust me, Matty? I'm your twin. What good is a useless brother to me?"

"Dai doesn't need you anymore now that he has me..."

Matty covered his ears, but the voices weren't coming from the air around him. They were coming from his head, and there was no way to escape from them.

"Stop! Stop! Leave me alone!"

"Matty, what is it?" Celestimon cried, clinging tightly to his shoulder. "Who are you yelling at? There's no one here!"

The shadows in the crystal mirror finally took shape, and he could see Daichi and Ryoko glaring at him. Those were the two shadows that had beckoned him to follow. Behind them, Mickey's face came into view, and he could see the hatred in his twin's amber eyes. As he continued to stare in horror into the mirror, more and more faces kept appearing. There was Sam and Kara, and he could also see his parents. Next were the other members of his family and his fellow Digidestined. And soon all the faces of Digidestined from all over the world began to appear in the mirrors, and their whispers started to grow stronger in his head. With a gasp, he realized they had all started to chant the same thing, and it pierced the very centre of his heart.

"We don't need you anymore. We don't need you anymore..."

"No, stop!"

The scream ripped from Matty's throat before he could stop himself, but he still could not turn away from the crystal mirror. The shadow demanded his attention, and he was unable to ignore them.

"Come on, Matty! We need to get away from here!" Celestimon cried, tugging on his arm.

Matty could tell his partner did not know what was going on, and though he wanted to he was unable to comfort the little rookie.

As he watched in horror, the Ryoko in the mirror reached out and grabbed a fistful of his hair, and Matty gasped at the pain it caused him.

This wasn't his imagination. This was real.

No, please let me go!

Matty staggered, and to his horror he accidentally grabbed onto the mirror to steady himself. Immediately his body began to glow with a purplish-pink light, and the shadow Dai in the mirror grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him into the mirror.

Matty didn't even have enough strength to hold the shadows off, and clutching Celestimon tightly to his chest he screamed in terror as he was pulled through the mirror.