Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: This is the shortest chapter I've had in a while, but the next one should be a bit longer again. Hope you all enjoy, and I will try to start writing the next one as soon as possible!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 283: The Dark Stalker

Masato 'Matty' Takaishi

Net, Northern Hemisphere, Digital World

Matty sat huddled between his brother and Daichi for warmth on Dragermon's back, and as they sailed through another large cavern where every surface glittered with a layer of ice, he glanced anxiously at his unconscious cousin, who at the moment looked like he was sleeping peacefully in Tai's arms. Looks could be deceiving, though, and Matty knew it wasn't good for his cousin to remain unconscious in the cold. Tai was clearly aware of the danger, as well, because the former leader was holding the golden-haired Digidestined tightly against his chest to keep the boy warm as he leaned over to speak quietly to Matt, who was sitting close beside him. The former musician had his arm wrapped around Mimi, who in turn was holding Takara close. The female Digidestined had her arms wrapped around Mimi's waist, and her head was resting against the older female's shoulder. It concerned Matty somewhat that Takara's cheeks were so pale, and she seemed to be staring blankly into the distance, her face void of expression. It was unlike the female Digidestined to be so quiet, and though Matty was worried about her, he didn't know what to say that might make her feel better.

It's a bit hard to comfort someone when you have no idea what's wrong...

Next to him, Dai was also frowning at the female Digidestined, and hoping to distract the goggle-headed leader so he wouldn't worry too much, Matty gently touched the other boy's shoulder and said quietly, "How are you doing?"

Dai looked at him, and smiling, the goggle-headed leader said, "Everything kind of hurts, but other than that I'm fine."

"You really scared me there for a bit."

"Sorry about that," Dai replied, looking a bit sheepish. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

Matty nodded, and feeling a bit embarrassed, he said softly, "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Same to you," Dai said warmly, pulling him close. "And thanks, by the way."

Matty frowned into the goggle-headed leader's shoulder, and returning the embrace, he said, "For what?"

"For everything."

Matty couldn't help smiling at that, and as the cold wind stirred up by Dragermon's wings ruffled his blond hair, he gently patted the goggle-headed leader's back with affection.

On his other side, he could sense Mickey's beaming smile, and knowing instinctively where the other boy was, he reached out to give the older twin's shoulder a quick squeeze. The fact that Jestermon had tried to take his brother away from him a second time still resonated deep within his soul, and he knew there was no way he could ever repay his cousin for saving Mickey. Not only that, Ryoko had also saved him too, and for that he would always be in his cousin's debt.

And now I should tell Mickey the truth, since Ryoko gave me the chance.

Dai's dark eyes were tired, and catching Sam's attention, Matty motioned for the raven-haired Digidestined to join him on Dragermon's back where they were all sort of congregated in the middle. Taking the hint, Sam quickly crawled over to them to support Dai's weary body, leaving Matty free to focus on his twin.

Mickey was sitting quietly with his arms wrapped around his knees, and though the older twin was shivering from the cold, he looked lost in thought. As far as Matty could tell, his brother's gaze was focused on the glittering ice sparkling all around them, and without a word he lightly touched Mickey's shoulder, hoping to catch his twin's attention.

Feeling the brush of fingers against the fabric of his thick coat, Mickey slowly turned to look at him, and giving him a warm smile, the older twin said, "You should be resting, Matty. Those shadows were pretty hard on you."

Matty shrugged his shoulders, and watching his twin closely, he said, "I'm fine. Just a few bruises. Dai and Ryoko got the worst of it compared to me."

"Maybe, but I meant more so up here," Mickey said softly, reaching out to lightly tap his right temple.

Matty felt himself blush, and avoiding his brother's eyes, he said, "I know what you're thinking, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm okay. I don't think that way anymore."

"For now," Mickey murmured, looking troubled.

"Huh?"

Something powerful seemed to flicker deep within the older twin's amber eyes, and looking at something far off in the distance, Mickey said quietly, "I would never forget about you, Matty. Never would there ever be a time in my life that I wouldn't want you around."

The words were sincere, and feeling his throat close up, Matty managed to choke out, "I...feel the same way about you. That's why it scared me so much. That's why the darkness was able to come after me so easily. I was afraid of losing everyone that I love."

Over the years, Matty had gotten used to his brother's shyness, but there was nothing shy or hesitant about the loving arms that were suddenly wrapped tightly around his torso. For a moment it surprised him, since he had often taken Mickey's shyness for granted, and momentarily caught off guard, he wasn't quite sure how to respond. He caught a glimpse of his brother's expression before the other boy's face hid itself against his shoulder, and what he saw made his heart soften almost immediately.

Mickey's lips were trembling, and his amber eyes were flashing with emotion. It occurred to him then just how much the older twin must have been worried about him during the whole ordeal with the Spirit Chip, and he felt sure the sentiments also included Mickey's feelings for Dai and Ryoko.

"Just don't ever forget how important you are to me," Mickey murmured into his shoulder, refusing to let go. "You're my brother, the best brother I could ever ask for, and I'll always love you."

Even though Matty felt a little embarrassed by such a blunt statement, that didn't stop him from feeling a rush of affection for his twin, and giving the other boy a reassuring pat on the back, he said seriously, "As long as you know I feel the same about you. When that shadow took on your form, and it looked at me with those horrible eyes..."

He could feel Mickey's arms tighten around him, and speaking into his shoulder, the older twin said softly, "I can only imagine how that would have felt if it had been the other way around, which is why I don't blame you for being so upset. But that's in the past now. It wasn't me, and you know I would never look at you like that."

Matty nodded in agreement, and realizing that Mickey didn't seem to have any intentions of letting go of him for a little while yet, he settled himself more comfortably and gave the older twin a moment to indulge in the release of all the emotions that must have been building up inside him since the moment he had awoken to discover that his younger twin was missing.

Now that they had indulged in a moment to get their feelings out into the open and to put the incident of the doppelganger behind them, he felt he could bring up another topic that was on his mind. It was another issue Mickey needed to know about, and because of its nature, he wanted to make sure that the older twin was the first one to hear the news.

I hope it will give him some peace.

With that thought in mind, he turned to the brother that was still clinging tightly to him, and speaking softly in the older twin's ear, he said, "Hey, Mickey? Listen, there's something I want you to know."

"What is it?" Mickey mumbled into his shoulder, looking quite content to remain curled up with his face hidden.

Matty let his chin rest on his brother's shoulder, and thinking carefully about what he wanted to say, he murmured, "A lot happened to me while I was separated from you guys. I'm going to wait to tell everyone about my experience all at the same time, just cause it will be easier, but there is one thing I did want you to know before the others."

"What's that?" Mickey asked, the words drifting softly into Matty's ear.

Smiling, Matty said gently, "You remember how Sam told DarkAngelicmon you hated him? Well, I told him the truth. I explained to him exactly what happened, and though he put on this big act of not really caring how you felt, I could tell it made him happy."

Mickey slowly lifted his head, and as their eyes met, the older twin said quietly, "You told him how I really feel?"

"I did. I told him that you really care about him and that you want to save him. It's not like he had any choice what to think. I mean, who would know the truth about you better than I would?"

Mickey's whole face softened, and leaning into him again, the older twin whispered, "Thank you."

Matty didn't really think a reply was necessary, and turning to gaze at the cavern door he could see approaching in the distance, he frowned when he realized it didn't look big enough for Dragermon to pass through, but on the bright side it did look as if there was sunshine coming from somewhere up ahead.

Dai must have noticed it as well because the goggle-headed leader said, "Looks like we might have to walk from here."

"What about Ryoko?" Kari asked, glancing anxiously at her nephew.

"I can carry him," Tai replied, dismissing her concerns with ease. "Once we get out of here we'll need to send Izzy a message to find us the nearest gate."

"I'm already on it," Joe replied, having taken Kari's D-Terminal earlier to converse with the computer expert. "He's looking into it for us right now. Apparently he's happy that we have the Spirit Chip and that everyone is safe, but he wants us back in the human world as soon as possible. I only gave him a very brief account of what happened so naturally he's anxious to hear the full story."

"That's Izzy for you," Davis replied, grinning at the thought of the computer expert waiting impatiently for their return.

"Well in that case we'd better land," Dai said, though he didn't look too happy about the whole affair. "Take us down, Dragermon."

"Brace yourselves for landing!" Dragermon called out as he descended towards the cavern floor.

Luckily despite his size, Dragermon was fairly light on his feet, and as the large champion settled himself carefully on the ice, his large wings stirring up a cloud of snow, Matty only felt the impact of a slight jolt.

Once they had all settled themselves on the ground, with Matt and Tai expertly maneuvering Ryoko between them to get the golden-haired Digidestined off the large champion's back, Dragermon quickly turned back into his rookie form along with the other digimon.

It made sense for their partners to conserve their energy in case they were followed, but more importantly it looked as if the path was going to get considerably more narrow up ahead, which would make it difficult for their digimon to move around at a higher stage of digivolution.

That doesn't mean we can't be followed, though. Spritemon's really tiny, and DarkAngelicmon isn't much taller than an average adult male. Same with Vampiramon, if she's still alive...

"Ready to go?" Joe asked once they were all back on their feet again.

"I'll take it from here," Ogremon said confidently, hefting the club he carried over his shoulder. "If you guys want to find a way out of this place you couldn't ask for a better guide. I'll lead you to fresh air and sunshine easily."

"Lead the way then," Tai relied, looking amused.

The former leader was careful to watch his step with such a precious piece of cargo in his arms, and Matt, having full confidence in Tai's ability to look after his son, didn't even spare the former leader or his son a critical glance before turning his attention to Mimi.

Mimi was holding tightly to Takara's hand, who for some reason was refusing to leave the rosy-haired Digidestined's side, and taking her other hand, Matt said quietly, "Just be careful on the ice. We can't have you falling in this place."

"Don't worry, Gabumon and I will watch her back," Palmon reassured him, earning herself a nod from Gabumon.

Dovemon was hovering in the air by her partner's head, and though the little bird digimon didn't say anything, Matty hadn't failed to notice the worried expression she was giving her partner.

Takara hadn't said anything ether through the whole exchange, and though Matty suspected his uncle was aware of the female Digidestined's sudden attachment to Mimi, the former musician didn't comment on it.

Instead, Matt seemed content to let the two women have their moment, staying close only to hold Mimi's hand to help keep her balance.

Mimi didn't say anything either, but Matty could tell his aunt was aware of Takara's strange behaviour, and her motherly instincts taking over, the rosy-haired Digidestined made sure to keep Takara close to her side.

Something just doesn't make sense here, but I still can't figure out exactly what that something is.

At the back of the group, Dai was moving pretty slowly, and every so often Sam or Davis would lend a supporting hand to keep the goggle-headed leader from slipping on the ice.

Matty was in the middle of the group with his mother and brother, and as they passed through the door of the cavern, they found themselves moving through a narrow passage that seemed to be sloping upwards. It didn't look quite as dark as the passages they had navigated the day before, and there wasn't a single pink mirror in sight. There were no glowing crystals of any colour at all. The rocky walls were bare, and though there were patches of ice and a thin layer of powdered snow on the dirt beneath their feet, there wasn't much else to give the empty corridor its own unique look. The only source of light seemed to come from the chamber up ahead, and Matty suspected it might be natural sunlight.

Just like Kara told us. Even in that huge chamber where we were a moment ago, the light didn't look artificial. I couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from, but it seemed to shine down from the corners of the ceiling.

"I think I see light up ahead," Halomon called out, fluttering quickly towards the door with Celestimon right on his tail.

Matty was quick to hurry after his partner, and as he stepped inside the small chamber, he felt himself start to smile.

Like the passageway, this room was pretty bare, but unlike the narrow tunnel, there were cracks in the rocky ceiling in this patitcular chamber. Through the cracks, Matty could see shafts of sunlight streaming onto the dirt floor, and though the light created shadows that lurked in the corners of the cavern, they didn't scare him in the slightest. Stepping into one of the pools of sunshine scattered across the floor, he looked up towards the ceiling and said, "There's no mistaking that blue sky. I was starting to miss seeing it. We must be close to the surface now."

"Maybe, but it looks like a dead end," Sam remarked, frowning slightly.

"Dead end?" Ogremon snorted, looking indignant. "Would I lead you guys to a dead end? I told you before. Nobody knows caves like I do. There's always a way out if you look hard enough."

Matty raised his eyebrows at this, and crossing his arms over his chest, he said, "How do you figure that?"

"Look," Ogremon replied, pointing towards the far wall where there appeared to be a pile of rocks scattered across the dirt floor.

"What about it?" Dai asked, looking confused.

"That's our way out of here," Ogremon explained, lifting his chin. "If my instincts are correct, that's a passageway leading back outside. It must have caved in a few centuries ago, but that doesn't mean we can't still use it. I'm pretty sure just the entrance collapsed in, so if we clear the rubble we should be able to get through."

"Might as well give it a shot," Dai said, shrugging his shoulders. "Not like we have many options left."

"Everybody stand back," Ogremon instructed, raising the club over his head. "Pummel Whack!"

There was an echoing crash as the rocks tumbled away from the entrance, and Matty had to shield his eyes as his vision was assaulted by a bright ray of sunlight streaming down the passageway.

As Ogremon had predicted, just the entrance to the tunnel had caved in, and the rest of the passage was clear. It sloped up steeply towards the sunshine, and it didn't take a genius to realize the tunnel led to the surface.

As the shaft of sunlight streamed over Ryoko's pale face, making the injured boy's blond hair shine like spun gold, Matty watched as his cousin stirred, the golden-haired Digidestined's blue eyes slowly opening. As Ryoko turned his face towards the sun, he blinked a few times and murmured, "Are we home yet?"

Tai was careful to keep a firm grip on the golden-haired Digidestined, and smiling, the former leader said gently, "Almost. Just a little bit longer."

Ryoko nodded before letting his head drop back onto Tai's shoulder, and though he closed his eyes again, Matty knew his cousin was still conscious.

Slowly, they all made their way up the steep slope, with Matty turning back every once in a while to give his brother a helping hand, and as they finally staggered out into the sunshine, Matty took a moment to let the cold breeze wash over his face. It appeared to be late afternoon, and as he gazed at the snowy mountains all around him, he said, "Where are we?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but we're quite a distance away from where we started out," Joe replied, tapping something out on Kari's D-Terminal. "Izzy says the closest gate is to the west of us."

"In that case, we should probably have Embermon digivolve again," Matt said quietly, putting an arm around his wife. "I don't think Dai and Ryoko would make it if we had to trek all the way through the snow."

"You okay with that, Embermon?" Dai asked, leaning wearily on Sam's shoulder.

The rookie nodded, and beaming at his partner, he said, "Sure, I've got plenty of energy left!"

Once the little rookie had digivolved into his champion form again, they all climbed onto Dragermon's back. As they quickly flew west, Matty thought he spotted something dark slipping out of sight high on the cliffs, but he dismissed the idea without much difficulty. With all the time he'd spent being assaulted by shadows, naturally he must be seeing things.

"You okay, Matty?" Mickey asked, slipping an arm around his shoulders.

Matty nodded, and giving his brother a reassuring smile, he said, "I'm fine. It'll be nice to be home though."

"Yes, it will," Mickey agreed, huddling close to him for warmth.

As they flew towards the gate, Matty thought of DarkAngelicmon.

Deep down inside, he knew there was still some good left inside the fallen angel's heart. He had seen it for himself, and because of that, somehow he was going to have to find a way to bring that spark of light back to life again.

Phelesmon

Net, Northern Hemisphere, Digital World

Phelesmon waited until Dragermon had flown past him before stepping back out towards the edge of the cliff, and watching the large champion disappear into the distance, he crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head in disgust.

Persiamon had told him to stay behind while she kept watch over the entrance to the Ice Caverns where the Digidestined had first entered, but seeing the humans now so far from where they first entered the Digital World, and the fact that they appeared to be unscathed, could only mean they had accomplished their goal of obtaining the Spirit Chip.

It was a rather disappointing thought to learn he had wasted almost two whole days waiting patiently on the mountain only to receive unsatisfactory news, and letting out a hiss of annoyance, he angrily flapped his wings.

There was no sign of DarkAngelicmon or any of the fallen angel's companions, and thus he could only conclude they were either all dead or they were still wandering somewhere within the Ice Caverns.

Dead would be the most ideal outcome, but perhaps if they were still alive, they would never find their way out again and end up dead regardless.

Once again they have failed our master, just as I suspected they would. It will be interesting to see how the Ruler of Darkness responds.

It was a most pleasant thought, and smiling to himself, he quickly spread his wings and leaped into the air, having made his decision to return to Persiamon's side.

The feline digimon needed to be informed of what had happened, and from there they would return to their master to inform him of the details.

Perhaps soon he would be allowed to fight, and once permission had been granted, he would deal with the Digidestined and that deceitful fallen angel himself.