Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: A little bit shorter than what my chapters have been like in a long while, but stopping it here is a good lead up into what's to come. Things are about to get interesting!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 330: Wings of Darkness

Makiya 'Mickey' Takaishi

Net, Northern Hemisphere, Digital World

Letting out a soft gasp, Mickey slowly opened his eyes, and gazing into the pitch black interior of the icy room, it took him a moment to gather his thoughts. A quick glance at his D-Coder indicated it was just after one o'clock in the morning, and though he felt wide awake rather than groggy, he couldn't figure out what could have caused him to jerk so suddenly out of such a deep sleep. There was nothing in his immediate vicinity to indicate there was anything out of the ordinary, and yet he still felt uneasy.

Is it because of my father's past? Now that I know the truth about his struggles and experiences with the Powers of Darkness, has that made me more aware of the insecurities in my own heart? Am I just more aware of the darkness now, and that has allowed me to become more in tune with the shadows?

He couldn't be sure, but a part of him did feel like he was on the right track. There was only one thing he didn't know for certain, and that was whether or not he could be as strong as his father when it came to resisting the darkness.

Dad was never sucked in the way Mom and Ken were. Is there any hope at all that I can be as strong as him? Matty fell for the shadows and their tricks, and he's more like Dad than I am. If even Matty can't escape them then how am I going to be able to?

The thought was a bit depressing, and letting out a soft sigh, Mickey slowly sat up in his sleeping bag. As his amber eyes adjusted to the darkness, he called out softly, "I know you're there even if I can't see you."

There was no response, and turning his attention to Sam, Mickey smiled at the raven-haired Digidestined, who had fallen asleep facing towards him. Sam's pale skin looked ghostly white in the darkness, and wanting some sort of human contact, Mickey gently brushed his fingers over the other boy's raven hair before taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. In response, Sam murmured something in his sleep before returning the gesture, and once again focusing his attention on the dark room, Mickey said quietly, "I'm not going to let you in, and I'm not going to fall for your tricks. You can try, but I'll bring you into the light before you lure me into the darkness."

I've seen what happens far too many times now when a person allows the shadows to get inside their head. I won't let that happen to me. I might break in other ways, but I refuse to let them feed off my insecurities. You won't take my heart or my light.

In the far corner of the room near the door, Mickey was sure he saw a pair of glowing violet eyes wink out before the shape moving in the darkness disappeared, and letting out the breath he had been holding, he kept a firm grip on Sam's slender fingers. Though the shadows had likely been watching him all night, he was surprised to discover that he didn't really feel frightened or threatened by them. Strangely enough, the shadows were not what had woken him from slumber. There was something else bothering him, something that didn't feel right, and judging by the look of his digimon partner, he wasn't the only one who could sense that something felt unpleasant.

Even from across the room, I can tell Halomon and Celestimon are restless. Their sleep is being disturbed, but from what I have no idea. I wonder if it's because of the two fallen angels that have been stalking us all night. Have they finally come right into the village?

If that was true, Mickey figured he should probably say something, and glancing at the sleeping bodies snoozing around him, he was able to discern that Ken and Yolei were not in the room. Their digimon partners were also missing, indicating that the married couple were likely on watch duty. Izzy had also fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around his laptop, and knowing how much work the computer expert put into his research in order to keep them all safe, he was reluctant to wake the older male from a well deserved rest.

Maybe I should go find Ken and Yolei?

Before he could come to a decision, Sam suddenly stirred beside him, and reaching for him in the darkness with his other hand, the raven-haired Digidestined murmured sleepily, "Mickey, is something wrong?"

Thankfully, the other boy couldn't see the way his cheeks instantly turned red, and quickly pulling his hand away, Mickey whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Can't sleep?" Sam mumbled, making an attempt to sit up.

Mickey quickly shook his head, and glancing around to make sure the rest of the group was still unconscious, he said quietly, "Something woke me."

There's no sense in trying to hide the truth. He can already tell I'm uneasy. If I try to deny it, he'll see right through my attempts to lie. Besides, I don't like lying to him, and if there really is something amiss, we should warn the others.

Looking much more alert and fairly concerned, Sam immediately sat up and said quickly, "Did you see something? Hear something?"

In response, Mickey slowly shook his head, and keeping his eyes down, he murmured, "No, nothing like that. Just a feeling."

"What kind of feeling?"

Mickey jumped as the raven-haired Digidestined suddenly moved closer to him, and feeling painfully aware of the other boy's presence, he managed to stammer, "I-I don't know really. I just...something doesn't feel right, and it woke me up."

He probably thinks I'm going crazy. Sometimes I seriously wonder if I am...

For a moment, they simply sat there in silence, and then touching the sleeve of his coat, Sam said calmly, "Do you think we should wake the others?"

"I don't want to cause any unnecessary stress or fear if it turns out I'm just overreacting..."

I should tell him about the shadows, but is there any point? They're going to follow me regardless, and the only person who can stop them is myself. If I did tell him, he'd want to know why, and that would mean I'd have to tell him the truth about my feelings...

Sam's warm hands suddenly came to rest gently on his shoulders, and gazing deeply into his eyes, the raven-haired Digidestined said firmly, "You never overreact. If you say there's something wrong, I trust your judgment. Better to say something now then regret it later if it turns out there really is something wrong."

This is why I love you. You're so supportive, and you always take me seriously without questioning my feelings.

Sam's gorgeous eyes looked like two liquid pools of midnight blue sky in the darkness, and feeling flustered, Mickey said shyly, "Okay, I guess we should wake Izzy then. I feel bad, though, since he's probably pretty tired after all the effort he's been putting into finding out what's really going on behind the scenes."

"He'll survive," Sam replied, sounding amused. "And besides, Halomon and Celestimon look like they're both sharing the same nightmare, and I'd bet my D-Coder on their behaviour having something to do with the way you're feeling."

Mickey couldn't deny he felt the same, and glancing over at his twin, who was curled up on Sam's other side, he took a deep breath before climbing to his feet. Reaching down, he held out his hand, and Sam immediately took it, which made him blush. Somehow, he managed to pull the other boy up without embarrassing himself, and together they carefully made their way over to Izzy's side. Crouching down, Mickey gently shook the computer expert's shoulder and said, "Sorry to wake you, but we think there might be something going on."

Izzy was quick to respond to his touch, and rolling over to face him, the computer expert said sleepily, "Has something changed?"

"I'm not sure, but I think so."

That was enough to catch the older male's attention, and sitting up, Izzy studied his face for a moment before glancing at Sam, who was crouching beside him. Something about their demeanour must have convinced him because instead of asking more questions, the computer expert simply nodded and said, "I'll go get Yolei, Ken, and Frigimon while you wake the others and then we'll talk. Sound good?"

Mickey nodded, and turning to Sam, he said in what he hoped was a calm voice, "Would you mind waking Matty and the others while I go wake our digimon?"

"Not at all."

As the raven-haired Digidestined moved off to contend with the human members of their team, Mickey reluctantly headed towards their digimon partners. Now that Sam was no longer right by his side, he felt strangely cold and restless. Attempting to ignore the unpleasant sensation, he knelt next to his partner and said, "Halomon, wake up."

At first, the little rookie didn't respond, but after receiving a couple of affectionate nudges, Halomon sat up with a gasp and cried, "Mickey, he's here!"

"Huh? Who's here?"

Someone we know? It has to be. A celestial digimon, I'm sure of it.

Looking disoriented and confused, Halomon shook his head as if to clear it, and crawling into his lap, the little rookie mumbled, "He's close. He's right here."

"Too close," Celestimon suddenly interrupted, his own groggy words sounding garbled and difficult to interpret.

Mickey quickly pulled the other little rookie into his arms alongside Halomon, and holding the two digimon tightly against his chest, he frowned and said in a soothing tone, "I could tell the two of you were distressed just by the way you were sleeping."

"I could sense him even in my sleep," Halomon whimpered, nuzzling against him.

"I know. It's okay. Take a moment to relax. We'll talk once Izzy gets back with Ken and Yolei. Firigmon will be here, too."

This seemed to calm the little rookie somewhat, and clinging to Halomon, Celestimon buried his face against the other rookie's shoulder before letting his eyes fall closed again. At this point, their anxious voices were enough to wake the rest of the digimon, and sitting up, Embermon said in a demanding tone, "What's going on?"

"Is someone attacking the village?" Dovemon cried.

Wanting to reassure the digimon, who were all currently gazing at him with wide eyes, Mickey said quickly, "It's nothing as drastic as that. Why don't we join the others and wait for Izzy before we start making assumptions."

"Sounds logical to me," Armadillomon agreed, lumbering to his feet.

"This better be worth losing sleep over," Gatomon grumbled, earning herself an amused look from Patamon.

Feeling a little guilty for having caused such a commotion, Mickey led the group of digimon towards the centre of the room, and meeting him in the middle with the rest of the humans, Sam said dryly, "Now you've got Matty really worried."

"Are you okay?" the younger twin demanded, his amber eyes flashing as he wriggled past Sam to confront him. "Did something bad happen? Are you hurt?"

Mickey was quick to reassure his brother, and putting his arm around Matty, he said in a soothing tone, "No, nothing like that. You really shouldn't automatically think the worst and start scaring our parents for no reason."

"I will admit, I am worried," his mother pointed out, her arms going around both of them. "Did something wake you?"

"Yes, but I'll wait until Izzy's back before I say anything more."

"I think that's him now," his father interrupted, nodding towards the door.

The sound of bodies moving in the hallway was a dead giveaway, and a moment later Izzy came through the entryway with Ken, Yolei, and their partners in tow. Frigimon was the last to enter, and placing her hands on her hips, Yolei said hotly, "If some evil digimon has come to bother us at this time of the night, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!"

"She would, too," Dai muttered to Ryoko, who was making a valiant attempt not to smile.

"Calm down, Yolei," Hawkmon sighed, his weary tone indicating he had become accustomed to his partner's outbursts, though not by choice. "Why don't we all have a seat so we can sort this matter out in proper fashion."

"What, you mean like civilised humans and digimon?" Rosa joked before settling herself next to her husband. "We do that around here?"

Cody let out a soft snort in response, and as the group finally settled down, Ken said seriously, "Why don't we start at the beginning? From my understanding, Mickey has informed Izzy that something seems out of place?"

"We didn't see anything out of the ordinary while we were keeping watch," Wormmon informed the group.

"And nothing inside the igloo seems out of place," Frigimon added from his slightly cramped position in front of the door.

Now that everyone was awake, Mickey could tell the dark shadows had left for the time being, and refusing to dwell on them, he said carefully, "I don't think it's something we can see. Isn't that right, Halomon? Celestimon?"

The two digimon were still sitting in his lap, and nodding his head, Halomon said solemnly, "He's here. DarkAngelicmon's here."

At those words, a collective gasp echoed throughout the room, and huddling between Sam and Matty with his parents and their partners sitting close behind him, Mickey suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Despite how shocked the others looked, he wasn't surprised at all. In fact, he figured as soon as he woke up that it might be something along those lines, and ignoring the pounding of his own heartbeat slamming against his ribcage, he said nervously, "And what about the other two celestial digimon?"

"They're still here," Celestimon confirmed. "They're with DarkAngelicmon. If I had to make a guess, I would say that all three of them are watching us from just outside the village."

"At this point they've probably figured out that Dianamon is the village leader and this is her house," Izzy agreed. "As it's the largest igloo in the village, common sense would dictate that this is where we would spend the night."

"Great, so we're sitting ducks," Ryoko groaned, making a face.

The golden-haired Digidestined was sitting off to the left with Dai, Takara, Ken, Yolei, and their partners, and in front of Frigimon, Izzy, Mina, Rosa, Cody, and their partners were all squished together in what little space they had. Despite the somber atmosphere, Mickey was very aware of Sam's body pressing against his side, and attempting to focus on the two digimon sitting in his lap, he said, "Is that why both of you were having trouble sleeping?"

"It's because we could feel DarkAngelicmon," Celestimon explained, gazing up at him with large emerald eyes. "And when I say that, I don't just mean his presence close by. We can also feel his mood, and he seems...agitated?"

"Like he's nervous about something," Halomon said softly. "Or maybe...more like...he's unsettled by the darkness?"

But...the darkness surrounds him. How can he be unsettled by it?

It was an interesting question, and clearly frustrated, Matty said bluntly, "That doesn't make any sense at all. Unless...maybe it's because of the other angel digimon?"

"If he's with them that definitely means those two evil angels are with the Ruler of Darkness," Takara pointed out, her fingers curling around Dai's hand for comfort. "And if for some reason he doesn't get on well with them, that could explain why he might feel a bit restless and frustrated."

That did make quite a lot of sense, and sounding disappointed, Rosa said, "I knew I should have taken a dip in the hot springs when I still had the chance."

"I second that," Dai complained. "Not fair. Only Sam and Matty had a chance to go."

"Considering the circumstances, I don't think now is the best time to cause a fuss about it," Alopemon said dryly.

"Talk about not getting your priorities straight," Gotsumon joked.

Even if what Alopemon and Gotusmon had said was true, Mickey still felt bad for the rest of the team, and raising his eyebrows, Izzy said, "You can all still go in the morning."

"We can?" Dovemon asked, looking confused. "But what about DarkAngelicmon and the others?"

My thoughts exactly. Now that DarkAngelicmon's here, they must be putting their plan into motion...

"You said they're outside the village, not inside the village, correct?" Izzy asked, directing his question towards Celestimon.

"That's right. They're definitely close by, but as far as I can tell they haven't made any attempts to actually enter the village."

"And chances are they won't, at least for the time being."

"How can you be so certain, Izzy?" Tentomon asked, buzzing around his partner's head before settling down next to the computer expert.

"Of course that's not one hundred precent guaranteed, but I have a feeling if they were planning to confront us in the middle of the night, they would have done so by now," the computer expert explained. "I'm sure they're aware we have somebody on watch duty, and no doubt they do have some kind of plan, but if DarkAngelicmon was intending to act right at this moment he wouldn't have allowed us the time to become aware and watchful of his presence. If they try anything, I suspect it will be tomorrow, but as always we should still be on our guard and double up our watches just to be on the safe side. Two at the back and two at the front should suffice."

So in other words they intend to continue watching us tonight in the hopes that we'll falter and make mistakes. They want to scare me to push me even closer towards the darkness, and what if they try to use Matty to achieve that goal?

He certainly wouldn't put it past DarkAngelicmon to attempt such a thing, and that made him wonder. Could the fallen angel digimon also sense the shadows lurking close by?

Is he just as aware of them as I am, and if he is, can he sense they don't scare me?

It was surprising in a way, since he had every right to be frightened, and yet once again the shadows didn't really concern him all that much. If anything, he was more worried about Sam and his brother. They were the true focus of his attention, thus his brain had no time or patience for the shadows.

DarkAngelicmon had his eyes on Matty. I just know it...

"Hey, Izzy...did Dianamon have any ideas about the excitement going on inside the castle on Cyber?" Dovemon asked, sounding curious. "If I recall, I thought that was one of the things we wanted to ask the villagers about."

Izzy looked thoughtful for a moment, and leaning forward, he said slowly, "That is actually one of the things I asked about while Dai and the others were doing their homework, and it's also included in the information I sent to Gennai and Taniko earlier."

"Apparently, Dianamon does seem to think whatever's going on in the castle is somehow related to the events taking place here in the Norther Hemisphere," Mina confirmed. "Except even she's not sure exactly how, though she did mention it could possibly have something to do with the Glacial Waterfalls."

"Oh, how so?" Glowmon asked, sounding intrigued.

Mina quickly exchanged a look with her partner, and flames flickering in the darkness, Candlemon said, "Maybe we should let Frigimon explain."

Wait...Does this have something to do with that uncomfortable feeling all the digimon seem to experience when they pass by the Glacial Waterfalls?

"Well, I dunno if I'm the best one to explain, but now that I think about it there's really only one reason why we would all feel uneasy passing by the Glacial Waterfalls," Frigimon said, rubbing sheepishly at the back of his head.

"Which would be?" Embermon demanded.

"Uh...well, you know. If the place has ties to the Powers of Darkness or something like that then all of this would make sense."

Mickey immediately felt his blood run cold, and turning to Izzy, he said quietly, "Have you confirmed this with Gennai?"

"I have," the computer expert acknowledged, though his expression remained calm and composed. "He feels the same and believes we're on the right track."

"Which would explain why the digimon at the castle would be in such a tizzy," Hawkmon sighed. "Anything involving the Powers of Darkness would excite them, especially if it means the Ruler of Darkness gains the upper hand on us."

Could the Glacial Waterfalls be like the Ice Caverns?

It was an interesting thought, and it caught Mickey by surprise. He wasn't exactly sure where it had come from, but now that it was at the forefront of his mind, the events surrounding his Spirit Chips were starting to make a little more sense. That being said, he wasn't quite ready to voice his suspicions to the rest of the group in case he was wrong.

I need more solid evidence before I say something. There's no sense in worrying the others for nothing if I'm wrong. Although, if I'm right it would also explain the shadows...

"If the Powers of Darkness have something to do with all of this that would also explain why Lucemon's here," Gatomon commented. "It is his field of expertise, after all."

"Gennai and I thought the same thing," Izzy confirmed, frowning slightly. "And it also might have something to do with DarkAngelicmon's true purpose for coming to the Northern Hemisphere, or should I say the reason why he was ordered to come here."

"Other than the Spirit Chip, you mean," Patamon spoke up.

Mickey sensed sudden movement behind him, and as his father reached out to place a gentle hand on his golden hair, the older man said seriously, "Do you think all of this also has something to do with why DarkAngelicmon and YukiOnnamon have been taking a bit of a back seat on the Spirit Chips lately?"

"Could be," Izzy agreed. "We still don't have enough information to say for certain, but that is a possibility."

"What I want to know most of all is if it has something to do with DarkAngelicmon and the Ruler of Darkness journeying to the Wall of Fire," Matty said quietly, his amber eyes sparkling strangely in the dim light of the lanterns that Rosa had taken upon herself to light earlier after everyone had woken up.

Truthfully, Mickey desperately wanted to know the same thing, and glancing uncertainly at his twin brother, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Though Matty was sitting close beside him, he suddenly felt very cold and afraid. The distance seemed farther then it was, and unable to stand the gap between them, he quickly moved closer to console himself. Sensing his distress and the need for them to connect, Matty quickly slipped an arm around his waist, and on his other side, he felt Sam hesitate before carefully edging back into his personal space. Since he had moved closer to Matty, that had taken him further away from Sam, and knowing the raven-haired Digidestined wasn't quite ready to leave his side just yet, he felt a pool of liquid warmth fill his heart. Thankfully, it slowly began to drive away the chill that had almost overtaken his whole body, and as a result he felt slightly better, his skin tingling pleasantly due to the other boy's subtle touch.

If felt so nice to have him close by when I was sleeping. It made me feel safe, even if it was just for a little while...

"If it does, nothing would surprise me anymore," Yolei grumbled, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat. "And what about that feline digimon who was asking too many questions earlier? Does she have something to do with all of this, too? Is she working for DarkAngelicmon, or what?"

"That we don't know," Izzy reminded the lavender-haired Digidestined. "You heard Dianamon yourself earlier. Even she can't be sure."

"Regardless, I have no doubt we'll find out soon enough," Cody responded.

"Once we learn more I'll have another talk with Gennai and Taniko. Until then, it's best not to assume too much. We don't want to get ourselves into any unnecessary trouble if we happen to guess wrong."

Despite the importance of Izzy's words, Mickey was having a hard time concentrating on the subject at hand. Instead, his attention was focused on his brother, who was the source of all the distractions that were making it difficult for him to focus. Though Matty wasn't saying anything, Mickey could tell the younger twin had something on his mind, and whatever that something was, it was likely going to cause him a lot of stress.

He's planning something. I can tell by the look in his eyes, and whatever it is I bet it's dangerous...

"He's definitely thinking hard about something," Sam suddenly whispered in his ear, causing him to gasp in surprise.

Mickey hadn't expected the raven-haired Digidestined to notice, and leaning into the other boy's shoulder, he mumbled, "I'm really worried now."

"Why?" Sam murmured, lightly touching his hand.

Biting his lower lip and avoiding the other boy's eyes, Mickey meekly twisted his hands together before whispering, "Because I can't tell what he's thinking, and I can always tell what he's thinking."

Not this time, though, and that determined look in his eyes is starting to scare me...

Behind him, he felt his mother stir, and letting out a deep sigh, the female Digidestined said, "As much as I agree that there's definitely something going on with the Powers of Darkness, that still doesn't help us with our current problem."

"You mean DarkAngelicmon?" Gatomon asked, her whiskers twitching with obvious adrenaline.

"Exactly," Ryoko butted in. "Now that he's here, what are we going to do about him? Even if he doesn't try anything tonight, he obviously still has something up his sleeve for tomorrow."

It's Matty. He's come for Matty...

Mickey could sense the shadows quivering with anticipation at the edge of his mind, but he refused to give them life. Without a face and a name, they couldn't hurt him or his brother. Without shape, without form, they were nothing, and they couldn't have any of that if he didn't let them.

DarkAngelicmon won't harm Matty, at least not right now, but what about the others? I bet they wouldn't hesitate to do terrible things to my brother...

"No matter who he wants, Mickey will still be the centre of attention. At the end of the day, it's still his Spirit Chip," Alopemon warned.

"So in other words we need to be proactive instead of reactive," Ken finished, exchanging a worried look with his wife.

For a moment there was silence, and then speaking up, Matty said slowly, "I bet nobody's going to like it, but...I have an idea."

I knew it...

Mickey instantly felt a sense of dread in his heart, but before he could even open his mouth, Dai said suspiciously, "What kind of idea?"

Please, Matty. Don't do anything stupid...

Taking a deep breath, the younger twin said boldly, "They're after Mickey's Spirit Chip, right? Well, if that's true then why make it easy for them?"

"What do you mean?" Takara asked, her tone indicating she was starting to feel nervous.

"You heard Ken," Matty said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "If we want to get our hands on the Spirit Chip first we need to be proactive."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Ryoko inquired, raising his eyebrows.

Matty's amber eyes were flashing, and the determined expression on his face indicated that whatever he had to say, he likely wasn't going to take no for an answer. "They've made it clear they want Mickey's Spirit Chip pretty badly, so let's make them work for it."

Gazing at his brother, Mickey was finding it difficult to speak, and unable to turn away, he managed to stammer, "I-if you mean what I think you mean..."

"That's exactly what I mean. How about you and I switch places? Let's see them try to manipulate you and steal your Spirit Chip when they have the wrong person."