Chapter 20: Hidden Power
I tried my best to summon up whatever courage I might have had left. It wasn't easy, though, being trapped in a tiny room with no windows for light, or for that matter even torches. It was pitch black during the night, and almost as dark during the day. The two were becoming indistinguishable. But the thing that really drained my courage was the fact that I couldn't digivolve. Myotismon had taken Will's digivice and hidden it somewhere else in the castle. Not that we could have looked for it. I found it kind of strange that he had left Will his crest. I suppose that without the digivice, the crest was useless, but it didn't really make sense to me at first. I don't think it made sense to Will either.
"C'mon, Will. We've been in tougher spots than this," I tried to cheer him up. "Remember when we were off in that forest and Shark came and found us?"
"Shark's not coming, Drakamon. He has no idea where we are," Will said. He was staring at the tag and crest, kneeding it between his fingers.
"Well maybe not Shark, but someone will come," I said again.
"I doubt that. What reason would they have?" Will still didn't look up.
"Perhaps Kari will come," I said, hoping Will would cheer up. He didn't respond at all. He just kept staring at the crest. I laid my head down and tried to get some sleep.
"I wonder what would happen if I just broke it," Will said. I looked up.
"Broke what?" I questioned.
"The crest," he said, gripping an end of it with each hand.
"No! Will you can't do that!" I said, leaping up.
"Well why not. This thing is nothing but trouble. It's only caused pain," Will moaned.
"It's kept Myotismon out of the real world," I said.
"It also brought him back to life in the first place," Will replied. "And it's only going to continue to be a problem. If I just break it, then the problem's solved." He looked so sad, I almost couldn't respond. He began to try and bend the crest, and I couldn't think of any way to stop him. But suddenly the door opened and light flooded into the room. Will let the crest dangle again.
"Well, have you enjoyed your stay?" Myotismon laughed. Will slowly stood, keeping his eyes closed. I just stared at the vampire, trying my best to look frightening. It didn't help that I was shaking.
"I'm sure you're both wondering why you're still alive. It wouldn't make much sense for you to be, now would it?" the undead digimon grinned.
"You plan on using us as bait, right?" Will asked quietly.
"Not at all. I am actually interested in your crest, child," Myotismon grinned. "You see, I have an experiment that I would like to try out."
"What kind of experiment?" I demanded as bravely as I could.
"Well, as you know, that crest brought me back into being here in the digital world. I want to know more about it. But before I go on, I should explain something to you. The crests, all of them, have incredible powers. These powers extend far beyond just digivolution. You and your pathetic friends haven't the slightest idea how truly powerful your crests are. If even one of you discovered how to harness the true strength imbedded in your crests, I doubt I would be able to defeat you. However, none of you are even close to achieving that level of understanding. I, however, am beginning to understand the true nature of your crests, and you are going to help me. I am going to study your crest, learn what gives it strength, and then I will be able to steal the power of all of the crests for myself."
"But the other crests are already destroyed," Will said. "They're being used to protect the barrier, only dark crests aren't."
"Ah, see how little you know? Those frail objects which you call tags and crests are nothing more than basic tools to help you harness the energy. Even though the crests fuel the barrier between the worlds, their power is still accessible to those who understand how. And now, with your help, I will harness their power for myself!"
"Spirit Fang!" I launched a duel blast of energy from my fangs, but he swatted it away like a fly.
"You need to know when you are beaten, child," he said as he glared at me. "Crimson Lightning!" The blast knocked me into the back wall of the room. Pain shot through my entire body, and the room seemed to bend and warp and change colors around me. I fell on the ground, barely twitching. Will ran over and picked me up.
"You both are pathetic fools. Just like all of your friends, you lack the common sense to know when you're beaten," he said condescendingly as he walked away and slammed the door shut, leaving us once again in the darkness.
"Are you alright?" Will asked as he held me close.
"I'll be fine," I managed to choke out. Will looked at his crest again.
"I guess it was stupid to think that I could fix everything that easily," he said sadly. "Why'd we have to get stuck with this stupid thing," he screamed as he let his head fall back against the wall.
"I don't know Will, but we've got to do something with it now. Myotismon said that it has incredible powers. We just need to find them before he does," I said.
"It probably has the power to kill all life within twenty miles," Will said.
"C'mon Will, it might be able to help us. What can it do right now?" I asked.
"It can make you digivolve to ultimate, and, well, but we don't have the digivice, so that can't work," Will said.
"Yeah," I said, trying to think of some way out. I stared up at Will. He hadn't looked this sad since we had been alone in that forest so many years ago. I could remember what was going through my mind back then, and right now I felt almost as bad as I had those three years ago. But Will's eyes suddenly lit up, almost as if he had figured out some great mystery. He hadn't, but he had thought of something.
"You know what else this crest can do, Drakamon?" he asked, sounding much better.
"What?" I inquired, unsure of what he was thinking.
"Open a gate to the Dark Ocean," Will said slowly, almost not believing it. It suddenly dawned on me what he meant. We had an escape route the entire time, and didn't know it!
"Let's go!" I said, temporarily forgetting my pain and jumping up, which quickly reminded me of it. "Ow!"
"Careful, okay. Try not to move if you don't have to. We still don't have the digivice."
"Will, we can worry about that later. For one thing, sitting in this room isn't helping anybody, except maybe Myotismon. Second, we've got to tell everyone what he just told us about the crests. I mean, this explains why Gomamon digivolved to Zudomon! Or at least, it might. The digivice is the least of our worries right now. Well, maybe not the least, but it's small compared to other stuff we could be worrying about!" I was shaking again, but now with excitement. I guess I get excited really easily.
"Alright, I guess getting out of here is priority number one," Will said. He gripped the crest tightly.
"For all the trouble that thing causes, it sure saves us an awful lot," I said.
"Once again, Drakamon, we wouldn't need saving if it didn't cause trouble," Will said. "I guess for now it's useful, though," and with that, the darkness intensified, and the physical form of the room began to slip away. Slowly, the dark light inside the world of the Dark Ocean filled our vision. The grays and blacks, while not exciting colors, were a welcome respite from the pitch dark room which had been our home for some unknown amount of time.
We were on a sand bar; somewhere out in the middle of the ocean. Far away, we could see the flicker of a black beam of light, probably the light house, far away. The calm, motionless ocean surrounded us, but it didn't even seem that dark this time. It seemed like it was sad, and lonely, like it had lost something that it could never find again. I don't know if it's possible for oceans to feel things, but that day, the ocean seemed to radiate sadness.
"Alright Will, let's go home," I said, feeling that we had spent enough time marveling at the strange colorless landscape.
"Wait," Will said. He was staring at the small flicker of light across the water. "I think I need to stay for a little while."
"What are you talking about?" I asked him.
"I don't know, I just feel like . . . I don't know. I need to see the light house. There's something there that I need to do, or something."
"We can't come back later?" I asked, really wanting to get home.
"Do you think you're okay enough to swim?" Will asked. I twisted my body around a little, testing my muscles. The pain was subsiding. Also, it would be easier for me to swim, with the water supporting most of my weight.
"Yeah, I guess," I said. "Do we have to?"
Will didn't respond. He slipped off his shoes and shoved them into his pack, and then did the same with his sweater and shirt, leaving his jeans on, and the crest, dangling next to the small cross pendant that was a gift from his mother, who was still in America with his brother and sister.
He turned back to me, trying to discern whether or not I really wanted to go. I just smiled. I figured he had to have a good reason for doing this.
"Let's get going," he said as he started to wade out into the ocean. I followed quickly, sliding into the freezing cold water. We had never swum in the Dark Ocean before, but it certainly seemed calm enough, and Will was a good swimmer. The water, despite being icy cold, felt good on my aching body, and I began to test my muscles more and more as the pain subsided. Will lost track of the ocean floor and began swimming methodically toward the black light. I followed close behind, hoping that when we got there, we'd be able to take a break from adventuring, even just a short one.