I don't own Di-Gata Defenders or the Di-Gata Defender characters.

Chapter Six: The Way Of The Drevac

"Adam! Adam! Adaaaaam! Where are you Adam?! This isn't funny anymore!" [INot that it was ever funny but still not funny. I just can't believe it! I turn my back on him for one second and he disappears. Does he really not want to talk about the dream this much[/I?

Seth turned down another corridor and still no sign of Adam. How can anyone disappear so fast? Where could he have possibly gone? He couldn't have just disappeared into thin air. He was about to cry out Adam's name again when he caught Adam out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw that he was in a bedroom looking at a painting of some guy in military clothes.

Finally! "Adam, what are you doing here? Why did you disappear like that?"

No response.

"Hello? Adam? Can you hear me?"

Still no response.

Is he zoned out again? Or is he just ignoring me? An annoyed expression appeared on his face as he thought I bet he's probably just ignoring me. Stupid little Infinis creep.

"Hey Adam, listen when I'm talking to you" growled Seth as he grabbed a hold of Adam's left shoulder.

"Huh, what?" murmured Adam as he flinched at the contact and turned to face Seth. "Did you say something… um… Seth?"

"Yeah, why were you ignoring me?"

"Ignoring you? I wasn't ignoring you."

"Are you saying that you didn't hear anything I said?"

"No…. I guess not. Why? What did I miss?"

"Nothing. Soooo… what's so interesting about this painting?"

"Painting? What painting?" Adam looked behind and said "oh, that painting. I don't know. Was I looking at it?"

Seth blinked a few times before saying "yes, I believe you were looking at it. You don't remember? Think, Adam, you've got to remember something."

"Remember… what do I remember? Oh, yeah! I was walking beside you and you were asking me questions about the dream, so I started walking slower and slower until I could sneak off without you noticing." A small frown appeared on Seth's face after hearing that. "So I walked down a few corridors until I came across a closed door. I felt a desire to go in there, so I opened the door and searched the room. When I came across this painting, I just stopped and thought 'boy this guy looks familiar' and then I…"

"Wait! He looks familiar? Have you seen him somewhere before?"

"I don't know. I don't remember coming across his picture before but…"

"But what?"

"That symbol on his chest looks veeeery familiar. I'm certain I've seen that before, but where?" Adam put his hand under his chin and put on a thoughtful expression. "Where, where, where did I see it before? Oh, wait. Now I remember."

"Really? Where did you see it?"

Adam turned to Seth and said "I saw it on a journal that I found in an old house."

"A journal in an old house?"

"Yeah, according to the journal, it was used as a temporary base for his troops and... Hey, it's V-Moth"

"V-Moth?" Seth turned around and saw V-Moth flying right up to them all excited and full of energy. Seth smiled as he exclaimed "they must have found the device! Come on, Adam, let's go!"

Seth immediately darted after V-Moth; Adam, on the other hand, took one last inquisitive look at the painting before running after them. "Hey guys, wait for me!"

"You snooze, you lose Adam!"

V-Moth, Seth and Adam arrived at the door to find Kara, Mel, Rion and Erik waiting at the door. The first thing they noticed was that Mel was giving them an angry look while Rion was giving them an apologetic look.

Oh, this is going to be bad thought Adam. Maybe I can blame everything on Seth.

V-Moth returned to Kara's hand as she said "took you guys long enough."

"Sorry, we had a little problem, nothing too big. Why aren't you guys in yet?"

"We can't get the doors to open" said Erik. "And before you even try, we already tried using our stones. It and the walls are sigil-harden."

"Maybe my Phase Stone can get us in" said Adam as he stepped forward. He took out his stone and cried out "go Phase Stone" as he chucked it at the door. Thunk! Everyone, especially Adam, watched in surprise as the Phase Stone hit the door and just bounced back.

"It… it… it didn't work!" cried Adam. "I don't understand. Why didn't it work? The Phase Stone allows you to pass through anything, even if it's sigil-harden. I'm going to try the wall."

Adam once again threw the Phase Stone, but this time at the wall. The result was the same, it just bounced off.

"Omnikrag. Take form!"

The statues all around them came apart and move in front of Seth as Omnikrag began to take shape.

"I guess the floors must be sigil-harden too" muttered Seth.

"What do you wish me to do?" asked Omnikrag.

"See if you can knock down that door."

"No problem" he said as he punched the door. The moment his fist touched the door, however, he immediately turned back into his stone which went flying back as Seth.

"Whoa!" cried Seth as he caught the stone. "What was that about?" Seth eyes blazed with angry as he said "okay, this door is asking for it. Nooova Henge!" Seth threw the Nova Stone at the door and eagerly waited for the impact.

He was in for a disappointment. The moment the attack hit the door, the door and walls glowed blue and then the door shot a beam of blue energy right at Seth.

"Look out!" cried Adam as he pushed Seth to the ground. The beam barely missed Adam and hit the fountain instead. At first nothing happened, then the fountain started glowing blue and then it fall to dust. Seth and Adam got up and joined the others in staring at the remains of the fountain.

"Okaaay" said Erik, "apparently this door must be more than just sigil-harden."

"Oh really? What was your first clue? The fact that the Phase Stone and Nova Stone both failed or the fact that the door actually tried to attack Seth? Because those were some pretty good clues."

"Ha ha Mel" said Erik. "I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"Well, it sure didn't seem like it."

"Yeah, well you…"

"Enough guys, enough. This argument isn't helping. Erik, can you figure out what's going on?"

"Well, Seth" said Erik as he turned back to the door "I don't have a clue." He pointed his gauntlet at the door and began pressing buttons. "Hmmm…hey Seth?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you scan the door with your visor?"

"Um sure" said Seth as he turned it on "but I don't see how… By the power of Vitus! What is going on?!"

"What are you picking up?"

"My visor recognizes sigils but at the same time it can't determine what they are. There seems to be some sort of interference."

"Interesting. Well, my gauntlet says that there's some sort of strange energy surrounding this room and that it's coming from this door. This door must be made out of some sort of special material." A big smile appeared on Erik's mouth and his eyes lit up as he said "this is amazing. This is beyond sigil-harden. No stone works on it and it can attack whoever attacks it. It's the ultimate defense. We'll probably never come across something like this again. We are so lucky to be able to witness such … such… such…"

"Yeah, we're so lucky" grumbled Mel. "The device we need to help us save the realm is behind an impregnable door and we don't have the key."

"The key?..."

"Yeah, the key."

"…The key?..."

"Yes, the key! The door is locked so you probably need a key to get in."

"…The key."

"Look, Adam, is there a reason you keep saying that because it's starting to get annoying."

"Yes… it mentioned the key."

"It mentioned the key? What mentioned the key?"

"The journal…"

Everything stared at Adam with confusion while Seth pushed past Erik to walk over to him. As he got closer, he noticed that Adam's eyes were blank and were out of focus.

"Adam!" He shook him; no response. "Adam!" He shook him harder; still no response. He sighed and asked "Adam, you're talking about the journal before, right?"

Adam nodded his head slowly, his eyes still out of focus.

Seth was relieved to get a response but he would have been happier if Adam had appeared livelier. The look on his face and those empty eyes kind of creep him out. Seriously, who wouldn't be scared? I hope the others can't quite see this, especially Mel.

"What did the journal say?"

"It said many things."

"I meant about the key." Grrr. Even when he's out of it, he's still plays games with me.

"It was written by the twentieth Drevac who…"

"Excuse me, but I only want to know about the key."

"…Carried with him the key to the abomination that was surrounded by the Sacred Stones of Arvkarc in the Shrine of Aquinae. The Shrine which have been guarded by the fifth and sixth Drevacs for so many generations."

"The Shrine of Aquinae? The abomination?" Erik put his hand under his chin as he went into deep thought. "The abomination could very well be the device we're looking for. From the looks of things, this clan was not a fan of technology. But what's with the twentieth Drevac and the other Drevacs?"

"According to the journal, he belonged to a clan of mercenaries whose leader is always named Drevac. They stood by the honor of the sword and Drevacs were usually chosen for the qualities they had. Upon the ceremony that made them leaders, they cast away their names that they had since birth and took on the name of Drevac."

"They were mercenaries? No wonder everyone in the pictures were dressed in militaristic clothes. I wonder why they had their leaders change their name to Drevac?"

"He wrote down that it was an old story that meant more than anything to him and the troops. A long time ago an army attacked a defenseless village. The reason for the attack had been long forgotten but the memory of the horrid event lives on. So many lives were lost and so much more would have been if it was not for her. The few villagers that had survived were rescued by a beautiful and mysterious maiden who had appeared out of nowhere.

"After she had vanquished the enemies, she turned to them and told them to head for the wasteland until they came across a castle. 'Inside, you will find an old man named Drevac. Tell him that Aquinae sent you and he will take you in.'

"Some refused to listen and went somewhere else but most believed her and headed out to the wasteland. They found the castle, as well as the old man who gladly took them in when he heard them say Aquinae's message. He showed them the Sacred Stones of Arvkarc and told them how they contained magical properties and were given to him by Aquinae.

"Everyone was happy at the castle until an even bigger army than the first one showed up. They had found out about the defeat of the first army from the deserters whom they had killed and had come to finish the job. They told Drevac that they would spare him if he gave up the villagers. Drevac refused and told them that if they attacked the castle they will face the protection of Aquinae.

"The army and some of the villagers thought he was an old fool. The army attacked the castle but Drevac had activated the Sacred Stones which placed a barrier over the castle that either nullified their attacks or attacked them back.

"The army fought their hardest against the barrio despite the horrible losses that they were experiencing. They were determined to destroy the villagers. They fought and fought until their numbers were very low. The General then decided to call the people cowards for hiding behind the barrier but Drevac told him they were the cowards for attacking a defenseless village. The General told him that the fight didn't concern him and that he was just putting himself as risk for nothing.

"Drevac then challenged the General to a one-on-one fight to prove that he was not a coward. The General agreed hoping that taking down the old man would destroy the villagers' courage. Drevac dressed up in his old armor and took out his old sword and went to see the General. The fight was not as easy as the General had hoped; Drevac proved to be an excellent swordsman despite his age. The fight was the most memorable fight that anyone present had ever seen. However, there could be only one victor and the victor was Drevac.

"Drevac was about the strike down the General when Aquinae once again appeared and stopped him. 'Do not kill this man, Drevac. I will not allow you to taint your sword with his blood. Taking down the follower does no one good.' She then turned to the General and the remainder of his men. 'Your leader is dead. He has fallen to the very vices that he strived so hard for. You have been declared villains and there is a price on all of your heads. If you do not believe me, then risk your life and return to your burned homes. If you believe me, then I command you to protect the very villagers whose lives you sought to take. I am your new leader and Drevac is your new commander. If you refuse, then so be it but if you accept, a good life awaits you.'

"The remainder of the army listened and swore upon their honor and on the name of Aquinae that they would protect them till their deaths. They kept their promise and more. They taught the villagers how to fight and Drevac gave them the weapons which he owned but had barely been used. He told the villagers that Aquinae had told him to collect as many weapons as possible, like as if she knew that they would one day come.

"Once again, everyone was happy until the day that Drevac died. With his last dying breath, Drevac summoned the General and told him that the castle was now his and that the people inside were now his people. The General was surprised, pleased and sad. He had come to know Drevac and was awed by his honor and bravery. When he left the room, Drevac, his greatest friend, was dead and he was now the people's savior. Before someone could call him by his name, he stopped him and said 'do not say that name, it no longer belongs to me. I am the second Drevac.' Since then, they were known as the Drevac Clan and all of their leaders were to be called Drevac."

Total and complete silence. Adam shook his head and looked around with surprised eyes; apparently free from whatever trance in was in.

"Wow" said Kara, "that was a very long story."

"And very informative too" said Erik. "Where did he find this story, again?"

"In a journal he found in an empty house that was used as a temporary base by them."

"This story must have meant as much to them…" said Mel "…as the story of how are parents sealed the Megalith means to us. It meant a lot to them and they didn't go anywhere without it in their hearts."

"Doesn't really help us, though" said Erik "since he brought the key with him, it's probably still at that abandoned home."

"Maybe not" said Adam as he dug his left hand into one of his many pockets. "I found this being used as a bookmark; it might be the key." He pulled out a strange looking bluish-white object which was attached to a looped string.

"I think it is" said Mel. "The two Drevacs on the door are wearing it around their necks. But where does it go?"

"There's a small slot between the doors" said Erik. "That must be where it goes. Give it a try Adam."

"Right" said Adam as he approached the door with the odd key ready. He put it in the slot and turned it slightly to the right. There was a small click and the right door opened slowly towards the inside of the room.

Seth stepped forward and pushed it completely opened. The defenders walked in complete awe of the sight before them. Adam, however, stood at the door for a little while before entering the ancient room.