As we approach the new year, I will be bringing new stories but also updates to older ones. To those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas and I hope you have a wonderful new year. Writing is my savior and will always be no matter what life throws at me and those of you supporting my stories whether silently or out loud with reviews, you keep me going. Thank you and happy reading!
5. The Bitter Reality
Davis had never liked the quiet – especially now that one of their own had been taken from them and they were not getting far when it came to information. Kari was trying to look hopeful but he could see her eyes flicker with sadness. But what could they do? Where had Gatomon even gone to? He could encourage the others that they would do whatever they could but at the same time, where did they even start? It was like they were blind and continuing to walk even when there was no real way out.
He needed something to make a miracle. Was she in the Dark Ocean? Was this even related to the Dark Ocean anyway? If it was, they would have to be careful. From what T.K. had told him, things were different there. It was like the digital world but at the same time, it wasn't. Yeah, Davis, that made so much sense. He felt Veemon grasp his hand and his little friend's presence did help him in more ways than one. He needed to find something – if only for his girlfriend's sake.
'The answer is within you, Holder of Miracles'
Davis looked around at his friends as the voice pulsated in the back of his mind. No, none of them had said anything so where had this voice come from? Who are you? Great, now he was talking to a voice in his head and he felt as if he was being pulled in an odd direction.
'I am the union between the Crest of Kindness and the Crest of Miracles. You are going to need us, Davis to destroy the darkness that humankind has created'
The darkness was…but how? They had created it? How had they created it? Before he could even ask in his mind, the voice spoke again.
'You hold fears. Anxieties. Depression. Dark thoughts of ending your lives. Sadness because you have fallen into despair. You create darkness and only kindness can bring about a miracle'
"Davis, are you alright?" Ken asked and Davis moved to look at his best friend. "I thought you would have said something to encourage us all by now."
Davis opened his mouth to speak then closed it. He usually would have, in most cases because there was always a way but at the same time, this felt like something more. He could feel something – as if something were calling to him although if he was honest, it sounded a little crazy even by his standards and that was saying a lot.
"Davis," Ken's voice became concerned now and Kari turned to him as well, her eyes widening a bit. "Are you alright?"
"Davis?" Kari asked as well.
"I'm okay," Davis said softly. "But we're not going the right way. Kari, you're trying to sense the Dark Ocean, right?" The voice was silent now, which was good because otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain all this since it didn't make sense even to him.
"Well, yeah but…" Kari began but Davis cut her off and shook his head.
"This has nothing to do with the Dark Ocean," Davis said softly before turning back to Ken. "Ken, can't you hear it? Listen. Listen closely." He knew it sounded crazy but since when did anything they had seen in this crazy adventure make any sense? It had always been about trusting their instincts and it was the same thing now. He knew he did not make sense but at the same time, that did not matter. They needed to fix these things and logic was not the answer.
"Davis, what are you talking about?" Yolei asked frowning. "There's nothing here. What is Ken supposed to be hearing?
"Just trust me on this one," Davis replied as Ken frowned, closing his eyes.
"Davis is right," Ken said softly. "It's not the Dark Ocean. I can hear it – my crest is talking to me. Just like back then."
That was good. It meant he wasn't just talking to a random voice in his head cause this all had started to get just a little weird.
"I can hear it too," Davis admitted. "It's why I haven't been talking much. I can feel a pull towards it. It's not the Dark Ocean but…" He turned to T.K. "It's something you're more than familiar with. The Cave of Darkness." How had he known that? The voice wasn't talking anymore but it was like it was still guiding him somehow on what the right thing to do right now was.
T.K.'s eyes widened a little and the look on his friend's face made Davis want to take his words back. "What? But that was created by Sora's own inner darkness. Matt's as well. It wasn't an actual place, I don't think."
"I think that's the point he's trying to make," Yolei said frowning. "Davis, are you saying this darkness that we're facing right now, we created it?"
"Davis, are you saying this darkness that we're facing right now, we created it?"
Ken felt a chill run down his spine as Davis nodded. They had created this darkness? He wasn't even sure what it meant but he tried to focus on the voice and he knew Davis was being guided on this, so maybe there was more he could do as well. There had to be something.
'What is this darkness?' Ken thought to himself silently. 'Guide me, tell me what it means. I don't know anything about this Cave of Darkness.' He smiled weakly as Wormmon crawled up his arm, the presence a comforting one. In a time when he had no idea what he was doing, knowing he was not alone even then helped more than he could express in words.
The darkness is all of you, Ken. Your fears, your thoughts, your worries, the sadness that sometimes consumes you, the Cave of Darkness is a manifestation of all these emotions. This darkness began from all of you but has become a life of it's own now.
That was not good. Ok, the good part was he understood what Davis was talking about, why he had been so quiet and not his usual gung-ho self since before it had almost seemed out of character for him. But while gaining this information was good, there was something more that needed to be done. They needed a solution. He could feel an odd pull in a certain direction but it was the opposite from the direction they had been heading in.
"Davis, do you feel that?" Ken asked.
"Yeah, I have for awhile," Davis admitted. "Guys I know all of this sounds crazy but I think we've been heading in the wrong direction all along. We can find Gatomon." He took Kari's hand. "I just need Ken's help to bring our special friend to do it." He grinned at Veemon and Ken chuckled. It was odd that Magnamon could be the key to finding this world and rescuing Gatomon but more than that, maybe finding more answers.
"I'll call Matt as well, Sora too," T.K. said softly.
"Could they help?" Kari asked. "I mean, they don't have their digimon partners anymore."
"Call them," Davis said before T.K. could reply. "Given how Sora's been feeling, this could be the exact trigger she needs, that all of them need to find a way back to their digimon partners."
"Davis has a point," Ken said softly, thinking about it. The digimon partners had ceased to exist because the DigiDestined were growing up but if they could find a new purpose with the digimon, they could find a new potential. It was only a theory but there may be a way to bring the digimon back. "Besides, they are the ones who have dealt with the Cave of Darkness. They may be able to describe what they were feeling then. My crest says we created this darkness but now it's grown a life of its own."
The thought made a cold chill envelop his heart. Darkness had never been something pleasant and he was all too familiar with him but he pushed these thoughts down. No, he could not afford to add to a darkness that they had created because of their darkest emotions. He needed to think positive, not just for himself but for everyone else too if they were going to win.
T.K. nodded. "Then I'll call them. Not just for us, but for them as well."
Pidge had gone on the mission. Lance was fretting. Allura was too quiet and Hunk was cooking to relieve the stress. Keith wasn't sure where they went from here. Lotor was back but this was more than just Lotor. It was something bigger, he could feel it. He just didn't know what but the DigiDestined had gone to investigate and there had been no news from them in awhile. Were they ok? Had they been caught in something? It was odd – he had never thought he would make any friends outside his group but the DigiDestined had become just as important to him as the Paladins were.
"Keith, are you ok?" Shiro asked softly and Keith looked up.
"I don't know," Keith admitted. "Something…something doesn't feel right. I feel there's something we're missing but it's hard to say what."
Shiro nodded. "I agree. There's something more to this darkness. It's not just Lotor. He's just a small part."
Keith watched his brother. His face was a little pale as if there were something he were trying to keep from him but at the same time, did he know something that he wasn't telling them?
"Shiro, if there's something you know, you need to tell us," Keith said softly and Shiro shook his head.
"I don't know anything," Shiro assured. "I was just thinking about what Allura and Coran told us about the original Paladins."
Keith paused. "What about them?" Did this have something to do with Zarkon? No, Black would have felt something unless…no, she was working through her trauma, she wouldn't have kept that from him.
"The dark entity, no one knows where it came from and where it disappeared to after it corrupted Zarkon and Honerva," Shiro said softly. "Maybe this new darkness could be a return of that entity, maybe Lotor found a way to control it to his will."
"You have a point but I don't think Lotor is powerful enough to control the entity," Keith said thoughtfully. "He wouldn't have come after Allura the way he had but the entity could be controlling him. It would explain why he was so different. Lotor's always been evil but he's always been calculated and not as animalistic as he was from what Allura's described. But no one knows what that entity was even then."
They needed to solve this. His daughter deserved to grow up in a safe world, in a world where no entity could hurt her. He would protect his little princess no matter what it took and he would protect the world too to make it a safe place for her to grow up in. He watched Allura leave the room, most likely to go check on their daughter.
"Maybe Pidge will be able to get some information on what the entity is or something to guide us," Shiro agreed before pausing as the DigiDestined came back although one of the digimon with them was missing.
"We know what the darkness is," Davis said firmly. "It's something we created."
Keith blinked and stared. "What do you mean?" That didn't make any sense, no matter how much he thought about. How could they create something evil? They hadn't messed up anything and they had only tried to do good. Had something gone wrong in this war they had been fighting for so long?
"The darkness is us, our thoughts, our fears, our sadness," Davis explained. "We created it and brought it into existence but now, it has a life of its own."