Digimon Dark Worlds 02: Crests of the Sins

Old enemies, new twists || Chapter 26

It was a bright, sunny afternoon, as Blaine's group made their way up a short hill, taking the time to rest once they reached the top, whilst also having lunch. While they were eating though, Erik noticed that Labramon had a expression that showed that he was clearly in deep thought, with something on his mind that was borderline upsetting him. After they were done eating, Labramon and Erik sat a close distance away from the others, at the edge of the hill, Erik finally ready to confront Labramon with whatever he was thinking.
"Labramon... What's wrong with you lately?" Erik causally asked. "You look like you have a lot on your mind."
"What?! H-how could you tell?!" Labramon says, quickly caught off guard.
"I'm your partner, trust me... I can tell." Erik says, Labramon looking away, as Erik patted him softly on the back. "Labramon... You can tell me what's going on. I'll listen." Labramon was silent for a moment, taking a deep breath.
"Well... You know how the others say that the Demondestined are our only enemies left? Well, that's not exactly true..." Labramon states. "There's still one last Digimon left... Gulfmon. Back when I was Anubismon, and all this chaos had just started, Gulfmon took both me and Cherubimon out, and caused us to Dedigivolve. I know he's still out there somewhere, and who knows what kind of chaos he could he causing right now... Lopmon must not remember him, but I sure do... And I have to stop him. By myself."
"Whoa... So, you really want us to go out there, find Gulfmon... And defeat him? By yourself?" Erik asked, with a surprised expression. "You... Sure about that?"
"I'm sure of it." Labramon responds. "I need to get my revenge for what Gulfmon did, and... I don't wanna drag the others into this fight. Besides, now that you're here with me, I think I can finally become strong enough to take him down." Erik nodded at this, in understandment. "I understand, but... You think the others will be fine with it?"
"It's alright, I'm cool with it." Blaine's voice suddenly cuts through their conversation, as he's right behind them, catching them off guard.
"Geez, Blaine! Don't sneak up on me like that..." Erik says, chuckling a bit. "Um... How much of that conversation did you hear?"
"Pretty much all of it." Blaine says, shrugging, as Erik stands up, turning to face Blaine. "Just... Stay safe, alright? And if you find Hoshi out there, make sure to bring him back to the group." Blaine says, Erik nodding.
"Yeah man, I will... And make sure you and Jake still end up in that meeting spot Axel planned, alright? Me and Hoshi will meet you guys back there." Erik says, Blaine nodding... As the two give each other a quick hug. After a while, they let go, Erik and Labramon walking away, as Blaine only muttered something to him softly...
"...Good luck, Erik."

Meanwhile...
Alec and Elijah had managed to find each other again, now sitting in front of a small cave that was hidden between some mountains, talking about what their next plan was.
"So..." Elijah says. "Russell separated from you, and you have no idea where he is?"
"Yup." Alec responds sternly.
"And... We have no idea where Rosalie and Lila are?" Elijah asks.
"Yup." Alec responds again, Elijah groaning in annoyance, as he rubs his forehead. "Great, just great..." He groans sarcastically.
"This isn't good..." A voice speaks to them, coming from Lucemon, who floats out of the cave. "Those Digidestined are way too powerful to take out if we're all not together." Lucemon pauses, looking back into the dark cave entrance. "I'll go speak to him again, see what he thinks we should do next..." Lucemon says, floating back into the cave and out of sight. Alec tries to follow Lucemon into the cave, but Elijah puts a hand out, stopping him.
"Remember what Lucemon said? He's the only one allowed to speak to the dark one." Elijah says, Alec groaning and rolling his eyes in response.
"Ugh, but why? It makes no sense! I haven't even seen what the dark one looks like!" Alec snapped.
"Hey, it's just how it is." Elijah says, shrugging. "Trust me, I'm not a fan of it either, but they're helping us out here, so don't fight against it too much." Silence fills the area for a moment, as Alec grumbles with annoyance.
"Now... Can you give me your Digivice?" Elijah asks, holding out his arm.
"Um... Why?"
"I need to pinpoint our location in it, so we know where to all meet up at. Now give it to me." Elijah says sternly, Alec handing him his Digivice, as Elijah starts walking away. "Now... Do whatever you want, Alec... Just don't wander too far off. And see if you can possibly find a way to unlock your mega Digivolution alright?" Elijah walks away before Alec can respond, who only rolls his eyes, him and Phascomon walking away a bit, as they both sat down, against a tree.
"Hey... You alright, Alec?" Phascomon asks.
"Ugh, I don't know, it's just..." Alec paused, sighing. "This Demondestined stuff is becoming way too much work now! I thought unlocking our ultimate Digivolutions would be enough, but now we gotta reach the mega level to defeat those Digidestined?! Ugh, I don't even see the point in all this anymore..."
"Hey, don't worry about it too much, Alec..." Phascomon says, patting Alec on the arm. "After we defeat those Digidestined, we'll finally have the whole Digital World to ourselves! We just need... A bit more of a push to unlock my true powers."
"Yeah, but something tells me that napping in the dirt won't unlock your real powers this time." Alec says, running a hand through his hair.
"Then... Let's just talk for a moment. About how you really feel." Phascomon says. "Tell me... You were obviously given the crest of Sloth for a reason... Why do you think that is? What's your true ambitions, or... Whatever..." Alec was silent for a long, hard moment, earnestly trying to think of the best answer he could give.
"Honestly... All my life I've pretty much just... Had everything handed to me, on a silver platter... Heh, sometimes even literally." Alec states. "Me and Elijah... Both our parents are extremely rich, and they co-own this huge company known as Palmer cosmetics. Since Elijah is the oldest child, he was always told that he would be the one to eventually take over the business when our parents got too old... And because of that, neither my parents, nor Elijah ever expected anything out of me, and would always provide anything I wanted with our unlimited money... And honestly? I'm taking full advantage of that! Phascomon, you know how awesome it is to have people constantly at your feet, doing whatever you want, and treating you like a king, despite you not having done a single thing for them?! It's amazing!" Alec paused, looking down at the ground. "If I could just... Spent the rest of my life like that... And never work again... It'd be the perfect life for me."
"Alec... Imagine having all that, but instead of having your family looking after your every needs... It's the entire Digital World." Phascomon states, patting Alec on the arm, as they both exchange serious glances. "I know all this is a lot of work, but if we just work a little bit more, we'll finally be able to defeat the Digidestined... Then you'll have the entire Digital World to yourself... Forever." Alec looked away for a moment, thinking, before a smirk formed on his face.
"Yeah... That would be pretty nice." Alec says, standing up. "Alright, let's do our best then. Come on, let's see if Elijah is done with my Digivice yet." As the two started walking away, Alec didn't notice it...
...But a dark aura was starting to form on his Digivice and tag and crest.