Ancient Lagoon had been quiet for some time. Rarely, a little Digimon would wonder in, but once she appeared, it would flee in terror. Sometimes she'd temp the little things to the water to coddle them; they were the only company here on Never-Ever Island that she enjoyed.

She hated this island. Hated it beyond a writer's ability to describe. The two who controlled it were needlessly cruel and brutal, using promises of pleasure and fun to lure mere children here. Here, where they would not Digivolve, and could play and frolic as they pleased, without a judging eye or any rules.

Bull.

He beat them if they 'broke a promise,' the hypocrite bastard. His sword was merciless. It didn't matter how little; Fresh, In-Training, Rookie, they all received the same, brutal punishment.

If she wasn't so confined to the water, she'd have killed him years ago. As soon as he'd arrived, she'd have crushed him with her golden anchor. Why would she show mercy if he did not?

But he was no idiot. Petermon knew to stay away from the Ancient Lagoon, and he made sure others did, too. It was… lonely. Not that she particularly cared for company, but seeing another Digimon that she could chat with every once in a while was nice.

And then, everything changed.

He came to the island. The very few Digimon she did meet told her of the pirate who had sailed here from a far away land. An Ultimate who was fearsome, powerful, and ruthless. A menace to those who wanted to stay young, a demon amongst demons.

They said he was powerful. Much more powerful than Petermon, but Petermon was quicker. They said he would do anything to pillage the islands of its treasures and force the children into his crew. That his first mate was a giant white beast who was just as, if not more, powerful than he. That the entire crew could tear every tree from the islands' ground and burn every blade of grass should they choose to.

…She could not bring herself to believe these stories. They were full of holes, none of them told from the Digimon's point of view. It was clear that the one spreading these rumors was that monster Petermon.

So, she decided to see for herself one day. She would swim to Sandy Cove- now renamed "Hook's Cove" by Petermon- and she would see for herself if he was really everything the little Digimon said he was. So, she did.

The waters were to clear for her liking, but none of the crew seemed to be eagerly looking overboard. Most of them were busy working. In fact, not a single crew member wasn't doing something productive. It took a powerful captain to keep such Digimon working without slacking off.

And these were no kids, either. Most of them were Champions, but she spotted a few Ultimates as well. But when a beast looked overboard, she quickly hid close to the ship.

"Panjyamon, you see somethin', mate?" one of the crew members called.

"Aye, thought I saw a mermaid," the big, white-lion Digimon replied.

"Mermaid?" she could hear a few members of the crew laughing. "You saw a mermaid?"

"Aye, that's what I said," he growled. "Ya callin' me a liar, mates?"

"Nay, just a bit nuts. Maybe you should let someone else stand on the quarterdeck all day, aye?" the crew laughed. Panjyamon just grunted and turned away, heading back to his post.

She stayed in Hook's Cove until sunset, waiting to see the captain of this crew. Finally, as she was about to leave, a new voice hit her ears. Turning, she watched the ship once again. A life boat was being lowered, and she could see him. Some of him, anyways.

His back was facing her, covered by a long, black coat with golden trim. His hat sat profoundly on his head, and the back of his silver hair twitched in the wind.

'So close,' she thought, swimming around as they entered the water. Two crew members paddled while another two watched the waters. The captain, on the other hand, was calmly relaxing, hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other. It was a little surprising to see him so… at ease. He didn't seem to have a care in the world!

This could not be the ruthless monster the little Digimon spoke of.

She followed them closely, dying for a better look at the captain. Alas, his crew mates were at either side of him, obscuring her view. She couldn't get a good look unless she jumped out in plain sight, and that was not on the agenda.

Only when the boat hit the sandy bottom of the shore did the captain rouse. His crew jumped out and pulled the boat to shore while he stayed inside. Once it was on shore, he jumped out of the boat and onto the sand, turning to look at his ship.

She could finally see him.

And hot damn was that one cute pirate!

She'd seen quite a few men in her days, but this one was the icing on the cake.

One eye was covered by an eye patch, the other, as blue as the sea, knowing and stern. A stitched scar lay beneath his good eye. His silver locks fell carelessly in his face, while the matching goatee-and-scruff was little more organized. He had a powerful build, no doubt. Part of his shirt was open, and she took no shame in marveling those rock-hard abs. She did notice, however, that one of his legs appeared to be made of metal.

Now that she' gotten what she wanted, it was time to return to her lagoon. Maybe, if she was lucky, she would get to see him again.

~X~My Jolly Sailor Bold~X~

There was a commotion by the lagoon. She could hear Petermon's voice, and finally, a loud splash. Just as she went to investigate, however, something big knocked her aside.

Seadramon.

'It must have gotten in through channel,' she cursed, swimming after it. Only then did the mermaid-Digimon realize what it was after. A dark shape floated, disoriented, in the water.

It was the captain she'd seen only weeks ago. He was helpless in the water against the Seadramon. Without thinking, she charged the beast head-on.

"Anchor Blitz!" she called. The attack was enough of a surprise to the Seadramon that it turned in fled. A Champion had no business fighting an Ultimate. As she went to look back at the captain, the mermaid-Digimon noticed that he'd blacked out.

Swiftly, she dragged him up to the slates of rock that made up the shore and tossed him onto one. He didn't react at all, and for a moment, she feared he'd be deleted. But when he coughed and sputtered and his chest began to rise and fall again, she knew he'd be just fine.

Hours passed, but he did not stir. She didn't mind. In fact, she was glad he was out like a light. While he was out, she could examine him more… closely. The mermaid-Digimon teasingly scolded herself when her hand began idly tracing his abs.

'How muscular are you, I wonder?' her hand moved up, feeling his chest, shoulders, and neck. 'Question answered,' she thought as she felt the hard tones of his muscles. She briefly wondered how many women this fine pirate had wooed in his time, and if any of them had been able to reject. None, probably.

Finally, the captain had begun to awaken. She quickly took her hand from his torso and pulled herself further onto the rock, propping herself on her elbows to look down at him. When his eye opened just slightly, she smiled.

"So, you're awake?" she said, her tone seducing and sarcastic.

"Who are you?" he groaned, slowly sitting up.

"I'm Mermaimon," she grinned. "Who are you?" the captain quickly stood up, backing far away from her and the shore.

"CaptainHookmon," he replied cautiously, watching her very closely. Of course, he had every right to be cautious. Mermaimon were not known for their kind and friendly nature. Sliding back into the water, she began laughing.

"CaptainHookmon," she echoed fondly. "Well, well, well, you're the pirate I've heard so much about." swimming closer to another area of the shore, she propped herself up on one of the slates of rock with her forearms.

"Aye, perhaps," his eye watched her like a hawk. "Thank you, by the way," he backed up towards the forest, "but I must return to my crew."

"Do come back," Mermaimon pushed a few blonde strands of hair from her face. "It gets very… lonely here, without anyone to talk to," oh, the temptation showed in his face. He wanted to go right back to the water to her, but dared not. So he was intelligent, it seemed. This pirate just kept getting better.

~X~My Jolly Sailor Bold~X~

CaptainHookmon did return. In fact, he returned at least once a week, normally in the evening. Sometimes he would tell her stories of his travels, occasionally getting so into them he'd act parts out. It was hilarious to watch; he was like a giddy young boy at times. But it delighted her. Now she had someone to talk to every once in a while. Someone to just be near. She liked it… and she liked him, too.

On many occasions, Mermaidmon would try and tempt him to the waters, but he would not come. He knew better than to trust her, and she couldn't rightly blame him. But every time he visited, he would take a step or two closer to the shore, as if testing his boundaries.

Until one day, he was peering into the water looking for her, right on the edge of the shore.

She didn't hesitate to pull the foolish pirate right into the water with her.

He surfaced, panicked for a moment, until she began to happily laugh and swim about him. When he tried to leave the water, however, she would pull him back in. It was a game, and she'd only play it until he got tired. Hopefully, he wouldn't tire any time soon.

CaptainHookmon started to catch on, and would try to teasingly swim away from her, only to have his escape defeated by her swift movements in the water. Eventually, she took to brushing against his legs and torso every now and again, enticing small gasps every now and again, until he got used to it.

But she'd not have that. Mermaimon liked to surprise and tease him; she knew it was the only thing that could beat his normally hardened, gentlemanly demeanor. Her eyes glowed with mischief as she swam under the water around him, occasionally brushing her upper body against his torso. The contact made him twitch a bit, but he didn't make a sound.

On the other hand, he didn't really need to. Down here, she could see that her antics were having a profound effect on the dear captain. The mermaid-Digimon then took to running her fingers across the area of his torso that was exposed, and when he tried to swim away, she would grab onto the belts of his pants and hold him there. When she did, he would gasp and fumble slightly.

But it still wasn't enough of a reaction for her. So, she resolved to absolutely torture the poor pirate. With a wicked grin, she swam below him, watching carefully. It wasn't easy to make out exactly where she was this far down in the water (to his eyes, anyways), so he was trying very hard to keep his eye on her.

'Enough playing,' Mermaimon thought, darting back up and swimming right between his legs. It wasn't swift, either. She could move very, very slowly if she chose to. And she did, in fact, choose too.

Even beneath the water, she could hear CaptainHookmon's moans and huffs in surprise, protest, and pleasure. When she'd almost gone all the way past his legs, she playfully hit his crotch with her tail. She could hear his surprised yelp as he tried to swim away. And she let him, happy to have gotten her reaction.

Not more than a few minutes later, the captain began pulling himself onto shore. She figured he'd be exhausted by now, so she allowed him to leave. But the pirate didn't get far, he just flopped onto his back with most of his legs still in the water.

Oh, that was to good to pass up.

Mermaimon pulled herself out of the water and hopped onto him, his yelp of surprise cut off when her lips met his. Since he'd been in mid-yelp, his mouth had been open, and she greedily pushed her tongue inside. He tasted like saltwater, citrus, and rum.

She felt his hands slide down to her hips as he began to kiss back, just as greedily. He moaned against her mouth, and Mermaimon pulled herself further up onto him. One hand moved to rest over his heart, and she could feel it pounding beneath the finely-toned muscle of his pec.

That, of course, was not the only thing of his she could feel. It was hard not to laugh, knowing how much the once stern, serious pirate wanted her. She was a bit- okay, very tempted to give him just that, but she refrained. Mermaimon was nothing, after all, if not a tease.

~X~My Jolly Sailor Bold~X~

He didn't leave until late that night. The moon was high by the time he said he'd need to return to his crew. Almost the whole night the two had been cuddling and kissing like two lovesick Rookies. Neither seemed against that, though.

"I need to leave," he mumbled, nipping her ear. "I've a crew to take care of."

"I know," she replied nipping his lower lip. "You'll keep coming back, won't you, Captain?"

"Aye, of course, my dear," his hand idly stroked her back. She slowly moved off him and slid herself back into the water with a twinge of regret. "I'll see you soon, then," as he stood up and walked to the forest, Mermaimon smiled and watched.

"My heart is pierced by Cupid, I distain all glitter and gold," she sang after him, "There is nothing can console me… but my jolly, sailor bold."