Me: What's been going on with the site recently?

BWG: Maybe it crashed from all your bad stories.

Me: Shut up.

I won't do a disclaimer anymore!

The voyage across the sea was a harrowing trip, for Guilmon anyway. After he had gotten his sea legs, he found himself constantly pissing off the crewmen by accident and kept getting in the way. After a few days of this, Renamon took Guilmon aside and gave him a job that would keep him out of everyone else's way. Which explained what he was doing in the ship's hold, being lectured to by an irritating Neemon who didn't look like he had seen the light of day in years.

"Now," said the Neemon. "As a swabbie, you must do all the odd jobs that nobody else wants like scrubbing the toilets, knitting sails, and washing everyone's underwear. And since you're technically under me, that means I'm finally not the bottom rung anymore! Now I get to sit back and relax while you do my job!"

"Great." Guilmon said dully.

Neemon led Guilmon over to another section of the hold. They were standing on a ledge overlooking a sunken pit taking up pretty much the whole room. At the other end of the room was a door on another, smaller ledge. Strange raised platforms were scattered about the floor, and lanterns hung from ropes on the ceiling. Neemon walked over to a pair of switches. "Do you see these switches?"

"Yes."

"Good! This is the first part of swabbie training, so pay attention!" He stomped on one of the switches. The platforms on the floor shook and elevated themselves to the level of the ledge. "The switch I just pressed is on a timer, so the platforms will only stay up for a limited time." He jumped to the first platform, which was very close to the ledge. "The goal of this exercise is to get all the way across to the treasure room over there. Since the platforms aren't close enough to jump to, you'll have to get across in a different manner."

"How?" asked Guilmon, starting to get interested.

Neemon answered by leaping off the platform, grabbing onto a lantern rope, and swinging across to another platform. "Like this!" He quickly swung from platform to platform, finally landing at the other end of the room. "Now, it's your turn. If you fall down, just climb up that ladder over there and step on the second switch. It'll lower the platforms, so you can reset the timer and start over. Now, it'll probably take you a whole year to learn to swing over here, so don't get your hopes up!"

Two minutes later…Guilmon let go of the last rope, landing on the ledge. "Well? How'd I do?"

Neemon's jaw dropped. "But-but it took me a whole year to do that! How did you get it right on the third try?"

Guilmon shrugged. "Well, it's not like it's hard or anything. You just have to time your rope swings accurately."

As Neemon continued gaping, a Terriermon entered the hold. "Hey, you! Dino-boy! Miss Renamon wants you up in the crow's nest pronto!"

"Okay, I'm coming!" Guilmon felt like showing off, so instead of dropping to the floor of the room and using the ladder, he swung the ropes all the way back to the exit. Neemon fainted, his tiny little brain completely overloaded.

Guilmon pulled himself into the crow's nest with a grunt. Night had fallen while he was in the hold, creating an ominous mood in the air. He gasped when he saw what was ahead of the ship. An imposing stone fortress rose from the sea, surrounded by a tall stone wall with searchlights moving around the tops and cannon emplacements mounted all over the place. A large wooden door was set in the wall, allowing boats to enter and exit the fortress. At the moment, it was sealed shut. Near the door was what looked like the sunken front half of a ship. The back half was at the very top of the fortress, resting on what looked like the branch of a stone tree. Anchors dangled down from the other branches, but what really startled Guilmon was the sight of a huge nest on the end of the thickest branch. Sitting in the nest was the Hououmon. "We're here." Said Renamon, leaning against the side of the crow's nest.

"What is it?" asked Guilmon.

"It's called the Forsaken Fortress. It used to be the hideout of a rival group of pirates, but recently something made them disappear. I get the feeling that whoever's in charge of the fortress now had something to do with that."

Guilmon took out Lopmon's telescope to get a better look at the fortress. One of the things he saw right off the bat was a window on the 'tree' that was surrounded by seagulls. "Renamon, I think I've found my sister!"

"Where?"

He handed her the telescope. "See that window with all the seagulls? Seagulls have an unnatural attraction to my sister. That must be where she's being kept."

Renamon examined the window, then handed back the telescope. "All right. Now we need to find a way to get you in there."

Guilmon blinked. "What do you mean? Let's just sail up there and attack the fortress!"

Renamon shook her head. "Guilmon, take a look at that place. It has searchlights to spot ships from a distance and at least a dozen cannons to blast them with. All we have is a single catapult and a small supply of rocks. We're outgunned here. The best I can do is sneak you in there. After that, you're on your own."

Guilmon frowned. "But didn't the Law of the Sea say-"

"The Law never stated the extent to which I must assist in your sister's rescue. Getting you inside the fortress is enough involvement for me. After that, you'll have to find your own way to escape."

Guilmon sighed. "Okay. How do I get in there?"

Renamon smiled. Guilmon suddenly had a very bad feeling about the answer.

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea…" moaned Guilmon from inside the barrel.

"Relax, we're professionals kid. You have nothing to worry about." Said the WaruMonzaemon sitting at the catapult controls.

Bokomon looked through a telescope mounted on the side of the catapult, making adjustments to the launching arm so that Guilmon would be hurled right through the target window. "Okay, a little more to the left…a couple degrees higher…there we go. It's set to fire!"

Guilmon gulped and closed his eyes as Renamon started counting down. "3…2…1…fire!"

WaruMonzaemon pulled a lever, launching the screaming Guilmon into the air. He shot towards the window with all the seagulls around it…and slammed into the wall just a few inches next to it. The barrel shattered. The force of impact caused the sword to be knocked out of its scabbard, landing on a nearby ledge. Guilmon slid face-first down the wall then fell to the watery bay below with a great splash.

When he came to, he quickly swam to a nearby dock before he could drown. He dragged himself out of the water and lay on the ground, panting. As he recovered his breath, he felt something vibrating in his pocket. He reached into it and found a small glowing pebble on a string that had not been there before. He almost dropped the rock when it started speaking in Renamon's voice. "Guilmon? Can you hear me?"

"R-Renamon? Is that you?" he asked the pebble.

"Of course. Who else would it be?"

"But-but how are you talking to me?"

"Before we launched you in the catapult, I slipped this in your pocket. It's a magic stone that allows communication between any two people that both have stones. I have the master version, so only I can initiate contact. After you were launched, I decided to use the pebble to see if you were okay."

Guilmon frowned. "I missed the window."

"I'm aware of that. Sorry."

"I also lost my sword. What am I supposed to do if I run into a guard?"

"I would recommend running or hiding. The best advice I can give you is to try and stay out of range of the searchlights or the guards' line of sight. If they spot you, you'll be caught faster than you can say 'buried treasure.'"

Guilmon sighed. "Thanks for the warning." He looked up at the target window and sighed again. "I guess I'd better get going. I have to at least try and find my sword and my sister as long as I'm here."

"Good luck." The stone stopped glowing. Guilmon put it away and climbed up a set of stairs to a large area with another set of stairs and a big wooden door. A pair of searchlights panned over the area constantly. A third searchlight was focused on a walkway below the target window, which undoubtedly led to an entrance to wherever his sister was being held. As the searchlights kept moving around, Guilmon suddenly had a brilliant idea on how he could get across safely. He grabbed a nearby empty barrel, put it over his head, and scurried across the area, peering through holes to see where he was going. Whenever a searchlight came by, he stopped moving, fooling the operators into thinking there was nobody there. In this manner he crossed the area and went through the big wooden door.

The reptile found himself inside of a big room with several wine casks loaded on shelves on the walls. A couple of tables were scattered about, and half a dozen Chuumon were scurrying about. Guilmon's face screwed up. "Ugh. I hate rats." He saw there were two doors on opposite ends of the room. After a moment of deliberation, he chose the door on the right. Stepping over the scurrying Chuumon, Guilmon entered the door, and found himself in a hallway. A single torch lit the middle of the hall, allowing Guilmon to see a lantern-wielding Fugamon patrolling the area around the torch. Guilmon saw some barrels nearby and got the same stealth idea he had used to avoid the searchlights. He startled crawling to the other end of the hallway in the barrel, stopping when the Fugamon got close. When the red ogre had walked behind a wooden partition, Guilmon dashed as quickly as he could towards the exit. But before he could reach the door, a Chuumon ran out of nowhere and knocked into him, causing the nervous reptile to yelp. The small cry did not escape the Fugamon's hearing, and the next thing Guilmon knew, he was being pulled out of the barrel and dragged away. He glared at the Chuumon, which seemed to be laughing. "I really hate rats." He growled.

The Fugamon dragged him to the second floor of the fortress, tossed him in, and walked away. Guilmon got to his feet and tried the door. Predictably, it was locked. Frowning, he looked around the cell. He was surprised to see a small tunnel set in the wall on top of a set of shelves that led out of the cell. He crawled into the tunnel and came out in the room just outside of his prison. He laughed. "Ha! Guess those stupid Fugamon don't bother checking cells before throwing prisoners into them! Now, let's see what I can do now…" He followed a ramp down from the prison area, coming out on a balcony overlooking a room that had another prison cell. Fortunately, it was empty. Across the room was another balcony with two doors leading from it. A lantern hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Guilmon looked at the lantern and started smiling. Maybe that training Neemon gave me could come in handy after all! He thought. He jumped off the balcony, grabbed the rope, and swung across to the other side. As he landed on the balcony, he saw a large chest sitting near the doors. Wonder what's in there… He opened the chest and found a map of the entire fortress! This could come in handy! After examining the map, he decided to take the door on the left.

He went through the door and found himself on an enclosed walkway carved into the fortress walls. At the other end of the walkway was a door. To his right was a blank wall. To his left was a balcony overlooking the sea. He stepped out onto the balcony and felt his pocket vibrate. He pulled out the magic pebble. "Renamon?"

"Guilmon, where are you right now?"

"I was captured, but I managed to escape. The Fugamon must be pretty stupid, they threw me in a cell with an easy-to-see escape tunnel!"

Renamon laughed at the other end. "Well, Fugamon are known more for their brute strength than intelligence. You should consider yourself lucky you weren't caught by a smarter guard."

"I'm outside right now, but I don't really know what to do. Got any advice?"

"Actually, I do. If you're outside, you should be able to access the searchlights. If you can disable them, you'll have no problem sneaking up to wherever they're keeping your sister. In fact, if you disable the lights, we may be able to move closer to the fortress. With no lights, the cannons probably won't be able to see us coming. We could pick you and your sister up after you finish rescuing her!"

"Great idea!" Guilmon checked his map for the searchlights, and saw there was a ladder on the exact balcony he was standing on that led to a light! "Thanks for the help, Renamon. Gotta go!"

"I hope you can handle yourself…" He put the pebble away. He then climbed up the ladder, finding himself on a tower with a pair of searchlights. One light looked out to sea; the other focused on the area within the walls. A Gazimon was operating the lights. Guilmon looked around for something he could use to attack the Gazimon. But as he did, the gray rabbit noticed him, grabbed a big stick, and attacked! As the Gazimon swung its stick, Guilmon quickly raised his shield. The stick rebounded off the shield and fell from the Gazimon's grip. Before the rabbit could grab it, Guilmon snatched the stick and clobbered the Gazimon into submission. Once he was sure the rabbit was out cold, he used the stick to smash the searchlight controls, disabling them. The stick broke in the process, but it had served its purpose.

"One down, two to go." He muttered. He checked his map again, climbed back down the ladder, and went back through the door he had exited. Once back in the prison area, he went through the door he had ignored earlier. He was now in another enclosed walkway. To his left was a landing that went down to the area in the middle of the fortress, and to his right was a balcony. He stepped out on the balcony, but couldn't find a ladder. He checked the landing and found a ramp that led to the top of the enclosed walkway he had been in before. Once he was on the top of the walkway, he saw a ladder leading to the second searchlight tower. Once he climbed up, he noticed a barrel with some sticks in it. He picked up a stick and crept as quietly as possible behind the Gazimon manning the controls. He bashed the rabbit's brains in, then destroyed the controls. Only one more left! He thought.

He went back down the ladder and ramp to the enclosed walkway. He went through the door at the other end of it and found himself on a ledge above a large kitchen. He used a nearby lantern to swing across to another ledge, and exited through the door there to another enclosed walkway. Once more, there was a balcony on his right and a landing on his left. He walked out onto the landing and found a staircase leading up to the last searchlight tower. When he reached the top, he grabbed a stick from a barrel, knocked out the Gazimon, and destroyed the controls. Now all the searchlights were off! He felt his pocket vibrate and took out the pebble. "Guilmon, great job! We're moving in now. Even with the lights out, we can only get so close before the guns detect us. You and your sister may have to swim out to us." Said Renamon.

"No problem, we're both great swimmers! Growing up on an island, you kind of need to learn that sort of thing."

"That's a relief. Good luck, and see you soon!"

"Wait! Before you go, can I ask you something? Earlier, you said that getting me into the fortress was the extent to which you were going to help me. If that's so, then why did you give me the pebble? Why are you helping me to escape?" Guilmon asked quickly.

There was a long pause, and at first Guilmon thought Renamon had already got off the line. Then she said, "Let's just say I had a change of heart and leave it at that, okay?"

Guilmon couldn't resist grinning. "You're not nearly as bad as you make yourself out to be, are you?"

She stifled a chuckle. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." The stone stopped glowing. Guilmon put it away and headed back down the stairs. When he was back in the enclosed walkway, he checked his map and went through the door at the other end of the hall.

After using a lantern to swing across the cask room he had been in earlier, Guilmon crossed another enclosed walkway, pushed a block off a ledge to grant access to a ladder if he ever needed to come that way again, and came into the upper reaches of a huge boathouse. A pair of Fugamon patrolled the catwalk around the room, guarding a ramp leading up to a big wooden door. It was fortunate for Guilmon that he was on the side of the room closest to the door; otherwise he would have needed to sneak past two Fugamon instead of just one. He crawled into a barrel and waddled past the guard when his back was turned, narrowly avoiding a Chuumon that tried to get him caught. Once he was safely up the ramp, he shed his disguise and went through the door. He was on the fortress walls again, dangerously close to a Fugamon. He quickly found another barrel and snuck past the ogre to a staircase that went up to the giant 'tree'. He carefully made his way across a narrow ledge that wound around the 'tree' (Thankful that he had disabled the searchlight that had been pointed in that area) and reached a staircase leading to the ledge where his sword had landed after his catastrophic catapult launch. Eager to get his sword back, he raced up the stairs. He noticed too late that a Gazimon with a sword and shield was guarding a barred door on the same ledge as the sword. The Gazimon growled and swung its sword at the young hero. Guilmon quickly raised his shield, deflecting the sword and causing the Gazimon to temporarily lose its balance. Guilmon dashed for his sword, picked it up, and made quick work of the Gazimon. After he had loaded its data, he managed to lift the bar on the door and enter.

He found himself in a towering chamber that took up pretty much the whole interior of the entire 'tree'. A small set of stairs nearby led to a series of wooden ramps and ledges that spiraled up to the big hole at the top of the tower. More importantly, amidst a whole bunch of seagulls that had flown in a familiar window was a huge cage containing half a dozen miserable girls. And one of them was Lopmon! "Lopmon!" he yelled, racing towards the cage.

The little bunny looked up and gasped. "Big Brother!" She ran to the bars of the cage. "Big Brother, I knew you'd come for me!" She turned to the girls. "See, I told you he'd come for me!"

One of the girls, a dirty Salamon in rags, stepped closer to the bars. "Are you here to rescue us? My father must be so worried-"

A snobby-looking Penguinmon shoved poor Salamon out of the way. "Ignore that plebian trash, my father will give you a huge reward for my rescue! You can leave the others for all I care, just get me out of here!"

Guilmon sweatdropped. "I'm really just here for my sister…" he mumbled. Immediately, all the other girls started pleading and begging for him to let them go. Trying to ignore their cries, Guilmon tried to think if it was possible to get all the girls out. Would he be able to lead them out without getting caught by the guards? Could all of them swim the distance from the fortress to the waiting pirate ship? Would Renamon object to having all of them on board the ship? He gazed into Lopmon's eyes. He could see she wanted him to free the other girls too. He sighed, making up his mind. After all, he never could disappoint his little sister. "Hang on, I'm going to break you all out of here!" The girls cheered as he started scanning the room for the keys. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to find them. The girls' cheers suddenly turned to screams. Guilmon looked up and gasped. The Hououmon had flown in through the ceiling and was coming straight for him! He drew his sword, but was too late. The Sacred Beast grabbed him in its beak and took to the air, lifting him out of the tower. The bird flew around the top of the fortress, stopping in front of the wrecked ship Guilmon had seen from below. Standing on a balcony formed from remains of the ship's hold was a humanoid figure. Due to the dim light, Guilmon could only make out ten (or was it twelve?) wings and light blue eyes. The Hououmon hovered in front of the figure, as if waiting for orders. The entity studied Guilmon for an uncomfortably long time with those vivid blue eyes, prying deep into his mind with their baleful gaze. After a moment, the figure jerked his head sharply to the side. The Hououmon did the same, flinging Guilmon far, far out to sea. The force of the impact drove him deep under water, nearly knocking him out. He struggled to the surface, barely clinging to consciousness. His vision began to fade in and out as he burst into the fresh air, hacking and coughing. The last thing he saw before surrendering to oblivion was a red and gold object drifting towards him.

And then everything went black.

Me: Well that was short.

BWG: Guess you're writing ability is decreasing.

Me: Shut up. HVK, here's a question or two I thought up for you:

Why do they call Sin "Sin"?

What do Black Mages look like under those hoods?

What's the difference between a Malboro and a Mandragora?

BWG: Those are some pretty crappy questions.

Me: I couldn't think of anything better!

BWG: That figures.

Me: Grrr…if somebody could please give me some advice on how to discipline an infuriating muse/partner, I would really appreciate it!