Me: Hello!

BWG: Hi.

Me: Here we go again!

BWG: You do realize no one ever reads these things?

Me: SHUT UP!

"Guilmon…Guilmon, wake up!" Guilmon groaned and opened his eyes. He immediately shut them, due to the bright sun. He opened his eyes again, and saw he was lying on the back of a strange red metal dragon boat with gold trim. The dragon boat was floating inside of a small cove. How had he gotten there? "Oh good, you're up!" said the same voice that woke him up.

"Who said that?"

The dragon turned its head. "I did."

Guilmon stared at the dragon's blue eyes for several seconds. "…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Stop screaming!" the boat yelled.

Guilmon stopped. "What are you?" he asked.

"My name is Grani. You can search this world from sea to sea, and you'll never see another creature like me! I'm the only talking boat in the entire Digital World!" said the dragon proudly.

"…You're a boat?"

"Kind of. I guess you could also call me a horse. And a dragon. And a flying machine." Grani admitted.

Guilmon's eyes widened. "You can fly?"

"Well, not at the moment. But that is not important right now! There are bigger things you must know, and only I can tell them to you!"

"Will any of these thing help me save my sister?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm all ears."

Grani nodded. "I know of your failed attempt to save your sister Lopmon, and I also know who is behind her kidnapping."

"Who?"

"Lucemon."

Guilmon blinked. "I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. I thought you said my sister's kidnapper was Lucemon."

"He is."

Guilmon blinked again. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Lucemon the name of the mythical Angel Digimon, cast out of Heaven, who tried to destroy the world?"

"Oh, he's no myth!" said Grani. "He is the very same Lucemon…the harbinger of doom the stories spoke of, relegated to the Dark Area long ago by the legendary Susanoomon and the ancient Sages. He is quite real, and now he has returned to once more attempt world domination."

"…How'd that happen?"

Grani would have shrugged if he had shoulders. "Does it really matter? He's back now, and you and I are the only ones who can stop him!"

Guilmon frowned. "Hold on a minute. All I want to do is save my sister. What do I have to do with stopping this so-called harbinger of doom from destroying the world? Why should I believe you?"

Grani sighed, exasperated. "Did you get a glimpse of a figure when the Hououmon grabbed you?"

"How did you-"

"Answer the question!"

"Yes!"

"And what did it look like?"

"Like a guy with twelve wings and blue eyes."

"And what do the stories say Lucemon looks like?"

"…A guy with twelve wings and blue eyes…"

Grani smiled. "Exactly."

Guilmon tried to argue. "Well, that doesn't mean THIS Digimon is Lucemon!"

"Guilmon, how many other Digimon do you know of with twelve wings?"

"None…" he reluctantly admitted.

"I believe I've made my point." Grani said smugly.

Guilmon sighed. "Okay, so maybe the bad guy is Lucemon. But why do I have to help stop him?"

Grani gave him a look of surprise. "Why, I thought you'd be eager to do it. After all, Lucemon took your sister didn't he? I would think you'd be more than willing to take revenge against Lucemon for that reason alone, or at the very least do it so people will think of you as a hero. In any case…wouldn't you do anything to protect your sister?"

"…I guess I can't argue with you there. But why are you helping me?"

Grani coughed. "Let's just say I have my own reasons and leave it at that. In any case, I will help you in whatever way I can. I shall transport you all the way across the Great Sea if it will help to stop Lucemon (And I'll probably have to, to!) and will lend you all the information you need to know in your quest to defeat the Fallen One!" he said proudly.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go back to the Forsaken Fortress and kick Lucemon's butt!" said Guilmon, beginning to get into the spirit of adventure.

Grani hesitated. "Ah, you see, about that…I'm afraid we can't leave immediately."

"Why not?"

"First of all, Lucemon is quite powerful. There is only one weapon powerful enough to truly slay Lucemon, and it is hidden from the reach of mortal hands. To get it, you must journey across the sea to gather the items that will open the gateway to this great weapon. Secondly, I can't take you to those items in my current condition. I recently lost my only antigravity unit, which is what allows me to fly. Without it, I can only drift about under my own power at an unbelievably slow speed. When I pulled you out of the water, I swam ashore to this island of Windfall, where I thought we could find a new antigravity unit. Since I am mainly a creature of the water and air, I need you to go into town and get me that unit! Then we can be off!" said Grani.

"Okay. Just one question."

"What's that?"

"What's an antigravity unit?"

After getting an unhelpful and vague description from Grani, Guilmon swam out of the cove and crawled onto the beach of Windfall. Guilmon could tell from a glance that although the island was smaller than Outset, it was more densely populated. There was a large town just to the north of the cove, with a huge windmill/lighthouse looming out from the center. Guilmon walked up the path to town, passing the empty docks and the burly dockworkers as he did so. Getting an idea, he turned around. "Hey, have you guys got any idea where I could find an antigravity unit?" he called to the workers.

The burly sailing men exchanged glances. "What's an antigravity whatsit?" demanded an Orcamon.

"I was hoping you could tell me that." Guilmon said, his heart dropping.

"Hey wait, I think I heard somethin' about an anti-whatever in town. A coupla days ago, this weird Digimon sailed into port with a boat that was fallin' to pieces. He's set up a shop or somethin' in town, but all he's got to sell is this weird gizmo of his. Nobody wants to buy it, cause his price is too high." Said a Divermon.

"Where could I find this shop?" asked Guilmon anxiously.

The Divermon pointed his harpoon at the path leading into town. "Just follow the road until you find a big stand attached to the café with a guy wearin' a weird suit in it. You can't miss it!"

"Thank you!" Guilmon ran into town. After passing a potion shop, a moody and depressed BlackWarGreymon sitting on some stairs, and a gossiping pair of women, he found the stall he was looking for on the underside of a large café. Standing in the stall was a sad-looking Frigimon in a parka, which was odd because the weather was quite warm. "Um, excuse me?" Guilmon said, getting the snowman's attention. "I heard you had a certain item that I would really like to have-"

The Frigimon instantly looked happy. "Thank the gods, a customer at last! I have journeyed all the way from an icy place far to the north, wrecking my ship in the process, so that I might set up a shop in the warmer climates! But sadly, I lost all my goods due to a nasty storm and now all I have left is a single antigravity unit. If I could just sell that, I would be able to garner enough money to purchase merchandise that I could sell to the people of this island and become a relatively wealthy man!"

Guilmon stared. "Um, that's nice. How much for that antigravity unit of yours?"

The Frigimon smiled. "No less than eighty bits, take it or leave it."

Guilmon sighed, reached into his pocket, and took out the hefty sum of money. Frigimon eagerly took the money. "Thank you so much sir! You have saved my business! Here is your antigravity unit!" He handed over a small off-white saucer.

"You'd better hope this thing works…" Guilmon muttered.

"Oh, it most assuredly does good sir! Now, with your money I can become the finest merchant in the Great Sea! And then I'll finally be able to get a date!"

Guilmon walked away from the snowy Frigimon, who was beginning to daydream. He looked at the unit in his hands. "Doesn't look like much. Can this thing really make Grani fly?" He put the unit away. "I suppose I should head back to Grani now…but I've never been on this island before! I'm sure he won't mind if I explore a little." And so he set off to explore the town. Heading past the café, he went up some stairs and found a school, a camera shop, and a game area built into the base of the windmill/lighthouse. Now that he was closer to the towering structure, Guilmon saw that it also was a Ferris wheel! He was so caught up staring at the triple structure that he didn't notice the pack of four In-Training Digimon until they had surrounded him. He blinked at the sight of the Yaamon, Tokomon, Tsunomon, and Koromon circling him, trying to look fierce. "Um, hello. Can I do something for you?" he asked.

"Yeah, you can give us all your money or else!" said the Yaamon.

Guilmon raised an eyebrow. "Or else what?"

"Or else you'll get it!" yelled the Tokomon.

Guilmon snorted. "Right. Why don't you kids pick on somebody your own size?"

He regretted saying that when the Tsunomon and Koromon pounced on him and started jumping on his head, allowing the Yaamon and Tokomon to filch all of Guilmon's remaining money, not to mention the antigravity unit, Lopmon's telescope, and the magic pebble from his pocket. "Hey, this guy is loaded!" said Tokomon.

"Hah! Hey mister, you've just been robbed by the Killer Beemon! Have a nice day!" said the Tsunomon. The four In-Trainings gathered up the loot and started bouncing away.

"Hey, give that stuff back!" Guilmon yelled after them.

"Why should we?" asked the Koromon.

"Because if you don't I'll…I'll tell your parents!" he said, thinking of the worst threat he could give to a bunch of underage hooligans.

The four kids froze. "Eh heh, maybe we can work out some sort of deal." Said the Yaamon.

"No deal. Give back my stuff, or I'll tell your parents!" said Guilmon angrily.

"Hear me out! Play a game of hide and seek with us. We'll hide outside of town and stay out of any buildings. If you can find us all before sundown, we'll give you back your stuff and make you a member of the Killer Beemon. If you lose, we keep your stuff and you don't tell our parents. Deal?"

Guilmon pretended to think it over for a moment. He knew that if he lost, they wouldn't be able to stop him from telling on them anyway. He had nothing to lose. "Deal."

"Great! Now turn around and count to twenty. And no peeking!" said the Koromon.

Guilmon obliged. He quickly counted to twenty as he heard the four bouncing away, then turned around and walked out of an archway next to the schoolhouse. He was now outside the town walls, and in a position to find the four little brats who had taken his stuff. After looking around, he quickly spotted three of the In-Trainings right off the bat. He walked to his left and tagged the Tsunomon, who was trying to hide behind a bush. "Gotcha!"

"Aw man!" said the miserable little guy.

Guilmon then walked out to a grassy promontory with a tombstone on it. Walking around the wildly dancing Etemon in front of the tombstone, he found the Koromon hiding behind the stone marker. "Tag!"

"Darn, how'd you find me?" asked the Koromon.

Guilmon chuckled. "I could see you from the archway. It wasn't that hard to spot you!"

"That's cheating!"

"How exactly is looking for you in a game of hide and seek cheating?" The Koromon couldn't answer that question, and Guilmon went off to find the next kid. He quickly found Yaamon, who was hiding at the top of a tree. After wondering how to get him down, Guilmon got the idea to headbutt the tree. The force of his attack knocked Yaamon out of the tree, landing him at Guilmon's feet.

"Oof! Damn, you're good!" admitted the little Digimon.

"Thanks!" Only one more to go! Thought Guilmon. He looked around the field, trying to figure out where the last kid could be hiding. That's when he noticed the large bomb shop at the edge of the island. He sidled along a narrow ledge to get behind the shop, where he found the Tokomon! "I found you!"

"Wow, I didn't think you'd ever find me here!" said the surprised little piggy.

"Okay, here's all your stuff back. And welcome to the group!" said Yaamon. The other kids handed over Guilmon's stuff.

"Thanks for the game of hide and seek. It was lots of fun!" he said in response.

"Yeah, same here!" said the Tokomon.

"We haven't played a game of hide and seek with anyone as good as you in a really long time!" said the Koromon.

"We're happy to make you one of us!" said the Tsunomon.

"Hey, before you go, do you think you could do us a small favor?" asked Yaamon.

"What?" Guilmon asked.

The In-Training gave Guilmon a butterfly-shaped pendant. "Today is our teacher's birthday, and we sort of got this as a present for her. We'd give it to her ourselves, but it would ruin our image. Do you think you could…"

"Give it to her in your place? Sure!" said Guilmon. He took the pendant. "Where can I find your teacher?"

"She's in the schoolhouse." Said Yaamon, looking a little relieved.

"Okay. Here I go!" He went inside the schoolhouse. Inside, he found a Togemon grading papers at her desk. There weren't any other students in class at the moment, allowing Guilmon to give the present to her in private.

He coughed when he reached her desk. The cactus looked up. "Yes, what is it?"

Guilmon put the pendant on the desk. "Present for you from the Killer Beemon."

The cactus squealed happily and put on the pendant. "Oh, those sweet little boys! I must thank them next class; they know I love jewelry! Here's a little something for you, as a reward for delivering this to me!"

She handed Guilmon 70 bits and a piece of paper. "What's this?" he asked.

"That piece of paper is the deed to a private island oasis. I don't need it anymore, so you can have it! Imagine, you are now the owner of your own exclusive island and cabana! Enjoy!"

"Wow, thanks!" said Guilmon.

"The best way you can thank me is by not telling the school board I gave this to you. Have fun with your new island! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to grading papers. It may be my birthday, but I still have a lot of work to do! And tell those nice children I said hi!"

"What took you so long?" demanded Grani.

Guilmon frowned. "It'd take too long to explain. But look, I got your unit thingy!" he said, holding up the saucer.

Grani changed tunes. A hatch opened up on his back. "Quickly then, put it in so we can be off!"

Guilmon hopped onto the dragon's back and placed the saucer in the indentation inside of the hatch. The hatch closed after the unit was installed. "Okay, now what?"

"Now you sit back and hold onto something, because here we go!" To Guilmon's astonishment, the red boat started lifting out of the water! It levitated out of the cove, rose into the air, and rocketed away to the east.

"We're flying!" Guilmon yelled in disbelief.

"You bet! It feels great to do this again!" said Grani happily.

"Where are we going?"

"We're flying to Dragon Roost Island. I'll tell you more about what you have to do once we get there!"

"How do you know where it is?"

"I've charted every island in the Sea and beyond, kid. I know where we can find anything in this part of the world! I've got all sorts of maps stored in my memory banks, but that's not important. This is going to be a short flight, so I suggest you enjoy it while you can!"

Guilmon had every intention of doing just that.

Me: Wow, that was hard!

BWG: May I ask why you put me in the story?

Me: Maybe because you're so moody all the time I thought you would be perfect for the depressed moon guy!

BWG: WHY YOU LITTLE-

Me: Beat me up after we read fanmail, okay?

D3fan, that's a great suggestion! Let me try it now! Hey BlackWarGreymon, if you don't shape up I'll de-digivolve you!

BWG: Ha, that won't work! I'm an artificial BlackWarGreymon, I don't have any lower forms!

Me: Damn! Well then, let's see what Reiji Shinnosuke says. Is it true that you work at his manga site?

BWG: What's a manga?

Me: Guess that answers that question. Chuckles, you were right about Grani. But I can guarantee that none of you will ever figure out who the King is. Let's just say he's a Digimon who is naturally royal…

BWG: I know! It's-

Me: SHUT UP!