Me: I'm home again, and ready to load a whole new chapter. Here goes!
"Grani?"
"Yes Guilmon?"
"Where are we going?"
The pair was flying across the sea to somewhere only Grani seemed to know about. "We're going to the Triangular Isles, where we can place the sacred Pearls and open the path to the weapon that can defeat Lucemon."
"Oh, okay." They continued in silence for a while. "Grani?"
"Yes Guilmon?"
"Can you tell me about Lucemon?"
Grani frowned. "What about him?"
"I want to know where he came from. Why he's doing what he's doing. If he's an Angel, why is he so evil?"
Grani's frown deepened. "That's a long story, Guilmon. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Guilmon shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."
"Okay then, listen closely."
In the time before time, our world had no shape or form. It was an empty place; a void called the Dark Area. It seemed as if the world would always remain as it was in the beginning, a place of eternal nothingness. But then, from the heavens, three celestial goddesses descended. They were Cherubimon, Goddess of Power…Ophanimon, Goddess of Wisdom…and Seraphimon, Goddess of Courage.
With her great thunderbolts, Cherubimon called forth land out of the void, forming mountains, rivers, valleys and plains, a spherical shell to cover the emptiness of the Dark Area.
Ophanimon, with her great knowledge, poured wisdom into the earth, providing it with the virtues of truth, justice, and love.
Seraphimon cultivated the land, creating all the Digimon who would carry out the virtues set forth by her sister, and evolve into stronger and nobler beings.
Their labors completed, the sisters returned to the heavens from whence they came. But as they did so, they combined their remaining powers to form a token of good fortune, a single artifact of unbelievable might, the crimson-and-black-power…the Catalyst! This relic possesses the power to grant the first individual to touch it a single wish. This wish, no matter how obscene, would be granted without restriction.
The place where the Catalyst was left became the kingdom of Shinjuku. Fearing the possibility of the Catalyst falling into evil hands, the people sealed the relic inside of the Temple of Time to keep it from ever being used.
"What does this have to do with Lucemon?" asked Guilmon.
Grani frowned. "I'm getting to that?" He looked ahead. "Wait, I should stop for a minute. We've reached the first island."
Grani landed on the shore of a small triangular island. At the tip of the triangle stood a strange androgynous statue surrounded by flowers. Guilmon hopped onto solid ground. "What do I do here?" he asked.
"You must place the Pearl that matches the symbol on the statue into the statue's hands." Grani instructed.
Guilmon walked up to the statue and examined the markings on its forehead. He pulled out Ophanimon's Pearl and placed it in the statue's hands. There was a rumble, and the statue's eyes started glowing blue. Guilmon turned around. "Okay, now what?"
"Hop back on, now we have to go to the next island! I'll continue the story on the way."
Many nations coveted the Catalyst, and thus many wars were fought over who would take it for themselves. The people of Shinjuku struggled to protect their land, but it was a losing fight. They prayed for salvation, and one day they were answered. A powerful Angel descended from the heavens and ended the fighting, driving the invaders from Shinjuku. His name was Lucemon, and he had been sent to protect the Digital World and end any and all conflicts that could harm the peoples of the world.
But Lucemon's programming somehow became corrupted, and he started to destroy the Digital World instead of protect it. He believed the entire world was in a state of chaos, and needed to be deleted. He believed himself to be the only person who could restore order to the Digital World, and that was by destroying it and starting anew, creating a new world where everything would be under his control, where concepts such as freedom, thought, and emotion were meaningless.
The gods came together and stripped Lucemon of his power, trapping him on our world as a mere mortal. Of course, Lucemon would not stand for that and began plotting his revenge.
He knew of the power of the Catalyst, and believed that he could use it to become all-powerful and achieve his New World Order. Through great difficulty he was able to obtain the Catalyst, but he did not count on the defense mechanism that had been placed on it long ago. If anyone who did not have the three elements of the Catalyst-Power, Courage, and Wisdom-perfectly balanced in their hearts, it would split apart and seek out the three individuals who had those elements strongest in their hearts. Lucemon believed in power and thus got the Catalyst of Power, while the Catalysts of Wisdom and Courage went to other Digimon.
Lucemon was able to use his newfound power to conquer Shinjuku and regain his immortality, but he would never be able to achieve his wish of a new world without the other two pieces of the Catalyst. And so he spent seven years searching for those pieces, in the hopes that he could take them from their holders and use them together to grant his wish.
Fortunately, that was not to be. The holders of the Catalysts of Wisdom and Courage, the Princess Kuzuhamon and the heroic Susanoomon joined forces with the six ancient Sages and sealed Lucemon in the Dark Area, hoping he would never escape.
Susanoomon split the catalyst of Courage into eight pieces and scattered them all over the country, then left the land to begin a new quest. He was never seen again. As for Kuzuhamon, she split the Catalyst of Wisdom into two pieces, which became treasures of the Royal Family and were given to her descendants for generation after generation.
Grani stopped talking. "Here's the next island, Guilmon. You know what to do."
They landed. Guilmon hopped onto land, walked over to the statue, and examined the markings. He placed Cherubimon's Pearl into the statue's hands and stepped back. The statue rumbled, and the eyes started glowing red. "Two down, one to go! So, what happened?"
"What do you mean, what happened?"
"The old legend that I remember said Lucemon came back. Is that true?"
Grani sighed. "If only it weren't…" he said as he lifted off.
Centuries passed, and Lucemon was still trapped in the Dark Area. Although he could not escape his prison, he discovered he was able to use his powers to exert some influence on the surface world. He was able to infect the strongest warriors of that time, the Royal Knights, with his corrupted programming. Once paragons of nobility and justice, the Knights now existed only to served Lucemon.
They infected others with their corrupted programming, creating a great army that rampaged across the planet, destroying the kingdoms of Odaiba, Kyoto, and Shibuya. They collected the data of all the Digimon living in those kingdoms and transmitted it to Lucemon, giving him the strength to break free and return to the surface once more.
With his new army, Lucemon marched on Shinjuku. The people prayed to the gods, hoping that Susanoomon would appear again and save them from Lucemon's evil. But Susanoomon did not appear. In the last hours of Shinjuku, the King prayed not for salvation, but for destruction! He asked for the gods to bury the world in rain, to trap Lucemon beneath a vast ocean from which he could never escape. They complied, and the world was flooded. Only a few Digimon survived by climbing to the tops of the highest mountains, which became islands. And so it has been, up to the present day.
"A thousand years have passed, and now Lucemon is once more free to unleash his evil. He must be stopped before he can find the other two pieces of the Catalyst. For if he does, all is lost." Said Grani, finishing his story.
Guilmon looked down at the sea beneath him in awe. "You mean Shinjuku is down there? Under the sea?"
Grani nodded. "Yes, and that's where we're going! The weapon that will defeat Lucemon can only be found there, at the bottom of the sea, in the heart of Shinjuku."
"Wow!" Guilmon looked up. "But where do you come into all this?"
Grani coughed. "Er, how do you mean?"
"How do you know all of this stuff, anyway? How come you knew I was the one to defeat Lucemon, and all that? Where did YOU come from, Grani?"
The magical vessel said nothing for a time. Finally, he spoke. "Perhaps, when this is all over, I will tell you the answers. But for now, I must keep my secrets. I hope you understand."
Guilmon was disappointed, but pretended that it didn't hurt him. "That's okay Grani. I understand."
Grani quickly changed the subject. "Look, there's the last island. Let's finish this!"
They landed on the last triangle. Guilmon hopped off Grani and placed the last Pearl, Seraphimon's, into the statue's hands. It rumbled and the eyes started glowing green. Guilmon started to walk away when the entire island started shaking. The statue flashed and exploded, launching the screaming Guilmon into the air.
The dust from the explosion cleared, revealing a green statue of Seraphimon holding the Pearl. The Pearl glowed and fired a green energy beam at a forty-five degree angle to the southwest, striking the first statue and making it explode, revealing a blue statue of Ophanimon. It fired a blue beam at a forty-five degree angle to the north, striking the last statue and making it explode, revealing a red statue of Cherubimon which fired a forty-five degree angle to the southeast, striking Seraphimon's statue and forming a triangle of light. A huge glowing Catalyst symbol came into place over the triangle and faded away. At the epicenter of where the central red triangle had been, the water bubbled as an immense stone tower erupted from the sea, rising high into the sky. A wall came out of one side of the tower and went all the way to the other side, forming a circle with numerous archway openings. Guilmon slammed face-first into this wall and fell to the water below, unconscious.
"Guilmon! Guilmon, wake up!"
Guilmon's eyes opened, allowing him to see that he was on Grani's back in the water. "Grani? What happ-" He stopped, staring up at the tower. "Where did THAT come from?"
"It's a special place summoned by the magic Pearls you have placed. It is a proving ground where Digimon of great ability may be proclaimed heroes. This is the Tower of the Gods!"
"…Cool!"
"You must believe in your own courage, which has led you to triumph over the many hardships you have faced…and you must triumph once again!"
Guilmon put on his game face. "I'm ready, Grani!"
"Excellent! Prepare yourself Guilmon, for this will be your most difficult test yet!" With that, he sailed through the arches and into the vaulted opening on the side of the majestic tower.
Me: Another chapter complete!
Numemon: Belch!
Me: …Yes, I know it stunk. I can't help it!
Numemon: Belch!
Me: Argh! Say something legible!
Numemon: …
Me: Come on, I know you can do it!
Numemon: …Belch!
Me: (Facefaults.) Oy vey. I give up. Here's some fanmail.
D3fan, please find BWG. I'd actually prefer him to this guy.
Nightdragon0, Guilmon is not going to 'evolve' exactly. You'll see what I mean.
Dark-Magician-41, BWG and I didn't get along well because he felt that I stole his freedom. That's all.
Until next time, so long!
Numemon: Belch!
Me: …I hate my life.