BWG: (Enters house.) Ri2? Ri2, are you here? Look man, I've got to talk to you- (Spots note on floor.) Hello… (Starts to read.)
"To whom it may concern, your author has been kidnapped. Do not make any attempt to find me, because you will fail. I want no ransom money, but I do want revenge for what was done to me. You will never see Ri2 again. Signed, Anonymous."
BWG: (Worried.) Oh no! I've got to save him! But I'll need some help finding whoever did this. I'll need a detective. Good thing I know just the one… (Walks over to telephone and dials a number.) Hello, operator? Get me Gordianus the Finder!
"Wow…" The interior of the Tower of the Gods was as cool as its exterior. The walls were made of gray stone lined with marble pillars. In between every set of pillars was a stained glass window letting light in from outside. Each stained glass window held a stone bust of one of the Digital World's many gods and goddesses. Directly ahead was a huge set of three busts depicting Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon. Water was pouring from all three of their open mouths, spilling into the seawater coming in from the outside. The left side of the room looked like it had been recently patched up with cement, and the right side had a passage leading away from the main chamber. Unfortunately, a lowered portcullis blocked it off. The water level in the room constantly rose and fell with the tides.
Grani turned his head to face Guilmon. "Guilmon, since there is just enough room for me to hover in here, I can help you out on this first floor of the tower. But after that, you're on your own. Do you understand?"
Guilmon nodded. "Yeah. I appreciate all the help you can give me, nevertheless."
Grani smiled. "That is good to know." He carefully flew over to the right side of the room, where a large platform with green and golden tiles rose from the water. Guilmon jumped onto the platform as Grani lowered into the water. "Guilmon, to open the blocked passageway, you must find the statue whose base fits the indentation in the floor of the small shrine."
Guilmon looked around and saw the shrine Grani was talking about, a small area sheltered beneath a roof supported by four pillars. In the center of the 'shrine' was a cross-shaped indentation set into the floor. Guilmon looked down at Grani. "Okay, I'll go find that statue! See you soon!" He started walking towards the edge of the platform, where there was a door set in the wall. Iron bars sealed the door, but there was a very pretty glowing round switch set in the floor that undoubtedly opened the door. Guilmon stepped on the switch, and the bars raised. But as he hopped off the glowing switch, the bars slammed down again. Guilmon frowned and looked for something he could use to weigh down the pressure switch. He quickly spotted a pair of peculiar-looking statues that looked to be about the same size and weight as he was. With a little effort, he picked up one of the statues and dropped it on the switch, raising the bars again and letting him through the door.
He was now in a rectangular room with a large pit that took up most of the room. Water occasionally filled the pit, forming a pool of water, then drained away again. A ladder went down into the pit, where Guilmon could see several small crates, which would float up whenever the water level rose, and a glowing pressure switch. Across the pit was a marble base where a statue sat. The statue was shaped like a pillar, with a cross-shaped base. Guilmon could easily swim across to the statue whenever the pit filled up with water, but he doubted he would be able to carry it back. Perhaps the switch in the pit could help. Guilmon was about to go down the ladder when the water rose, filling the pit. Impatiently, he waited for the water to go down, then climbed into the pit. He stepped on the switch and looked up in time to see a beautiful bridge made of light come into being, spanning both sides of the pit! Guilmon stepped off of the switch, and the bridge instantly disappeared. He grabbed one of the nearby boxes and set it on the switch, summoning the bridge again. Then he climbed up the ladder and was about to walk across the bridge when the water rose, causing the box to float off the switch and make the bridge disappear. Fortunately, the box was still floating right above the switch, so when the water level lowered, it would drop right down and activate the bridge again. In the meantime, Guilmon decided to swim across the pool, where he picked up the heavy statue and waited for the water level to go down. When the light bridge reappeared, Guilmon ran across the bridge as quickly as possible and carried the statue back through the door into the main room.
He carried the statue over to the shrine and dropped it into its base. The statue started to glow, and a pillar of light shot out of the top, going right through a hole in the ceiling! Guilmon stumbled back in surprise, and nearly fell over when he heard the portcullis creak and rise out of the water, revealing the passageway. Guilmon grinned and jumped off the platform, landing on Grani's back. "Hey Grani, let's see what's over there!"
"Sounds good to me." Grani rose out of the water and flew down the passageway, landing at the end in front of a ledge with a door on it. "Go in there, Guilmon. I'm sure there's something worthwhile inside."
Guilmon jumped onto the ledge and walked over to the door. Like the previous one, bars sealed it, and there was a nearby switch that probably opened it. Knowing it was most likely a pressure switch; Guilmon grabbed one of the conveniently placed statues nearby and placed it on the switch, opening the door. It was another rectangular chamber, but a pit encompassed almost the entire room with water rising and falling in it, much like the rest of the first floor. There were several large crates in the pit that floated up and down with the water. At the far end of the room was a platform with a pair of unlit torches. On Guilmon's side of the room was a pot holding several sticks and a burning torch. The puzzle was obvious, but the solution not so. Guilmon needed to light a stick and carry it over to the other side of the room and use it to light the torches. The only problem was he couldn't reach the platform unless the water filled the pit, but he wouldn't be able to carry the burning stick across if he had to swim. As the water level lowered again, Guilmon remembered how he had solved the puzzle in the last room with boxes. Perhaps he could do so again! He jumped into the pit and started shoving the crates around, trying to form a straight row that went from one end of the room to the other. It took a while due to the frequent rises and falls in the water level, but he finally managed to finish the job. When the water level rose again, it carried all of the boxes with it, forming a series of stepping stones leading to the torch platform. Guilmon climbed back to dry land, picked a stick out of the pot, and lit it with the torch. He waited for the water to lower and rise again, and then he started jumping across the crates. He managed to leap to the other side just before the water lowered, allowing him to light the two torches. Once they had burst into flame, a treasure chest materialized in between them. Guilmon opened it and found a key!
He exited the room and returned to Grani. "I found a key, but I didn't see a door anywhere to use it in." he complained.
Grani frowned in thought. "You know, that wall on the left side of the main room didn't look like it belonged there. Perhaps there is something behind the wall, such as the door your key goes to."
"Okay, but how do we get past the wall?" Guilmon asked.
Grani raised an eyebrow. "We'll blast it to smithereens, how else?"
"Sweet!"
They flew back into the main room. Grani aimed himself at the wall. "Okay Guilmon, here we go! Yuggoth Blaster!" His powerful weapon obliterated the wall in a single shot. "Damn, I love this thing!" He flew over to the area that had been hidden behind the wall, and stopped near a ledge identical to the one on the other side of the room, right down to the shrine near the edge!
Guilmon jumped off. Grani started to open his mouth, but Guilmon beat him to it. "Don't tell me, I have to find the statue that fits the indentation in the shrine, right?" Grani nodded. "Okay, I'll go get it. I'll be back!" He walked over to the door. He was not surprised to see that it was barred and there was a glowing switch next to it. He picked up a nearby statue and placed it on the switch, causing the bars to recede. He went through the door.
The next room was, once more, long and rectangular. But there were no pits for a change! However, there were grates set in the floor, indicating that water would probably flood the room at any moment. From the middle of the room rose two platforms, one twice as tall as the other. Both of them were too tall for Guilmon to climb up to. Atop the highest platform was a small shrine housing the pillar-shaped statue Guilmon needed. As Guilmon stepped forward, four Numemon dropped from the ceiling and prepared to attack. These Numemon were yellow, and crackled with electricity. Guilmon knew better than to attack them with a metal sword, so he tried to think of a better way to defeat them. He pulled out the boomerang, his only long-range weapon, and hurled it at the Numemon. It struck all four of them, stunning them and stopping their electric current long enough for Guilmon to slice them to pieces and load their data. As water started to flood the room, a pair of magnificent staircases of light materialized, leading up the platforms. Guilmon ran to dry ground atop the first staircase, then ascended the second one to the shrine. He picked up the statue and started back down the stairs. He waited for the water to recede, then ran for the door.
Carrying the statue, he exited the room and dropped it in the cross-shaped indentation in the shrine on the ledge. The statue shook and fired a beam of light up through a hole in the ceiling. There was a grinding noise, and the water stopped flowing out of the Cherubimon bust's head, revealing a corridor. Guilmon jumped into the water and swam onto Grani's back. Without being asked, the magic boat took off and hovered in front of the newly revealed corridor. "Don't tell me, I've got to go into that thing's mouth?"
Grani nodded. "That corridor will take you further into the tower. I am afraid that after you go inside, I can only watch and perhaps call out to you through the magic pebble. You'll have to handle everything else."
Guilmon shrugged. "No problem. I survived Dragon Roost Cavern and the Forbidden Woods. If the first floor is any indication of the rest of the tower, I doubt I'll have much trouble."
Grani didn't look so sure. "Be careful nonetheless. Do not let your guard down. And before you go, here's one last bit of advice: If you see a monster that opens its mouth wide, throw a bomb into it. Do the same if you see a suspicious-looking wall."
Guilmon raised an eyebrow. "Uh, right, whatever you say Grani." He jumped into the corridor and started to walk away.
Grani started to lower into the water. "Good luck, Guilmon. I know you can do it." He called after the reptile.
Guilmon entered a large cylindrical chamber. At the far end of the room was a large alcove as tall as the rest of the room with three pressure switches in front of a deep pit. A door sat on a recessed ledge at the top of the alcove. A pair of statues stood around the room, and a strange new kind of statue, a cone-shaped pillar with a glowing light spinning around the top, sat in the very center of the room. Guilmon started walking towards one of the statues lining the walls. As he did, he got too close to the strange object in the middle of the room. The light flashed and fired a laser at him. Startled, Guilmon quickly ran out of the thing's range. He wisely decided to stay away from the middle of the room. He grabbed a couple of statues and placed them on the switches, then stood on the third one. Several golden platforms rose from the pit and began moving up and down, forming a path to the upper door. Guilmon tentatively stepped off the switch and was relieved to see the platforms remained. He jumped onto the nearest one and rode it up until it began moving down. He jumped to another platform and repeated the process until he reached the top. He went through the door and into the second floor of the tower.
He was now in a beautiful golden chamber. It was vast and round, with a domed ceiling. Busts of the gods stood on pedestals all over the room. There were three other doors in the room, arranged like the points of the compass so the door Guilmon entered through would be south. Two of the doors were barred. In the center of the room was a raised pavilion of gold, with a hole in the ceiling right beneath another hole in the roof. Three ornate golden discs sat on the floor around the pavilion, each one directly across from one of the doors. Guilmon climbed up some stairs to see if there was anything in the pavilion, but found nothing. Since there was nothing else to do, he decided to go through the only open door, the one to the east.
He was on a platform before a narrow pit separating him from the platform at the other end of the room and a door. A golden platform moved back and forth across the pit. Guilmon jumped onto the platform and rode it across to the other side. When he jumped off, a pair of electrified Numemon greeted him. He easily killed them and went through the door. The next room was essentially a giant pit. A narrow walkway twisted its way over the pit from a large alcove on the other side, stopping only a foot away from the door ledge. Fortunately, Guilmon had no reason to traverse the walkway, because a short stairway of light led up from his ledge to a big platform of light that hung over most of the room, allowing him safe passage over the pit. He climbed up to the platform and walked to the other side. He was a little worried when he saw that there were no stairs. When he jumped down, he would need to use the winding walkway to get back to the exit. He sighed and jumped off. He landed in the alcove. It was quite large, with golden walls and a stone floor. A pair of god busts flanked a pillar holding a black statue of Ophanimon about his size. Guilmon looked up at the statue. Something told him it was important, but how could he get it down? It was then that he noticed a stone marker near him. He looked at it and saw there were words carved into it. He read them out loud. "'The seeker of the goddess guideposts may summon the sacred statues by calling to them. Return all the statues to the holy chamber to proceed to the next level.'" He looked up at the statue. "Um…come on down?" he asked, feeling a little foolish.
He didn't feel foolish anymore when the pillar lowered into the ground and the statue hopped towards him. He blinked. "Okay…follow me!" He started walking towards the winding walkway. The statue of Ophanimon faithfully followed him. Guilmon slowly navigated the turns and twists of the walkway to ensure the statue didn't accidentally hop off into the abyss. When he reached the end of the walkway, he wasn't sure what to do. He could easily jump across, but the statue couldn't hop that far. Guilmon turned to look at the statue as it caught up with him, stopping just inches away. It didn't look any heavier than the other statues he had lifted so far in the tower. Guilmon picked up the statue and threw it across the gap. It landed safely on the ledge and stood there, waiting for him. Guilmon jumped over to the statue, picked it up again, and carried it through the door.
Guilmon immediately dropped the statue when he saw a new pair of electric Numemon had appeared. He quickly killed them, grabbed the statue, and rode the floating platform back to the entrance. He went through, back into the golden chamber. The statue quivered and leaped out of his hands. It hopped across the room to the gold disc set across from the door. When it reached the center of the disc, it rose into the air in the form of a pillar like the one Guilmon had taken it from. Guilmon was getting used to magical stuff, so wasn't very surprised when the lines on the statue's armor started to glow blue. The statue then began to speak. "Young Waker of the Winds, find my two sisters and return them to their places of truth here in the sacred chamber. Use the melody to guide them here." With that, there was a great flash of light and a tablet with something carved on it appeared on the central platform as Ophanimon fell silent.
Guilmon ran up the stairs and examined the tablet. To his surprise, there were directional symbols carved into it! The words "Command Melody" were written above the directions. Guilmon immediately knew what to do. He took out the Wind Waker and checked the directions again. They were: OO. Guilmon jabbed the baton left, forward, right, and forward. The Waker glowed, indicating that he had mastered the song! The bars over the western door slid apart, and the tablet vanished as it had appeared, in a flash of light. Guilmon looked at his Wind Waker. "I wonder what this new song does." He muttered as he put it away and went through the west door.
The chamber was a giant pit. The exit door was on the other side of the pit. A pole hung from the ceiling, placed just right for the use of a grappling hook. There was a weird-looking eyeball placed in the wall on the right side of the room, staring at an alcove on the left side of the room containing a door. Guilmon thought he could reach the alcove with his grappling hook, but he figured the goddess statue would be behind the door on the other side of the pit. He would have plenty of time to check out the alcove on the way back. He threw the grappling hook at the pole, catching hold of it and enabling him to swing across to the other side. As he landed on the door ledge, he was attacked by a pair of monsters he could only call Skullmon. They were floating skulls surrounded in fire that seemed determined to burn Guilmon. Remembering how effective his leaf was on airborne enemies, Guilmon whipped out his present from RedWoodmon and fanned it at the skulls. It put out their flames and knocked them to the ground, allowing Guilmon to easily defeat them. He then proceeded into the next room.
It was another giant pit. Across the gap were a glowing pressure switch and a statue of Seraphimon, in another golden alcove. A pole hung from the ceiling, which Guilmon used to grapple across the chasm. He landed, walked up to the elevated statue, and called out to it. "Come on down!" The pillar lowered, and the statue hopped towards him. Guilmon led the statue to the edge of the pit and was about to take out his grappling hook when he suddenly realized a major flaw in his plan. How was he supposed to take the statue all the way back to the sacred chamber? There was no way he could grapple and carry the statue at the same time! Then he remembered the switch. He stepped on it, and a bridge of light appeared across the pit. Guilmon stepped off the switch, and the bridge vanished. He should have known. Guilmon tried to think of what to do. If he put the statue on the switch, that would weight it down and keep the bridge stable. But if the statue was on the switch, how could it cross the bridge? Then he recalled what Ophanimon's statue had said. "'Use this melody to guide them…'" he whispered. He stepped on the switch, reactivating the bridge. Then he took out the Wind Waker and played the Command Melody. He felt a strange wrenching sensation and suddenly realized he was now controlling the magic statue with the power of his mind. "Cool!" He mentally commanded the statue to hop across the bridge. When it was on the other side, Guilmon released his control and grappled across the pit, then grabbed the statue and went through the door.
Here, he was faced with another dilemma. How was he going to get the statue across the pit? He looked at the eyeball on the wall and wondered if it was some kind of switch. He threw his boomerang at it. It hit the switch and flew back to him. Nothing happened. Guilmon looked at the alcove on the wall, and the door he hadn't opened yet. Maybe there was something in there that could help? He grappled across to the alcove and went inside.
The chamber was a domed room with four pillars rising to the ceiling. Standing in the center of the room was a statue of some sort of armored warrior holding a tremendous sword. As Guilmon stepped forward, the statue grunted and came to life. It wasn't a statue at all, but a Knightmon! The heavily armored knight stomped towards him, weighed down by his armor. Guilmon charged forward and slashed at the warrior's armor. His blade ricocheted off the armor, allowing the Knightmon to swat him away with a swing of his giant sword. Guilmon got back to his feet and started strafing the Knightmon, looking for a weakness. He was faster than the knight, so when he circled to the warrior's back, he saw some leather straps holding Knightmon's armor in place. If he could destroy those straps, he could get rid of Knightmon's armor and do some damage with his sword! Guilmon decided the parry attack would probably be the best way to cut the straps. He stopped moving and waited for the Knightmon to come close. When the warrior raised his sword, Guilmon rolled under the swing and behind the knight, coming up in a slash that severed the leather straps, causing the knight's armor to fall off and disintegrate! The Knightmon growled and turned around, preparing for another attack. When the Knightmon was about to hit him, Guilmon used the parry attack again to knock the warrior's helmet off, revealing a distinctly canine face. Now the Knightmon was really angry. Although it was now vulnerable, the loss of its heavy armor had increased its speed exponentially. When Guilmon attempted the parry attack again, Knightmon anticipated it and knocked him away with a kick before he could be struck from behind. Guilmon got back up and decided on another tactic. He pulled out his boomerang and threw it at Knightmon, stunning him and causing him to drop his sword. Guilmon ran towards Knightmon, picked up his sword, and decapitated the monster in a single move! The warrior vaporized, allowing Guilmon to absorb its data. When he was done, a treasure chest materialized in the center of the room. Eager to see what was inside, Guilmon opened the chest. He frowned in confusion when he took out the objects inside. They were a pair of double-barreled guns, but Guilmon had no way of knowing that. "What are these things?" he wondered.
"I'd be glad to tell you!" said Grani's voice from Guilmon's pocket.
Guilmon took out the magic pebble. "Okay, what are they?" he asked.
"Those are the Berenjena, the favorite weapon of the legendary demon hero Beelzemon. They are a kind of weapon called 'guns', sort of like cannons but much smaller and a little less destructive."
Guilmon peered down one end of a gun. "How do they work?"
"First, turn that thing around so it's not facing you." Guilmon quickly flipped the gun around. "Now, point it at whatever it is you want to shoot." Guilmon pointed the gun at the top of a pillar. "Now, look through the small metal sight on top of the gun to aim precisely. Line up your target with the top of your sight." Guilmon carefully did so. "Now, squeeze the trigger in the handle to fire the gun." Guilmon pulled the trigger.
The loud bang and recoil took him by surprise and made him fall over. When he got back up, he saw a small hole had been made in the top of the pillar. "Whoa."
"You can use the gun to shoot at enemies or far-off objects, like wall-mounted switches. Just be careful with those things, and don't point them at yourself or anyone whose data you don't want to load. They can be very deadly if you're not cautious. Take care, Guilmon. I have faith in you." The pebble stopped glowing. Guilmon put it away, picked up the Berenjena and left the room.
Recalling what Grani said about switches, Guilmon pointed a gun at the eyeball and fired. It closed, and a pair of platforms slid out of the walls and began floating horizontally back and forth. Guilmon grappled back to the statue, picked it up, and jumped across the platforms when they got close to each other to reach the exit. When he got to the sacred chamber, the Seraphimon statue hopped out of his hands and onto a disc, which elevated to the same level as the central platform. The lines on the statue's armor started glowing green. "Young Waker of the Winds, find my sister and return her to her place of truth here in the sacred chamber. Use the melody to guide her here." The bars over the north door retracted. There was only one more statue left.
Guilmon went through the northern door and found a room that was not, for a change, a giant pit! A trench holding a pair of golden scales and a pool full of water horizontally bisected the room. The locked exit door was on the other side of the room, on a higher platform. There was a ladder leading into the water on Guilmon's side, but none leading to the exit. There was also a cracked section of wall on the right side of the pit, on a ledge just above the water. There were also a total of eight statues like the ones Guilmon had used on the first floor, four on eight side of the trench. Guilmon jumped onto the right side of the scale and it tipped down towards the cracked wall. Remembering what Grani had said about suspicious walls, Guilmon jumped onto the ledge (Noticing that the scales immediately balanced themselves without his weight) and took out his bomb bag. He pulled out a bomb and looked at it. It looked pretty simple, a small sphere with a button on it. Hoping there was a timer, Guilmon pressed the button, threw the bomb at the wall, and dove into the water. There was a ten-second pause, and then the bomb exploded, destroying the cracked wall and revealing a door! Guilmon climbed out of the water and went through the door.
The room looked just like the one where he had fought the Knightmon, except for the red pad with the Catalyst symbol in the center of the room, the two ugly one-eyed statues flanking it, and the green pad with the symbol of wind embossed on it. Remembering what Grani had said a long time ago about the Wind Waker, Guilmon stood on the pad, took out the magic baton, and played the Wind's Requiem. The room darkened. Golden winds swirled around the Catalyst pad. There was a flash of light, and a treasure chest appeared. As Guilmon stepped off the pad, the two statues suddenly came to life! The giant monstrosities started hopping towards him. Noticing their large single eyes, Guilmon whipped out the Berenjena and fired a couple of bullets into one of the statue's eye. The statue shuddered and stopped, its great maw grinding open. Remembering Grani's parting advice, Guilmon pulled out a bomb, armed it, and threw it into the statue's mouth. The stone monster's mouth closed. Spikes emerged from its base and it started spinning around, smashing into walls and pillars for a few seconds before finally exploding. Guilmon repeated the process with the second statue, then opened the treasure chest. Inside was a key. Now Guilmon could open the locked door in the last room, but first he would need to figure out how to get up there.
He returned to the room with the scales and climbed back up the ladder. He looked at the scaled and recalled how the end he had been on tipped when he had jumped on. The other end had risen up into the air, close to the same level as the exit ledge. Perhaps if he could weigh down one end of the scale, he could use the other to reach the door! He grabbed one of the nearby statues and threw it onto one end of the scale. It lowered, raising the other end. Guilmon jumped onto the raised end…only to have it come down as his weight plus that of the statue's balanced the scale again. Frustrated, he returned to the entrance, grabbed a second statue, and threw it on the end that already had a statue. When he jumped onto the raised end this time, it didn't move. Guilmon leaped off the scale, grabbed the edge of the platform, and pulled himself up. He then used his key to unlock the door and continue.
The next chamber was smaller than the other statue rooms. There was a statue of Cherubimon in an alcove at the back of the room. A small monument rose from the middle of the room. A glowing switch sat in front of the monument. As Guilmon walked towards the alcove, he saw that it wouldn't be easy to reach the statue. A pair of god busts was stacked on top of each other on either side of the entrance to the alcove. Laser beams emitted from the eyes of each head, forming a lethal barrier. Guilmon had to figure out a way to get past the lasers. He tested the switch, and saw that it shut off the lasers. He wasn't surprised that they started up again the second he got off the switch. Guilmon started thinking of a solution. He couldn't go through the lasers, there was no way around them, and he certainly couldn't dig beneath them…but maybe he could go over them! He climbed onto the small monument, took out his leaf, and jumped towards the lasers. He used the leaf to glide just inches over the barrier, landing safely on the other side. He ran to the base of the pillar holding Cherubimon's statue. "Come on down!" he called. The pillar lowered and the statue hopped towards him. Now all he had to do was figure out a way back through the barrier. If he could somehow get the statue onto the switch back in the main room, the lasers would shut off. But how could he place the statue on the switch if he was behind the lasers to begin with?
He smacked himself. How could he have forgotten! The Command Melody had helped him with the last statue, it would certainly help him now! He played the magic song and took control of the statue with his mind. As the statue, he hopped right through the lasers (Being made of stone, they couldn't hurt him.) and stopped on the pressure switch, turning off the lasers. Guilmon released his mind control, grabbed the statue, and left the room.
As the door closed behind him, Guilmon immediately dropped the statue and raised his shield as an energy ball shot towards him. The ball exploded harmlessly on his shield, allowing him to look up and see who had fired it. A Wizardmon was floating in the air above the scale. The wizard laughed and vanished. Guilmon didn't let his guard down. He pulled out the Berenjena and waited for the wizard to reappear. When Wizardmon spun into being out of thin air, Guilmon aimed and fired at him. The bullets struck the wizard, killing him instantly. Guilmon then grabbed on of the normal statues and threw it onto the lowered end of the scale to weigh it down enough so that when he got on the scale with the Cherubimon statue, it would stay down. Guilmon picked Cherubimon's statue back up and threw it onto the scale. He jumped after it, picked it up again, and threw it to the ground near the exit. He jumped down after it, and was about to pick it up when the two remaining statues near the door came to life and started hopping towards him. Guilmon noticed that like the giant statues, these little ones had single eyes as well. He fired bullets into their eyes, stunning them and allowing Guilmon to shatter the red jewels on their backs with a few strikes from his sword. The statues grew spikes and started spinning all over the place. Guilmon stayed out of their way until they blew up, then picked up Cherubimon's statue and went through the exit.
Back in the sacred room once more, the statue jumped out of his hands and hopped onto the last gold disc. It lifted the statue up just like the other pillars did. The lines on the statue started to glow red. "Young Waker of the Winds, you have passed this test! Proceed to the next challenge!" it said. The eyes of all three statues glowed and fired triangular energy beams into the center of the gold pavilion. A lavender pillar of light shot up from the floor, going up through the hole in the ceiling. Guilmon cautiously went up the stairs and walked into the light. He felt all tingly and happy as the magic light carried him into the air, up to the next floor.
He jumped out of the pillar of light and found himself in a large cylindrical room with a door at one end and an alcove blocked by a laser barrier at the other. A couple of statues were sitting near the door, and a pair of laser statues stood at attention along the wall. Guilmon saw there were three pressure switches in front of the barrier and groaned. He was so sick of pressure switches. Knowing he would have to carry the statues by the door all across the room, Guilmon took out the Berenjena and shot at the laser eyes of the guard statues, destroying them. He then picked up the normal statues, one at a time, and carried them across the room, where they were placed on a switch. When both statues were in place, he stood on the last switch. The lasers vanished, revealing a big treasure chest. Inside it was an eyeball key! Guilmon put it away and turned around just in time to see the statues come to life and attack him. After he had killed the statues, he went through the door at the other end of the room.
He walked up a wide staircase and came out on a balcony on the outside of the tower. Guilmon looked down and felt a bit sick when he saw how high up he was. A loud screech brought him back to reality and saved him from being knocked off the balcony by a Birdramon. As the bird made another pass at him, Guilmon whipped out the Berenjena and shot the bird, killing it instantly. He absorbed its data, then saw that the balcony continued to the left, spiraling up the side of the tower in the form of several sets of stairs and landings. Guilmon shot a laser-shooting statue at the base of the first set of stairs and headed on up. Four staircases and six laser statues later, Guilmon reached the end of the balcony. He walked into the passage going back inside the tower and was faced by an immense door held shut by an eyeball lock. Guilmon took out the key he had gained in the last room and inserted it into the lock, opening the door.
He entered and found himself in an immense cylindrical room. A big stone platform encompassed most of the floor. What wasn't stone was strange glowing metal that looked electrified. Guilmon decided not to fall off the platform. High on the wall at the back of the room were three glowing carvings of Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon. Set into the wall above each carvings was what looked like some sort of bas-relief. Guilmon couldn't really tell what the reliefs were of though, due to the room's only lighting coming from the carvings and the electric floor. Wary for any threat, Guilmon walked into the center of the room. He wasn't too surprised when a voice boomed from the relief above Cherubimon. "At last you have come…"
"Who are you?" asked Guilmon.
"I have been waiting for another warrior to reach this chamber. It has been so very long since any have faced me. And now that you are here…" The bas-relief above Seraphimon shook and slid out of the wall, turning into a giant floating hand with glowing lines etched into it and a green eye placed in the palm. "…I may fulfill the duty laid out to me ages ago by the gods who built this tower. I am tasked to test those who seek to be named as one of the heroes destined to save this world." The bas-relief above Ophanimon slid out, turning into another giant hand. "You are not the first to get this far, but none of your predecessors have ever managed to defeat me. I hope you succeed where the others have failed." The final bas-relief slid out of the wall, revealing itself as a humongous, slightly porcine face with a curly stone moustache, two glowing red eyes, and a gold disc with spokes spreading out attached to the back of his head. "I am the Arbiter. Prepare yourself warrior, for I am your final challenge!"
Guilmon drew his sword and shield as the Arbiter floated down towards him. As the face closed its eyes, the hands came to life. They circled Guilmon, staring at him with their eerie green eyes. Without warning, one of them swooped towards him, looking like it was going to slap him away! Guilmon pulled out the Berenjena and fired at the eye of the hand. The floating limb quivered and backed away. The other hand rose into the hair, then hurtled down with the intent to smash Guilmon into the floor! Guilmon jumped out of the way just in time, and fired a bullet into the hand's eye when it floated back off the ground. The hands then flew to opposite ends of the room. As Guilmon was wondering what they were doing, both hands shot towards him! Guilmon rolled out of the way as the hands slammed into each other in a clap, then pulled apart. Guilmon quickly fired bullets into each eye before they could get away. The hands trembled and flipped over, dangling lifelessly. With both hands immobilized, the Arbiter's eyes opened. (The face, not the hands.) Before the creature could attack, Guilmon fired bullets into both of the Arbiter's red eyes. Arbiter groaned and fell to the floor, his mouth opened wide. Recalling how he had defeated those giant statues guarding the Berenjena, Guilmon pulled out a bomb, armed it, and threw it into the Arbiter's mouth. The living statue's mouth shut. There was a pause, and then the statue's face bulged from the explosion within. Arbiter floated back into the air, both of his hands recovered and ready for another round. The right hand clenched into a fist and rocketed towards Guilmon. He sidestepped the punch, and the fist slammed into the wall. As it uncurled and turned around, Guilmon fired bullets into its eye, stunning it. Guilmon was suddenly grabbed by the left hand, which had snuck up behind him while he had been shooting at the other hand. The hand squeezed him, shook him about, and then tossed him towards the electrified portion of the floor. Guilmon barely managed to grab onto the edge of the platform before he could fall to his possible death. As he climbed back up, the hand flew towards him, trying to sweep him back off the platform. Guilmon fired at the hand's eye until it finally flipped over, stunned. Guilmon was surprised when Arbiter opened his mouth instead of his eyes! The living statue began to shoot rapid-fire projectiles from his mouth, each of which exploded on impact with the ground! Guilmon quickly raised his shield to protect himself from the deadly attack, and didn't let his guard down until the explosions stopped. When the Arbiter's eyes opened, he shot them, causing the statue to fall to the floor again. Guilmon armed another bomb and threw it into the Arbiter's mouth, causing another explosion. When the face rose into the air again, and the hands recovered once more, Guilmon steeled himself for the attack he knew was coming. The hands started floating around him again, moving too quickly for him to get a bead on them with his guns. The hands suddenly stopped moving and began to glow. Guilmon immediately knew he needed to get away from them. He jumped out from between the hands just as they generated a powerful laser beam that would have killed him instantly if he had stood still. The hands separated and began circling Guilmon again. Guilmon knew he had to shoot their eyes somehow, but they were moving so fast! How could he hit them? As he avoided another laser beam assault, Guilmon suddenly got an idea. What if he tried aiming for where the hands would be instead of aiming right at them? That way, when he fired a bullet, the hand would run right into it! He readied the Berenjena as the hands circled him again. He fired a bullet just before a hand passed in front of him. The bullet struck the hand's eye, causing it to flip over. Guilmon saw the other hand begin to glow out of the corner of his eye, and barely sidestepped a laser. The hand started charging up for another laser. Guilmon quickly fired a bullet at the eye right before the hand could attack, stunning it. The Arbiter's mouth opened. Guilmon quickly started running as the statue fired its explosive projectiles again. He ran in a circle around the floating head, managing to stay just ahead of the attack. When the projectiles stopped and the eyes opened, Guilmon fired both guns at the floating head. As the Arbiter fell to the ground, Guilmon hurled a bomb right into the statue's mouth. When the bomb exploded this time, the Arbiter did not get back into the air. The stunned hands floated over to their master, dangling to either side of his face. The Arbiter started shaking. Guilmon quickly backed away, fearing an attack. The Arbiter spoke, even as it was shaking on the ground. "You have passed the final test and are worthy of the weapon waiting at the bottom of the sea. Go to the top of the tower and ring the bell three times to open the path to the power you seek." The shaking got worse. "I have fulfilled my purpose, to recognize you as a destined hero. Take my data as a reward for your victory. Do not mourn my passing. It was ordained that I would someday fall in battle to the true hero, and I am honored that you were that hero." The Arbiter stopped shaking. "Farewell…" Guilmon shielded himself just in time, as all three parts of the Arbiter exploded, releasing a huge shower of data. Guilmon loaded all the data, but he could not help feeling a little guilty for killing the Arbiter. He had only been testing him, as was his job. The guy really hadn't seemed all that bad, even though he WAS trying to kill him... Guilmon sighed, and saw a pillar of pink light appear in the center of the room, reaching up into the unseen heights of the tower. Guilmon stepped into the light, and the feeling of tingling and happiness from before returned as he was swept higher and higher by the magical column of light.
When he jumped out of the light, he found he was at the very top of the Tower of the Gods. A tall platform rose before him, a ladder leading up to its top. Hanging from an archway that crossed the entire span of the rooftop was a giant bell, with a clapper hanging from it that looked suspiciously like a grappling hook post. Guilmon climbed up the ladder to the top of the tower, took out his grappling hook, and threw it at the clapper. When it was firmly in place, Guilmon swung out on the rope, ringing the bell. He swung back and forth, causing the bell to ring twice more. All the way at the bottom of the tower, in the center of the stone circle coming out of the tower, a golden ring of light appeared.
Grani sailed out of the tower, with Guilmon on his back. They both looked at the ring of light. "So this will take us to Shinjuku?" Guilmon asked.
Grani nodded. "We will be the first people aside from Lucemon to visit the sunken city in a thousand years. I hope you realize what an honor this is."
"I wish that honor didn't have to come at the cost of someone's death." Guilmon said sadly.
Grani frowned. "Ah, you're talking about the Arbiter, aren't you?" Guilmon nodded. "Guilmon, the Arbiter was created for the sole purpose of weeding out the true hero from all the wannabes who think waving a sword in the air means they were chosen by the gods to save the world. When you killed him, his purpose was complete. You have proven yourself as the first great hero since the days of Susanoomon by defeating him."
"Yeah, but even if he was meant to die by my hands, that doesn't make me feel any better about killing him."
"Look at it this way, if you hadn't beaten him, he'd have killed you. And where would that leave us? Lucemon would continue his search for the Catalyst pieces unopposed, and nobody would be able to stop him from destroying the world. Sometimes one life, or maybe even many lives, must be sacrificed so that others may live. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel guilty for deleting the Arbiter. In fact, if you didn't feel guilty I'd be wondering if I had really chosen the right person for the job!" Guilmon just looked at him. Grani sighed. "Guilmon, I know how you feel. A long time ago, I had to allow a great number of people to die so that I could save the lives of those not yet born. The people of the future, maybe even you, would have suffered horribly if I had not sacrificed the lives of the people I was responsible for in the present. I…suppose it was the right thing to do, but the guilt of all those deaths will haunt me for as long as I sail the seas."
Both were silent for a long time. Then Guilmon said, "Grani?"
"Yes?"
"Let's go save those people who haven't been born yet. The people of the future."
Grani smiled. "Very well. Let's go." He sailed into the ring of light. As they reached the center, the water around the ring started rippling. Grani and Guilmon started to glow, and then they sank into the water, vanishing beneath the waves.
(Someone knocks on the door. BWG opens it.)
BWG: Thank God you're here! Thank you for coming all the way from ancient Rome to help me!
Gordianus: Hey, I need the money. (Gordianus the Finder is the main character of a series of mysteries set in ancient Rome called Roma Sub Rosa. He's the ancient equivalent of a private eye.) So, who's the guy who's been kidnapped?
BWG: Ri2, the author of this story and…my Tamer.
Gordianus: Tamer, eh? Then why didn't you protect your partner?
BWG: …We had a bit of a falling out. I harbored a deep-seated grudge for a while because he tricked me into being his partner, and we kind of had a fight, and I left. I later realized that…it wasn't really that bad being tamed. I felt guilty, so I came back here to apologize and found him gone, and a note saying he had been kidnapped.
Gordianus: You had a grudge? Sounds to me like you're a prime suspect.
BWG: I didn't do it, honest! I can give you testimony from several authors that I was elsewhere at the time of the kidnapping! I ran into HVK soon after leaving, then was seen by mimic12355 in a bakery, then D3fan caught me at a wild summer party in Florida. Then I came back here.
Gordianus: Hmm…I may need to check with these authors later, but I guess you have an alibi. May I see the letter?
BWG: Here. (Hands over note.)
Gordianus: (Reads the note.) Interesting. Tell me, does your partner have any enemies who would be interested in revenge?
BWG: I wouldn't really know, we've only been partners for a few months. His old partner, Dracomon might know though.
Gordianus: Really? Where could I find her?
BWG: I dunno. She lives in another dimension, and I have no idea how to get there.
Gordianus: That's a shame.
BWG: But I do have an idea about who might have done it! I heard that one of the villains in Ri2's stories was unhappy with being beaten, so he kidnapped Ri2 and held him hostage.
Gordianus: Sounds like a repeat performance. You think it could be the same villain?
BWG: I doubt it, I heard Dracomon blew him up. He's dead.
Gordianus: That's a shame. Still, this sounds like a lead. Where can I find out about other villains who could be Ri2's kidnapper?
BWG: We can check his old story archives. Come on, I'll take you there. (They leave for the archives.)