Now
(A beaten and battered Ri2 is at his wit's end.)
Me: (Sobs) All right! ALL RIGHT! You win! I'll give you the password, just make it stop!
Ryo: (Putting away instruments of torture.) Excellent! What is it?
Me: It's *******.
Monodramon: (Inputs password onto computer.) We're in, Ryo!
Ryo: Perfect! Now, go to document manager and load the story file!
Monodramon: Right! Okay…file name: Best Story Ever.htm. Uploading…there. Now to load it as a story!
Ryo: Let me do this. (Takes control of computer.) Category…Anime. Subcategory…Digimon. Title…Best Story Ever. Rating…G. Language…English. Should I specify characters?
Monodramon: Nah.
Ryo: Okay. Summary…After being rejected by their crushes, the Tamer girls run right into the two guys they were meant to be with.
Monodramon: That'll lure the readers in. Everyone who's read Ri2's work knows which couples he favors and will never suspect our story's contents! All of his fans will read our story! Haha!
Me: (Whimpers) Dear Lord, what evil have I just released?
Ryo: There, the story's all ready! (Moves pointer over Upload button.) Now, with a click of this mouse, my masterpiece will be unleashed for the entire world to see! Bwahahaha!
Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Ryo: (Laughs maniacally as he slowly and dramatically lowers his finger towards the button on the mouse.)
As the sun started to rise over the Great Sea, Grani quietly landed on a small island shaped like the eye of a needle. The eye itself was a water-filled pool with a towering rock pillar jutting out of it. Half a dozen Birdramon patrolled the spire and a crystal switch at its very top. Nearby, a hole in the ground was surrounded by a ring of fire, looking out of place in the grassy field of the isle. Grani turned his head around to his sleeping passenger. "Psst. Guilmon. Guilmon, wake up." Guilmon grumbled and turned on his back. "Guilmon, wake up already. We're at Needle Rock Isle!" Guilmon snored loudly, refusing to wake up. Grani frowned, then got a brilliant idea. "Guilmon, wake up! Sakuyamon's here!"
Guilmon instantly got up. "Sakuyamon? Where?" he said frantically.
Grani laughed. "Sorry Guilmon, but Sakuyamon's still at the bottom of the ocean."
Guilmon had a bewildered expression on his face. "But you said-"
"I had to wake you up somehow. We've arrived at Needle Rock Isle!" he said cheerfully.
Guilmon scowled. "Was this really worth waking me up? I was having this nice dream about eating bread loafs shaped like my head."
Grani stared at him. "…Right. Anyway, this is the next Catalyst hiding place, remember?"
Guilmon hopped off of Grani. "Yeah, I remember. So where is it? Is it in that flaming hole over there?"
"Actually no, it's in one of those gunboats patrolling the seas just off the shore of the island." Said Grani.
Guilmon blinked. "Then why are we on the island?"
"You told me not to do any more stunts while you were riding on me. Sinking a whole bunch of gunboats sounds like a stunt to me. But you can ride on my back when I go out there if you really want to…"
Guilmon turned a little greenish, remembering what had happened back at the Islet of Steel. "No, no, that's okay. I'll just wait here."
Grani chuckled. "Okay then. Be right back." Guilmon stepped back as Grani lit his engines and flew away from the island. He then sat on the shore and watched as Grani started strafing the metal boats with his machine guns, sinking two of them right away. As the other boats started launching bombs, Grani did a loop in the air and flew back at the boats, blasting another two to pieces. The only vessel left was a huge golden one with a large crest and multiple cannons. Grani fired his guns at the boat and was startled when his bullets glanced right off. He quickly swerved out of the way as the boat launched several extremely big bombs at him. "Looks like this calls for some desperate measures!" he said, eager for another chance to show off. He tilted upward and shot into the sky, soaring high above the clouds. He stalled for a moment, tilted downward, and started plummeting towards the golden boat, sunlight gleaming off his crimson armor. As the gunboat tried to get Grani in its sights, the dragon boat opened his mouth and started charging up his special attack. "Yuggoth Blaster!" A powerful blue beam shot from his mouth, hitting the gunboat and causing it to explode in a shower of pyrotechnics while sending a shockwave in all directions. A large iron crate sailed out of the explosion, heading for the surface of the ocean. Grani extended his crane arm as he came out of his dive; swooping down and grabbing the crate right before it could hit the water!
Guilmon blinked in surprise. "…Okay, I have to admit that was kind of cool."
Grani flew back to the island and dropped the crate at Guilmon's feet, looking very proud of himself as he landed. "Well? How was I?"
Guilmon scowled and crossed his arms. "Showoff."
"You're just jealous because you can't fly."
"Insanely. So, let's open up this chest and see what's inside!" Using the Invincible as a lever, Guilmon managed to pry the lid off of the ancient chest, letting out the musty smell of thousand-year old air and causing both heroes to go into a coughing fit. When the fit passed, Guilmon pulled the fifth shard of the Catalyst from the chest. "That's one more down."
"And three more to go. Let's get moving, shall we? We don't want any of Lucemon's goons to find those remaining shards before we do, right?" Guilmon nodded and jumped on Grani's back. They took off, heading for their next adventure.
Only an hour later, they reached their next destination, a small hilly island with a big stone head at its peak. "This place is called Stone Watcher Island," said Grani as he landed and Guilmon jumped off. "Named for the big head over there. I suspect there's something beneath it. Why don't you put your Holy Rings to good use and get it out of the way, hmm?"
Guilmon got the hint and climbed up the hill to the giant head. Straining to pick it up with his magically enhanced strength, Guilmon lifted the stone head into the air and threw it away, revealing a hole in the ground. He jumped in and landed in a small stone chamber with a door at the end. He went through the door and entered a big round room with several pillars lining the perimeter of a shallow bowl area covered in sand. There were five other doors in the room, one sealed by iron bars, and four unlocked doors with unlit torches atop them. Guilmon tried to light the torches with his Pyro Sphere, but it had no effect. He shrugged and entered the door on his right.
As bars slammed shut on the door behind him, Guilmon saw he was in a square room with a sandy floor and two Gazimon. He killed them easily, raising the bars and allowing him to leave. Once back in the main room, he saw the torch above the door light up. Taking this as a good sign, he entered the next door. Here was a room identical to the last one, except there were a couple of living statues from the Tower of the Gods instead of Gazimon. They were dispatched of quickly and he left, causing another torch to light. The next room contained a pair of Wizardmon, and the last room housed a pair of Hyogamon. Once all the monsters were dead, Guilmon reentered the central room. All four torches were lit, but a new surprise was waiting for him. A pair of Knightmon appeared in the center of the room and attacked him. He killed with knights with a little difficulty, causing the bars on the last door to finally raise. "Too easy." He muttered as he went through the door.
He entered the door and found the wind pad and Catalyst pedestal waiting for him. He played the Wind's Requiem to summon the treasure chest, claiming yet another piece of the Catalyst. He stretched his arms. "Well, that was a little refreshing compared to the last few dungeons I've been in. Better get moving. Only two more pieces to go!"
The second-to-last Catalyst shard was hidden on Overlook Island, a small island with a grouping of four tall pillars of differing heights that looked like the towers of some long-forgotten castle, with trees atop each one. There was a hole in the ground atop the tallest pillar, and Grani intended to land there to save some time. Unfortunately, our heroes soon discovered that would not be the case.
As Grani started to descend, a large bomb sailed past them, nearly striking his wing. Startled, Grani swerved out of the way, nearly knocking Guilmon off. "Grani, what'd I tell you about stunts?!" Guilmon said angrily.
"Uh, Guilmon, I think that last maneuver was perfectly justified." Said Grani in a small voice.
"Huh?"
"Look down."
Guilmon looked down and instantly wished he hadn't. At least fifty gunboats were in the waters around Overlook, all of them pointing their cannons at the red duo. "Oh shit."
The boats started firing their bombs. Grani quickly dodged the explosives, unsure how to handle the situation. "Guilmon, I'd fight them, but I don't want you to fall off!" he said, worried.
Guilmon grabbed one of the bumps on Grani's hull to keep himself from sliding off when Grani turned sideways to avoid some more bombs. As the dragon boat righted himself, Guilmon got an idea. "Grani, I'll head for the Catalyst piece while you take care of business out here!"
"What! How are you going to get down there?" Guilmon responded by jumping off of Grani's back, pulling out his giant leaf, and gliding towards the pillars. Grani blinked in surprise, then chuckled. "That's my boy. Don't worry about me, Guilmon! I'll handle these toy boats!" He swooped down at the enemy fleet, ready to sink a few battleships.
Guilmon was carried by the wind to the lowest of the island's pillars, where he landed. He looked at the fleet of gunboats and saw they were too busy fighting Grani to notice him. Guilmon examined the gap between the pillars and decided it was too wide to jump. Fortunately, he didn't need to. He whipped out his newest toy, the Hookshot, and used the high-tech grappling hook's laser sight to target a tree on the nearest pillar. He squeezed the tool's handle, causing the spike at the front to launch off on a length of chain, burying its point in the tree. The chain's retraction mechanism activated, pulling Guilmon off his feet and onto the pillar, falling a few inches to the base of the tree. He used the Hookshot to get all the way across the pillars, then dropped into the hole right when Grani launched his Yuggoth Blaster at a group of the gunboats.
He landed in a room that looked oddly familiar. In fact, it looked just like the entrance to the last small dungeon. He frowned. "Okay, either I'm experiencing déjà vu or this place looks exactly the same as the dungeon back on Stone Watcher Island." Uneasy, he went through the door and saw a round sandy room with five doors, one barred and four with torches over them. Guilmon sweatdropped. "Reusing the same design for more than one dungeon. I'm guessing those bitter architects are behind this again. If I ever find any descendants of them, I must remember to do the world a favor and kill them all." He sighed and entered the closest door. In each of the rooms he fought a group of four enemies; first Gazimon, then Wizardmon, then SkullSatamon, and finally a group of giant living statues. Each victory lit a torch above a door. When Guilmon finished off the last of the living statues and returned to the main room, his jaw dropped at the challenge waiting for him. "You have got to be kidding me!" he shouted at the ceiling as four heavily armored Knightmon stomped towards him.
After a pretty difficult and tiring battle, the bars on the fifth door opened, allowing Guilmon to enter the last room, play the Wind's Requiem, and claim the seventh shard. He took a moment to catch his breath after the tough fight, wiped some sweat from his brow, and headed for the exit.
Once outside, he found Grani waiting for him, looking a little damaged and burnt, but otherwise okay. Grani smiled as Guilmon approached. "Ah, you've got the seventh shard then. Nice job."
Guilmon hopped onto Grani's back. "It was a little tougher to get this piece. You don't look so well."
Grani gave him the equivalent of a shrug. "I'm okay. I put too much confidence in my flying abilities and got hit by a few bombs. I'll make sure not to make that same mistake again." He frowned. "You don't look so well either. Whatever you had to fight down there must have really taken a toll on you. Would you like to take a short break?"
Guilmon shook his head. "I'll be okay. Besides, we're almost done! We just need to get one last Catalyst shard, and then we can rejoin Sakuyamon and beat Lucemon once and for all! We're so close, I can't just stop now!"
Grani didn't look so sure, but he didn't argue. "All right. We'll go for the last shard, but then I think you should take a rest. I still say you look a little tired."
"I'll be fine. Let's go already!" he said anxiously. Grani lit his engines and rose into the air (wobbling a little from the bomb damage) and took off for the final piece of the Catalyst.
Some time later, they arrived at a tiny island with a giant stone head as its only feature. Guilmon hopped off of Grani's back. "This is it?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"This place is called the Forbidden Island. I don't really know why. All I do know is that the last shard is beneath that stone head." Said Grani.
Guilmon walked over to the head, picked it up, and threw it away. As always, this revealed a hole in the ground. Guilmon sighed. "This is starting to get a little repetitive."
Just as he was about to jump in, Grani stopped him. "Before you go down there, there's something I think you should know. According to my maps, this shard is the most difficult to obtain. It is hidden in a small dungeon guarded by a huge army of monsters. If I were you, I would get a little rest before attempting this great challenge, like I suggested earlier. Do you still wish to proceed?"
Guilmon waved Grani's worries off. "Relax, Grani. I handled Dragon Roost Cavern, the Forbidden Woods, the Tower of the Gods, both ancient temples, and the dungeons guarding the last two pieces. How hard could this one be?"
Grani sighed, shaking his head. "Don't say I didn't warn you." Guilmon jumped into the pit.
He landed in a large cave with a mossy floor and a hole at the far end of the room. A pair of torches flanked the hole, and a sign stood nearby. Guilmon walked over to the hole and examined the sign. "'Ye who seek the obsidian prize, beware! Treasure lies at the end of this challenge, but none have ever survived long enough to get that far. Can any Digimon overcome the Savage Labyrinth?'" Guilmon frowned. "Well, I intend to." He jumped into the hole, landing in a cave exactly like the one he had just been in, except there was no sign, flames surrounded the next hole, and there were ten DemiDevimon swooping down to attack him. Guilmon managed to fight off the swarm with his weapons, causing the fire to go out. He jumped into the hole and landed in another cave, where he had to kill six Pagumon. Then he jumped into the next cave, where he fought four Gazimon. And after that, six Numemon. Guilmon smirked. "So far this doesn't seem like a very 'savage' labyrinth. I don't know what Grani was talking about. This place is too easy!"
46 caves, 6 FlameWormmon, 10 DemiDevimon (4 normal, 6 flaming), 28 Pagumon, 32 Gazimon with sticks, shields and swords, 9 Fugamon, 9 Searchers, 65 Numemon of all colors, 14 Mothmon, 8 Blossomon, 11 Wizardmon, 11 living statues (Both little and big), 15 Skullmon (Of both colors), 13 Mortmon, 10 Bakemon, 7 SkullSatamon, and 11 Knightmon later…
Guilmon fell on his face right in front of the final wind pad. "Okay, maybe I was a little wrong…" he groaned. All of those consecutive monster battles had taken a great deal of energy from him. He was surprised that he was still alive, after that last fight with the Knightmon. He pulled himself up, stumbled onto the pad, and somehow managed to play Wind's Requiem. Using whatever feeble strength remained in him, Guilmon opened the treasure chest and claimed the final piece of the Catalyst. "There…I got it…" Unable to stand anymore, he collapsed. "Ohhh…I've got to get back to Grani…somehow…" Through sheer force of will, he was able to get back up and find his way out of the labyrinth, focusing every ounce of his concentration on putting one foot before the other. He knew if he fell down again, it would take him a very long time to get back on his feet.
Later on he would have no memory of how he did it, but he somehow made it all the way out into the fresh air before collapsing in front of Grani. "Guilmon! What happened to you, it's been hours since you went into the cave!" said Grani, a worried look on his face.
Guilmon moaned. "Guess I bit off a little more than I could chew. I had to battle my way through over a hundred monsters on fifty-one consecutive levels. But I got the last piece of the Catalyst, so it's worth it, right?"
Grani nodded. "I suppose so. Do you think you can show me the pieces?"
Guilmon stared at him. "Grani, I'm only seconds away from fainting from exhaustion, and you want me to show you a few fragments of a sacred relic?"
"Please Guilmon. Just lay them all out in front of you, if you can."
Guilmon sighed, then winced in pain as he reached into his pocket and used the very last of his strength to cast them onto the ground. But before he could pass out, the glowing of the eight pieces pierced the fog of his tired mind. "Huh?" The eight pieces flew into the air and combined, forming a single black triangle! The triangle then flew towards Guilmon, sinking into his left hand. It caused a glowing Catalyst symbol to appear, healing all of Guilmon's wounds and completely revitalizing him. As the glowing faded, Guilmon looked himself over in disbelief. "I'm not tired anymore! I feel like I'm at full power again!"
"You can thank the Catalyst of Courage for that. It has clearly deemed you as a worthy host for its great power. You should feel honored Guilmon, for you are the first Digimon to possess the Catalyst of Courage since Susanoomon himself!" Grani said happily. "This also confirms something that AnglerWhamon and I have suspected for some time."
"What's that?"
"Only a Digimon of the same data strain as Susanoomon could have removed the Invincible from its resting place in the Metropolitan Building. That, along with the fact that the Catalyst of Courage chose you so readily as its host, proves that you are a direct descendant of the Hero of Time himself!"
Guilmon's eyes widened. "Whoa."
"Your name will go down in history as a great Hero, Guilmon! But you'll need a title. Hero of Time won't do, since you haven't done any time warping…maybe Hero of Oceans? Hero of Islands? Hero of the Gods? Hero of a Whole Bunch of People Scattered all Over the Place? What about…"
Guilmon pulled out the Wind Waker and stared at it for a moment as Grani started thinking of possible titles. "How about Hero of Winds?"
Grani rolled the title around in his mouth. "Hero of Winds, Hero of Winds…I like it! Yes, I think that name will suit you perfectly, Guilmon. Hero of Winds it is! Just don't let your new title go to your head, though."
Guilmon jumped onto Grani's back. "If I'm the Hero, that makes you my trusty steed doesn't it?" he joked.
Grani frowned. "I'm an ex-king, not a steed, and I'll thank you to remember that!"
Guilmon ignored Grani. "We have the fully charged Invincible and the complete Catalyst of Courage! Not even Lucemon can stop us now!" He stood up, dramatically pointing towards the horizon. "Ride, noble steed! To the Tower of the Gods!"
Grani's eye twitched. "Well, I suppose 'noble' is better than 'trusty'." He muttered as he took off and flew away.
Monodramon: Stop!
Ryo: Huh? What is it?
Monodramon: This isn't your masterpiece, it's ours! We both worked on it!
Ryo: Oh. Sorry. Want me to redo it?
Monodramon: Yes!
Ryo: Okay. Now, with a click of this mouse, our masterpiece will be unleashed for the entire world to see! Bwahahahaha!
Me: NOOOOOOOOOO!
(Ryo laughs maniacally as he slowly and dramatically lowers his finger towards the button on the mouse.)