Monodramon: Stop!

Ryo: What NOW?!

Monodramon: If it's OUR project, then how come YOU get to press the upload button? We should both do it!

Ryo: (Exasperated) There's only one button! How are we BOTH supposed to press it?!

Monodramon: Biomerge, duh!

Ryo: …Oh, right. Biomerge activate!

Monodramon: Monodramon Biomerge to…Justimon!

Justimon: That's more like it. Now, where was I? Oh yes! (Raises finger.) Now, with a click of this mouse, my masterpiece will be unleashed for the entire world to see! Bwahahaha!

Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Justimon: (Laughs maniacally as he slowly and dramatically lowers his finger towards the mouse.)

Our hero and his noble steed-"Hey!" yelled Grani angrily.

Sorry. Our two noble heroes were flying across the ocean, on a direct course to the Tower of the Gods. Guilmon had gotten tired of trying to do his heroic pose on Grani's back while flying at seventy miles per hour, so he gave up and sat down to wait for their arrival. "Are we there yet?" he asked, bored.

"No."

Guilmon said nothing for a few minutes. "Are we there now?"

"No."

A few more minutes. "How about now?"

"No."

Another few minutes. "How about-"

"Guilmon, if you finish that sentence I'll carry you the rest of the flight in my crane arm, dragging you face-first through the seawater until you start to drown. Do I make myself clear?"

Guilmon gulped. "Yes Grani."

"Good."

For several minutes, neither of them said anything. Eventually, Guilmon spoke up again. "Um, Grani?"

"Guilmon, what did I just tell you?"

"No, it's not that! I was just wondering if we could maybe make a quick detour to Outset."

Grani frowned. "I thought you wanted to get to the Tower as quickly as possible. Why the change of heart?"

Guilmon sighed. "I promised Lopmon I would meet her back home as soon as I could. I made that promise thinking I would just be able to kill Lucemon right away then go home. But what with escaping from Forsaken Fortress and learning Renamon was a princess and hunting down the Sages and Catalyst shards and all that, I completely forgot about my promise."

Grani nodded. "So you want to make good on your promise and see her now?"

"Yeah. Do you think we could do that?" Guilmon asked hopefully.

Grani said nothing for a few moments, letting Guilmon's stomach twist itself into knots as he worried what his companion's reaction would be. Finally, Grani's face split into a grin. "You're in luck. Outset just happens to be on the way to the Tower. I don't think it would be a problem if we made a quick stop there so you could catch up with your family."

"All right!" said Guilmon happily. "Then let's get moving! I want to see my sister and grandmother again!" Grani obliged, turning his engines to full throttle as they rocketed across the skies towards Outset.

As they flew at maximum speed across the ocean, Guilmon's imagination was vivid with ideas of what he would do when he got home. He could see himself walking through the front door of his house and startling everyone…sitting down to eat Grandma's famous Elixir Soup while telling stories of his adventures…training with MasterTyrannomon and showing the old dinosaur what he had learned…maybe even going for a visit to see Kazemon in the Fairy Fountain!

Grani was also imagining a few things he could do when he got to Outset. He planned on relaxing in the water to cool off his engines…going to have a chat with AnglerWhamon…showing off his flying abilities to the youngsters, and maybe even making a small profit by charging people for rides…the dragon boat smiled. Even though they were in the middle of an important quest to save the world, it would be good to take a little time to relax.

Guilmon was practically drooling at the thought of all the food he was going to eat when he got home, and thus was completely surprised when Grani screeched to a halt in midair, nearly causing him to fall off. "Huh? Grani? Are we there?" Guilmon asked hopefully. He looked around, and was disappointed to find Outset Island was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was a patch of ocean with a few jagged rocks growing from the depths. "Hey, there's nothing around here but a few rocks! Why'd you stop, Grani?"

Grani looked very confused. "I-I don't understand! According to my databanks, Outset should be right here!"

Guilmon raised an eyebrow. "Grani, does it LOOK like Outset's here? Maybe you just messed up, nobody's infallible!"

"Guilmon, you don't understand. My maps are NEVER wrong. According to every chart and map in my databanks, not to mention the flight plans saved in my memory, Outset Island should be right beneath us. And yet, it isn't. Do you realize the implications?!" Grani said, slightly panicked.

Guilmon blinked. "But…if Outset should be here, but it isn't…then…" He quickly cut off his chain of thought. "No! It can't be gone! There has to be something here, my entire island couldn't just vanish!"

Grani nodded. "I know. That's partly what worries me." He looked all over the patch of ocean, as if hoping that the island would magically rise from the sea, when something caught his eye. "Guilmon, I think there's something down on one of those rocks!"

Guilmon looked at the area Grani was indicating. His brow furrowed. "Kind of makes me wish I still had Lopmon's telescope. I have no way to tell what that thing is from this altitude. Maybe we should go check it out?"

"Right." Said Grani. He flew down towards the rock.

As they got closer to the protruding rock, it became quite evident that what had caught their eyes was not a thing, but a Digimon. A nearly comatose black and white Dinosaur Digimon with more scars than usual. Guilmon gasped. "MasterTyrannomon!"

The dinosaur moaned and opened his eyes a tiny bit. "Gui…l…mon?"

Guilmon jumped off of Grani, landing next to his heavily wounded teacher. "Sensei, what happened here? Where's Outset? Why are you like this?" Guilmon asked frantically.

MasterTyrannomon coughed. "Guilmon…I was starting to think you would never make it…" He wheezed, then continued. "I've been waiting for you for a week now…I had to tell you…before it was too late…" He broke off in a coughing fit. "I don't have much time left…got to tell you…before I die…"

"Sensei, don't talk like that!" said Guilmon, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. "We'll get you to one of the other civilized islands, they'll be able to fix you right up and-"

MasterTyrannomon weakly lifted a hand, silencing Guilmon. "Guilmon, you don't-hack-understand. I'm already dead. The only thing keeping me from disintegrating right now is-wheeze-my sheer need to see you one last time." He coughed. "Don't-cough-interrupt. I've got to tell you everything before I-wheeze-fall apart." He took several deep breaths, then began. "It all started just a week ago…" he said, as the air started shimmering wildly and began to form an image.

"What's going on?!" asked the startled Guilmon, causing the air to go back to normal.

"It's a flashback." Said Grani from the water.

"A what?"

"It's a program built into the Digital World that randomly activates and replays certain images from the past when people are telling stories of really important events. You should be thankful, most people go their entire lives without a flashback. So shut up and watch the stupid thing, because your sensei doesn't have much time left to show it to you."

"Oh. Sorry." Said Guilmon, embarrassed.

MasterTyrannomon blinked a few times. "Where was I? Oh yeah. It all started just a week ago…" As the air shimmered to form a new scenery, a weird doodily-doop, doodily-doop, doodily-doop sound reverberated in Guilmon's eardrums. The air stopped shimmering, revealing a very familiar location.

MasterTyrannomon knocked on the door of Guilmon's house. Babamon opened the door from within, peeking out to see the fighting Dinosaur. "Oh, MasterTyrannomon! What a lovely surprise! Come in, come in!"

MasterTyrannomon stepped inside. "Hello, Babamon. I was just passing by and I thought it would be a good idea to check up on you." He paused, sniffing the air. "Is that elixir soup I smell?"

"Yes, I'm cooking up a batch right now. I don't suppose you'd like a taste?"

MasterTyrannomon licked his lips. "Would I!" He stomped into the kitchen and sat at the table, watching as Babamon stirred the bubbling pot of delicious elixir soup. The soup wouldn't be done for a little while, so he decided to make a little small talk. "So, how is Lopmon doing?"

Babamon stopped her stirring long enough to glance at her guest. "Oh, she's fine. She's upset that Guilmon still hasn't come home yet. She's sent her seagulls out on a constant patrol around the seas for news about Guilmon. Poor thing, she's been spending all her free time out at the watchtower waiting for any sign of her brother." She sighed. "I'd be out with her, if I didn't know that Guilmon will return to us in his own time. No amount of moping about will bring him home any sooner."

MasterTyrannomon nodded. "Wise words. Is that soup finished yet?"

The old witch looked at the pot. "Why yes, I think it is. Shall I give you the first taste?"

The dinosaur held up a bowl. "Yes please!"

Babamon ladled some of the yellowish soup from the pot into MasterTyrannomon's bowl. The fighting master scooped up a portion in his spoon and raised it to his lips. Just before he could sip it down, the front door opened with an extremely loud slam. The sudden noise startled MasterTyrannomon, causing him to spill his entire bowl out on his lap. It was still very hot, and he yelped in pain and ran for the freezer to find something to cool him off. Lopmon ran into the kitchen, looking very anxious. "Grandma, Grandma, one of my seagulls came back and told me something's flying toward the island!"

"It's probably just the postman dear, he usually comes at this time of day." Babamon said calmly as MasterTyrannomon pulled out a bag of ice and held it to his nether regions, sighing in relief.

"But Grandma, the postman already came by this morning! He never comes twice on the same day!" Lopmon protested.

Babamon frowned. "That's true. You don't think…you don't think it's your brother, do you?"

Lopmon shook her head. "It can't be Guilmon, because there are three Digimon flying towards Outset, not one!"

At this point, MasterTyrannomon had relaxed enough to pay attention to the conversation. His brow furrowed in thought. "Three flying Digimon? Hmm…" He stroked his chin with one hand, using the other to firmly hold the ice in place. "I don't like the sound of this. We don't get many flying Digimon around here, and never in groups of three. My fighter's instincts tell me something's wrong."

Babamon made a disbelieving gesture. "Come now MasterTyrannomon, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"That's what you said before we got attacked by monsters last time, and you nearly died from fatal poison."

Babamon hesitated. "You have a point. What do you think we should do?"

MasterTyrannomon looked out the window for any sign of monsters. So far, there was nothing. "I suggest you get Lopmon to a safe hiding place. While it may be nothing, we can't be sure that whatever's coming for us isn't dangerous."

Babamon nodded. "On his last visit, Guilmon told me where he found the Fairy Fountain that saved my life, in case I needed to be healed for any reason. I'll take Lopmon over there right away. We should be safe. But what about you?"

"I'll head back to my dojo. If monsters are invading us again, I won't fool around like I did last time. I'm bringing out the best weapon I can use to repel this threat to Outset." He sighed. "Let's just hope this is only a false alarm. If all goes well, I'll meet you up at the Fountain in an hour or so to let you know it's safe. Lopmon, did your seagull say how far away these Digimon were?"

"About a kilometer or so, but moving fast." Said the bunny.

MasterTyrannomon nodded. "Okay. That should give us just enough time, then. I'll get back to the dojo. You two get to the Fountain as quickly as possible. Hopefully, I'll see you all when this is over." He ran out the door.

Babamon turned to her granddaughter. "Lopmon, get a few changes of clothes and some food, we have to get out of here!"

MasterTyrannomon dashed into his storage closet and started searching through his old weapons, tossing away great numbers of axes, halberds, swords, and numerous other weapons in his quest. "Now where did I put that thing? Oh, here it is!" Shifting a huge sarcophagus-shaped shield to the side, MasterTyrannomon lifted a magnificent broadsword into the air. It had an orange hilt in the shape of a WarGreymon helmet, with a long blade covered in mystic runes extending from the mouth. "I knew my old Grey Sword was lying around here somewhere. I only hope that I won't need to use it." He found the sword's scabbard, attached it to his side, and sheathed the blade before running back out of the dojo.

All seemed peaceful for the moment. The villagers were bustling about, carrying bundles of food and wood to their houses or bringing fresh fish from the sea to sell in the small market area. MasterTyrannomon relaxed a few degrees. Maybe there wasn't anything to worry about after all. That's when several blue projectiles shot down from the sky, blowing up a house. As the startled villagers got as far away as possible from the burning wreck, more projectiles fell from the sky, destroying more buildings and deleting a few innocent Digimon. MasterTyrannomon cursed under his breath as the other villagers did the typical thing and ran around screaming while more energy blasts rained down from the sky.

After a few more buildings exploded, there was a lull as the projectiles stopped. After a few minutes, the villagers stopped their panicking, wondering if it was over. And that's when an enormous Digimon slammed into the ground hard enough to crack the earth. He was very tall and bulky with blue skin, clad in shining multi-layered white armor with golden spikes hanging from the edges of each layer. A gold orb sat right over his heart on the large chestplate fastened to his torso. His fists were clawed, with red jewels in the center of each palm. He had no feet, just white leg armor ending in a fringe of spikes that gripped the ground. A pair of slightly tattered purple bat wings grew from his back. His head was encased in an odd horned white helmet with a gold trim running around the chin area, framing what looked to be a blank white plate where the face should have been. A pair of burning red eyes stared out from holes on the sides of the helmet.

Before the villagers had time to fully react to the intruder, another Digimon smashed into the ground. This new creature was not quite as tall as the first, and was also much thinner, sleeker, and clad from head to toe in fitting pink armor. The pink armor, along with the various yellow ribbons hanging off of the torso, indicated the Digimon was probably female. (Or a weirdo like Piedmon.) It wore a large sturdy golden shield with a blue jewel near the tip over its right arm. Its helmet looked somewhat similar to Justimon's, but was pink and gold (as previously stated) and more detailed, with several points extending from the back of the head and a pair of long golden wing-like protrusions growing from where the ears would have been. The helmet had no holes for eyes, and a blank gray plate for where the mouth would have been.

One last Digimon crashed into the ground, this one easily the worst of the three. It was clearly male, with a thick and well-muscled body clad in a gray sweater. Ten wings of differing types grew from his back, and four more from his neck and head. As the villagers gaped in shock at the somewhat angelic entity, the creature gave them all a fanged grin. "Hello puny little mortals. Welcome to Hell."

There was a long pause. MasterTyrannomon acted quickly, hoping to instill a little courage into his fellow islanders before they all started running and screaming again. He stepped forward, getting the invaders attention. "Who are you and what are you doing on our island?"

The three Digimon looked at him in surprise, hardly believing that somebody was actually standing up to them. Finally, the white one moved forward, spreading his arms and wings. "I am Dynasmon, a passionate warrior!" he said with zeal.

The pink one twirled in place, spreading out her ribbons, then came to a halt, brandishing a beautiful rose. "I am Crusadermon, an indifferent warrior." She said, sounding a little bored.

"And I am Lucemon, their master and future ruler of the Digital World. Who are you to question our business?" asked the angelic Digimon.

"I am MasterTyrannomon, fighting master of this island. And it is my business to question your reasons for being here because you have already shown yourselves to be hostile. I do not wish any harm to come to my island." Said MasterTyrannomon, adding a brave tone to his voice.

Lucemon smirked. "How admirable of you. Very well, we're here to find a prisoner who escaped from me. Her name is Lopmon."

Chills ran up MasterTyrannomon's spine, but he pretended he didn't recognize that name. "There is nobody here with that name. You must have the wrong island." Out of the corner of his eye MasterTyrannomon thought he saw one of the villagers about to say something. He growled slightly, which was enough to make anyone who might have thought of selling out Lopmon shut up.

Lucemon raised an eyebrow. "Really? When my pet Hououmon brought her to me, he reported that he had taken her from a place called Outset. And if I'm not mistaken, this is Outset. Are you sure she isn't here?"

"Positive." Said the old dinosaur.

Lucemon smiled apologetically. "Well then, we're terribly sorry for coming in uninvited and blowing up half of your town. We'll just destroy this island and be off then."

"That's perfectly understand…" he blinked. "Wait, did you say 'destroy this island'?"

Lucemon nodded. "Well of course. I've been searching the Great Sea for the rabbit for a few days now, and I'm getting very frustrated that nobody on any island seems to know where she is. Since it would be pointless and nonproductive to take out my anger on my servants, I feel it is better to use it to punish the islands for wasting my time. It's nothing personal."

The villagers finally chose this moment to panic again, running out of the village as fast as they could, not wanting to be around when the place was destroyed. They all started running for the beach, where they obviously intended to use as many boats as they could to sail to safety. Only MasterTyrannomon stood his ground. "I will not allow you to destroy my home. You'll have to go through me first!"

Lucemon shrugged. "Okay, if you really want to make things difficult. Dynasmon, Crusadermon, take care of this maggot. I'm going to search the island, I get the feeling our quarry is closer than this native wishes us to believe."

"With pleasure, my lord!" Dynasmon said enthusiastically.

Crusadermon yawned. "As you wish. He shall be dealt with at once."

"Very good. I expect him to be bits of data by the time I return." Lucemon spread his wings and flew away.

Dynasmon and Crusadermon got into battle stances. "You will regret challenging us, fool!" said Dynasmon.

"We are the Royal Knights, and we have never lost a duel!" said Crusadermon confidently.

MasterTyrannomon gave them a small smile. "Then I'd say you're about due." He drew the Grey Sword and swiped it through the air a few times. "Who's first?"

Dynasmon took a step forward. "My dear Crusadermon, will you allow me the pleasure of wiping the floor with this buffoon?"

Crusadermon waved her rose indifferently. "Go right ahead. Enjoy yourself." She said, bored.

Looking slightly disappointed at her response, Dynasmon glared at MasterTyrannomon. "Before this is over, you will rue the day that you crossed the Royal Knights!" He charged towards the Dinosaur, ready to rip him to pieces.

Babamon and Lopmon sat nervously in the Fairy Fountain. They had heard explosions a few moments ago, and now everything was silent. Even the usually playful DigiGnomes looked tense and on edge. "Grandma, do you think MasterTyrannomon is okay?" asked Lopmon anxiously.

"I don't know, dear. I certainly hope so. If he's dead, then I'm afraid Guilmon would be our only hope. He's the only one on the entire island whose fighting ability can actually surpass that of MasterTyrannomon's. But since I don't think he's anywhere near Outset, it's a very slim hope indeed." Babamon said sadly.

The surface of the fountain rippled, and Kazemon emerged into the cavern. "MasterTyrannomon is unharmed, for the moment." said the Fairy. "He is challenging the invaders in hopes that he can drive them off."

The grandmother and granddaughter exchanged glances. "Do you think he'll succeed?" asked Lopmon.

Kazemon shrugged. "I can't really say. I think he has a good chance though." She frowned. "However, I think we should be more concerned about ourselves. A great evil is approaching us."

"Oh dear. How close is it? Do we have time to escape?" asked Babamon.

Suddenly, the ceiling of the Fairy Fountain caved in. Lucemon flew in through the new hole in the ceiling, landing gracefully amidst the rubble on the floor. He smirked when he saw the frightened DigiGnomes and his quarry. "Ah, Lopmon. I've been looking for you."

Lopmon, who had run behind her grandmother's back, was trembling in fear. "Lopmon, who is this? How do you know him?" asked Babamon.

"Grandma, that's the meanie who sent the big Hououmon to Outset and kept me in a cage until Guilmon rescued me! That's Lucemon!" said the terrified Lopmon.

Babamon took a sharp inhale of breath, recognizing the name from the old legends and Guilmon's own story of recent events. "What do you want with my granddaughter?" she asked.

Lucemon's smirk grew into a grin. "Not too long ago, I encountered a boy named Guilmon. He foolishly tried to attack me, saying something about protecting his sister from me. I recalled that I had imprisoned a few girls from around the sea, and realized he must be referring to one of them. After he made his escape from my fortress, I was very disappointed to find all my prisoners were gone. I've been scouring the ocean for the three girls I had locked up. I've already found two of them, but neither were the hero's sister I was looking for, so I killed them." Lopmon gasped. "And since there was only one girl left who could possibly have been Guilmon's sister, I deduced it was you." Said the Angel, pointing at Lopmon. "I've come to retrieve you, Lopmon. Nobody lives long after escaping from me."

Babamon brandished her broom, ready to use it to defend her granddaughter if Lucemon so much as thought of attacking her. She needn't have bothered. Kazemon jumped out of the fountain, did a few flips in the air, and landed in front of the witch and the rabbit. "Lucemon, I will not allow you to claim these innocent lives! You will have to fight me first!"

Lucemon snorted. "Come now my dear Fairy, what could you possibly do against me?"

Kazemon spread her arms. The DigiGnomes all flew towards her, using their powers to encase her in a cocoon of spinning bar codes. The figure in the cocoon grew taller and stronger as it absorbed the bar codes, finally bursting free in a brand new form. Kazemon was now a cross between bird and human, with metal-encased legs and arms ending in sharp talons, a pair of great brown wings, and a very long black scarf and bandana that covered the lower part of her face. Her eyes were now revealed as a shade of yellow-brown, and her hair had become short and somewhat messy, colored blue with a pair of wings growing from the top. The fairy of the fountain had slide evolved to her more powerful form of Zephyrmon. Lucemon raised an eyebrow. This could get interesting.

Dynasmon sent his large fist straight for MasterTyrannomon's face. The elderly dinosaur blocked the punch with his sword, and kicked Dynasmon back a few feet. While the knight was still off-balance, he charged towards him with an overhead swipe. Dynasmon caught the blade in one hand and tried to punch MasterTyrannomon with the other. He was greatly surprised when the dinosaur caught his fist with his free hand and spat a blast of fire right into the Royal Knight's face. Dynasmon screamed and staggered backwards, clutching his burning face in pain. MasterTyrannomon chuckled, and attempted a direct stab at Dynasmon's chest. The knight recovered immediately and jumped into the air, landing on the flat edge of the Grey Sword. "Ha!"

MasterTyrannomon tipped his sword to the side, dropping the startled knight to the ground. "Ha!" He then slashed at Dynasmon's wing, tearing off a good piece of it. Dynasmon winced and rolled a few feet away, then stood back up. MasterTyrannomon shook his head. "Don't tell me that's the best you've got. I've already gotten two good hits in, and I'm not even sweating!"

Dynasmon bristled. "How dare you!" He held out his hands. The jewels in the palms started glowing, then launched several blue projectiles in the shape of three-eyed monster heads at MasterTyrannomon. The old dinosaur started running towards Dynasmon, using his Grey Sword to deflect the attacks. When he was getting closer to the knight, he slashed at the projectiles, knocking them right back into Dynasmon's chest! The knight grunted and took a few steps back. MasterTyrannomon charged in and swung his sword at the knight's head. Dynasmon managed to duck just in time, but the great blade sheared off one of his horns in the process. The Royal Knight's fist shot upward in an attempted uppercut, but MasterTyrannomon blocked it with his sword and delivered a powerful kick to Dynasmon's chin, sending him sprawling on his back. The dinosaur thrusted his sword down at Dynasmon's torso, but the Royal Knight managed to roll away just in time, causing the Grey Sword to get stuck in the ground. Dynasmon chuckled as MasterTyrannomon started tugging frantically at the sword's hilt. "Not so cocky now, are you?" he said mockingly.

MasterTyrannomon responded by swinging his tail at Dynasmon's crotch. The Knight's eyes bulged and started watering. He fell to the ground, clutching his nether regions in pain. MasterTyrannomon chuckled and easily pulled his sword from the ground. "I see you were never taught to beware the 'Trapped Sword Feint'. Almost all warriors know to never fall for that trick. Your fighting style reeks, 'Royal Knight.'" Said the old dinosaur. He turned to Crusadermon. "I suppose you'll be next?"

The second Knight had been admiring herself in a mirror when MasterTyrannomon called to her. She dropped the mirror, stood up, and sighed, making it seem like the very thought of fighting bored her. "If we must. I warn you though, Dynasmon is a pushover compared to me. One such as you cannot possibly hope to defeat a fighter as skilled and beautiful as myself."

MasterTyrannomon smirked. "That's what my ex-wife said on our first date. Give me your best shot."

Zephyrmon cupped her claws together, forming a gale that fired several dozen energy blades at Lucemon. The Angel didn't even bother getting out of the way. He simply smiled as the blades ricocheted off his chest, not even harming a single hair on his head. "Do you really think you can damage the invincible?" he asked. He suddenly shot towards her, launching at least a thousand punches to Zephyrmon at close to the speed of light, pummeling her into submission. He stepped back, then spun around and hit her in the chin with an upward kick so powerful that it sent the Bird Woman right through the ceiling! He flew up after her, catching up with Zephyrmon before she could spread her wings. He flipped her upside down in midair, grabbed her legs, placed his feet firmly in her armpits, and then touched a few fingers to his forehead. He hurtled downward at unbelievable speeds, driving Zephyrmon into the ground so hard that it cracked and the entire island shook from the impact. The evil Angel was mildly surprised when Zephyrmon staggered to her feet. "Hmm. Looks like you're made of stronger stuff than I thought. I'll just have to try again." He repeated his punching technique before Zephyrmon could get her bearings, kicked her into the air, and drove her back into the ground even harder than he had the first time, breaking apart much of the cave and causing the island to shake so hard it seemed as if it would come apart. Lucemon frowned when he saw Zephyrmon get to her feet once again. "This is getting tedious. You should have been killed by my first attack. What am I doing wrong?" He snapped his fingers. "Ah, of course. How could I have forgotten? To kill a fairy, you have to destroy the source of its power!"

Zephyrmon gasped. "No, don't!" she screamed as Lucemon formed balls of light and darkness and tossed them into the waters of the fairy fountain.

Several moments passed. Then, something deep within the earth exploded, causing a pillar of fire to erupt out of the fountain. The DigiGnomes wailed and disintegrated. Zephyrmon screamed in pain and clutched her chest. A beam of light burst out of her heart. Her screams grew louder as more and more beams ripped out of her skin, until she was finally consumed in a blaze of white light, before fading into nothingness. Lucemon laughed. "Now, where did my quarry go?" He frowned, seeing that Babamon and Lopmon had escaped. "Oh well. They couldn't have gone too far. It shouldn't be too difficult to locate them." He flew out of the hole in the ceiling, leaving the ruined fountain behind.

Crusadermon rose a few inches into the air and shot forward at speeds that almost rivaled that of Lucemon. Her ribbons came to life, writhing and slicing at the air as she flew towards MasterTyrannomon. She danced around the dinosaur faster than the eye could see. Her ribbons slashed at the warrior's skin, leaving several new cuts and scars. MasterTyrannomon grunted in pain and tried to hit the moving target, but Crusadermon proved to be too fast for him. She phased back into view and tried to punch MasterTyrannomon in the face. The dinosaur reacted immediately, opening his mouth and spitting fire into the face of the Royal Knight. She flew back and quickly pirouetted, extinguishing the flames. Although she had no face, MasterTyrannomon could tell he had made her very angry. "How dare you! That fire could have ruined my beautiful armor!" One of her ribbons elongated and curved into her hand, straightening into a sword. "Now, you will see what happens when you trifle with a Royal Knight!" She dashed towards him. MasterTyrannomon raised his sword and started deflecting an incredibly fast series of thrusts, stabs, chops, slices, and slashes from Crusadermon's ribbon sword. She was obviously somewhat more skilled than Dynasmon, that combined with her incredible speed made her a truly fearsome opponent. Too bad she wasn't fearsome enough. When the pink knight drew back her sword to attempt a deadly spin attack, MasterTyrannomon used his parry move to roll behind Crusadermon and slash off half of her ribbons as she sliced through the space where he had been just seconds before! If Crusadermon had a mouth, it would have dropped from shock when the sword in her hand turned limp and disintegrated. "How…how did you do that? No one has ever broken my sword before!"

MasterTyrannomon shook his head in disgust. "As I said to your partner, your fighting style stinks. Nobody's used techniques like yours for over a thousand years. Whoever trained you was obviously out of date, since maneuvers were made to counter your kinds of attacks hundreds of yours ago!"

"Are you calling me obsolete?!" she asked, incredulous.

"Not really, but if you want to take it that way, go ahead." Said MasterTyrannomon with a shrug.

Crusadermon was boiling with rage. She backflipped away from the dinosaur, took out her rose, and blew on it. A huge storm of rose petals flew out from the Royal Knight, forming a great scarlet wall that completely encircled MasterTyrannomon, who looked somewhat startled as the wall of razor-edged petals started closing in on him. "Were you taught how to counter THAT move, fool?" She asked with a bitter laugh.

Babamon and Lopmon were running for their lives. They had escaped from the cave while Lucemon was busy playing with Zephyrmon, and had made it across the repaired bridge as fast as they could when Lucemon made the earth shake. Once on the other side of the bridge, Babamon used her broom to destroy the bridge supports, causing the structure to collapse once again. She panted and leaned against one of the posts that had at one time held the bridge in place. "There, that should hold him for a while!"

"But Grandma, he can fly! He doesn't need to use the bridge!" Lopmon pointed out.

Babamon sweatdropped. "Well, you could have told me that beforehand! Hurry, maybe we can get away before Lucemon-"

"Before I what?" asked Lucemon as he landed right in front of the trail leading back to the village.

Babamon raised her broom. "Lopmon, get behind me!" she yelled. The rabbit quickly hid behind the witch's back as Lucemon strode towards them. Babamon took a deep breath, and spat out an incredible blast of fire that rivaled MasterTyrannomon's attack.

The Angel smirked and strode through the flames, which shied away from him when they tried to burn his skin. Babamon shouted a battle cry and jumped at Lucemon, swinging her mighty broom in a strike that could knock down trees. Lucemon grabbed the end of the broom in his hand and yanked it away from Babamon, causing her to fall to the ground. He snapped the broom over his knee, and tossed the pieces away as they started to disintegrate. His smile grew wider and he shook his head. "Now, now, you should know better than to think a silly little broomstick can harm the master of the Catalyst of Power. Allow me to show you what I do to those that dare to challenge me!" He grabbed Babamon and flung her off the side of the cliff.

"GRANDMA!" screamed Lopmon, running to the edge of the cliff.

Lucemon formed a ball of light and a ball of darkness in his hands. He threw the ball of light off the side of the cliff, which struck Babamon, freezing her in midair and trapping her in a sphere of light. He then threw down the ball of darkness, which swelled to the size of the light globe and merged with it, creating a sphere within a sphere. Each sphere was transparent and glowed orange and black, covered in a checkerboard surface with circles, squares, triangles, and X's on each section of the board. The spheres were rotating in opposite directions, creating an electrical current that was coursing through Babamon's body and inflicting inhuman amounts of damage. Lucemon laughed at the sound of her screams and snapped his fingers. The spheres shattered, deleting Babamon completely. The Ancient Digimon's data flew up to Lucemon, who absorbed it eagerly. "Ah, that felt good. I always love a good sacrifice around midday." He said.

"Grandma…" whispered Lopmon, going into shock.

Lucemon walked over to Lopmon and picked her up by the scruff of her neck. "Come now, don't cry little Lopmon. Your grandmother might be dead, but Uncle Lucemon will take good care of you now. VERY good care." He said wickedly. He squeezed her neck just enough to cut off oxygen to her brain and knock her unconscious. She would be no good to him dead, after all. If she was dead, how would he be able to use her as bait?

As the whirling scarlet wall of death closed in on MasterTyrannomon, the fighting master quickly formulated a plan. He used his fire breath to ignite the rose petals, creating a wall of fire. Crusadermon laughed. "Ha! How's that supposed to help you? All you've done is change your death sentence from quartering to burning at the stake!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that!" MasterTyrannomon held out his sword and concentrated. The wall of fire wavered and got sucked into the blade, causing it to glow bright red.

Crusadermon gasped. "Impossible! How…how did you…"

MasterTyrannomon chuckled. "You see Crusadermon, they DID teach me a move to counter that attack! It's called the HURRICANE SPIN ATTACK!" MasterTyrannomon unleashed his ultimate technique, rushing at the Royal Knight in a flaming cyclone of death. He spun around her, striking her with his blazing sword again and again, lighting the pink warrior on fire. She screamed in agony as the flames burned her alive. MasterTyrannomon finally spun away from Crusadermon and came to a stop. He slowly sheathed his Grey Sword and relaxed his fighter's stance. A moment passed. Crusadermon fell to the ground, burned to a crisp from the flames. MasterTyrannomon sighed in relief. "It's over."

"Are you so sure of that?" MasterTyrannomon looked up in surprise as Lucemon landed a few meters away from him, holding the unconscious Lopmon in his arms. The Angel looked very impressed. "I must say you've surprised me, mortal. I didn't think there was a Digimon alive who could beat my Royal Knights. You've proved me wrong. However, if you think your victory means anything, you're dead wrong." He raised his right hand, the Catalyst of Power glowing brightly on it. MasterTyrannomon watched, appalled, as the glow spread to Dynasmon and Crusadermon, who slowly got to their feet, their wounds completely healed. Lucemon took advantage of the fighter's lack of defense. He dropped Lopmon, dashed over to MasterTyrannomon, and knocked the dinosaur off his feet with a thousand rapid punches. He then used his high kick to launch MasterTyrannomon into orbit, and followed it up by flying after him and driving him into the ground with much more force than he had the last two times. The island was shaking more violently than ever before now. Lucemon retained his grip on the severely beaten MasterTyrannomon's leg, grabbed Lopmon, and took off. Dynasmon and Crusadermon quickly followed their master.

Huge fissures spread out from where Lucemon had slammed MasterTyrannomon into the ground, damaging the island's severely weakened geological foundations even more. The undersea mountain that supported Outset shattered, causing the entire island to fragment and sink into the ocean, creating a huge whirlpool that sucked up all of the desperate islanders who had tried to escape by boat to their deaths at the bottom of the ocean.

Lucemon and the Royal Knights laughed at the devastation. "An excellent job, Master! I couldn't have done better myself!" said Dynasmon.

"Such beautiful desolation and destruction! Oh, what glorious chaos! Not as beautiful or glorious as me, of course." Added Crusadermon.

Lucemon smirked. "Not a bad job if I do say so myself. Nothing left but a few rocks." He raised MasterTyrannomon up to eye level. "Now, what should I do with you?"

MasterTyrannomon's body phased in and out of solidity. His data was just a hair's breadth away from coming apart. "Kill…me…and get…it…over with…" he rasped.

Lucemon snickered and shook his head. "Now why would I do something as foolish as that? If I killed you, then who would deliver my message?"

"What…message?"

"Guilmon has to come back home sooner or later, doesn't he? And when he does, you will give him this message…"

"He cast a spell or something that would only keep me alive long enough to give you his message, then he left me for dead and flew away with his knights and your sister." MasterTyrannomon said, ending the flashback.

Guilmon looked stunned. Tears were starting to stream from his eyes. "What…what was his message?"

The old dinosaur coughed a few times. His end was near. "He said…he said that if you wanted to see your sister again, you would go to his tower at the bottom of the sea. And if you didn't bring one of the Catalyst pieces, he'd kill Lopmon the instant you walked through his front door."

Guilmon swallowed. "I see." He stood there for a few seconds, trying to control his raging emotions. "Sensei…sensei, I swear that I'll get Lucemon for this. I'll make you proud of me, sensei."

MasterTyrannomon gave Guilmon a small, sad smile as he gathered the last of his energy. "Don't you get it, Guilmon? You…already…have…" He closed his eyes for the last time and let out the final breath of air in his lungs. He slowly disintegrated, his data flying away in the wind.

Guilmon stood there silently, looking at the ground as tears began to form a puddle at his feet. Grani shook his head sadly, knowing there was nothing he could say that could make Guilmon feel better. Hours later, or so it seemed, Guilmon slowly looked up. "Lucemon." He whispered.

"What?" asked Grani.

"Lucemon…Lucemon is to blame for all this." He hissed.

"He agitated Skydramon and nearly destroyed Dragon Roost Island.

"He drove the plant Digimon from their homes in the Forbidden Woods.

"He blew up Greatfish Island, and the gods know how many others.

"He's kidnapped, molested, and murdered dozens of girls from all over the Great Sea.

"He's destroyed countless amounts of lives throughout history and almost destroyed the world twice.

"He's destroyed my grandmother, my home, my teacher, and everyone else I've known since childhood.

"He's taken my sister away from me twice.

"This time he's gone too far."

Guilmon suddenly drew the Invincible from its scabbard, holding it high into the air. "I swear by the name of every god, goddess, and demon in the heavens that I am going to hunt down Lucemon. I'm going to make him hurt. I'M GOING TO MAKE…HIM…PAY!!!!!!!!!!"

The Invincible and Catalyst of Courage started to glow. The holy blade exploded into data and flew into Guilmon's body. The light from the Catalyst of Courage grew to cover Guilmon's entire body, which started to expand and transform, changing from his reptilian figure to a more humanoid one. He continued growing, until he was ten feet in height. The glow faded away, revealing a very ominous figure that could not possibly be Guilmon. A long blue cape blew in the wind, revealing a Digimon covered from head to toe in shining black armor. The armor's joints were outlined in silver trim, as were the tips of the Digimon's blue and black boots. Diamond-shaped blue plates with silver trim were on his knees and elbows, each with the symbol of the Hazard emblazoned on them. A pair of small blue belts wrapped around his waist, keeping his upper and lower armor in place. His thickly armored torso bore the mark of the Hazard as well, right in the middle of the chest in blue paint. A pair of sturdy blue plates with silver trim protected the Digimon's shoulders. On his right arm, he carried a long silver lance that went up to his elbow, with a blue conical hilt studded with rivets. On his left arm, he bore a large round shield resembling the Aegis, but in shape and design pattern only. The shield was blue with silver trim, studded with rivets near the edge, and lined with the images of writhing serpents in a ring around the center. In the very middle of the shield, in the midst of the snakes, was a closed eye symbol. The Digimon's head was protected by a helmet with a grille for the face, revealing only black skin and a pair of yellow eyes. The visor of the helmet looked like a small blue Guilmon head, with the same little bat wing ears extending from the sides. A small fin-like crest grew from the top of the helmet, with a black ribbon streaming from its tip down to the ground, also blowing in the wind.

Grani's jaw dropped. He was too dumbstruck by the transformation to say a thing. The new Digimon looked himself over in surprise, impressed by his new form. With a thought, he made his shield and lance disappear, then took out the Wind Waker. He closed his eyes and played a new song: V^. Within milliseconds, the magic of the Song of Gales activated. The skies filled with clouds, blotting out the sun. Rain began to fall from the clouds, churning the ocean below. The wind blew stronger and stronger, as lightning flashed down from the heavens and whirlwinds and waterspouts started to form. The Digimon put away the Wind Waker. He ignored the storm as the rain pattered down on his armor and his cape blew in the wind. "Can you hear the winds, Lucemon?" he said softly. "They are searching for you. The winds seek retribution for your actions." A bolt of lightning crashed dangerously close to him, striking the peak of the rock. It exploded into a shower of pebbles, which bounced off of the Digimon's armor and fell into the sea. "The winds hunt you, and as their master, so do I." A series of lighting bolts struck the rock, one after the other, blasting away more and more stone until it finally formed a statue, a monument to all that had died at that spot. He looked up to the stormy sky, his yellow eyes gleaming dangerously. "Do you hear me, Lucemon?! I am no longer a small Rookie, trying to take on the role of a great warrior! I am the Hero of Winds!" He leaped onto Grani as a huge cyclone formed around them, carrying them up into the sky. The Digimon looked up once again to the raging heavens. "Be afraid, Lucemon! Be very afraid, because there's nowhere to hide when ChaosGallantmon is coming for you!"

Lucemon got to his feet with a start, startling his Royal Knights. "Master? Is something wrong?" asked Dynasmon, concerned.

Lucemon looked around, confused and a little worried. "Did either of you hear something?"

"No, Master. I haven't heard a thing." Said Crusadermon.

Lucemon glared at them. "Don't lie to me, I know I heard something!"

"Master, we two are the only other ones here, and we didn't hear anything." Said Dynasmon. "Are you feeling all right?"

Lucemon blinked, relaxing a little. "Yes, yes I'm fine. I just thought I heard a voice…but it must have been the wind."

(BWG and Gordianus crash through a window.)

BWG: Hold it right there, Akiyama!

Justimon: (Stepping away from the computer in surprise.) What?! How did you find me?!

Gordianus: You left a trail of clues that even the Hardy Boys could have followed!

Ri2: (Eyes all sparkly and stuff.) BWG! You-you came to rescue me!

BWG: Hey, that's what partners do, isn't it?

Ri2: (Sniffs) I've never been more proud to be your Tamer! WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! (Starts crying tears of joy.)

Justimon: Enough of this! You interrupted me right in the middle of completing my plan! Prepare to pay the consequences!

BWG: (Mode-changes to Grand Mode.) Bring it on!

(The two Mega Digimon charge each other with battle cries, preparing to fight to the death.)