A/N: Yes, this is going to be a short chapter, but "Horizons" is a short song. The next chapter (which is also the final one) will more than make up for this one's brevity.

Twelve digimon, eleven Rookies and one Champion, were taking a long walk throughout some of their favorite locations in the Digital World. It was a sunny summer morning, the last one of July (until next year, of course), and the main thing on their minds was finding the perfect place to throw a party. As they were paying tribute to their best friends (other than each other, that is), they all agreed that they needed to find a location that all of their friends would love. Once they did so, then they would come up with actual things to do at the party. Their friends had a wide range of personalities and interests; from the quiet ones to the outgoing ones, and the sports fans to the computer enthusiasts, and everyone in between...it was easier to name a personality type that wasn't represented in their circle of friends. So of course, they were spending more time worrying about the events at the party than the party's location.

The location, though, would be helpful in determining what kinds of activities could happen at the party. If they had their party in Primary Village, they could get the babies involved in the party somehow, maybe by telling stories about their victories. But since that idea could possibly end up being too stressful for Elecmon and the babies, especially on such short notice, they decided that that idea wasn't a winner. Having the party on top of a mountain was also right out; even though most of the partner digimon had the ability to fly, it would be much easier for them to have fun if they didn't have to constantly keep an eye out for anyone falling off.

When they reached the nearest beach, though, something in their minds clicked. Of course! Why hadn't they thought of this before? The beach was a wonderful place to have fun, whether that fun consisted of swimming, playing in the sand, or just daydreaming. And since this was in the middle of summer, it was an even more apropos choice. So the digimon began to come up with various activities, plans for refreshments, and all those other odds and ends one must consider when planning a party...

...that is, until someone called out to them.

It was a Divermon, who was standing on a small rock jutting out of the water. He took the pouch he was holding and gripped it between his teeth before jumping off the rock and swimming to shore. The partner digimon were all puzzled at this turn of events, but to them, Divermon probably had a good reason to call out to them.

When Divermon emerged from the waves, he grabbed the pouch and walked closer to the partner digimon. The pouch, he had explained, contained a special present for each of them. He told them it was just a little something to thank them for saving the Digital World. The twelve gathered around as he opened the pouch, revealing a large array of rings in several different colors.

One by one, each of the partners got a ring corresponding to their human partners' respective crest colors. There was an orange ring for Agumon, a gold ring for Patamon, a green ring for Palmon, an orange-and-blue striped ring for Veemon, and so on. As soon as he handed out the last ring, he bid the partners farewell and dove right back into the ocean, leaving them to admire their new jewelry. All twelve of them were soon wearing their rings; this seemed to be a nice addition, as they now had some formal wear for their party, in a way.

Armadillomon in particular couldn't help but admire his ring, which had chartreuse and black stripes. To him, the ring was so interesting that he just had to get a closer look at it from every angle. Thus, he tried to take the ring off. When it didn't budge at all, he suddenly looked panicked. He called out to all his friends, telling them that his ring wouldn't come off. In response, some of them tried to take their own rings off, only to be shocked when they weren't any luckier than Armadillomon. Then, they tried to take each other's rings off, but there was no luck with that either.

Understandably, some of them were a little concerned about this development. Gomamon, however, thought they didn't have a reason to worry. They were just rings, right? Besides, maybe Divermon would be at the party, and they could ask him then! But right now, they should focus on having fun!

The other partners hoped Gomamon was right.

Meanwhile, Divermon returned to the fort by the sea, excited to tell MetalSeadramon the news. Of course, MetalSeadramon laughed as soon as he heard what had happened. The Digidestined hadn't even thought of questioning Divermon, and look at where that was gonna land them!

And of course, the rest of MetalSeadramon's minions cheered at this development. This could only mean one thing: the new reign of the last Dark Master was going to start tonight, tonight, tonight! They were so excited, they couldn't stop going on about it!

When the sun began to set, Divermon contacted Mamemon, who had since stationed himself at the second fort by the sea. Mamemon told him that his squad of Bakemon was ready to begin their initial attacks. As soon as MetalSeadramon gave his blessing, Divermon relayed it to Mamemon, who in turn relayed it to the Bakemon. The group of ghosts flew out across Server, looking for any potential targets to lure out into the open.

Soon, they finally found a place with evidence that someone was there: a house in the middle of the woods. Not only were the lights on, but there was a car parked outside. The fiendish giggles of the Bakemon radiated through the air, and for very good reason.

They were hungry for chaos, and supper was ready.

A/N: Next chapter is the big payoff. Prepare yourselves; I'm going all out...