Author's Note: Thank you to all that have been following this story as I went along - it's been in progress for nearly three years, LOL! I just want to thank you all again for your readership, and let you know one thing - despite the title, this isn't the last chapter of the story. As for how many more are along the way... That's for me to know, and for you to find out once they're up, hahaha. I can guarantee you, however, that we are coming to the end soon.

So, on with the story.

Zero

It had been minutes since she pressed the red button. To be specific, the red button that would erase all traces of Overlord GAIA, the computer program which, despite being originally intended to create life, had ended up creating monstrosities that destroyed countless lives thanks to its rebellion against its masters. But now, here she was, seemingly trapped alone in a dark area, floating in what felt like an ocean of black silk as the mysterious substance flowed all around her, gently caressing her as she stayed suspended in its midst for what seemed like an eternity.

May... Ash... Brock... Sabrina... Gary... Tracey... So many others...

They had all been banking on her and May to fix things by going back in time, but something must have gone wrong - otherwise, she figured she wouldn't be all alone in this dark space.

'Did I end up destroying everything by accident?' she wondered to herself, her thoughts echoing within the silence that surrounded her, 'What is this place? When can I go home?'

"Soon enough, child," said a gentle voice, in answer to her mental query, "All has been righted, and balance has been restored between the Light and the Dark."

"Who's there?!" she squeaked fearfully, "Show yourself!"

"It is I," said the voice, sounding slightly miffed, "Don't you recall my voice?"

Misty puzzled over it for a second, then shook her head, feeling foolish - who was she shaking her head for?

"Sorry, I don't remember who you are, or if I even know you..."

"Very well then. I shall show my corporeal form to you, child."

For a brief moment, the darkness around her was lifted, and she saw a realm of gray that was without horizon, stretching out further than her eyes could fathom in all directions. Then, the realm of gray was illuminated by a bright light, which eventually faded, leaving her back in darkness.

Only this time, she was not alone in the darkness.

Several feet away from her, a diminutive being was standing suspended in the dark. It radiated a faint glow, which was what allowed her to discern its corporeal presence there in the first place. The creature looked at her with its large green eyes, and raised a vine-like hand, as if beckoning to her. At last, she recognized the identity of the being which had brought her here, or at the very least, had come to tell her that she would be stuck here for all of eternity.

"I am the Time-Guardian," said the creature, in a voice not unlike the sound of leaves rustling in a breeze, "Humans know me in this form, as the Pokemon named... Selebi."

"Selebi..." whispered Misty, feeling awestruck, "You came... I mean, Sabrina said you were approaching our time, but-"

"Indeed I was," nodded Selebi, waving one of its stubby hands dismissively, "When Time's balance is threatened, it is my duty and obligation to try and remedy the situation before things escalated beyond my control."

"Couldn't you just undo Time?"

"I shall show you Time as I know it, and you shall understand the rules that govern my actions."

Once again, the room flared into brightness, and returned to darkness. However, this time, the darkness was broken by what looked like a sphere of multichromatic light that surrounded the two of them. The colors in the sphere rippled and moved, as the sphere expanded, eventually revealing itself to be a complex stucture of interwoven light strands. Misty was awestruck, as she took in the sight before her. But Selebi wasn't done yet. More strands of light burst out of the sphere's surface, and shot outwards in all directions. The multicolored strands twisted, turned, and fused, forming intricate patterns that never were alike in two locations.

Selebi made a sweeping gesture towards the constantly-shifting morass of light, "This is Time, in its most simple form, and despite its apparent massiveness, this is but the tiniest fraction of Time. Each soul that would make a difference in Time is a strand, and the intersections between the strands is where several of those souls interact. You see, Time is like a great tapestry that never is quite completed. Its patterns and strands are constantly shifting about, as balance is sought."

"So you mean that people who don't go anywhere in their lives will not affect Time?"

Selebi nodded, as it made a moving action with its fingers, summoning a large bundle of Time-strands to be separated from the rest and brought up close to them, for closer observation, "This is what the Time-strands for Earth's significant souls looks like now. Can you see the many other strands leading away from this bundle?"

Misty squinted, and spotted them with some difficulty. They might have been faint, but they were certainly there - hundreds of miniscule, thread-like strands that led back into the colossal web of strands that surrounded them.

Seeing Misty's nod, Selebi spoke, "And this simulation is to show you what would have happened when the Digimon's Time-strands wove their way into those of Earth, and if they hadn't been stopped."

At first, she saw no visible changes. But Selebi pointed behind her, and what she saw as she turned her back was a horrifying sight indeed.

A massive bunch of interwoven strands, all scarlet in color, moved in snake-like undulating patterns through the Time web around them. Every other strand touched by the Digimons' coiled-up and went dark, leaving only a few token strands that connected to the Digimons' ever-growing behemoth. Within minutes of the simulation, a space nearly the area of a tennis court had been darkened in the mass of Time around them, not to mention the gaping holes here and there.

Finally, the scarlet strand, which had been sluggishly moving all this while, collided with the dense bundle of strands that was Earth's. Earth's entire bundle of strands went dark, collapsing in on itself like a supernova forming a black hole. The Digimon strands then started accelerating their movement, and within the next few minutes, nearly every single strand around them had been darkened, save for a few miserable strands. Even those faded into nothing after a while, and yet, the voracious Digimon strands moved even faster, its leading end ultimately surging out of sight.

Now, all that was left around them was a grossly-convoluted, bloated version of the scarlet Digimon strand. It looked like a mad artist's rendition of human entrails that filled the darkness.

Selebi broke Misty out of her stunned silence, "Humans were the turning point of the Digimon's genocide. After they had taken Earth, they would have moved on to all the other worlds linked to Earth in Time; four-hundred-and-forty-four more worlds to be painted with blood. Then, they would discover the gateway to another galaxy, and resume their butchery there. And all this would take place in no more than eighty years from when they first destroyed Earth."

"So, child. Now you should understand," said Selebi, as the simulated Time strands vanished - except for one. It came closer, and hovered in between them, its leading end swelling like the bulb of a thermometer, "This is the strand of your friend May."

"Why are you showing this to me?" Misty asked, bewildered, "Where is everyone else, anyway? Why am I stuck here?"

"Patience," replied Selebi, as it blinked slowly, "And this is the Digimon's Time-strand, nearly three centuries before your time."

It gazed meaningfully at Misty, "It was the Time of the DigiDestined." The strand was still the same scarlet strand, but instead of darkening Earth's bundle of strands, it made a U-turn, after several small strands from Earth's Time reached out and pushed it away. Soon, those little strands were all entwined, but when a single, almost invisible Digimon strand returned and touched them, they all coiled into darkness.

"Who were they?" asked Misty, her voice breaking up as she recalled Professor Oak's gruesome death after he refused to reveal what he knew about the DigiDestined when interrogated by Datamon, "Weren't they kids like us?"

She broke down into sobs, wondering why they had been thrown into this mess in the first place. Kids weren't meant to be in wars. Heck, wars weren't meant to be, either! Selebi floated up to her, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. The pixie-like Pokemon placed its other hand on her head, stroking her hair much like her long-dead mother once did.

"It's alright, child," soothed Selebi, "Your sorrow is not unreasonable-"

"DAMN STRAIGHT IT ISN'T!" Misty shrieked, eyes red and face tear-streaked, "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SORROW, YOU TIME-TRAVELING SLACKER?! ALL YOU DO IS FOOL ABOUT WITH TIME AND LIVES, NOT GIVING A DAMN WHO YOU MESS WITH!"

Selebi's head drooped, and it placed both its hands on Misty's cheeks, wiping her tears, "Look at me in the eye, Misty."

Reluctantly, Misty looked at Selebi's forest-green eyes, and saw a profound sadness there. Selebi sighed, and averted its gaze from hers.

"I have shown you Time as it mattered to you and your homeworld," said the Time-Guardian, a note of sadness in its voice, "And I thought you would have understood... That I cannot interfere with Time directly without bringing about disastrous consequences."

"Why not?" Misty asked, uncomprehending.

"Even if I twist and break just one strand," explained Selebi, "The resulting domino effect would have probably destroyed much more than fate would have intended it to be. It is Time's way of making sure that no one, not even Time-Guardians, tampered with Time freely."

"What about when Clockmon brought us back in Time? Or when he reversed Time in the battle with May?"

"He didn't break any strands or twist them," answered Selebi, "He merely undid them a little, and to be honest, I have no precise idea how Clockmon's powers of Time worked - he might have been playing under a different set of rules?"

"So it's all just a game to you all-powerful Time-Guardians?" Misty's voice was rising again.

"A game I am forced to play. A game where I am forced to watch, forced to be unresponsive, forced to not take action. I are not allowed to sever strands just like that, or form strands as I please. If a world is to survive a tempest in Time, it has to form its own defenses. I. Am. Helpless."

"So then..." Misty paused, "You haven't answered my original question; why am I here? Why isn't everything back to normal?"

Selebi looked at her, and once again, she saw that sadness in its eyes, "You are here child, because everything will not be back to normal."

"What do you mean?"

Selebi motioned towards the DigiDestined's darkened strands, "You see the Digimon strand here?"

"Yes..."

"Here it is again, seventeen years before your time."

The scarlet strand was now about three feet away from Earth's Time. But something had changed - a single, golden strand had branched out of Earth's Time, and was poised for a head-on strike with the Digimon strand.

"Earth did prepare her own defenses for the next time the Digimon came. She was also a child, like the DigiDestined."

An uncomfortable feeling emerged in Misty's gut, as she somehow knew Selebi's answer before it spoke to her.

The Time-Guardian sighed, "Her name was May."

Misty felt like a ton of rocks had been forced down her throat and piled onto her back for her to hold. How could this happen?!

"The defensive strand did well, considering its circumstances," continued Selebi, "But when you used Clockmon to help rectify the problem, things got complicated..."

This time, the entire Digimon strand returned, as did the web of Time that showed its death-lined course of motion.

"When you erased Overlord GAIA, all traces of the Digimon's existence were destroyed. Edriss and Esplin died before they could resurrect the program, and so did the people of their world who were in stasis."

A bundle of scarlet strands came close to Misty, showing itself to be the root of the Digimon strand. The entire thing vanished into darkness, and eventually, the Digimon strand too started to disappear, from the root onwards.

"No..." Misty whispered, finally understanding what Selebi had been hinting at.

"Yes, my child," said Selebi solemnly, "With the Digimon threat removed permanently, Earth never had to form its defenses against their attack. So May... Simply ceased to exist."

The strands now showed May's strand, once again, preparing to head-off the Digimons'. In front of Misty's eyes, it began to coil up on itself, and fade into darkness.

As it disappeared, a ghostly image of May materialized in front of Misty, who was on the verge of tears. The specter hugged her, feeling surprisingly solid for a 'spirit'.

"Don't be sad for me, Misty," May said, her voice hiding her emotions well, "I'm glad that I made a difference... Selebi explained everything to me... Before I was undone..."

May hugged the specter back, sobbing and in too much grief to speak coherently.

"There, there..." May comforted Misty, patting her back slowly even as she sobbed onto a ghostly shoulder, "I hope we'll meet again someday... But if I had to do this again, I would."

Misty sniffed a little, looking into May's eyes, "Why?"

"Because," May answered softly, looking downwards, "It would have kept Earth, and as a result, Ash, safe."

"May..."

"Just do one thing for me, Misty," said May, as she took Misty's hands in hers, "Tell Ash... Tell him that I love him. Tell him that I am glad to have existed, just to have felt his love, for however short a time we were together..."

A single silvery tear rolled down May's cheek, "Tell him to remember me..."

May's image started to vanish, and Misty tried to grab it, and hold onto her to prevent her from leaving. But the undone human girl's specter gradually vanished, and soon, her arms were wrapped around emptiness.

Selebi could only watch in pity, as Misty fell to her knees and burst into anguished tears in front of it.

xxx

Time was undone, and on two worlds, many things were changing...

xxx

Tracey, Gary, and those who had survived the Cloak's explosion watched in wonder, as a rain of glittering lights descended from the heavens and lit-up the night sky, falling towards the battle-worn ground that they were standing on. The fairy-lights soon touched the ground, and where there had been soil stripped bare by the Digimon's onslaught, grass and trees materialized. As even more lights appeared, the portal to the Digimon world closed, and in the far distance, buildings could be seen reappearing, as though the Digimon had never touched them.

Even people were appearing here and there - people who had died during the ferocious fights with the Digimon. Soon, they were gazing around in wonder, questioning whatever Gods they believed in as to how they had gotten to wherever they were now.

Gary placed a hand on Tracey's shoulder, and spoke quietly to the taller man.

"It's over."

xxx

Ash felt a sudden halt in Apocallymon's torture, and cracked a bruised eye open to see what the situation was now...

... Only to see innumerable fairy-lights falling through the hole in Apocallymon's chambers' blasted ceiling. Persiamon was looking around in confusion, only to fall on the ground, her body twisting and contorting as she became translucent, then finally vanished.

Apocallymon was staring wide-eyed at the fairy-lights. He seemed to be visibly shaken, even as he spoke in a trembling tone.

"It can't be..." he croaked, "Time..."

He too, jerked with convulsions as Time undid itself around him, and as he slowly vanished. When he vanished, the fairy-lights fell faster and in greater volume, until they filled the air, reducing visibility to zero.

Ash felt a curious, floating sensation, as he was engulfed by the light. He faded into darkness...

xxx

Brock let out a groan, and sat up from where he was lying. What struck him first was that something was not right.

Since when did Apocallymon's office have trees in it?! And... wasn't that Ash's house, right over there?! A quick glance around him confirmed it - he was in Pallet Town, and from the numerous people wandering around, he wasn't alone.

It was then that he spotted Ash and Pikachu, sprawled out on the porch of Professor Oak's home.

xxx

"Wake up, Ash! Wake up!"

Ash opened his eyes, saw nothing but a mass of blurry shapes. It was then that his woozy mind matched the voice he heard to someone he knew. It was Brock's voice. He tried to sit up, and instead fell back onto his back like a boneless creature.

"Prop him up on the cushions, Brock. He'll be disoriented, I should think."

Professor Oak's voice... But he was dead, wasn't he? Eaten by that disgusting Digimon...

Professor Oak?! His mind suddenly clicked into place as to why he was hearing the supposedly dead Professor's voice.

Misty and May had made it! They had come through for everyone else!

He felt someone lifting up his torso, and stuffing what felt like cushions behind him. As he looked around dizzily, he saw five blurs close to him and one next to him, which his sluggish mind slowly identified.

Brock, Professor Oak, Mom, Gary, Tracey, and Pikachu.

"Uh..."

"Get him some water, Sam. I think he's coming 'round!"

"Here you go, Ash," said the blur that was undeniably Professor Oak.

He sipped some as the glass was put to his lips, and felt the cool liquid flow down his throat like a magical elixir. Within seconds, his sight was clearing up, and he could think straight.

"Is..." he struggled to string his words together, "Is May here?"

"No, but Misty is here, asleep..." said Brock, his voice trailing-off into silence, as he pointed towards the master bedroom.

"Then is May back home? Her home should have been restored, right?"

"Ash..." Deliah Ketchum said, her voice unmistakably teetering on the brink of tears, "May... Is Gone..."

"WHAT?" despite his grogginess, he managed to yell out that one word, "HOW COULD SHE-"

"When Time was undone," said Professor Oak, a noticeable tremor in his voice, "So was her existence-"

He never finished his sentence, as Ash let out a wail of despair. The raven-haired teen was soon crying his heart out, and soon, all who were present were crying by his side, as they mourned May's passing.

For May had never existed, because she had done what was necessary to save the people that she loved.

So they all cried, until they just couldn't produce any more tears.

Not one drop.