Here we are, the final chapter of this four-year wild ride of a story. I would like to thank those who have been following, favoriting, and reviewing for doing so and sticking with me every step of the way! I will be posting an author's thank you note following this chapter later this week to recognize your support! For now, enjoy the epilogue!

Epilogue

"Doesn't it look fabulous, Palmon?" Mimi gushed as she was stitching away at the skirt of a frilly pink mini dress. She and Palmon had been hard at work on it as a project for the Child of Sincerity's fashion class. Mimi had just started working on the skirt, having already drawn the pattern.

"It does, Mimi!" Palmon replied, hopping up and down like a child prepared for a surprise reward. "I can't wait to see it when it's finished!"

"I should have it done in a few days. It's not due until Friday." Mimi's vibrating D-Terminal cut her stitching short. She had put herself on standby in case the others really needed her. That was exactly what she told them upon leaving the funeral. She had wanted to focus more on school, but if anything immensely serious went down, she had asked the others to message her and she would be there. She fished it out of her pocket to check it.

There's serious trouble in Odaiba. Serious trouble!

-Cody

"Cody?" Palmon read over her partner's shoulder. "But Cody's..."

"That's what I thought, too, Palmon," Mimi said, just as confused. She had been at Cody, Yolei, Ken, Davis, and Kari's funeral and seen their graves, so how was Cody alive? Unless it's someone posing as him. She would find out when she answered the call, especially if it had anything to do with the suicides she had seen in the United States. Then there were the creatures the duo of Sincerity had faced. Though Togemon had made easy work of them, they still didn't know what those were. Mimi was certain she'd find answers in Japan. Besides, the American DigiDestined could handle the creatures...at least the few still alive. Some had already committed suicide, including Michael. He had been a good friend of Mimi's since she moved to the States, even helping her Japanese friends once. She had to avenge the deaths of him and the other American DigiDestined who had fallen and figure out why they did what they had done. And those answers were in Odaiba along with her friends in distress.

"Something's going on, Mimi," Palmon said. "If Cody is still alive when he's supposed to be dead, something's definitely up in Japan."

"And we'll find out when we get back, Palmon." Mimi put away her sewing equipment. "School can wait; it's time for us to step in and find out more."

After packing a few necessities for the trip home, the duo of Sincerity sneaked downstairs to the front door, careful not to disturb Mimi's parents. Just as she touched the doorknob, the entire house wavered and transformed into a world resembling a grassy tennis court. Snow fell from the moonlit sky, but Mimi did not feel cold. In fact, the snow felt more like shards of glass that cut into their skin. She and Palmon surveyed the stands to see snowmen spectating.

"This is just like the last few times!" Palmon realized. Sometimes, the world surrounding them had changed into something out of a surrealist painting or the dream world. A freakish creature would appear a few moments later or wait at the end of a bizarre tunnel or pathway.

And the same thing happened this time; flurries of snow surrounded Mimi and Palmon, creating a blizzard that only affected them. The glassy blizzard blinded them and sliced against their skin, producing more cuts on their skin and making the ability to see a chore.

"I'll never look at winter the same again! Not if it cuts my skin into ribbons!" said Mimi as the glassy blizzard subsided to reveal a skyscraper-sized snowman. It resembled the other ones in the stands, except it had beady crimson eyes that gazed down on the duo of Sincerity with malice. It also wore a black and gray scarf and a pair of blue boxing gloves.

"Palmon!" The Child of Sincerity held out her Digivice to her Digimon.

"Palmon digivolve to...Togemon!" The plant Digimon assumed her Champion form.

The snowman spat a barrage of ceramic snowballs at the cactus Digimon, who pummeled them all into shards.

"Needle Spray!" Togemon responded with a flurry of needles that struck the creature head-on, causing its body to chip and cracks to spiderweb under the needles' collective strength. The Champion-level then followed up with a punch to the creature's stomach, shattering it into shards of porcelain. The duo was showered with boos and hisses from the frosty supporters.

"A ceramic snowman?" Togemon wondered as the world surrounding them returned to normal, revealing the foyer once again. The angry critics' complaints from the tennis court dissolved into silence.

"And look! It's another one of those black marbles." Mimi picked up a black, two-pointed ball lying on the floor, presumably left behind by the snowman. She had been getting a lot of them from the creatures she and Togemon had been fighting, but they had never found out exactly what they were.

"What do you think they are?" the Champion-level inquired, dedigivolving to Rookie level.

"It is called a Grief Seed."

Both DigiDestined and Digimon searched the foyer for the source of the random voice...until they came across a pair of beady blue eyes in the pitch blackness of the kitchen. Their owner hopped forward, revealing a black creature with white ears, a white stripe on its back, and a white stomach. It resembled a cat and fixed Mimi and Palmon with its emotionless gaze.

"Um, who are you?" Mimi asked.

"I am Liubey," the creature responded. "And I have been watching you, Mimi Tachikawa."

…

Ten more questions. Joe was deeply focused on his exam, having studied non-stop for it all weekend. Gomamon had cracked jokes about his studying so hard that his head would explode or that it was above max capacity. Nevertheless, the Child of Reliability was determined to pass this exam that would be one deciding factor in his quest to become a doctor. He had to pass...even while his D-Terminal was vibrating every few seconds. Each time, he ignored it.

However, a rapping at the window made him jump. He, followed by the other students, turned to see Cody at the window. Wait, Cody? What's he doing at the window? He's dead. I was at his funeral, so the Cody at the window has to be some sort of ghost. Or am I hallucinating? When the rapping grew louder; however, Joe feared the continuous rapping disputed his chances of their just being auditory hallucinations. And I doubt it's going to stop unless I check it out. Excusing himself, Joe tipped out of class.

The Child of Reliability stepped outside of the school to see that it was indeed Cody standing not far from the entrance. For sanity's sake, however, he felt the youngest DigiDestined from head to toe.

"I'm real and alive, Joe," Cody confirmed.

"But how?" Joe asked.

"It's a long story."

"I'm pretty positive it's more than the little bit I already know, even more considering you're somehow alive." Joe sighed. My exam grade's toast, but I'll deal with that later. We need to make sure later occurs first, though. "We should head to my place; Gomamon's there and he needs to know, too."

…

"I sense magical potential in him as well," Kyubey said as he watched Iori and an older boy leave. "Joe Kido. Iori, you do realize you are creating another witch to stop the one that is starting to hatch, basically killing a witch to create more. Yet you continue to believe there is a way to undo the contracts while I have explained there is not. However, I am curious to know how you will save everyone as well as yourself."