A/n - Hello everybody. My internet is down while I'm writing this, and I can't see what votes I'm getting, and I think this is suggestion two, so if this doesn't get put up, you'll obviously know which selection I got the most votes for. ¬.¬ Ok then, on with the story!!! *presses the big fucking button of doom and your screen swallows you whole*

Ryo entered the portal to the dark realm and landed on a mountain top. From where he was, he could see the ocean. His eyes began to water up as he remembered how it was barely a week ago. Everything perfectly normal and fine... he was preparing to go to Henry's birthday party. He got him a present and everything. It was fun.

Now... look where they were now. He hated it. He never wanted this to happen. Why him? Why did it always seem to be him? Why couldn't it be Takato and Jeri, the unofficial leader and his girlfriend? Why did it have to be him and Rika?

Sighing he started walking towards the ocean. This wasn't going to take very long. He just hoped everything went according to plan.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rika was sitting at the very edge of the beach, the waves coming up to barely within an inch of her toes. Her shoes and socks were beside her as she stared out into the endlessly bluish gray ocean, the border of her vision staring at the horizon, where the pitch blackness of the sky intermingled with the darkening edge of the sea.

She wished that Umbramon were alright. She wished that her mother and grandmother were alright and not worrying too much. The last words she had exchanged with them after all were words of negative feelings, the exact emotions that this wretched world fed off of. She wished that Henry and Jeri and Even stupid goggle head and his friends were alright somewhere, in a better position than herself. Most of all she wished she could see Ryo again, even if it were the last time, at least one more time, so she could tell him her true feelings for the boy. She didn't care about his reaction, as long as she got to tell him the truth.

The girl came over and stood slightly behind her, but off to the side at the same time. The blue and silver Garurumon nuzzling her shoulder. They, too, stared out into the endless cruel ocean, reflecting their inner turmoil and fear.

"Rika, he will be coming soon. We will not live through this most likely. We will need a miracle to save us both."

"I know. I don't care about death. It doesn't scare me. And thank you for the shirt."

"Not a problem at all. Me and Astaramon will hold him off as long as possible, you just run and hide. It won't do you any good, except buy time. He might change back. Help might come. A miracle might occur. Or it might just extend the short amount of time you have left to live. Who knows. Just be swift."

"Alright Kylara." (Gee... KYLARA ISHIDA/briefs. Gee, you got to wonder...)

With that they fell entirely silent and stared at the horizon of the ocean, and wishing, praying, that somewhere amidst all the sorrow and anger and fear churning in the clouds and waves, they'd see a faint glimmer of hope, just enough to rekindle the dying Faith in their hearts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ryo got all the way up to the ocean. Pulling off the bow and grabbing an arrow, he looked down from the cliff over looking it. From his precarious perch, he saw what he assumed to be Rika, but their were two others, a digimon and a human, or another biped digimon, he wasn't sure. Staring at the wolf-like digimon, he took aim.

A gust of wind overtook him as he fired, and the arrow shot right in front of Astaramon's eyes, taking a few hairs with it. A small, paper-cut scratch, formed on the bridge of her nose. Growling, her head shot towards the cliff. Rika and Kylara's heads turned as well, Kylara stepping in front of Rika.

A low growling sound off to the side caught their ears, and gave them only a moments notice before they had a ring of freezing black fire surrounding them. Rika looked past the fifteen-foot high wall of flames, and spotted a pair of viciously gleaming red eyes. She heard words, but was unable to decipher them. She thought she heard phrases like "must retrieve Key" and "must obliterate the enemy", and she hoped she was wrong.

Up on the cliff, Ryo was looking for the quickest way down. It wasn't easy, considering that it was a straight down drop, with the cliff on a vertical slope into the mountain. He pulled out his digimon cards and fanned through them. Their had to be something that he could use. Finally, he pulled out a hyper wing card and ran it though his digivice. It wouldn't last him very long, but at the moment, that didn't matter.

He sprung off the cliff and went into a free-fall dive. Half way down, three pairs of feathery wings sprouted from his back, neatly folded into place. Ten feet from the ground, doing seventy miles an hour, he unfurled them and sped along the sparse grass and overzealous gray sand. Bow and arrow in front of him, he shot again, this time striking Umbramon in the tail.

Umbramon spun around, growling, snarling at this new intruder. How dare a pathetic human like him attempt to slay him?! Unfurling his own wings, he stood upon two feet and waited for the last second.

Ryo with his scimitar out and ready, pulled it back as he flew swiftly over the sand. Swinging it at this digimon, he was stunned to hit nothing but air.

Umbramon sprung into the air when Ryo had been not but three feet in front of him. In the air he back flipped and did a 180 (ever see the flip that Cyrax dos when he's fighting Jax in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation ? Good movie, go watch it.)

Ryo landed, pivoting his foot, and skidded, growling while glaring at Umbramon, the wings disappearing in an explosion of digital dust, and looked at Umbramon.

The icy and cruel fire twisted from around the ring circling Rika, Kylara, and Astaramon, and snaked up his wolven figure. His eyes were now pure blood red, crimson, pupils, surrounded by a black that was deeper than his fur. His arms erupted in a frozen fire as he glared at Ryo.

Ryo felt fear. He felt fear as he had never felt it before. He hid it well, but all he could feel was his chest, filled up with cold and heavy ice, weighing him down like lead. Drawing the scimitar in front of his face, he swung it outward in a challenging manner.

The fire surrounding Umbramon's right arm blazed, then calmed down, leaving a black gleaming sword in its wake, the blade creating a black reflection on the ground, which still seemed dull next to the black fur and even blacker fire spiraling up in a snake like manner around his legs and body.

The battle began. Ryo and Umbramon both swung at the same time, sword and scimitar clashing together sending black and silver sparks shooting in every which direction. They pressed close together, Umbramon's snarling visage right up in Ryo's glaring face. Shoving off of each other, Umbramon tossed the sword to his other hand and swung hard as Ryo did a complete spin and knocked it away, bringing it back across lightning fast to parry his next attack.

Umbramon soon got tired of this childish play. In one swift move, Umbramon knocked the scimitar far away from Ryo's hand, which dissolved into digital dust when it hit the ground. Ryo dropped down low to his stomach instinctively, feeling a swipe of icy air just where his gut would have been. Sweeping Umbramon's feet out from under him, he swiveled back up onto his feet. Umbramon attempted to whip the sword up and catch him, but Ryo slammed his foot down on it, breaking it in two and ultimately shattering it into data.

Ryo backed away quickly, instinctively as Umbramon got back onto his feet. Ryo looked around and spotted his quiver and bow. One glance at Umbramon told him to get out of the way. A black moon appeared behind Umbramon's fiery figure. A reaper's eyes shone into Ryo's soul from the craters of the moon, he swore it. If he felt fear before, then this could only be explained as the purest and most absolute terror one could ever begin imagine. He used it to put his legs in motion.

He sped along the grounds as fast as Metalgarurumon could. A long maddening howl erupted behind him, increasing the fear that sped him along. An inevitable whoosh of air quickly followed. Death was rushing for him, and he knew it. He flipped through his cards as quickly as he possibly could. Pulling out two, he dived, and managed to grab one arrow and his bow, and even roll out of harms way as everything where he just was, was completely and totally dissolved into nothingness, including the ground itself.

Rika knew what was about to happen. She began sprinting towards them, or Umbramon more or less. She had wrapped her arms around Umbramon, making him snap out of his trance. The icy fire remained, but his conscience, his free will, his eyes all came back. Rika stared up into his eyes, her own brimming with bright glistening tears. They shone brightly in this world of impenetrable darkness and sorrow, being the icon of pure hope and love this world had craved for so long.

Swiping the first card, he pulled back the arrow in the bow, and let it loose, letting the Angewomon card drop to the ground. The celestial arrow shot through the air, zigzagging this way and that, to go streaking towards Umbramon's heart. At the last moment Rika jumped in front of Umbramon, wrapping her arms around him. Ryo shouted in a desperate plea for her to move, but she didn't hear him.

He silently watched as time stopped. The arrow blew right through her back, through Umbramon's front and out his back to land a couple of feet away. The blood shot out in slow motion, too slow to be reality. His surroundings all became surreal. His entire world began to dissolve as he sprinted towards Rika.

Rika's eyes shone with pain. The tears spilled freely, willingly, as Umbramon whispered thank you and blew away silently into the wind, his data melting away in front of her eyes. She sank to her knees, any order in her world being overtaken by Chaos and inevitable blackness. She began to fall forwards.

Ryo finally made it over to her, just in time to catch her. He laid her on her back, his eyes watering at the sight of her. He brushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face, as he stared deep into her bright, life- filled eyes.

"Ryo... You came for me..."

"Of... Of course I did... I couldn't just leave you here..."

"You rescued me again..."

"...Again?"

"You were the one who saved me from the alley way. I know it, so don't deny it..."

She moved her hand up to brush the side of his face. He could see, much more feel, how sluggish her movement were becoming. She coughed slightly, blood splattering her lips and his face. He let his tears drop onto her face, as much to clear a little of the blood as to comfort her.

"Ryo... I need to tell you something very important..."

"Y...Yes... Yes Rika?"

Wrapping her hand around to the back of his head, she pulled him down closer, so their lips were almost touching. Ryo could see that she was having increasing difficulty moving. Her brilliant eyes were already beginning to dull into a lifeless gloss.

When their lips were practically touching, she managed to whisper her last words.

"Ryo, I love you."

Without warning, he kissed her. She returned it for a few seconds, then her chest stopped rising. Ryo cried. Breaking the kiss, he laid her head gently down on the ground. His whole body began to shake with sobbing, uncontrollable sobbing. He closed her eyes for her, covered that extinct gloss.

Kylara and Astaramon stood only a few feet away, silent tears running down Kylara's cheeks, as Astaramon bowed her head in respect. She shook her head. She climbed up on top of Astaramon and quickly ran off into the forest.

Ryo, still shaking uncontrollably with his painful tears, screamed loud into the night. He screamed as loud as he possibly could. Nothing could extinguish his peril, his inner torment right now. He hoped he attracted every being in this wretched world right now, just so he could take out his sorrow and rage on them. And if they got the better of him...? All the better. What better way to end his torment, other than dying?

His shaking and all that fighting caused his card holder to split. His cards spilled everywhere. He whimpered softly as he began to pick up his cards.

When he was done, he moved to pick up the last card. Staring at it, he resolved that his life was now completely meaningless. Getting up, he walked into the ocean, leaving the card on the beach. He continued walking, saying a prayer that he would soon be with Rika.

When he got enough out, he let the waves take him down, and offered no resistance as they drowned him, and brought him down to the bottom of the ocean.

Back on the beach, a small breeze blew the card. The card with the crest of Friendship landed silently onto Rika's stained chest, the very same one that she had given him for his fourteenth birthday.

A/n - You know how hard I cried when I was writing this? Gawd... Pathetic, I know. Well, Yeah, this is ending number two. *smile*