Chapter 23

Suddenly, Spiral Mountain disintegrated, and they started plunging into darkness. But, just as suddenly, they stopped falling. Ayumimon came down, and asked, "Are you okay, Yumi?" Yumi nodded, and asked, "But what's going on?" Gennai contacted Izzy on his computer, and was about to tell them who this new enemy was when he lost contact. "Great! How are we supposed to fight this enemy if we don't know who it is?!" Yumi said, tired with Gennai. "If the original Digidestined could do it, then so can we!" Everyone agreed with Matt, when a strange cackling came from the darkness. Even Ayumimon's glow couldn't dispel the darkness. Suddenly, a strange cube came into view, and revealed Apocalymon.

He said he was formed from all the Digimon that weren't able to Digivolve, made up of all the pain and sorrow the Digiworld had to offer. "Why should you be allowed to laugh in the light, when I am forced to cry in the dark?" "I…I don't know." Yumi whispered, holding on to Ayumimon. He started to use the attacks of all of the Digimon they had faced before. Ayumimon used Wall of Earth to shield them from the more vicious attacks, but even earth crumbles. "That pathetic attempt won't save you!" "Pathetic?!" Ayumimon's temper flared, and she yelled, "If you wanted to die, you could have just told me!" She used Ice Sword, but before she could strike, Apocalymon used Digimon Dedigivolution.

He captured all of the Digimon in his claws and, when he opened them, revealed them to be at the rookie level. Miharumon snarled, and Yumi said, "We can still Digivolve!" But he used Devimon's hands to grab their tags and crests, and destroyed them. "No…no. How are we supposed to beat him now?" Yumi felt helpless again, and Miharumon growled, getting her attention. "Just because we're at the Rookie level doesn't mean we can't fight!" "But it does mean you won't win!" Yumi countered, a sob wracking her throat. Suddenly, they started breaking apart, piece by tiny piece, and they were soon gone from there.

They found themselves in a world of white, surrounded by sequences of 1's and 0's. "We're in the world of data." Obana said, hugging Akiramon tightly. "We can't give up!" Miharumon said stubbornly. "Just because he's beaten us down doesn't mean we can't stand up again!"
All the other Digimon agreed, and Miharumon said, "You didn't know how those other fights were going to turn out, but you fought them anyway!"

As everyone reminisced with their Digimon, Miharumon said, "Yumi, if you hadn't tried to protect me from Piedmon, I never would have become Ayumimon." "And if I'd never met you, I'd still be the same old person I always was. We've all grown up since we came to the Digital World. With you by my side, I always felt invincible." Miharumon smiled.

"Obana, if you hadn't believed in me and Yumi, I wouldn't have been able to Digivolve to Takumimon." "You're right, Akiramon. And if I'd never met you, then I still wouldn't be able to trust anyone. But now I know…that I can trust a lot of people now." Yumi said, determination in her voice, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not ready to stop fighting!" "I'm with you! I won't let this whole experience be for nothing!" Obana said, hugging Akiramon tighter. "There are still a lot of people counting on us down on Earth." Izzy added. "Yeah! Crests or no crests, we're going to win!" Kari said. Suddenly, a symbol started to glow over their hearts.

Yumi looked to see the Crest of Loyalty, and asked, "What's going on?" "You don't need to carry your crests anymore, because the power has been inside of you this whole time." Miharumon said. "But our crests aren't powered by just one person, they're powered by the faith we have in each other." Obana said. One by one, everyone Digivolved to Ultimate or Warp-Digivolved to Mega. They soon found themselves reassembled, and Ayumimon was holding a grudge. Yumi got on Ayumimon's back, and Obana on Takumimon's, and they ran into battle with the others.

As the Ultimate Digimon distracted Apocalymon and destroyed his claws, Ayumimon, Metalgarurumon, and Wargreymon went for his body. "You want to see what I'm made of? Well, here it is!" Ayumimon used Lightning Bolt before running in at full speed. She used Rock Fist, punching him in the face, but jumped back when Metalgarurumon and Wargreymon threw their strongest attacks at him. Soon, he was only a cube, but Yumi heard his voice say, "I'm not defeated that easily! You still haven't seen my ultimate attack!" He tried using Total Annihilation, and Yumi thought, No! He's going to destroy both worlds! But I won't let him! He won't hurt my friends if I still have something to say about it!

Lights came out of their Digivices, and all of them made a huge cube around what was left of Apocalymon. It grew smaller and smaller before disintegrating into nothingness. "We…we did it! We really did it!" Yumi hugged Ayumimon tight, her heart bursting with joy. She heard a strange sound, and turned around to see Centaurumon and Gennai appear. They said that everything would be fine, and took them to Primary Village. All the Digimon had Dedigivolved, and Miharumon looked up to see Digieggs raining down from the sky. They decided to take a picture, with Andromon's help. Kari was holding a Digiegg, and it hatched abruptly when Andromon took the picture, but he took another.

Ogremon decided to leave, and they went to where the trolley still was, reminiscing. They decided to stay in the Digital World for the rest of their summer vacation, and Miharumon was so happy that she knocked Yumi over and started licking her cheek, her tail wagging excitedly. Izzy surmised that they could stay in the Digital World for 110 years. After it was decided that they were staying, Agumon saw that a solar eclipse was starting. He pointed it out to the others. Centaurumon and Gennai appeared, saying that they only had two hours until they had to go home, permanently.

Yumi and Miharumon went into a small clearing in the forest, and Yumi sat down, hugging her knees. Miharumon whimpered as she lay down next to her, sadness in her once bright blue eyes. "Miharumon, I've always felt stronger with you around. I felt I could do anything, that I was invincible. I've taken strength from you. To see you always willing to put yourself on the line for your friends…at first I thought I couldn't do it, that I wasn't strong enough, but now I know that I am." Tears started stinging her eyes, "I'm really going to miss you, Miharumon." Miharumon saw the tears start rolling down Yumi's cheeks, and licked them away before saying, "Yumi, you're the one that gave me strength. When we became friends, I knew that I'd give my life to save yours. When Devimon tried to get you, and Leomon, when I normally wouldn't have thrown myself in, I found my body acting on it's own. Yumi, you're the reason I keep fighting, and I don't know what I'll do when you're gone." Yumi hugged Miharumon tight, and said, "Miharumon, I want you to be as strong as you can be. You're my best friend, a true friend, and I want you to be the best Digimon you can be." "And I want you to be the best person you can be, Yumi." Yumi smiled, hugging her tighter, "I'll never forget you, Miharumon." "And I'll never forget you, Yumi."

While that was going on, Obana and Akiramon were sitting in a tree. "Akiramon…I'm going to miss you…more than I did last time. You and Yumi…are the ones that taught me to trust people again, and you're…my best friend. I'm going to miss you." Tears started rolling, one by one, down her cheeks. Akiramon sat on her lap, and said, "We'll never truly be apart. I'm always in your heart…like you're always in mine." Obana smiled, saying, "You're the best, Akiramon. You've helped me so much…I'll miss you!" She hugged him to her heart, and Akiramon didn't struggle. He started to cry himself, and said, his voice a bit shaky, "I'll miss you too, Obana. You're the best friend I've ever had. I'll never forget you." "I'll never forget you either, Akiramon."

The two hours went by only too quickly, and they reluctantly got into the trolley car. Miharumon had her ears lowered and her tail tucked in-between her legs, whimpering. Yumi sat near a window, looking out at her Digimon. Obana sat next to Izzy, still crying, looking out at Akiramon. When the trolley started leaving, Yumi felt tears prick at her eyes. Matt put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and Obana was crying harder than before. She hugged the closest person to her, and cried into Izzy's shirt. Izzy was blushing, but wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. Yumi said, "I promise, Miharumon, I'll see you again."

She put her head against the glass, as the trolley took them back home.