"It had deep blue eyes that somehow held me in place, and, as I told you, Sora, I was so preoccupied by them that I didn't hardly notice anything else. Except for gleaming white fangs. And they frightened me. But I couldn't seem to move . . ." Sabrina shuddered as best she could in her weak condition. She did not like to recall this at all . . . "The next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground, with paramedics surrounding me. I must have fainted, but . . . before I awoke, when I was half asleep, I could hear footsteps walking quietly off. I had to strain my ears to listen, so silent they were. But I could just make them out, before the ambulance arrived." She stopped, having told her tale. Then, since she was so tired, she fell right to sleep.
Looking up at Mimi, Sora said, "I think we have a clue here."
I wonder who the ninth Digimon could be, thought Matt as he walked along. T.K. was elsewhere. Coming to an abrupt halt, he muttered, "And who could the ninth Digidestined be?" He shook his head. I would take forever to find them, and the lunar eclipse was drawing near . . .
Just then, Izzy came up, at a sprint, behind him. Tentomon was following. "I-just received-another-message from-from-" he panted.
"From who?!" asked Matt.
"-From-Gennai."
"Oh. What does it say?"
Replied Izzy, "It says that we're closer to the ninth Digidestined than we think. It also gives a clue as to the ninth Digimon!"
Matt was amazed, excited, and yet worried, all at the same time. If there was a ninth Digidestined, that would mean that Myotismon was probably searching, too. "Go on, go on," he said. Izzy did.
"Gennai said that the ninth Digimon was of Darkness, and that the ninth Digidestined already knew them. And the ninth Digimon also has the Crest of Faithfulness."
"Woah! That's a big help," exclaimed Matt. "Now, all we have to do is find the ninth Digidestined and their Digimon. We don't have to worry about finding the crest, too."
"Yes, I know. But the bad thing is, the lunar eclipse is drawing near. As a matter of fact, we now only have one day to find the ninth Digidestined, so we can be there for the eclipse," said Izzy, looking up at Matt.
"Well, I need to go check out some information that Gennai gave me. Bye!" said he.
"Bye!" answered Matt.
Myotismon was restless. Lately, he had been subconsciously waiting for someone, as Gatomon once had. But why he? He was an independent Digimon, a leader among the evil. But, he had also been feeling his ties to evil slowly snapping. He did not belong there . . . it tore at his soul to see the innocent hurt when they did nothing, nothing, as he and the other evil Digimon searched the city for the eighth Digidestined.
He pulled out the Tag and Crest he still had-that of Faithfulness. Its dark black-blue colors were soothing to him, as the darkness was of that color.
The design on it represented the eclipse, in which the ninth Digidestined would become fully one. And that had to happen at exactly midnight, with the last few rays of moonlight shining defiantly through before the whole of the moon's face was covered.
Sighing, he thought of who the ninth Digidestined to whom it belonged was. Could it possibly be the one who knew him so well, Ymparshthu? Maybe. But it was only a possibility, not a true fact, then.
He decided to see if his suspicions were true. He would wait until sundown, then Ymparshthu. After all, the Crest of Faithfulness glowed whenever it was near the ninth Digidestined. And it seemed to him that, if anyone in Odaiba was the ninth Digidestined, it was Emily "Ymparshthu" Ono.
That night, Ymparshthu was sitting at her desk, inspecting an object she found. It was a Digivice. Only her subconscious mind knew that, but she could not seem to retrieve the memory of what it was.
She remembered a time, long, long ago. It had been a joyful time, filled with light and dark, both living together in harmony. She had been in another place then. But she had this Digivice-and a creature somewhat larger than her at her side, but not fully Digivolved. And it had deep blue eyes . . .
Shaking her head, trying to remember, Emily was once again transported-by memory-to that place.
The Dark and the Light lived in harmony there, with her making sure that their bonds would always be. And then, something happened-something of the Dark split its ties with the light, making the Dark its own, separate body-evil.
The light valiantly fought, but the Evil was always there. It was then that Emily was transported to the human world. And it was also then that her Digimon, the not-yet-fully-Digivolved Myotismon, split with her, and was taken in by Evil.
Ymparshthu was adopted. It was the one thing that only she, her parents, and Triinsahmur, her most trusted friend, knew.
Just then, the Digivice started glowing. It caught Emily off guard, and almost sent her reeling head over heels out of her chair.
Regaining her balance, she looked at the Digivice before her. Somewhere, hidden among her memories, was the answer to this puzzle. And that memory would be the return of long-forgotten Digidestiny . . .
Suddenly, she heard a noise below her window. Rushing over to look outside, she saw Triinsahmur standing below.
When he was inside, Myotismon noticed the Crest glowing with a dark, yet bright, light.
"Tonight is the lunar eclipse," Izzy urgently said, the next day. He was talking to Mimi, who had been informing him about what Sora had told her.
Sora herself was healing rapidly, but was still pale and somewhat weak. But her strength was quickly replenishing, and she could walk-at least. A little bit.
"That means that we need to hurry up and find the ninth Digidestined," replied Mimi. "From what Gennai said, the ninth Digidestined is the one who can unite the Light and the Dark again. And that is very important."
Snapping his fingers, Izzy said, "Oh my goodness. I think I know who they are . . . I've got to tell Tai!"
So saying, he and Mimi ran off to find their unofficial leader.
"Who do you think it could be?" asked Tai.
"My theory is that it is Emily Ono, otherwise known as Ymparshthu," answered Izzy. "Gennai said that the ninth Digidestined would already know their Digimon."
"But that would mean . . ." started Joe. (Everyone was gathered at Tai's house. It was about eight o'clock-and the lunar eclipse had just started.)
Finished Matt, "That Myotismon is the ninth Digimon."
They all ran as hard as they could to the hospital, even Kari-she was a Digidestined, too, after all. But it was almost midnight, by now. And all the Digidestined, their Digimon, and the ninth Digidestined and their Digimon had to be at the highest point in Odaiba at exactly midnight.
Meanwhile, Ymparshthu and Myotismon were hidden in the shadows at the bottom of he hospital. Myotismon had explained it all to Ymparshthu, who realized her faded memories were of peace-keeping in the Digiworld. And she knew her Digimon, too, the one that had been with her in the beginning, but separated as she was transported to the human world-Myotismon.
It explained it all; why Myotismon chose to be with her, why she never ran away from him. It also explained why she cared for him.
He still had the Crest, though. Now was not the proper time to return it to her . . .
To get to the top, Ymparshthu merely rode on her Digimon, who thought that the return to Digidestiny was more important than pride.
As they were nearing the top, so were Tai, Matt, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, T.K., and Kari.
Only Sora was not present as they made their ascent. She still was not allowed to leave her hospital room, even though she was doing much better.
But now, they were racing against time to discover the ninth Digidestined, and their Digimon-and bring peace back to the evil-filled Digiworld.
