The Gorge of Deception

"So Boss." Agumon whined as the group trekked. "Are we there yet?"

"Only if we try and get to the middle of a dried-up lake." Marcus replied. "Hey Nerdstein, how much longer."

"Just keep walking, it's not like we have a choice. The only way to get back to the Digital Gate is for us to make it to the Infinite Ice Ridge." Thomas replied.

"I wonder." Marcus noted. "Newsflash, we're not on this hike just to go back to the Human World. The real reason why we're heading for that ice ridge is to find Merukimon and kick his butt."

"Count me in." Thomas replied.

"Hey, I think I see Yoshi off in the distance." Ash said, pointing at a black dot in the sky.

Took her long enough." Marcus replied.

"How's it look, Fujieda?" Charlie asked her nonchalantly.

"A deep gorge is up ahead." She explained after landing in front of the other six.

"How far?" Thomas questioned.

"Follow me." She remarked and showed them the gorge in question.

"She's right." Gaomon added. "Look sir."

"What's up Gaomon?" Thomas asked.

"Take a look." Gaomon pointed.

"It's a gorge." Thomas noted.

"Yes sir." Gaomon replied. "And it's too wide to jump."

"Woah, what is this place?" Yoshi inquired.

"They're big buildings." Lalamon replied. "Floating off the ground."

"But they're sideways." Agumon pointed out.

"I don't get it." Gaomon remarked. "How can all those tall buildings just be hanging there on the sides of a cliff?"

"I think you'd find here in the Digital World really anything is possible." Thomas remarked.

"Freaky!" Agumon joked.

"Think there's anyway around it?" Yoshi asked.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Lalamon remarked.

"You're not the only one." Ash and Renamon said at the same time.

"Hello, we don't have time to stand around here." Marcus informed them. "There's no way around this, we might as well dive in!"

"Marcus!" Yoshi called out as Marcus slid down the slope. "Hold on!"

"Marcus!" She hissed, flying down after him.

"Might as well join him." Charlie sighed in exasperation.

"It's fine! Come on down!' Marcus called as Yoshi abseiled down, followed by Thomas, Gaomon and Agumon.

"Hey! The rope's caught on something!" Agumon remarked. At said, the rope broke and the two male Digimon crashed onto Marcus' back.

"Next time, the rope is cut, just leave it alone." Gaomon told the orange dinosaur.

"Sorry." Agumon apologized. "My bad."

"Yeah and try not using me as a landing pad huh?" Marcus added.

"Hey guys." Yoshi interrupted. "From the look of this, I'm thinking we could probably get across this by walking over that way."

"I say we go down a little further to check out every possible route." Thomas suggested.

Gaomon suddenly turned when he sensed something.

The Kuramon then flew out of sight when the blue wolf turned.

"Come on Gaomon, stay with the group." Thomas told his Digimon.

"Er, sorry sir, on my way." Gaomon replied as he hurried along.

The Kuramon responsible for tracking the DATS group then continued its surveillance.

Back in Merukimon's fortress…

Keenan fumed as he smashed his fist in to the viewing pool/

"Hu-mons, me hate!" the boy hissed.

"Calm down, Keenan." Falcomon soothed.

"They've just arrived in a place that you might say that's quite the muskiest place." Gotsumon chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Falcomon asked.

"It's the last place they'll see. No one has entered the Gorge of Deception and escape alive." Gotsumon grinned.

Back with the DATS group…

Gaomon turned as he heard feet shuffling.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked when the Digimon were on battle alert.

"Sir, we're not alone here." Gaomon replied.

"Well, let's give them a warm welcome." Marcus remarked, preparing for battle.

Then Lalamon screamed as a Dokugumon appeared in front of her.

"We're surrounded here guys!" Marcus shouted a warning as the group of Dokugumon spat their threads at them.

"Watch it!" Thomas warned as Yoshi moved a thread to the side with her telekinesis.

"Lalamon!" Yoshi gasped when Agumon and Lalamon were caught by the web, only to be caught by a series of threads herself.

Gaomon dodged the threads, as the Dokugumon had him, Thomas and Marcus surrounded.

"There are too many of them!" Marcus remarked.

"Whatever you do, don't get caught in their webs." Thomas advised.

"Yoshi!"

"Oh no! Agumon!" Marcus shouted as the orange dinosaur was taken as well.

"Now what?" he asked as the two boys dodged the threads spat at them.

"I'm caught!" Thomas gasped, finding himself entangled within the web.

"We're in trouble here!" Gaomon added as he was taken to the ground.

"He's got me!" Marcus remarked, struggling against his constrains, before he too was taken downwards.

After the teens awoke…

"Let me go! You hear me?" Marcus demanded, struggling against the threads that held him captive. "When I figure out how to get down from here, you'll be toast!"

"Yoshi! Are you alright up there?" Lalamon asked, the four Digimon trapped within a web.

"Yeah!" Yoshi replied. "We're fine. You guys?"

"Except for trapped, good." Agumon answered.

"Your status quote." Gaomon added.

"What are those Dokugumons up to?" Thomas inquired. "They must have separated us from our Digimon for a reason."

"What's that?" He blinked, upon hearing a low chuckle.

"It's coming from way down below that platform." Yoshi added.

"Filthy humans." MetalPhantomon droned. "You're a worthless species."

"Who's that?" Yoshi gasped.

"Now sleep, sleep so that you can wander aimlessly through your nightmares."

"Say that?" Thomas gasped.

"Sleep." MetalPhantomon droned. "And then your hearts will be mine for the taking!"

"What's going on?" Thomas asked as a wave of energy rushed upwards.

"Wow, I'm falling asleep." Yoshi remarked, succumbing to MetalPhantomon's energy. One by one, the other five gave in and passed out.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Agumon called out. "This is no time to take a nap."

"They can't help it. The voice we heard is making them fall asleep." Lalamon chirped.

"No." Gaomon gasped in horror.

"We can't help them at all?" Agumon asked.

"Afraid not." Gaomon replied as MetalPhantomon flew up to face his captives.

In Merukimon's fortress…

"So, that's MetalPhantomon." Falcomon remarked as the scene played in the viewing pool. "The creepy 'King of the Gorge'."

"Yes, he's a fearsome Digimon who feeds on the life-force of the living beings." Gotsumon replied. "The Dokugumon captures his prey and he feeds on them. He lures them into a deep sleep. Then he comes to them in their nightmares and sucks away the essence of their hearts."

Back with the captured DATS team…

"If MetalPhantomon gets in your head, you're a goner." Gaomon added. "And if that happens, you'll be come the walking undead."

"That doesn't sound good." Agumon gasped.

"Now sleep." MetalPhantomon droned. "Sleep deeply."

After making sure his prey was unresponsive, the Ultimate level Digimon then connected four pink beams of light into the teens' chests, encasing them into a deep pink cocoon each and drawing them into their worst nightmares.

Back in Merukimon's fortress…

"All we have to do is just sit back and watch. He's going to take care of those humans for us in no time." Gotsumon chuckled.

Back with the captured DATS team…

"This is terrible." Agumon gasped. "What are we going to do?"

"We need to come up with a plan, quick before he can extract all their hearts' essence." Gaomon replied.

"Boss!" Agumon called out. "Open your eyes! You got to wake up!"

In Marcus' dream…

Kristy was being carried off by a Drimogemon.

"Marcus!" Kristy cried out. "Marcus help me please! I really need you!"

"Don't worry, Kristy!" Marcus called as he ran after the Drimogemon. "I'm coming to get you!"

"Out of my way!" He hollered, punching a Numemon in his path, disintegrating it.

"Hey wait!" He gasped when the Numemon regenerated, turning into two. "Now there's two of them!"

Marcus then punched through the two Numemon, only to have them double their number.

"Marcus!" Kristy cried as Marcus battled with the regenerating Numemon.

"Kristy!" Marcus called out, attempting to dash through the Numemon horde, only to be pinned by the numerous Numemon.

"Marcus!" Kristy cried as she was being carried further away.

In Yoshi's dream…

Yoshi blinked as she looked around in her new surroundings.

"Wait." She paused, looking at the weeping younger version of herself. "I know this room. That's me when I was little."

"Don't come near me!" The young Yoshi demanded. "Mom, my sisters, all of you! I hate everyone!"

"I…" Yoshi stammered before she wept. "I… remember!"

In Ash's dream...

He hastily woke up, taking a look at his surroundings and then began walking around the area, calling out for the rest of the Data Squad.

He wandered around a dark void.

"Where is everybody?!" After some time he shouted in frustration.

Ash spent some more time walking around. A few minutes later, he came across a mine entrance. After entering the mine, it wasn't long before he got lost.

Eventually, he passed through a door and looked down to see the rest of the team.

They were all in bad shape, having received severe injuries.

"Marcus, what happened?" Ash asked.

"Where...were you." Marcus weakly said.

Back in the 'real' World…

"Yoshi!" Lalamon called out.

"You got to stay awake!" Agumon shouted.

"Wake up." Renamon insisted.

"These eight now traveling deep into the real fears they have buried in their hearts." MetalPhantomon laughed. "They are being forced to see what they fear most; what they don't want to face, what they desperately want to forget. They are all trapped and their minds are reliving the memories they wish they could run away from. And they will never return to you!"

In Charlie's dream...

He was wandering around the battlefield while overseas. His unit was on assignment to take out a group of terrorists holed up in the area.

After some time with no contact from the rest of the unit, Charlie stumbled across their dead bodies. They had been gunned down in a surprise attack.

"Oh god." He muttered.

In Thomas' dream…

"Where am I?" Thomas asked, finding himself in a fogged place. "What is this place? I know. This is my home town. It is, there's no mistaking it."

"This is where I grew up. Everything looks so familiar." He added, running through the streets.

"I remember these." He added, stopping beneath a shrine stairway. "These steps seem endless when I was little."

He gasped when he saw an image of his younger self climbing down the stairs with his mother.

"It's my… my mom." He gaped.

"Her favorite market." He chuckled, after the memory disappeared and another one emerged. "Mom would buy me ice cream if I didn't complain having to go there with her. She always treated me so sweetly. Her smile was one of sunshine. Mom."

Thomas' eyes widened as the landscape whitened out and he was taken into another memory.

"No, no!" he shuddered, knowing what was about to happen.

"Look, he brought this for me!" a girl in a summer's kimono told her friend. "Isn't it just the cutest?"

"It's perfect for the summer." Her friend agreed.

"I know, I know." Her companion added.

"Summer?" Thomas echoed.

"It is." He added, taking a look at the summer festival's poster.

"Look mom, the summer festival's in town." The younger Thomas told his mother. "Can we go?"

"Oh yeah." Thomas' mother replied.

"Why not?" she added, taking a look at her watch. "Sure."

"Yeah!" The young Thomas beamed, hugging her.

"What time is it?" The older Thomas asked, looking at the clock on the wall of the shop. "Four. I can still make it."

"That's right." MetalPhantomon droned as Thomas dashed down the street. "Today is the day you lost your precious mother."

"Even if you hurry, you can't save her." He laughed. "But go ahead, run."

"I got to make it." Thomas promised. "I got to save my mom!"

Back in the 'real' world…

"Thomas!" Gaomon called out to his writhing partner.

"I got to get free!" Agumon struggled against his binds.

"This is so hard to watch." Lalamon commented. "How can we just sit here without helping them?"

"We'll figure something out." Renamon reassured her.

Back in Thomas' dream…

The now grown up teen was rushing to prevent his mother's accident.

"I found it." He gasped for breath as he stopped in front of his house. "This is it. My house."

Eyes widening as he saw his mother draw the curtains, Thomas tried to open the front door.

"Mother. Mother. Mother!" he called out, pounding on the door. "Mother, please open up! I have to warn you! Please! I have to tell you what's about to happen, please mother! Just let me in! You must be able to hear me. Just open up! This is really important! Open this door right now!"

"Finally." He sighed as the door slid open.

"It's me." He blinked as his younger self stood at the door.

"Mommy, I'll be waiting outside." The young Thomas called out.

"I'm going to ride the rides and eat cotton candy." He skipped.

"Hey, hurry up mom! Come on! We got to hurry or the festival will be over before we get there!" he urged his mother.

"Alright, Thomas." His mother replied. "Don't be so impatient. There's plenty of time to get there."

"I know, but hurry!" the younger Thomas urged as his mother put on her clogs.

"Don't worry, the festival isn't going anywhere." His mother assured him as she shut the door.

"Mother." The older Thomas mumbled as she walked past him.

"Alright, Mr. In-A-Hurry, let's go!" his mother remarked. "Ami and her mother are already waiting for us."

"Yay!" the younger Thomas whooped.

"Wait." The older Thomas tried to stop them. "Don't go! You can't!"

"My hand…" He gasped when he passed through his mother's shoulder.

"Come on mommy!" The younger Thomas implored. "Want to race?"

"Not really." His mother replied as the older Thomas looked on, helplessly.

"What would you do now?" MetalPhantomon taunted. "If you let things continue like this, your mother won't make it."

"Wait mom!" the older Thomas got to his feet and chased after his mother. "Stop please! I'm begging you, stop. Don't go to that festival. You hear me? Don't go! Listen, if you go to that festival, you'll never come home again! Why don't you hear what I'm saying? Mom! I'm trying to save your life, don't you understand?"

Back in the 'real' world…

"Stop it!" Gaomon shouted, at the sight of his suffering partner.

"That beam's getting stronger! It's sucking out his life-force!" Lalamon added.

"Leave them alone!" Agumon ordered. "Come on, fight here! Let me fight you instead!"

"Thomas!" Gaomon told his partner. "Don't give in! Hang on! You can do it!"

Back in Thomas' dream…

"You need to stop. Don't go any further!" the older Thomas tried to stop his mother's path. "Mom, you need to hear me! I'm trying to warn you, don't walk this way! Please stop! Just turn around! Don't go!"

His pleas fell into deaf ears as his mother walked through him.

Unable to stop his mother, Thomas then rushed into the street, in an attempt to stop the accident.

"Hey! Slow down!" He called to the truck driver.

"No!" He screamed when he realized that the truck was still speeding towards his mother.

Upon seeing the speeding truck, Thomas' mother pulled her son aside, sacrificing herself to save him just as the truck pass through the older Thomas.

Stunned, the older Thomas turned to relive the accident that took his mother's life away.

"He's gone." MetalPhantomon droned as he proceeded to take his first victim. "Your heart is now drained. You're spiraling towards your eternal nightmare."

Back outside…

"Your horror, your sadness, your grief will soon nourish me!" MetalPhantomon added.

"Thomas!" Lalamon cried out.

"Don't give in!" Gaomon called to his partner.

Back in Thomas' dream…

Thomas was reliving the happy memories he had shared with his mother when he was younger.

Back in the 'real' world…

With a scream, Thomas' power surged as he broke out of MetalPhantomon's coffin.

"What's this?" MetalPhantomon demanded.

"Thomas!" Gaomon gasped.

Back in Thomas' dream…

Thomas' mother wiped away her grown up son's tears.

"Mother." He gasped.

"It's going to be alright, mom." He assured her. "I've been keeping your smiling face alive in my memories. I haven't just held on to the sad things. I tried to remember the happy times too."

His mother nodded.

With that, Thomas broke out of MetalPhantomon's hold.

Back in the 'real' world…

"Thomas!" Gaomon gasped as his partner's binds disappeared and the blond landed on the ground, feet-first.

Then the binds holding Ash, Charlie, Yusei and Greg disappeared as well. The two then land on the ground feet first and they weren't exactly happy.

"You bastard." Ash muttered angrily at MetalPhantomon. "You're about to regret forcing the five of us to relieve our worst nightmares."

"Yeah." Charlie added. "You got that right." Thomas angrily agreed. "Ready."

"D.N.A Full Charge!" All three shouted at once.

"Gaomon warp digivolve to MachGaogamon!"

"Renamon warp digivolve to Garudamon!"

"Guilmon warp digivolve to WarGrowlmon!"

"Veemon warp digivolve to AeroVeedramon!"

"Gabumon warp digivolve to DinoBeemon!"

"All four of them digivolved to the Ultimate level!"

In Merukimon's fortress…

"They free?" Keenan was surprised.

"But how?" Gotsumon asked stunned. "They were able to break MetalPhantomon's spell."

Back in the battlefield…

"No way!" Marcus retorted, dodging the Dokugumons' threads. "You won't get me again!" before landing a punch on one of the Dokugumons.

"D.N.A Charge!" He then summoned forth Agumon's evolution.

"Agumon digivolve to Greymon!" Agumon announced as he evolved.

With a sweep of his hand, the giant dinosaur swiped away the Dokugumons surrounding them.

"D.N.A Charge!" Yoshi followed up.

"Lalamon digivolve to Sunflowmon!" Lalamon chirped as she evolved.

"Sunshine Beam!" She released her attack on the Dokugumons behind her, totally disintegrating the spider Digimon around her.

Back in the main fight…

Machgaogamon pushed his drill into MetalPhantomon's chest, only to thrown back by the Ultimate Digimon's energy wave. Using his power, MetalPhantomon pulled four buildings out of their hinges, sending them crashing into Machgaogamon who dodged the buildings. The blue wolf then sliced through one of the buildings with his drill, sending one of the cut up halves flying back to MetalPhantomon.

"Enough!" MetalPhantomon hollered, forming two energy blades on his staff's orb.

"Soul Predator!" He called forth his attack, letting loose a barrage of energy waves.

"It's time to finish this." Thomas declared.

"Winning Knuckle!"

"Magnum Crash!"

"Shadow Wing!"

"Irritant Buzz!"

MetalPhantomon screamed as he was destroyed by all four attacks.

Back in Merukimon's fortress…

Keenan, Falcomon and Gotsumon watched in shock as MetalPhantomon was obliterated by MachGaogamon, Garudamon and AeroVeedramon.

Back up top…

"That wiped me out." Agumon complained.

"Yeah, I had to punch out a lot of guys." Marcus added.

"If we didn't have Thomas with us, I don't know what would have happened to us today." Lalamon chirped.

"Whatever." Marcus scoffed.

"Well, we've already wasted enough time." Thomas told the group as he stood up. "Let's get moving."

"I wonder what nightmare Thomas experienced back there." Gaomon wondered as he looked at his partner. "It must be hard to live alone with such sadness."

"Hey!" Thomas called out. "What's keeping you? Come on!"

"Alright! Yes sir!" Gaomon replied.

Yoshi slowly followed the others.

"I don't feel so good." She said to herself. Ash noticed her following at a snail's pace.

"Is there a problem, Yoshi?" He asked.

Suddenly, she collapsed.

"Guys, something's wrong with Yoshi!" Lalamon called out.