Chapter 10: In the Digital World 3

"Time Destroyer!" ZeedMillenniummon shouted and used his attack on Thomas.

As Thomas ran, he turned around and saw the attack heading straight towards him. His eyes widened. He wouldn't have enough time to move out of the way of the attack.

"…no!"

Everything was in slow motion, as the attack made contact with Thomas. MirageGaogamon Burst Mode watched in complete shock and despair, his eyes widening.

Thomas was nowhere to be found. He was sent to the gulf beyond time and space. ZeedMillenniummon had done it.

Thomas was gone.

ZeedMillenniummon started cackling evilly and cruelly, satisfied by what he had accomplished. He sounded very happy that he was able to follow through with Eternal Death's orders.

MirageGaogamon Burst Mode let out a shaky breath, tears appearing in his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. The large Digimon slowly made his way over to the spot where Thomas had vanished, feeling really empty inside.

His best friend was gone.

Thomas was gone.

He was never coming back. He had failed to protect Thomas, he had failed him completely. He was supposed to protect Thomas and he failed. He failed him as a partner and as a friend.

MirageGaogamon Burst Mode dropped to his knees at the spot, his body shaking horribly.

"THOMAS!"

He yelled out in despair and anguish, tears of sorrow and guilt spilling down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Thomas…I…I'm so sorry…" MirageGaogamon Burst Mode sobbed uncontrollably, his body shaking in despair.

ZeedMillenniummon seemed to take pleasure in MirageGaogamon Burst Mode's pain. He cackled cruelly for a couple of more minutes before approaching MirageGaogamon Burst mode, his two heads grinning sadistically.

"Now that he's out of the way, Eternal Death can easily destroy the entire Digital World, all thanks to me!" ZeedMillenniummon roared joyfully and darkly, still grinning horribly.

MirageGaogamon Burst Mode completely ignored him, too wrapped up in his despair.

"I should thank you too. After all, you just sat there and watched the whole thing happened. It's good that you didn't interfere with me sending him to the gulf beyond time and space." ZeedMillenniummon says cheerfully.

MirageGaogamon Burst Mode heard him that time and he immediately began to feel unwanted fury welling up from inside of him. "It's all HIS fault that Thomas is gone! He made Thomas disappear! I will make him suffer…!" He thought furiously.

"Now all I have to do is destroy you. I think that'll be pretty easy, considering the state you're in now. I bet you lost the will to live," ZeedMillenniummon continued talking, oblivious to his 'soon to come demise'. "Now just stand still and be a good dog while I-

ZeedMillenniummon didn't get to finish that sentence because he was suddenly socked in both of his faces incredibly hard. He went flying backwards, slamming against trees and whatnot. Then he tumbled onto the ground painfully and growled in agony.

MirageGaogamon Burst Mode howled loudly in rage and bounded towards ZeedMillenniummon, hatred and anger burning in his eyes. "Luna Hook Slasher!" He called out and slashes and tears at ZeedMillenniummon with his crescent moon shaped energy blade relentlessly and mercilessly.

ZeedMillenniummon struggled to get away, but was failing. He could feel the power of hatred and anger fueling MirageGaogamon Burst Mode's attack. ZeedMillenniummon was starting to get scared. He didn't have that much energy left.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THOMAS!" MirageGaogamon Burst Mode yelled out in fury, still slashing away at ZeedMillenniummon with his crescent moon shaped energy blade. He wasn't planning on stopping any time soon.

"S-Stop…!" ZeedMillenniummon cried out weakly and struggled to get away. His data was starting to get fuzzy. He wasn't going to last much longer and he knew it.

"Luna Hook Slasher!" MirageGaogamon Burst Mode hollered again and continued on with his assault, not letting up whatsoever.

ZeedMillenniummon let out one last howl of agony before disappearing into bits of data.

MirageGaogamon immediately reverted back to Gaomon and he collapsed onto his hands and knees, tears rolling down his cheeks and his breathing coming out heavy and raspy. His body began to shake with sobs.

"Thomas…" Gaomon whispered sorrowfully. "Please come back, Thomas!" He cried out.

"Gaomon, whatever is the matter?" Kudamon questioned the blue dog-like Digimon, as he hurried on over towards him along with the PawnChessmon. They all looked worried.

Gaomon didn't answer and he continued to sob.

Kudamon looked around for Thomas and didn't see him anywhere. The PawnChessmon did the same and came up with the same result. Kudamon then looked back at Gaomon, a very serious expression appearing on his face. "Gaomon, where's Thomas?"

Gaomon still didn't answer.

Kudamon seemed to have figured it all out on his own after a long moment of silence. "He'll return. Wherever he is, Gaomon, he couldn't have been destroyed. Don't blame yourself…" Kudamon tells him.

"But it IS my fault! I let this happen!" Gaomon exclaimed in despair, looking up towards the sky. "This is all my fault! Thomas is gone because I didn't protect him…! He was sent to the gulf beyond time and space!"

"That doesn't mean he won't return. You have to believe in Thomas, Gaomon, like he believes in you." Kudamon tells him seriously. The PawnChessmon both nodded in agreement.

"How is he possibly going to return to me?! He was sent to the gulf beyond time and space! What's it like there, huh? What's going on?!" Gaomon hollered at Kudamon angrily. "You don't know anything!"

Kudamon and the PawnChessmon all sighed sadly. But then, suddenly, the ground began shaking violently and trees and all sorts of plants began dying quickly and horribly. The water in lakes and rivers began drying up as well as the ocean. Dark clouds began appearing in the sky and lightning flashed terribly across the sky. Thunder boomed loudly like explosions.

"Oh no…" Kudamon says quietly. "Eternal Death must be doing this!"

Gaomon looked up towards the sky. Right now, he didn't seem to care about the Digital World. All he cared about was Thomas and how he couldn't protect him.

[Thomas]

Thomas slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He had no idea where he was. He was just floating in complete nothingness. There was absolutely nothing around him. There were no sounds, no sign of life, nothing…

"Is this…the gulf beyond space and time?" Thomas whispered, as he stared up at nothingness.

He floated there for what seemed like years, wondering if he would ever get back to the Digital World, wondering if he would ever see Gaomon again. For once, Thomas had no idea what to do.

"Gaomon!" Thomas shouted suddenly. "Gaomon! Can you hear me?! GAOMON!" He yelled with all his might, closing his eyes. He hoped that somehow Gaomon would be able to hear him.

Thomas let out a shaky breath when he got no answer. He was starting to lose all hope. There was absolutely nothing around him. He didn't even know how long he had been in the place of nothingness.

Thomas closed his eyes again and tried to calm himself, thinking of all the happy times with Gaomon and all of his friends. He thought about how they saved the world from destruction.

"If we did it once…we can do it again, right…?" Thomas contemplated wearily, as he slowly opened his eyes.

To his surprise, he saw a ball of pure light shining right before his eyes. He could feel the warmth coming from it and the feeling of peacefulness washed over him. He reached out and grasped the ball of light with his hands.

"What…is this?" He whispered in awe.

The ball of light began glowing brightly. It got so bright that Thomas had to close his eyes. He felt so serene and peaceful now. It was like all of his worries had disappeared and it was just total peace. He was starting to feel very calm inside. He didn't even realize that his feet touched something solid.

"Thomas…?!"

Thomas opened his eyes and realized that he wasn't in the nothingness anymore. He saw Gaomon, Kudamon, and the PawnChessmon standing in front of him, giving him confused and relieved looks. Thomas looked down at his hands and found the glowing ball of light still there.

"Thomas…you're back!" Gaomon exclaims and rushes towards him. He throws his arms around his partner and hugs him tight. "Thomas, I'm sorry I ever doubted that you'd come back! I'm sorry I let ZeedMillenniummon do that to you!"

Thomas smiled down at Gaomon. "Gaomon, don't be sorry. It's not your fault. I'm back and that's all that matters." He tells him.

"Sir, yes, sir…" Gaomon smiled up at him.

Suddenly, Kudamon approached them along with the PawnChessmon. "We're glad that you're back, Thomas, but this is no time for celebration. The Digital World is being destroyed right as we speak. This whole place is dying."

Thomas looked around and finally realized that everything looked like a hurricane had gone through it. The ground beneath them didn't have any grass on it anymore and it was all dry and cracked.

"This is terrible! We have to do something!" Thomas says in alarm, as thunder boomed overhead.

"Eternal Death is doing this," Gaomon spoke. "What should we do, sir? Should we look for him now?"

"If you don't mind me asking, what is that you have in your hands, Thomas?" Kudamon questioned Thomas curiously, as he stared at the ball of light in Thomas' hands.

Thomas frowned and looked down at the ball of light. "I…I'm not sure." He responded.

Suddenly, Eternal Death arrived. He appeared before them, laughing cruelly and in satisfaction.

"The Digital World won't last much longer!" Eternal Death laughed out, his evil laugh echoing all over the place.

"What do we do, sir?" Gaomon asked Thomas urgently, as he stared up at Eternal Death.

Thomas stared at Eternal Death for a moment before looking down at the ball of light in his hands. Then he took out his digivice. And then, all of a sudden, the ball of light transferred into his digivice and his digivice absorbed it. Thomas stared in surprise as this happened.

Gaomon suddenly began to glow a bright blue color. "Sir, I feel…strange…" Gaomon says quietly.

Thomas looks at Gaomon, as his digivice glowed the same color. "I think I know what that was now!" Thomas tells Gaomon and holds up his digivice. "Are you ready, Gaomon?!"

Gaomon nods in understanding. "Sir, yes, sir!"

"DNA CHARGE! OVERDRIVE!" Thomas hollered, using his digivice and his DNA to help Gaomon digivolve. Gaomon began to digivolve.

"Gaomon double warp digivolve to! MirageGaogamon!" Gaomon is now MirageGaogamon. He went straight towards Eternal Death, who had stopped laughing and was giving them a horrible look of contempt.

"Double Crescent Mirage!" MirageGaogamon calls out and fires crescent moon shaped shock waves from both of his hands. They hit Eternal Death who didn't even flinch, but merely growled angrily.

"That did nothing!" Kudamon exclaimed in fear from where he stood next to the PawnChessmon.

"DNA CHARGE! BURST MODE!" Thomas yelled and used his digivice yet again. MirageGaogamon began to change mode.

"MirageGaogamon Burst Mode!" MirageGaogamon shouted and turned into MirageGaogamon Burst Mode. "Luna Hook Slasher!" He shouts and slashes and tears at Eternal Death with his crescent moon shaped energy blade.

Eternal Death simply moved out of the way from getting hit and started cackling evilly again. "You surely don't believe that you can beat me! You are all a bunch of insects!" He yelled at them triumphantly.

Thomas' digivice began to glow brighter now and he held it up once more, feeling the light that had transferred itself into his digivice.

"DNA CHARGE! LIGHT MODE!" Thomas shouted and used his digivice once more, his digivice bursting with light and miraculous power. The light engulfed him and MirageGaogamon Burst Mode.

MirageGaogamon Burst Mode began to change mode yet again. He looked much the same except that he is completely white and glowing with pure light. He also looked much more powerful.

"MirageGaogamon Light Mode!" He announced proudly.

Eternal Death's many eyes widened in shock and surprise. He backed away a little, his sixty arms swaying a bit. "How is this possible?! You have become…stronger!" He yelled.

"That's correct," MirageGaogamon Light Mode says calmly. "Somehow that light Thomas had found had given me much more power. I feel more powerful than ever before!" He tells Eternal Death.

"This is amazing…!" Thomas says quietly from where he was, staring at MirageGaogamon Light Mode in awe.

"I thought the 'burst mode' was the only mode," Kudamon spoke softly from beside the PawnChessmon. "I guess I was wrong."

MirageGaogamon Light Mode turned towards Thomas and lowered his hand down for Thomas to get on. "Come on, Thomas. I want to fight this battle with you." He tells him emotionally.

Thomas grins and hops onto MirageGaogamon Light Mode's hand. Then he was lifted up and onto MirageGaogamon Light Mode's back. Thomas clung onto him tightly and looked directly at Eternal Death.

"Come on, MirageGaogamon! Let's do this together!" Thomas exclaims, sounding very determined and confident.

"Right!" MirageGaogamon Light Mode flew towards Eternal Death at amazing speed.

Eternal Death growled out in fury and swung his sixty arms at them both, attempting to knock them out of the air, but MirageGaogamon Light Mode was just too fast for him and he quickly dodged it with ease.

"Final Mirage Light!" MirageGaogamon Light Mode yelled out and puts his body and soul into releasing the magnificent energy hidden within his weapon. The energy of light and amazing power blasted towards Eternal Death rapidly.

The energy pierced Eternal Death in the chest and he went falling backwards, howling in agony.

"Good shot, MirageGaogamon!" Thomas praised.

"It was nothing, sir." MirageGaogamon Light Mode says with a smile.

Eternal Death weakly stood up, breathing heavily. He was suddenly having a very hard time breathing properly. He was just in so much pain. He never knew he could be in so much pain before. Eternal Death was starting to get frightened of this new power before him.

Suddenly, a large portal opened up from in the sky and out came a dark figure with a hood covering its face. He landed on the ground between MirageGaogamon Light Mode and Eternal Death.

"Who is that…?" Thomas says quietly, as he stared.

"I'm not sure, sir." MirageGaogamon Light Mode answered in an unsure tone of voice.

The figure turned to look at Eternal Death. "There has been a change of plans, Eternal Death!" The figure harshly told Eternal Death. "You are to go to the ruined world and join Eternal Darkness while I go to the other world where Eternal Destruction is located!"

"Fine!" Eternal Death hissed.

The figure waved his hand out in front of him and another portal opened up. Eternal Death immediately went through, the portal closing behind him.

"Who are you?!" Thomas yelled.

The figure turned to look at Thomas and MirageGaogamon Light Mode. "Who I am is not of importance at the moment. But there is something that you should know. Eternal Destruction is wrecking your world as we speak, Eternal Darkness is inhabiting another world where your friend, Marcus, is at, and Eternal Death has gone to join him. I, however, am heading to your world to assist Eternal Destruction! Oh, and one more thing…" The figure opened another portal before him and laughed evilly. "I am the one who framed you." He said before disappearing into the portal.

"MirageGaogamon, follow him!" Thomas shouted. "Hurry before the portal closes!"

"Right!" MirageGaogamon Light Mode immediately went through the portal with Thomas, leaving Kudamon and the PawnChessmon behind.

Kudamon and the PawnChessmon watched as the portal closed in front of them. "I really wanted to see Sampson…" Kudamon whispered a bit sadly. "But let's hope that everything will be alright."

The PawnChessmon nod in agreement.

Note: I made up the 'light mode'.