Hi, me again. Yay, I'm updating  It's a miracle!!! I've had a rather busy year as it's my first in University….OH GOD I'M OLD!!!!!! Oh well, moving on. The style of my writing might change a little so sorry about that.

Ok, enough chatting, on with the show!!

Oh, and sorry about the confusion in the previous chapter about the whole psychic link thing…this is what happens when you don't plan…he he…

By the way, I'm desperately looking for a beta (I need one kinda badly as I'm sure you all agree :-P) I figured if I have a beta I'll be more motivated to write so anyone up to it, please e-mail me!!! Thanks.

Chapter 23

Mind over Matter

When Renamon, the Tamers and their partners opened their eyes, they found themselves in what appeared to be Digi-Phirma. But this place looked different somehow, more…menacing. It was dark and a constant chill was being swept across the barren plains. Digimon data was floating about them and, despite the wind, it was utterly and completely quiet.

"Well," Takato said suddenly, his voice hushed. "I'm severely creeped out…" Though no one replied they all silently agreed. This place really was a nightmare.

A sudden explosion broke the silence and they all turned towards it. The light from it, oddly green, was only just fading and, as if by some silent agreement, they started moving toward it. They quickened their pace as another, slightly smaller explosion (blue this time) sent a silhouetted figure flying across their line of sight. The stopped at the edge of a ring of mountains that, in the real Digital World, did not exist. A bloody and battered Rika lay on the far end of the ring, completely motionless. There was no sign of what had caused the explosion.

Glancing once more amongst themselves, the Tamers and Digimon ran to her, skidding to a halt beside her limp form.

"Rika! Rika wake up," Ryo called, gently shaking her shoulder. She stirred but made no move to open her eyes.

"What the hell did this to her?" Takato asked, scanning the make shift arena for any signs of danger. There were none, but the maniacal look in Guilmon's eyes told him all too clearly they were far from being safe. Ryo, who was gently cradling Rika's near lifeless form in his lap, looked up as both Guilmon and Cyberdramon started snarling furiously and the fur on Renamon's entire body stood on end, her tail twitching oddly.

"There's something here, Takato," Guilmon growled.

"I'll say," Terriermon added. "Something huge…" The Tamers looked around nervously in search of what they could feel was watching them. There was a flash of movement to the left and they all spun toward it, but whatever it was, was long gone. Another flash of movement behind them and they were spinning around again; again finding nothing.

"Ok, as if this place wasn't creepy enough…" Henry muttered, his eyes darting all around him while Ryo was trying unsuccessfully to wake Rika. The wind suddenly changed direction, putting Renamon downwind from Rika and Ryo.

"Wait a minute…" She turned toward them and sniffed the air suspiciously. Her eyes widened and she snarled, knocking Ryo aside and grabbing Rika's limp form by the neck, lifting her bodily off the ground. The Tamers and Digimon gasped in shock and Ryo leapt to his feet.

"Renamon, what the hell are you doing?!" Ryo snapped. Renamon growled and tightened her grip on Rika's neck.

"This isn't Rika…" At this, Rika's eyes snapped open and she chuckled evilly, making the Tamers gasp in surprise. Her voice was cold and sent chills down their spines. Renamon's only reaction was to tighten her grip.

"You pathetic little pets don't stand a chance. You should have left her to die. But now," she reached up and wrenched Renamon's paw off her neck and flipped her judo style over shoulder. "You will all die." Renamon landed gracefully on her feet and spun in time to see Rika's body enveloped in black flames.

"Where is Rika?!" Takato yelled. The fake Rika chuckled again in that terrible, cold voice and shook her head.

"She is right there." She lifted her hand and pointed back behind them. Takato, Ryo and Henry turned to look while the Digimon kept a close eye on the fake, who was grinning maliciously.

"Oh my God…" Ryo whispered, his throat tightening. Rika was chained to the high stone wall, hanging by her arms. She appeared unharmed but there was a horror in her eyes that went beyond physical pain. Her eyes were cold and lifeless and she seemed unable to see them, despite the fact that she was looking directly at them.

"What have you done to her?!" Renamon roared furiously, launching herself at the fake. "Fox Flash Attack!" She started striking and clawing at the fake with a speed that was impossible to follow. But the fake dodged and blocked the blows as if they were nothing but an irritation.

"Let her go!" At Ryo's cry Cyberdramon rushed the fake as well, followed closely by a furious Guilmon and Terriermon.

"Fools," the fake said calmly, throwing her hand out in a vicious movement, tossing the Digimon aside like dolls. "If you want her so badly, go get her." She waved her hand and the chains disappeared, letting Rika fall to the ground. She landed with a loud thud while the Tamers and Digimon ran to her, Renamon in the lead. Takato halted as that same flash of movement passed them towards the fake. He glared at her but she just looked bored, the black flames licking her body like a strange shadow.

This was all so wrong…

When the Tamers reached the real Rika, it was to find her lying on the ground, shivering madly. She pushed herself up onto all fours with a great effort and then fell back into a sitting position. She looked up at them and her haunted eyes widened in shock.

"H…how? You were all dead…" Her quivering voice was close to breaking and Ryo reached out to her, pulling her close. Her icy skin sent shivers down his spine and he was forcibly reminded of his own dream.

"No, Pumpkin, we're alive. You have to snap out it. This isn't real." The Fake laughed at this and they all turned to look at her. The black flames had grown and the flash of movement darted past her.

"Not real? You fools don't seem to realise what is going on. Your dreams may have been fake, but I assure you…" The flash suddenly darted at her again and thus time it started spinning around her. She chuckled and opened her arms wide, as if welcoming it. The flames intensified and she was suddenly and completely engulfed by them. She started growing and morphing, her body becoming bulky. She sprouted several more legs and short course hair sprouted out of her skin. The fake Rika vanished and in her place stood a giant spider Digimon. His eight, long, spiny legs jutted out at odd angles and his clawed feet sunk into the dirt under his massive weight. His entire body was black and covered in the short, spiny hair they had seen during his transformation. A long row of short, white horns lined his sides and his under side seemed to be armour plated. The vicious looking pincers on his black head were gnashing at them, dripping with saliva. His entire head was taken up with hundreds of tiny red eyes and the red markings down his back ended at the deadly spine on his backside. He gave a deep booming chuckle and took a single step towards them, his step rattling the earth.

"…this is very real."

Henry held out his D-Arc and the Deva's image appeared on the holographic screen.

"Ebridomon, Arachnid Digimon. He's an Ultimate virus type… His attacks are Spider's Thread, Poison Spire and Spider Quake."

"Oh man…I hate spiders," Takato muttered awkwardly, taking a step back when Ebridomon laughed again.

"Now, foolish human scum, it is time for you to die!" Ebridomon roared and darted towards them.

"Ryo, watch Rika! We'll handle him," Henry said as he, Takato, their partners and Cyberdramon ran to intercept the Deva. There was a loud crash as Digimon met and the rookies were thrown aside while Cyberdramon flew passed, clawing Ebridomon's side. Takato and Henry glanced at each other and, nodding to each other, held out their D-Arks.

"Bio-merge activate!" They called together.

Nothing.

"What's going on?" Takato yelped, diving aside to escape being crushed by Ebridomon's huge feet.

"I dunno," Henry replied. The Deva laughed and shook his ugly head.

"So long as she is trapped in her dream you can do nothing. You are trapped with her. And you will all die! Spider's Thread!" Takato dove aside again, dodging the attack by inches and rolled to his feet.

"Thank God for Piximon's training," he muttered, before turning to where Ryo and Renamon were protecting Rika. "Ryo! You guys have to get her to snap out of it or we're all done for!" Ryo nodded and looked back down at the girl he had come to love. She looked lost and confused.

Come on, Rika, he thought desperately. Snap out of it.

Rika, who was still leaning against Ryo, was staring at him apprehensively, trying to desperately to sort out her thoughts. Ebridomon had killed them…she had seen him do it. So how could they be here? Ryo felt so real…was it true? Had it been a dream? Or was this a trick? She shook her head desperately and buried her face in her hands, tears in her eyes. But then, an oh-so-familiar voice in her mind made her look up to see Ryo gazing down at her.

Rika, we are real. You have to wake up or we will all die. She turned her head to look at Renamon and her eyes widened a little. That couldn't have been fake…could it?

Do you see now? Renamon's voice whispered. Then she heard another voice, one that she had only been hearing recently in her mind.

Come on, Pumpkin, it's ok. We're not dead. It was a trick.

This was all so confusing…she wanted to believe, but what if this was just another of Ebridomon's cruel jokes? But Renamon's voice in her head…he couldn't know about that could he? He couldn't fake that…

Rika looked up at the battle and frowned. Her friends hadn't been able to fight last time…they had just been wiped out without any resistance… She looked back at Renamon, a light reaching her eyes when Renamon smiled at her warmly.

"Do you see now?" She asked and Rika knew. She knew that it had been a trick.

They were alive.

"There's no way we can fight him without bio-merging." Takato and the others had run over, all looking exhausted. They looked over at Rika and Ryo and she smiled up at them.

"God you guys have no idea how good it is to see you having your butts kicked." Takato and Henry both gave her a 'gee thanks' sort of smile, happy to see she was ok.

"C'mon pumpkin, let's get out of here," Ryo said, helping her to her feet. She smiled and nodded, a joy and relief coursing through her such as she had never felt before.

"Uh…you know this is touching and all but…how the heck are we supposed to get out of here?" Terriermon asked. A booming laugh made them all turn to look at Ebridomon who was approaching them menacingly.

"You foolish little humans. Don't you realise that there is no escape from this world? Not without defeating me and you have no hope of that. Why don't you just accept your fate and die."

"Was that a serious question?" Terriermon asked and Henry rolled his eyes.

"Guys, let's try Bio-merging again. These Deva's may be strong but one Ultimate can't stand up to four Megas." They all nodded and held out their D-Arcs.

"Bio-merge acti…"

"Did you honestly think I would make it that easy? Poison Spire!" Ebridomon spun around and fired a volley of sickly green darts at the Tamers.

"Scatter!" Takato yelled and they all dove for cover. "Ok…that didn't work…"

"Now what…" Henry said desperately. "He's not gonna let us bio-merge unless we find a way to distract him…" And at that Ryo felt a light go on somewhere.

"That's it! We have to distract him. Rika, do you still have your alias card?" He asked and she nodded.

"Of course."

"If you combine it with the clone card we can make as many alias' as we want," Ryo said excitedly." Rika's eyes lit up and she grinned.

"Not bad, Ryo. It'll give us all a chance to Bio-merge and then we can get out of this nightmare." The two of them reached for their cards and, together they drew them through their D-arcs.

"Multiple alias activate!" With a flash Renamon and Cyberdramon started multiplying until there were at least twenty of each of them. The alias' all leapt at Ebridomon at once and he roared furiously, swiping his claws at them.

"You annoying little wretches! You will pay for this!"

"That's what you think," Takato snapped. They all held out their D-Arcs together, using his distraction to their advantage.

"Bio-merge activate!"

"No!" Ebridomon yelled as the Tamers all landed around him in Mega form.

"All right you, we've had enough of this place, it's time to put you to sleep for good!" Megagargomon yelled.

"Just because you managed to digivolve does not mean I will be defeated that easily. This is my world you pathetic abominations. I will not lose!" He raised himself up onto two legs and came crashing down, sending terrible shock waves through the earth. "Spider Quake!" The Megagargomon and Sakuyamon leapt into the sky to avoid the earthquake but Gallantmon and Justimon had no escape. The earth cracked and split around them, huge, rocky spires crashing up around them. They darted across the ground to avoid the spires, making their way closer to Ebridomon.

"Thunder Clap!" Justimon took a running leap into the air and raised his arm back before bringing it down with a mighty bang, sending a bolt of lightning across the ground toward the Deva. It connected with his leg and he roared in pain, stomping his feet around. This effectively halted the earthquake and the Megas all moved in to attack.

"Lightning Joust!" Gallantmon's arm morphed into a jousting lance and started gathering energy at its tip. When he had collected all he could manage he threw his arm forward, shooting a massive lightning bolt at Ebridomon that connected with his head shortly after Sakuyamon's Amethyst wind hit his side. Ebridomon roared angrily and darted toward Gallantmon, his huge pincers open wide but Megagargomon flew right into him, knocking him clear across the arena. The joined each other in font of him and readied their most powerful attacks, each drawing in power. But Ebridomon didn't seem at all worried, in fact he was laughing at them.

"You pitiful little humans honestly think you can defeat me here? I told you, this is my world. In here, I am God!!" He stood and charged at them but when he came close enough to attack, they all fired their attacks at him at once and he was thrown back and sent flying into the rocky mountains. He hit them with an almighty crash and fell to the ground, rock and dust falling all around him. When the scene cleared he was struggling out of the debris and looked badly hurt. But he wasn't defeated yet.

"You little pests are beginning to get on my nerves!" He snarled. "Spider's Thread!" He spun on the spot and shot a thick, sticky cord out of his behind that connected with Justimon and sent him flying into Megagargomon. The two of them were knocked to the ground, completely wrapped in the sticky web and unable to move. Ebridomon laughed evilly as they struggled and fired another cord, this one hitting Sakuyamon, who was attempting to free her comrades. She too was sent flying and tumbled heavily to the ground, her body trapped in the webs. Gallantmon yelled furiously and darted towards Ebridomon. He leapt high into the air, flipped once and landed on the Deva's back, lance arm first. This effectively drove the lance deep into his back and Ebridomon roared in pain and tossed himself around to try and throw Gallantmon off. But Gallantmon stood firm and started gathering energy to the tip of his lance.

"This ends here! Lightning Joust!!" He pushed his lance further into Ebridomon's back and fired his attack. At such close range the attack was far more powerful and broke right through Ebridomon's body, pulsing into the ground below. Ebridomon cried out and his data shattered into the cold wind. The webs around Megagargomon, Justimon and Sakuyamon shattered too and they felt the world around them darkening.

They had won.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Vahimermon was meditating beneath the stone dais in the temples main chamber when the Tamers and their partners walked in. He stood and turned to them, smiling as they approached.

"I trust you all enjoyed your holiday and are ready to resume your training," he said with a bright smile. They all walked right past him, ignoring him completely and heading for their rooms. He stood their in shock for a moment and after a few seconds of silence he heard all of the doors being slammed shut and a collective groaning sigh as the all collapsed onto their beds.

"Well," he said, mildly surprised. "They must have really had fun…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Alright, so that's it for now  I'm gonna revise the previous chapters since I read through them and realised how terrible they are… But don't worry, I won't let it get in the way of the next chapters, which I will launch on a weekly basis now that I have more free time. I'll put them up every Friday so no more waiting  hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review cheerio!!