"First Ricardo, now Del Rio," Miz muses as he walks side by side with Monodramon, adjusting his sunglasses smugly. "If more of us get delegated to being earth-bound Digidestined, we may not have enough to offer proper defense to the Digiworld..."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Monodramon says quietly. "If the need becomes evident, Luke will handle it. There are always exigencies, Mike. Luke is a smart man, and has been doing this kind of thing for a very long time. If anyone knows what's needed and when, it'll be him."

Mike says nothing in response to this, knowing that Monodramon more likely than not is correct. Still, to lose two members of the team in a week... He shakes his head, lips thinning as they continue to wander, unable to stand still for a moment longer while Luke explained the latest situation. Something that was happening in this sector, which means a lesser travel distance for them, which is good, considering the kind of week most of them has had. He feels no special bond with the others, but their weaknesses and injuries make any potential fight they might themselves in even riskier, should they be taken off of their game.

He sighs and pinches his nose, about to turn back around and return to listen to whatever Luke has to say, when he hears a maddening little giggle. Freezing short he looks around, his suspicions confirmed by Monodramon standing at ready, his claws held defensively outwards. "What was that?" he mumbles, unsurprised when Monodramon hushes him sharply. They stand, side by side, trying to spot whoever had made that noise, when they hear something coming towards them... equally as hard to spot, until...

"MIKE!" Monodramon exclaims. "Move!" Mike doesn't get the chance, however, before his Digimon partner has tackled him, sending him straight to the ground. Mike grunts and spits out grass and dirt, about to bitch about it, when there's a loud explosion behind them, his eyes widening.

"What the hell was that?" he breathes out, content not to move as he and Monodramon glance over their shoulders, still struggling to spot the creature attacking them.

"It looked like Opossumon," the rookie Digimon whispers. "It has balloons that explode like bombs... Mike..."

"Add that to the list of things to avoid- balloons," he mumbles, casting a quick glance around. "Which way do you think they came from?"

Monodramon's just opened his mouth to respond when there's another giggle, another wave of balloons, another set of explosions as the Digimon struggles to keep his partner safe against this invisible opponent. "Opossumon!" he calls out, hissing when this too doesn't work. "Dammit, where are you, I know you can hear me-" he's just yelled out when there's a sharp flash of color- an explosion, and Monodramon is sent flying, hitting the ground within seconds, Mike gaping after him in horror.

"Monodramon!" He's quickly quieted, however, when he looks up to find an innocent creature with multicolored balloons held in one gloved paw, wide green eyes locked on Mike's face. All innocence, however, is lost when the faces on the balloons begin to warp and twist into evil, terrible expressions that Miz is sure he will have nightmares about for a very logn time to come. That is, if he survives long enough to... He hadn't had many opportunities to honestly feel scared for himself but here, alone, Monodramon unmoving feet away, gives him the chance. He swallows and tries to stagger away, but a balloon lazily floats in front of him and abruptly explodes, Mike's eyes widening as that blast sends him back onto his elbows, teeth tensing at the unexpected jarring sensation rocking through his body. "Dammit," he wheezes, turning to look at Monodramon. But Opossumon is there once more, demanding his attention, and he examines the creature breathlessly. "Don't hurt us."

For some reason, this seems to register- the short Digimon presses a glove to his mouth and licks absently at the rubber coating his fingertips, humming thoughtfully, the balloons surrounding him seeming to be moving in time with his tune. It's a long shot, Mike knows, but for whatever reason, he wants to believe that Opossumon ultimately will not cause them further harm, that everything will end up alright- but then Opossumon turns his attention once more to the downed, vulnerable Monodramon and Mike's desperation for a simple, quiet resolution to all of this fades away as quickly as it'd come. He's struggling to his feet, fighting to figure out what to do to the Digimon when Opossumon releases his balloons, the weapons floating towards his rookie Digimon partner at a horrifying speed. "No- Monodramon!"

To his credit, Monodramon does stir but not enough to avoid or defend himself. Mike swallows painfully and struggles upright, scrambling towards the two Digimon when there's a sharp shift in the wind, sending Opossumon's balloons off course. Mike can do nothing but watch as almost half of the balloons explode at their feet, Mike sent flying back much further and hitting his head on the way down. He lays there, half in a doze, when he sees a tall, white beam of light bursting through his pants' pocket, heading towards where Monodramon is laying. He only just maintains consciousness until a deep, ground-shaking roar breaks through everything else, his lips twitching upwards. "Give 'em hell," he breathes, eyes shutting. He can hear the struggle, roars, attacks being called, but he hasn't the energy to actually be involved, his body one large ache right now.

The next thing he's aware of, wide arms are wrapping around him, lifting him from the ground. He finally pieces together the strength to look up, finding a tall, slim Digimon is carrying him easily back towards where Luke had been talking to their fellow Digidestined. "Opossumon," he slurs, fingers twitching against the warm purple fur under his fingers.

"It's handled," the Digimon tells him lowly. "I am Strikedramon, by the way. Not sure you caught that after the attack... thank you for helping me to reach my Digivolution."

Mike blinks blurrily at him and reaches up, surprised to find his glasses resting on his chest, appearing to be in good condition despite everything. "No problem, Strikedramon. I'm glad you're ok." Strikedramon inclines his head and Mike chuckles, distracting the Digimon from their forward path. "Everyone's going to be disappointed they didn't get to witness you achieving your new form..." Strikedramon looks doubtful but resists commenting, content to carry Mike the rest of the way back to the others.