"I'm injured," Zack announces, causing all of them to freeze before the other Digidestined begin to murmur amongst themselves. Miz, however, keeps quiet for once, watching his friend watch Luke. "I might need surgery, and I won't be touring with WWE until I get this all figured out."
Luke works this over for a minute, staring at him intensely. "I see." Mike can only imagine how frustrating it is for him to see his carefully laid plans falling apart within a matter of months, having to accept that any member of the team he'd so carefully put together to keep his world safe is susceptible to injury or termination at any time, and it's beyond his control. As it stands, they're going to now be down six members of the team but Zack's health does matter more, and Miz can tell by how the younger man is holding himself that his arm is giving him a lot of pain, even his balance off and breathing a bit labored as he tries not to move it too much.
Ziggler shifts closer, offering him some sort of support, which Zack accepts with a silent grateful glance back at his best friend before turning back towards Luke. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to get injured, it's just one of those things." The tone of his voice and the look in his eyes proves that he's lying desperately, trying to remain strong as he faces this uncertain recovery period when his future career prospects are already questionable at best.
"I understand," Luke finally says, his eyes softening somewhat. "If you could keep me apprised of the situation, I would appreciate it. Do you think you can manage one last mission before you go?"
Zack nods. "I think so, yes."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Luke comments, stepping closer and resting a hand on Patamon's head, stroking his fur gently. "As it stands, it appears that a village comprising mostly of Patamon are getting attacked and I need you all to go put a stop to it, calm down the remaining Patamon. Do whatever else needs to be done..." He smiles kindly down at the wide eyed Digimon before stepping away from them and nodding briskly. "Ophanimon is waiting for you all at the portal."
Miz falls in step with the others, standing close to Zack and Dolph, who are discussing the match he'd had with Rusev, and when Zack first noticed there was a problem. That explains the picture of him with ice on his shoulder, I guess, Mike thinks. Remind me to avoid Rusev... He protectively runs his hand over his face and continues on to where the portals are waiting, Ophanimon nodding at them all as she patiently watches them go, one by one, into the stream of data that will transfer them to the Vaccine zone.
The little maps on their Digivices pointing them in the right direction, it's thankfully a short walk to get there from where the portal's at, the smoke from the attack visible from this short distance. Mike swallows and speeds up, following the others towards it. They can tell, the dismal fog surrounding the area isn't just ordinary mist- no, data is so thick in the air that it makes it hard to see. "Damn," he whispers, Monodramon looking equally as unsettled.
They've almost reached the partially destroyed village, only a few bare bones of buildings hinting that it once had been a village, when there's a blast and a metallic voice stops them short. "Intruders. Intruders. You are not welcomed here. Intruders. Intruders."
This verbal warning looping a few times, Mike swallows and glances around at the others who look as unsettled as he feels, if not more. "Blue Guardian," Monodramon speaks up, stepping towards the Digimon. "What happened to you?" It's then that Mike sees dark red eyes flashing from the digital mist in front of them and a terrible sense of foreboding overwhelms Mike.
"Critical Blow!" this so-called Blue Guardian calls out, a white bodied creature with blue armor crisscrossing its seemingly female body swooping down from nowhere, landing heavily where Monodramon had been just moments earlier- Mike had shook off his fear and rushed forward, tackling his partner- it took all of his strength but he'd taken the Digimon down just in time, protecting him from the attack that had left him so scared.
Monodramon gasps and shakes his head to clear it. "Thanks, Mike," he chokes out.
"BOOM BUBBLE!" Patamon cries out, his attack impacting with Blue Guardian again and again until she reacts, forming abruptly in front of Patamon and moving to attack her similarly to how she'd attacked Monodramon.
"NOW!" Mike cries out, turning to watch as Monodramon glows, shifts, evolves. He'd been nearly unconscious and had missed it the first time, enraptured with his partner growing and becoming stronger because of his help. When Strikedramon fully forms, he's on Blue Guardian before she can make contact with Patamon, slicing her viciously with his claws. She falls back but doesn't seem to lose her determination to continue attacking anything in her way. Which, right now, is Strikedramon.
"STRIKE FANG!" he offers, his entire metallic body burning bright, Mike gaping as he slams towards Blue Guardian, the robotic creature barely blinking as she dives aside and once more targets Patamon.
"I don't think so, bro!" Zack cries out, ignoring his pain for a moment as he holds his Digivice up high. "Go for it, Patamon!"
They all watch, Blue Guardian buffeted backwards by the energy as Darcmon appears once more in a flood of feathers, flying high above the corrupted creature. "Dancing Sword!"
"Strike Fang!" Between the two of them, the robotic protector of the sector is trapped, unable to avoid the swords and Strikedramon's intensely hot metallic body, soon succumbing as Darcmon lands a final blow with his sword, held so close to Strikedramon in his attempts at attacking Blue Guardian that it too is burning bright red and slices through her body like it's butter. Her data joins in with the rest streaming around and makes it even harder to see, but Darcmon seems to sense what's beyond the mist anyway, flying through it easily.
Zack looks a little anxious but lets his partner go, gripping his sore arm as the other Digidestined, who had been disoriented by first the mist and then the blast that had heralded Blue Guardian's first attack against them, crowd around him, waiting to see what Darcmon is doing. They hear him before they see him, his wings fluttering desperately until he lands before them, his arms full of Patamon, all tired and weak, but alive. Each Digidestined step forward and take one from him, Zack clicking lightly at the one in his arms that seems younger than the others, eagerly snuggling into his warmth.
"Let's take them back to Luke, he'll probably be able to help them," Mike murmurs after a moment, brushing some dust and debris from the fur of the Patamon currently dozing in his arms. The others all agree to this and head for the digiport, Mike stopping short when he realizes that Zack is lagging behind them all, staring at him. "What is it, broski?"
"Just wanted to say thanks, bro. For having my back back there." He grins a little and strokes the Patamon's chin, offering it some water from a bottle. They had started putting things in bags just in case they'd come across trouble, get stranded and need supplies in the Digiworld, and so far, they hadn't needed much of it, but this time at least it'd have purposes.
"Any time, man. Like I know you'd have mine."
"Woo woo woo, you know it, bro." He laughs a little bit and lightly nudges Darcmon when he crowds too closely to look down at the small creature, wanting to ensure that the Patamon are all doing ok on the journey back.
Mike watches him with a small smile and shakes his head. Injuries suck, but one way or another, I have no doubt Zack will be just fine. Besides, now if something happens in New York, we have someone right there to help out... that's always good.
