Heath sighs, walking alongside Moosemon. The group of Digidestined had decided to split up and search the Digiworld for any clue on Zack's whereabouts, not sure if it's worth the time but needing to do something, especially to keep Ziggler occupied. "I dunno, man," he drawls, his hand resting on the Digimon's back. "Zack's been gone for so long... y'think...?"

Moosemon tosses his head and looks over his shoulder at Heath. "I'm sure he's fine, Heath. Why would someone take him and harm him, but then not target anyone else? The rest of us are fine, even the Earth bound Digidestined. There's something else at play here, and we can't give up finding him."

"That makes sense," Heath murmurs, relieved for something to cling to, hold onto hope. They walk on in silence for a little longer, Moosemon's head tossing restlessly every now and again. "What is it?"

"It feels like we're being watched," he mumbles, still trying to focus. "I can't tell..." Heath too is trying to look around, spot whatever Moosemon is sensing, but everything seems normal to him. "Heath-" Moosemon starts to snap, but there's no time. He's barely said that when a wild, rough wind picks up and whips Heath's hair around, making it hard to hear, hard to see. Hard to do anything.

The next thing Heath knows, Moosemon is gone from his side and Heath gasps, struggling to breathe through the gale. "Moosemon!" he yells, his voice disappearing into the force around him. He searches around and finally, through watering eyes, sees it- a large, grey Digimon with red stripes in random places on its insectoid body, hovering a few feet above the ground. He recognizes it immediately as Okuwamon, a Digimon that they'd met in the past and had to fight. His pinchers are clinched around Moosemon's body, squeezing dangerously and the sounds that the Digimon are making is terrifying.

Heath stares on in horror, frozen. "Moosemon!" he finally yells, his vocal chords unfreezing enough that he can say something. He paces around under the two of them, trying to find something to do, someway to help, even though he knows there's nothing he can really do.

But Moosemon isn't done fighting, rearing his head back and forth, his horns striking against the insect's body, causing it to waver in midair. As it loses focuses, it falls lower and lower, Heath watching closer. He doubts a mere human could defeat any Digimon on a good day, but he feels the need to do something to try to save his partner. So as soon as he's low enough, Heath leaps. He makes contact with the Digimon's lower pinchers and he crawls upwards, using everything from his entire life- climbing rope in gym class, trees to avoid bullies, ladders for WWE, anything and everything.

"What are you doing?!" Moosemon screams when he spots him, his red eyes widening in terror. "Heath, no!" But his voice is strained, Okuwamon's hold on him tightening when he feels Heath scrambling up his side. "HEATH! Get down!"

"I'm not leavin' you in this situation," Heath snaps back at him, grimacing as Okuwamon lashes out at him with another pincher, again and again until he catches him, slashing his side open. "Agh!" he cries out, gritting his teeth against the pain as he holds on, trying to punch Okuwamon's pincher to free Moosemon. "Dammit..." his vision is starting to blur, the pain and blood starting to stain his side draining him even more.

"Heath, do not let go," Moosemon orders him, tense. "Do not!"

"I'm not," he grunts. "Trust me, you're stuck with me, Moosemon." He forces his head up, their eyes locking. "One of us get free, we're both... both going..."

Moosemon has just nodded when there's a bright, blinding light coming from Heath's pocket and he fights to look down, dizzy and weak at the change in position. His hands aren't free but the Digivice glides out of his pocket and floats in midair, hovering nearby as there's a whisper, like something shifting through grass, as a brown square floats between Heath and his Digivice, his brown eyes locked on it as it. He squints at it, trying to remember what Seth had said. "Is that... my crest?" he murmurs, mindlessly reaching out for it as more blood drips down his side.

"Heath!" Moosemon yells as the power of a further Digivolution washes over him. "Moosemon Digivolve to..." His body grows, thickens. Fur covers his body down to his massive legs, his head rearing back as he shakes his armored trunk around, while he takes on a form resembling the woolly mammoth. "Mammothmon," he hisses, crashing through Okuwamon's grip and hitting the ground with a bonerattling crash.

Okuwamon squeeches, somehow still holding onto Heath through all of this, Mammothmon's head turned up towards him, tracking his motions. "Let him go," the freshly Digivolved creature demands, anxiously clawing against the ground. Okuwamon shifts and if Mammothmon didn't know any better, he'd think the creature was laughing at him, which does nothing more than piss him off further. "Hold on, Heath," he demands, knowing that he'll have to be careful with what he's about to do, but aware that he has to do something or Heath won't be making it out of this... "Tundra breath," he intones, blowing frozen wind from his mouth, aiming it carefully to avoid his human partner and smirking as it hardens over Okuwamon's body, causing him to drop even further.

"No! Beetle Horn Attack!" he yells, sensing his end is near as he begins to rampage, Heath's body falling right to left limply in his grip.

"HEATH!" Mammothmon yells, lunging forward with all of his strength and speed. "TUSK CRUSHER!" He impales straight through Okuwamon's hard shell, immediately destroying him. Heath falls towards the ground and Mammothmon steps quickly, catching him on his furry back. He immediately dedigivolves back to Moosemon, gently laying against the ground and allowing him to slip off of his back. He nuzzles up close to him, realizing that he's shivering, probably from the after affect of Mammothmon's ice attack. "I'm sorry," he mumbles, brushing his face against Heath's. "Please wake up, come on, Heath. We won't find Zack as fast if you sleep through everything."

Moosemon continues trying to warm him up, so focused on trying to warm him back up that he doesn't realize Heath's eyes are fluttering open until he reaches out and brushes a hand down his face, alerting Moosemon to his consciousness. "Hey."

"Hey." Moosemon stares at him for a few moments, making sure that he's ok. "Can you get on my back? We need to get you back to the others, stop that bleeding."

"I think so," he mumbles, squirming over to climb up on his back. "I got it. Yeah. Sure." His grip on Moosemon's neck is weak, barely there, but his partner is careful as he rushes back towards Luke's area, desperate to get Heath help.

"Hey Heath?"

"Mm hmm?"

After the initial wave of relief that he's still conscious, Moosemon breathes out. "Do you know what your crest is?"

"No..."

"Reliability." Moosemon smiles as Heath makes a soft noise against his throat, sure that Heath will register what exactly that means once he's stronger and not bleeding sluggishly.

-x

The room is gloomy. Quiet. There's a faint groan, followed by a soft whimper. "No..."

"Now, now, we've talked about this," the massive form whispers. "Stop fighting me, it won't do you any favors, Zack Ryder. I will break you, I've told you this... You will bring the others to me..." He laughs, backtracking and leaving the room.

Zack groans, his dull, exhausted green eyes opening. "I won't... I- I won't..."