"SLATER!"

It's the first thing Heath hears beyond the ringing in his ears. He's down on the ground, pain and heat all around him, but that one yell... he clings to it, tries to use it to leverage himself back up. It's Wade, he knows that much, and there's this scent in the air... a general open feeling, so he remembers pretty quickly that they're still in the Digiworld. He's struggling to make sense of everything when he remembers- Moosemon and the others, and... He struggles upwards and finds himself only barely able to lift his face off of the ground, staring at the destruction before him. The ground is pitted, littered in baby Digimon and it takes him a painful amount of time to realize. They are their partners, all incapacitated and perhaps near deletion.

He struggles forward, wrapping his arms around the small brown creature with three horns that is so obviously his partner that it hurts. He hugs him close and wonders how he's going to keep the baby safe, the others safe... when he remembers. Wade, screaming his name... he awkwardly twists onto his back to see his former Corre teammate, when he realizes why Wade was yelling. There's a massive Digimon only inches away from him, nasty breath washing over Heath's prone body, his large jaw open as though he's intending on swallowing Heath whole. Eyes widening, Heath squeaks as he tries to scramble backwards, unable to find the strength to even move an inch.

"Heath!" Wade tries again, as if that would somehow change things, but he supposes that it does, though not in a way that Heath prefers as Rust Tyrannomon turns his head towards Wade, apparently losing interest in Heath as he focuses on Wade.

"You talk too much," he says, unaware of how ironic that is as he leans down and huffs, his exhale enough to knock an already wobbly Wade back down.

Heath stares down at the baby Digimon in his hands, back up at Wade, and swallows hard, his dark eyes drowning as he tries to think of a way to stop this. "There has to be something," he whispers desperately, hugging Chocomon hard. "Please..."

From where Heath's laying, he can't see Wade and he's afraid that it's already too late, his nails digging into the ground. "Come on, come on..." He forces himself up to his knees, then gets his feet under him somehow. He still can't see around Rust Tyrannomon, but he feels less vulnerable here.

Putting Chocomon down carefully, he puts one foot in front of the other until he gets a good running start, making his way around Rust Tyrannmon's bulk until he can see Wade. The large Digimon hasn't done anything yet, nearly glaring him down, and Heath realizes why soon enough: Wade has held his digivice out, which is glowing brightly and acting as a kind of shield against the creature's attack. Catching on, Heath lunges forward and ends up wedged in next to Wade, also holding his Digivice out. Its glow combines with Wade's, strengthening the shield and forcing the Digimon back a few feet.

Wade glances over at Heath, his face pale and sweaty. "You are a bloody fool."

"I know," he mutters. "Saved your life though."

Wade grunts and turns away, focusing on the Digivices. The longer this goes, the hotter the devices become and the more they vibrate, which makes it harder to hold onto, but Heath grits his teeth and tries not to think about it even as his arm falls asleep. "Slater..."

"Uh huh..."

"I saved your life too, that's why I'm in this mess to begin with." Heath huffs next to him, and Wade smirks. They're pretty sure the digivices are going to run out of energy or their arms will lose all strength when...

"BEAM OF ISIS!" There's flashes of light and an explosion behind Rust Tyrannomon before he staggers.

"TUSK CRUSHER!" His body starts to crumble as he falls forward, Wade and Heath staring at each other in fear as his shadow begins to encompass them, their Digivices working even harder to keep them shielded, hurting their arms worse.

More flashes and explosions and Rust Tyrannomon's eyes dull, his body slowly short circuiting as he crumbles in place. When he actually deletes, it happens in a rush, and Wade releases a deep breath as his Digivice stops thrumming with the power required to hold the shield up.

Heath collapses back against the ground, his digivice held against his chest in a limp hand while Nefertimon and Mammothmon walk over to them, slowly de-volving back to their baby forms. Heath sighs as Chocomon rejoins him, Moonmon settling on Wade's shoulder sleepily. "How did you two digivolve again?" he asks, resting his hand on Chocomon's forehead.

"Your Digivices were calling to us," the young creature explains. "We woke up and began to digivolve..."

"Well, it was decent timing," Wade sighs. "I don't plan on moving any time soon though."

"Me neither," Heath sighs. They lay side by side, listening as the others start to regroup. "Thanks, Brit."

"Thank you, Ginger."