Wade and Heath are walking quietly through a mountainous region of the virus sector, Lopmon and Lunamon lounging on their heads and keeping an eye out for the problems their Digivices are trying to lead them to. Wade expects Heath to get bored at any moment, and-

The humming begins. He sighs in exasperation but merely rolls his eyes, almost glad for the sound, no matter how off-key and repetitive it is. It at least is something to listen to. Lunamon giggles from where she's resting in Wade's dark hair, trying to look innocent when his partner huffs at her. Wade's trying to remember what song it is that Heath's humming, exactly, close enough to the tune that he feels like he should know it after so many years of traveling with him, but yet he can't quite place it.

He's about to break the verbal silence by turning to ask Heath what song it is when Lunamon tenses. "Wade, there's a shadow-" She's barely finished speaking when Wade sees it, is covered by it as it seems to fly over him and- "HEATH!" Lunamon and he cry out at the same time.

Lopmon goes rolling as a massive, four legged Digimon tackles Heath down, snarling and drooling all over the startled ginger. The creature is pure black, with hideous claws and a horrifying looking tail whipping at the ground but that's not the worst part... When Wade turns, he meets dead looking, black eyes, but the creature's face is still turned towards Heath, his teeth uncomfortably close to Heath's face and... it takes him a minute to realize there are three heads on this beast.

"Oh my God," Lunamon breathes. "It's Cerberumon..." Wade looks over at her worriedly as she settles on his shoulder to get a closer look.

"He looks like a hellhound," he whispers. She nods sharply and that's all he needs to know to realize just how much trouble Heath's in. He only knows bits and pieces about the urban legends regarding hellhounds, and most of it that he does know are all confused tales from the ridiculous TV shows that Heath has watched over the years.

Cerberumon opens his jaw as wide as it can go, clearly over the entire drooling and snarling phase and now just wanting to eat. Wade stares on, horrified and unsure how to help his former Nexus/Corre teammate. Finally he does the first thing he thinks of- races forward and punches the side of Cerberumon's nearest face, the blank eyes snapping onto him. "Let him go," he orders it, holding its gaze. "He's a ginger, he has no soul. You won't get filled up on him."

Cerberumon lunges up, all six of his eyes staring into Wade's face with an intensity that makes the British man's knees shake. He starts to back up as Cerberumon approaches him, noticing out of the corner of his eye as Lopmon crawls painfully towards Heath. Lunamon hops from his shoulder, a golden stream of light exploding from Wade's digivice as she Digivolves to Gatomon. She claws his face as she lands heavily onto the ground, but it only makes him snarl and snap a claw at her, sending her flying backwards.

"GATOMON!" he cries out, tripping over a branch as Cerberumon turns his attention back onto Wade. "Bloody hell..." He lands against the stony ridge of the mountain base behind him and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. "Heath, Lopmon..." He can feel Cerberumon's breath on his face, hot and disgusting, and he shudders. He can just see over Cerberumon's shoulder as Gatomon struggles to stand, each movement, each breath clearly hurting her.

He laughs brokenly as his life flashes before his eyes, the matches and title reigns, his partnership with the various Corre and Nexus members, injuries and brutal defeats. All of the hours he'd spent with Heath, mocking and belittling him because he knew Heath could take it, wouldn't turn and run in the other direction, one of the few people he felt comfortable enough to be himself around. It had been impulsive and perhaps a bit stupid, attacking Cerberumon like that, but he hadn't been able to think of any other action that would've saved Heath. He releases a breath and smirks mirthlessly as the realization washes over him, something of a comfort even as the evil dog prepares to bite him. He's my bloody best friend in the world, and I'd do just about anything for him.

He opens his cool blue eyes to stare into Cerberumon's murderous face. "More than anyone could ever say about you, isn't it?" He feels comfortable in this knowledge, squaring his shoulders against whatever may come... that at least, to one person, he was a good friend. He's just smiled in the face of death, literally, when his Digivice goes off again. Brighter than before, but it's not just his Digivice. The stone wall behind him is glowing bright enough to shine through his hand, and he watches in awe as it peels away, becomes a tablet that shrinks, fits into a crest-shape like he'd seen the others with. "No bloody way..."

But it is exactly what it looks like as the light and the power flows through him, past Cerberumon- effectively knocking him away from Wade- and to Gatomon, reviving her sufficiently. "Gatomon Digivolve to..." Her feline body fades away into data just to reform, grows in height and takes on a more human shape, a white flowing dress with golden fabric streaming down from her waist adorning her body. Rosary beads and a red scroll circles her arms as if she herself is calling upon them to grant her strength. Cool golden eyes flash from below a headdress that Wade can't help staring at, breathtaken with his new partner. "Sanzomon!" Her voice is rich, powerful. Not at all like Gatomon's softer, more girly tone.

"You, you Digivolved," he breathes in amazement, in awe of her.

She turns to look at him, careful to keep Cerberumon in the corner of her eye. "Yes, I did. Thanks to you and your realization of the meaning behind your actions." She smiles at him. "Self-awareness is the best kind of intelligence there is." Turning back to the viciously snarling Digimon, she raises a hand to him, her beads clattering and clicking. "You, unfortunately, are not like the creatures we've fought in the past. You do evil willingly... gladly, even. You came here with the sole purpose of destroying the Digidestined, and for that, I cannot allow you to live."

Cerberumon seems as captivated with her rosary beads as Wade is, eyes tracking their movement as she whispers something in a language Wade fails to understand. Whatever she says doesn't matter in the end as Cerberumon suddenly tenses, howling and swatting at thin air. Sanzomon continues to mutter, her words growing more and more intense with each passing second. Wade holds his breath as suddenly attack after attack comes out of seemingly nowhere and slams into Cerberumon, his body shattering into fine pieces of data before the last attack hits the ground where he'd stood, fizzling into nothing against the dirt.

"Wha- what was that?" Wade demands, staring up at his partner as she walks- more like floats- over to him, her beads flicking around her wrist.

She smiles at him sympathetically. "That was a recreation of every painful thing I've had to endure during my life. It is a brutal attack, and one I would only wish on those who deserve it. Cerberumon counts." Walking back over to him, she rests a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps you should check on Heath now."

His eyes widen as he remembers, turning to look at his unmoving friend. "Damn it, Slater!" Running over to the ginger, he falls to his knees next to him and pulls him up, noticing that Lopmon is a little more with it now, eyes wide with fear. "Come on, you bloody fool, open your eyes," he tells him. Voice softening slightly, he murmurs, "You have to see Sanzomon. She's bloody ridiculous, mate." Running his fingers through Heath's short hair, smoothing down the wayward strands, he closes his eyes. "You're not really going to let that overgrown mutt win, are you?"

Wade's face is tilted towards Heath's, each breath a struggle, when he hears, weak, faint, but definitely there... "Gingers do too have souls," Heath forces out, his eyes open only a sliver, but enough for Wade to see the light reflecting off of them.

He laughs and shakes his head, finally feeling like he can breathe again. "Of course you would hear that over everything else going on back there." Heath smiles wearily but doesn't make a move to say anything else, so Wade allows him to rest, still stroking his hair. He absently begins to hum what he thinks sounds like the song Heath was humming earlier, his eyes locked on Heath's pale face.

"Home," Heath mutters, and it finally clicks with Wade, the Staind song that Heath listens to so much to stay awake when he's driving.

"Yeah, mate. Home." He parts Heath's hair with his fingers and sighs. "We'll be there soon."