Despite Seth constantly saying that he's the leader of the Digidestined, the old Digimon that they are still following seems determined to treat Dean as such. He ignores Seth, focusing only on Dean, annoying the WWE World Champion more and more. "Where are we going?!" Seth finally demands, gripping him by the arm.
KIta Kitsunemon, who had introduced himself to Dean a few minutes earlier, turns to glare darkly at Seth. Despite his age and lack of understanding, he still seems formidable and Dean almost doesn't blame Seth for releasing him and backing away. "We are going to a place where you are needed," he says coolly. Glancing back at Dean, he nods and walks on. "This village has been targetted, and Digimon there are mysteriously falling ill. Some are even deleting because whatever is going on is so bad that there's not enough aid for all of them."
Dean listens, not entirely understanding, since he's relatively new to everything, but Petitmon makes a soft whimpering noise from where he's laying on his shoulder. Dean curls his hand around the baby Digimon, stroking and tapping the top of his head between his horns. "So what do we do? Look for the cause and see what we can do to help?"
"Yes," Kita Kitsunemon says serenely. "I will live you to it then."
Dean watches as he walks off, arms crossed behind his back. Seth gapes too before calling out, "Hey! Wait a minute, where are you going? You drag us here and then leave us to clean up your world's mess?" But he's out of sight already and Seth curses, looking down at Betamon.
"Stop bitching and let's go," Dean sighs, turning towards the village and entering it. It seems normal, if a little quiet, but then they hear the sounds of illness. Moaning creatures and the bustling attempts to take care of them. Dean turns and heads for the nearest building, where most of the noise is coming from, but Seth lags back and shakes his head, hating every second of this.
"Are we doing anything?" Betamon asks quietly, standing by Seth's side.
"No," he mumbles. "Ambrose can do whatever the hell he wants, but let's go see what we can find out here."
"Alright," his partner agrees, following him away from the houses.
Ambrose continues through, looking around. "Shoulda known Rollins would be too pathetic to come actually help," he mumbles. He taps his fingers against his leg as he walks, eyes narrowing as he walks inside. It's a mess inside, the air thick with streaming data of those who have already passed. "What is this?"
Before Petitmon can even blink, a Digimon bustles up to them, examining them. "You don't look sick."
"We're not," Dean says, staring at the human-type Digimon with flame-based clothes. "Who're you?"
"FlameWizardmon," he says. "If you're not ill, you should leave. This village is under attack, and it's taking everything we have to keep those in this room with us."
"I'm here to help," Dean says. "I'm a Digidestined."
FlameWizardmon freezes, looks from Dean to Petitmon and swallows. "You are?" This seems to change things. All of a sudden, he grips Ambrose and ushers him into the room where all of the sick Digimon are languishing, Dean stopping short to stare at the rows of beds and cots. "We need you to find the cause, before others are affected. We don't have the supplies or help we need to help these digimon, if more come... we can't handle it. Please."
Dean nods. "Sure, yeah, we'll try to sort it out." He hesitates and looks back at the moaning creatures. "Is there anything we can do in here first?"
FlameWizardmon shakes his head. "Just fix this. Please."
"Alright." Dean squares his shoulders, then rolls them to ease out the tension. He marches back out of the shelter and wanders around. "Where did Rollins go?" he mumbles. There's no sign of him and despite everything wrong between them and how often he just wants to tear Seth's face off, it makes the hairs on his neck stand up. "It's too quiet," he mumbles, fluttering his hands anxiously. Petitmon being tense doesn't help his nerves.
They walk quietly for awhile around the outskirts of the village, looking for something... anything...when Dean sees something strange. Looking closer, he realizes it's a human shoe. From earth. He feels like he's flushed and pale all at once as he steps closer. "Seth?" Memories flash before his eyes of when Seth had been sent through a table off of ladders and how it had felt walking back to him and peeling him off of the ground while trying to celebrate another match win. His steps hit the ground faster, his mind starting to race.
Turning the corner of the building, his fears are confirmed and he hisses, looking around for a cause. Not seeing anything, he drops to his knees, almost thinking that perhaps this is another trick by Seth... though he can't figure out what good it would do, for Seth to betray him here when nothing's going on... unless the old man's insistence that he's the leader had ate at Seth so much that he was going to sicc Betamon on him or something. Despite his doubts, he grips Seth by the shoulder and rolls him over. From the first touch, he knows he's wrong. Seth's skin is cold, clammy. He's unresponsive, eyes closed, and his face is sallow. "What the hell?" Dean shakes him but he's entirely limp, which leaves Dean breathless. "Shit."
Petitmon is chattering by Dean's side, eyes wide, when they hear shuffling and chattering. Dean looks up in time to see Betamon racing by. But he's not alone, there's a small creature not much bigger than Petitmon hopping around. Petitmon turns back towards Dean before hopping up onto Seth's chest.
"Hey, Petitmon, get off of him-" Dean falls quiet when there's a flash of light and Petitmon's chatter fades away.
Instead of the little creature with horns he had been, he now resembles a sea horse with familiar horns along the top of his head. "... Babydmon!" he exclaims, merely blinking up at Dean from where he's still resting on Seth's chest. When Dean tries to reach out and pick him up, he skitters away and remains close to Seth. "I can keep him warm," the creature says, his voice and its squeakiness surprising Dean. "If I stay here..."
"Oh. Well. Yeah, sure," Dean mumbles. He rocks back and tries to figure out where Betamon had gone, not able to see or hear anything around them except for Seth's stuttery breathing and whatever Babydmon is doing. When he finally looks again, he realizes that the little creature is blowing warm clouds of air towards Seth's face, and Dean then realizes why the creature back at the house full of ill Digimon was covered in flames. "Huh."
He's just stood up to look for Betamon when something skitters over his feet, the sound of rustling against his shoes startling him. He looks down, shocked, when Betamon lunges out of nowhere and corners the creature. It's a little Digimon with a bright white body and blue ears, his dark eyes glinting evilly. "I don't want to do this," the aquatic Digimon tells the young creature softly. "But I can't let you run around and poison people like you did Seth."
Dean jerks at this. "Poisoned?!" he yells out, looking back at his former SHIELD partner. Babydmon doesn't seem shocked by this explanation, nuzzling closer to Seth's chin and continuing to blow more air against his cold flesh. Before he can digest all of this, the white baby creature rushes forward, dodging around Betamon and skitters up Dean's leg. "Hey! Get offa me!" He's shaking his leg, trying to free himself, but there's nothing for it: between his body and ears that are somehow acting like ears, the little guy just can't be shook off.
Babydmon looks like he's about to do something to help when Dean shakes his head warningly at him, aware that Seth needs him more right now. It's a wise choice when there's a flash of green and Betamon's claw slices through the Digimon, sending him exploding into a cloud of data. "Sorry, Pupumon," Seth's partner pants. "I can't let you do this to someone else." He hits the ground and walks back over to Seth's side, resting a claw on his arm. "You'll be reborn. Seth might not have that chance, though."
Dean grimaces, rubbing at his leg where Betamon's claw had scraped through his jeans. It's not important though, not now. He returns to Seth's side as well and leans down, considering lifting him up and taking him back to earth to find help... when he hears that familiar throat clearing sound from earlier. His head whips up and he stares as Kita Kitsunemon approaches. "The vile data is gone," he says simply. "You figured out the cause. The village can slowly return to normal now." He stares at Dean. "Thank you."
He's just turned, as if he's going to walk away and return to the building where all of the sick Digimon are, when Dean lunges forward. "No, wait! Seth's sick too. What about him?" He hasn't really cared seriously about anything to do with "What about Seth?" for months but now, he kind of does. Although it's been well over a year, he can't really imagine life without either of his SHIELD brothers.
Kita Kitsunemon pauses and walks to Seth's side. Holds his hand out and closes his eyes, mumbling under his breath as a warm light surges from his fingers and rains down on Seth's prone body. When it fades away, he turns and leaves, but he's barely taken five steps when Seth begins to stir, his eyes fluttering weakly. Betamon takes Babydmon's place on Seth's chest as the younger creature returns to Dean's side, humming as he's picked up and held in the crook of Dean's arm. Seth groans and sits up slowly, holding his head in his hands. "Ugh, what the hell?"
"You were poisoned," Dean says slowly. Their eyes lock and Seth looks like he's about to say something that'll shatter everything that's held Dean together since that first chair slammed into his back. "You're a friggin' idiot. Where the hell did you go?"
It's obvious the moment that the shutters fall down, Seth's defenses back up. "Shut up, Ambrose, or I'll stomp you into cinderblocks again."
That's more like it, Dean smirks, glad to see that old fire growing in Seth's eyes.
