It's a beautiful day, bright blue sky overhead, gently lapping water at his feet, but even so Wade Barrett hates every second of it, his body tingling with the weight of his loss. He'd teamed up with Stardust in an attempt to distract himself with what's going on with Heath, hwo he hadn't seen him for weeks, even when in the Digiworld, but they had lost terribly. He hugs a knee to his chest and runs his fingers through the water, wishing that he could be swallowed away by it right now, forget everything that's gone so dreadfully wrong.
He's supposed to be figuring out what the latest crisis is, but it's in this general area and he supposes if he sees or hears something, he'll move to do something about it but right now, he's not in the mood for a hide and seek mission. Lopmon nor Lunamon seem to mind this as they sprawl out under his legs, enjoying a break from battling against the growing wave of evilness trying to take over the Digiworld. He reaches down and pets Lopmon, pondering over where Heath might be, what that Arkadimon might be doing to him now.
He closes his eyes and collapses back against the sand, pursing his lips as the Digimon shift and mumble amongst themselves. Only a minute or two has passed, suddenly, when he feels something wrap around his leg and... with a sharp tug... his body is scraped over the ground, into the water and he gasps and chokes as his lungs suddenly fill with water, screaming for oxygen. A large beast has him by the foot and he can't fight free to find a source of oxygen. Not to mention the Digimon are too small- he can't find his Digivice under the weight of the water, and Lopmon is just plainly unable to digivolve without Heath...
He chokes and gags, spots dancing before his eyes, when the creature lifts him up and their eyes lock. Weary blue eyes gaze into the crazed irises. How it happens, he's not sure, but when the water Digimon speaks, he can understand. "Oxygen Sorrow Blue!" It's a blast of power so pure that it tears through the water and impacts with him with the force of a dozen punches, causing him to double up. He's sinking, both figuratively and literally, when the water is swayed by something else...
His eyes are opened only a slit but it's enough for him to realize the form in the water is human, diving towards them. He struggles again to breathe, too far gone to realize that he's only inhaling more water, but then there's a blinding light and something blasts the water beast back, drilling through its body and sending a flood of data around Wade's prone body as it deletes. More bubbles come from Wade's lips as he's roughly gripped and dragged back to the surface, deposited onto the ground. There are a couple of hard thumps on his back that jostle him hard into the sand and he chokes, scrambles and coughs until water is expelled roughly and he collapses in the soaking ground.
Arms hook under his shoulders and guide him onto his back, holding him upright as he breathes in deeply for the first time in what feels like years. His lungs' protests falling to a dull roar instead of the painful cacophony that it had been, he forces his eyes open and stare up at one very soaked Heath Slater, his dark brown eyes boring into Wade's blotchy face. "You-" he rasps and struggles, his voice failing him. "You... you're here..."
Heath seems to be struggling with himself as he grips Wade's shoulders, his teeth gritted. "You gotta take better care'a yourself, Wade," he grits out. "You gotta... I can't..." There's a sudden flash of darkness and every essence of Heath disappears, just to return a minute later. "Nah, no, I- I... please..."
Wade swallows hard, realizing that Heath's control is slipping. He pieces together his strength and touches Heath's hand. "I will. I'll fight. You too, yeah? Just hang on..." He struggles to sit up and cups Heath's face, examining his fearful expression. "I'm gonna get you back, Heath. I promise."
"I trust you," Heath grits out before his body slumps in, the last of his willpower fades, and Wade quickly moves away, aware of what's going to happen. Sure enough, when Heath looks up again, it's not him staring at Wade. It's the evil gaze of Arkadimon and he laughs as Wade struggles to his feet. "I will kill you," he promises. "Not today, but very soon... very, very soon..."
"Heath won't let that happen," Wade mumbles, the touch of his best friend still warm against his arms. "You'll see." Even so he can do nothing but watch, collecting Lopmon and Lunamon, as Arkadimon regroups and leaves, staggering a little. "Keep fighting, Heath. Every bit of power you can take from him will give us even more of an opportunity," he whispers. Turning to the Digimon, he struggles to keep calm. "Let's go home, little ones."
Turning his back on Heath's departing form is the hardest thing he's ever had to do, but he needs peace and quiet to think of a good strategy to make Arkadimon give up, bring Heath back permanently, so he keeps his chin up and does just that.
