It comes suddenly. Alicia is lagging somewhere behind them, sore after confronting Nia Jax, and Owens and Seth are outright standing in the middle of the village they'd been sent to after a distress call, screaming at each other. Cass thinks in any other situation, anxious little digimon would be running around, trying to get away from the angry humans, but there's no one here. It had been empty from the moment they'd entered, and he thinks he knows what this means. It's just hard to face it.
Enzo is pacing next to him, a displeased glower on his face and Cass thinks he's guessed as well. Turning his flaming blue eyes onto Seth and Kevin, he stomps over to them and gets between them, pushing them apart. "Hey! If you two ignoramuses could look around for a min and pay attention to somethin' other than your own egos, you'd see there's somethin' bigger goin' on here than which'a ya should be leader of the group, huh?"
Seth and Kevin both stop short and turn to stare at him, eyes wide before they turn away from each other and look around, realizing that he's right. "Whoa," Seth mumbles, stepping forward with Betamon, forgetting his anger while faced with a mystery.
Owens heads in the other direction with Bearmon and Enzo exhales, smirking over his shoulder as Cass joins him, patting his arm and smiling down at him. "C'mon, big man." They walk off in a different direction away from Alicia, Seth and Owens, trying to figure out where the digimon may have all gone, or what might have happened here... when breathing suddenly becomes difficult, Cass' vision foggy and yellow tinted. Cass squeezes Enzo's arm but he abruptly disappears, Cass' gaze swimming too much for him to locate his best friend. "Zo," he tries to slur out just to collapse to his knees. Nothing can be done for it, he drops face first into the ground and struggles just to breathe.
The air is clear when Cass wakes up awhile later, a throbbing ache pounding by his temples and he moans out, "Zo?" There's no answer and he remembers Enzo fading away under his grip as his consciousness failed him, the big man quickly sitting up and looking around desperately. "Where are you?" He pauses, not hearing an answer or seeing his friend's leopard print-covered form anywhere nearby. "ENZO!"
Hyokomon is staring at him but Veemon is gone as well and Cass groans, reaching out for his partner. As the bird digimon hops up onto his sleeve, picking at his hair with his beak in what's probably supposed to be a comforting way, Cass stands up and exhales when his strength holds, his dark blue eyes gazing around. There's no Enzo. There's no Veemon. There's nothing. Cass groans and takes a step towards where he thinks he remembers Seth walking, desperate to get help, to figure this out.
"I'll find ya, 'Zo. Just... just hang on," he beckons, walking just a little faster.
-x
The place smells. Enzo is pretty sure it's not his apartment with Cass, because yeah they're both Jersey boys, but damn even they know how to keep things from getting this rank. Usually. Their mommas would kill 'em otherwise. He feels something cool and furry under his hand and then remembers with a sharp jerk, his eyes wide and searching as soon as he gets them opened. Veemon is sacked out next to him, breathing roughly and Enzo coughs as he sits up, circulating the yellow air. "Jeez, Cass, what is this-?"
And then he realizes. Cass ain't there. It's just him and Veemon. And a bunch of piercing yellow eyes staring at them from the darkness, glowing menacingly. "Aw hell," he mumbles, scooping his unconscious partner up and holding him close, wondering how he's going to get out of this one in one piece. "Is ok, Sugar Ray Amore'll think'a something," he promises his partner as he labors to breathe, each inhale burning through Enzo's lungs in a way that he thinks is a very, very bad sign. "And if not, then Cass'll come and save us. I got no doubt."
The mocking laughter that follows this comment, the eyes now flickering and wavering even more, unsettles him. Leaves him hugging Veemon even more as he wonders what exactly is hiding in the shadows, too frozen in fear to try to find out.
