Heath, Zack and Drake lurk around, keeping a close eye on the other digidestined. "Look, we need to work together on this," Heath insists. "We've all been tryin' for weeks to beat Truth, and it's not working out." They keep their heads together, walking and talking, as they try to figure out some sort of plan to get their hands on the 24/7 title, when Drake bumps into something.

"Excuse you," he starts to snap before coming to a sudden stop, his eyes widening as he realizes he's just ran into a little girl. "Uh."

"Hey," Heath says, blinking. "Why are you here, little girl?"

Zack frowns. "Are you alright? Do you need help?"

She giggles, suddenly, an almost frightening sound, and the three men freeze, exchanging glances, as she turns to face them. It takes a minute for them to realize she's not human, one arm a gun, the other clutching a sword. "No, help isn't what I need," she says, her voice sweet but menacing all at once. "What I need is... blood..." Her sword slashes down, Zack crying out as blood pours from a wound down his side.

"Shit!" Drake cries out, Lopmon and Patamon quickly moving to digivolve while he and Heath kneel down to press against Zack's wound.

"I- Oh God, this hurts," the broski moans into Heath's shoulder as he holds him. "That... wasn't what I expected..." He closes his eyes and Heath lightly jostles him.

"Don't close your eyes," Drake snaps at him, peeling his Maverick 24/7 shirt off and pressing it into the wound. "Stay awake, Zack. Come on."

"You heard the man," Heath says tensely.

"I'll try," Zack mumbles, all of them distracted as the battle continues on, Mammothmon and Darcmon alternating between attacking and avoiding the bullets from Sistermon Ciel's guns, Mammothmon beating back her sword strikes with as much strength as he can muster.

Darcmon slices her back with sword strikes of her own and the two swordbearers face off, Mammothmon barely able to keep track of their weapons as they fight rough and fast. "I'll end you," Darcmon promises, slamming his gun arm up and slicing through it, tearing apart the weapon and causing Sistermon to scream out in agony. "You will never touch Zack again."

"Remind me never to get on his bad side," Drake mumbles, watching on in awe as he continues to press down on the still bleeding wound.

"No kidding," Heath says with a faint, almost frantic laugh. "Zack, hey, you ok?"

"I think so," he mumbles, still blinking slowly. Heath checks the wound and shakes his head, holding Zack close to keep him warm. "Bad, huh?"

"You'll be fine," Heath insists. They'd been so trapped in their own thoughts and discussion, they'd slipped away from the rest of the Digidestined, and now they're paying for it. "You will be."

"Too weak to... support Darcmon digivolving to Seraphimon," he says wearily. "Could heal me then, but not... like this..." He stares up at them. "Guys..."

"Shut up, Zack," Heath says tensely. "We'll get you outta this. Somehow."

Darcmon lunges forward with a powerful cry, his sword tearing through Sistermon and leaving her gaping as she fades into nothing more than a pool of data, sword clattering to the ground before it too shatters into small pieces at Darcmon's feet.

Darcmon is by Zack's side within seconds, hauling him up, placing him on Mammothmon's back. "Hurry," he snaps at the massive digimon. "Move." Gabumon rushes forward and hops up too, eager to help as much as he can.

All Heath and Drake can do is sit and watch, hands stained with their friend's blood, as their partners work together to get Zack back to the portal, back to Luke's, where he can be healed. They exchange glances and swallow hard. "Guess we're walking the rest of the way," Drake says pensively, getting to his feet and dusting his hands off grimly.

"Seems so," Heath says quietly, the two of them trudging side by side back the way they came. Neither care about their vulnerability without their partners, too worried about Zack to fear for themselves, but nothing approaches them anyway and they make the trip back to the portal in one piece.

When they finally arrive, Luke looks stressed, tired, but he smiles at them and leads them inside to where their partners are waiting for them. Zack is sprawled out on a bed in the corner of his hut, asleep, but healed, and Heath exhales roughly as he sits down next to his friend and brushes his hair out of his eyes, relieved to see his breathing better, his color healthy. "Never scare me like that again, you dork," he says fondly, shaking his head while Lopmon and Patamon curl in around him.

Drake rests his hand atop Gabumon's head and strokes his fur. "I suppose we'll be alright now, for awhile at least, hm?"

"Yes," his partner says simply, a slight smile on his face as they slowly regroup, shaking off the tension and horror from the last few hours.