After another day of trekking through the Rock Zone, Agunimon and Lobomon scooped out a place to rest amongst a rock outcropping. The rocks pointed inwards, making fair-sized a natural shelter. They gathered what little dead brush they could to make a fire underneath the massive stones. The first attempt at starting it went awry due to Agunimon putting too much force behind it. Giving it a second try proved to be satisfying once the brush caught fire. The duo did their best to relax, Lobomon resting his back against one of the rocks. Agunimon, on the other hand, decided to lay down on his side and poked at the fire.

"This makes one whole week since we left."

"Yet we have had no luck in our quest."

Agunimon rolled over onto his back. "Luring him out didn't work and trying to track him down isn't working. What are we going to do?"

"You're being impatient. We're still quite a distance from where he was spotted. It will take time to catch up." Watching the flames dance in the soft breeze, Lobomon added, "We haven't found a way to help him yet."

"What are we going to do if we can't help him?" Agunimon wondered quietly. "I want to be able to get him back, but…"

"If we can't find a way, then our only option will be to put him out of his misery."

In the span of a heartbeat, Agunimon sat up and turned to his friend with a look of outrage. "You can't mean that!"

"I do. What other choice will we have?"

"There's always another way!" Agunimon snapped. "I refuse to think that we can't bring him back!"

"Think about this rationally. Do you think Lowemon would want this?"

Whatever argument Agunimon had died in his throat with an incredulous noise. He turned away in anger and folded his legs, gripping his knees tightly with his hands. The crackling of the fire was the only sound for quite some time. Something about the way his friend reacted made Lobomon regret what he said. All he had been trying to do was to get the fiery Digimon to face the reality of what they were doing. It wasn't as if they could fix things themselves, no matter how much he wished they could. Unless they could find a way before they encountered him, the only option would be to destroy Duskmon. They couldn't just think about themselves in all this; others were endangered by Duskmon's mere presence. He had realized that during the past few days.

A sniff made Lobomon raise his head. Agunimon kept his face turned away, but it was easy to tell that he was rather upset.

"I just don't want to give up on him. We made a promise to be there for each other, you know?" Agunimon mumbled. "Giving up would mean breaking that promise. That's the last thing I want to do."

Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to say the things he said, but what could Lobomon do about it now?

"I know you're right. It's not like we could just convince Duskmon to side with us. He might not even remember things from when he was Lowemon. But I don't want there to be no chance of getting Lowemon back. Just the thought of losing him for good…"

Getting to his feet, Lobomon approached Agunimon and placed a hand on his shoulder. Startled, Agunimon looked up.

"I told you I thought there was a way to save him. That hasn't changed. We won't give up until we know there's no other way."

Sniffling, Agunimon attempted to hide his face and nodded. "Thanks, Lobomon."

"I'll take watch. Get some rest. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Lobomon took a seat in the opening, arms and legs crossed. Agunimon laid back down with his hands underneath his head. There was too much on his mind for him to sleep. How much longer was it going to take? What exactly would they do when they found him? Would they fight or try to reason with him? More than likely they would have to battle.

"Hey, Lobomon?"

"Yes?"

"If we do end up fighting Duskmon, do you think we can win?"

"I'm not sure," the lupine admitted with hesitance. "Every report we've received concerning him alluded how strong he was. It's impossible to tell until we face him."

"Won't stop us from trying, right?"

"Of course it won't. We'll do everything in our power to bring him back."

"Yeah," Agunimon mumbled as he closed eyes. "By the way, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so upset. It's just…what you said…"

"You don't have to apologize. If anything, I owe you an apology. I was too harsh when I responded."

"That's true. You were a tad bit mean."

That made Lobomon turn around to look at Agunimon, an amused smile on his face. "Good night, Agunimon."

Smirking, Agunimon rolled over. "Okay, okay. G'night."