He's closed a good part of the distance when the message reaches him. Just as White Lopmon had guessed, this other player Hua and his partner—a Biyomon, he learns after a bit of staring—do want some help.

Ensenga looks next at the two Armadimon to identify them. "So they're just Child level, huh?" If that's the case, then his joining would make for a fair fight. They can do this.

"sure i got your back"

"thanks for the tip btw"

"Alright, let's go!" Ensenga yells, running now as he points to the nearest Armadimon. "Aim for the underbelly!"

"Got it!" White Lopmon says, getting up to stand atop his tamer's head before leaping towards his target. By the time the Armadimon realizes there's another enemy it's too late; the rabbit is already slapping it in the face with his long ears, making it growl and stumble back.

"Hey!" Ensenga yells to Hua, having caught up to his partner and the battle. "You guys doing okay here?" He's distracted by a sharp yelp; White Lopmon had tried to take advantage of the stun time by reaching an ear out to its underbelly, but he'd ended up getting scratched in the face instead.

"Why you little...!" the rabbit hisses, his paws held gingerly over the cuts.

"You alright?" Ensenga calls worriedly, but receives no answer; White Lopmon only scowls, glaring at his foe. "I guess it's more difficult to get to that underbelly than I thought..." He puts a hand to his chin, looking puzzled.

Ensenga accepts the party request, nodding as he listens closely to Hua's words. This other player sure knows a lot about Digimon. It's a bit surprising he can't just take them out on his own with that knowledge, but Ensenga's not going to question someone who needs his help. In fact, maybe he can ask Hua for more battling tips later; he's not going to get any stronger without information, after all.

For now though, he'll start with the enemies in front of him. If they follow Hua's plan, everything should work out, right?

"I gotcha," he says to Hua before turning to White Lopmon. "You heard him, right? Aim for the tail!"

"Yeah, yeah," the rabbit mutters, still scowling. He tenses, feet shifting in the sand as he stares the Armadimon down, and when at last it lunges forward with shining claws, it's too late—he's already dodged to the side, scampering quickly behind the Armadimon before pulling at its tail with both ears. "Like this?"

"Alright, we did it!" Ensenga cheers, pumping a fist into the air. "Dude," he says to Hua with a grin, "your strats are awesome!" Yeah, he's definitely going to have to ask him for some tips later!

"Don't celebrate just yet," White Lopmon growls. "There's still one left!" He makes his way through the sand quietly, scampering behind the remaining Armadimon as it tries futilely to swipe at Biyomon. When at last he's close enough to grab its tail, he lunges forth and—hits the sand?

"No way! I missed?" Quickly the rabbit gets up, glaring at the Armadimon. It had turned its tail away at the last second and, now noticing the new foe, turns its attention away from Biyomon as well. "What do I do? Dodge and pull like before, maybe?" He tenses and prepares to move, but the attack that comes isn't what he expects; instead of claws, it's a rolling tackle he barely manages to sidestep. "How am I supposed to get to its tail now?" White Lopmon yells, watching as the Armadimon slows down a distance away before making a sharp turn back. "It's all curled up and everything!"

"Uh, um," Ensenga stammers, glancing briefly at Hua. He's probably got a plan, right? "But wait," he thinks, "I can't just... Ensenga can't just rely on other people all the time. He has to be independent, and strong enough to stand on his own two feet..." He turns away from the other player, staring hard at the battle before him. His White Lopmon's jumped out of the way of another rolling tackle but he's slower this time; an ear gets caught and he yelps as he hits the sand. "Think, think," Ensenga mutters to himself, but he's distracted by a sudden desert gust. Instinctively he raises his arms to shelter his closed eyes, but just as quickly, his arms are down and his eyes wide open in realization. Along with the sand, the wind's brought him an idea.

"Try that new technique you learned!" Ensenga shouts. "Knock it off balance!"

"Alright!" the rabbit yells back, his uninjured ear perked up to hear past the wind. He watches as the Armadimon turns for a third run, and when it's rolled into range...

"Petit Twister!" White Lopmon shouts as he begins to spin in place. Powered by the desert winds, he rises slowly into the air, his long ears twirling about him until he's formed a miniature tornado. Unable to pause its momentum, the Armadimon rolls directly into it and is blown away a fair distance before landing squarely on its back.

"Now!" Ensenga says, turning to Hua.

"Dude, awesome!" Ensenga cheers, both fists in the air. "We totally owned them!" He kneels as White Lopmon scampers to his side, beaming. "High five, man." He claps a hand against the rabbit's outstretched ear. "You did great!"

"Of course I did," White Lopmon says, flipping a long ear back.

"Those attacks you took looked pretty bad though," Ensenga says with a worried expression. "Need an HP disk or anything? I've still got a bunch of them."

"Nah," the rabbit replies with a dismissive wave. "I'm not gonna keel over from something as small as that." The wounds still smart but he won't admit it. "I'll be fine." As if to prove it, he leaps back to his former spot on Ensenga's head.

"Well, alright then." The boy shrugs before turning to Hua. "Ah, it was no problem," he says sheepishly. "You're the one who did most of the work anyway," he thinks but swallows the thought down.

"That plan of yours worked perfectly though!" Ensenga says with a grin. "You sure know a lot about this game!"

"Ohh," Ensenga says, nodding along as Hua speaks, "I see, I see." He pauses. "... Wait a second, a government spy?!" He gapes at the other boy; he's gotta be joking right? Definitely joking? His friends have always told him he's easy to fool, but there's no way this guy could be telling the truth. Right? "Hahaha, don't say stuff like that, man..." Ensenga laughs again, nervously. "For one, didn't we just help each other out back there? Don't tell me you'd delete a random guy who just happened to be there and decided to help out? Aww, man I don't wanna be a zombie... that's totally uncool..."

"He's joking," White Lopmon says bluntly.

"... Right! It's all just a joke, so let's just calm down here, okay? Hahaha."

"Even if he wasn't, those are some pretty lame last words."

"Nobody asked you," Ensenga hisses to the rabbit, who simply shrugs. "Err, well, anyway!" The boy turns back to Hua. "So, uh... Jokes aside, what brings you out to the desert?" He smiles sheepishly. "Let's all just forget about that conversation, okay?"

"Ah, I see," Ensenga says with a nod. He'd forgotten that Digimon Online is more than just a game, and that people treat it as everything from tourism to a second life. "Is this the kind of potential virtual reality has? Mixing the gaming industry with tourism and stuff." Briefly he imagines a future of MMOs, all lined up with their different settings. Steampunk one week, high fantasy the next; it's like choosing worlds out of a catalog, though he can't say he's adverse to the idea. It sounds kind of cool, actually.

"I guess it is pretty exciting," Ensenga says. "Can't say I've been to a desert before or anything. Freakin' hot here though."

He gives Hua a blank stare upon seeing his offer for help. "Hahaha... Let's stop with the jokes, alright? You know that saying: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice... Although, special abilities would be pretty cool."

"Hey, Ensenga," White Lopmon says. "So are you dense, or are you reaaally dense?"

"Let's stop with the peanut gallery too." Ensenga glares at the rabbit, who only looks away innocently. "Anyway, well," the boy starts while turning to Hua, "have you heard of the Mirage Tower? Someone was talking about it on the BBS, so we decided to go look for it. You can join us if you'd like."