Koji's first indication that he'd returned to consciousness was agony. Everything ached or stung or stabbed or something. Organs he didn't know he had burnt while his head threatened to explode with every pulse of blood through the capillaries. In short, to say Koji was in pain would've been akin to pointing out that Mt. Everest is tall. He'd been injured before, beaten and bashed back into human form before, and even slammed against a wall so hard, his Spirit of Light was exposed. So it wasn't like this was his first experience or anything. He simply lacked the vocabulary to describe the torment his body was experiencing. The resulting irony was that, although nothing compared to the intensity of this particular experience, all his overwhelmed mind could think of was: it hurts.

The words congealed in his thoughts, oozing around in patterns of circular logic until another revelation emerged from the chaos. In order to regain consciousness, something had to have taken it away. The same something that had caused the pain… most likely. What had he been doing? Memories flickered like distant candles in a breeze, there then gone, appearing in such brief flashes it took several occurrences of the same thought to convince Koji that it was real. He'd been fighting the Royal Knights. Crusadermon's Pile Bunker. But no, Crusadermon couldn't have done this. If he'd been defeated by that Digimon, then he should be dead. Unless this was death… then why did it hurt so freaking much!

"Koji? Are you awake?"

Yes. Operating under the assumption that he wasn't dead, the only other plausible explanation for his current circumstance was wakefulness. His face must've done something before that indicated to the speaker it was time for questions. But whatever muscle spasm had alerted the other to his returning thoughts was no longer quite so obvious. They felt the need to continue.

"Can you hear me?"

They sounded so familiar… His mind responded, latching onto the voice, digging around for an association. A word pushed its way past the pain to the surface of thoughts, nonsensical at first, yet strangely urgent. More urgent than the feeling of his kidneys trying to shrivel up into stones? The word seemed to think so, casting an image onto the backs of his eyelids, willing him into full awareness.

"Yeah," he groaned, sounding more like he was dying than speaking. "I can hear you."

"Thank goodness. You wouldn't wake up and I… didn't know what to do… I was afraid-"

"You don't have to worry so much Koichi," Koji said, pretending his smile didn't feel like a thousand tiny lacerations opening up on his face. He forced his eyelids to open, impatient for his vision to come into focus. "I'm good. I've had worse."

Koichi frowned at him, navy eyes glinting in disapproval. It was obvious that he did not believe Koji's fibs, which actually made the pain of grinning lessen a little. Then he faltered, noticing something irregular.

"Where are the others?" Koichi looked away, biting his lower lip nervously. He didn't answer. Koji pushed himself up, straightening his back along the tree trunk against which he'd apparently been leaning. His twin continued to avoid him, wrapping his arms around his torso, eyes flicking up and to the left in brief intervals, as if there was something there he didn't want Koji to notice.

"Koichi," he tried again gently. "Where are the others? Did something happen to them?"

"They're… gone…" Koichi answered slowly, refusing eye contact.

"Gone?! Gone where?!" He bolted up and was immediately forced back down, head spinning and stomach clenching as the pain surged back to the surface of his thoughts. His brother started at the sudden movement, grasping his shoulders and trying to hold him still. Koji resisted, squirming.

"I don't know, but I'm sure they're fine! Koji, please sit still, you got hurt really badly!"

"What happened? How was I hurt and why are our friends gone," he demanded, catching Koichi with a fiery look. Still the dark twin avoided, grimacing in his own right.

"I… I don't know. I don't remember…" He bit into his lip, eyes flicking to the upper-left again before returning to Koji. A frown creased his brow, like there was something incredibly confusing about that. Like it didn't really bother him that he couldn't remember so much as struck him as odd. Koji frowned back, concerned. First the abduction, then the tendrils of dark energy, now this… Why had Lucemon wanted the dark twin and what had he done to him?

"Nothing?" Koji kept his tone light, forcing the worry back down into the pit of his stomach. "Do you remember being attacked by the Royal Knights?"

"I do… I remember they took me," Koichi removed one hand from Koji's shoulder, pressing it over his left eye.

"Yes," he pressed gently. "That was last night. What about this morning?"

"Morning?"

"They attacked again. The last thing I remember was fighting Crusadermon."

"You're always fighting… It's why you get hurt…"

"Koichi, I need you to focus," He hadn't meant to sound scolding, but that was definitely how it came out. The dark twin dropped the hand that had been shielding his face and gave him a cold, indignant look. It… stung. Koji ran his tongue along his upper teeth, choosing his words cautiously. "I need to know how I was injured and where our friends are. Can you think for me? Can you try and remember?"

"I-" His eyes flicked left again and he withdrew entirely from Koji, standing up and watching the younger twin struggle for a moment to adapt to his absence. "I shouldn't."

"You what," Koji asked, clinging to the tree bark as a fresh set of ache and sickness pulsed rhythmically through his body. He blinked hard to clear away the black spots.

"Do you need water," Koichi asked suddenly, glancing around. "Or maybe food? You need to get back your strength… I can make us some tea, if you want."

"I want to know where our friends are."

"I told you; they're gone."

"Where'd they go?"

"I don't remember. They left you; isn't that enough?"

"No, it's not. I need to know why they left and where they're going. I don't understand why you don't."

"Because I shouldn't!" His voice cracked like thunder, so loud and harsh it made Koji's throbbing head worse. The light twin held up a hand instinctively, as if to shield his face from the vibrations of sound and… something unsettling. When he looked up again Koichi was pleading with him, brow furrowed and lips pursed. "And you shouldn't either. I don't remember much, just that. I'm your older brother, Koji; I have to keep you safe. I'd do anything to keep you safe."

"Koichi…" Koji breathed, more to himself than anyone. "What happened?"