As soon as all three backs were turned genuine confusion worked its way into Koichi's features. Slowly, the fingers that had been hovering over his lips slid to his neck. The flesh there felt clammy, his pulse racing just under the surface. There was a weird feeling in his stomach that wasn't nausea or anything remotely like he'd ever felt before… maybe a tension? His breath was shallow and his head hurt. Reality bent as the backs of his friends sped away from him and he found his eyes drawn instead into the darkness to his left. It was nothing special, just a small alley, a pitch-black crevice between apartment blocks, yet it seemed to yawn out at him.

Come… Come here please… Please help… We need you…

Koichi's body began to move half against his will, drawing him into the shadows. There was an ominous feeling to the city walls and unusually dark section between them, but he didn't stop. Something was pulling him, like a moth to the flame, and even though it felt really strange, Koichi couldn't think of a good reason not to go. Through the fog in his mind he recognized someone was calling.

"Hello," he asked tentatively as his eyes ad gusted to the dark. "Is someone here?"

Yes… Yes, we're here… Come closer… Come help us…

"Anyone?"

"I'm here," answered another voice. It was small and high, like a frightened animal. "Down here… please, I can't get up."

His gaze fell to the ground and, almost instantly, he spotted a figure slumped against the wall. It looked like a young man around 22, though he couldn't make out any features, wrapped in a blanket. His eyes looked like dark holes in his face, glazed over and completely non-reflective, his dry lips parted slightly.

"Please," he begged softly. "I can't move…"

Koichi dropped to one knee, setting down the grocery bag and reaching for the man's shoulders. The weird feeling in his stomach tightened and something like a buzzing started in his mind as he got closer, but he was too concerned to pay either much attention.

"My friends have cell phones," he said gently. "I'll go get help."

"No," hissed the man, gritting his teeth. "Don't leave... You can't go…"

"Alright." Koichi licked his lips, uncertain. "Alright, I won't leave. Do you think you can walk? Where does it hurt?"

The man's lips moved, but Koichi didn't catch what he said. There was something about the smile that was blooming across his face, the oppressive shadows in the alley, that made Koichi feel nervous. Still, he couldn't just abandon someone in need, no matter how odd that someone might be. Uncertainly, he leaned in closer, bringing his ear to the man's mouth.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said she was right; This is going to be simple."

In a flash, the man threw off his blanket and grabbed Koichi by the back of the head, pressing something like a mask over his nose and mouth. Koichi inhaled sharply in surprise and a sweet-smelling gas filled his lungs. His muscles suddenly felt weak and his weight fell against the man, his mind hazing. The man laughed and stood up, bringing Koichi with him. He squirmed, but his fingers were made of rubber and his body felt miles behind his brain. With practiced skill the man batted Koichi's hands away from the mask, grabbing both wrists and holding them in an unyielding brace.

"Don't worry, it's only sevoflurane," he said in a low voice. "Medical quality; we'd never do anything to hurt you, you're far to precious to us… Or should I say, to the master. It wants you back Kimura Koichi, and to make that happen, I need something from you."

He slid a strap over Koichi's head, securing the gas mask and canister into place. Another man materialized out of the shadows and the first handed Koichi off to him, busying himself with the contents of a duffle bag.

"Hold his head forward," said the first, pulling on a pair of surgical gloves. "And get the hair off the back of his neck; I have to go in through the foramen magnum and we can't afford to do anything wrong. We mustn't damage the boy in the slightest, do you understand?"

The other man nodded silently, wrapping one muscular arm around Koichi's waist to hold him up. His other hand ran up the back of Koichis neck, catching the hair that formed a protective layer there, as he pushed his chin towards his chest. Koichi's eyes fell closed and he offered up no resistance. His mind was swimming in and out of coherent thought, grasping at a single idea with fading urgency.

Koji he thought as the first man wiped something cold and wet across the base of his skull. Koji! Something sharp was pressing against the skin along his hairline, angled so as to follow the spinal chord into the brain.

"Are you sure you can do this," asked the second man nervously. "There's not a lot of room for shaky hands."

"The master gives us all different gifts," replied the first, repositioning the needle on the back of Koichi's neck. "She enhanced your strength, didn't she? I'm going to enter the cisterna magnum to remove a sample of cerebrospinal fluid from the subarachnoid cavity, and I know exactly how to do it. Just hold him still and this will all be over soon."

The needle broke skin and hot blood swelled to the surface. He could feel the metal pushing deeper, slowly advancing on its goal, and what was left of his rationality deteriorated into sheer terror.

KOJI!

"Get away from him!" Koji skidded around the corner with Takuya and Izumi not far behind and stared down the alley in shock. The first man hissed in frustration, withdrawing the needle and backing away.

"Don't interfere, Chosen of Light," he spat, his voice saturated with loathing. "This does not concern you."

"What the hell are you doing to my brother?" Koji's voice was not loud, but it cut through the darkness as if he'd shouted. Both he and Takuya looked poised to attack, but restrained themselves. A bead of blood reached capacity and ran down Koichi's jaw line, clinging to his chin. The first man smiled cruelly, brushing the second's hand off of Koichi's head and removing the gas mask. There was a loud hissing sound as he closed the canister, which made Izumi flinch.

"Perhaps he's your brother now," taunted the first man, lifting a duffle bag and slipping the mask and canister inside. "But soon he'll reawaken to his true self, and then brother or not, this world and all others will be covered in Darkness! It's always been inevitable!"

The second man looked to the first, then back at Koji. His eyes had the same dull black color and his gaze was utterly soulless. He readjusted Koichi's limp body in his arms, preparing for something. Koji's jaw tightened as his fingernails dug crescents into his palms.

Koichi he tried timidly, unsure of whether or not it would work. Koichi, can you hear me? Can you get away? Koichi's head twitched slightly, but he made no other indication that he'd heard. His breaths were deep and slow, his eyes closed as if sleeping.

"Put the kid down before someone gets hurt," said a new voice from the other end of the alley. Every set of eyes peered into the darkness looking for its source, but to no avail. The shadows concealed him as he spoke. "A suboccipital puncture in a back alley, are you insane? Are you trying to kill him? And here I was thinking your master needed that one."

"Kimura Koichi is coming with us," said the second man in a ragged voice that was almost a growl.

"I don't think so."

"And what, pray tell, makes you-" A bright light cut him off and both men screamed in pain, their hands flying up to protect their eyes. Koichi fell to the ground with a dull thud and a groan, his eyes fluttering for a moment. The light advanced until it was just behind the two men, then sidestepped them and turned around, leaving the other end of the alley open.

"Why don't you crawl back to your master now," the new voice said in disgust. "Tell It the Digidestined won't be so easily defeated. Tell It It'll have to work harder for Its prize this time."

The first man elbowed the second in the ribs and together, they turned and fled. Before anyone could react Koji lurched forward, pushing past their rescuer and scooping up his brother. Koichi offered up little more than a low moan to protest the sudden movement, his head rolling against Koji's chest.

You came Koji heard in his head. Koji I… I feel… really strange…

"Koichi," squeaked Izumi as she practically threw herself down next to them, fishing out a handkerchief from her back pocket and slipping it between Koji's arms to the back of his twin's neck. She could feel the warm wetness of blood through the cloth and it made her stomach churn. "I-What just happened?"

"I think that's a question best suited to the new guy there," growled Koji, his gaze sliding to the dark figure. "He seems to know a lot about who those bastards were."

Without the light in their eyes, it became apparent that this boy, if that was the right term given his apparent age of at least 19, was not Japanese. He had dark brown hair the color of black coffee, which framed his face in short, gentle waves, and his eyes were the most intense shade of deep sky-blue. He had a very pretty face, so much so that if he'd grown his hair longer he might have been mistaken for a girl, with defined cheekbones, arching eyebrows, and a sharp chin. Even in his black slacks and button-up grey shirt, black leather jacket left artfully zipped up to about his navel, he looked slightly androgynous. Maybe it was the white scarf… When he spoke his voice was low and smooth, but cold and unfeeling, like silk in the winter. The slightest hint of a French accent was silver trimming. He rolled his eyes, setting the high-powered flashlight he'd used so effectively down onto the pavement and pulling something out of his coat pocket. Wordlessly, he held up a powder blue and silver device with a small, blank screen.

"Is that a D-Tector," breathed Takuya in astonishment. "But, how did you-"

"It's a Digivice," corrected the pretty boy. "It means I'm Digidestined, like you guys. And if that's not obvious enough for you, it means I've helped save the Digital World."

Koji opened his mouth to say something offensive, but the sensation of something touching his shirt stopped him. Koichi's fingers had found the fabric and were grasping at it weakly, his eyes trying to open.

Stay still thought Koji, staring down at his twin and willing him to understand.

My body… I have to… I can't forget, but... They were talking. Words I didn't understand… Sevoflu… Ceribro… It doesn't hurt, but it should… Can't… Move… I have to move.

His thoughts were jumbled, even chaotic, and though his body seemed to be coming out of the anesthesia, his mind wasn't quite as fast on the uptake. It's all right now Koji projected as soothingly as he could. Koichi was super sensitive to drugs, ever since his near-death incident in the Digital World, and there was never a good way to gauge what his reaction might be.

"Is he all right," asked Izumi, picking up on their communication.

"It's like listening to static," Koji said, shaking his head. "He knows what they were doing to him, but he doesn't understand why. And it's fading fast. There's no telling what he'll remember when he wakes up…"

"It doesn't matter," sighed the blue-eyed boy, looking annoyed. "I know what they're after."

"And just how would you know that! Who the hell are you, anyway?" Takuya's tone hovered between confusion and anger, a frown creasing his brow.

"My name is Dorian Lespion," the new boy said, giving them all a patronizing look. "And I think we can discuss this further after we get that one," his eyes flickered disdainfully to Koichi. "To a more sanitary location. Unless you want that little puncture to go septic."

"Koichi's apartment isn't too far away, right," mumbled Izumi, her gaze fluttering wildly between Koji and his twin. Koji nodded, situating his brother on his back and picking him up. Koichi let out a small noise of protest, but he possessed neither the will nor the strength to put up any kind of a fight. His head lulled into the younger twin's neck, his arms dangling limply over his Koji's shoulders.

"I have a key," growled Koji. His words were meant for Izumi, but his gaze had refocused on Dorian. "You have a lot of explaining to do, foreigner. I am grateful for your help, but don't think for a second that that means I trust you." Koji's stare was a blatant threat, a dare for him to try something. Dorian met it coolly, his disinterest equally blatant. Any competition for who could look less intimidated by the other would have resulted in a tie, which, under different circumstances, would've been funny.

"Oh don't worry," replied Dorian, his smile not reaching his eyes. "I have no expectation or aspirations for your trust. It's only your cooperation I'm interested in." He brushed by the twins to where the would-be kidnappers had stashed their bag, squatting down to investigate the blanket. "After all," he said in an ironic voice, picking up a small object and slipping it into his pocket. "It turns out that we have a common enemy."

Koji, Izumi, and Takuya regarded him suspiciously as he stood up.

"What enemy," Takuya asked after a long stalemate.

"You three are familiar with a dark entity that went by 'Duskmon,' right?"

Content: Needles, attempted assault and kidnap, drugging