The "safe and private place" turned out to be an apartment complex somewhere between abandoned and torn down. Some kink in the construction plan or knot in the red tape had pushed the building into limbo, which was a precarious place to be in Tokyo. Space was very limited and an apartment without residents was a crime against utility. That said, it did provide the perfect hiding spot for a group of teenagers engaged in official save-the-world business, and from the look of the room Dorian led them into, he'd been squatting there for quite some time doing just that. A crisp futon lay out in the corner (a homage to his foreign habits), cloths occupied the closet, and a trashcan filled to the brim with food packaging sat next to a modest table. There was even a row of expensive solar panels perched by the window, faces turned towards the light, wires like roots tunneling to the bulbs in the ceiling, and power strips on the ground. If it hadn't been for the lack of running water, the place might've been rather nice.

If there were refreshments of any sort, extra chairs, or anything a halfway decent host might offer his guests, Dorian made no mention of it. He selected a steel key from a bunch that had to weigh half a kilogram, unlocked the door, and settled himself in the only available seat, an arm chair by the table. The others followed him in uncertainly, assessing the room with a critical eye. While Izumi and Koji made no effort to hide their disdain, Takuya fought hard to keep the admiration from his face. He'd been expecting something lavish, something as fancy and excessive as the Palace of Versailles itself, and found himself pleasantly surprised by the disparity between his imaginings and reality. The utility of the set up impressed him; add a plasma TV, Wii, and some speakers and you'd have yourself a nice little man cave. He felt himself warm towards Dorian at the thought of it. Koichi hesitated for a long time on the threshold, regarding the interior with a special kind of suspicion reserved for obvious traps. Something about it (he couldn't quite articulate what) made him so anxious nausea rolled in his stomach. He really didn't want to go inside, didn't want to stand by Dorian's elbow and lay his heart and mind out on that tiny table. But as the moments ticked by, the expectations of everyone else won against his own better judgment and he pressed forward, closing the door softly behind him.

Dorian watched the dark twin with great interest, taking in the discrete hand as it pressed momentarily against his diaphragm, the almost imperceptible dilation of pupils as a small headache began to throb behind his eyes. Smiling a cold, knowing smile, Doran beaconed him forward, ignoring the other three as they clamored to speak.

"Welcome to my humble abode; we can speak freely here, there's no one else in the building. Now, Koichi, why don't you come over here? We weren't properly introduced last night on account of you being drugged. My name is Dorian Lespion."

"Indeed," snorted Koichi, the false honey of Dorian's words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. He already knew he didn't like this guy and he definitely didn't like being patronized. "If introductions had been properly made, you would know not to call me by my first name. To you, I'm Kimura-san." All three of his friends looked at him in surprise, taken aback by the terseness in his voice. It was petty, and more than a little mean, to hold Japanese customs against the Frenchman; Koichi knew that. But he just couldn't help himself.

"Are you sure," Dorian answered, his smile never faltering. The certainty in his bright blue eyes sent cold waves through Koichi's chest. "Forgive me, I'm obviously not from Japan, but it was my understanding that the suffix –san was reserved for one's elders and superiors. I am older than you, so it would be more appropriate for you to call me Lespion-san while I call you Kimura-kun."

Koichi flushed, tilting his head towards his chest and regarding the corner to his left with sudden interest. Dorian leaned back, smug in his victory.

"Of course," he continued in a silken tone. "We could just say that we're Digidestined, which makes us all friend's here, and not stand by formalities at all. You can call me Dorian and I'll just call you Koichi."

"You are nobody's friend here," hissed Koji, annoyance seeping into his voice.

"Now I'm hurt," sighed Dorian, feigning deep sadness and pressing one hand to his chest for dramatic effect.

"Don't play games," spat Koji, hardly noticing the restraining hand Izumi had placed on his forearm. "If you have something to say, say it! Otherwise we'll just go back to the park and have our own meeting."

"That would be incredibly counterproductive on your part," said Dorian, still firmly in control of the situation. "Considering I'm the only one here who has any idea what's happening."

"He's right, Koji," interjected Takuya, stepping between them. Maybe it was the man cave, maybe it was a goodnights rest, but he didn't feel as hostile towards Dorian as he had the night before. Don't misunderstand, the guy was far from his buddies list, but that didn't make him the evil scumbag from his imaginings. Takuya found himself considering Dorian's actions from the previous night, rather than his words, and concluded that, rude or not, the guy was there to help them. "You more than anyone should want to learn more about this Tache version of Duskmon, which makes Dorian the guy to talk to. Come on, let's just chalk this up to cultural misunderstanding and move on."

"The voice of reason," Dorian said with a nod to Takuya. Koji snorted, folding his arms and setting his jaw. Koichi's flush deepened as a frown creased his features. More than ever he didn't want to be there, but with Takuya on Dorian's side and nowhere else to run, he had to admit he was stuck. Dorian gave the group an expectant look which none of the boys could decipher. Finally, Izumi let go of Koji's arm and moved towards the table. Pressing her hands to the wooden surface and forcing herself to make eye contact, she spoke directly to Dorian.

"We're sorry if we've misjudged you," she said evenly, trying very hard to keep emphasis off the word if. "It's been five years since we were in the Digital world and this has all caught us by surprise. We would be very grateful if you could fill us in."

Dorian's icy blue eyes softened for just a moment, as if when he looked at Izumi, he could see someone else… someone that made him sad. Then the self-assured grin was back in place and he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the tabletop and taking up a professorial stance.

"I understand last night was stressful for all of you, but I'm afraid you'll just have to get used to those sorts of events. Tache is cruel, cunning, and determined; surprise attacks are his style. In the Digital World, he used to come at us with the most unassuming hosts, even a Poyomon once."

"But Poyomon are just babies," said Koichi, looking up in surprise. "Why would he-"

"Ysault thought he was cute. Took pity on the poor lost baby and took him in. A couple nights later Tache forced the Poyomon to Digivolve into Greymon and attacked us as we slept. That was also the night we learned… that was the night we learned that destroying the host has no effect on Tache."

Koichi went pale at the implications, his eyes widening in horror. Izumi gasped, straightening and retreating back a step. Dorian continued to regard them all with a cold indifference that suggested he'd already grieved for that Poyomon… and countless others.

"Eventually we just stopped trusting. Any Digimon that didn't heed our warning to stay away, we attacked. Any Digimon that didn't flee after that, we destroyed. Some of them were Tache, but mostly they were just weak-minded. As time went by Tache got better and better at exploiting the darkness inside, corrupting Digimon with anger, pride, power… grief. Some chose to join Tache to stop the pain, others just got caught in a nightmare and never woke up. Now that he's out in the human world, I'd imagine he's doing the same thing to people."

"So… you're saying… the men from last night were…" Izumi tried, holding herself very still. Takuya moved to her side, grabbing her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. She was a strong, confident young woman that wouldn't take crap from anyone, but she also had the heart of a puppy. Cruelty like this really unnerved her, even if she didn't choose to show it. Dorian met her jade eyes and this time he wasn't smiling at all.

"Lost souls that fell prey to Tache's greed. I don't know how he's doing it, but somehow he's managed to change people the way he changed Digimon. It's always the same story: a person between 12 and 25 goes missing for a couple of days, then comes back smarter, stronger, and apparently more at peace than they've ever been."

"At peace," scoffed Koichi mirthlessly, crossing his arms. He remembered Duskmon's "peace" and it made his blood congeal to think of it spreading like an epidemic across Japan.

"Yeah, that was the term they all used," sighed Dorian with a shrug.

"Do the police know about this," asked Takuya incredulously. Another shrug.

"Sure they know about it, but what are they going to do? An unhappy teenager runs off for a couple of days, then inexplicably returns before a missing person's report can be processed with a newfound passion to be 'their very best.' If there's a downside, they're not seeing it. Besides, what can les flics do about it? This is our war; we should be grateful they're not involved."

"So Tache kidnaps them, messes with their minds, then sends them back into the world to do… what, exactly?" Koji's voice was guarded, his true thoughts and feelings about the matter stashed in some back cabinet of his mind, out of the way of his reason.

"Tache's goals are unoriginal: Cover the world in darkness."

"They're recruiting," clarified Koichi, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the floor at his feet. "First the weak ones, the psychologically vulnerable, then the people close to them. Then everyone else."

"A digital invasion," said Takuya, more to himself than anyone else. He was a pretty open-minded dude, experience surprise rarely and true shock almost never. Especially after the Digital World, and the subsequent twin ESP that went on between two of his friends, everything from aliens to Sasquatch seemed perfectly plausible. This revelation stunned him.

"It's not quite that serious," reassured Dorian with a hollow laugh. "At least, not yet."

"What do you mean, 'not quite that serious,'" snapped Izumi, gripping Takuya's hand tightly, her eyes hardening. Dorian rolled his eyes at her dramatics.

"Let's go back to our technology metaphor, shall we? Think of Tache as a WiFi modem and the people in his 'cult' as computers. The signal that binds them only has so much range. No signal, no Internet, comprennez-vous? Furthermore, the network has a capacity. The more people you have competing for online resources, the slower your Internet gets. Too many people can even crash a website."

"I learned that one the hard way submitting my on-line homework at the last minute," admitted Takuya sheepishly.

"So Tache can only control so many people over so much distance?"

"Yes. We don't know what that capacity or range is, but it has limits."

"Wait," said Izumi holding up a hand and frowning as if she'd just remembered something. "How does Koichi fit into all this?"

At that, Dorian's lips twisted into a frigid smile and Koichi visibly tensed, the sudden scrutiny making his skin crawl.

"WiFi modems need power. Now, it is possible to line up enough lemons and potatoes to run a modem, but there's nothing like a 100-volt alternating current to maximize performance." Koichi's stomach did a most unpleasant flip and he bit his lower lip to keep the nausea at bay.

"That's a sick metaphor," growled Koji.

"But accurate," Dorian shot back coolly. "Tache has big plans for this world and the Digital World and they all start with regaining the original host. It's not at full strength until it merges with M. Kimura-kun over there. Now I'm trying to be patient with you, but you need to understand the severity of the situation. Tache knows you like your little friend knows you, and it will exploit that to the fullest. It'll capitalize on your darkest fears, come at you from where you least expect it. You are facing all the dangers of the Digital World, but this time there are no Digimon to protect you, no Spirit Evolution that'll make you stronger."

"Stop it." Koichi's voice was quiet, but the words sliced through the room like a steel blade nonetheless. "Just stop it."

"I'm only trying to explain what Tache is capable of," Dorian whispered, leaning towards Koichi across the table. "Of course, you already know, don't you. You already know what it's willing to do to get to you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Koichi's tone was steady, but his body gave him away. He flinched at Dorian's words, shoulders hunching and fists clenching in shame and fear.

"How'd you sleep last night; you look a little tired," said Dorian quickly, changing tack. His frigid blue eyes never left Koichi's form, watching him shift and fidget with the intensity of an interrogator looking for cracks. "Did you have bad dreams?"

At that moment, Koji erupted. He pulled something out of his pocket, stepped forward, then slammed the object down in front of Dorian with enough force to shake the entire table. Izumi jumped. Takuya swore. Koichi's head snapped up so fast he made himself dizzy, horror coming onto his face as his gaze settled on the object in Koji's hand. Dorian sighed mildly and looked into Koji's face, as if to chastise him for the outburst. Koji was beyond reason.

"You bastard," he spat with more venom than a cobra bite. He took his hand off the broken cell phone and grabbed Dorian by the front of his shirt, hauling him across the tabletop. "You twisted jerk, you knew this would happen! You sent this thing home with my brother knowing what it would do to him!"

"Koji don't," cried Koichi, rushing forward and grabbing his twin by the shoulders in an uncoordinated attempt to dislodge him from the foreign Digidestined. Takuya released Izumi's hand and thrust himself between the two like a referee breaking up a fight.

"Knock it off," he yelled, but his pleas went unnoticed.

"If I recall correctly," Dorian grunted, trying to pry Koji's iron fingers from his collar with no success. "I sent it home with you. I never thought you'd be stupid enough to keep it in the same room with him, much less leave it on!"

"You forgot to mention the part where Tache can use cell phones as middle men!"

"Excuse me if I thought that was obvious!"

"Koichi, what are they talking about," asked Izumi in a rushed voice, the sinking feeling in her gut preventing her from joining the action. Koichi faltered in his efforts, his face tightening. Koji thrust Dorian back into his chair and shrugged Koichi off, rounding on his brother.

"Yeah, Koichi, what are we talking about?" His twin recoiled as if struck, bringing up both arms defensively and retreating several steps back. Koji didn't care; he was angry at Dorian for giving them the cell phone, angry at himself for keeping the damn thing in their bedroom, angry at Koichi for lying to their friends about the result, and angry at Takuya and Izumi for being there. "I think you should be the one to explain it."

"Koji, please," reasoned Koichi in a small, fearful voice. Without meaning to, he reached out to Koji with his mind, and was blasted back by a wave of fear and rage. This gesture was not appreciated. The white-hot edge of Koji's anger went icy cold. He raised his chin defiantly and stared straight at his brother.

"Tache used that cell phone we took as a medium to contact Koichi last night."

"What," Izumi gasped, the shock palpable in her voice.

"Why didn't you tell us," asked Takuya, confusion overriding any other emotion he might have felt as he looked from one twin to the other. They sat in charged silence for a moment, both brothers battle-tight, both knowing there was only one way this conversation could go. Koji kept his expectant gaze fixed on Koichi, who returned it with one so filled with betrayal the light twin almost faltered in his resolve. Almost. Finally, Koichi let out his breath and looked to the ground.

"I didn't think it's important enough to mention," he muttered to the stillness, wrapping his arms around his torso as if cold.

"Not important enough to mention? Are you insane," Koji asked in a deadly calm voice. "Tache comes to you in a dream not six hours after some freak job tries to shove a needle into your brain, and you don't think it's important enough to mention?"

"Koji, I know it freaked you out, and I know I didn't exactly handle it as well as I could've." Koichi chanced a glance around the room, trying to gauge the humors of his friends. Not encouraged, his eyes dropped back to the ground. "But it wasn't what it looked like. It was just… He wanted to talk to me. He wanted to make sure I knew it was him, that's all."

"You were bleeding out your ears."

"But I'm fine now." There was a cutthroat silence, then, sighing heavily, Koichi turned to face his brother's accusatory gaze. "Really, I am."

"You know, every time you say that to me, it's a bold faced lie," said Koji humorlessly, folding his arms. "Besides, your little episode fried the cell phone. Literally melted the circuit board."

"Stop fighting you two," Izumi tried to interject, but she was ignored.

"That's not fair," Koichi shot back, his eyes wide and hurt.

"That was our only lead, what are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't know."

"This isn't getting us anywhere," said Takuya loudly. He too, was ignored.

"How are we supposed to find Tache's followers?"

"I don't know!"

"Are we just supposed to wait for them to come to us?"

"I don't know!"

Koichi's breath caught in sudden pain, his hands flying up to cradle his now splitting head. Above them, the lights flickered once, then continued glowing as if nothing had happened. The room fell silent as every pair of eyes fell to the dark twin. They watched him bend slightly at the waist, watched his fingers knot and unknot in his hair, watched his breath return too normal. When he finally looked up, his eyes were bloodshot and hard. He straightened, giving each of them a long, cold look.

"I can feel you," he whispered, frowning as he continued to stare. "I can feel all of you, like insects in my brain, crawling around, trying to learn everything there is to know about me. I can hear your worries buzzing in my ears and I'm not sorry for wanting them gone. I'm not sorry for wanting to keep things to myself."

With that, Koichi turned away, moving towards the door with a stiff gait. His hand hesitated on the handle for barely a second before his face hardened with resolve and he pulled it open. Not bothering to close the door behind him, Koichi exited the apartment and took off down the hallway, leaving the others in a stunned silence.

Content: Some language