The time scale of the body, of the senses and electricity firing through the flesh, is profoundly different from that of the conscious mind. Neurons communicate electrochemically, in bursts of neurotransmitter and waves of ions, proteins twisting and distorting at a rate we can hardly comprehend. On average, a neuronal message is conducted at 3,560 m/sec. Not quite on the order of light, but about 10x faster than sound through air. In a single instant, the brain processes millions if not billions of these signals, measuring skin and gut temperatures, nutrients in the blood, metals in the kidneys, rates of metabolism, the disturbance of microscopic hairs suspended in fluid. The list goes on and on, an every flowing, ever changing system of such magnitude that to consider the entire thing at once is simply impossible.

Yet the brain does it. Constantly. And it takes this information, these incalculable inputs, and through a process of pros and cons more complicated than anyone truly understands, it makes decisions; most of which we aren't even conscious. Somehow, it understands. Even signals that do not originate within the body are processed, interpreted, and provoke a response. Electrical stimulation of the reticular formation results in sleep while stimulation of the scalp near the temporal and parietal lobes at a frequency of 25-40 Hz can induce lucid dreams. And a dream is an eternity in a grain of sand.

What transpired was no more than half a second as measured by a clock. But to Koichi, the horrors went on for minutes. Shizuka moved swiftly out of his field of vision, her presence leaving a tear in reality as he understood it. The edges were frayed, strings of existence and matter untwining into oblivion. Beyond them there was a darkness so powerful it enveloped him. Crashing over his body and mind, drowning him. His tired brain worked to filter it all, to condense the knowledge that was flowing through him into something he could comprehend. One world dissolved away and he found himself somewhere quite different.

Black water lapped at his feet, swelling and retreating like current through a wire. It was cold, painfully so, and if he'd had a choice Koichi would've retreated to the shore. But there was no shore, no land, no escape from the endless ocean. For a long while he just stared at it, watching the rhythm play with his shoelaces and pant legs, push and pull. Hypnotic. His breath made clouds before his eyes. Salt water dripped from his hair. Then the voices started, jumbled and infinite as the water. The individual words of each phrase were overlaid so it was impossible to listen to just one, yet still he understood.

They'll never notice. Why would they contaminate their perfect lives with you?

You're too small and insignificant. Your life has no meaning.

Weakness is your disease. Helpless. Nothing you do can change anything.

No one is coming for you. No one cares.

You're not good enough. You have to be smarter, stronger, faster, better at everything.

The voices… they were all his. His words, his thoughts, his secret terrors given form. But he hadn't felt that way in a long time, not since before Duskmon. He'd conquered those fears and shed that pain. Why were they back now? Where was it all coming from?

There was a great tree in the distance, with a thick trunk and hundreds of bare branches. Without moving he was closer, just meters away, completely under its canopy. Something was… wrong with it, something besides the fact that there was a tree in the middle of an ocean at all. The roots… they didn't go down. Instead the pale flesh rose out of the water, reaching up and out to just about eye level. Some of the roots had nodules of swirling, inky blackness beaded at their tips, like huge drips of some liquid, and it was from these nodules that the voices originated. The rest- Koichi shuddered, his hands balling into fists, too disgusted and angry to look away. People. The roots were burrowed into people, attached through the nape of the neck. Some had clearly been there for a long time; the white, spongy wood had coiled around their entire body, encasing them. Trapping them.

Others were fresher prey. As he watched, a boy appeared in the ocean, black hair cut short, square jaw slack. One of the free roots came to life, slithering forward through the air, offering the black sack like some kind of lure. Another test like that and you won't graduate, let alone get into university. You're an embarrassment, the least of four sons. But it's not your fault; your brothers are to blame. They steal what admiration should be yours and sabotage you at every turn. You want to best them, to destroy them. We share the darkness within you. We understand and we can give you the power to do as you will. Take it. Take what belongs to you- what should be yours. He reached out with both hands, cradling the black as the root dispensed it into his palms. It swirled for a moment around his fingertips, then, as the root tip found its mark in the back of his neck, it burst. The boy arched his back in a silent scream, dark gel climbing up his nerves and turning his eyes grey. Then it was over and his body and soul went numb. Koichi remembered that feeling, the release of it. The sensation of being swallowed…

"No," he called out, his frozen limbs jerking into uncoordinated action as he stumbled forward. The water sucked at his feet, as if trying to restrain him. 'Don't interfere,' it seemed to say. 'This is right; don't try to fight it.' Koichi didn't listen. Refusing to heed the ocean's warnings, he made his way to the boy, grasping him by the shoulders. "I know how you feel, but you can't give in to these thoughts," he pleaded. The boy didn't answer. He didn't so much as twitch.

Where is it written that they should be happy while you suffer? If anyone deserves what you endure it's them. The insignificant people. Make them see that. Force them to care.

A girl with dyed auburn hair and a round face approached another root, hands outstretched.

"No, don't listen! It's not true, none of it! You can't believe it; you can't let it dictate your decisions!"

Her fingertips brushed the darkness and it enveloped her before Koichi could take two steps. Tears of empathy and frustration welled in his eyes as he watched, helpless. Forced to listen as the assumptions and false promises he'd so recklessly fallen for five years ago consumed soul after soul. Destroyed life after life.

"Please," he breathed to nothing and everything. "Please don't…"

"Why not?" He started, face turning towards the tree trunk with such speed his wet hair sprayed water in all directions. This voice wasn't his, but he recognized it nonetheless. Its form was more defined this time, still composed of smoke but with recognizable features. Wide eyes peered out at him from a face that was not ethnically Japanese. He could make out a nose and mouth too, but the mist of Its skin made it impossible to accurately describe their exact shape. It had hair, but that too was dynamic, one moment long and flowing, short and feathery the next. Everything about It was still inky black, like some sort of imaginary horror from a child's closet. It wasn't a person he'd ever seen before, but there was no mistaking that distorted voice. Tache…

"Let them go," Koichi demanded, skipping all pretenses and advancing on It. It didn't move or even flinch, tilting her head to acknowledge his displeasure, but clearly not threatened by it. Its black eyes blinked in bemusement, an uncertain smile curving Its mouth.

"Why," It repeated. "These people are suffering, but they're too weak to do anything about it. Their hearts are breeding darkness. I turn that darkness into power, you know that. They need this."

"They do not need this! Do you even know what you're doing to them? What you're forcing them to do to others?"

"They want this."

Koichi couldn't say anything to that. Couldn't deny or refute it. After all, in some twisted, backwards way, he had wanted it. He had allowed himself to become lost in his own grief, allowed himself to create shadows of his brother so he could blame Koji for things that couldn't be his fault. In the end, he'd let anger and jealousy twist his soul so much, the corrupted Spirit of Darkness had chosen him. Of all the evil in the Digital world, over Cherubimon himself, the Spirit has selected him. And he had relished the power, the ability to remake the world as he willed, the numbness. Darkness had made the pain stop. But it hadn't fixed the underlying cause. If anything it had made his situation worse. What we want is so rarely what we should have… His gaze faltered as his eyes searched for something he couldn't name. Tache's smile widened, savoring Its victory as It reached out to Koichi, barely brushing his cheek with the backs of Its fingers.

"You remember what it's like," It whispered to him. He jerked away, giving It a livid look. It snorted disdainfully, withdrawing Its hand. "Yet you would deny them the very relief you once sought? You would deny them that which gives your life meaning?"

"That's not what I am anymore; I'm not a tool for your darkness," he hissed. "I don't need you like you need me. I don't need you to be complete."

"Don't you? Where would you be if it weren't for me? I'm the part of you that decided to take action, however misguided you believe that action to be."

"I don't know what you are, but you're not any part of me."

"Really? If we hadn't pursued Koji down the stairs, if we hadn't accepted that Spirit, then what do you think would've happened? Do you think you would've miraculously worked up the courage to talk to him? Do you think you even had the stomach to confront him? Lie to yourself as it pleases you, but not to me. You're weak, Koichi. I have always been and always will be your strength. You need me, just like the rest of these people need me. We are meant for greatness, you and I."

"We are meant for nothing. It doesn't matter what you say or do to me, I won't give you what you want. I will never let myself become your pawn."

"Pawn? How little you understand," It snorted. "We will be the same being, I could not control you any more than you could control me. I'm already inside you, Koichi, why is it so hard for you to admit that?"

"Because it's a lie!" He'd meant to sound indignant, even a little offended, but his voice broke with defensive uncertainty. Tache leaned closer, Its smile wrinkling Its nose as It taunted him.

"What do you think your abilities are? This sensitivity you have to my call? How do you think it is that you're here now, in the Dark Ocean, talking to me? It is no accident that the Children of Darkness can communicate wirelessly, that they're stronger, smarter, more agile than the rest of your insect race. My followers are injected with particles from this host's cerebrospinal fluid, particles created by my presence. Particles that your body has been generating ever since your soul came back from the Digital World. True, they're not the same as mine. Rather, they're the other half, the missing organ. The more contact you have with me, the more frequently you use my gifts, the more active they'll become."

"That's not true… It can't be true…"

"Your body is honest, Koichi. It wants to be whole. Resist now, if you must, but your strength will wane. You know it, your friends know it." Its eyes moved meaningfully over his shoulder, Its face contorting into a monstrous expression of pure glee. "And, most importantly, he knows it."

Koichi spun around, his heart pounding in sudden terror as adrenaline shot through his blood like a narcotic. Koji was standing behind him, maybe ten or so meters back, hair and clothes soaked from the ocean spray. He had a confused expression in his eyes, though his ever stoic face refused to betray any uncertainty, as if he didn't understand where he was or how he'd gotten there. His navy gaze swept the landscape, taking in the tree and water, yet somehow still unseeing. No look of disgust or fear came into his face as they moved over the white roots, no sign that he understood they were buried in people instead of soil. Nor did he recognize Koichi was there. Just as before, a black nodule twitched at the new presence, reaching for his flesh and soul in unrestrained hunger. Koji moved forward as if to investigate, entranced by the bizarreness of his circumstance.

"No," Koichi cried, wanting to move yet somehow paralyzed.

"It truly is a novelty to see a Chosen of Light in the Dark World," Tache said mildly. "And to possess one has been an unrealized dream for a long time." Rage surged forth within him, overcoming the fear for an instant. He rounded on It, grabbing It by the arms.

"Don't you touch him! Don't you DARE touch him!"

"I don't decide who comes to me! The tree calls to the secrets in people's hearts and grants them the relief they so desperately require. Maybe it's you who shouldn't touch him."

You hate the weakness inside you, your own helplessness, your ineptness. But more than that, you hate that it's so visible. Even your own brother can see it. That's why he's lost faith in you. That's why he doesn't trust you anymore. How horrible it must be, to have alienated your own twin. You must feel truly pathetic.

"What?" Koichi released Tache, turning back to his brother, eyes wide in cold, horrible realization. "Is that what you… No! Koji, that's not it at all!"

You're too preoccupied, too selfish, and you're going to loose him again. You can't protect him, even if he'd let you. Koichi will be devoured by the darkness and there isn't a thing you can do about it.

"That's a lie!" His heart was pounding in his ears, legs straining against the water as he ran to Koji's side. The younger twin didn't notice; his eyes were fixed on the black nodule a root was presenting to him, regarding it with a naïve sadness Koichi had never seen before. He knew what was happening inside his twin's mind, the futile battle he was fighting against his own doubts, his own nightmares as they were laid before him like facts from some external force. When they're just in your head it's one thing, but to hear your darkest fears from another is something else entirely. As if someone else's opinion makes them more valid… Koichi thrust himself between the root and his brother, wrapping his arms around Koji's neck and trying to forcibly drag him away from the tree. A single thought repeated in his mind, pulsing in his very being and giving him strength he didn't think possible:

Not him.

Koichi's entire body convulsed when Koji touched the black phone as if run through by a powerful current. Life came back into his eyes and he sucked air into his lungs through a contracted windpipe. The blood droplets in his ears broke free and rolled down the sides of his neck, leaving two shining paths of cold red in their wake. His head felt like something was trying to claw and scream its way out of the confines of his skull, and the rest of his nerves weren't doing much better. But he didn't care. None of that mattered. Nothing mattered except keeping Tache's poison out of his twin's mind. He lurched forward, hands grabbing at the disposable cell in a frenzy, prying it from Koji's fingers. Then, with every bit of loathing he had for the corruption that had once dictated his life, with every ounce of protective instinct he possessed, Koichi threw it against the opposite brick wall. It fractured on impact, sparking and hissing as if in defeat, then landed harmlessly in the dirt.

Koji blinked, giving his head a gentle shake as if to clear it of a fog, like waking up from an unplanned nap. He felt a little disoriented, unsure of how he'd wound up outside and why he was on all fours in the dirt. Then he remembered himself. In a single, fluid motion he straightened, moving his weight to his knees and his hands to his brother. Koichi had crumpled backwards, his back pressed to the shadowed brick wall, chin lulling against his heaving chest. Koji gently, but firmly, grabbed the sides of his face, moving his head this way and that, checking him over. Of foremost concern was the back of Koichi's neck, but once he'd assured himself that there were no roots or disfigurements of any sort growing there, the light twin moved to more physical matters. Blood made sticky tracks from his ears into his collar and his skin was unnaturally cold. Though his pupils had returned to normal, the capillaries in his eyes were terribly inflamed, turning the sclera bright red. His skin had gone too pale, making the bags under his eyes look even more bruise-like.

"I'm okay," he said in a low, dry voice, "I'm okay, I just… need a minute."

"No. No you're not okay; you're collapsed in an alley bleeding out your ears." Unabashed worry made Koji's voice raw and, though his examination was complete, he didn't let go of his brother. Koichi raised one weak hand and hooked it on his wrist, giving him a tired, defeated look. Koji stared back, equally defeated, pleading. "None of this is okay."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, fresh tears welling in his bloodstained eyes. "I'm so sorry Koji. I swore I'd never hurt you again, but here I am. I never meant- I didn't want- I trust you, Koji. You have to know that I trust you."

"And you have to know I'm not scared of you. I'm afraid of loosing you- do you understand that? Let me help you. Tell me what to do. Tell me what's happening, please."

Koichi bit his lower lip, fear and resignation battling in his gaze. He wanted to be honest with his twin, to tell him everything and more, but he also wanted to protect him. The tree's lure had already caught him once, if he knew of its existence, of its power, could it do so again? And what of Shizuka's threat? Koji returned his look with equal intensity, unblinking and unyielding, like the first brilliant rays of dawn.

"Do you remember," the dark twin asked uncertainly. "Did you see it?"

Koji's brow wrinkled in confusion and his gaze faltered as he searched his brain for what Koichi might be referring to.

"I remember seeing her leaning over you," he started, his face working. "I remember that damned phone, picking it up and trying to break it. Then next thing I knew you'd gotten it away from me and were throwing it against the wall."

Koichi let out a sigh that was impossible to interpret, tugging his head softly out of Koji's grip. His hands hovered for a moment then, desperate to maintain contact, settled on the dark twin's shoulders. Koichi reached around his brother's arms, tracing the cold smear from his ears and staring down the alley.

"There was water- an ocean," he started. Then his voice caught and he licked his lips, chancing a glance at Koji. "An ocean made of pain and resentment and pride. I've never seen it before but it felt familiar, somehow. Like the place where Cherubimon first found me, after I fell down the stairs at the train station. And he was there, only different, not a he but a she."

"Tache," Koji clarified, frowning as his grip on his brother's shoulders tightened involuntarily. "You saw Tache?" Koichi shook his head in a nondescript direction, trying not to make eye contact. As if doing so would somehow shatter whatever detachment from the actual event he'd managed to achieve. As it meeting Koji's eye would somehow make it too real.

"I spoke to Tache. It's host, the girl it's taken over, she's European, I think. Or at least not Japanese. She told me… She told me how the cult is held together, how it lures and changes people, and how the signal fits in. There's something inside them, Koji. Something that can convert wireless data into thought and back again."

"What do you mean by something?"

The question came out before Koji had finished his mental reevaluation of the situation and decided, important as it may be to get the facts before Koichi forgot them or his memory warped them, he didn't really want to continue interrogating his brother. Koichi's expression was strategically blank, and yet had a look that was so full of despair, so broken and hollow, that Koji's heart physically began to ache. Now, more so than ever before, he felt aware of his twin in a very total sense. Body, mind, and soul. He had to know why; how could he possibly do anything to help if he didn't understand why! But he didn't want to ask, either…

"If this signal thing needs some kind of special converter before it can be understood by Tache's cult, if there has to be 'something inside them,' then how is it effecting you?"

Koichi's head leaned back against the wall, his hand dropping limply into his lap, jaw tightening in preparation. Koji's mouth went dry even before he spoke as the cold radiating from the older brother settled in his stomach. For a moment he wanted to take back the question, to just hold his brother close and pretend that could make it all better. At the same time he understood that this was the big secret, the wedge between them, the thing he had to do to mend their fraternal bond. This truth was how they got back to the way they'd been, back to the unity they'd had five years ago. They both needed to hear it spoken, to digest it and share it. Only then could they move forward. The answer was imminent.

"Because…" God, he didn't want to admit it. "Because it's inside me too."