It was a long time before anyone said anything else. A long time before anyone was ready to say anything at all. Even if they had been, even if they'd been able to process and quantify whatever they'd just witnessed, what were they going to say about it? What words were there to describe the event? What language could adequately express what they thought or how they felt about it? How were they supposed to feel? Too much had been packed into the moments before, too many highs and lows compressed together, so the graph looked more like a blob of ink than a means of communicating information. Hearts pounded, lungs expanded and contracted, blood dripped from Dorian's nose, and still no one budged. As if moving would break the stillness, shattering whatever hope or fear they had about what came next, ushering in the horrible, inevitable reality. A reality none of them wanted nor could escape.

It was, ironically, Koichi who made the first move, giving them all a start. A surge of adrenaline caused by nothing more than a groan. Izumi's knees gave out beneath her and she sat heavily into Dorian's kitchen chair, gripping the armrests harder than was necessary and staring straight ahead. Takuya jumped visibly, obviously deeply uncomfortable. He shot Koji a pleading look and, understanding his meaning, the younger twin reacted, moving back to his brother's side and taking his weight. Koichi's head rolled on his neck, his face twitching in an unconscious grimace. Cold sweat was already dampening his brow and his flesh felt hot to the touch. But, at least for the moment, he was free of Tache's influence. Koji could sense that, feel it through a link that was not quite telepathic in nature. He didn't think beyond that, scooping his twin up and moving him wordlessly over to Dorian's bed.

"Be my guest," spat the French Digidestined, moving his hand finally to contain the blood flow from his nose and tilting his head forward.

"Think very carefully about what you say next," Koji warned in a low voice, repositioning Dorian's pillow under Koichi's head.

"What's there to say? I said I'd prove there's a monster inside your brother and I did."

Like lightning Koji was on his feet again and advancing on Dorian, his intentions painfully etched into his frigid eyes. But Takuya was quicker, inserting himself between the two and putting a halting hand on Koji's chest. For a moment, Koji looked like he was going to take his frustrations out on the goggle head instead, yet there was something, some serious and sad note in his brown eyes that held the younger twin back.

"Tch," he scoffed, pulling away. Takuya stood for a moment longer with his hand outstretched, as if trying to hold the waves of disgust and fear that were rolling off Koji and flooding the room. Threatening to drown them all. But then he seemed to realized that such efforts were futile and dropped his arm, sighing heavily, his eyes resting on Koichi's not quite sleeping form. Who, he wondered, would they find when he woke up? Silence, like dust, was just beginning to settle again when Izumi spoke, her voice thin and strained.

"How… How is he?" Her jade eyes met Koji's, glinting with fear and resolve. "Can you tell?"

"He'll be fine," Koji answered in a stern, hard tone. As if trying to proclaim the fact, to will it into reality, rather than merely answering a question. Takuya wasn't satisfied with that, though. As much as he cared for his friends, as much as he wanted it to be true, Koichi was not going to be fine and pretending otherwise could only make things worse.

"Can we talk about what just happened," he snapped at no one in particular, his brown eyes arcing up to the ceiling in frustration. "And how the hell we're going to keep it from happening again?"

"You can't stop it. I should think that would've been obvious by now."

"And what, exactly, is "it"?"

Izumi pushed herself to her feet, advancing on Dorian before either of the boys could. The Frenchman met her accusatory gaze frigidly, the red oozing from between his fingers as they cupped his nose making him look all the more insidious. She didn't back down; however, in an act of undeserved diplomacy, she did pull out her handkerchief and hold it out to him. Like a peace offering.

"The particles inside Koichi, what are they doing to him? I think we have a right to know. And, since you seem to know so much about them, I think you have an obligation to tell us."

Dorian reached for the handkerchief, his ice-cold eyes flicking to Takuya and Koji before fixing on Izumi. She started when he grabbed her extended hand, trying instinctively to pull away, but he held fast, staring at her with a horribly cryptic expression.

"Maybe you do have a right," he said in a low voice. "Maybe you even have the strength and cunning to use that information to your advantage. But are you ready for it? Do you think you can handle the truth?"

"What happened," Izumi said in an equally low voice, her own gaze unyielding. "To Bahar an Ysault?"

"It's complicated."

"Un-complicate it."

Izumi tore her hand from Dorian's, retreating backwards to Takuya's side. For emphasis, she wiped her fingers on her skirt, her face a chiseled mask of determination. Dorian regarded her with suspicion, annoyance, and respect, bringing her handkerchief up to his face to catch the blood. Plans: sometimes they go on without a hitch and sometimes crazy possessed kids puncture them with their minds. Oh well, this had to come out eventually. Better they hear it from him than some mosaic pieced together from an incomplete set of his memories when the dark twin woke up.

"This is not the first time something like this has happened," Dorian started. "Which is not to say that our situation isn't unique. However, there exists some historical context that can help us understand Tache and plan how best to handle it."

"Whatever you're trying to say," hissed Koji, leaning against the wall by his brother and folding his arms. "Say it concisely."

"There was a boy- a Digidestined like us, named Ken Ichijouji. When he was young he went to the Digital World, and was part of a battle against the evil Digimon Millenniummon. A piece of Millenniummon's data became lodged in the back of his neck, manifesting in our world as something called a Dark Spore. Over the course of years it poisoned him, giving him incredible athletic and intellectual abilities while slowly eroding his soul. He was quite famous for a while, actually."

"I've never heard of him."

"That's because this Ken Ichijouji does not exist in your universe. His is a world where the barrier between the Digital and Real Worlds broke down and Digimon now coexist with humans."

"And Izumi's a crown princess in Italy," Takuya added with an eye-roll. "Come on, do you seriously expect us to believe that? Digimon can't exist in the Real World, they'd tear it apart."

"Not in our Real World, no. But ours isn't the only one in existence. You adventured around in a parallel world for months and never batted an eye. Is it really so farfetched to suggest that there may be divergent human universes as well?"

"Yes," shot Koji. Sighing, Dorian ran his tongue over his front teeth, looking from face to face for clues as to how best to proceed. They stared back at him, tactfully expressionless, a united wall of ignorance he was somehow going to need to breech.

"Do you want to know what I know or not? Because I am perfectly fine with keeping you all in the dark if that would help with efficiency. Don't ask if you have no intention of receiving."

Izumi opened her mouth to snipe back a reply, but ironically Takuya intervened, placing a calming hand on her shoulder and shooting Koji a scolding look. He avoided it, staring down at his twin with an unreadable expression.

"What's this got to do with Koichi," the light twin asked, words battling their way through his clenched teeth to be heard. Dorian allowed himself a mirthless grin.

"The Dark Spores in Ken Ichijouji's world fed on innocence, changing their hosts at a biochemical level when active. They are fragments of viral code, remnants of the Digital World that became organic when the host returned to the Real World and thus took on organic characteristics. I believe something similar is happening here, with your Chosen of Darkness."

Quiet.

"Could they remove it," Koji asked in a quiet, maybe even hopeful voice. "This Dark Spore or whatever, did they remove it?"

"In the case of Ken Ichijouji, the Dark Spore functioned as a type of gland, and once he was aware, Ichijouji was able to regulate it such that it no longer influenced his behavior. Removal was not necessary and would've been challenging as the Spore had become a part of his nervous system."

More quiet.

"Anyway, that's a moot point. What we're dealing with here is much more integrated."

"How the hell would you know!" Izumi hadn't meant to actually vocalize the comment and flushed a little at her outburst. Dorian's icy blue eyes moved to her in assessment, and he pursed his lips. As if deciding how much to share.

"I've been… observing some of the members of Tache's cult," he started. Then he realized how sketchy that sounded and added more hastily. "As well as doing some research on my own. Mostly, cult members seem to go about their regular lives, plus a little recruiting, but exactly every three days they make a side trip to the warehouse district. Add in this new information about these particles needing to be extracted from Tache and injected into the cult members and I would hypothesize that we're dealing with something that's more like a drug that must be continually supplied, rather than a singular, permanent entity. Something that needs to be maintained at some biological concentration in order to be effective."

"So… if we can keep Koichi and the rest of this cult away from Tache for long enough, their systems should just… flush it out?" Takuya sounded hopeful, maybe even a little overly optimistic. Like he was looking for a quick and simple fix, as usual. Dorian gave him a sort of sympathetic glance.

"For the members of Tache's cult, yes, that should work. Which is in our favor. But for him." His eyes fell to Koichi's pale form, expression unreadable. "His body is actively creating these dark particles like any other protein. Even if we could get them out, he'd just make more. The signal activates them, calls them to their purpose, but they've been there since your mission in the Digital World. A remnant of his experiences there. I think isolation from Tache's influence will calm them down and prevent them from influencing his personality too much, but the only way to truly neutralize the problem is to rid the universe of Tache. Even then… I'm not sure."

"All right, genius," hissed Izumi, the anger in her voice barely masking the fear. "What, then, do you suggest we do about it? How are we supposed to help Koichi?"

"It's like talking to a brick," Dorian muttered to himself, shaking his head. "How many times do I have to say it? You. Can't. Help. Him. He is what he is and nothing will change that. What you can do is start acting like Digidestined with a greater calling and stop Tache from taking over the bloody world! Stop him from reaching his host, reforming the entity you call Duskmon, and stripping humanity of everything it considers Light! Focus on the bigger picture! Use the link your Chosen of Darkness has to Tache to find it and end this!"

There was a horrible crunching, cracking sound as Koji's fist impacted the drywall, sending fractures through it like a spider's web. Dust particles floated in the air, suspended in the moment the Digidestined had created in shock, fear, and anger. Then it began to settle, leaving each of the Chosen to personally determine how they felt. Whether or not they really blamed Koji for the damages or if they found his violence inappropriate. Koji, for his part, didn't care about any of it. His enraged glare was pinned to Dorian's brazen form, delivering threats no words could ever summarize.

"Absolutely not," he growled. "You're not touching my brother. I won't allow it. So you can just take that bigger picture and shove it straight up your ass."

More quiet. More secrets and unspoken opinions. Driving them apart like the slow glide of crust plates slipping over each other and molten mantel. An earthquake was coming, they just didn't know when. And no one seemed brave enough to push it, to venture out knowing the Earth would erupt at any moment. Knowing that there was no turning back. Finally, in a desperate act fueled by friendship or necessity or whatever best justified what he was about to do, Takuya stepped forward.

"You know," he started, his mannerisms growing increasingly cumbersome as he tried to move closer to Koji. "In the Digital World, looking back at it, a lot of things should have been scary. I mean, we literally could have gotten really hurt fighting like we did. We even could have died. We should have been terrified the whole time, but I never was. Not until I met Duskmon."

There was a long pause filled with wicked tension. His voice quieted, but Takuya continued to push through it bravely.

"I didn't know what fear or chaos or destruction were until I fought Duskmon. And he scared me so much I ran back to the Human World with my tail firmly between my legs. When I came back, it wasn't like I stopped being afraid; I just found a way to live with it. Move forward, you know?"

"What are you trying to say, Takuya?" Koji's voice was low and frigid, and it sounded more like a threat than a question. Takuya nodded his head to himself and licked his lips, choosing his words much more carefully than usual.

"I'm saying that I never stopped being afraid of Duskmon, even when he turned back into Koichi. That fear of the Darkness never went away and I think for good reason. You and I know better than anyone what that Digimon is capable of, the kind of damage he can do without any effort. If he were to somehow get out into the Human World-"

"He won't. My brother won't let him."

"Look, I like Koichi, he's one of my best friends. He's saved my life more times than I can count and I know he's trying, but weren't you here just now? Have you actually looked at your brother? I think… we need to start preparing for the possibility that Dorian's right."

The temperature in the room dropped as Koji slowly stood. He kept his head low and his body relaxed, and yet everything about him still spoke of absolute fury. Takuya withdrew a little, setting his teeth for the lashing that was about to come.

"How dare you," Koji breathed. "How dare you. Koichi is the victim here; Tache on one side trying to possess him and us on the other throwing him out like bait. He's been fighting the hardest since this all began and you would just give up hope? Just like that?"

"That's not what I-"

"That's exactly what you mean," Koji snapped.

"Koji-" tried Izumi, but she too was cut off.

"Don't. Don't even start. This discussion is over."

"It is not over," she hissed, her own tone chilling to match his. "But I'm not going to stand here and bicker about it while the only person who has any right to make this decision lies over there unconscious! It is not your place to speak for him; Koichi should hear Dorian's theory."

"What? That bull shit about parallel universes? How is that helpful? How does he know any of it anyway? Where are Bahar and Ysault?"

"They're gone, okay!" A tight pause fell as all eyes turned to Dorian's uncharacteristically earnest form. There was a strangely pained look in his icy blue eyes, almost like regret, and his voice was soft. "Bahar split off from the group and then I abandoned Ysault. I don't know what happened to either of them or where they ended up. I don't know if they made it back to France or if Tache got to them or if they just got lost somewhere. So you can quit asking because I honestly don't know. What I do know is Tache. Containing it, stopping it from spreading, and finally, ending it. That's my problem and I solve my problems. I learn everything I can about them by whatever means necessary and I solve them."

"Did you-" Izumi licked her lips, continuing with tact. "Ever try to find them?"

"Of course I tried. Instead I found you lot. And unlike you, I have a sense of responsibility to the rest of the universe. I'm exactly where I need to be, where I believe Bahar and Ysault would want me to be." Once more speechlessness descended upon the group. So much was left unsaid yet what more could any of them say? How many more secrets could they uncover? How many more revelations could they stomach? It had been a very, very long day; how much longer did they want to make it?

Again, Koichi shattered the stillness with movement. His lips parted and he drew in a rasping breath, eyes opening deliberately. But to call him conscious would have been wrong. There was something dead in his forward-looking, unseeing gaze, like he either didn't know there was a room filled with people around him or he was just too far past caring to acknowledge them. Numb. Takuya leapt away in shock, backing towards Izumi, who was controlling her own discomfort a little better. Koji dropped to his knees, grabbing his twin by the shoulders in both relief and concern.

"Koichi," he said in a firm yet disturbed voice. The dark twin didn't so much as blink. Koji cupped the sides of his face gently, forcing him to meet their mother's eyes. Still nothing, a blankness that permeated his gaze and face, reaching deep into his mind. A soft buzzing met Koji as he probed across their psychic link, the body going about its usual functions, wakefulness but not awareness. Not Koichi, but not Tache either. More than that, the light twin could feel fatigue deep inside him, and an aching need for safety. Safety which could not be found here. Koji released his brother, allowing is head to fall back into a neutral position, and stood up.

"We're leaving," he said in an even voice. His twin stood, slowly and mechanically, driven entirely by his brother's iron will.

"Is he-" Takuya started, brown eyes alight with concern.

"We're. Leaving." No one tried to argue further, or ask, or do anything really except watch the twins vanish down the stairs. They didn't have the energy.