True consciousness returned to him decisively, like a jolt of current rushing through his mind and body. At first he resisted, wishing he could sink back into the inaction of sleep and the detachment from events he observed but couldn't change. But knowledge he hadn't had before floated at the surface of his thoughts and in his gut he understood that there was no going back. He knew Tache had Shinya and he knew what he had to do to return Takuya's brother to him. He could see the entwining threads of the master plan and had no choice but to play his part. After all, everything he'd done up until now had been according to Tache's wishes, why stop?

Koichi opened his eyes and sat up in one fluid motion. It was dark outside, orange sodium light mixing with the silver of a full moon to create the distinctive spectrum of city nights. Dorian stood at the foot of his bed, face blank, ice blue orbs almost glowing as he stared down at the Chosen of Darkness. Their gazes locked for a long moment, expressionless, neither blinking nor moving, like two statues missing that life-like quality of profound art. Wordlessly, Dorian turned, making his way to the bedroom door. Koichi pulled back the sheets and stood. Still fully clothed, he grabbed a blue cap to keep the streetlight from his eyes and followed the eldest Digidestined. The two passed like specters through the apartment, silent but for the click of the lock as Dorian opened the door to the first floor landing. Unimpeded until they reached the exit.

"I'm not even surprised," said Koji in a low voice, arms folded, back pressed to the wall, blocking their path. He'd discarded his vomit soaked, blood stained shirt and now stood bare-chested before them. His flesh glowed in the night light, his eyes like flecks of crystalline prisms as he watched, unblinking and unflinching. "After everything, the chair, the PCP, the conveniently intimate understanding of Tache's cult, I should've guessed it sooner. You snake; what have you done to him this time?!"

"Nothing." It was Koichi who answered, stepping forward to meet his brother. He silenced Dorian with a look, then met his brother's eye with a black and bloodstained stare. "He's done nothing to me. This is my decision, Koji."

"I don't believe that," Koji shot back, unable to keep the confused frown from his features as he pushed off and approached his twin.

"That doesn't make it less true." Koichi was trying to keep his voice level, trying to minimize the damage he knew he was inflicting, but his own hurt swelled to the surface. "This is me, Koji, and I've made a choice. You don't get to be mad at Dorian for giving me that."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Why didn't you tell me about Shinya?"

"Because I knew you'd do something stupid like this! I knew finding where they were keeping him would destroy you and I was right! Look at yourself, Koichi, you're shaking and sweating and you can barely stand! That machine almost killed you…"

"And being drugged and forced into it anyway is somehow better?"

"I didn't-"

"It doesn't matter. I had a right to know, Koji. I deserved to be told, but you all thought you knew better so you took my choice away. And I'm not mad at you; I understand why you did it, but it's time we both accept the reality of our situation."

"So what, you're just going to sneak out? Let this foreigner lead you into an obvious trap? You were just going to hand yourself over to Tache and you didn't think I had a right to know about it?"

"Obviously you did know."

"Damn it, Koichi, this isn't a game!"

Silence. A thin and fragile pane of glass between them.

"Isn't it?" Bitterness laced his words and he looked away, smiling mirthlessly at the bleak irony and shaking his head. "I remember this game from when we were in the Digital World. I remember being just a pawn then, first Cherubimon's and then yours. Don't try to deny it. You defeated Cherubimon, you defeated Crusadermon, you destroyed Lucemon. Yes, you used my power and I know I played an important part, but ultimately I was just one of the little pieces on the board.

"Now though… Do you know what's worse than being a pawn?" He looked at Koji, hard gaze both expectant and dismissive, and Koji looked back. His face was set into neutrality, but his navy eyes betrayed him, shining with nameless pain. Five years together and his brother still had secrets. Koichi blinked and Koji could see the underlying helplessness, hear the source of his anger as his voice cracked.

"Being the king piece. Being the end. Hiding in the back as everything you love and care about dies all around you, protecting you, trying to keep you from the enemy because if the enemy gets you then it's game over. I can't fight my own battles- I can't even go outside. I have all this power, power like you wouldn't believe, and it is useless to the people I want to protect! This is a game, Koji, and we have been loosing for a long time."

"Koichi…" whispered Koji, stunned. He wanted to reach out, but his hands wouldn't move. No part of his body would respond to his will, so he just stood there, blinking, like a child. "It's not like that…"

"Yes it is. Koji, I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad; I want you to understand. I want you to believe me when I tell you I'm tired. There's a second front to this war and it's raging inside me. I can't keep going like this. I can't hold back the Ocean any more."

"I won't loose you again. I won't let you give up."

"You can't stop me. I don't want to hurt you, Koji, but I will."

"No," Koji breathed, shaking his head defiantly. "No you won't."

"Do not push me."

"We'll find another way."

"There is no other way! There's no avoiding this! We were foolish to think there was." The air around the twins electrified, matting Koji's flesh in a tingling, uniform coat. Koichi dropped his chin towards his chest, his hair almost floating as whatever abilities the particles in his brain granted him came to life. Not for the first time, fear curdled Koji's blood and understanding gnawed at his gut. "Get out of my way, Koji. I'm ending this."

"I won't."

"Go!"

Koji stumbled back as if physically struck, one hand reaching up to cradle his throbbing skull. Blood trickled from his left nostril, a solitary bead making its slow way over his upper lip. He let out a snarl of pride and pain, meeting his brother's eye and matching his intensity. Decisively, Koji reached out with his free hand and balled his fist in Koichi's shirt, pulling him forward sharply. This caught the dark twin off guard, causing the static pressure to let up for just an instant. That was all Koji needed. He swung his brother around and pinned him to the wall, pushing his fist into his chest to hold him still.

Releasing his own hair, Koji reached around the back of Koichi's neck, grabbed his collar, then rotated his arm into place so the bone pressed like a knife across Koichi's jugular. Cutting off the blood flow to his brain. Immediately, Koichi felt light headed, his vision darkening within a matter of seconds even as he clawed at Koji's skin, nails biting into the flesh of his arm as something much more potent drilled into his skull. But Koji didn't let up. He held his brother's neck against the wall with as much intensity as he held back his agony, staring into his eyes the entire time, willing him to understand. Seconds seemed to pass one eternity at a time, caging the brothers in their conflict, but in reality it was no more than a minute. Slowly, Koichi stopped struggling. His world went quiet, then cold, and finally faded to black as his arms and eyelids fell. Koji released him and his unconscious body slumped forward into his chest.

Tears burnt in his eyes, clouding his vision and making it even more difficult for Koji to do what he had to. Gently, he scooped his twin onto his back, carrying him wordlessly past Dorian and back to his bed. The French Digidestined stepped nimbly out of the way, expression unreadable, comments either nonexistent or heavily restrained. Koji set Koichi down on the mattress, removing his shirt and cap before tucking him tenderly beneath the blankets. The unconsciousness would only last a few minutes at the longest; he didn't have time for more. So he took the garments, closed the door, and hoped that eventually his twin would understand. With a look he cued Dorian to lock the apartment behind him, twisting the deadbolt into place from the outside. A safety precaution that sickened Koji to use. Takuya and Izumi would let him out in the morning.

"They'll know you're not him," Dorian said finally, completing his task and turning to face the light twin. Still, his face was blank.

"Not at first," Koji shot back, pulling Koichi's maroon tee over his head, the fabric stretching taught over his muscles. He bunched his hair at the top of his head and pulled the cap on, leaving two locks hanging before his ears in an imitation of his brother's usual style, then looked at Dorian expectantly, "Not until it's too late."

Dorian gave Koji an appraising look, lips tightening over something he hadn't yet decided how to phrase. Their eyes locked for just an instant, but it was enough. Convinced of the light twin's resolve, Dorian turned back and exited the complex, Koji close on his tail. They walked in silence for another moment before his comment matured enough to emerge.

"You know they'll take you anyway."

"They're welcome to try."

"You shouldn't underestimate them, Koji. Tache is not to be played with."

"What do you care?" His words bit into still night, reverberating down the empty street and giving Dorian pause. For a moment the two just kept walking at a mechanical pace as the brunette chewed his lip, brushing coffee hair from his face. "You betrayed us."

"Yes, I did," he answered flatly, ice blue eyes moving decisively to meet navy. "And I'll bet it smarts. Now, imagine if you actually liked me. Imagine if you'd chosen to trust me rather than been forced into it. Your brother's metaphor is apt; this is a game and you and I are just pieces on a board. That doesn't mean we're not still people. That doesn't mean we don't have reasons for being here."

"You think that matters to me," Koji snarled, fingers tightening into fists. "You never had any intention of helping Koichi. You never believed he could fight off Tache!"

"Maybe," Dorian shrugged mildly, turning away from Koji. "Maybe I have more faith in him than all of you combined. It all depends on what happens next."

"Spare me."

"You don't get it, do you? This switch accomplishes nothing. If anything you're playing straight into Tache's hands. It will take you, and then it will have the most effective weapon imaginable against your brother."

Koji stopped dead in his tracks, reaching out with an iron fist and gripping Dorian's shoulder. He turned him forcefully, fingers digging in between the muscle like he planned on tearing out a chunk. Their eyes met again and a flicker of doubt passed over the older Digidestined's face. Koji's light penetrating the hopeless shadows of his circumstance.

"I will never. Hurt. My brother. There is nothing that thing can do to me that will change that."

"Tache isn't just the remnants of Duskmon, you know," said Dorian, tone and face betraying his own pain for the first time. "It's the manipulative force that drove Duskmon's formation in the first place. It is the Dark Ocean and it has driven people to do the most terrible things, influenced humans and Digimon alike in an eternal quest to exist. You won't be hurting Koichi; by the time it's done with you you'll truly believe that you're helping him."

"That's bullshit."

"Tache is going to give you a choice and both answers will be wrong. You can resist and watch it consume your precious twin, hollow him out and stuff itself inside. Or you can give in, make this trade you're so intent on, and then you won't want to save him anymore. Then… you'll help it. You'll do what it asks."

"Is that your sob story? Do you think I'll forgive you if I pity you enough? You're pathetic."

"No," Dorian laughed, hollow and cold. "No, I'm just giving you the warning I never got. Not that I think I can persuade you to give up this foolishness, but I made a promise to someone very important to me. And I keep my word."

"As do I."

The Frenchman stopped, back rigid, face blank but tight, like there were a million things he wanted to say and do. And yet something held his tongue, restraining him, manipulating him just as effectively as he had them. In the back of Koji's mind, the first tingles of fear and doubt began to awaken, asking lonely, evil questions. What would he have done in Dorian's place? Or in Takuya's for that matter? Whatever this promise was, whatever bond drove him to treachery, was it any less sacred than his love for his brother? Indeed, he'd already attacked and imprisoned Koichi in the name of that love. Where did it stop? Dorian slid one icy blue eye over his shoulder, catching Koji's stare meaningfully. Then, without a word, he raised one finger and pointed down an alleyway. Moonlight glinted on the glass domes that should've illuminated this single, dark corner of Tokyo, but all the lights were dead. Koji didn't recognize where they were, but the salt in his nose told him their short jaunt had brought the pair closer to the sea. To the docks and Tache's supposed headquarters.

"How will I know Shinya's safe," he demanded, tone ice cold and stone hard. Dorian gave him another grin devoid of joy and humor.

"How did you know he was ever in danger? How do you know Tache ever had any intention of releasing him? How do you know he's not already back with his parents? The truth is you don't know anything, Minamoto Koji; all you have is fear and trust, and they are a deadly combination. Remember that when it speaks to you."

"Shinya."

"I didn't know they were going to take the boy and I don't know how they plan to return him. What they gave me was a directive and I am carrying it out now. But if you want to know my best guess, I'd say Shinya's not here, to safeguard against any attempts to switch and run. He may be at the docks, or perhaps he's back at home already, you'll have to ask them."

"You're not coming?" Scornful.

"I've played my part and can do nothing more," Dorian said coolly, turning his back and retreating. "And, though it may surprise you to hear this, I don't actually want to watch them take you to Tache. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather spare us both that situation."

"Fine," spat Koji, keeping his back to Dorian and facing the alley entrance. "But fair warning: as soon as I know Shinya's safe and get away from these freaks, I'm coming for you. The next conversation we have will be much less civil you piece of filth."

"I look forward to it," Dorian chuckled, the faintest traces of emotion touching the otherwise bleak expression. Then he was gone and Koji was once more alone with the darkness.