Takuya's hand went so limp after Shinya hung up that he didn't even have the strength to end the dial tone. Not that he could hear it anyway. His mind was whirling at a mile a minute, thoughts and images either too blurred to read, or not there at all. Of course he was relieved that his brother was back at home and out of immediate danger, but the terror and guilt that saturated the space surrounding that relief soured it. How had this come to pass? Why had Tache given up his bargaining chip without even making any demands? It didn't make any sense. What had the cult gotten in exchange?

"We all know what they want." Koji's voice, terse and frayed. Irritation trying to mask fear.

Koichi.

Electricity shot through his limbs as he stood, stumbling like some kind of uncoordinated drunk out the door and through the hall. One floor down he poked his head into the landing and screamed for Izumi, responding to some sequence of neurons that reminded him she needed to know about this too. But that's as far as it went before he was off again, tearing down the stairs, shoes squealing on the tile, sweaty palms slamming into dry wall as he bumped his way past every corner. Until finally he was on the first floor. Until once again new sensory input laid cement into his actions.

Koichi's door was closed, innocent, unassuming, except for one tiny, easy to miss, little detail. Dorian must've switched the lock while Takuya had been out, such that now the deadbolt was on the outside and it was the individual within the apartment who would need a key. Just like the key that was resting on the floor in the middle of the hallway, glinting, winking unassumingly. Placed out in the open for the explicit purpose of being noticed. Takuya swallowed hard, staring at it, trying to make sense of what this could mean. Trying to find a way around the inevitable conclusion that someone was locked inside. The answer to who came shortly.

"Koji? Is that you?"

Koichi's voice. Koichi was still here; Tache didn't have him. He wasn't the one exchanged for Shinya's safety. The breath froze on Takuya's lips, his eyes widening as some terrible, horrible idea took form in his brain. And he'd believed himself the only one capable of taking desperate action on behalf of his brother. What had Koji done?

"Koji? Koji, let me out. There isn't another way, you know that. You know you have to let me do this. Koji? Are you there?"

"Takuya, what on earth?" Izumi stepped in behind him, pausing at his elbow and rubbing her eyes. She looked from him, to the closed door, then back to him, trying to force her hazy, morning mind to understand what about a door they'd left closed yesterday had triggered this visceral response in her boyfriend. She opened her mouth to inquire further, but only air escaped as her own adrenaline surged into action.

"Let me out. Let me out! You can't keep me in here! You can't stop the coming Darkness!" Each caustic scream was accented by a horrible banging noise as Koichi threw his weight against the door, causing it to tremble in its hinges. His rage was suddenly palpable, his intentions sickeningly apparent. In an instant Takuya knew what had happened last night, understood the consequences he'd helped trigger. And it made him want to die.

"You're nothing and your pathetic world means nothing! It has no right to exist. I will get out, Koji, and when I do the Ocean will drown every pointless person on this worthless rock. All you're doing is delaying the inevitable. It doesn't have to be hard; just unlock the door, and I'll take your suffering away. Can you hear me Koji? Open the door and let me out! Koji? Koji!"

"He's not here!" Izumi's voice cracked like a whip, wakefulness now fully upon her. She stepped forward, past Takuya, and approached the door. Her confidence was tinged with traces of hesitation, but she pushed forward nevertheless, intent on learning what, exactly, had happened while she'd taken a moment to sleep. The dark bags under her puffy eyes were a testament to how well that had gone.

"It's Izumi and Takuya. Koji's not here."

"Where's Dorian!?" She winced, pausing for just a moment before pressing her fingers to the wood. As if she could communicate calm through the fibers. Her jade gaze flicked to Takuya, who gave a shrug, shaking his head.

"We don't know... Koichi, I'm coming in."

"No! You can't!" She paid him no heed, twisting the deadbolt until the lock released with an audible click. There was a rattling noise and, when she tried to turn the knob, it wouldn't budge. Izumi could hear heavy breathing through the frame and pictured Koichi standing there, leaning his brow against the wall as he held the door handle closed. "Please. I don't know what I'll do."

"Hey buddy," Takuya tried, taking several long strides to join the Warrior of Wind. "It's just us; Dorian's not even here."

"No," Koichi mumbled. "No, he's gone. He was going to take me to Tache to make the trade. Me for Shinya. But Koji stopped us. He locked me in here. Please, you have to go find Koji! He has to be around! He can't have…"

"He what…" Takuya fought to find words, his mind trying to unmake the connections as they formed. Trying to disprove what had to be true and sooth the rolling fear in his gut. Izumi caught his eye meaningfully, uncompromising and unsympathetic. He swallowed, biting his lip and looking away in shame. "Damn it Koji…"

"What," Izumi pressed in a quiet but firm voice. Both hands were at the doorknob, holding pressure in preparation for Koichi's eventual yield. Her face was a mask of professionalism, tension laced through her form. "Takuya!"

"Shinya's home." The words spilled over his lips in a slur, avalanche snow into a valley. "I got a call this morning. Shinya's home."

"Then Koji…"

Izumi fell forward as the door gave way, stumbling. Takuya shot out an arm and caught her waist, giving her a support to regain her composure. And she needed it. Koichi stood back, staring at them through his bangs with red eyes. Blood from yesterday still stained the sclera, fresh looking and vivid, contrasting his dark, matted irises. His pupils ate the light and his skin shone with a thin layer of cold sweat. He was shirtless, flesh unabashedly displaying the bruised bands around his chest and arms where the chair had held him. And the bandage around his cut hand was soaked through, russet stains under his chipped finger nails indicating that he'd done his fair share of picking and/or clawing through the night. For a long moment he just stood there, not moving, barely breathing, holding the pair frozen with nothing more than their fear. When he finally spoke, it was in Duskmon's low, harsh tone.

"Take me upstairs and prepare Dorian's chair."

"Hey buddy, don't you think you should-"

Takuya was in far too much agony to finish the sentence. Koichi struck him with a look, enflaming the capillaries in those brown eyes. He stumbled, back hitting the wall as his knees gave out. His hands hovered, unsure which was more urgent: the screaming in his head or the blood running from his nose. Izumi cried out, her voice shrill and painful in his ears. The dark twin just watched from the doorway, expressionless and yet still looking like he was enjoying himself.

"Take me upstairs now. I'm going to find my brother."

Koji was no stranger to playing it cool. He'd had years of practice, hours of poker faces with his father and teachers, and an arsenal of techniques for keeping the panic at bay. There was no vulnerability in his form or obvious care in his movements. Defensively, he kept his hands in his pockets and his chest open, broadcasting confidence so loudly, it drowned out his ever present anxieties. Now, as he walked down the street towards the darkness Dorian had indicated, he knew these were his best weapons. Stay calm and collected. Get in, make the trade, get Shinya out. And in the off chance that they held him for any appreciable amount of time, keep the façade firmly in place. Give them as much of an in as the rest of the world, which is to say, none at all. Don't give them a thought. Don't give them Koichi. In his core, Koji felt as if he'd prepared his whole life for this moment.

For a shadow cult, Tache's followers weren't very stealthy. He noticed them instantly, pressed into the walls, encircling him as he moved forward. Their proximity was like an electric field on his skin, tingling, pricking his hairs and ears. It quickly became apparent that stealth was not among their objectives; as he passed, they peeled off the stone and began to follow. Cutting off the exit. How annoying. He stopped suddenly, looking out from under Koichi's cap, eyes scanning for some sort of leader. One stepped forward, an older man in his twenties with no distinguishing features. Could've been anybody. Then he spoke and Koji knew him. His blood boiled.

"We've been waiting for you, Kimura Koichi," said the voice from the alley all those weeks ago. "Truthfully, it's surprising you've lasted this long. Impressive even. But in the end you came, just like we knew you would. You reawakened your power, your true self, and you realized there was no other option."

"Where's Shinya," Koji demanded, silently cursing the gruffness in his voice. He didn't sound too much like his brother… Something moved behind him and his muscles went taught. Tache's emissary laughed like grinding glass and Koji winced involuntarily. This imminent danger was so much worse than actual danger.

"The Warrior of Flame's little brother? He's safe."

"Where!?"

"At home, obviously. We dropped him off about an hour ago. Phone battery's dead, though, so alas he wouldn't have been able to confirm that. But don't worry, he'll call your friend first thing in the morning."

"What did you do to him!"

"Nothing, nothing. Merely suggested that his dear older brother might want to talk to him. We all know how brothers are."

"You're sick."

"With something I hope to share very soon. Now, come over here. There's someone who came to meet you."

"No thanks," Koji spat, relief spreading like a wave of energy through his limbs. "Now that I know there's no reason to be here, I think I'll just go home too. Later."

"Foolish child. Did you think we wouldn't expect such an attempt?"

Someone laid a hand on Koji's shoulder, but before they could get a grip he grabbed it, thrusting out his hip and swinging the cult member through the air like some sort of doll. Koichi's cap tried to dislodge, but he held it in place, intent on maintaining the deception as long as possible. Dorian was a mole, he could've ratted his twin's location. If they suspected Koichi hadn't honored whatever bargain had been struck, if they knew he was standing in, they could still get to the dark twin before Koji had a chance to move him. But that was future Koji's problem. Present Koji caught another of Tache's followers in the gut with his knee, driving her back and into two others like a chain of dominos. Smirking, he dodged another set of grabbing hands and allowed his fist to collide with someone else's face. This was too easy.

Then it started. His muscles turned to metal and he froze, overcome by something he couldn't name. There was a strange tingle in his gut and a buzzing in his mind, fogging his thoughts, making it impossible to act. One of the cult members made another grab for him and this time Koji didn't dodge. He couldn't even move. The cold was unimaginable, a portal of rain deep inside him. His breath came in short, erratic pants and his eyes struggled to focus. Reality bent around him, the darkness yawning out to engulf his paralyzed body as the sounds of whispers and water drowned his mind. Yielding instantly to the pressure, Koji gave his weight to his attacker and allowed himself to be essentially carried over to the leader. He crumpled to his knees when released, shaking.

"What have you…" he tried, but the words stuck to his mouth and he couldn't separate his own thoughts from the chorus in his mind. Dark water flooded his world, swallowing his legs and surging around his waist. Fighting back the numbness, he gave the man a livid look. "Turn. It. Off."

"You honestly have no idea what's happening, do you," he chortled. "The particles are inside you and they respond when they sense their master. We have no power over them."

"No… That can't be. They can't be inside me…"

"I should think you'd be past the denial by now."

"Don't be so hard on him, Yuki," cooed a new voice, high, musical, and completely unfamiliar.

Koji started, feeling shivers run down his spine as he searched for its source. She wasn't difficult to find; his entire world centered itself around her blithe form. Like a black hole. She was Caucasian, with tangled blond hair and black eyes which glinted like some kind of animals. Her limbs were thin and frail looking, her body almost malnourished, both very pretty and very disturbing. Instantly Koji knew who this was. He knew to what she was playing host and that knowledge caused his simmering blood to go cold and congeal.

"The Ocean can be very frightening for some, especially those who haven't yet admitted to the darkness within."

"But we've been grooming him. He should be ready."

"Not this one. This isn't Koichi Kimura. This is something even better." She squatted before him, her smile manic and grotesque. Koji tried to pull away, to get up and run or something, but his body just wouldn't listen to him. Wide eyed and helpless, he watched her thin fingers grasp Koichi's hat and toss it to the ground, releasing his hair around his shoulders. Then she grabbed his face, her palm pressing over his mouth as those same fingers gripped just below his cheekbones, bringing him close and forcing their eyes to meet. Her gaze was filled with victory and hunger.

"Hello brother. I can't even tell you how glad I am that you're here."