Bahar pressed her palm into the door, her pulse quickening as apprehension mixed with hesitation in her stomach. This was it. This was the place. Whatever Tache was planning, whatever final goal it had designed, it was beyond this door. As Digidestined it was her duty to destroy that goal. She'd been brought into this world for that purpose and that purpose alone. She'd abandoned her friends, her sense of compassion and warmth, for that purpose. But as a person… Her heart pounded in her ears. The muscles around her chest and throat constricted. Rumors made her afraid. Fear made her still.

Whispers of Tache's movements had always been commonplace, muttered in hushed exchanges or perceived in nightmares of an endless ocean. When the three had traveled together their own bickering too often drowned out the warnings around them. They had been too busy trying to force unity to notice the rest of the world cracking. It was wrong and, more than that, unjust. How could they, the conscripted saviors of an entire world, allow themselves to become so self-centered, they'd put their own friendship ahead of the common good? That had been her reason for leaving.

At least… that's what she'd told herself… When she'd left her friends, when she'd split off from Huckmon, and now. It was for the common good. It had to be.

Licking her lips, Bahar ran her fingers through her unwashed hair to push it from her face, sighed through her nose, and opened the door. Light hit her like a piercing spear, forcing her to wince away and adjust. It wasn't what she'd expected, not black or primal. The walls and machinery were a reflective chrome, the tangled mass of wires a rainbow of primary colors. They lay thick across the floor and hung heavy from the low ceiling, connecting huge cylinders and blue screens. She'd heard Tache was attempting to enter the human world- to spread. But to do so in such a technologically advanced way… And yet it still wasn't the most stunning thing in the room. A young man with coffee brown hair and a white scarf was hunched over one of the monitors, his icy blue gaze intense.

"Dorian? The hell? What are you doing here? What is all this shit?"

Her words ran together as her mind fought wildly to generate a scenario where this made sense. Where he'd beaten her to the punch and was already shutting whatever this was down. Or better still, reworking it to doomsday Tache and get them home. Yet snakes twisted in her stomach all the same.

"Hello Bahar," he responded coolly, not looking at her. "I knew you'd come. Can't say how, but I knew you'd be here for this part."

"What part? Where is here? And better still, where's Ysault? I left her with you; is she safe? Is she here too?"

"Yes and no…"

"What does that mean?!"

Her blood boiled with fear and rage.

"You picked a superb time to start caring is all," he spat, sudden anger igniting his eyes as he finally turned to face her. "What, did you grow a conscience while you were off in the wild? Have a spiritual awakening? What do you care for Ysault?!"

"Dorian, I'm gonna be nice for a moment and chose to ignore that. I left her with you because I thought you had a connection. I thought you would take care of her, but if she's not here then I guess I was wrong to rely on you. What a shocker."

"You don't know how right you are," he snarled, clearly fighting the urge to approach her. She wished he would. Their fight was long overdue. But before he could loose himself his insides froze. Bahar could see it in his eyes, the way he collected his composure.

"You didn't want to play as a team, so you abandoned us. Just say it."

"I did what I had to because you were too busy fawning over Ysault to get anything done. Clearly that was a mistake. So what did you do? Annoy her into leaving?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about; I love Ysault! I would die for her or worse! I tried to tell her that but she didn't want me. Never has and never will. Another thing you an I were both wrong about."

"Dorian, cut it out with the riddles and just tell me what the hell you're going on about."

"We never understood Ysault. She and I didn't have a connection and leaving me alone with her was exactly the wrong thing to do. She's not like us Bahar; she doesn't want anyone or anything. Not like that… But you assumed otherwise and I pushed her and now she's gone."

Bahar's hot blood suddenly turned to ice in her veins. Fear clamped around her chest and her head felt light.

"Gone," she repeated, breath shallow. "What do you mean gone? Just what is that supposed to mean!"

"What Dorian is trying and failing to say is that neither of you ever truly knew Ysault," a high, lyrical voice whispered from somewhere Bahar couldn't see.

But oh god, she knew that voice.

"It was inconceivable to you that such a thing was possible, even as it sat before your eyes. She tried so hard to show you, to be your friend, and still you both pushed her to be something she wasn't. Fretted about the superficial things and managed to ignore her regarding that which mattered. The longer she spent with you, the more like a monster she felt. You tore her apart with your infighting and blindness and sent her broken form right… to me."

Ysault's body emerged from behind one of the silvery tanks, and yet it wasn't Ysault. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were ripped and filthy, and her eyes… A sob tore in Bahar's throat. Her eyes were dull, black, and completely non-reflective.

"No… No this can't be happening… I don't believe it!"

"It does not matter what you believe, facts are facts. Ysault was so desperate to make the pain stop that, in the end, she agreed to become my host. There is no shame in it, she's certainly not the first. Right, Dorian?"

Dorian bit his lip, tucking his chin to his chest and balling his fists. Bahar couldn't care why, not over the cacophony in her brain. Her plan had been to find Tache and seal its host in a hole so deep the filth would never escape. It was still her best option to save the Digital World; a tiny, rational portion of her brain understood that. Yet this was Ysault… she couldn't… She had to, but she couldn't.

"Oh don't fret Bahar, it's not so bad," Tache cooed, moving to Dorian's side and sliding Ysault's arms around his waist. He visibly tensed. "I'll tell you what I told Mr. Broody here: I don't actually want this body. It's not mine and I would gladly return it to Ysault, if she decides she wants it back."

"Then why take it in the first place! Why start a war with everything and set loose the Dark Ocean!" Bahar's voice cracked, her nails digging crescents into her palms. Tache twisted Ysault's mouth into a grin, resting her chin on Dorian's shoulder.

"The Dark Ocean is none of your concern. What you should focus on is finding my original host. Take me into the human world, help me locate and obtain Kimura Koichi, and I shall return your friend to you. Sounds fair, doesn't it?"

"Dorian, you can't possibly be considering this."

"Why not? It's our fault Ysault is trapped like this and it's our responsibility to save her."

"Our responsibility is as Digidestined! We have the filth right here; we can find a way to rip it out of her! We cannot allow it to get into the Human World! We can't leave the Digital World in ruins! We're supposed to stop the Dark Ocean, not help it spread!"

"I don't care about the Dark Ocean," Dorian snapped. "I don't give a rat's ass what happens to the Digital or Human Worlds! Whatever it is it's fated anyway! All I care about is making sure Ysault gets home! That she's safe and happy and I will do anything to make that happen! If you disagree, then I guess we're on different sides."

"Dorian, you son of a bitch, you listen to me!"

"Goodbye Bahar. I'm sorry, but this is the only way. This has to happen. I'll come back for you, though. Ysault and I will do it together. I promise."

"Dorian-" he turned, typed a few characters on the keyboard, and the waves rushed in. Like a wall it hit her, knocking her off her feet and sending her whirling in an abyss of salty blackness. The water was everywhere, yet she didn't drown. It whispered, urging her to surrender, to give in. Its hunger pressed all around her, bringing every ounce of shame, guilt, and pain within her to the surface. Freezing. Choking. The sound of Ysault gasping and sobbing.

And then… then she'd come to the source. A boy just a few years younger than she, his hard façade crumbling as the reality of it all cut into him, sobs of his own aching in his throat. Kimura Koichi. Such a frail thing; hardly the evil she'd expected. He crumpled against her, fingers curling in her shirt as he cried into her shoulder. Slowly, awkwardly, she encircled him with her arms, giving his back what she hoped were reassuring pats. Their connection hurt like the cold, but through it she sensed his pain, his loss, and a familiar iron will. For now he wept. And when the tears passed, their alliance would begin.