Disclaimers: I have to pay all copyright owners royalties for doing this… so leave me alone.

Warnings: Pointlessness (once more, when am I not doing it?), characters talking to themselves, nothing happening and… well, weirdos. And horses. Oh wait, that doesn't matter, does it?

Other: Well… uh… sorry for the wait, firstly, and I ended up putting up another pointless chapter before they actually meet. So yeah, my bad and all, and that means you have to go through another really pointless chapter. So yay.

000

"When they meet again, something more terrifying and evil will awaken. Something long since sealed away will break free: leaving death and destruction in its wake. Will they be able to handle it again? Or is this the end of the road?"

Phase Two: One Step Back

"So this is where you want be, kid?" asked the cart-driving-guy, turning his head to face Daisuke, who had been sitting on a large pile of straw; it was always straw… why was it always straw in the end! Who used straw these days for anything anyway? It just didn't make any sense. Not to mention that it was incredibly scratchy and itchy and even though he was wearing a cloak and all… it was still irritating him horribly.

The redhead nodded and hefted his bag upon his shoulder. Because his actual town of birth was at least a week away from where he usually lived, it had been easier to pay the cart-driving-merchant people to take him from one place to another and cut the time in at least half. And since he had left for the place earlier, he knew for a fact that he couldn't be late. Even if he had to hike the rest of the way, it was impossible to comprehend.

Well, okay, if he was abducted or something, that would be a different story, but that wasn't the point. And Daisuke had a dagger with him, so if anyone tried, he could always stab them. If he wanted to; and even then he wans't all that into violence in such a manner.

He rolled his eyes at the thought. No one was that stupid and he was well capable of taking care of himself.

Hopping off onto the ground and wobbling about while he tried to get the feel of his legs, Daisuke tossed some coins over to the driver, who caught it, tipped his hat, and trundled off without another word. The horse whinnied in protest for the day-long journey, but no help was forecoming. The redhead felt sorry for the creature, but couldn't dwell on it long because… well, he had the feeling that someone – or something – was staring at him, drilling a hold in the back of his head was no reason at all.

Turning around, he scanned the town; buildings, buildings, and more buildings, accompanied with fences and small gardens and the customary center of town, but that was about it. Nothing new or odd. Oh sure, there were the little kids who were staring at him in awe, but that was nothing new to him; and the unnerving staring that he could feel was just… it gave him a nervous feeling.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it if he was being… watched… stalked… whatever. Okay, he was getting the life scared out of him. What to do… what to do…

Giving up, the redhead turned to his daemon-pet-thing-whatchamacallit, With. "Can you feel that as well?"

"Kyuu?"

"Or is it just me?"

"Kyuu-kyuu-kyuu!"

"I suppose it's just me then."

It wasn't hard to locate the inn – what, with it's huge, hanging sign and all – but seeing as he still had a couple of hours left of daylight, Daisuke decided on just wandering around and seeing if he could find something of use… or supplies. Food mostly, and healing items in case Dark and Satoshi decided to kill each other in the process…

Not a very happy business indeed.

On the whole, it was all part of the cycle of life and boom, this went there, fist hit that, and insults flew from one place to another. Whopdeedo and all, that was just great.

But he was still looking forward to the whole meeting up deal. As long as they didn't kill each other before they caught up.

What was he supposed to tell them? That he went to school for those last few years? That his twin was still trouble in itself, and now with a scary girly-girl image at that? And that Saehara was still in some form of concussion-like-state? Whoo-hoo, what a life he had.

Looking around, he entered a shop and found himself swamped by a scarily-hyperactive store assistant and the store owner was just looking apologetic. And rightfully so, but still…

Daisuke rolled his eyes; one town down, who knows how many more left he would have to plunge through before getting home. And yes, he still considered it home. Hm…

Onwards to the place on which he was born in…

000

"So…" she muttered, looking around, "Where the hell am I now? It all looks the same…"

As it was, this exact same setting was the same that she had seen for the last few hours while walking around and that whole thing. Trees, grass, bugs, grass, sky, some other thing, more bugs… yeah, she was so excited about it all.

Moodily, Krad kicked the ground in all her annoyed-boring-glory and looked around, hoping for something – anything – would happen. As long as it got rid of her bored-tired-annoying-"gah"-ing (is that a word?) state. As far as the last few hours of the day had been, absolutely nothing had happened, and unless she wanted to go off and kick bugs around for some reason, but she wasn't that sort of person, so that was out of the question.

She was lost as well, but she wasn't all that worried about that particular factor; she was lost all the time and she didn't have a compass, and besides, she couldn't read the damn things with their little 'n's and 's's and stuff with the red arrows. Leave it to someone who cared and just go with her gut feeling and places where she could get something to eat in the end; that was her way of living.

Judging where the sun was now, Krad made a rough calculation on how much longer it would be before night fell once more. It was a bit of a natural knack of hers and supposing that she was right, there weren't all that many hours in the day anymore. And she didn't want to have to run around in the night because she needed sleep. And no, she was not referring to beauty sleep, because that was just a waste of her time and she had natural beauty… as the sick, twisted people said. And she beat the hell out of them.

So no one said it in the end.

Dargh… what a boring scenery she had to face all the time now.

Flopping back, she pulled her sword free from its sheath and looked down the blade for a moment before the distinct, yet still far-away, sound of something – horses, perhaps – made itself heard. This was a shock, as she had been travelling all day without any other signs of life aside from the random rabbit, and she sat up properly and looked around suspiciously. It wasn't hard to locate where the noise came from and from here it looked like she was about to be 'ambushed' by… three dudes on horses.

Hm… if she were to decapitate them, would she be charged for manslaughter? She didn't want to think about it; just the mess in itself was a bit too much information. But if that was the only choice left in the end…

Krad snorted; that was never the choice in the end.

Standing up again once more and shaking loose loam off her cloak, the blonde watched impassively as the three dudes-on-horses finally reached where she had decided was a great place to camp for the night; that was, in the middle of nowhere. She might as well have brought a giant flag with her to tell everyone where she was.

"What is it?" she asked calmly. The three nameless bandit-dudes-something-or-other, blinked. Maybe it was something to do with the whole thing with her actually walking around and being calm about the situation that unnerved them. Or it was just because she was a… she, and was wandering around while carrying a large sword that looked incredibly dangerous… and sharp…

"Hand us all of your possessions and we won't hurt you," one of them finally said, holding out a grubby hand. Raising a brow, Krad inclined her head and swung her sword around lazily; and considering the size of it and all, it was slightly freaky to see.

Bringing the blade up into a proper combatant stance, she smirked coldly, "Really now? You want to try that?"

Of course, at this point she was talking to thin air, because the so-called bandits had run off and she sighed. Bugger them, she needed to find a proper training partner that wouldn't constantly freak out when she swung her giant sword around.

Well, seeing as she wasn't all that sleepy, Krad moved on. There wasn't much else she could do; and with the stars as a guide, it would – hopefully – be easier traveling.

000

Dark blinked.

Then he blinked again.

And again.

… And again.

… and so forth until Locke hit him over the head; hard. With a yelp, the purple-haired adolescent glared at his partner-in-theft-that-wasn't-considered-wrong-but-really-was who merely glared back in the end. And they glared.

And glared.

… And glared.

… And continued to glare.

Until someone else finally gave up and told Dark to leave or they would send the dogs after him. And by that, they meant the… things. Or something. He wasn't all that sure anymore.

So calling his goodbyes, the thief did as he had been taught over these past years; he stole one of their horses. And as no one could be bothered to chase after him, he got away with it and was on his way back to… well, not home… more Daisuke's home… but whatever. He was going back to see people he hadn't seen for a long time… so yeah, that was good.

That was what he believed, anyway.

The actual theft in itself that morning had gone smoothly, but then Locke had gone off and managed to run into trouble; which lead to more running; and even more running; until they ran up on the roofs and no one could chase after them, and even then people pelted rocks at them and it was painful and annoying and it bugged the hell out of them… so yeah, that was saying a lot.

And he was talking to himself. Well, narrating. Er… something or other. Look, he didn't care anymore, okay! He always knew he was insane.

Shut up brain.

Make me.

… It was finally official then. Yes, the great prince-whatever-dude-thingy-some-guy Dark had gone completely and utterly insane.

But aside from that little piece of information, the thief was riding into the middle of nowhere with only the vague notion of knowing where he was going and for what reason. Sure, he wasn't all that great with direction, and he needn't to have really stolen the horse, but being as bored as he was, he just couldn't pass the chance to annoy someone. Or everyone. Heck, even himself. It was just that sort of day when nothing happened and anything was better then just standing around and waiting for something to happen.

Anyhow, he found himself in the middle of nowhere – somewhere he didn't know, anyway – and the first thing he wanted to do was… sleep? No, he didn't need it. Walk? Er… sure, why not? It was a lot more fun than riding on a horse that he rarely rode on. And it wasn't all that happy about being kidnapped in the first place anyway.

"Fine, go then," he muttered as soon as he had gotten off the creature. The horse seemed to glare at him for but a moment before galloping away and he looked up at the sky in an attempt to pinpoint his location. "That one there… leads to… eh… whatever… oh yeah," he pointed a finger in a random direction, "THAT way… I think. Okay… maybe not…"

Dark groaned in frustration and shook his head; so he was lost, didn't know where the hell he was and really couldn't give a damn about it. At least he'd packed before leaving, but that didn't help the current situation.

Ignoring the three bandits that streaked past him in a haste that screamed 'danger' the teen-adolescent-thief moved onwards, in hopes that he would soon find the right way to go and wouldn't have to worry about it any longer.

It was a clear night without so much as a breeze and the dead silence was slightly uncomfortable due to the fact that it was incredibly… quiet. Yes, that was the word. And all the walking as such was getting on his nerves; and that wasn't a good thing at all.

So much walking, nothing doing… who wouldn't be bored in the end?

This was taking a lot more time then necessary… that was for sure…

000

Winging into the town, at least Satoshi knew that no one would be paying any attention to a bat at this time at night. Such creatures were common in this particular time of day, but whatever, he hated reverting to his so-called 'bat' form. It was so demeaning and annoying, not to mention it hurt whatever reputation he held in the first place.

Changing back, the vampire looked around himself and knew at once that there was nothing to really care about and walked away. He now just had to find a place to stay for the night and carry on travelling tomorrow, or something, if he could bother.

The days were passing incredibly slowly, though, and that was something that got on his nerves as well. Although he did seem to get a lot of odd and suspicious stares from people as they passed by; what was with people and their thoughts on guys who wore black all the time? He had sensitive skin and he couldn't help it at all, so what was their problem?

Grumbling incoherently under his breath, Satoshi walked over to the inn, but stopped as soon as he noticed some guy loitering about. Frowning, he approached the figure slowly.

"Damn little kids… always rebelling…" muttered the stranger in a low voice.

The vampire sidled over until he was right behind the person, who was peering into one of the inn's rooms. "If I had my say, I would have to claim that you're violating personal policy." He hissed coldly, making the person jump in surprise.

"What—I—dah--" they stammered. Well, it was a he, but… whatever. Satoshi was in no mood to care.

"Move or I'll deal with you here and now," he snapped. Scrambling upwards, the man-dude-some-stranger scattered off at an instant and this left Satoshi on his own. Glancing into the room and wondering why such a random person was practically stalking them, his eyes widened just slightly and he hurried off as well.

Maybe it was better if he just keep moving onwards before the daylight came out and he… melted or something. That was better, and it wasn't all that long before the reunion came and all so why not? Best to be on the move constantly, but at the same time that weird-guy might still be around and…

Satoshi shrugged the thoughts off and walked back towards where the center of town was. No one would notice him anyway, and it wasn't like… uh… yeah. He really had to stop his mind from bouncing around everywhere.

000

"Kyuu?"

"Did you feel it too, With?" asked Daisuke. He glanced over at the window, but there was no one there, and he suppressed a shiver. "I wonder if that was a good thing or a bad thing…"

"Kyu-…"

"Yeah… the feeling changed as well… creepy… or… well…"

The redhead couldn't explain the feeling, but… at least it wasn't dangerous. As in, sick, twisted dangerous. He had been hoping for that feeling to just leave, otherwise he was going to summon something large to eat whoever it was. At least now he wouldn't have a death over his head about it.

Ah well, no time to bother his head over that. Pulling the sheets over his head, Daisuke closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

000

The distinct sound of glass shattering made Riku's head jerk up and she ran out of the room. Ripping the heavy curtains aside, the brunette pushed in and she stumbled over to the seer.

Crouched on the floor, Towa was shaking her head slowly, as if unable to comprehend what was going on.

"Towa-san? What happened?" she asked desperately.

The silver-haired woman glanced up at Riku, "Riku… saa… it was nothing. Really."

"Nothing?" she snorted as there was another swish as Risa entered the room. "I think crystal balls shattering has to be something."

The long-haired twin stared at the shattered pieces of glass and blinked once, before meeting the seer's eyes, "Another bad omen?"

"… If you want to call it that," Towa allowed herself to be pulled up and she sighed shakily, "But it seems that the destruction is getting a lot more stronger than even what I predicted. It may be too much for them to handle. I just don't know anymore…"

Riku's eyes narrowed at this as she left the room for her younger sister and the seer, and stepped out of the small house in which they all roomed in. Worried or not, it didn't show on her face, but she could feel it too; dangerous powers lurking in the shadows of the planes, and it was not a nice feeling. Emotions mixed and weaved in one another…

Like what was said, something was forcing itself free into the world; and it was a lot more powerful than last time. That wasn't a good thing at all. But what were they supposed to do about it anyway?

"How much longer now?" she asked softly to no one in particular. The wind answered her question, though, and she frowned; worry and anger on her features at the same time. "But… that can't be. How could they all be travelling to fast…? Nothing? No one?"

The wind oracle couldn't seem to believe her own ears and her eyes widened; "Tomorrow--…!"

000

See! It's completely and utterly pointless and Daisuke was being STALKED :O But Satoshi got rid of him and stuff and we will never hear of it again. Do you know what that means ;D That is, what the vampire saw… and nothing dirty! XO At least… I hope not. And I think you can take a stab at what Riku meant in the end.

And I PROMISE that they will meet in the next chapter, because I hate stalling and all. And… yeah. This is going to be… interesting…

Replies:

Koway Oceshia: Sorry, they didn't meet XO But I absolutely promise that they will in the next one. Actually, it's kinda funny, because geographically they're already in the same sort of area. Dark is walking just a bit behind Krad in the open fields, and Daisuke and Satoshi are actually in the same village. Funny, that ;D

Makurayami Ookami: That's just the reality of life, I suppose XO

ginny brenn: Here's the next one ;)

neko-nya: Wow, it showed up o.O I ran away from you but was forced to come back… or something. Odd. Sugarhighness is good! XD And people are being terrorized more so… apparently. :O Krad wants to kill Dark still…