Now that I think about it, the next chapter would have been a good one to put out on either Friday the 13th or Halloween. But it's too late for the former and I won't make you wait for the latter. Actually, I'm writing the last chapter now, and I just have 16 and 17 left to type. This story is almost done!

Disclaimer: I own Digimon. I also own a sarcasm light. I'm serious about the light. Really.

Old Demons

Chapter 14: A Different Kind of Darkness

"There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of the flesh is the death of hope. The death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender."

-J. Michael Straczynki

The Legendary Warriors stared at the place Kouichi had been. None of them moved to chase after him; they were too shocked. After all, they were still trying to figure out what had just happened. Assuming the Kouichi who had run away was the real one, who was the other? Where had he come from? Apparently Kouichi knew something about him, but he hadn't exactly stuck around to explain it.

"Um…What was that all about?" Zoe seemed hesitant to speak, but the silence had been too much for her. She forced her eyes off the horizon and turned to look at Takuya and Kouji. Kouji's eyes were narrowed and fixed on the ground. His lips were pressed together into a thin frown. Takuya wasn't much better. His mouth wasn't quite shut and he kept glancing between Kouji and the horizon. Neither one seemed to have heard her.

She huffed out of exasperation. Turning around, the found Tommy and JP, wide-eyed, staring at Kouji as if expecting him to take off after his brother at any moment. They didn't even look at her.

"HELLO!" she roared. Tommy and JP jumped; Takuya glanced sidelong at her, only half interested. Kouji didn't move.

"Yeesh, Z. Do ya have to be so loud?" JP cringed at the glare Zoe sent him.

"I wouldn't have to yell if you would've listened to me the first time!"

Takuya turned around. "Well, excu-use us if we were too busy thinking about how to save Kouichi to listen to you complain!"

"Thinking!" Zoe scoffed. "Yeah, right! The only thing any of you were thinking about was how Kouji was reacting."

"Hey!" JP interrupted. "Who says – "

"Oh, so now we can't even worry about our friends?" Takuya demanded.

"That's not what I'm saying, Takuya. But we're going to have to do something productive eventually!"

"Don't fight!" Tommy pleaded.

"Exactly my point!" Takuya didn't seem to notice the young boy. "I was trying to come up with a plan!"

"Like what? 'Attack together'? Takuya, we don't even know what we're up against, let alone how to fight it. I mean, unless you've figured it all out already, in which case, go right ahead and tell me!"

"Alright, fine! You win! I don't know what that thing was! But talking about it isn't going to help us figure out where it came from!"

"And blindly rushing into battle isn't going to do us any good, either! We've got to –"

"Stop it. Both of you." Kouji slowly turned around, glaring at Takuya and Zoe. They cringed. "All this arguing is pointless. We need to figure out what we're going to do and do it. Just like we've always done."

Zoe took a deep breath and smiled weakly at Takuya. "Sorry. I guess I'm just not thinking straight."

"That's alright," Takuya said, rubbing the back of his head. "It's not like I'm any better."

"You can say that again," Zoe muttered, then grinned sheepishly at Kouji and Takuya's glares. "Right. Sorry."

Takuya rolled his eyes. "So…I guess we should start with what we know." Everyone stared at him. "What, you want me to start? Zoe was the one who wanted to do this in the first place! Zoe? What do we know?"

"Well," Zoe sighed, "I suppose the obvious is the best place to start. We know Kouichi and some evil look-alike are both out there somewhere."

"The red-eyed guy doesn't like us," Tommy piped up, "but he didn't seem to be in a big hurry to…do anything…"

"He can run away real fast in this mist," JP said.

"If we can believe him," Takuya started slowly, "he's strong enough to beat us…Not that we can trust that. Seriously, every single enemy we've ever fought thought they were strong enough to beat us and now look at them. We'll trounce this guy too!"

JP, Tommy, and Zoe sweatdropped. "At least he's confident," Zoe sighed.

"He was scared."

Everyone turned to look at Kouji, who probably hadn't heard any of their conversation. Takuya opened his mouth to reply, but Kouji kept going, turning to look at the abandoned knife that still glinted in the mud a few feet away.

"Didn't you see him? But he wasn't scared at first. He was…detached. Other than when he stopped the…evil one from stabbing me, he just stood there. And the way he just started to leave as soon as the mist cleared…It's like we weren't even here."

"But when you grabbed his wrist," Zoe mused, "he freaked out. That's when he got scared. He looked like…like he had just realized something. After that he just wanted to leave. He was so shocked that you grabbed him…" She paused, thinking about something, and nodded. "I think it was just the fact that you were holding his wrist. That you could."

Takuya frowned. "What makes you say that? It doesn't make any sense!"

"It's called reading people," Zoe said, sounding exasperated. "Kouichi freaked out when Kouji grabbed his wrist, not when Kouji started talking. The only logical reasons are that he didn't think Kouji could, that he didn't think Kouji would, or that he didn't want to have anything to do with us. But he was shocked, not angry, which means something happened that he didn't expect to. And if he didn't think Kouji would, he wouldn't have gotten scared, and he wouldn't have been so reluctant to pull away. That only leaves one explanation."

Kouji nodded. "The only question now is why. Why would he think I couldn't touch him?"

"There is no reason," Takuya said stubbornly. "Because that's not what he was freaked about."

"Don't be so quick to judge," Zoe reprimanded.

JP rolled his eyes. "I think you and Kouji have both gone off the deep end! There has to be another explanation."

They fell silent for a few minutes, each trying to figure out what might have happened. Finally Tommy spoke up:

"Why d'you think he left so quickly?"

"He didn't want to, that's for sure," Zoe murmured.

"Kouji?" Takuya asked. "What do you say? He's your twin."

Kouji rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean we share a brain stem." He paused. "I think he was worried something would happen to us because of him. And don't ask me why I say that," he added pointedly, staring at Takuya.

Zoe sighed. "Leave it to Kouichi to feel responsible for this."

Silence fell once again. Zoe stood with her head bowed, biting her nails. It helped her think. Kouji had his arms crossed, kicking absently at the mud as he thought. JP tried to think for a few minutes, but got bored. He folded his arms behind his head and took to counting the trees and, when he finished that, the leaves. Tommy thought, but his eyes kept returning to the knife. It was starting to creep him out. Takuya stood in silence, studying the others, but after a few minutes, his impatience got the better of him.

"So are we done yet or what? I think we've wasted enough time already."

"Where are we supposed to go?" Tommy asked, more than willing to get away from the knife.

"Well," Takuya pointed to where Kouichi had gone. "Kouichi went that way. I'd say that's at least a starting point."

"A starting point, yeah," JP said. "But come on! How likely is it that he kept going straight?"

"What else are we supposed to do?" Takuya cried. "Standing around isn't getting us anywhere!"

"Have you considered trying to use your D-Tector?" Zoe asked. She was smiling at them over the digivice she held in her hands.

Kouji grabbed his own D-Tector and stared at it. "How do you even know Kouichi has his D-Tector?"

"I don't," she admitted, "but Lowemon wasn't with him. And anyway, if it works, we know where to go. I say it's worth a shot." She began pressing random buttons, hoping it would work for her. (Hey, that was how she had discovered the communication feature, wasn't it?) After ten seconds of this, a gray sphere appeared and hovered over the screen. Darker gray lines crisscrossed the sphere's surface and a light gray dot blinked at one edge. Zoe turned until the dot was straight ahead. "Looks like he's that way."

"Wait. How do you know it picked up the right signal?" Takuya challenged.

Kouji glared at him. "Are you going to nitpick all day or can we go after my brother already?"

Five minutes later, they were in the air, Kazemon flying low, Beetlemon, carrying Tommy, higher, using clouds to block the sun again. BurningGreymon was also up higher, carrying Kouji, who was watching the sphere above his D-Tector. They only flew for about twenty-five minutes before crossing into the Wind Sector. (Of course, they didn't know about the sectors. Still, they did notice a sudden increase to gale-force winds, and that the ground had become hills.) Fifteen minutes after that, their progress slowed somewhat by the wind (other than Kazemon, who actually seemed to have it easier with the wind)…

"We passed it."

"What do you mean we passed it?"

"I mean the D-Tector says the signal is coming from behind us now. Turn around."

Beetlemon heard Kouji and BurningGreymon arguing and stopped. "What was that?"

"The signal's coming from behind us," Kouji said. "We passed it."

"Oh." Beetlemon turned and flew towards Kazemon, who had been almost enjoying flying in the strong winds with only her thoughts disturbing her element. "Kazemon! Hey, Kazemon!" He finally broke through her reverie. "We passed him! Turn around!"

"Passed him?" Kazemon asked, but complied anyway. "But I didn't see anything."

They flew back the way they came…and passed the source of the signal again.

"Okay, y'know what?" Kouji grumbled to BurningGreymon. "This isn't going to work. You need to land. We'll find him on foot." BurningGreymon landed obligingly, and the others took the hint. Kouji started walking as the three spirits devolved. But all he saw when he reached the top of the next hill was a crater.

Takuya reached the top next. "Uh…I wasn't sure this thing was picking up the right signal, but I thought it was at least picking up something."

Zoe and the other buys come up behind them. "There's gotta be something here," Zoe said firmly. Her next word wasn't as confident. "Right?"

Kouji started down the hill. "I'm going to find out."

Kouji in the lead, they descended, running to keep from falling. When they reached the lip of the crater, they were a little more cautious. The depression was shaped like a perfect half-sphere – obviously not natural. Kouji began lowering himself in. Suddenly the crater's rim gave way and he slid down the steep slope.

"Execute: Spirit Evolution…Kazemon!" Kazemon slowed Kouji's slide and helped him to his feet. "Weren't you muddy enough before?"

Kouji rolled his eyes, brushed himself off, and walked forward. "Very funny. Let's just find whatever the stupid D-Tector is reacting to and get out of here."

Kazemon sighed, following Kouji to the center of the crater, where he stopped. The gray dot was at the center of the sphere. The D-Tector beeped once and the entire display disappeared. Kouji looked down. There, half-buried in the dirt, was a D-Tector. Static periodically filled the screen, and in between, Lowemon's symbol of Darkness glowed.

As Kouji picked it up, Kazemon pursed her lips. "What's that doing out here?"

Kouji shook his head. "Let's get back to the others and figure out what to do." Kazemon wrapped her arms around his waist and took to the air, flying back to the rim.

"Lunar Plasma!"

An orb of red energy crashed into Kazemon's back. With a pained cry, she crashed into the ground, letting go of Kouji in the process. The Warrior of Light scrambled to his feet and turned to face their attacker – Duskmon. Kazemon too stood up, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Duskmon!" Takuya shouted. "I should have known you'd show up."

Duskmon chuckled. "Of course. I told you I'd eliminate you when the time came. And now is that time."

Kouji's eyes narrowed. No…It can't be…

"For you see, the Duskmon you are thinking of is no longer here." A cocoon of gray fractal code surrounded him, peeling away to reveal the red-eyed Kouichi. He smirked. "I wasn't lying when I said I could eliminate you."

"Yeah, right!" Takuya shouted. "We beat you before and we'll do it again!"

"Hardly. It wasn't me you fought, but…we can do this the hard way." Fractal code surrounded him once more, and he became Duskmon. The digidestined didn't waste time:

"Execute: Beast Spirit Evolution…Korikakumon!"

"Execute: Beast Spirit Evolution…MetalKabuterimon!"

"Execute: Fusion Evolution…Aldamon!"

"Execute: Fusion Evolution…Beowulfmon!"

"Kazemon: Slide Evolution…Zephyrmon!"

Three Beast Spirits and two Fusion Warriors against one Human Spirit. This would be easy.

"Atomic Inferno!" Aldamon aimed his guns at Duskmon and let loose, peppering the corrupt spirit with yellow energy blasts. Duskmon leaped backwards, well out of Aldamon's range.

"Frozen Arrowheads!" Duskmon grabbed the incoming "arrowheads" and used them to throw Korikakumon into the crater.

"Deadly Gaze." The red lasers hit Korikakumon with impossible force. By the time MetalKabuterimon stopped Duskmon with a Bolo Thunder, Korikakumon had devolved.

"Tommy!" Aldamon cried. He turned on Duskmon while the corrupt Warrior of Darkness was fending off Zephyrmon's Hurricane Gale. Aldamon charged, aiming for Duskmon's back. A sword to his side stopped his advance and sent him to his knees.

Surprise registered in Duskmon's eyes. "That blow should have devolved you. You're stronger than I expected."

"Funny how that works," Aldamon grunted, standing up.

"No matter." Duskmon slammed the flat of his sword into Aldamon's temple and followed up with a kick to the side. The Warrior of Fire was sent flying, giving Duskmon time to attack the others.

"Bolo Thunder!"

"Hurricane Gale!"

"Cleansing Light!"

The attacks came at him from his right, above, and his left, respectively. Duskmon charged to the right. His sword absorbed the two electric orbs; the other attacks missed him entirely. Duskmon leaped into the air, plunging his sword, which was now crackling with red lighting, into MetalKabuterimon's back. The electricity sparked along his mechanical body, proving to be too much for his systems. He devolved.

"Hurricane Gale!" Zephyrmon, wary of getting too close to Duskmon, was fifty feet up when she launched her attack. Of course, because she was so far away, Duskmon had more than enough time to react.

"Lunar Plasma." The energy orb tore through the whirlwind of feathers easily, nullifying Zephyrmon's attack, but the natural wind blew the orb off course. Zephyrmon didn't even have to dodge.

"Frozen Hunter!" As Duskmon lunged, his sword cutting through the wolf image and clanging against Beowulfmon's armor.

"Solar Wind Destroyer!" Aldamon by this time was back on his feet. While Duskmon extended his left sword to counter the attack, Aldamon tackled him. Duskmon roared furiously, kicking him away.

"You'll pay for that. Deadly Gaze!"

"Atomic Inferno!" Red lasers met yellow blasts. Both attacks were nullified. "Nice try, Duskmon, but you'll have to do better than that."

"I plan to," Duskmon whispered from behind Aldamon. Three incredibly fast slashes of Duskmon's right sword later, Takuya was left groaning on the ground."

"Frozen Hunter!"

"Deadly Gaze." The eyes on Duskmon's armor focused behind him, cutting through the apparition and hitting Beowulfmon. Duskmon turned to look over his shoulder at the battered Warrior of Light. "It seems my dear brother is nearing the end of his rope."

Beowulfmon's face contorted into rage. "You're not my brother!" He launched an all-out attack against Duskmon, sword against Sword. It was only moments before Duskmon had the upper hand. They fought up a hill, ending up on its crest.

"Face it, brother," he mocked. "You're no match for me. Not in the Digital World and certainly not here."

"Plasma Pods!"

Duskmon's armor-eyes saw Zephyrmon, hands and feet covered by red energy, swooping down on him. With one hand, he deflected Beowulf's sword. With the other, he grabbed the Warrior of Light's wrist, swinging him around into Zephyrmon. Beowulfmon's sword caught Zephyrmon in the stomach, and her attack collided with him. Both devolved. Zoe went flying, landing painfully in the far wall of the crater. Kouji, still held by Duskmon, just moaned. His shoulder screamed at the sudden strain.

"How did we lose?" Takuya asked incredulously, picking himself up off the ground. "You-you're just a Human Spirit! You can't be that powerful!"

"Oh? And why can't I be?" He threw Kouji to the ground, stepping on his chest to keep him pinned. "I am the perfect fusion of human and spirit." To demonstrate, he devolved. "I don't need a digivice to evolve, and I certainly don't need someone controlling me. The only thing holding me back from ultimate power now is my pathetic other half."

Takuya stepped forward challengingly. "Oh yeah? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I was hoping to show you this." The air above them all seemed to waver. A black sphere appeared.

Zoe pulled herself out of the dirt and stood up. "What's that?"

"An illusion."

Kouji frowned. "And illusion?"

"Yes. This world gives me power. The dark makes things seem more threatening in your world. Here the Darkness makes things seem real that are not."

"Okay…" Takuya said. "Right. You were saying?"

"Thank you." The two Human Spirits of Darkness appeared on opposite sides of the black sphere. "There are two spirits of Darkness, but only one source of power. Because of this, each spirit receives half the power." The black sphere split in two, one side turning red and merging with the corrupt spirit; the other turned violet and merged with the purified spirit. The spirits morphed into the digimon forms. "So, indirectly, that power went to two separate human beings: Kouichi –" The image of Lowemon became Kouichi, with blue eyes. " – and the darkling. Me." Duskmon became Kouichi with red eyes. "Each of us holds half the power. Once one is destroyed, the other will reach his true potential." The illusion dissolved into static.

"So you have half the power you could have?" Takuya frowned. "Then we still should have been able to beat you!"

The darkling shook his head. "You still don't get it. The spirits gain and lose power based on how much energy of their element is available to them. The Real and Digital Worlds are worlds of light, so the Warrior of Light is powerful there. And other elemental energies are abundant. But this is a world of darkness. The Light has no power here, and other elements are contained within their sector. This is the Wind Sector, so the Warrior of Wind is strongest here. But everything in this world is darkness, and it all strengthens me."

"It strengthens my brother, too," Kouji said defiantly.

The darkling looked down at him. "All the more reason to eliminate you now. Without his precious brother, he'll be too lost to stand against me."

Kouji scowled. In one swift motion, he grabbed the darkling's foot on his chest and lifted, hoping to send the darkling to the ground. The darkling lost his balance, but threw down his arms to catch himself. Kouji was on his feet in an instant, but before he could go anywhere the darkling lashed out with his foot at Kouji's ankle. Kouji toppled backwards, the air rushing out of his lungs as he landed. He gasped, drawing in air, but the darkling dug his knee into Kouji's chest. Once more, Kouji was deprived of air. He could breathe only shallowly, and his lungs grew tight.

A blade pressed against his neck. Kouji focused his gaze on the darkling with some difficulty. The darkling smiled smugly at him. "Before I kill you," he whispered, "there's something you need to understand." His eyes wavered for a moment and turned deep, clear blue. His smile relaxed, becoming the genuine, open smile Kouji knew so well. The next time the darkling spoke, even his voice had changed, his tone becoming lighter. "I want you to know I'm the one doing all this."

Phase One: Complete.

Wow! Ten. Pages. Without comments. O.O Cool…

And Then There Were Ten: Still not done with Kado's pic…But he, Jomei, Naoko, and Taura have a digimon guide: Tapirmon. And I was…well, to be blunt, I was tired, hyper, and mildly insane when I wrote his introduction, so his personality is…unique. I kinda like it, though, so it's not changing.

Review! Please?

Word count: 3353 (And the count continues to climb! My new goal is 5000 words for chapter 16. I don't know about 17. I could have it going on for a long time, with wrapping everything up, but I don't want it to drag on too long…)