"No," Dark smirked as Krad's tall form materialized before him in a flash of white light.

"I didn't ask you anything yet," Krad seethed.

"I said, no," Dark reiterated, flicking the feather he'd been twirling between his fingers casually in Krad's direction. It was white. "And try to molt on your own side of the infinite void. I don't want rabies."

"Amusing. If you spent half as much energy breaking this seal as you spend nursing that atrocious wit, it wouldn't be an issue," Krad returned, catching the feather and fashioning it into a knifelike weapon for a moment before returning it to its original shape.

Dark grinned and shook his head, staring off into the distance. He still had no sign of Daisuke. 'Come on, kid,' he thought. How long had it been? An hour? Two? It was taking too long.

"You must be feeling lonely today, Krad. It's rare of you to seek out my company so extensively," Dark smirked, looking over from where he was lying at the blonde who was standing next to him with arms crossed. 'Get out of here, just get out of my hair so I can think,' he pleaded in his head.

"If you're getting sick, I don't want to miss a second."

"I'm not." Krad thought Dark sounded just slightly different from what he was used to; the suave tone was hollow somehow.

"What was that before, then?" Krad said flatly.

Dark remembered the searing pain in his shoulder and leg. For hours now, he'd been lying awake actually wishing it would return. At least that would mean Daisuke was alive.

"You must be terribly bored." Dark cocked his head at Krad in mock concern. A bolt of white magic flew at him, and he flipped backward on his hands, throwing himself back to his feet safely out of the way. "I've told you, if you need entertainment so badly, wave your little Hikari wand and make it yourself," he commented lazily.

"And I've already said I won't give you the satisfaction."

"Suit yourself," Dark teased condescendingly, careful to keep the disappointment out of his voice as he turned his back on Krad with a shrug.

"Do you really want scenery that badly, crowfeathers? I might be in the mood to create some for your sake." Dark paused where he stood, glancing back at his counterpart with more hope in his eyes than he wanted to show. Krad had never made such an offer before, even if it was a joke. He didn't want his other half to know how desperately he yearned for grass, a sky – anything to take his thoughts away from the dwelling thoughts that kept eating like corkscrews into his mind.

"Well, shall I make it?" Krad demanded.

Dark regarded him suspiciously. "Yes."

Krad raised his arms out to his sides and narrowed his eyes as white power sparked from his fingertips, the feather Dark had handed him anchoring the spell. Slowly, objects began forming around them. They were featureless at first, but the details built up gradually; arms, legs, faces, wounds, tears…

People. Not plants or buildings, but people, all writhing or shuddering in some terrible pain, strewn everywhere on their sides and backs like so many dead roaches. Some of them he recognized; Daisuke lay terribly still with a gash on his chest that bled out onto the dusty ground. Risa crying, holding her retching sister while favoring her own wounds. Everyone aching, crying, suffering, real enough to touch. It was so masterfully done that it took Dark several stunned seconds to remind himself that it was all part of Krad's spell. Not real, but art, if this could be called such a thing. Dark felt his heart race with adrenaline, wanting to escape the reality forming around him. He turned a furious glare on Krad when he managed to rip his eyes away. The other angel was watching his reaction, chin raised slightly in a gesture of self-satisfaction.

"Not funny," Dark hissed, dissipating the half-assed illusions with a swipe of his hand. He was on his feet now, moving in on Krad with fists locked.

"Now now, you don't seem to appreciate my work," Krad said dully. "Don't tell me you still have a soft spot for the wretched creatures that wanted us locked up in this hell."

"It was necessary," countered Dark, the image of Daisuke's suffering still burned into his head.

Krad laughed, low and cynical. "You really think those pathetic creatures cared about you? Do you think they missed you for so much as a second after they locked you away? To them, you and I are a piece of art gone wrong. Some foolish experiment that they had to scrap when it wouldn't serve their purposes. They'll never understand our true beauty, never respect our power. Why the hell don't you see that?"

"You can't honestly tell me that your time on earth brought you no interest at all for the people there," Dark demanded.

"Not in the least, and when I get back there I intend to make sure every one of them pays," Krad scowled, walking to within inches of Dark's drawn fist, daring him to strike.

"Do you think I'm afraid to hit you?" Dark's wings arched upward menacingly.

"Prove me wrong," the white angel returned, his gaze cool as ice.

Dark drew back to punch when he felt a slight flicker in the back of his psyche. Nausea, strong enough to whisk the strength from his knees. It was there for a split moment, then gone again completely. He dropped his fist, eyes becoming distant as he completely unfocused on the person in front of him.

Krad eyed the other angel with blank impatience as he apparently ditzed out. "Dark, get a grip," he ordered.

The ebon-winged angel shook his head dismissively, feeling nauseous. "Daisuke," he breathed, rubbing his neck.

"Daisuke what?" Krad pushed impatiently.

"Something happened to him," Dark answered without thinking, finally composed enough to speak. And it was something bad... the fact that he'd lost his link to the boy could only mean that he'd lost consciousness, or worse. Dark pressed a hand to his head and tried to sort things out.

"You're still linked to your wing host? Impossible," Krad said stiffly and a bit too harshly. Dark glanced at him and the blonde quickly erased the heat from his expression.

'Was that jealousy?' Dark contemplated, but shook off the thought. Daisuke was alive, and in danger. And he could do nothing to help him, as long as he was here. But this wasteland was his destiny; he'd accepted that he would have to spend eternity surrounded by grey with his charming other half. As much as he hated to admit it, he and Krad were one essence. Leaving would mean releasing Krad. If only Krad could overcome his bitterness, maybe it could be different, but two years here had left Dark fairly convinced that such a time would never come. Convinced, at least, until now.

"Krad," Dark said, climbing back to his feet, "If you returned to Earth, what would you do there?"

Krad's expression didn't change. "I just told you. I'd take revenge on my wing-host and the rest of the humans that helped you lock me in this hell."

"And then?"

"And then I'd take revenge on you," Krad said with calculated spite.

Dark waved his hand as if tossing aside Krad's answer, growing angry again. "And when you're all done killing and avenging, then what?" he demanded.

Krad blinked as if he'd really never considered that question before. Or maybe he had. "That's my own business," he dismissed.

Dark grimaced and turned away, wariness growing stronger and stronger in his gut. Daisuke's presence was gone again. Who would want to kill Daisuke? Unless it had something to do with the black wings. If it did, it was far bigger than the redhead or any of them could handle themselves. No. He shouldn't leave this place. Even if Daisuke was his last and only link to the outside world. The only proof he had that he'd ever been alive. Even though his death would mean that Dark really would be alone.

Dark stared blankly at nothing, waiting for a sign of Daisuke's life to return. Nothing was happening.

"What is it," Krad spat.

"Get out of here," Dark ordered distractedly.

"I'm not going anywhere. For now, I can't get enough of that look on your face."

Dark turned violet eyes on Krad and delivered a swift kick to his chest that sent the blonde staggering. "Out!"

Krad coughed, gripping his sore ribs and raising a vengeful glare at Dark. But Dark didn't even seem to be paying attention to him. He was frowning, looking to the side as if calculating some devastating wager. Did the kid really mean that much to him? How pathetic. He almost could have felt sorry for him, but he didn't. It was perverse, caring about a human. He and Dark were superior to them in every way, yet they dared presume to control them, the immortal incarnation of the Black Wings. He cooled his anger, rose straight and stepped back, getting out of Dark's space. Something different was going on with the dark angel, and he decided to observe quietly to see what became of it. Dark paid no attention to him, looking off with his head raised slightly toward their featureless sky.

Krad didn't have to like Dark to understand what was going through his head as he stared up at the emptiness. Part of him wanted to show Dark what he was capable of, though he wasn't sure why. Just this once, he thought… his eyes grew luminescent, giving off a soft golden glow. Beginning right where Dark was looking, a brilliant blue sparked into existence and washed like fresh paint out over the horizon in every direction. Clouds wisped into it like swirls of mist, white and clear.

It didn't fill the whole sky, just the area above them for several miles, its edges fading back into the gray, but Dark stared at it like it held the keys to his soul, unblinking. A flock of gulls flew across the sky as it faded slowly back to grey, until at last they too disappeared. "Satisfied?" Krad said quietly, the vibrance of the spell still glowing into his speech.

Dark looked back at his counterpart. "That was incredible," he said in a low voice, something that had long starved inside of him making it tremble.

Krad looked away somewhat awkwardly, surprised that it had affected the angel so strongly. Whenever the topic came up, he always shrugged it off so casually; he'd thought it was Dark's idea of teasing him, to suggest he create scenery. Now his counterpart seemed even more stricken by the sight of color than he was.

"Hey, Krad."

The golden eyes faced him expectantly. Dark thought for a moment. There was no way he could expect Krad to agree to help Daisuke, but if they were going to get back to Earth, they would need to work together. Dark possessed the power to alter and create existence – a power he was fairly sure he could channel to break from this plane to Earth's. The problem was materializing in a particular place; a sloppy spell could put them both in space or a mile underground. Krad's visualization would be necessary to make sure they landed in Japan, and to give form to the human bodies Dark created for them there. Despite the length of their lives, neither of them had ever possessed their own form. That would need to change. Dark had to believe he'd have enough strength left after the jump to stick their souls in mortal containers before they got stranded as permanent fixtures in earth's energy field.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I need your help."

Part 5 coming very soon (perhaps tomorrow?) I know this has been in stasis, but I'm off work this week and we'll see where it takes me.