Author's Note: And this is it… The conclusion of how many years of work? It's weird to think of how long ago I started this story and how much I've grown as a writer along the way. What's even weirder is knowing that, despite all that time, this was always how it ended. I think that comes through a bit, especially all the way back in Fate. Honestly, I'm a little reluctant to put this up, a little bummed that no one I know personally will ever know I wrote it, and sad that these fantastic characters I've grown to love don't get more internet attention. I've got something new going, Aftermath, but I think I want to get a head start if not finish it before publishing to avoid my typical 6-12 month update times. Maybe by then the reader-base will be even more depleted, but for those of you who like my work, you can be assured that there will be more. Somewhere between research, inorganic chemistry, and neurobiology exams I'll write more. ^^ Enough ranting! Please enjoy the final installment of Destiny! As always, I hope not to disappoint you and would love any feedback you'd like to give!

Disclaimer: Even though I feel very attached to these characters and this world, I don't actually own any of it. And I'm making no moneys so please not to sue.

If one were to look up the word awkward in the dictionary, there would be a series of definitions. The first would read something like "hard to deal with." The next: "causing extreme discomfort and embarrassment." Beside that second definition, there would be a picture of that first train ride Kouichi took with the rest of the Digidestined. Kouji sitting at the end of the central car, strategically placed near the door, but trying to play it cool by looking absently out the window. Or maybe it was the strategic placement that had been done absently. Who knew. The other four Digidestined sitting in a cluster near the center of that same car, huddled conspiratorially. And Kouichi, all alone exactly one car down from Takuya, hunched over with laced fingers and forearms braced on splayed knees. Yes, the whole thing was picturesque, the perfectly staged scene in some play that had been described by the playwright as "awkward." The four unrelated Digidestined were all whispering about what had just transpired as covertly as possible, their low voices a buzz of confusion, suspicion, and hurt iced with the slightest traces of residual fear. Kouji, of course, could hear every word and would've, under any other circumstances, shut them down. This time, however, he was too preoccupied with his landscape viewing to do anything about it. The forced apathy in his frame was much more noticeable than any actual tension could've been, leaving his nerves all the more exposed. Everyone was doing their part to set the mood, but none more so than Kouichi. Silence rolling from him like a thick fog which threatened to envelop the entire Trailmon.

It made them all really uncomfortable- the silence. When they'd first met up with the twins along the Dark Wasteland tracks, newly repaired teal Trailmon Angler sufficiently bribed with chocolate, they'd expected something different. Takuya, the least emotionally observant of the bunch, had marched right up to greet the dark brother with a loud voice and a clap on the shoulder. But Kouichi had recoiled from him like he'd been holding a knife, panicked eyes darting for one second around the group before returning to the dirt. Izumi had thought to hug him (she was part Italian, after all) but he shied away from her too, using his right hand to pull his concealed left fist deeper into his stomach. The pure terror and humiliation of his demeanor killed the words on their lips and, without ever making eye contact, he'd boarded the Trailmon and situated himself. A prisoner going to his execution.

Kouji wasn't much better. He didn't speak, and he didn't even look at his twin until Kouichi's back was turned. Even then it was just a quick glance, like a slip of curiosity before icy resolve descended once more to quench his blatant uncertainty. His eyes moved to his friends once Kouichi was on board and he gave them a sort of half-hearted, sympathetic shrug. What do you do? What could I possibly say to him? Then he too got on the Trailmon, silent and dreary as the boy before him, leaving the others slack jawed. They hadn't been expecting rainbows and Care Bears, but a little more enthusiasm seemed in order. The long lost twins had finally found each other! Kouichi was freed of Cherubimon's control! Kouji's mother wasn't dead! These all seemed like things to be celebrated, or at least treated as slightly happier occasions than the death of a puppy. Certainly they all felt relieved; two horribly endangered friends were safe now. But the reluctance with which the boys stood in each other's company, the haunting in their eyes… No one was sure what they'd been expecting, but it wasn't this.

"It really is crazy," J.P. whispered to Tommy from behind his hand. "Seeing them next to each other like this."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed with a fervent shake of his head. Sometimes the innocence of youth has its benefits and he seemed a little less depressed than the rest of them. "They look exactly the same!"

"We had to be pretty dense not to know they were related, huh?"

"Why do you think they didn't know about each other? I mean, why didn't their parents make them spend time together? My parents are always forcing my brother to play with me, even when he doesn't want to."

"I know the feeling," contributed Takuya, leaning forward to partake in their conspiratorial tone.

"The better question is," said J.P., growing bolder with his volume and raising one finger. As if to point out a pink elephant that was floating just over their heads. "Why did he lie to us about it? Why not just say 'Hey, if you see a kid that looks exactly like me, could you let him know I'm looking for him? He's my long lost twin brother.' Or something like that. It's not like it's some horrible crime to be looking for your brother. It's not like we would've judged him, or anything."

"Maybe he's just private," offered Tommy, fidgeting a little. "I mean, Yutaka never talked about his problems, not even to our parents. I never knew what was going on with him…"

"Look where it got him," spat Takuya irritably. "Look what all the secrecy got him!"

"Takuya," chastised Zoe, looking at him in utter disbelief. He wilted under her gaze, setting his jaw in frustration and staring at the floor. This was the first moment they'd had a chance to think since discovering the big secret. And the more Takuya thought about it, the angrier he became. A fierce, powerful anger at fate or destiny or whatever force had turned that poor kid against his brother boiled in his chest, leaking out in at times he didn't intend. None of it was directed against Kouichi, he just…

"We could've helped him," Takuya breathed. He'd meant it to be a statement, an assertion of Kouichi's stupidity for not trusting them. A critique of his frustrating lone-wolf attitude and obviously lacking self-sufficiency. But it came out a question, the words laced with doubt. He remembered a boy in a tunnel, terrified of what was happening to him, wishing he could be different. He remembered not knowing just how desperate that boy was. He remembered not even noticing the kid was in trouble. "If he'd just asked, we could've helped him, right?"

"I don't know, bud," said J.P., fidgeting with his fingers and looking absently out the window. Memories of his first encounters with Kouichi played on the glass, sowing uncertainty into his thoughts. "Maybe it was him, maybe it was whatever Cherubimon was doing to him, but he didn't want us around. Yeah, he might've acted weird form time to time, but how were we supposed to know that wasn't just how he was? Embarrassing as it may be, I think we were always helpless when it came to Kouichi. Let's face it, by the time we knew something was up it was already too late."

"I knew," whispered Zoe, lacing her fingers tightly in her lap. Her expression was carefully arranged, controlled yet simmering. "I knew after the first time he collapsed, back in Breezy Village. I knew in my gut and I didn't say anything… didn't do anything."

"Zoe," exclaimed Takuya, looking genuinely shocked at the morose tenor in her voice. "You're being too hard on yourself; this is not your fault! Hell, I don't think it's really anybody's fault, except maybe that freak Cherubimon!"

"Takuya's right, Z," added J.P., his voice resonating with comfort. "Whatever was going on with Kouichi started way before we knew him and there's nothing we could've done about it. What's important is what we do now."

She gave a sort of weak smile to both of them, but her jade eyes remained distant, a contradiction of guilt and frustration. It was as if she was there in the Trailmon, but also somewhere else, exploring memories and scheming plans.

"Um guys," asked Tommy in a small voice, the obvious child intruding on an adult conversation. "I don't mean to interrupt, but what's gonna happen to Kouichi when we get to the Rose Morning Star? What if Cherubimon is, you know, waiting for him?"

All three looked down at the Warrior of Ice, stunned into momentary silence by the foresight and maturity of his question. What were they going to do? What could they do? If Cherubimon swept in and tried to take the dark twin back under his corrupted wing, was there anything the Digidestined could do to stop him? They hoped so, hoped their time in the Digital World had forced those naïve children who'd first encountered Kouichi to grow up. But their silence spoke of a different sentiment… a fear all felt but none could voice.

"I don't know Tommy," said J.P. finally, glancing down the train at Kouichi's huddled form. "I think that's up to him."

"There has to be something we can do," Takuya shot back, hands balling into fists as he leaned forward.

"You can't kill someone else's demons Takuya."

"We're his friends! We're both of their friends!" A shred of tact kept his voice to a hiss, but as with most things that came out of Takuya's mouth, the words carried such intensity they echoed through the compartment anyway. "We may've let him down before, but we know better now."

"Do we," J.P. shot back, bitterness leaking into his tone. "We might have a better idea about his situation, but there's not a single person here that can claim to know Kouichi. How can we? He refuses to talk to us!"

Zoe shot to her feet, fists held rigidly by her sides. The others, Kouji included, started at her sudden movement, staring at her incredulously. If she cared, she didn't show it. Her face was a thin mask of resolve stretched over heartbreak and fury. She threw J.P. a hot look, then set her jaw, marched down the train isle into the next car and settled herself into the seat next to Kouichi. He flinched away, gaze moving to a spot on the floor as far away from her as possible, left hand held protectively against his abdomen. But he didn't get up or try to scoot away, which Zoe took as an invitation to continue. For a moment she paused, legs pressed together, hand folded stiffly in her lap, back so ridged it made no contact with the seat cushion. The other three watched her with slack jaws, unabashed surprise and curiosity gleaming in their eyes.

"You know," she started in a low voice that wouldn't have been heard by anyone but Kouichi if the rest of the Trailmon hadn't gone so deadly silent. "What you're doing right now, giving us this silent treatment, is really juvenile and cruel."

He shuddered, retreating into himself even more, if that was possible. A flush of shame colored his still too pale cheeks and he bit his lower lip, refusing to speak.

"I understand what you've been through is highly traumatic, and no one expects you to just… get over it." She paused again, taking a steadying breath. "But Kouichi, we're your friends! We care about you; surely you've figured that out from our conversation-I know you've been listening. Please, let us at least try to help you. Just talk to us- tell us what you need!" Her voice broke with such emotion it made her eyes burn. There was another long, painful pause. Then Kouichi's lips parted and he sucked in a shaky breath.

"Why don't you blame me?" Zoe's head jerked towards him. "I can't understand. I lied to you… I tried to destroy you. I mean, I blame me." He straightened and, for the first time since the Wind Factory, truly looked at her. Navy eyes met green and this time is was Zoe who flinched. "I don't want your forgiveness. I want you to hate me. I want you all scorn me and berate me and leave me to rot."

"Why would you think that," Zoe asked, her tone quiet and genuine.

"Because it's what I deserve."

"Kouichi, you can't really believe that." He looked away, head lulling against the window. "None of this is your fault!"

"Isn't it," he shot back, his voice saturated with bitterness and contempt. It was very disturbing to hear such a voice come from lips she knew to be kind. "The Spirits of Darkness chose me, picked the corruption in my soul over everything else in the Digital World." He shook his head, letting his dark bangs obscure his eyes. "I saw them, Zoe; I saw what was left of the others, the one's the Spirits rejected. It ate at them, dissolved them from the inside out until the only thing left was the misery that drove them to it in the first place. But not me. It wanted me and I wanted it just as badly. I didn't want to want it, but I did."

"Cherubimon manipulated you!" Zoe twisted in her seat to stare at the older twin full on, her expression absolutely incredulous.

"Is that what happened," he laughed. Though if truth be told, it sounded more like a sob.

"You told me," she said deliberately. "That Cherubimon can put things in your head. And we all know how good he is at messing with your memories, with your body. He pushed you into this, and that's the truth."

"I don't know what the truth is," he almost whimpered, closing his eyes. "I don't know what he did to me or what he said. I don't know what kind of person I was before I met him… what's real and what isn't. Was there ever a dead forest? Was I ever actually at the Wind Factory? Did I really kill Arbormon and all those other Digimon? Which of these memories are mine and which ones did he put there? If I'm not the person Cherubimon kept describing, then who am I?" He snorted with contempt. "Maybe it's all true."

"Kouichi, you are a good person. You can't be held responsible for the things Duskmon did. Cherubimon changed you; I saw it all the way back in Breezy Village. Kouichi, you were fighting it the whole time."

"I had a choice," he said, nodding to himself. Inhaling slowly through his nose, he opened his eyes with new resolve and gave her a sideways look. "And I chose the darkness."

"It wasn't much of a choice," comforted Zoe, laying a gentle hand on his left forearm. His reaction was… not what she'd expected. A pained hiss slid through his teeth and he jerked away convulsively, grabbing his arm as if to defend it from an attack. "Does it hurt," she asked in surprise.

"Yes," he spat, mouth barely moving. "It hurts."

"I'm sorry," she said, dropping her hand back into her lap. Once the sting died down, Kouichi raised his eyes and gave her a sort of appraising look. Then, pursing his lips, he held out his left arm and pulled the maroon sleeve of his shirt up to the elbow. Zoe recoiled from the sight, letting out an involuntary gasp which she quickly tried to rein in, pressing her hands over her mouth. A sick smile twisted Kouichi's lips as he watched her reaction.

"Disgusting, isn't it," he commented conversationally, flexing his fingers to accentuate the network of black veins that still ran just beneath the near-translucent skin of his forearm.

"What is it?!"

"Evil." His tone was so off hand, so blasé, she almost missed the word. "It's my hatred, my anger and malice and all the things that made me attractive to the Spirits of Darkness. It's the part of me that's hurt Cherubimon-sama hasn't tried to reclaim me yet and the part that would do whatever he asked if it meant getting that power back."

"I… I don't understand."

"Don't you," he accused. Tears that he refused to let into his voice collected in his eyes and he gave her the saddest, most defeated look she ever had or ever would receive. She held it, her expression enigmatic. "These didn't go away when I was separated from the Spirits. Why would they, the Spirits are just power. The corruption's inside me."

"Those feelings," she whispered, not trusting her own voice. "Might've been there when you came to this world and they might still be there. But they're not corruption, Kouichi, they're human. You know what else I see in that arm? What I have always seen in you? Loneliness. Sadness. Grief. Horrors I can't even begin to imagine. If I've understood correctly, your mother is sick with no one to help her except for you. You're a twelve year old trying to hold together a broken home and then, out of nowhere, some one drops this bombshell about having a brother and you, of course, take it on as your duty to go find him. Cut yourself a little slack! You're a kind and brave person, but that sort of responsibility would make anyone crazy, especially if they tried to handle it all alone. Cherubimon used that against you; it's nothing to be ashamed of!"

Kouichi didn't respond. He let his hands fall back into his lap, leaving his arm exposed. An empty silence hung in the air, which Zoe felt compelled to fill. She smiled softly, jerking her head towards the other car.

"And you're not alone anymore. You're Digidestined, and we're all Digidestined, which sort of makes us immediate friends. Besides," her grin widened encouragingly. "You have a brother."

"Yes," Kouichi agreed, not sharing her smile. "Yes, Kouji is my brother… A brother I tried to kill. A brother," he stole a quick glance at his twin before his gaze returned to the floor. "I can't even talk to."

Kouji had his chin in the palm of one hand and was staring out the window with practiced disinterest, shamelessly eavesdropping. When Kouichi looked at him, he felt an old, but familiar tickle on the back of his neck and moved to return the gaze. But it was too late to catch his twin's eye and, scolding himself for being impulsive, he returned to watching the barren scenery.

Zoe took all this in, looking from one hopelessly awkward brother to the other. Then, rolling her eyes in exasperation, she got to her feet.

"What are you doing," asked Kouichi, taken aback by her sudden action.

"Helping," she said matter-of-factly. Using the same determined stride with which she entered his car, Zoe marched back towards the others. She stopped just in front of Kouji and, before he'd had a chance to protest, grabbed his ear and started dragging him back down the hall.

"The hell," swore Kouji.

"You two are going to have a conversation," she stated, her tone leaving no room for argument. "And you're going to do it now; there might not be another chance once we get to the Rose Morning Star." She thrust him into the car with Kouichi and began to close the door.

"Zoe!" Kouji caught the door with one hand, holding it open and giving her a very intense look. She matched it, daring him to challenge her verdict. "What am I supposed to say to him?" The question was quiet and broken, not at all like the Kouji she knew.

"He's your brother, Kouji. Say whatever comes to mind," she answered, speaking the words as if they held some great wisdom and brushing his hand from the frame. Kouji didn't resist, allowing her to close the door in his face and lock him in with the one person he wanted to be near and simultaneously very very far away from.

Finally, sighing heavily, Kouji turned around to face his brother. Kouichi was staring at him, that same primal terror he'd seen when the Spirits had first been stripped etched into his face. Even if he understood it, the expression still made Kouji feel very uncomfortable. However, as soon as their gazes met, Kouichi looked away, flushing. Kouji ran his tongue over his upper lip, selecting a seat across from his twin and throwing himself into it. Kouichi's eyes flicked to him, then back to the ground. For a moment, they just sat in silence.

"Sooo," offered Kouji, his voice made high by nerves. "Our Grandma's dead." Kouichi's head came up and tilted to one side, one eyebrow cocked incredulously. His lips parted for a moment, like he was going to say something, but before the words could form his mouth snapped shut and he looked away. Seriously, Kouji chastised himself silently. That's the best conversation starter you could come up with? "I'm sorry," he said hastily, pushing his hands into his jacked pockets. "I'm sorry I'm… not very good with words. This is hard for me too, but Zoe's right, this could be our only chance before… Can we just try? Please just- just say whatever you're thinking."

It was so long before Kouichi replied Kouji almost thought he wasn't going to at all. And when the words did come, they were hushed and timid, whispers into a possibly haunted house.

"I was thinking… wondering, why you would apologize to me. After everything I did… I tried to kill you."

"Well, then that makes us even," Kouji responded, relaxing just a little back into the seat. "It's not like I was going easy on you or anything."

"You don't understand," said Kouichi, pulling his courage together and looking into his brother's eyes. "I blamed you for everything. I wanted to hurt you. They told me killing you would make the pain go away and I believed them."

"But you didn't kill me." The statement was so painfully, horribly obvious that in any other situation both brother's would've flung themselves out the Trailmon window to escape the corniness. Yet, miraculously, it wasn't like that at all. The circumstances were such that the words flowed naturally into the discussion, the only words, in fact, that could have been spoken in that moment. The right words. Kouji met his brother's gaze and felt like he'd opened a window to the deepest truths of his being. Like when Kouichi looked at him, his twin could see straight into the recesses of his soul. And, somehow, that didn't bother either of them.

"No," Kouichi whispered. "No, I didn't. I couldn't."

"And I never meant to hurt you. I wish things could've happened differently." They sat like that for a minute, reveling in this shared truth.

"And…" Kouji continued, rubbing nervous palms on his pants and straightening his back. His gaze flicked to the door, then fell to the ground. "I didn't mean to be so callous earlier. You know, when-"

"You had every right to be," Kouichi cut him off, twisting his spine so he could look out the window to his right. His back pressed rigidly into the seat, his body tight, but not withdrawn like on their walk to the Trailmon. Wary.

"No," said Kouji in his kindest stern voice. "I didn't." There was a long, stiff pause before he found the nerve to continue. "You find out you have a long, lost twin brother who's being controlled by evil, then subsequently free him from that evil, you say something like: 'Hey, are you alright?' You give the give the guy a moment to catch his breath, maybe help him to his feet. You don't launch straight into an interrogation like some kind of Gestapo officer."

The 'you' part of this conversation was mutually understood to be too personal at this point. Too close to a wound both needed, but neither wanted, to discuss. Too likely to disrupt the fragile trust they'd managed to erect, so it was just omitted.

Kouichi caught his eye. "When I found out I had a long lost twin brother, I stalked him, sold my soul for power, then tried to destroy him."

"Everyone makes mistakes," said Kouji with a shrug. The smallest hint of a smile twitched in the corners of Kouichi's lips, which brought an out-and-out grin to Kouji's. It only lasted for a moment, but in that moment the two brothers were also old friends that knew the absolute location of each other's funny bones. Closing his eyes, the dark twin leaned his chin towards his chest, still smiling that ghost of a smile.

"I can't be that forgiving," he whispered in a broken tone. "Regardless of what Zoe says: I had a choice. Somewhere along the road- I don't know when, I chose to become a monster rather than face you."

"I don't believe that," snorted Kouji disdainfully.

"Perhaps note. Nevertheless it's true. Lord Cherubimon has many…" He swallowed hard, bringing his scarred left palm up to his face and shuddering. "Abilities. He lied to me, he used me, he turned me inside out and put this sickness into my flesh, but he never made me blame you. He didn't have to; from the moment I learned about our parents' secret a part of me resented you for not being there. I know that's not your fault, but still… it hurt. I just felt so alone and-"

Kouichi broke off, curling that left hand into a fist and staring at it the way one might regard a gangrenous limb. His gaze held an unexpected steel, his jaw set in admirable rigidity. "That's no excuse. There are no excuses for what I allowed to happen."

Kouji leaned forward, pressing his forearms to his knees and lacing his fingers. He regarded his brother's iron pride, his determination to stand up to his mistakes, accept blame, and atone, with a soft expression that could only be described as fondness. If Kouichi noticed, he didn't comment.

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh," the light twin asked softly. "I mean, you were fighting Duskmon just as hard if not harder than I was. Defeating the Spirits of Darkness was as much your victory as it was mine. Doesn't that count for something?" Kouichi didn't respond. Licking his lips, Kouji changed tack. "If Cherubimon came right now and offered you a chance to rejoin him, would you take it? If you had the power, would you use it to fight me?"

Kouichi turned sharply, his gaze locking into Kouji's. The two shared something neither could articulate nor describe, some understanding of the moment that went deeper than the five senses. Neither flinched from the contact. The sense of familiarity was overwhelming, yet neither pulled back.

"I'd die first."

"Then that's it. There's nothing to forgive." Kouichi let his head tilt to the right, his brows knitting in sadness. Though it was shrouded by softness and kindness, there was a stubborn edge to his gaze that told his twin he remained unconvinced. Sighing, Kouji scooted forward a little, positioning himself more in the isle than on the cushion. He understood that stubbornness all too well; he knew what it was like to do something he regretted and want to atone for it. He recognized, as if from a dream, the need to be blamed.

"Look," Kouji started uncertainly, licking his lips. "I'm not really good with people… And I'm especially not good with family. But, um, that's something I'd like to work on. I wanna know more about you, about Mom, I just… well… I don't know what I'm doing. I've never been the most, uh, expressive guy, and I don't have a great track record with feelings, but you have to know that I want to be a part of your guys' lives. I want to figure out this whole 'being brothers' thing."

Kouichi looked at him like he wasn't sure what he was seeing, the way someone evaluates an optical illusion. Certain his twin was imaginary, certain he'd misheard, yet unable to shake the lingering sense of actuality. Tears burned in his eyes, swelling into drops despite his fervent attempts to blink them back. Kouji frowned in confusion, fighting the urge to glance behind him. The discomfort in his stomach suggested there might be something there, some haunting in the window just behind him that had caught his brother's eye, but he knew better. He knew full well his words had caused this inexplicable reaction.

"I'm sorry," Kouji stammered, shifting his weight. "I-"

"I always wondered what it would sound like," said Kouichi in a small, even tone. "Every time I saw you- followed you, I always thought I'd do it. I dreamed that if I could be brave enough to just talk to you, just once, then everything would be all right. I dreamed, when I finally did it, you'd say that to me-"

The words cut off in his throat as some invisible hand grasped them, his eyes widening in sudden pain. His right hand flew to his left wrist, grasping it as one might a hemorrhaging wound, and he doubled over. Instinctively, Kouji lurched to his side, uncertain hands hovering, panic etched onto his face. He'd observed similar behavior before, when someone got the wind knocked out of them is sports. Gingerly, he reached for his twin, preparing for a back rubbing maneuver he'd seen preformed by close friends.

"Don't touch me!" The sound came from Kouichi's now shaking form, but the venom in his tone couldn't have. A spasm of fear rippled though Kouji's ribcage as he recognized the voice. Duskmon. The layers of rage and contempt overlaying deep and horrible loneliness which made up the tenor could belong to no one else. Now, more than ever, Kouji needed to be close to his brother. He felt a powerful impulse to comfort and, without the years of conditioning that kept most siblings from expressing such obvious affection, acted on it. His hand hovered for just a moment, then came down gently to rest between Kouichi's shoulder blades. The flesh there felt icy cold through the fabric of his shirt, almost painfully so, but the moment the twins came into direct contact the trembling stopped. Warmth spread from Kouji's hand as it moved softly up and down his spine, seeping into Kouichi's bones and easing his breath. Wordlessly, he looked up. Kouji met his gaze and smiled.

"You know I'm not going to leave, right? It's gonna be weird and confusing, and I'm gonna make a lot of mistakes, but I want to stay with you. You're still suffering Kouichi- I can feel it. Let me help you." He paused for a second, squinting off to one side as if trying to remember something. Then, his eyes brightening, he pulled a D-Tector out of his back pocket. Kouichi straightened upon seeing it, his face suspicious. "This is yours."

"I can't take that," said Kouichi in an undertone, staring at the device like it might leap up and bite him at any minute. "The Spirits of Darkness… my Spirits, they're evil."

"I don't think so. I don't think any of the Spirits are inherently evil, just corrupted like the other Digimon we've faced. The Spirits' were purified by the D-Tector; you can use the Power of Darkness for good, if you want to." Kouichi considered that, biting his lower lip.

"What if you're wrong?"

"I'm not."

"How do you know?"

"Because… you're my brother."

Kouji grabbed his twin's scarred left hand, pulling it towards him. Taking the lack of resistance on Kouichi's part as approval, he pressed the black D-Tector into his upturned palm. The reaction was instantaneous. A dense cloud of purple darkness bloomed from the small screen and enveloped Kouichi's arm up to the elbow before either twin had a chance to blink. Gasping, Kouji started to pull his hand back, but hesitated. Unlike the blackness that had seeped from Duskmon, this darkness felt warm and kind. His mind's eye showed him jagged dead trees burst to life and pouring black rain slow to a gentle fog which glowed silver in the moonlight. He saw delicate flowers with velvet petals surrounded by soft green moss. In the middle of it all he saw his twin, smiling up at the sky, and understood this was, in some way, his heart. His darkness. Not the Bringer of Nightmares, but rather, the Protector of Dreams.

Beeping and flashing from his own D-Tector brought him back to the real world. The blue and white device was glowing through the fabric of his pants. Then it jerked itself free of his pocket and began to hover maybe twenty centimeters from Kouichi's. Slowly, the dark cloud retracted back into the screen, taking the black veins that marred Kouichi's skin with it, like dye in a glass of water returning to its original drop. The two devices resonated, glowing and humming softly as if each was pleased by the proximity of its twin. An arc of light and dark energy connected the screens, swirling in paradoxical coexistence, and as the twins watched something began to form inside it. The Spirits of Darkness emerged from Kouji's screen and began moving across the arc like a bridge, changing as they went. Red eyes and skeletal birds morphed to lions, gold accents glittering on their ebony bodies. Both entered Kouichi's D-Tector through the screen and the arc disentangled, light returning to light, dark to dark.

"I…" breathed Kouichi, pulling his D-Tector up to his face an inspecting it in wonder. His voice came from far away, as if, for a moment, he'd forgotten the rest of the world was listening… or even existed at all. "I can feel the Power of Darkness, but it's so different from before. The pain's gone. It doesn't hurt… It's not evil unless I make it that way."

"What'd I tell you," said Kouji with a smile. His knees were starting to ache from squatting and his back was killing him, but he didn't care. It was as if the air itself had become more buoyant and warm, as if the darker twin's silence had released whatever hold it had over the world's happiness, allowing relief and contentment to fill the void it left behind. Kouichi was going to be fine, he could feel it, and that was the best feeling in the world. His twin looked at him, his expression both passive and infinitely complex, then his gaze drifted over to the door.

"Hey Kouji," he said. "Let's go join the others."

"You sure," asked Kouji in surprise. Nevertheless, he took the opportunity to stand, stretching his legs. Kouichi followed suite, eyes unmoving.

"No. But I know they want to see me, and I'm done hiding in the dark. I need to stop punishing them for my mistakes, stop pushing people away. And besides," he glanced back to Kouji, a smile threatening to curve his lips. "They're my friends."

"Alright, your call," shrugged Kouji.

Kouichi nodded and took a step towards the compartment door. Then another. On the third step the train hit a small bump, catching him off balance. His body jerked towards the aisle and one ankle smashed into the other, causing it to buckle. Yelping, Kouichi screwed up his face and prepared for the impact that inevitably followed these sorts of episodes. But this one never came. As he tripped Kouji shot out a hand and caught him just above the elbow, his own balance apparently gyroscopically stabilized.

"Hey bro, you okay," he asked naturally as Kouichi scrambled to get his feet back underneath him, flushing with embarrassment. A couple nods told the light twin when his brother had regained his stolen balance and he let go.

"I'm fine."

"This happen often? You… tripping on stuff?" Kouichi flushed even darker.

"Periodically," he admitted, readjusting his vest to keep his hands busy. Kouji grinned at that.

"That how you lost your D-Tector in the first place?"

"I dropped it when I fell off a ledge in the Fire Terminal…"

"You fell off a ledge?"

"And a cliff… just outside the Wind Factory."

"Accident-prone?"

"No, not typically… Maybe a little, when I get anxious."

"I guess it's a good thing you made it on that elevator back in the Human World, huh? I'd hate to think what would've happened if you'd missed it."

"I'm sure I would've just gone down the stairs. Sometimes you can actually beat the elevator, if you run fast enough."

Kouji gave a teasing grin. "You probably would've fallen down the stairs. Landed yourself in some kind of coma, or something."

Kouichi outright snorted at that, smiling with such genuine amusement that, this time, it reached his eyes. "Yeah right," he laughed. "Like that would ever happen."