A/N: Hiya there, folks! (grins) Did ya miss me? I've had a really, REALLY exhausting day but there's nothing that could keep me from posting this chapter.

Thank you so much for your heartwarming reviews! (GLOMPS) This story really gets entirely new fire with them. So thank you! I really hope that the story to come keeps you in its grip as well.

Alright. (takes a deep breath, bracing oneself) It's go time. I truly hope that you'll enjoy the ride! The time for some ANSWERS has finally arrived.


'You don't have any idea of what's really going on.'


At some point Derek lost track of time. He had a nasty feeling that it had a lot to do with his concussion. In his opinion days may have passed from the explosion in Penelope's office. Stood in the bureau's restroom, leaning heavily against a sink, he squeezed his eyes tightly closed and winced while headache kept tearing his skull apart.

An explosion following a concussion certainly hadn't done his head any good. He doubted any amount of pain medication would've chased away the ache.

Were Spencer's headaches like this, too? He should ask when…

It took a moment before he realized how far from the present his mind had wandered. He opened his eyes slowly, cautiously, and winced again when the room's small amount of light made him feel like he'd been shot to the head.

"Morgan."

Derek blinked thrice and shivered, his eyes finally fully open and darting around. There was no one else in the room. He swallowed thickly.

He could've sworn that… "Reid…?"

"Morgan." And then the voice became clearer, changed. Aaron entered the room and frowned at the sight of him. "Are you alright?" As though it wasn't blatantly obvious that he wasn't.

Derek nodded stiffly, making his posture as firm as he could muster. "Yeah, I am." His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed, desiring to close to get rid of the light. "Anything new?"

Aaron nodded, still appearing suspicious. "I just got a call from the hospital. Prentiss was admitted an hour ago. She's still unconscious but she'll be fine although it was a close call. They have no idea of who brought her in."

A flow of electricity went through Derek. The same doubt lingered in Aaron's eyes that was certainty in Derek's veins.

Before Derek could voice his thoughts Aaron directed the conversation elsewhere. "Because of what's been happening lately I had an agent keeping an eye on her at all times. I also sent another agent for JJ and her family. I asked him to be subtle. JJ's got a lot on her mind already."

Derek's eyebrow bounced up. "Are you sure that those agents can be trusted?" That was the tricky part with fighting a invisible enemy. It could wear anyone's face.

Just then Kevin appeared to the doorway. There was a unmistakable look of excitement as well as shock on the man's face. "You'd better come and see this."

Derek and Aaron exchanged a look before following Kevin. They made their way to Kevin's office that seemed to be in a state of chaos. Both Penelope and David had their eyes glued on a computer. Shock was thick in the air.

Derek's eyebrow arched. "I'm taking that as you found something."

Penelope nodded slowly, even a blink not managing to erase how wide her eyes were. "I'm… still trying to believe this", she confessed.

"It took a lot of digging but we did find something." David, the slightly further recovered of the two, took the lead. "The Golden Dragon isn't a person. It's an organization." The man seemed to shiver, which was something none of them had seen often. "It works underground. When law and order fail to offer proper punishments they step in. Rapists, pedophiles, abusers… They clean up the filth. They're able to make anything look like an accident."

Derek felt a tremble go through him. Not that he would've had something against the justice being served but… "Who's 'they'?" he inquired.

Penelope looked right at him, still visibly unsettled. "Anyone. Could be you or me." She glanced back towards the computer screen. "You'd be surprised by how many have joined in willingly. Grieving family members, victims, cops… Just about anyone's who isn't satisfied with how the system works. The organization offers them the necessary tutoring, makes them swear loyalty. After that… They're ready."

Kevin, whom Penelope had chased out of the room early on to be able to focus, frowned. "How did it manage to grow so much without being discovered?"

Aaron's eyes darkened. "My guess is that those in charge have enough power to bury the tracks. Whatever happens to those the organization chases… Few care about them."

David nodded, equally solemn. "Plus, the organization has quite a system to ensure that people stay quiet. Listening to the members' phone calls is a small thing. They go as far as micro chipping all recruits so that they can track them down at all times."

Derek folded his arms, feeling colder than before. "Where did you get all this information from?" he asked, suspicion sneaking in.

"One member managed to slip out. Even dug out the micro chip." Penelope bit her lower lip, casting a swift glance towards Aaron. "That member… approached me earlier today, a bit before the explosion. Warned me – us – to stay away."

Aaron's expression spoke volumes but the man said nothing. Derek was glad. Penelope had beaten herself up enough over the Fisher King case.

"Those people…" Kevin, out of them the least used to things like this, appeared shaken. "They're crazy. That sounds like some sort of a cult."

"That wasn't all." Penelope swallowed, typing further. "That case during which Reid was…" She couldn't bring herself to say the rest. "I noticed something, in the pictures of the victims."

She opened the pictures for them to see and they were all beyond relieved that Spencer's face hadn't been added to look back at them. What they got was four men and five women, most of them between twenty-five and thirty-eight years old, two slightly above the age of forty. Those facts were what'd bothered them while they worked on the case. The UnSub didn't seem to have a particular type. There was also no specific timeline. Sometimes the gap between murders was months, other times less than a couple of days. That inconsistency was the primary reason why they hadn't been able to build a solid profile in time to catch the killer before Spencer was shot. This particular monster was still out there somewhere.

"I don't see anything", Derek confessed. His voice was a lot tighter and sharper than usual. It wasn't a surprise, considering how many memories and feelings those pictures brought to life.

Aaron, on the other hand, already noticed it. The unit chief's expression didn't change but for a microsecond his eyes widened a fraction. "The tattoo."

Now Derek saw it too. Right there on the victims' skins.

One on a neck. One on a hand that was pushing a strand of hair behind a ear. One on the back of a young woman who was posing for the camera. One on a shoulder. One right above the heart. The pattern was repeated nine times.

The golden dragon.

"They were all members", David spoke out what was dawning on all of them. "That was the motive."

Derek nodded, his head spinning with the force of this new information. "Reid… He must've figured it out. That's why he went to Susan Thompson's house alone that day. He didn't want us to find out."

"Uh… Guys?" There was a look of discomfort and confusion on Kevin's face. "I hate to say this out loud but you've gotta be wondering, too. How did Reid know about the Golden Dragon? Before us no outsider did."

Even the thought sent a shockwave and cold shivers through each person in the room. Derek's eyes narrowed with warning. "Now would be a good time to shut up, Lynch."

Kevin fell pale and lifted his hands, his mouth dropping open with startle. David appeared to his defense. "He wasn't accusing Reid of anything, Morgan", the older agent explained in a deviously calm voice although there was a frosty look in his eyes. There'd be a conversation later. "He was just pointing out somethig we really should consider. Something about this is off and we need to figure out what it is before it's too late."

Sombre silence fell into the room.

They were in a desperate need for answers. And the only one who could've given them wasn't available.


As soon as Emily began to float back into consciousness she wished that she'd stayed under. She groaned, bringing both hands to her face, when the pain washed over her with absolutely all its power.

What the hell happened to her? Did she get hit by a truck?

And then, in a flash, the pieces came. The attack. The darkness. The rats. The pure, utter helplessness and terror.

The faces.

Her eyes flew wide and she didn't close them although the hospital room's light made her feel like her eyes had been stabbed. Her heartbeat rose rapidly, causing her to gasp.

It… wasn't just a dream, was it?

Just then a nurse who couldn't be far past her twenties walked into the room. The nurse's green eyes widened for a moment before her face melted into a smile. "Well hello there. It's nice to see you awake for change." The nurse's long, clearly dyed blonde ponytail bounced while the younger woman checked her vitals and made some notes. 'Evelyn', Emily checked from her nametag. "Everything looks good but I can imagine that you're in quite a bit of pain right now. I've got a doctor's permission to give you some pain medication."

Emily shook her head firmly. She wanted to remain lucid, now more than ever. She tried to shift to a better position and winced at the series of stabs that went through her. "I… I'm good", she assured Evelyn, ignoring the fact that she sounded anything but convincing. Her voice was off, gruff and quiet. She cleared her throat, hoping against all reason that it'd help. "My team…?"

Evelyn smiled again. "They know that you're here, safe and sound. Agent Hotchner's called a couple of times to check up on you." The nurse then seemed to remember something. "Oh, and you had a visitor. He left an hour or so ago, saying that there was something urgent he needed to take care of."

Emily frowned, chills traveling through her whole body. So… Someone had been in the room, watching her when she was unconscious? The thought sounded anything but pleasant. "Did you ask his name?"

Evelyn appeared slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry but there was an emergency. By the time I would've had the chance to ask he was already gone." The younger woman's eyebrow arched while she made more notes. "Do you think that it was someone special?"

Emily bit her lip, folding her arms to her chest despite the fact that it irritated some injuries. "Yeah…", she breathed out. "Something like that."

Evelyn gave her a knowing look. "Well, I hope that you're awake the next time he comes over." With that the nurse began to leave. "Try to get some rest, alright? I'll come and check up on you in a bit." So saying the woman was already gone.

Alone in the room Emily shivered, her eyes darting around frantically. "I also hope that I'll be awake if he comes again", she muttered to herself.

It was around then she noticed it, right there on the tiny table beside her bed. A empty takeaway mug of coffee. Her eyes widened slightly.


A month after her thirty-fifth birthday Desiree Flores had been sober – free of alcohol, free of heroin – for almost a year. She'd walked through the fire. It'd taken that long to get her life back on track. To try and leave behind the person she'd been violently transformed into.

That day she sighed deeply while a yeat another NA meeting came to an end and ran a hand through her roughly shortcut black hair. Her smile never reached her blue eyes while she told everyone goodbye, then left the building as fast as she could.

While hurrying home Desiree allowed her mind to play around. If those people knew what she'd done, the true reason to why she started using… What would they think of her? She'd done things that made most of them sick. And if she was fully honest with herself she craved those things far more than drugs.

Desiree rubbed the back of her neck, where the golden dragon tattoo seemed to be burning her skin. Her other, far too familiar craving swam through her, sweeping her under before she could do a thing about it. She gasped, feeling like she'd been suffocating.

When did this hunger rise inside her?

(Actually, she knew. When Rex Rogers raped her and stabbed her to near death, then walked out of it, she knew that things would never be the same again. He was her first kill. And it felt good.)

Desiree was so deep in thought while entering her apartment that she didn't notice the signs of breaking and entering. She didn't even feel the foreign presence until she flicked on the lights and the attacker pinned her against a chest. She could feel the other's heartbeat even more clearly than her own while a hand covered her mouth. "I've been waiting for you", a voice she'd never heard before hissed. The room's light shimmered on the attacker's knife. "Isn't this how you used to serve justice, too? I can't see any difference."

Tears flowed down Desiree's cheeks while she began to understand. The realization was so sharp that it hurt physically.

This… This was how the others died, right? She was going to die.

She would've pleaded but with the hand on her mouth she could barely breathe. She kicked, bit and struggled while the attacker dragged her towards the bathroom but her tiny body just wasn't strong enough. Instead the other's hold on her grew tighter, bruising her chest.

"Don't… fight", the attacker hissed. "I'd hate to kill you faster than I have to."

Before she could finish any other thought they were already in the bathroom. She whimpered when the knife was brought directly to her throat, so tightly that it actually hurt. Just a little bit more and…

"Hold very, very still, or I'll make sure that you bleed to death like the pitiable animal you are. Understood?"

Desiree nodded frantically, against all odds hoping that maybe, just maybe, there was still hope left for her. In less than a blink, however, all hope was stolen away. Her eyes widened to a impossible extend when the attacker pulled out a syringe. It didn't take a genius to recognize the substance inside. That dosage would definitely kill even a larger man. Tears blinded her.

No… No, no, please no…!

She'd sworn to herself that she wouldn't die this way. That this life was already behind her. That her mother wouldn't have to see her…

But before she could move the needle had already pierced her skin. While she pulled in one hasty breath the drug was already inside her.

"Your people are capable of making anything look like an accident." This time the voice was almost purring. "So am I."

(Desiree's body was found by her mother the following morning. A coroner determined that she died of a accidental drug overdose.)


In the hospital JJ felt like the entire world had been falling down on her as she returned to her son's room after wandering around the building for what felt like days. Will was sitting exactly where she'd left him, focused on something held in his unsteady hands. Henry was nowhere to be seen. Of course he was.

Exactly twenty minutes after they'd finally been allowed into the room – to see their tiny, innocent son hooked on terrifying machines and a million vires, so horrifyingly still and tiny that it shattered her – the machines went wild and Henry was rushed away. Apparently the doctor had missed a leak. Henry was still bleeding on the inside and the doctor had absolutely no clue of where the bleeding was. No clue of anything. JJ hadn't seen her son since and she feared that she'd lose the little there was left of her sanity before she did.

Will's head turned towards her. There was no blame or anger in his eyes, only exhaustion and sadness. She wasn't sure which one would've been worse. "Where were you?" he asked in a quiet voice that spoke much louder than the actually words.

She swallowed, running a hand through her disheveled hair. Her eyes stung for the about millionth time that day. "I… I just needed some air." She swallowed again but the horrible taste remained. "Have you heard anything?"

Will refocused on what he was holding. Pictures. "You'd know if you weren't so busy running away", he pointed out in a chilling, hollow voice.

Trying to lead the conversation to a different track before the inevitable couldn't be avoided JJ looked towards the photos in Will's hands. "What are those?"

Will shivered, a pained look appearing to his face. "I asked a friend of mine from the police to bring over the accident pictures as soon as possible. I don't know. I just… I guess I…" The man trailed off, moisture appearing into his eyes.

Feeling like she'd been stabbed JJ brought a hand to his shoulder, her own eyes far from dry. In a couple of moments Will covered her hand with his own and held on tight. For the first time in ages they felt like a married couple.

Although they were the last things JJ wanted to see she looked at the pictures, if for nothing else then to truly comprehend what'd happened to her son and husband. The first thing she saw was the car, so badly smashed that it was impossible to believe that someone had walked out alive. The pain becoming too much her eyes strayed to another part of the photo. And at that very moment she saw it.

Staring at the accident sight with eyes that couldn't be read was Nadia Damascos. Nadia, who should've been nowhere near the place.

At first JJ was certain that she'd be sick as nausea and disbelief made her head spin madly. Then something far darker took over. She knew exactly what she had to do.

"JJ? Jennifer?" She didn't even hear Will's voice while storming out of the room, wrath numbing all reason. "Where are you going?"

While leaving the room JJ noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A man of her age, a tall, brown eyed blond. That man had been following her around for hours. It was time to do something about it.

She stopped so abruptly that the man nearly walked over her and spun around, her eyes narrowing slightly against her visibly startled follower. "I know that you've been asked to keep an eye on me. But my son's going into his second surgery today and there's no telling what'll happen. So could you please let me go out for a smoke alone?"

The agent cleared his throat and nodded, shifting weight to his other foot. "Yes, ma'am."

She nodded back, unable to make her muscles relax the slightest. "Thank you." With that
she began to walk away. But she didn't make it out of the building.

Because as she stepped out of the elevator and into a hallway she saw only one person. In an instant she saw red.

She didn't notice that Nadia looked like she'd been crying. She didn't see the grief in the woman's eyes. All she saw was the face from that picture. "JJ?" The younger woman took a couple of steps closer. "How's Henry?" Seeing the look on her face Nadia stopped with a frown. "What's… going on?"

"You know fucking well what's going on." JJ's eyes narrowed while the animal inside her took over. "You… were there." Her voice and blood were filled with venom. "It's because of you I may lose my son."

There was a unreadable look on Nadia's face. "You don't have any idea of what's really going on, Jennifer."

A flare crossed JJ's body, so hard that she shivered. "I do know that my son is fighting for his life and you're one of the people responsible. I'm not planning on letting you get away with it."

Nadia took a breath. The woman's eyes looked darker than usual. "I'm really sorry about this", the rookie agent half-whispered. "But you need to remember that this didn't have to be necessary."

The rage boiling out of control JJ rushed forward, a flash too late to notice the gun Nadia had pulled out. A gunshot echoed in the hallway. Both women froze.

JJ gasped and stared at Nadia, taking in the wild look in the woman's eyes. And then the blood appeared, staining the fabric covering Nadia's arm. The woman hissed, dropping her gun to cover the wound.

"I trusted you." The voice was a lot more harsh than the one JJ remembered but she recognized it nonetheless. So clearly that blood stilled in her veins. "I trusted you with their lives. You were supposed to keep them safe when I couldn't."

Nadia gulped with her eyes full of tears, staring at someone behind JJ. "I… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I couldn't."
JJ's heart hammered in a way that couldn't be considered healthy while she turned around slowly, slowly, almost afraid of facing the person behind her. The whole world stopped turning when their eyes finally met.

The man looked back, a pained look in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, JJ. Henry… He should've never been brought into this. I'm his godfather. I should've been able to keep them from coming after him. I'm sorry."

JJ couldn't even hear him. All she could do was stare while she breathed out his name. "Spence…?"


TBC, no?


A/N: And the web of secrets begins to unravel. (grins) 'Wonder where, exactly, the things will go from here. Some questions still remain, after all.

PLEASE, leave a note to make your opinion known! Your comments mean A LOT to me, ya know? (gives puppy's eyes) Awww, c'mon. The review button misses ya.

IN THE NEXT ONE: It's time for a lot of explanations. Although the answers are much needed they also raise a storm. In the meantime two people may end up paying dearly for their mistakes. Who falls into the line of fire next?

WE'VE OFFICIALLY REACHED THE HALFWAY MARK OF THIS STORY!

Until next time! I really hope you'll be staying tuned for that one.

Take care!


anon: Quite a confusing web, no? (groans) But answers will come soon. We'll see just what comes into light…

LOL! Smashing mirrors is totally my thing. Don't ask why, 'cause I have no clue. Go on ahead and profile. (smirks)

Monumental thank yous for the review!


Steph: Begging, huh? Woah! I'm absolutely baffled by the fact that the story's gotten such a hold of you. I truly hope that the next one won't fall flat, either. (glances hopefully)

Colossal thank yous for the review!