Jaden stared at his own, grim reflection, as the silver gazed up emptily at him, the darkness so crudely embedded at the bottom. He narrowed his eyes, then turned back, the cool, damp air stuck to his skin, the ice callously embracing his empty palms. He fixed his attention back to the shelves, which were covered with cleaning supplies, fluids, instruction manuals, though nothing caught his attention. Carefully, he turned to Alexis, who was browsing the drawers just below the tables. Seconds later, her dark, tired eyes met his, then, much to his dismay, she shook her head.

He sighed frustratedly. When the pair showed up at the morgue, they were greeted with the same, morbid silence they found in the graveyard. There was no one at the front desk, though the home was still open, and there weren't any funeral services either. All the lights were still on, and judging from the plethora of calls bombarding the phone, the staff's disappearance was incredibly uncanny. It was then Alexis showed him the basement.

But despite after countless hours of searching, their efforts yielded nothing. The bodies were all gone, and since none of the families scheduled the funerals yet, there was nothing to go off of. The director wouldn't just show Alexis bodies he was going to dispose of anyways, unless, of course, he was incredibly sick, which in hindsight, he could be. "You're sure you found them here?" Jaden asked.

"I am," she answered silently. She furrowed her eyebrows, as she spun her heel and went toward the shelves. She began rummaging through the supplies, her fingers anxiously searching for something of use. "I know I saw them here," she muttered. "Maybe he cleaned them up or something…?"

"You tell me," Jaden replied, folding his arms across his chest. "You checked the visitor log today, right?"

"Nothing as usual."

"Hah," he muttered wearily. "Like they just vanished in thin air."

"Maybe all this was just some fetish," Alexis mused, standing on her tiptoes, her hands groping the top shelf for anything suspicious. "Maybe he was tired of keeping it all a secret, and he wanted to tell someone about it.

"You were probably a safe bet then."

"Yeah," she continued, not even bothering to hide the disappointment in her voice. "Who'd believe a couple of kids anyways?"

Jaden nodded quietly, as he surveyed the basement one last time. Maybe Yusei was right; maybe he should just leave this to the professionals. He didn't have the means or the authorization to investigate any further, and even if he did it'd probably be just another dead end. He was actually beginning to see why Raines preferred reporting on celebrities now. "C'mon," he whispered softly, as he turned back toward the staircase. "Let's go."

No answer.

"Alexis," he called.

"Come here."

He looked over his shoulder. "Alexis, we've got class tomorrow-"

He found her solemn expression gazing back at him, the confusion marring her normally naive frown.

He noticed a small chessboard she was holding in her arms, one covered with black and white tiles. He paused for a brief second, before making his way to her, his eyes taking in the ruined appearance of the board. Tiny, silver vines covered the outer edges of the board, with green leaves steadily swirling away from the piece. When he drew closer, he saw tiny red dots marked all over the black squares. Carefully, he took the board from her, and examined the familiar design.

"There's something else," she added, as she flipped the board over, revealing a small, black envelop taped to the bottom. A single, red rose sticker was settled toward the very bottom of the flap.

Jaden regarded it evenly; the hijackers wore something like this the other day on their necks. Of course, that sticker could mean anything, but from everything that's happened, he couldn't afford to let this slip. He bit the inside of his cheek, before coming to a table and laying the chessboard down. Alexis peered down at it, as he took the envelope off the bottom. "Did you see this before?" he asked.

"No. You think this has something to do with the bodies?"

"Who knows," he murmured. He peeled the sticker off, and looked inside the envelop. Then, without hesitation, he removed the letter inside and read it, with Alexis looking over his shoulder.

To my beloved King,

I am pleased to invite you to my gala,

in the Loreli Cemetary, during the Worm Moon. It will

begin at the witching hour.

I would appreciate it, if both you and your Queens attend the gala.

Drevis,

Rook to the Black Rose

"Rook?" Alexis muttered, as she turned her gaze back to the chessboard. Slowly, she reached out, and grabbed the edge of the letter, softly tugging it to the light. Jaden reread the letter again, before turning it over. Today.

"Whoever wrote this," he said slowly, "wrote it today."

"The rook goes here, doesn't it?"

Jaden flickered his eyes down at the chessboard. He caught Alexis's elegant fingers hovering over one specific spot on the board. "I don't know. You want to ask Aki later?"

"Speaking of Aki, this Drevis person…he called himself the 'Rook to the Black Rose,' didn't he?"

"Considering we found this letter in the basement of a funeral home, I doubt he knows her. But the Loreli Cemetery isn't too far from here."

Alexis stared up at him, before returning back to the chessboard, scanning over the dots once again, as if there was some other meaning behind it, a certain secret neither could uncover. "The morgue…does services there too, don't they? They bury a lot of people there."

"That's right," Jaden said, as he turned to her with thoughtful eyes. "Ms. Raines once said that the funeral service was planning on burying all the victims there. Quiet, serene, away from everyone and everything; a good place to bury the dead. " He smirked humorlessly then. "Ironic; the most useless reporter we know actually got something right."

"And…and the 'king'?" Alexis pressed.

"My guess is it has something to do with that stupid chessboard," Jaden answered. "The King and the Rook. And look; he's even inviting his Highness to some gala. Makes you wonder if he's really as sane as he wants you to believe."

"Aki told me the king was the most powerful piece."

"The Rook to the Black Rose, huh? The psycho's even inviting the queens. Maybe it's some kind of ritual or something. Still, it doesn't really surprise me; Neo Domino's crawling with the occult. What makes a funeral service different?"

"So what about the Worm Moon?" Alexis pressed, her eyes scouring over the board. "And the Witching Hour? It all sounds like parts out of some horror movie or something. And all the black squares are marked, but the white ones are left alone."

Jaden clutched the envelop, as he folded the paper back inside. He'd seen this before, though he didn't know where. "The Worm Moon," he started, "is about two weeks from now."

"Huh?

He threw an uneasy smile toward Alexis. "It's just a name for a full moon that appears at the end of this month. The Native Americans used to name those full moons towards the end of the month. Don't ask me why."

She narrowed her eyes. "And the letter was written today."

"Yes."

"So then, what's the Witching Hour?"

That question was probably the strangest thing he's heard from her.

It's surprising, how innocent she seemed after she asked that. It was as if she should've already known what that was, should've already guessed the meaning behind it. There was a certain familiarity to that time for Jaden too, a disgusting recognition deep within the corners of his mind. It was a term he'd rather forget, though in the end, he chose not to, for one reason or another. And yet, here Alexis was, oblivious to the meaning.

"Jay?"

He blinked, regaining himself through the confusion. "Sorry," he said, as he brought the envelop to his side. "The Witching Hour refers to the time between 3 to 5 in the morning. Back then, they say that all the witches and demons came out to do magic during that time. Everyone, especially women, was questioned whenever they appear at that time, and if they didn't have an excuse as to why they were out so late, rumors would fly around that they were witches."

"Was it true?"

"No," he continued.

"Then why's it called the Witching Hour?" she demanded impatiently.

He fought down a chuckle. "It's usually when the most deaths occur. Your immune system is actually at its weakest during that time, so it's hard for your body to fight back. And even then, the fatigue just wears you down. If something really bad happens to you, and you wind up in the ER, your chances of surviving during that time are minimal at best. Those chances go down if you've got a bad infection."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I read," he teased playfully, causing Alexis to pout. He stared at her for a while, before returning back to the envelop.

"But we're going, right?"

Jaden nodded. "The Black Rose will be there, and if the guy has the same collar as the others, then it'd be worth looking into."

"What if it's just some fashion statement they're making?"

"…I sincerely doubt that. And besides, the Black Rose is supposed to be there, along with their goons. We'll just hide out somewhere and see where this leads us."

Alexis bit her lip. "We really could use Yusei's help-"

Jaden turned to her, with an incredulous look on his face. "Are you kidding? I already told you; Yusei's got more than enough to deal with right now."

"But he was there, during the hijacking."

"It doesn't matter, and that goes for Aki too. They aren't getting involved anymore than they have to."

"Akiza should know about this."

"So? You don't believe what Raines says-"

"I don't," she said vehenemently. Carefully, she picked the envelop from his hands, all the while sliding the chessboard over to Jaden. "I've just got a weird feeling that…that we should tell them, before things get bad. Really bad."

He stared at her for a while, before sighing. Slowly, he came forward, and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. He could feel her heart pounding against her chest as he held her close. He drew his lips toward her ear then. "It'll be okay."

"But-"

"Lex, we'll be fine."

She clutched the envelop tightly. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Alexis said nothing more after that evening.

Yusei came into the room, the morning light reflected across the blinds. His brown gloves gripped the handle tightly, as he shut the door, never once taking his eyes off a young woman, who was sitting in the hospital bed, with an expectant smile on her face.

Those familiar, golden eyes flickered up to him, a quiet, somewhat reserved smile on her face. As he came to her, his hands in his pockets, he couldn't help but look down at the casts on her arm and leg, and he resisted the urge to wince. Still, the book in her lap was a nice distraction; a small, black bag was settled against the bed frame, along with a few textbooks stacked on the table nearby. She was wrapped in white hospital blankets, the pillows resting behind her nestled comfortably against the bed frame. Much to his relief, the blood bag was gone, as was the IV.

It was only this morning that her father called, joyfully saying that Akiza was awake. Yusei could still recall the excitement in his voice, could practically see the tears welling up in the man's eyes, though just from the call alone, that was probably what'd happened. Only seconds after that call, Yusei told Jaden and his friend about it, saying that they could see her when they were finished with school. Though they were a bit disappointed, in the end, he could still hear the girl's excited voice in the background, even as Jaden kept on talking with him. It would've ended on a solemn note, if not for the fact Yusei said, "Alexis is cute," before hanging up.

That girl was so different from Jaden. Normal and carefree, unlike the rebellious, stiff way Jaden usually held himself to; she didn't have the same high standards, and whenever she spoke to Jack and Crow, it was as if, when she left, she'd never see them again; it was probably through that logic she behaved the way she did.. Then of course, she probably treated every stranger like that; she didn't have a clue about personal space. And yet, with Yusei there was a simple familiarity there, the atmosphere around her enveloping him with amiability. She acted like she'd known him for a while, and he her.

The way Jaden grabbed her, the scowl so very reminiscent of a memory Yusei couldn't even begin to dredge up. It left him standing there, in front of that door, wondering how he could've forgotten her to begin with.

But that's just it.

He's never met her.

"Hey," Akiza called.

He smiled, as he walked over to her bedside, drowning out his thoughts. "Hey yourself," he replied. "How do you feel?"

She shrugged. "I've been better," she answered, folding a single corner of a page in the book. "The doctor still wants me here for the next few days. After that, I can go back to school."

"That's great. Jaden was asking about you the other day."

She blinked. "You two know each other?"

"We go back," he explained, pulling up a small, green chair just beside her bed. "They can't wait to see you."

She laughed lightly. "So, have you met her yet? Alexis?"

Yusei nodded. "Yeah," he answered, recalling the playful moments both Jaden and she shared together, however few they were. He narrowed his eyes, but the troubling second passed quickly. "They really are inseparable, aren't they?"

"You know, Lexi's the girl I always help." She laughed sheepishly, with a tiny, cute blush slowly enveloping her cheeks. "She's always calling me at 3 or 4 in the morning, just to get me to help her with her essay."

"So the other day, when you told me you stayed up late-"

"That's the one. Honestly, if I'm not there I don't know what she'd do. I think Jaden's already fed up with her."

Slowly, Yusei shook her head. That girl…was important to him, no matter how abnormal she might've seemed. They needed each other; what anyone else said about them wasn't important.

She talks about you all the time? Used to visit you, like, every week?

"There's no way," Yusei murmured softly. "He likes her too much."

Akiza raised an amused eyebrow, along with a playful smirk resting on her lips. "Well, I guess it's no surprise. They're always together, even at school."

"I figured."

"But it's nice. A little distraction from all the stresses in life."

You were there with Aki during the hijacking, right? We were just wondering if you saw anything weird.

"Akiza," Yusei began.

"Hmm?"

He stared at the empty space in front of him, the thoughts racing past him conspicuously. Alexis mentioned something about the hijacking; from what he could remember, she wanted to tell Yusei something else, before Jaden dragged her away. She told him not to worry, though of course, by then it was a moot point. She also told him they were investigating the link between the murders.

And just like that, that girl, the one that officer killed, came to mind. She, along with the gun, as well as the box of cyanide, all of which were still sitting in the garage. Mangled bodies quickly reappeared in his brain, but it wasn't long before he shoved them away frustratedly. He simply turned to Akiza, a small frown grazing his features.

Akiza returned his even gaze, before smiling. "Well, what is it?" she urged. "If those two caused trouble for you, I'd be happy to make it up to you."

"Do you remember…the hostage crisis? Back at the mall?"

Confusion crossed her delicate features. "Hostage?"

"Yes."

Akiza furrowed her eyebrows, before leaning back in her pillow. She thought for a while, then turned back to Yusei, a concerned light in her eyes. "I remember. What about it?"

"What happened before we got there?"

She paused for a moment, as she stared at him with an incredulous gaze. "What're you talking about?"

Yusei narrowed his eyes. "You were taken hostage, along with some other people? You were hurt, so they took you to the hospital?"

"What are you talking about?" she repeated.

"What?"

"I mean, I saw it on the news, but-"

He blinked. "You were injured; the ambulance took you to the hospital."

"If you mean all this," she started, her eyes gazing ahead over her body, "I was just in a really bad car accident."

Accident?

Akiza started laughing at her own, apparent clumsiness. "It was really bad. I guess I should be a bit more careful from now on. You know, my dad wanted the chauffeur to drive me everywhere; it took me a while to get him to change his mind."

"Akiza…Akiza you were-"

"But yeah, I've heard of the hostage crisis," she kept on. "It was all over the news. Honestly, ever since they showed the images, I've been getting a lot of texts from people. Strangers, teachers, students; they think I had something to do with it."

"That's…that's-"

"But it was only for a little while. I guess those two took care of everything."

Disbelief clouded his expression. He examined every inch of her face, trying to determine if she was being serious or not, if this was just some elaborate prank she wanted to get away with. And yet, as time passed, and as she kept fumbling around with so many predictable topics, Yusei's eyes widened.

She wasn't joking.

Apparently, the hijacking was linked to the murders, and the ones who held all those people hostage were responsible for them.

"Yusei?"

"I see," he slowly began. An uneasy smile came across his face, and though he knew it wasn't convincing, somehow, the confusion ebbed away from Akiza. "Are you okay?"

"Well, like I said, I should be out of here in the next couple of days. How's the engine, by the way?"

"Fine," he answered awkwardly, trying to carry on as if nothing had happened.

Angela flipped through the contents of the file, carefully browsing through the medical records with ease. Her gripped the edges tightly, the charts and graphs immediately splayed across her vision. Prescriptions the hospital called in, along with the many lab results she hadn't known had existed, lay there before her, all in one messy pile upon her desk. She bit her lip, as she thrust one paper away before going onto the next; list of drugs, medications, the dosages, all of which were there, right in front of her for the taking. Her mind briefly went back to the hostage crisis, before coming to the present once again, as she reviewed the list of usages over and over again. Akiza appeared up on the headings, with her picture neatly stapled to the front. Other names stuck out, familiar names she had no memory of seeing. She grabbed her pen and wrote the names down, before looking back and reading through the records.

Apparently, the girl's been to the hospital once a month, for the past three years. During that time, the doctors in that hospital have been steadily increasing her doses, all the while giving her more and more medication. Her heart rate was ordinary, according to the doctors; lab results, surgeries, practically anything Angela saw was normal for Izinski. She narrowed her eyes, as she looked back at the list of drugs they administered. While a few were for the pain, a majority of the drugs were for memory loss. Whatever happened that was so bad for Izinski was something Angela was still trying to figure out. How the girl was even alive was yet another mystery the reporter had to delve into.

She rubbed the back of her neck. She knew this was big, so big she could turn her entire reputation around. She could write dozens of articles about this, so much so the editor would let her drop this case. She could move on with her life, with this major credential in tow, maybe work for some high-rise company somewhere. And if Yuki and his friend decided to work with Angela once again, she'd be more than happy to take them on, as long as they did everything she told them to.

At the very least, the temptation should've been there. The computer was write in front of her, and the editor was just upstairs.

But for some reason, she couldn't write.

She wouldn't.

As her eyes scanned through the documents, she couldn't help but find more and more files piled up inside, the repetitive conclusions already based on her findings. She was about to close the file, when she saw Yuki's photo inside.

Yuki, and Alexis.

They were both staring up at her, with dull, lifeless eyes, their seemingly obedient expressions almost frightening. Frowns danced upon their lips, replacing those playful scowls and grins she'd gotten so used to their lively dispositions gone from their faces. The two were dressed in hospital gowns, their emaciated frames so clearly shown from within the pictures. Pale skin, with dark bruises covering their limbs, and scars, so many scars, all of which were still bleeding; she was going to be sick.

And then she caught the date.

March 9th.

Yesterday.

As Angela flipped through the files, she thought back to the kid and his friend, both of whom she thought were healthy enough. Were they in the same condition as Izinski? No; their medication list wasn't nearly as long, and judging from their outward appearances, they were ordinary. And besides, if they really were that sick, shouldn't they be staying in the hospital? And Yuki stated on his application that he wasn't on any drugs. Was he lying?

And then she stopped.

Yusei Fudo stared up at her, with a simple, black rose attached to his throat.