This chapter contains serious murder. Not completely describing the murders, so if you have a weak stomach it wouldn't bother you. Beginning of the chapter is horribly slow, but towards the end is where the real horror starts. And the murderer is acknowledged in this chapter. Only one more chapter after this! If you do get bored in this chapter, then skip to the end! REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Digimon.

: : 6:00 PM Wednesday : :

TK closed the door to the bedroom quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping Davis. He'd been sitting in the room for over six hours and through out this time Davis had only awoken once. TK had been ecstatic and called Joe back into the room. But Davis simply stared at them blankly. His eyes were empty and it seemed like he was lost from the world completely. Joe said that maybe the sedatives were still in gear. It worried TK so much.

Davis was his best friend. It was kind of a Matt/Tai relationship where they hated each other at first but grew into great friends. He was one of the few people who stuck by Davis when it was announced that Davis wasn't in love with Kari but someone else… Without his silly friend, TK didn't know what to do. He hated Ken at the moment. How could Ken betray everyone like that? Betray Davis?

Sora pointed out something important. She said that Davis wasn't dead, so maybe Ken couldn't force himself to kill the now mentally ill boy. Sure destroying his mind was fine, but killing was a bit too far. TK had to agree with her. Yet Matt had brought up another point. Maybe Ken was going to kill Davis, like he was killing them off in an order and the night before wasn't Davis's time. Then Davis had found everything out so he scared Davis to the point of insanity so he couldn't reveal everything. TK had to agree with that, too.

It didn't matter which way Ken was doing everything. TK wanted to rip him apart. He'd killed Yolei and Tai. The remaining group each had a nag in the back of their minds that screamed, "How could you have not known this was going to happen?! The guy was the Digimon Emperor! You should have been expecting this!"

Fairly annoyed, TK stalked into the den where everyone else was. Matt and Sora were cuddled up on the couch, Sora sleeping somewhat soundly, and Kari was on the other couch staring blankly at the fire. Joe was standing by one of the windows gazing across the darkening beach, just as blank as Kari. TK choose him to stand by. He cautiously walked over to Joe and too peered out the window. He wanted to ask about Tai, about what had happened, but he knew that it'd be years before such things could be discussed.

"Mimi and Izzy should have come back today. The skies are clear," Joe said quietly. "You don't suppose they ran into… trouble?"

"He wouldn't kill them in broad daylight would he?" TK responded.

"I don't know. But if he's going in an order like Matt suggested, then they might not have been farther down the line and them getting here ruined that order," Joe muttered with a slight scowl. He turned and placed both hands on the windowsill, leaning forward and glaring steadfastly outside. "What if he met up with them at the peer and told them to head up while he finished doing something. At which that point in time he told the captain of the ferry not to come back till Friday, or possibly even later than that. Then he killed Mimi and Izzy when the ferry left."

TK nodded at the probable situation. "That's likely."

"If Ken so much as shows his face," Joe growled, "I'll slaughter him."

TK glanced at Joe for a brief moment. He'd never seen the older boy act with so much vengeance and hate before. But then, three of their close friends had never been killed before. TK considered Davis dead now. The goggle boy wasn't dead physically, but mentally… TK was jerked from his thoughts when he noticed Joe clenching the windowsill, his fingernails digging into the old wood.

"What is it?" he asked, leaning around to look out the window better.

"I'm going to kill Ken," Joe snarled just above a whisper.

"We can't be sure it's Ken."

Both boys spun around to see Kari standing behind them. She stepped between the two and looked out the window at the sun setting. "How do we know it is Ken?"

"Who else could it be?" TK asked. "Tai and Yolei are… And Davis isn't going to ever be… That brings everything down to Ken. He's missing and… well, you heard what Davis was saying when they brought him in… Who else could it be?"

"How do we know Ken isn't dead?" Kari snapped. "Davis is mentally ill. We can't trust everything that comes out of his mouth." She turned to TK and stared at him sadly. "We can't accuse our friends. We can't. I know that Ken used to be the Digimon Emperor and he killed tons of digimon, but he's changed. You both know that. Don't you think if he wanted to kill us he would have done it sooner?"

"That could be his plan. To build up our trust, then slaughter us like dogs," Joe retorted. "I don't trust him. I never did. After the way he hurt Gomamon… I'll kill him for this."

TK and Kari stared at Joe uneasily. They swapped unsure glances, both with the same thing running through their mind: Joe holds deep grudges so never get him miffed. The three stood silently, all trying to organize their thoughts. Just as Kari opened her mouth to speak, something large suddenly appeared in the window. The trio screamed and jumped back.

Joe gave an exasperated groan. "I really hate that dog."

Twinkie was staring at them through the window. He licked his chops before disappearing from the window. TK stepped back to the window and looked out it to see the big dog trotting away. Joe did the same and snorted disapprovingly. He folded his arms and shook his head. "That dog is more trouble than it is good."

"Hey, that dog probably kept Davis alive last night," Matt said from the couch.

"Let's not get in a fight over a dog," Kari said quickly before the two boys could start feuding. An uncomfortable silence settled in the room. It became unbearable for Kari since she was trying to keep her mind off of her dead brother and the silence wasn't helping her in anyway. Swallowing nervously Kari began heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" TK asked instantly.

"To check on Davis," she replied.

"I'll go with you."

The two left the den and quietly walked through the dining room and kitchen into the bedroom. Davis was still curled up in a little ball like a child and sleeping somewhat soundly. Kari went straight to his bedside and smoothed his messy hair sympathetically. She couldn't pull her eyes away from Davis. She'd been praying that someone would save them and get Davis to a real doctor in a hospital somewhere. Not that she didn't trust Joe, but… she didn't trust Joe. Personally, she was getting really nervous at having TK standing behind her. She didn't trust anyone anymore.

"I hope it isn't Ken," TK said, breaking the still air.

"I do, too," Kari whispered. She gently sat on the edge of the bed beside Davis and continued to run her fingers lightly through the disheveled hair.

Davis stirred and rolled onto his back. His eyes opened slowly and for a minute Kari thought she saw recognition in them, but then the immediately went back to the wild unknown as Davis fell back asleep. Kari sighed and looked up at TK, who was still standing by the door, deep in thought.

"What did Joe give him? He's been out for hours…" Kari murmured. TK didn't respond. He wasn't even looking at her. Kari left Davis's side and moved to TK's. She gently touched him on the arm. "TK?"

"Hm? I'm sorry. I was thinking about something," TK said, shaking his head slightly to clear his mind. "Did you ask me a question?"

Kari nodded. "Yeah, but never mind it. What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing. It's not important," TK muttered. He sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "Why is this happening to us? What did we do to deserve this? We saved two worlds for crying out loud! Why is this happening?"

Kari wrapped her arms around the irate blonde and hugged him tightly. "I wish I knew…"

: : 11:46 PM Wednesday : :

Joe rolled back and forth, not able to find a comfortable position. Everyone had decided to sleep in the bedroom with Davis so that nothing would happen. He still had the horrible feeling that something would and couldn't sleep knowing that two, possibly three, of his friends were dead. Despite his cruel words from earlier, Joe did worry for Ken. He hoped the younger boy wasn't the one behind everything. And even though he hadn't told any of the others yet, Davis may not make it through the next day. Joe didn't have the right medicine to give him, nor did he have the skills.

"Can't sleep?"

The voice was Matt's. Joe rolled over and looked at the blonde. "No."

"Thinking?"

"Yeah."

Matt nodded and sighed. He fought tears springing to his eyes and sniffed quietly. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Tai's mutilated body… laying in a pool of blood… his face twisted in horror… Matt shivered remembering it. If they made it off the island alive, he was going to have to have some serious therapy. And how were they going to explain this to everyone else? A piece of him wished it were just a cruel joke, but the rest of him knew it wasn't.

A squeak made Joe and Matt sit up startled. They exchanged frightened glances and gazed around the moonlit room. A small whimper came from the bed where Davis was sleeping. Joe instantly got to his feet and walked to the sleeping boy's side. Davis was tossing back and forth and murmuring things in his sleep. He was covered in sweat despite the cool air and was gasping for breath.

"Davis? Davis, wake up. Come on Davis," Joe whispered harshly. He grabbed the younger boy's shoulders and gave him a shake. Davis's eyes flew open and he shot to the other side of the bed, away from Joe. As calmly as he could, Joe outstretched his hand and beckoned Davis back to him. "Shh, it's okay. It's okay. Come here Davis. It's okay…"

By this time Matt had already risen to his feet and was watching Davis and Joe steadily. He felt so sorry for Davis, especially when he saw the terrified look in his eyes. Every time Matt peered into those eyes, Tai's equally terrified ones popped into his mind. He painfully looked away. It must be tearing Kari up inside…

"No! Davis! Come back!"

Matt's head snapped back up just in time to see Davis bolting off the bed and out of the room. Joe gave a growl of annoyance and took off after him. Hesitating, Matt searched the room for his jacket, spotting it on the back of a chair. He needed to help Joe but at the same time he didn't want to leave TK, Kari, and Sora alone. If he were to lose TK… Shaking his head, Matt decided that his little brother would be fine, and quickly grabbed his jacket and scrambled after Joe and Davis.

The kitchen door was standing wide open when he got in there. He heard Joe scream for Davis and could tell they were pretty far off. Nervously, Matt ran out of the kitchen and looked around. The winter wind whipped around his shoulders and he quickly tugged his jacket on. Shivering, he searched for Joe or Davis in the blackness of the night. The moon had disappeared behind some clouds, making it even harder to see.

"Joe! Where are you? Joe?" Matt shouted. He closed the door to the kitchen and started to walk down the steps. The only sound other than his feet squishing in the still wet mud was the whistle of the wind. There were a few foot prints in the mud heading towards the small forest on the islands. Matt groaned before muttering, "Great. They decided to disappear in the Wonder Woods."

He started in that general direction with a sigh. After a few steps, he began to get nervous. I'm all alone out here. Everyone else has been killed at night… Where's Joe? Shouldn't I be able to hear him calling for Davis? Didn't he hear me calling for him? What if this is a trap? What if Joe is trying to draw me out here… Matt stopped walked and looked around nervously. No. Don't do this to yourself Ishida. Don't panic. You can't get afraid. Think clearly.

With a few more encouraging thoughts, Matt began to walk again, this time with a quickened pace. He came to the tree line and swallowed nervously. Okay, I'm thinking clearly and I think I want to go back inside the house… Matt agreed with his thoughts and spun around. He began running back to the house.

A shrill howl of pain stopped him. Matt spun around, his breath coming quickly and eyes hysterically scanning every place about him. He tucked his arms around his body tightly and opened his mouth so he could breathe easier. At the moment, his adrenaline was skyrocketing. At least his nervousness was making him warmer.

"Joe?" he whispered, not even loud enough for him to hear.

Matt continued to face the same direction, but stepped back slowly. Every whistle of the wind, rustle of leaves, crack of breaking limbs, creak of the old house, and splash of waves hitting the shore on the beach made him sweat even more with nervousness. His imagination started to run away and his mind created images and shadows that weren't really there.

Then he bumped into someone.

Matt spun around screaming. He stumbled and fell backwards into the mud. His heart was practically slamming against his rib cage. After a few moments, he slowly began to pull down his arms, which he'd put up over his face protectively when he crashed to the ground, and gazed up at his 'attacker.' He heaved a sigh of relief and got to his feet.

"Oh Davis. I'm so glad it's you," Matt breathed. Davis stared at him blankly. He allowed Matt to cling to his arm and be pulled back to the house. Matt was glad to have someone with him, even if it was the mentally ill Davis, and began to talk absentmindedly. "I don't know where Joe has gone to, but I'm sure he's somewhere near by. I figure that he'll give up on his search for you and head back to the house. We should stay awake for him when he gets back. Or I will. You can go back to sleep. I hope we didn't wake anybody up with are screaming and moving about."

Davis murmured something. They paused in front of the steps leading to the kitchen door and Matt looked at Davis curiously. Davis slowly looked back at Matt, his eyes full of a calm, eerie fright. "What may be may be just a ruse."

"What?" Matt asked. For a moment, he thought he saw a flash of sanity on Davis's face. He swallowed the uneasy feeling rising in his throat and hesitantly began up the stairs to the kitchen door. He took Davis's hand and pulled the boy along with him. "I don't know why I'm talking to you. You can't understand a single thing I'm saying. But that's okay. It's nice to talk to someone without them responding. Though you responded just a minute ago, but it wasn't like a real response. It was like you acknowledging that I was talking to you. Maybe you're getting better. I hope so. I don't want to see you hurt in any way. I saw Tai hurt and I don't think I ever want to see that again. It hurt too much. I can see him, you know, in my mind. Staring at me. It's quite creepy."

Matt paused to take a breath. It occurred to him that his nervousness was getting the better of him and he was babbling like an idiot. He took several deep breaths and counted to ten yet the relaxation processes didn't work. Breathing harder now, he sat down at the table, sitting Davis across from him. The wine-haired boy gazed at him with a knowing smirk. It frightened Matt so much that he avoided meeting Davis's eyes.

"We'll be okay Davis," Matt murmured. "Joe will come back inside from looking for you and we'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

: : 7:00 AM Thursday : :

Kari stretched and looked at Sora who was brushing her hair a little ways away. The older girl faked a smile at her, but Kari knew she was just trying to make her feel better. The idea that Sora looked like an angel sitting in front of the big window, sun shining through and making her hair glisten, passed through Kari's mind. She remembered when Tai had told her about angels… Shaking her thoughts away, she looked around the room.

"Where are the other guys?" Kari asked.

"I don't know. I just woke up." Sora paused and stopped brushing her hair. She looked at Kari worriedly. "You don't think something has happened to them, do you? Last time there were three gone…"

Kari and Sora quickly scrambled to their feet and ran towards the kitchen. They each heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Matt sleeping at the table and Davis sitting across from him. Davis lifted his head and stared blankly at the two girls. Kari leaned against the doorframe and tried to slow her racing heartbeat while Sora walked over to Matt and gently shook him.

"Come on, wake up," Sora murmured.

At first Matt groggily said something and refused to wake up. Then his eyes flashed open and he sat up quickly, giving himself a head rush. He groaned and put a hand to his head.

"Where's Joe?" he mumbled. "I fell asleep before he came in last night."

Sora and Kari swapped worried looks. "What do you mean 'before he came in last night?'"

"You mean you haven't seen him this morning?"

: : Noon Thursday : :

"They said that the ferry was easier to fix than they thought and we could probably get over there about 5 today. Sound good to you?"

Mimi smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I bet they're having a great time over there without us. I can see them partying all night and sleeping all day."

Izzy laughed and sat down beside her. "Don't tell me you haven't had fun shopping all day. I swear I've never seen you happier than when you're buying a new sweater."

"I've had a great time! And thanks for buying me lending me those quarters. I swear I never have exact change," Mimi giggled shyly. Izzy grinned, thoroughly enjoying being with her. He didn't like to admit it, but he was having a much better time spending his vacation with Mimi alone instead of the others hanging around. He was seriously thinking about telling her how he felt before they went back to the island.

On the island, the remaining group of teenagers was congregated in the bedroom. TK, Davis, and Matt occupied the bed; Davis was asleep, Matt sitting watchfully beside him, and TK sitting crossed legged on the end facing Matt and Davis. Sora and Kari were sitting in chairs, which they brought in from the kitchen, beside the bed. Joe still hadn't returned and no one offered to go look for him. They were all afraid of what they'd find. And hardly a word had been spoken between the five since they'd established that Joe wasn't coming back.

It was after the two hours of mostly silence that Matt finally placed his thoughts and came to a decision. He shifted his position for the first time in a while, which caught TK's attention. The younger blonde looked at Matt curiously.

"We have to set some rules," Matt whispered. Sora and Kari looked at him, each with the same agreeing looks on their faces. Matt took a deep breath and continued. "No one is allowed to step out of this room at night. If Davis decides he wants to run, then let him. Do not go after him. We also will need someone to keep guard in the night."

: : 2:00 PM Thursday : :

Ken watched the approaching ferry from the shadows of the trees. It was so small and so far away on the ocean. Plus he was really far away from the beachside. He didn't want to leave his secluded place in the trees. The others didn't know where he was and that was good. If one of them decided to step foot out the beach house he would know. He could see the entire front side of the island from where he was sitting. The beach house, part of the dock, the lighthouse, and the beachside were all in plain view. But he had to leave. The ferry would be arriving any minute now and he had plans.

Izzy wrapped his coat tighter around his body and sniffled. The bitter air stung at his face but he liked the view too much to go inside the boat's cabin. The island looked so peaceful from the angle that he was taking in. He could see the waves of the ocean whipping at the beachside and couldn't wait to listen to the sound once he was on the island again. Everything looked so peaceful that it made him wonder what the others had been doing for the past days as entertainment.

Mimi stepped out of the cabin and walked to Izzy's side. He smiled at her but for the most part continued to gaze at the island. She smiled too and sighed happily. It never ceased to amaze her how Izzy could be so happy and content just looking at something. She still gave him a hard time about ignoring her at the Ruins that once, but it was all jokes. She had long forgiven him for what had happened. After that incident she noticed that Izzy paid a lot more attention to her and sometimes she wondered if it was because he was afraid she'd run off again or because of something else.

"Almost there!" Someone shouted from the cabin.

Izzy thought he saw a figure on the island disappearing into the boathouse off the side of the peer but he wasn't sure. He knew Davis and Tai really wanted to go boating that week and it had been raining at the beginning of the week. Davis and Tai couldn't sit still for more than two minutes, much less two days. They were probably dying to get out in the boat. As they got nearer to the island, Mimi came out and stood beside Izzy.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Mimi murmured.

"Yeah."

The water was lapping gently against the peer when they came to a stop beside it. Izzy got off first and then helped Mimi step over the side. One of the shipmates handed Izzy all of Mimi's bags that contained everything she'd gotten while on the mainland. He staggered backwards, trying to keep from falling over as the bags were piled higher and higher in his arms. One of the shipmates chuckled as Izzy swayed to the side and nearly dropped everything in his arms.

Mimi, on the other hand, was happily skipped across the peer to the island. She paused only when a horrible stench reached her. Disgusted, Mimi stopped and held a hand to her nose. She could tell that the smell was coming from the boathouse off the side of the peer. She was about to call for Izzy to check it out, but remembered he was carrying her stuff and decided against it. Instead she walked, making repulsed faces as she did, to the door that led into the boathouse. She pushed it open and peered inside. The horrible smell was now mixed with the smell of dust and that made it even more unbearable. Holding her breath, Mimi reached along the wall for a switch.

Waving goodbye as best he could to the leaving ferry, Izzy readjusted the items in his arms and turned around. He could just barely see over the box on top and that made it extra difficult to see where he was walking. This whole situation gave him the incredible fear that he was going to walk off the side of the peer and ruin all of Mimi's things, including his laptop. And it mixed with the pain he knew he would suffer by the wrath of Mimi.

Finally finding the light switch, Mimi flicked it on. It buzzed for a moment and then came on with a popping noise. The smell got stronger as Mimi moved into the boathouse. Something blue drifting in the water next to the boat caught her attention and she walked to where it was. Mimi instantly recognized the article of clothing as Joe's jacket. She rolled her eyes; it would figure a man would let his dry-clean only jacket be tossed into the water.

Intent on rescuing the jacket before it was too destroyed, Mimi kneeled down and reached for the jacket that was rocking back and forth with the waves in the water. She barely managed to grab the jacket with her fingertips and began to pull it out of the salty water. As she pulled, a figure underneath the jacket became visible, bobbing as the waves went over and over the top of it.

Mimi gasped sharply and dropped the jacket when she recognized the pale face of Joe below the water. His eyes were missing, the result of fish, and his mouth was open almost as if he'd been screaming as he drowned when the tide came in. Mimi scrambled to her feet, too shocked to cry out for help. Her heart sped up and she hurriedly backed away from the watery depths that had already stolen Joe. She backed right into the wall of the boathouse and the whole building shook. It was then that Mimi found where the stench was coming from because Iori's lifeless body fell from above and landed with a loud, disgusting thud in the boat. Terrified, Mimi managed a squeak and spun around to run from the gruesome sight.

An agonizing scream that was definitely recognized as Mimi's set the hairs on the back of Izzy's neck on end. He dropped the things in his arms, no longer worrying about what happened to them. Mimi often got upset and screamed over little things, but there was so much pain and horror in this screech that rose in the air that Izzy winced as if he could feel what was happening. He burst into the boathouse, immediately welcomed by a tainted smell.

Mimi was laying face down on the platform.

Izzy raced to her side and picked her up, rolling her over in his arms. Blood streamed from her head, staining her auburn hair crimson, and her eyes were glazed, lifeless. "Mimi… no…"

A heavy object collided with the back of Izzy's skull and he was knocked unconscious.

At the beach house…

"Sora's been in the bathroom for way to long," Kari thought aloud. She got now reply from the two blondes staring emotionlessly at inanimate objects. The only person who seemed to be looking at her was Davis, and his empty stare was unnerving. So, Kari scooted her chair away from the table and stood up. "I'm going to see if Sora is all right."

She again got no reply and decided it was better not to ask for one. As she started to walk away, Davis lightly ran fingers down her arm, sending a tingling shiver through her. His tilted his head to the side and blinked. For once, Kari thought she saw a look of… something go across his face, but ignored it, knowing there was no mind behind Davis's actions now. She was tempted to smile at the grisly thought that there had never been a mind behind Davis's actions.

Instead, she pulled her arm away from Davis and headed for the bedroom. It was warmer than the kitchen and with the sun shining through the large windows, a warm feeling spread through Kari. For a moment, she felt like nothing had gone wrong that week, and this was all a horrible dream that she'd wake up from any minute now. For a moment, she thought Tai would suddenly appear and tell her everything was okay.

But her mind told her that this was not a dream and Tai was gone for good.

Chocking back tears, Kari proceeded towards the bathroom. She knocked on the door first, and then said against the wood, "Sora? Are you in there? Sora?"

The air was still, and everything was quiet. A surge of fear shot through Kari as she turned the doorknob to the bathroom, silently praying that Sora was okay on the other side of the door. She pushed the door open quickly, half expecting something to jump out at her. Yet, in place of all the thoughts that her imagination created, there was nothing – and no one – in the bathroom. Confused, Kari hesitantly stepped into the bathroom.

Everything appeared to be perfectly in order and clean, as if nobody had ever been in the bathroom at all. Kari thought that maybe Sora escaped out the window, but it was closed and locked from the inside. The only thing that seemed out of place was the medicine cabinet, which was wide open. Kari stepped up to the sink and closed the cabinet, getting her reflection staring back at her as she did.

But she also got the reflection of a bloody body inert in the bathtub that had been blocked from her view minutes before by the bathroom door.

Gasping as she acknowledged the back of the head, Kari turned away from the mirror and put a hand to her mouth. She closed her eyes, only to quickly reopen them as the image of the bathtub filled up to the brim with red water around Sora's head sticking out, facing the wall, flashed before her eyelids. At least she didn't have to see the older girl's face. She had to get out of the bathroom and to Matt and TK, but her legs weren't working. She did manage to lift her head to look in the mirror again.

Absolute horror gripped Kari's heart when her eyes met with Sora's blazing chestnut ones as the older girl smirked at her in the mirror.