Sora: Is he okay? He's been like that for the past few days.

Yolei: We can't shoot the next few scenes without a director!

Zero Unit: I'll be with you guys in a minute. I'm just not feeling well after killing off Tai. He was originally going to live until the end.

Tai: Then you should've kept it that way!

Matt: If you're so depressed about this, how come you updated Children of the Present and started that new story, Fifty Fluffy Drabbles? Isn't it hard enough for us to move around two sets and now you're having us walk around three?

Mimi: Yeah, why did you have to start a new story?

Zero Unit: You guys are barely in it! Mimi, you've played major roles so far but the rest of you have done nothing! Now get back to work!

TK: We still don't have the scripts.

Zero Unit: We will get back to work after I finish writing the scripts! For now, you guys can just get ready for the scene I'm about to shoot for Children of the Present. You guys are very important characters for them.

Davis: But Cody, Yolei, and I aren't in those scenes.

Zero Unit: Don't question me!

Marcus: We apologize for our director's shameless advertising for his other two stories. Everyone here at Zero Unit Productions would hope that you guys enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review. None of the characters actually belong to Zero Unit Productions though.

Zero Unit: Why are you even on this set?

-X-

Izzy slammed his fist against the wall, sending electricity running through it in his anger causing it to explode into several concrete bits. Several people who were passing by paused and stared at the wreckage in shock. The wizard knew he had to get his emotions under control lest he go berserk but he just couldn't help feeling like he lost an important battle just now.

"That damned doctor" Izzy growled. "I should've killed him when I had the chance! Of course he was the one who was the cause of all this!"

"Izzy?"

The wizard turned and saw Davis hobbling towards him with Kari trying to support him while speed-walking. He glanced back at the mess he made and wished he hadn't because he knew he was going to have to take time out of his busy schedule to clean it up.

Kari took a moment to stare at the wreckage before directing herself at the redhead. "What happened here?"

"I lost my temper" Izzy replied vaguely.

"But why did you take it out on the doctor's wall?" Davis asked.

Izzy paused, he knew they deserved to know the truth; after all, the two of them were very close to a victim of the monster. "Joe is the one responsible for Tai's death." Izzy took note of how their eyes widened but he continued. "He overheard Princess Mimi and I talking about him and…He was one step ahead of us. He cleared out of his place and now he's gone. I can't track him either; even his magic signature has literally vanished into thin air. No doubt Ken had something to do with that."

"I can't believe this…" Kari breathed.

"Joe…We trusted him with our lives!" Davis snapped. "And he turns around and does this! Why?"

Izzy looked between them and realized that they really didn't know. "The first time Ken was on a rampage, he had an employer. Or rather, he had someone who traded his soul for Ken's servitude. This person happened to be Joe's older brother, Jim. You two weren't born when it happened but you must've heard some rumors."

Kari nodded. "Yeah, but I never paid much attention to them…"

"Me neither" Davis nodded. "But what was Jim's motive?"

"The same as most rogue wizards" Izzy sighed. "One day, he gained magical powers where he could control water in all of its forms. He thought it was amazing so he showed it off to his friends. Then, one day, he hurt one of them real bad and the others started treating him like a monster. Not just them, but parents as well. They were terrified of him and some went as far as throwing stones at him whenever he was seen using his powers again. Jim hated the feeling of being rejected simply for one accident so he vowed to take his revenge one day."

"That's horrible…" said Kari. "If the village people hadn't been so mean then he wouldn't have ended up exactly as they had seen him, a monster."

"Exactly" Izzy nodded. "Joe was close to his brother and he had the same powers. However, he wanted to prove that he was different so he only studied medicinal uses for his magic. That's how he gained all of our trust."

Davis was silent for a while, but then he stepped into the doctor's former home. "I say we look for clues, anything that could tell us where he is now. I want to feel sorry for him, I really do, but what he did to Tai is unforgivable. He needs to be stopped before the number of victims increase further."

"Wait!" Kari quickly said. "If we just find Joe and kill him, then we won't be any better than Ken or even Jim. Don't you think we should try to reason with him first? I mean, he must have a soul we can reach if he was willing to spend so much time healing our wounded."

"We don't really have any doctors as good as him" Izzy sighed in defeat. "I don't like it but I suppose if I find him, I can try to talk to him before anything else. But I'm still going to zap him at least once just to satisfy my anger."

"I agree with you on that" Davis nodded. "Can I also hit him with my crutch?"

Kari rolled her eyes but she supposed there would be no use in trying to stop them. "I guess but try not to make him feel rejected."

"We'll try" both males muttered unenthusiastically.

"Oh, that's right" Izzy blinked as he looked over to Davis. "After we're done looking for clues, you need to head on over to the blacksmith. I worked together with him to quickly manufacture a metal leg for you to use. With a little bit of my magic, you should be mobile in no time but it's heavy so you're going to have some trouble for a while."

Davis felt like he was drifting off into some sort of dream, he never imagined that he would be able to have two legs again even if one of them was artificial. "Then let's get started on looking for clues, I don't want to waste any time."

"Davis…" Kari said as she followed him inside. "Are you going to continue being a chef when you get your new leg or are you going to return to being a knight?"

Davis looked over to the wizard as if asking for his opinion and Izzy felt strangely compelled to give him it. "Well, it'll take time but when you get used to the weight and how it feels, you should be able to move as you normally have. So I suppose it wouldn't be a problem for you to return to your days of knighthood although you probably won't be as good as you used to be without several months of practice. Perhaps you could alternate between the two jobs."

"That sounds like a great idea" Davis smiled. "I'll put my main focus in the kitchen and one I get used to my new leg, I'll go back to my sword. Hopefully I won't be too rusty and hopefully, there will still be a piece of that warlock left for me to cut open."

"Don't say things like that!" Kari chided.

"Sorry…I guess I'm losing my temper too…"

-X-

Joe was panting when he finally reached their hidden base outside of the village but he calmed down quickly when he noticed how the warlock was staring at him with a bemused expression. "You laced that dagger with my magic signature?" It was more of a statement rather than a question.

"I was asked to" Ken replied with a grin. "We have to keep our true benefactor's identity a secret."

"That explains why I was asked to clear all my things and bring them here" Joe grumbled irately. "I would really appreciate it if you guys would fill me in beforehand though. It's a good thing I was able to mask my magic signature so he couldn't follow me all the way here."

"Oh? Were you chased by that redheaded wizard?"

"Who do you think?"

Ken was more than amused by Joe's reactions so this was rather pleasurable to see the usually calm doctor in such a distressed state. Somewhere in the universe, there's a version of this doctor who probably panics more than the average person.

"So how has the town reacted now that their monarch has been killed?" Ken asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Same as it's always been" Joe replied as he took a sip from his canteen of water. "They don't know that their king has been murdered just yet. The queen asked that it would be kept secret for now but the entire town should be made well-aware of it come dawn tomorrow."

Ken clapped his hands together with a laugh. "That's perfect! I want to be there to watch them panic! When they realize that the most protected person in their entire kingdom has been slain, they'll see that absolutely no one is safe."

"But our intention isn't to strike fear into the hearts of the villagers" Joe reminded him. "Don't lose sight of the task we were given now."

"I won't. It's just fun to think about."

"You're really sick, you know that?"

"As all freaks are."

Joe scoffed and entered the room which now belonged to him for the time being. It was going to be tough to adjust to living in this dump with an annoying warlock as your neighbor but as soon as all of this was over, he'd leave and never look back. He glanced over at the bookshelf in his room and noticed one book out of place from the others. Joe slid it out and showed it to Ken.

"This book doesn't belong to me" Joe said plainly. "Where did it come from?"

"Izzy's personal library" Ken grinned.

Joe almost dropped it. "You snuck into his library?! He could've caught you or at least found your magic signature. Then he could easily follow it back here and we're all screwed!" He was about to go ballistic and pull out all of his hair if Ken hadn't stopped him.

"Whoa, I didn't steal it from his library" Ken laughed. "Our employer did, a dodgy one I'll tell you that. That wizard has absolutely no idea who he's really dealing with."

Joe ignored everything else the warlock had to say as he started flipping through the book; it appeared to have a massive amount of spells that were used on a more spiritual side of magic rather than elemental. Though there were certain spells that needed a certain element in order to work and the ones that concerned water interested the doctor.

He walked towards the lake with the book in his arms and paused when he reached it. Joe kneeled down beside the water's surface and watched his reflection stare back at him. He began to chant the ancient words needed to cast this particular spell and he watched as the water rippled and shifted.

Joe covered his mouth to cover up a squeaking sound from coming out when he saw his older brother staring up at him. "Jim! I can't believe that actually worked!" He out the book down next to him and gently touched the water, causing the image of Jim to warp slightly. "I can finally talk to you again after so many years! Jim, I…I've missed you so much…"

"Joe…My little brother…" Jim replied with a soft smile. "I dragged into this nightmare…I'm sorry…"

The doctor shook his head, not quite understanding why his brother was speaking so negatively. "What are you talking about? With this spell, I can transcend the barrier between life and death and talk to you like we used to."

Jim shook his head, tears streaming down his face as he tried to reach upwards and hold his younger brother's hand but to no avail. He was trapped as a mere image upon the surface of the lake. "Joe, I made a mistake. I should have never let my rage get the better of me and now it's gotten to you to. If I had chosen to do what you did, study healing magic and try to bring about a new reputation for myself, you wouldn't be in this position."

"I'm not being tortured or anything" Joe argued. He was getting more frustrated and confused the longer he spoke with the image. Jim usually cleared his thoughts when they got cluttered but he was now doing the opposite. "You're not making any sense!"

"Joe…" Jim sobbed. "Your fate is sealed and as a spirit…I know what that fate is. You can find out too but promise me that when you join me on this side, you can forgive me. I don't expect you to but…"

"What are you talking about?! I don't know what it is you think you're responsible for but I swear to you that I will always forgive you no matter what."

Jim just stared back at him, crying his heart out and apologizing over and over. Suddenly, he looked up as if someone had called him. "I have to go now Joe. I hope we can talk again but please don't use this spell too much. It drains more than anything else."

Joe nodded as the water shifted and he saw his own reflection staring back at him again. Not for the first time in the last few minutes, he was wondering what Jim had been blabbering about. The wind blew from the east, flipping the pages of the book next to him until it landed on a certain page.

"Learn your fate…" Joe read off the text. He was frightened to learn what this fate would be but he was too curious, especially after talking to his brother. He began reading off the incantations and as he did, the sky became darker and the water warped like it was animal caught in a trap and suffering. Suddenly, the lake had become eerily still and a cold chill ran down his spine. He heard Ken shouting for him back at their hidden base.

"Yo, Joe, what are you doing up there?" Ken called.

"Shut up!" Joe shouted back without even thinking about it. He was just too focused on what he was staring at on the water's surface. He saw his body leaning back against the wall, his eyes were open but there was no longer any light in them. His body was still and blood pooled around him, almost in a perfect circle. But the most frightening part of this scene was the gaping hole in his torso; it seemed to have been shot straight through by a large cannonball.

Joe started shaking his head desperately. "This…This can't be fate…"

Suddenly, on the surface of the water, the body rose from where he laid despite the fact that it was very obvious he was dead. He picked up a large, jagged blade and he slowly tilted his head upwards, looking straight into Joe's eyes. But they didn't reflect that same light. Rather, they were wide open, pupils dilated into slits and worst of all; his mouth was curled into that of twisted smile. The Joe in the image started laughing maniacally but it wasn't his voice, he didn't know who it belonged to, he just knew it wasn't his.

"No! Stop this! Why is this happening?!" Joe shouted to no one in particular. He started hitting the lake's surface as if hoping that would change the scene into something positive, something not so sinister and vile.

But the image of Joe only proceeded to laugh with that insane glint in his eyes. His glasses were shattered and a shard was sticking out of his cheek but he didn't care. All he cared about was cutting someone up with his knife. He began cutting and tearing open something, Joe couldn't see what but it made him sick to see skin and blood flying everywhere.

Ken voice called out to the doctor again. "Joe! What the hell is going on? Who is laughing like that?"

But Joe was no longer listening to anything but the maniacal laughter. His hands clenched onto his head, trying to cover up the sound of this chaotic sound that was tearing away at his eardrums. But it was no use. He ended up screaming in agony to show his pain and those screams were mixed with the sounds of cruel laughter.

Joe felt something moist rolling down his cheeks and he knew he was crying. He understood what his brother was trying to tell him but he just wish he understood why. He just knew that his fate had been sealed and there was no turning back from it now. "This is my fate…"