Digital Clue

V: I could've been killed!

madjack89: Hey there guys! Ready to draw some straws and hope you don't get paired with a murderer?

Kouji: If I get paired up with Jeri, then I want Takuya to stay the hell away from my CD collection when I'm dead.

Takuya: But you said I could have them!

Kouji: I said you could have my DVDs. I promised my CDs to JP.

JP: Heck yeah!

Takuya: But…

Jeri: Hey, wait a second! Why do you guys assume that whoever gets paired up with me is instantly going to die?

Kouji: Because you murdered Sora and Matt.

Yoshi: And you're the tiniest bit creepy.

Jeri: I didn't kill them and I'm not creepy! Why does everyone think that?

Zoe: Could it be the puppet?

Jeri: Oh, that's all you can come up with?

Henry: Jeri, I'm sorry, but this has to be said. Yes, you are creepy. There, I said it.

Jeri: I thought you were on my side… tears up

Henry: Wait, don't cry! I didn't mean…Jeri, come on!

JP: Oh yeah, Henry's the man.

Takuya: The gay man.

Yoshi: The gaymon.

Henry: Shut up!

Jeri: Now you're telling me to shut up?! cries harder

Henry: No, I didn't mean you!

madjack89: Guys, please calm her down while I answer reviews.

-

hazeleyedharmony: Aw, sorry about no hyper sugarness. Man, doesn't anybody like Jeri? Let me answer that; NO! Especially since she killed off Takato(mon). Yeah, in Kouji's mind, it's guilty, no innocence involved! Yup, Kouichi and Zoe definitely had some unity going on (hee)! Alright, thanks for reviewing! (There's nowhere to run, dear little Chief…)

agoodcupoftea: Thank you!

fg1fg: snicker snicker… Hm, I should get Zoe in there, shouldn't I? Give Kouichi a little fun time before…so anyway, how'd you get spare keys to a creepy mansion on a hill in the middle of nowhere? Oh well, I won't question your methods! Thanks for reviewing!

Dawn of Glory: Man, no one wants Kouichi to die, do they? Maybe he'll be protected by the power of his fans…anyway, thanks for the review!

gothic-k210: Wow, that's a new guess! Though I suppose Zoe could be the killer. We'll just have to see! Thanks for reviewing!

-

Jeri: I'm never speaking to you ever again, Henry! storms off

Henry: …Why does this kind of thing happen to me?

Kouji: Actually, I think you just got some good luck. Jeri said she'd never speak to you again.

Henry: Good point, but…

Kouichi: Madjack, please just tell me what the heck you've gotten me into.

madjack89: sigh I don't have time to deal with your collective issues, I've got a story to write! Let's go!

—

"Alright, pick a straw," Kouji said, holding up eight straws in his fist and disguising their different lengths. "And the two with the shortest straws can search the cellar and so on up."

Everyone nodded at Kouji's suggestion, and then each person reached out and took a straw from Kouji. After several moments, everyone had found their corresponding partners.

"Oh god, me and the goggle head?" Yoshi moaned, glaring at Takuya. "I don't even have experience dealing with goggle heads! Marcus was just a street fighter that liked to punch people!"

"Yeah, that's a lot easier to deal with," Takuya muttered, rolling his eyes.

"That's no fair! Why does the gay guy get paired up with Zoe?!" JP exclaimed, outraged by getting partnered with Mimi.

"JP, you do know that I'm not actually gay, right?" Henry asked, staring at JP.

JP's eyes widened. "You're not?"

Henry's jaw dropped. "You thought I was gay?!"

"Well, maybe…" JP muttered, feeling sheepish.

"Guys, just drop it!" Zoe said, stepping in to break up the fight. "I'm not single anyway, so what does it matter?"

"I guess that's kind of true," JP agreed.

"Wait," Takuya said suddenly. "If all the rest of us are paired up, that means that Kouji's with…"

Everyone turned to see Jeri and Kouji holding up two straws of the same length. Kouji looked pale while Jeri looked disappointed. "Oh, come on! Why did I have to get the rude guy?" Jeri said angrily, cursing her bad luck.

Kouji just turned to Takuya and said, "Remember what I said about those CDs."

—

A minute later, everyone gathered in the hallway with their partners, ready to embark.

"Alright, I think he's calm now," Zoe whispered, closing the door to the lounge. Kouji quickly locked the door behind her.

"I bet I know why," Yoshi remarked, smirking at Zoe.

Zoe glared at her, blushing. "You would know," she murmured.

"Alright," Takuya said, getting everyone's attention. "Now that Kouichi's not as suspicious, let's split up and get the evidence we need to convict Jeri of murder."

"Hey!" Jeri exclaimed, insulted.

Kouji just remained quiet, standing next to Jeri and looking like he was about to cry.

"Dude, is Kouji gonna cry?" JP asked.

"Jeez, all we know and love is being turned upside down," Zoe commented.

"Okay, let's get going already," Yoshi said, stomping sulkily over to the billiard room. "C'mon, Captain Clueless."

"Great plan, Takuya," Takuya muttered to himself, following Yoshi.

The others headed to their designated areas. Mimi and JP went down the steps to the basement, while Henry, Zoe, Kouji, and Jeri went upstairs to search the second floor and attic.

—

"Well, here's the attic," Henry stated, finding the correct stairwell.

"I see that," Zoe said, flipping the light switch. The stairwell was then illuminated, but not what lay beyond it.

For a moment, all Henry and Zoe did was stand at the bottom of the steps and stare at the dark abyss of the attic.

Henry finally said, "So, are you going up there?"

"I think I'd prefer it if you went up first," Zoe replied. "You know, just to make sure it's safe."

"Alright then," Henry agreed. However, he didn't move a muscle or make any attempt to climb the stairs.

—

"Well, here's the basement," JP stated, finding the correct stairwell. (Wow, déjà vu.)

"I see that," Mimi said. (Okay, stop it.) "Sorry." (You should be.)

"Oh crap," JP suddenly moaned, taking a closer look at the basement steps. "It looks like the light switch is at the bottom of the stairs. We have to go all the way down these steps in the dark."

Mimi looked down the steps and realized JP was right. "Oh no."

After a brief silence, JP quoted himself by saying, "Well, you know what they say. Ladies first, so after you!"

Mimi took another look at the dark, foreboding stairwell and shook her head rapidly.

"Aw, c'mon, what're you afraid of? A fate worse than death?" JP asked sarcastically.

"No, just death. Isn't that enough?" Mimi replied.

"You got me there," JP muttered.

—

"Kouji, will you put that down already?" Jeri asked, turning to Kouji.

"Hell no," Kouji replied, clutching the vase tighter. "When you decide to come at me, this'll be my only defense unless you have a gun, in which case we're all screwed anyway."

Jeri sighed, exasperated by Kouji paranoia. "Kouji, if I wanted to kill you, which I don't, I'd do it in a much more subtle way, like strangle you. And I'd do it in the dark, so you wouldn't see me coming. It's not dark in this hallway, so that eliminates my plan."

Kouji stared at Jeri for a moment before saying, "You have a really sick mind, you know that?"

Jeri was about to give an angry retort when she noticed two doors along the hall that led into two seemingly empty bedrooms. Jeri stood in front of one while Kouji stood in front of the other.

"Are you going in there?" Kouji asked nervously, pointing at the door Jeri stood in front of.

"Yeah," Jeri replied. "Same with you?"

Kouji nodded, gripping his vase tighter. "Um…I don't think there's a light switch in this room."

"There isn't one in mine, either," Jeri said, glancing suspiciously at Kouji.

"Well, I'll just be going in there, then," Kouji said, taking a step into his room.

"Me too," Jeri said, mimicking Kouji's step.

They stayed there for a moment, and then peeked around the corners of the doorframes at the same time, both completely suspicious of the other.

—

"Well, there's no one hiding here," Takuya declared, taking one last look around the mini bar in the billiard room.

"Let's check the rest of the room," Yoshi said, inching her way along the wall toward the exit. Takuya did this on the opposite side of the bar until they both came to the small exit hole in the bar.

Takuya and Yoshi gave each other a look. "Think we can both fit through?" Takuya asked.

"You read my mind, goggle head," Yoshi said. "Alright; one, two, three!"

On three, both Takuya and Yoshi attempted to launch themselves through the bar exit at the same time, facing each other while trying it. It took a few seconds, but they both managed to squeeze through.

"It's a good thing anime characters are usually drawn anorexic," Yoshi commented.

"Yeah," Takuya agreed, scanning the room for other hiding places. All that he could see as a suitable hiding place would be under the billiard table.

Without saying a word, Takuya strode over to the billiard rack on the wall and grabbed a stick. Yoshi backed up and yelped, holding her arms in front of her protectively. Takuya put a finger to his lips and gestured toward the billiard table. Yoshi suddenly understood his plan and nodded.

Then the both of them walked over to the billiard table and crouched down, ready to find someone under it. But there was no one.

—

Henry and Zoe were still standing at the bottom of the steps, not having moved or spoken for several minutes.

"So…are you going up?" Henry asked lamely.

"Let's just go up together," Zoe said, rolling her eyes at Henry.

"Alright," Henry muttered, feeling embarrassed. (Aw, poor Henry!)

"Hey, why do you only feel bad for Henry, Madjack? You've never felt bad for the rest of us!" Zoe said accusingly. (It's called favoritism!) Zoe sighed, dropping the matter. "Let's just go," she said, taking a step up the stairs just as Henry did.

They continued to do this, but quickly realized that this staircase wasn't wide enough for two people to go up it next to each other. So they ended up squishing each other against the walls the whole way up.

—

Mimi finally relented and ended up going down the steps ahead of JP, keeping her back against the wall as she glanced nervously between JP at the top of the steps and whatever lay at the bottom of the steps.

She got to the bottom and turned on the lights, washing the basement in a dull glow. "Alright," she called, scanning the basement quickly. "It looks safe enough down here."

"Sure does," JP said from right behind Mimi.

Mimi shrieked, swinging her purse at whoever was behind her.

"Ow!" JP yelled, getting hit in the head with Mimi's purse. "Watch where you're swinging that thing!"

"It's your fault, you startled me!" Mimi retorted, backing away from JP. "From now on, just make sure not to get near me."

"Don't worry, that shouldn't be hard," JP muttered.

—

"Alright, I'll open it, then you run at the closet," Takuya said, stating the plan. "If there's someone in there, you'll hit them and knock them over. If not, you'll just run into a closet."

Yoshi nodded, taking her position in front of the closet. Takuya put his hand on the doorknob, ready to open it. "Okay…go!"

Takuya turned the knob and opened the door, and Yoshi ran into the empty closet. Takuya and Yoshi sighed in relief, both glad that there was no one there.

—

Kouji looked around the dark bedroom, holding his vase in front of him protectively. He couldn't hear anything except the sound of his own breathing.

He gulped and said nervously, "If there's anybody in here, just look out!"

When no reply came, he added, "I've got a vase and I'm not afraid to use it! Remember the second episode of Digimon Frontier? Well, imagine me doing that to you!"

In Jeri's room, she was a bit less nervous than Kouji, but just a bit.

"Are you hiding?" Jeri asked, glancing at all the dark crevices in the room. "I'm coming," she said, trying, but failing, to sound tough.

She then grabbed her puppet out of her pocket, stared at it for a moment, and said, "This is a freaking puppet!" Then she threw it angrily and it was lost in the darkness of the room.

"No wonder everyone thinks I'm insane," she muttered, backing up against a wall.

—

"What room's this?" Takuya asked, opening yet another door.

"Search me," Yoshi said, looking at the sparsely furnished room. The only distinguishing feature about it was the large window taking up the far wall adorned with maroon curtains.

Takuya glanced at Yoshi suspiciously. "Is there a reason I should search you?" he asked slowly, referring to her last statement.

"Eyes up here, short stuff," Yoshi said, pointing at her face.

"For the love of god, I'm not that short!" Takuya cried, exasperated.

—

"Eek!" Mimi shrieked, feeling something furry crawl over her foot. "Get it off!"

"Calm down, it's just a mouse," JP muttered, shooing the mouse away.

"Stupid flee-ridden mansion," Mimi mumbled to herself, continuing her search of the basement.

JP just rolled his eyes, still wishing he'd gotten paired with Zoe.

—

"There's really nowhere to hide in this room," Takuya stated, observing the scarcity of hiding places.

"What about behind the curtains?" Yoshi asked, pointing toward the large curtains on the far wall.

"Oh yeah," Takuya said, seeing Yoshi's point. "Well, since you pointed it out, you can be the one to check behind them! Okay thanks, bye!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Yoshi protested, but Takuya was already on his way to check the kitchen. "Stupid goggle head," Yoshi muttered to herself, staring at the curtains across the room.

Suddenly, she felt extremely nervous about crossing the room and checking behind the curtains by herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and began her slow trek across the room.

When she finally got across the room, her hands were shaking. She reached slowly for a curtain, grabbed it, pulled it quickly, and…

Yoshi was relieved to find that there was no one there.

—

Meanwhile, a police car was driving on the road that passed by the mansion, finishing up a patrol. And he wasn't happy about it.

"Stupid Yoshi ditches us to go to some stupid party," Marcus muttered to himself, glaring at the wet, rainy road ahead of him. "She's so taking my shift tomorrow."

Suddenly, Marcus noticed a large object sitting on the side of the road. Intrigued, he backed up and took a closer look at the object, realizing that it was a car.

"What's a car doing parked here?" he wondered to himself, pulling off the road to inspect the vehicle.

—

Back at the mansion, a gloved figure had snuck into the study, searching until he or she found what they were looking for. Finally, the object was found; Kouji's folder with all the evidence inside it.

The figure took the folder and threw it into the fireplace, letting it burn. Then the mysterious person went over to the cupboard, holding up its key. The person turned the key in the lock, opened the door, and retrieved from the cupboard the wrench.

—

Meanwhile, Marcus got out of his car, took a flashlight, and began searching inside the car, looking for a person.

"Hello?" he called, not getting an answer. Even with his flashlight, he realized he couldn't see inside the car with all the rain. So, he did what Marcus Damon always does.

He punched the window of the car, shattering the glass and allowing his search to be more thorough. "Hello?" he repeated, as if what he'd just done were normal. (Ah, Marcus, you crazy little violent person!)

Marcus didn't find anyone in the car, though. Not a soul.

—

"Yeah, I didn't get invited to this party, either," Kouichi said, talking with Thomas on the phone. "I mean, Madjack supposedly gave me a part in this, but I still have no clue what it is."

"I think she gave Marcus a part in this, too," Thomas muttered, getting annoyed. "How can she give him a part over me? Even Yoshi got a part!"

"I know," Kouichi agreed, nodding his head. "She gave Kouji, Zoe, Takuya, AND JP major parts and only had me drive up the road near a mansion. And my car broke down! I swear she jinxed it."

While Kouichi and Thomas continued complaining about me, the gloved figure crept up behind Kouichi, brandishing the wrench.

"Oh wait, she did give me some significance in the plot," Kouichi suddenly said, remembering what his character description had said. "I'm apparently an old employee of—"

Kouichi never got to finish his sentence, for the gloved figure hit him with the wrench at that exact moment. Kouichi fell with a thump to the floor, dropping the phone.

"Kouichi? Hello?" Thomas's voice came from the phone. The figure quickly picked up the phone and hung up.

—

Meanwhile, Marcus was STILL checking that stupid car!

"There might be someone here!" Marcus retorted, looking under the car. (There WAS someone in the car!)

"Yes, and upon further inspection of this car, I have concluded that it broke down!" Marcus declared triumphantly. (Okay Marcus, I'll humor you. If you were abandoned on the side of a road, what would you do?)

"Call someone on my cell phone," Marcus answered. (What if you didn't have your cell phone?) "I always have my—" (WHAT IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE YOUR CELL PHONE?!)

"Uh…I'd look for a house and ask to use their phone?" Marcus said nervously. (Very good! Now, do you see any houses?)

Marcus scanned the area, searching for a house. "The only place around here is that mansion on top of that hill." (Yes! Go to the mansion!)

"Uh, alright then," Marcus said, shrugging nonchalantly.

—

"Wow, this house is freaking huge!" Yoshi exclaimed, looking around at the conservatory. "It has everything, doesn't it?"

"Sure does," Takuya agreed, taking a closer look at a shelf crowded with random junk. He saw a flashlight and picked it up. "I wonder if this works," he pondered, leaning against the wall.

Suddenly, the wall opened up, causing to Takuya to fall backward. "Wah!" Takuya cried, landing in a stone passageway.

"Well, would you look at that," Yoshi said, ignoring Takuya and staring down the passageway. "A secret passageway!"

Takuya got up, dusting himself off and grabbing the flashlight. He flicked the switch on it and it sent a beam of the light down the passage. "I wonder where it leads."

"Why don't you find out? You discovered it," Yoshi said, shoving Takuya forward.

"Fine," Takuya grumbled, walking down the passageway with Yoshi close behind. The passageway went on for a while before ending abruptly at a wall.

"A dead end?" Takuya said. "Ripoff!"

"Maybe not," Yoshi said, pushing against the wall. The wall began to swivel around at Yoshi's touch, opening enough to let Takuya and Yoshi through.

"This is starting to feel a lot like Indiana Jones," Takuya muttered.

"Then pretend you're Harrison Ford," Yoshi replied sarcastically, shoving her way through the entry. Takuya quickly followed, humming the Indiana Jones theme to himself.

Once they were out of the passage, they realized where it led. "Hey, we're in the lounge!" Yoshi exclaimed. "This IS a ripoff!"

"Wait," Takuya said, slowly realizing something. "If we're in the lounge, where's Kouichi?"

Both Takuya and Yoshi turned their heads to see Kouichi lying on the floor, a wrench sitting next to his head.

"Oh my god," Takuya and Yoshi gasped in horror.

Suddenly, the secret door slammed shut behind the two, sealing them in.

"Oh shit!" Takuya cried, beginning to panic. Yoshi just started to scream.

Her scream was heard throughout the house, and everyone came rushing toward the source of it. JP and Mimi sprinted up from the basement, while the other four rushed down the upstairs hall, headed for the stairs. They came from opposite directions, though, and ended up colliding into each other.

"C'mon!" Mimi exclaimed, staring at the pile of people at the top of the stairs. They quickly got up and ran down the stairs, listening to try to pinpoint the location of the scream.

"The lounge!" Kouji yelled, figuring it out first.

JP, Henry, and Kouji quickly crowded around the door, trying to open it. "It's locked!" JP exclaimed.

"I know that!" Henry said sarcastically, feeling panicked.

"Well get the key!" JP suggested, turning to Kouji.

Kouji searched his pockets for a moment. "The key's gone!" he said.

"Well open the door!" JP exclaimed, turning back to Henry.

"I can't open the door without the key!" Henry cried, grabbing JP by the shirt and shaking him.

While this was going on, Takuya and Yoshi were struggling to open the door from the inside, but were unsuccessful.

Exasperated, Henry yelled, "Let us in! Let us in!"

Takuya and Yoshi replied, "Let us out! Let us out!"

"That's it!" Kouji said, pushing up his sleeve and backing up. "I'll just have to break it down!" With that he ran at the door, arm forward. However, when he actually came in contact with the door, he ended up slamming into it and falling backward, lying on the ground and clutching his chest in pain. (Koujipwned!)

"Hey, I know what to do!" Zoe suddenly exclaimed, rushing into the study. She quickly ran to the cupboard, grabbed the gun, and rushed back out.

Meanwhile, Mimi cried, "Will you all just shut up? We're trying to figure this out!"

"Guys, I've got the OOF!" Zoe exclaimed, tripping over Kouji. This caused her to accidently fire the gun into the air, hitting the rope that held the chandelier. It didn't fall, but the rope was weakened and it would probably fall at any moment.

The sound of the gunshot caused both JP and Henry to fall to the floor and cover their heads. Takuya and Yoshi crouched down, getting even more panicky. Mimi and Jeri started screaming and running around, but didn't look where they were going and ran into each other, both falling to the ground.

Zoe got back up and aimed the gun at the door. "Get down!" she yelled at both JP and Henry, who had started to get back up. They quickly ducked as Zoe fired the gun twice, breaking the lock.

"Ow!" Takuya cried, one of the bullets having grazed his arm. "Who the hell is shooting at us?!"

"The door's open, you can come out!" Zoe called, ignoring Takuya's cries.

Takuya quickly opened the door, stomping out into the middle of the hall and glaring at Zoe. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled accusingly. "I could've been killed! You could've killed me with that!"

While Takuya was talking, the rope holding the chandelier unraveled faster and faster, until it finally broke and began its descent toward Takuya.

"I can't take any more scares," Takuya said in a calmer voice, taking a few steps forward. Seconds after, the chandelier fell with a crash to the floor, right where Takuya had been.

Everyone stared at Takuya, whose eyes were wide open in shock. After a moment, he said, "Screw you, Madjack."

—

madjack89: After many months of careful planning, chapter five of Digital Clue is finally out!

Kouji: Yeah right. You're just lazy.

madjack89: …Shut up.

Kouji: And by the way, what a GREAT part you gave Kouichi! I'll bet he LOVES it!

madjack89: I knew someone would be mad…

Zoe: Don't forget me!

Takuya: And me!

JP: And me!

Henry: I liked Kouichi, so I'm mad, too!

Yoshi: I liked Kouichi as well!

Mimi: Kouichi was a good kid!

Jeri: He never insulted me like you guys do!

madjack89: Oh, wah! Deal with it! It's just part of the story!

Everyone: Screw you!

madjack89: sigh Well, I'll see you guys in the next exciting installment of Digital Clue!