"I suppose... I have everything money can buy," he agreed seriously.

--

"Why... do you... wanna leave so bad?" Laurel complained, looking very unhappy.

Yue said nothing.

--

Nic was quiet for a very long time. Then suddenly he said something, but it was too quiet for Laurel to make out.

"But... I can't seem to buy... the things I really want," he whispered into Yue's ear.

--

Laurel blinked, "Huh?" she demanded.

Yue pulled away a little. "You can charm whoever you want to get whatever you want," she spat a little.

--

Nic was silent for another long moment, face hidden by his hair. But... it wasn't like she was going to remember this... right...? "I..." he muttered, voice just barely audible. "can't... mess this up..."

James smiled a little, "I'm not Rosen," he reminded Yue.

--

Laurel blinked heavily before rubbing her cheek on his hand, "Wha... are you so... af-laid of?" she wanted to know. "I... love ya. Really, really love..." she seemed to lose her train of thought as she yawned.

That didn't seem to help his case as she took another jab at him.

--

Nic didn't say anything, waiting for her to fall asleep so he could get his hand back.

James sighed, "Most people only like my money," he replied after a moment, "I don't have the best personality."

--

Laurel mumbled something else but then tried to yank Nic down closer to her.

"... It's more than enough," she replied quietly.

--

Nic didn't let her.

"Most people run when they hear it the first time... and you stayed around for seconds," he continued, "... You seem just as insane as me."

--

"Nic," Laurel whined, "Don't ya love meh?"

Yue paused before nodding a little. "... I'm insane... for letting you play with me like this."

--

"... I love you," Nic told Laurel quietly.

James actually laughed, "Me? Playing with you? It's the other way around, sweetheart."

--

Laurel grinned, clearly pleased, "I... lick it when you... say... it," she mused before rolling face down on the pillow. Her hand loosened on his as she started to dose off.

Yue cussed at James a little. "You don't have any interest in me," she spat at him, still not looking at his face. "This is all just a game to you. Just another brainwashed fan girl to add to your collection..."

--

When his hand was free, Nic quietly got up and left.

--

Raven dragged Wolfe to an empty space close-by and made him sit. He stayed by Wolfe's side, swapping out his cigarettes for fresh ones when they were depleted.

James reacted almost instantly, knocking Yue into the wall of the shower and kissing her fiercely. It was not the kiss of someone disinterested.

--

It was a thankless job for Raven. Eventually, Wolfe stood. "I'm going for a walk," he informed Raven in a blank tone. He still seemed overwhelmed but needed some space at the moment.

At first, Yue resisted. But then she started to give in and began to kiss him passionately back. But that fire seemed to burn out quickly like all the energy has been sapped out of her body. She started to slip a little, finding it difficult to stand as she started shaking again.

--

Raven nodded a little quietly. He gave Wolfe a fresh cigarette before slowly standing himself. "... I'll check on Frei," he told him before starting to walk off toward Frei's room.

With some effort, James pulled away. Then after a moment, he turned the shower on cold.

--

Frei wasn't there.

Yue slowly sat down before she fell down. Then she just kept shaking in the cold water, hugging her knees, eyes empty.

--

So Raven stumbled around a bit looking for Frei since he had said he would check on her.

"You see!" James stated fiercely, "I feel like if I touch you, you'll shatter! Don't you dare say I don't care about you! Would I put up with all this mental crap if I didn't?" he demanded, taking her face in his hands.

--

Frei was finally spotted taking with Snow.

Yue was sniffing a little, but it was hard to tell if she was actually crying or not with all the water running down her face. "Y-You're..." she stammered. "I-It's just a game," she said more to herself than to him. "S-Sure, for now you feel like that... But in the e-end..." Her voice broke a little as she admitted to the both of them, "You're gonna get b-bored... and toss me a-away... L-Like everyone else."

--

So Raven walked over to 'check in.'

James was silent as he turned the water off. After a moment he stepped outside the shower and grabbed a towel. He stepped back into the shower and squatted in front of Yue. He put the towel on her head and began to dry her hair. "I've gotten more attitude from you than anything else. I think it's pretty obvious that if I was ever going to get bored... I would've already, with all this shaking and crying and verbal abuse," he stated. "You're the only girl I've like who... accepted me after they heard my real voice. I'm not letting you get away so fast." He dried her hair a little harder, "It might have started out all in good fun, but... I need you now, Yue."

--

Both stopped talking and stared at Raven as he approached. They looked as serious as Wolfe.

--

Kale finally moved to pick Blaze up.

"... How do you expect me to accept what you're saying? Words are cheap - you can say whatever you want. Just because I couldn't run doesn't make me special. Even if I am the first, it doesn't automatically make me the last. It's cruel for you to put me in such high regards when I am nothing special. You're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

--

Raven frowned a little, now very curious about what wasn't being said. "... What's up?" he asked them.

--

Blaze shied away a little, but it didn't prevent Kale from picking her up.

James sighed, "Crust... you sure have low self esteem," he replied as he finished her hair and wrapped the towel around her shoulders.

--

Frei looked at Snow. They had a conversation with their look and then Snow turned to Raven. "... There might be a situation."

--

So Kale scooped her up and started off to her room.

That seemed to irritate Yue, but she didn't spit anything back at him.

--

Raven really didn't look sure if he wanted to know, but he sucked it up and hoped he was sober enough. "... What?" he asked.

James lifted Yue's chin with his hand, "You're amazing," he stated simply.

--

Snow paused again, "There might be a problem with Pepper."

It didn't look like Yue believed him. Or she didn't let herself believe him. Maybe she was still just having trouble forgetting what had happened tonight.

--

Raven's frown deepened. That was defiantly not good for him. "... What sort of problem?" he asked.

James sighed and kissed her forehead, "You should sleep," he murmured.

--

Snow sighed a little, looking at Frei, "We... don't know yet."

Yue didn't say anything, but she hesitantly grabbed James' arm where the scar was. "... I want to trust you," she whispered, not looking at him. She almost said something more, but then just sighed instead.

--

Raven blinked. Well, that was helpful. So he stood there awkwardly for a moment.

James smiled and patted her head, "Thats a good start," he replied.

--

Suddenly there was a gunshot from outside the resort. It seemed to come from one of the upper levels. Snow cussed and took off at a run, Frei not far behind her.

--

Kale set Blaze on the bed, too far to hear the gunshot. "Go to sleep," he instructed.

Yue didn't seem to think so. But that expression just made her look more so like a wet cat.

--

Before he could leave, Blaze reached out and grabbed Kale's hand.

--

Raven started at the gunshot, blinking after Snow and Frei. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't just rely on ducking and covering every time something unexpected happened. But would he just be a burden?

But Raven's curiosity won. He didn't want to live in the dark here - He couldn't if he honestly wanted to try and find a place for himself with these people. So he took off after Snow and Frei.

Meanwhile Nic broke into the security feed to see what was happening.

Pepper and Wolfe were fighting it out on one of the upper decks. They moved so fast it was hard to track them. Pepper was attacking more aggressively then Wolfe and it was clear this was no friendly match. Even as she managed to land a few hits, Wolfe seemed to be holding back.

Nic sat back, watching Pepper and Wolfe fight it out from his computer screen.

Raven kept chasing after Snow and Frei although he was falling behind.

They arrived just in time to see Pepper pull a particularly nasty trick on Wolfe which caused him to slip right over the edge. It was a long moment before they heard the splash. Pepper looked over the edge with a smirk.

Snow cussed and continued to run towards the edge. Frei stopped in her tracks, quickly losing the color in her face.

From the cameras an interesting sight occurred to Nic. The moment Wolfe hit the water, he vanished. He didn't surface at all. Even if he'd been knocked unconscious, he'd have floated to the top.

Nic frowned, quickly looking for the same shot at another angle as he transferred the information to his pad and started jogging toward the dock.

"Ryuji!" Raven shouted breathlessly as he saw Wolfe fall. Even though Snow was already on it, Raven didn't hesitate as he sprinted over to the edge and jumped off after Wolfe along with Snow.

It was the same from the other angle, all trace of Wolfe vanished under the water.

Snow dove straight down. Nic saw the dive and knew she meant to dive deep. Apparently Wolfe was sinking fast.

Raven seemed to have the same strategy, kicking off his shoes and jacket in mid-flight before falling into a dive.

Nic estimated their coordinates the best he could from the footage and cameras as he picked up the pace.

Snow was far down but had just reached him. Even with her strength, the weight of Wolfe was pulling them both down.

Raven didn't hesitate, diving down to them to help Snow bring Wolfe to the surface.

Wolfe was surprisingly heavy but the two of them managed to get him to the surface. Snow cussed as they started to drag him towards the dock.

Raven cussed too, but most of them were directed toward Wolfe's boots. He was a fairly strong swimmer, but his strength was depleting fast.

As soon as Nic got to the dock, he jumped on the nearest boat and set out after them.

It was clear Wolfe wasn't breathing. Snow grabbed onto the side of Nic's boat, exhausted herself.

Nic dragged Wolfe on board first, letting Snow and Raven pull themselves up as he checked to see if Wolfe's heart had stopped.