Nic's shoes screeched to a halt as he turned to look at... James. He blinked a few times before staring blankly at him.

--

"It's alright," Dan reassured Dot. "Everything will be okay."

James watched Nic as one might watch an exotic animal. He opened his mouth again, "You promised! You promised, Nic!" Laurel pain filled voice accused before it morphed into Yue's, "You PROMISED!"

--

Dot was shivering, "D-Don't... hurt me." she whispered.

For once, Nic was very taken aback. The shock was clear on his face. "... You can imitate others' voices..." he muttered as he wrapped his mind around the obvious.

--

"No one is going to hurt you," Dan reassured Dot. "You're safe."

James paused before smirking once more, "Correct, Dominic Duncan. Slow as ever, I see." he said in a voice that changed tones and pitches with every syllable. It was grating and almost painful to listen to.

--

"Don't... hit..." Dot cowered.

Nic didn't respond as he returned to his typical demeanor. James had wanted his attention for some reason, and now he had it. So Nic waited for him to get to the point.

--

"Shh," Dan told Dot gently. "No one's gonna hurt you."

James continued to look Nic over, "Are you happy?" he suddenly asked in the same ever changing voice.

--

"Sorry..." Dot replied, "I-I'm sorry..."

Nic didn't reply.

--

Dan sighed a little as she kept hugging Dot.

James continued to look Nic over, "I believe you are." he said in Nic's voice. "You are very happy with Laurel. You love Laurel." he smirked, there was something very wrong in his eyes. "I love you." said Laurel's voice. "I love you too." replied Nic's.

--

Eventually Dot calmed down and looked up at Dan with the same wide eyes.

Still Nic said nothing. He seemed to be surprisingly resistant to James' games.

--

Dan said nothing, still waiting for the doctor to come by.

James continued to smirk, "Well, Dominic. There's one thing I hate more than anything in this world and that's the happiness of others." he continued in Dominic's voice, "When I see it... I want to crush it." he laughed in Laurel's laugh, "I think I'll start with yours." her voice said warmly.

Nic continued to hold his ground, remaining silent.

James laughed, this time in Nic's voice, "You don't think your love can falter?" he asked, "You don't think a few... misunderstandings... could break you two apart?" he grinned.

Nic was silent for a moment, thinking something over. "She didn't tell you did she?" he observed. "Do you want to know, or do you not care?"

James cocked his head a little before he replied in the changing tones, "She told me enough from her reaction to your voice." he smirked and changed back to Nic's voice, "I love you, Yue... I love you."

Nic looked... confused. Like he really had not idea what James was talking about. He shook his head a little before getting back on topic. "So you just want to punish me then?" he assumed.

James shrugged, "I hate your happiness." he stated, "I hate happiness because I was created to bring pain." he smiled.

"... Same," Nic replied with a small nod. "But it's time for a break."

James laughed, a painfully screeching sound, "Break?" he asked in a condescending voice, "I have no break from what I am." He titled his head at Nic again, "I hate Rosen too... but I'm not allowed to hurt him. You'll have to suffice." he sneered before turning to leave.

"... You think you can threaten me and then just leave?" Nic asked.

James started to walk away, whistling exactly like a robin.

In a graceful blink of an eye, Nic moved to intercept James, fully confident in his ability to overpower him if necessary.

James let Nic intercept him, he didn't seem bothered by the fact as he watched Nic out of the corner of his eye. His head was twitching slightly to the left every few seconds again.

Nic brought James to a stop. "Do whatever the hell you want to me," he told him bluntly. "But I won't let you drag Laurel into this. She's been through enough. And if you insist, I'll have to knock you out of the equation until you're back in your right mind."

James laughed a little, amused. "You've just told me what would make you truly unhappy." he mused, "That was foolish of you, Dominic."

"You really don't know me too well," Nic countered. "You see, we Chiou don't tolerate threats." With that his hand flashed up toward James' neck.

--

"... Congratulations," Sheng said with a slow clap. "I've never seen Long that pissed off before. But please stand down, Long."

So Long slowly removed the long knife from his victims throat, leaving a light red trail behind. Long gave a deathly glare for a moment longer before wiping the knife off on his victim's sleeve and returning to Sheng's side.

The man stood there for a long silent moment. He finally snapped out of it when Sheng tossed him a small towel which hit him in the face. He blinked and caught it before it hit the floor and pressed it against his neck.

"... As I was saying before you interrupted," Sheng continued. "Our families will have their honor restored in due time. But the honor of the Yin Long comes first. So would you rather look into this gang stealing our members or should I let Long continue?"

The man spat on the ground as he turned to Long. "Your love for your former sister blinds you, Sheng," he replied. "If she isn't dealt with, our families will be shamed and never return to their former rank. And yours will be a laughing stock for generations."

"Let me worry about that, Dewei," Sheng replied. "Despite the changing circumstances, my original promise with your family remains strong."

Dewei didn't seem too convinced. But he turned to leave. As he did, he spat on the ground again as his eyes glanced over Long. But Long remained as still as a statue, face blank.

James seemed to have been expecting that. Before Nic's hand could connect, the sound of gunshots filled the hallway and echoed down. After a moment's consideration, it was clear they had come from James. His voice seemed to be more powerful than a typical persons. A moment after Nic's hand connected he collapsed dramatically and feet could be heard running from all directions.

He hadn't meant to knock James out; just get rid of his voice for awhile. But if he was out, all the better for Nic. So he crossed his arms, waiting for them to come and see that James was fine apart from being temporarily mute.

Unfortunately for Nic, the feet brought hordes of girls who already didn't like the dark and emo Nic. They took one look at Nic with his arms crossed and then at the fallen James and screeched their displeasure. They hurled insults at Nic and they shoved past him to get to James. James, for his part, seemed almost like his old self but with a much darker twist.

He looked around dramatically like a fallen hero. It was clear that rumors involving a murderous Nic had already begun.

But then Bee showed up and sighed from the background, rolling her eyes at the while situation.

Nic really didn't seem to care. When James had plenty of girls around to care for him, he started to walk off.

Bee stepped in front of Nic and raised an eyebrow.

Nic started to walk around Bee.

Bee cut Nic off again and slowly crossed her arms.

When that didn't work, Nic turned and started walking the other way.

Bee sighed, the hallway in that direction was flooded with girls, it would be a pain for Nic to walk through them all. Especially since they were all glaring at him.

Nic didn't seem too bothered by the glaring girls. He kept his cool as he navigated his way through them.

There was more than one misplaced elbow, knee and foot that jabbed into Nic as he walked past.

Bee turned and went to search for Raven again.

Nic didn't retaliate in any way, making sure he didn't do the same to the women.

It took quite some searching, but Raven was no longer entirely off grid. After awhile, Bee found some people who had seen him and pointed her in the direction of one of the most remote parts of the garden.

Bee sighed as she finally found Raven, "Finally coming out of seclusion, huh?" she spoke loud enough that she wouldn't surprise him as she approached.

Raven was on his hands and knees, tending some of the plants in the garden. It looked like he had been at it for awhile. He didn't reply to Bee as he kept working.

Bee sat down beside him, "You're experienced." she noted as she watched Raven's hands work.