Rainie dabbed desperately at the wound on Tavia's kneck. The blood still plunging out. "No...n-" Rainie couldn't speak. She seen Tavia falling to the ground with blood. Her instinct made her run towards Tavia and she was now speechless in agony. She tenderly clutched onto Tavia's body. She was still breathing, she was, she had to be. But by each passing second, Tavia's breath was shorter, quieter and less air was inhaled and virtually any came out. Rainie looked through her tear washed eyelashes at Mike. He was standing in between her, Tavia and the killer.

"Who are you?" Mike asked, his voice full of anger that it was frightening. "I should've known, Cat Idol."

The man with the axe didn't respond. Oddly to Rainie, he was familiar but she couldn't tell. He was blood-stained with Tavia's blood. She couldn't read his expression. His hair was so long it reached his waist, the bangs in the front, covered all his face. She didn't know. But the pretty girl standing next to him was smiling. Her eyes showed confidence. Rainie watched in silence. She only knew her hands was still desperately holding onto Tavia.

It was all a blur once again, reminding Rainie of the night she was attacked by foxes. This time she won't run. Mike was lunging, his fists hard straight at the guy with the axe. He missed. The guy swung the axe around, leeping away at the same time. Mike cursed, trying again. This time, it was the girl that dodged. She was now hovering in the air.

She spoke for the first time, "My name is Genie Zhou. We meet for the first time. Mike He is it, you should know it's hopeless to physically attack."

Mike hissed. "So, you were the one who blew the flute."

"Hmmm - funny, it seems like the damage to your body was slightly more than I bargained," Genie mused. "I hold no grudge towards that princess. She was merely a pawn of my experiment... if you shan't let me through, I'll..."

Rainie flinched. The guy holding the axe had ran to protect Genie just as a dark figure attacked from behind. The shadowy figure that just ambushed Genie now stood next to Mike. He was laughing in a curious way. To Rainie's surprise, Mike was laughing too.

"What is this?" Mike said with a hideous tone.

"Here, to help you of course," the guy answered. "We can take them on."

Genie moved her lips but no sound came out. Her face was flustered. In no time, Genie was dissolving into the night and the guy was covered in black mist. Black mist, Rainie recalled. 'It couldn't be, Raymond?'

"RAINIE, RAINIE."

Mike's voice broke through Rainie's sudden recognition. It haunted her. She gasped, just as she was once again aware of the warmth coming from Tavia.

The guy who seemed to be Mike's friend knelt down before her and Tavia. He poured some drug onto Tavia's wound, causing her to stir and moan. Rainie bit her lips as the guy bandaged her kneck, delicately.

"Mike, is she?"

Mike gave a low cough. "Let's get princess back into the room first." He took Tavia from Rainie's feeble grasp and carried her back into the hotel room, where she was suposed to be. As Mike layed her lifeless body onto the bed, his friend introduced himself.

"My name is Jiro. Jiro Wang. You shouldn't worry. That drug I used was some powerful stuff from the monster world. The wound itself missed the vital spots too..."

Mike crossed the room to Rainie and Jiro. "Let's stay outside for a bit."

XXX

The image of the flashing silver lingered before her eyes. The sound of her own aching heart was too daunting and yet the sound of it remained. His face, it was the most clear image in her fazed memory of her last few moments, before her death. Raymond...surely this was her voice calling him. No... Her fingers tapped. They moved. "I'm alive!" she whispered. And Tavia watched in her own dream, as a little boy stared at her. His face filled with confusion. The little boy asked her, "are you not afraid of me. I am a..."