"Drake," Dane muttered under his breath, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Drake looked up and followed his uncle's gaze which was on Damien, who seemed perfectly calm as usual, but it was likely that there was a burning fury raging under that mask. So Drake swallowed his laughter and blinked away his smile. His uncle knelt down on one knee and still keeping his eyes focused on Damien talking with Amon, whispered to Drake, "I would leave with her if I were you."

"Whatever he does to me, he does to himself," Drake said shaking his head, "I know how he reacted when he hit Jade. He won't harm himself. Besides, she wants to be alone, which I can understand after spending two solid hours with the lot of us."

"Yes, I understand all of that my nephew, but I don't think she knows enough about this world," he paused to swallow hard, "something bad might happen."

"Not in broad daylight, Dane," Drake sighed, "look I know you're worried and whatever, but I assure you she'll be fine or Damien wouldn't have let her go for his own sake. You know?"

Dane nodded, but he still seemed to be on edge about the whole matter. "If she's far enough he can harm you without harming her or himself, Drake."

Drake smiled, closing to ignore that, "But any ways, don't you have someone here in this world you'd rather be visiting than hanging around here?"

With narrowed eyes, Dane frowned at Drake, "Sometimes I forget that what I talk to Jade about goes directly to you."

"Hey, I'm not laughing," Drake's smile vaporized as he raised an eyebrow, "I'm just saying that you don't seem to leave Damien's side much since he got himself hurt, so . . ."

"What are you planning?" Dane asked him coldly.

Drake's mouth twitched as he held back a deep frown, but he couldn't help but stare at Dane angrily, "Why can't I just suggest something without it being some devious plot?"

Dane sighed, "Because," he glanced at Damien with another sigh, "well, it's-"

"No, I get it," Drake barked, standing up with clenched fists, nails digging deep into his skin. "We aren't the same person you know?"

"Don't yell at your uncle," Damien growled from his bed, listening in on their conversation.

Drake felt the red blush rushing to his cheeks as he put a hand to his mouth in horror. He couldn't think of a time that he had said something like that in front of Damien and he had heard him. Did he realize how alike they were? Probably not he didn't really acknowledge him enough to know. In fact why was Drake even thinking about him? So he put on his mask and as his hand slipped away smiled, "Why? Are you going to stop me?"

Damien sat up to look at Drake, "My, my aren't the two of you becoming quite rebellious. What exactly happened in Monorail? I mean it is hard to keep things straight that is between your lies and truths."

"Nothing," Drake continued through his teeth, "actually it's just the fact that you have no power over us."

"No power over you," Damien thought out loud, his gaze shifting off to somewhere that didn't exist. "That's a strange idea that you're testing. I hope you're both ready for the consequences."

"What?" Drake laughed, "What could you possibly do?"

"Use your imagination," Damien smiled gently, almost kindly to hide his swelling hatred.

Drake bit the inside of his lip. He knew he was almost at his breaking point. He had been holding this question in for seventeen years and he thought that he would carry it with him to his grave, but it was scratching at the back of his mouth trying to creep out and with Damien staring at him with that loathing smile, he couldn't control himself. He took a deep breath and imagined what would happen if he did ask Damien that dreaded question.

He'd ask him why he hated him so and Damien would laugh and never answer it or maybe he'd kill him, completely forgetting that he'd kill himself too or there was the odd possibility that he might answer him, but that was too risky too unlikely.

"What?" Damien snapped at him, cruelly.

He must have been looking like he'd seen a ghost because Dane wrapped an arm around him and muttered, "We're going to go out to find Jade."

Drake shot him a look that he hoped said, uh, I just said we weren't, as Damien asked as if he couldn't care less, "Why?"

"She needs to be fitted for a dress right?" Dane asked, "That'll take a while right. Don't want to be late."

"I'm not-" Drake began, but Dane covered his mouth with his hand quickly.

"I suppose," Damien sighed, putting his hands to his eyes to rub the sleep out of them, "why don't you take Amon though."

Drake rolled his eyes. So his uncle's brother was suspicious of their motives. "No," Dane growled, eyeing Amon hatefully. They mustn't have gotten over their argument yet or well at least Amon hadn't and Dane wanted Damien to think he hadn't either.

"Then take Blair," He snapped, dropping his hands suddenly to stare darkly at Dane.

"No," Blair whined from across the room where she had been sulking, "I don't want to have anything to do with her."

"Of course, Blair," Drake began, the words coming out of his mouth unconsciously, "she isn't aloud to breath a bad word about you, but the lot of us can scream at her until she's crying and force her to do unspeakable things!"

There was a long silence, although Drake couldn't understand why, until Damien smiled at him devilishly and, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, said silkily with mockingly raised eyebrows, "You care for her. Don't you?"

Drake blinked a few times before politely returning the smile and saying, "More than you do I'm sure of that."

That shut him up, putting a satisfyingly sour look on his face as he turned his head away sharply.

"Do you really?" Dane asked him once he had closed the door behind them.

"Do I what?" Drake asked. He honestly wasn't sure what his uncle was referring to, until, "Oh, you mean care about Jade. Well, I know I don't hate her like I used to. Um, if something was to happen to her I'd definitely be upset. So yeah, I guess I do."

Dane shook his head as he punched in the button on the elevator for the ground level. "Don't hurt her Drake. I know how you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Drake scoffed at him, watching the doors open again after the elevator had come to a stop to let more people in. An old woman wearing sunglasses even though she was inside and a man with a crooked nose. Drake eyed them, returning no smiles, but turning back to his uncle. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Dane sighed deeply and looked down into Drake's eyes, "Drake, look at me and tell me honestly that you'll always have her best intentions in your mind."

"I-" he began, but Dane interrupted him to say, "and keep in mind that you hit her as frequently if not more than Damien. You constantly abuse her with your treacherous words. Drake, you cannot have both ways. I will not let you lead her on only to discover for yourself that you care nothing for her. You act on impulses as much as your fath-"

Drake glared at him, forcing him to cut the word short and suck hard on his lips. Finally they reached the bottom floor, whereupon Jade's thoughts came rushing into Drake's mind. She hadn't been a mile from him. She was somewhere in a store across the street of the hotel . . . with Erik. He bit his lip and strode out of the elevator. Making himself control his temper, he realized that if he behaved like Damien and tried to force Jade to stay away from Erik then she'd hate him just as much as his uncles' brother.

"I wonder where we should start," Dane sighed, peering through the glass windows and examining the busy streets of the city.

"She in that coffee shop over there," Drake said, pointing his finger in its direction.

Dane nodded and headed though the revolving doors and crossed the street, Drake walking by his side, muttering, "Now, don't freak out, but she's with Erik and-"

"Oh my God!" Dane stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk, "Erik Porter? The one Damien has explicitly told the both of you to stay away from? Can she not put up with any other boy? Why must she become obsessed with the only one that Damien tells her to stay away from? Why are the two of you trying to rebel his every word? Do you want him to do something terrible?"

"Stop," Drake hissed, "and listen to me. She . . . she's loved him since before Damien ever told her that she couldn't, since before we took her from her life and I think she deserves at least one thing in return for all that we've done to her. Wouldn't you agree?" He didn't wait for his uncle's response, "Do not utter a single word against her."

"Fine," Dane muttered, "but do not blame me for the repercussions."

"Never," Drake smiled, making his uncle stare at him hard, pursing his lips, "stop it."

"I'm sorry, Drake," Dane sighed, rubbing his eyes with his finger tips, "it's just that sometimes you look more than exactly like him."

Drake rolled his eyes and headed into the small shop. Glancing around the room, he found Jade in a few seconds. She was already staring at him from where she sat at a booth with Erik. He couldn't see Erik's face, only his back, but he knew it was him. Jade gave him a small smile and then after whispering something to Erik stood up and walked over to where Drake stood, Erik didn't even turn to look. Drake sighed uncomfortably. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"You stood up for me," she said, looking into his eyes as his thoughts flooded into her open mind.

"Uh - um," he squinted at her and somehow found himself lost for words as she wrapped her arms around his neck to embrace him. He buried his face in her thick hair draping her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" She asked him, pulling away and frowning at him. "What are you keeping from me?"

"I- nothing," he sputtered. Damn it! He thought to himself. Why couldn't he just speak? Then an image of Damien flashing his eyes at him, saying, use your imagination, popped into his head, Sucking in air between his teeth, so that he could feel the cold air stinging his gums, he glanced at Erik, who still hadn't move a muscle.

"Where did Dane go?" She asked, looking behind him for his uncle.

"Probably back to the hotel to check on his beloved brother," Drake growled, realizing that his uncle had bailed on him. "Do you want to sit down with Erik again?" He asked, rubbing his forehead.

She shrugged and looked up into his eyes sheepishly, "I mean you don't want to do you?"

He smiled at her and took her hand, "Come on," he led her back to the booth, where he sat down beside Erik and she in the opposite bench.

Erik pursed his lips tightly, but managed to say, "Drake."

It was obviously some sort of greeting, but why was he angry with him? Why was Jade not angry with him? "Something the matter?" Drake asked, confused.

"Yes," Erik growled angrily, turning his head to glare at Drake.

Drake frowned and looked at Jade to find her hiding back her smile from him. Chewing on the inside of his lip, Drake glanced between the two of them. He must have done something to Erik before they left Monorail to have made him angry. He was trying to rack his brain for the memory, when Erik threw something white at his face.

Drake caught it with a hand. It was just a balled up sheet of paper, but Erik had burst into a smile. Cocking an eyebrow at him, Drake unfolded the wrinkled paper and smiled himself to find his check. "Don't do that," he threw it back at Erik, "I thought you were furious with me over something!"

"I am," he smiled, glancing at Jade who was laughing along, "you put that damn check in my pocket! I told you to keep it."

Drake rolled his eyes and leaned back. At last everything here seemed to be right. No one was mad at him for once.

"What made you decide to come down?" Jade asked him, leaning on the cluttered table. She must have ordered everything on the menu because there was at least fifty different plates and mugs scattered and piled up on the table, hardly any eaten. It looked like she had only taken four raspberries a mug filled with equal amounts of coffee, cream and sugar. It was a good thing that Dane hadn't come or he would have thrown a fit.

"Well, for one it looks like someone needed to pay the bill and Damien needs you back up there for dress fitting or something," he shrugged.

"Sounds boring," Erik smiled, "mind if I tag along?"

Drake opened his mouth to tell him that under no circumstances could he come, but Jade's voice rang out first, "Of course you can. Drake will you get the bill and we'll meet you up there?"

"Wait, Jade," he said quickly. What was she trying to do? Did she want them all dead?

"What?" She asked, staring at him with round blue eyes as if she hadn't the slightest idea why something might be bothering him.

"One word, Damien," he said shaking his head at her. She gave him a look like she might hit him.

"Damien, Damien, Damien!" She chanted, "it's always Damien said this. Damien said that so we have to do it, but not anymore. He can't control me anymore!"

"Jade," Drake said seriously, "come on."

She pursed her lips as she stood up with him. "I'll see you tonight?" She asked Erik before they left completely.

"Of course," he smiled.