Hee! I am feeling quite emo at this present point in time, so I decided to whip up this little one-shot. It is Jack-Kim and set long after the completion of Season Three of the show. I based it off of the song, "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," by Death Cab for Cutie. This song makes me cry sometimes. So, just as a warning to those who have read my other stories and know that they are fluffy, THIS ONE IS NOT!! NO FLUFF AT ALL! This is a real sad, dark thing to come from MY soul, which is like the land of happy sunshine and dancing unicorns.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own the show, don't own the song. KEEP THE LAWYERS AWAY!!!

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The air was dark and thick with smoke and fog and clouds. All that could be heard was the screaming of dying soldiers and their pleas to be spared. These were replied with only the malevolent cackle of a Heylin soldier and a blast of black magic or the 'whoosh' of a sword as it severed their limbs.

Jack was surveying the damage and carnage of the wide expanse of battle ground. It was drenched in blood, both Xiaolin and Heylin. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Wuya," he said quietly, "This has got to stop."

The witch just laughed mirthlessly. "And why do you suppose I do that? The battle for Heylin power has been running strong for ten years now. I am sure that we are close to crushing the rest of those Xiaolin monks."

It was true. The only monks left were Kimiko and Clay. The others had been taken prisoner and executed. Of course, they had not been spared any pain while being put to death. Jack still had nightmares of their shrieking and the sounds of Heylin magic burning through flesh and bones. And they kept the warriors alive until they were ready to kill them. Jack could still hear their pleas ring in his ears. They literally begged to be killed, to be released from the torture.

And what was even worse… He didn't do anything to stop them. He just turned the other cheek and let Chase (who Wuya had later killed, not wanting to share her world domination) and Wuya laugh sickly as they administered punishment upon their captives. He let the friends of the woman he loved die. She didn't even know that he could have stopped the Heylins. She didn't know that he never even tried.

"That doesn't matter anymore," he said coolly, turning to stare coldly at her with his red eyes. The witch just looked puzzled, then amused.

"Let me guess… You feel crushed with guilt," she looked down to the field below her. Kimiko was leading a troop to fight against Wuya's magical army. "You want to keep her from meeting the same fate… And you are scared."

His gazed wavered from hers, "I am not scared! I love her. I want her to be happy and to be safe. I want her to have everything that she's ever wanted. She doesn't want death and despair to descend on all of humanity."

A dark smirk crawled across the witch's face. Her almost black eyes sparkled with hate, "You've got no idea, Jack," she shook her head and snorted, "Son, fear is the heart of love." She gazed down on him with pity, "And great warriorsare never afraid… Thus, we do not love. You are pathetic and never will amount to anything," Her dark eyes flashed again as she kicked his feet out from under him, delivering a blow to his face. Luckily, Jack had just enough time to block his face. Her fist grazed his knuckles, but it hurt. I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black, he thought as he let out a small whimper. Her mouth twitched as she looked down on him in distaste.

"Nothing," she whispered again, turning her back to him. Jack got up from the floor.

"No. You are wrong," she turned back to him, surprised to see him standing, his eyes boring into her in defiance. "I will be something. You are the one who shall be nothing!"

Then, he pulled his sword from his belt, charging forward to slash at her. This sudden attack caught her off guard. Jack? Disobey her? That was an impossible thought! The shock wore off quickly. She deflected his hit with little effort.

"Don't start something that you can't finish, Jackie," she giggled manically as green orbs of pure, unadulterated Heylin magic flowed from her palms. They were aimed at Jack and, in a matter of seconds, he was writhing in pain. The sword flew from his hand, landing somewhere far behind the witch.

Screams bubbled past his lips around his gasps for breath. The witched laughed again, her lips curled into a spiteful smile, her eyes dancing with the green fire's light. She was clearly enjoying herself.

"Now be a good little boy… Beg," she smiled sweetly, "Beg for me to spare your pathetic little life."

He sputtered for a few moments. His vision was starting to blur from the lack of oxygen to his brain. Finally he managed to force the words out past his choking, "Never."

"As you wish…" Her hand twitched and the light grew brighter. She flicked her wrist, slamming Jack into the rocky wall behind him. Blood began to pour from a freshly made wound on his temple. For her reward, he gave another shout.

That was her mistake. Kimiko heard the screeching voice above the turmoil of battle. Jack! She felt her heart hammer in her chest. She looked up in time to see a green flash on a ledge to her right. Quickly, her mind formulated a plan.

Wuya released Jack from her torturous hold. He was on his hands and knees, coughing up blood. He looked up at her with rebellious glare. His pale skin and clothes were tarnished with the same red substance. Cuts adorned his cheeks and upper arms that were bare where his shirtsleeve had been torn off.

"You can hurt me as much as you want. You can torture me as much as you want. You can even kill me, but you will never win. You are wrong, Wuya. Never being afraid is not what makes warriors great. Being able to face what they are afraid of is what truly determines their strength. That is the heart of love. Believing in something with every fiber of your being. I have this power. You don't. It makes me a thousand times stronger than you could ever hope to be. You see, Wuya, even if you do kill me, you can't take this away from me."

Wuya screamed out in rage as she took hold of Jack again. The luminosity of her power was blinding this time. So was the pain. He couldn't even scream. He watched her snarled grimace as he felt his body begin to shut down. Kim, he thought, I love you.

Suddenly, the magic engulfing Jack's body vanished. He fell, once again, to the cold, hard ground. More blood found its way past his lips and down his chin. He raised his head weakly to look up. Wuya was standing, frozen, her eyes glassy. The point of his sword was poking out of her chest. The witched sputtered once more and fell to the ground in a heap. With the body gone, Jack could see his savior.

A very worn and dirty Kimiko was standing there. She rushed to Jack's side as quickly as she could.

"Oh, Jack. Oh, Jack!" she cried, pulling his broken body into her lap. Tears fell quickly down her cheeks. This was the man she loved. The only one who made her life full of joy. What would she do without him?

Her mind rewound to a happier time. A scene that took place before the war. They were sitting together under the large oak tree at the temple. It was dark night. The only light came from a single lantern. They had begun meeting late at night in private. A Xiaolin couldn't be seen with a Heylin and vice versa. But they couldn't help but love each other. Jack felt as though Kimiko was the most perfect thing that he had ever known. She was flawless, not only in her appearance, but also in her soul. It was kind, gentle, forgiving. And Kimiko couldn't help but falling for this boy. Even though he appeared to be inept and a dork, he was a sweetheart that was completely devoted to her. She remembered what he had said once: 'Love of mine some day you will die, but I'll be close behind. I'll follow you into the dark.' He couldn't live without her. It was obvious! So how could she live without him? The answer was simple: She couldn't… No… She wouldn't.

He smiled up at her weakly. "The time for sleep is now. It's nothing to cry about…"

"'Cause we'll hold each other soon in the blackest of rooms," she finished in a whisper as his eyes slowly shut, a pleasant smile on his face. He had died, but kept Kimiko safe. He had saved her world. Her life. That was all that mattered to him. She was his world. Little did he know, she was about to throw it all away.

She kept his body in her harms as she reached over to pull the sword out of the witch's lifeless corpse. She gave his lips one last kiss. Her mouth was stained with his blood. It tasted like copper and fear. She took Jack in one arm and positioned the sword against her chest as she plunged the blade deep into her heart, then removed it quickly to allow the sticky, red fluid that sustained her to flow freely. Her hand gently stroked his already cold cheek as she felt the life drain from her.

No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white. Just our hands clasped so tight. Waiting for the hint of a spark.

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Sooo… What do you think? Too disturbing? Not disturbing enough? I never can tell cause, apparently, I can be very disturbing without me even knowing it! I think it turned out nicely, though. I just had to let the good win. My inner fluff strikes again!!

Well review… Or not. I know you guys have issues with that!

I'm sorry, I just love to tease!!!