Author's note: Thank you to 1st Dudette for your review. And I promise that Jack's sudden back flip abilities will be explained this chapter. Thanks also to those of you who have added this story to your favorites and/or alerts.
Update: So the summary originally stated this was just a short story and I said it was going to be a two parter in the first chapter. I lied. Turns out Chase had something up his sleeve, as did others, and I realized that I have no idea how long this story is. It'll be finished when it's done, and in the mean time I get to have fun writing lines for Jack Spicer.
"All right," Kimiko surveyed the cave and tapped a finger to her lips as she thought aloud, "How exactly do we get out of here?"
"Can you light a fire? A small fire," Jack elaborated. Kimiko snapped her fingers together, and they seemed to spark with the friction. A small flame danced in the palm of her hand.
"What's this for, Jack, need a night light?"
"Smoke rises if there's no draft. We can follow the smoke to find an opening," he smirked when he saw the confusion on Kimiko's face. "I'm an evil genius, remember?"
"Sometimes it's pretty easy to forget," Kimiko snorted. "Guess this means I'm leading the way." She held out her hand in front of her, pausing after a few steps to see if she could see the smoke rising. So far, nothing had happened. The flame flickered, but the smoke emanating from it did not seem to be moving very high.
"We'll keep walking until it starts rising, and check it every couple of feet."
"Something's been bugging me,"
"What, the cave?"
"No. Look, we're stuck with each other, so nothing wrong with making some conversation. What are you doing with Chase, anyway?"
"What do you mean? He's the Evil Prince of Darkness!"
"That's my point," Kimiko paused to check the fire. The smoke seemed to rise higher now, but not enough for it appear for their escape method to be close by. "I've seen that guy turn you into a monkey, rig a door to fall on you and try to feed you to his cats. Why work with him?"
"C'mon, he hasn't tried any of that in," Jack paused to think, "I don't know, a couple of weeks."
"So you'd rather put up with that than work on your own?"
"I'm his official apprentice now-"
"Yeah, he's given you that title before."
"He was lying that time," Jack shook his head furiously in response to the question Kimiko had not yet asked, "And no, he isn't lying this time. I checked the Mind Reader Conch!" He slapped his hand over his mouth.
"I thought Chase said you couldn't use Wu? And I haven't seen you with any…" Kimiko paused again and after checking the fire, she turned back to Jack.
A more devious villain would not have shown her, but Jack was too proud of his accomplishment not to let someone admire his brilliance. Kimiko covered her face and looked away when Jack removed his belt. "Oh, c'mon, that's not what I'm doing!" He pressed a button on the side of the belt, revealing a hidden chamber inside of it. Inside were the Mind Reader Conch and Mantis Flip Coin, both in miniaturized form. "I used the Changing Chopsticks to make 'em tiny. But then I lost that Wu to you guys a few weeks ago, so I wasn't able to change their size back."
"So you've been using the Flip Coin in battle without us realizing it!"
"And the Conch to make sure Chase isn't planning on kicking me out. I usually check his mind when I wake up and then right before I go to bed. …It helps me sleep."
Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, Spicer, why don't you just marry Chase?"
"Maybe I will!" he called after her. "Wait…that didn't come out right!"
Raimundo wasn't sure how much time had passed. It felt like he and Chase had been staring each other down for an eternity since the cave in had occurred. "Well? Are you not going to attempt to dig your friend out?" Chase crossed his arms and leaned against the nearest wall of the cave. Raimundo finally looked away from the fallen warrior and over to the pile of rocks.
"More likely I'll cause a worse cave in, and if she's digging from the other side and I start, that might mean a rock slide on both sides."
"Very wise. It would seem," Chase indicated the path to his right, "That there is only one direction for us to go. At least until we get out of the cave, perhaps we should work together."
Raimundo's eyes narrowed to slits. "I don't make deals with the Heylin side."
"Anymore."
"That was a long time ago, and I'm over it," The Brazilian monk looked around, hoping to find another way for him to go.
"You're not worried about Kimiko?"
"Why? She's trapped with Spicer. She can take him."
"She could have been hurt in the landslide. Or…" Chase trailed off.
"Or?"
"It is true that my apprentice is still not as powerful as you monks. But as my apprentice, he is entitled to my protection. Should she hurt him, I would be forced to seek action against her."
"You're protecting Jack? You can't stand him any more than we can!"
"We can stand here all day debating, or you can get to your girlfriend before I do. Though I assure you that it will be faster for us to work together."
Raimundo chewed on the inside of his cheek as he debated his options. "Fine, but the first sign of a double cross," he pulled the Blade of the Nebula from his robes, "And you go down hard."
"But of course," Chase smirked. "How is Omi these days? I see so little of him."
"You leave him alone, or you'll be dealing with me," Raimundo hissed.
"He must have been crushed not to be chosen as leader. I was expecting it to be him as well. Though you do seem fairly competent. It is a shame I did not meet you while we were still on the same team. We could have had a great partnership."
"You leave me and my team alone, got it?" Raimundo said through gritted teeth. "No more talking. Let's just find Jack and Kimiko and get out of here."
"How long are these tunnels?" Kimiko complained, jumping over a spider. Jack shuddered at the sight of the insect.
"No clue. It feels bigger than when we first came in."
"So…" Kimiko's grin was devilish, "What were we talking about? Oh, right. You and Chase."
"There is no 'me and Chase', sister. Just an Evil Master and his Evil Apprentice."
"You guys so overuse the word 'evil'."
"Still. Nothing going on."
"Does he know you named your teddy bear after him?"
"How did you know that?" Jack looked horrified and panic stricken. Kimiko chuckled darkly.
"Mind Reader Conch, from a few months back. I saw you kiss it."
"He had a boo boo!"
"Whatever."
"Fine. What's going on with you and Raimundo, then?" Jack crossed his arms and watched the fire in Kimiko's hands as he waited for her to respond.
"Raimundo? He's just a friend."
"Right. Denial! Ever notice that lately you two pair off for each hunt and ditch the cowboy and cue ball?"
"He's just choosing teams based on what works," Kimiko shrugged and held the flames up higher above her head, hoping that the flickering would hide her blush.
"Well, then, there's as much going on between Chase and me as there is you and Raimundo."
"Wait, I thought you thought that there is –" Kimiko stopped suddenly in her tracks and Jack slammed into her. They fell into a heap on the floor, and she pushed him off forcefully, still managing to keep the fire going the whole time. "Look!" The smoke was rising towards a hole a few feet above their heads. "I can see daylight! We can get out, and figure out how to get Rai and Chase out as well!"
"No need, though your concern is appreciated, young monk," Chase and Raimundo emerged from a nearby passageway.
"Are you okay?" Raimundo and Kimiko asked each other in unison. Both nodded.
"Looks like that wu is lost, at least for now," Raimundo rubbed the back of his neck.
"Then we'll call this one a draw," Chase said with a shrug. "Come, Jack." Raimundo and Kimiko waited for the evil pair to exit together before both released a deep sigh.
"Did you figure out what Chase wants with Jack?" Raimundo asked after he was certain the Prince of Darkness and his Apprentice were gone.
"Still no idea. Got a little off topic, I guess…" Kimiko trailed off. "But Jack is at least convinced that Chase genuinely wants him on his side. He even used the Mind Reader Conch to confirm it."
"He could be lying…"
"Not judging by the way he sounded. And Chase can be underhanded, but it's not like him to outright lie."
"Yeah, and he actually wanted to protect Spicer from you," Raimundo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Wish I knew what they were thinking. Oh well, back to the temple for us, I guess. Would be nice to have their plan figured out or at least the wu…"
"We'll get it next time."
"How did you know they were going to separate us?" Jack asked eagerly when he and Chase arrived back in Chase's domain.
"They knew they would not get the information from me. But you are always with me lately, so the separation would have to be forced. Thus why they did not use their Wudai powers when they attacked you. They wanted enough power for a cave in, but not so much that one of them might get hurt. What did you tell her?"
"Nothing," Jack coughed awkwardly into his hands. "Partially because I still don't know what we're doing."
"You are simply my Apprentice. All is genuinely as it appears. But we needed you to look cooperative because we will need the monks' help soon. They will be more willing if they think that you were agreeable."
"Help? With what? Is this like the evil 'help', where we say we need help and then double cross at the last second?"
"No. We will genuinely need their help. Dashi's ghost is coming…"
