Guan stared up at the blackened sun with a suspicious gaze. Another Heylin Eclipse wasn't scheduled for 98 years. They only came around once every century. This had to be the work of Wuya and Hannibal. They must have used the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman and are targeting Chase for whatever reason. If they were after Chase, then Hitomi would be in the line of fire.

"Master Monk Guan?"

Turning around, Guan spotted Omi staring up at him with a hard gaze. "Yes, Omi?"

"That is a Heylin Eclipse, but it is most strange that we are seeing one now..."

"You are right, Omi. I fear that Wuya and Hannibal may be targeting Chase. If I am right, not only is he in danger, but so is Hitomi," Guan said. Omi was quite the observant monk. Guan had no doubt that Omi would make an excellent Xiaolin Master one day.

"What are we going to do?"

"I am going to visit Chase Young's lair. I must advise you and your friends to remain out of this battle, Omi. I know that you all are capable warriors, but this is not your fight. That time will come another day and when it does come, you must be ready. As for today, leave this to me," Guan said before leaving with the Spear of Guan clutched in his fist.

Omi stared at Guan's back until the older man disappeared from his sight. With a heavy sigh, Omi went to tell his teammates with the news. This time, he would heed the words of a Master. Suddenly, Omi squared his shoulders. The fight against evil was becoming more and more strenuous by the day. He and his friends would need to be ready.

~:~

Guan had always felt slightly guilty that he had not been able to stop Chase from turning evil. Guan had failed him as a friend. A rift had grown between them that Guan had spent many years denying that it could ever be fixed. He had simply turned his back on Chase and put their past behind him. Over the past fifteen hundred years, Guan had proven that he was weak and a poor friend. While he would never stand back and allow Chase to destroy the world, he couldn't leave his old friend to suffer through this alone. He would help Chase, but just this once.

Guan found Chase's lair to be mostly deserted. Not a single jungle cat was there to greet him upon his arrival. With a suspicious gaze, Guan picked up his pace. Maybe the battle was still going on? Upon entering the throne room, Guan's eyes widened. "No," he whispered before running over to Chase's fallen body. Kneeling in the puddle of dark blood that was staining the floor, Guan rolled Chase over before leaning over to place an ear over Chase's heart. "Damn," Guan growled before unclasping Chase's armor and proceeding to perform chest compressions. He counted as he worked, his brows knitted in concentration.

Chase could feel the repeated blows to his chest as he slowly awoke. He had tried to focus on slowing his heart and breathing rate in order to slow the flow of blood from his wounds until they healed. Judging by the sounds of the person, he could tell that it was Guan. Just as Chase's head was tilted back and he felt someone lean in towards him, Chase growled, "Don't you dare."

Guan sprang up in shock before gazing down at Chase. His former best friend had blood along the side of his face and was glaring harshly up at him. "I am relieved to see that you're still alive," Guan said.

Chase scoffed. "Do not patronize me, Guan. Why are you here?"

"I figured that Wuya and Hannibal were targeting you when I saw the eclipse," Guan explained. "Are you alright to move?"

"You expect me to believe that you came to my aid out of the goodness of your heart? We both know the truth, Guan. It was your guilt that brought you here. Your guilt over the past fifteen hundred years and your guilt over Mei," Chase said as he stared up at the high ceilings. The Eclipse was waning now. Soon, his powers and strength would return. He just had to hold out long enough for the accelerated healing to set in.

"I...failed to do right by you, Chase. You were my friend. I allowed you to stray from the path of good," Guan said.

Chase would have laughed if he could. "I drank the Lao Mang Lone soup because I sought strength and power. It was not your decision. You insult me by thinking that you could have somehow stopped me from achieving my destiny."

"You cannot deny that I was not a good friend to you in your last days as a Xiaolin warrior. I allowed my feelings for Mei to cloud my judgement and in the end, I lost a friend. I will not turn my back on you this time, but this will be the only time," Guan promised with a hard expression.

"I suppose you wish to clear your conscience and you feel this is your best chance to do it," Chase scoffed. "Make no mistake, Guan. I have already put our past behind me. I would not hesitate to betray you, should the need arise. I would easily sacrifice your life for my own."

"Or Hitomi's?" Guan asked with a smirk. Chase didn't reply. "I know this. Allow me to help you."

Chase shot Guan a searching look. Guan allowed Chase to fully observe him. If he didn't pass Chase's test of character now, Chase would never trust him. Neither men moved for several minutes, before Chase looked away. "Hitomi escaped through one of my escape hatches. The switch is in the gargoyle head. She has the Genggai Gecko, but Wuya and Hannibal are after her."

"I will find her. I'll look out for her," Guan promised and stood.

"Guan," Chase called out. Guan looked back at Chase in question. "If anything happens to her, I will spend the rest of your life destroying everything you hold dear and making your existence absolute hell."

Guan smirked. "I almost feel sorry for Wuya and Hannibal. They're probably in the most danger out of all of us," Guan joked before quickly leaving.

~:~

Chase didn't tell her that his escape route led right into the palace septic tank! Hitomi grumbled as she trudged through the forest at the base of the mountain. Her entire body was covered in a slimy, dark green substance that smelled worse than rotting garbage. She nearly went back up to the throne room just to give the Prince of Darkness a piece of her mind.

Hitomi stared down at the dirtied Genggai Gecko in her hands. She had the power of every Shen Gong Wu in the palm of her hand. She could go anywhere. But what else could she do? She wasn't very knowledgeable about all the different Wu. She didn't know about any others besides the Golden Tiger Claws. Chase would know what to do...

"Come on, girl. You got along fine for years without, Chase. You can do this. You don't need him to protect you," Hitomi said to herself. "Just think this through..."

"I'm afraid your time's up..."

Hitomi nearly groaned aloud. Turning quickly, Hitomi spotted Wuya and Hannibal glaring at her. "Whoo! Haven't you ever heard of personal hygiene?" Hannibal questioned as he squeezed the place where his nose would have been if he had one. Hitomi rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Hand over the Wu," Wuya commanded before summing ten of her rock creatures with a smirk. "If you know what's good for you..."

"Um... That's new," Hitomi commented.

"You like? I'm back on top thanks to Chase. And I can't wait to try out my powers again," Wuya said with a dark grin.

"I still don't understand why you want to hurt me. I never did anything to you," Hitomi stalled. 'Now would be a great time to come up with a plan!'

"It's nothing against you personally, girl. You can't help it. You're Mei's reincarnation," Hannibal said with a shrug.

"Who the heck is Mei?"

"You mean you don't know? I'll take pleasure in bursting your bubble," Wuya said with a low chuckle. "You went and fell for the wrong guy, hun. Chase couldn't care less about you. He only kept you around because you remind him of his first love, Mei."

"But that's neither here nor there. We hunted you down for a reason. We have unfinished business," Hannibal said with a grin.

Hitomi frowned deeply. She was the reincarnation of Chase's first love? That stung. She could literally feel her heart starting to crack. Hitomi quickly shook herself out. She couldn't let it distract her. She wouldn't believe anything these two said until she heard the truth from Chase, himself. Hitomi had been ready to defend herself when she saw Hannibal and Wuya rushing at her. She sunk into her fighting stance with her gaze narrowed. She could take them. She could hand Chase his fair share of butt whoop even when he was having a good day. An overgrown bean and an old witch would be nothing. She never got a chance to fight though. Out of nowhere, the tall, bald monk who had broken into the palace with the Xiaolin warriors fell from the sky before kicking both Wuya and Hannibal away. Hitomo stared at him in surprise before shooting him distrustful looks. "I will hold them off as best as I can. You must leave here," the monk said over his shoulder before quickly firing to punches at Wuya and knocking he back. "Go!"

Startled into action, Hitomi called on the powers of the Genggai Gecko. "Genggai Gecko!" she cried out just as it transformed into the Golden Tiger Claws. With a quick swipe of the claws, Hitomi jumped through the portal.

"No!" Wuya cried out in dismay.

Her landing through the portal was less than graceful, but that was the least of her concerns. Her wide eyes looked around Chase's throne room frantically before landing on a motionless body. "Chase!" Hitomi cried out before running over to him. She slid in the puddle of his blood before pulling his upper body onto her lap. "Please be okay... Please be okay..." she softly begged.

Chase opened his eyes to stare up at Hitomi. Once his eyes met hers, tears of relief sprang up in her eyes just before she pulled him in for a tight hug. Chase released a strained cough, but that didn't stop her from hugging the life out of him. "You smell putrid. I would appreciate it if you let go of me now."

"Too bad. I was worried about you," Hitomi said into his shoulder.

"Did you honestly think that I could be defeated by those two idiots?" Chase scoffed.

Hitomi giggled. "You're always so proud. Can't you just let me have my moment without ruining it?"

Chase sighed. At least she was safe. Guan hadn't failed. As far as he could see, there wasn't a single scratch on her. She was fin-

"Chase, who's Mei?"

~:~

Guan sighed to himself as he limped onto the temple grounds looking worse for wear. His robes were ripped and he had lost the beads that were strung around his neck. There were cracks in the base of his Spear of Guan, and copious amounts of bruises along his entire body. He was bleeding slightly from his temple and lower lip. He felt like a soldier who had just come home from war.

It didn't take long for the four monks-in-training to run out to meet him. They all stared up at him with wide, sympathetic eyes. He smiled at them in return before pulling his hand out from behind his back. He presented the Moby Morpher, Treasure of the Blind Swordsman and the Genggai Gecko to the monks.

"Way to go, Guan-o man!"

"You're a real tough fighter, partner."

"You must tell me how you were able to single-handedly triumph over the forces of evil!"

"Me too! I've just got to get this story for my blog."

Guan smiled down at the children. He didn't have the heart to burst their bubble. He may have won this time, but he was sure that this was just the beginning. They had won the battle, but the war was far from over.

~:~

They had had one chance and they had blown it. They had everything going for them, but then Master Monk Guan of all people had interfered. What did he care what happened to Chase or Hitomi?

"That was a failure," Wuya grumbled. Her only consolation for this terrible day was her restored powers. Not even her ripped clothes, ruined hair, bruised and possibly cracked ribs, could ruin that. Now that she had her powers back, she had rebuilt her stony lair for her to reside in and she was going to bring the world to its knees.

"You're telling me. And this is just the beginning," Hannibal grumbled as he hopped over to Ying-Ying and proceeded to snuggle up in her down feathers. There was nothing like warm, down feathers to sooth an aching body.

"What do you mean?"

"We should have killed Chase when we had the chance. He survived for sure and now he's going to want revenge. One thing's for certain, Chase doesn't know how to let things go," Hannibal grumbled.