Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. It belongs to Christy Hui.

Author's Note: Jack and Kimiko are now in good terms, but what about Chase and Wuya? It's time to see what the witch will do with Chase's secret now revealed!

United as One

Chapter 20: The Top

Chase stood on top of Mount Hong, gazing silently at the forest at the mountain's feet, waiting for his two loyal servants to bring back news of their search. The Heylin teenager had finally reached the end of his journey, but he wasn't at all pleased. It had taken him more time than expected, and old memories were rising back into his mind.

This time, Chase could see in his head the events that had occurred when he returned to the Temple, but on the Heylin side.

It was the day after the young Dragon had sold his soul to evil. He had crossed the Temple's door, an evil grin upon his face, making his way up to Dashi and Guan. The two monks were helping with their home's construction at that moment, completely oblivious to their friend's change of heart. They had both asked if Chase could help them pile up some stones to build their Shen Gon Wu vault for later purposes, but it was a horrible mistake.

The corrupted warrior had agreed, but something else was on his mind. After taking a stone from the messy pile, he had thrown it to Guan who had managed to avoid it at the last second. Surprised and confused by Chase's behavior, the two older monks had asked why their friend was acting so strangely. Chase hadn't replied, and instead continued to attack them. Realizing that they didn't have a choice, Guan and Dashi had engaged battle, their hearts still shaken by this sudden change.

Dashi had made the first move, using only his martial arts skills to avoid gravely hurting Chase with the strong power of his element. Unfortunately, Chase had easily dodged the attack, sending Dashi out of the battlefield with a simple kick. Then, Guan's turn came. He also had decided to use his martial arts skills, a mistake that wasn't supposed to be repeated.

After dodging his friend's attack, Chase had grabbed on Guan's robe and had thrown him towards Dashi who had just gotten back on his feet. The blow had sent both monks flying for the wall behind them, the yellow-skinned monk's back crashing with a horrible sound on the stone while his chest protected Guan. Dashi had been knocked out cold, leaving the remaining Xiaolin warrior against his most beloved friend.

Resolute to end this as soon as possible, Guan had attacked again, but soon found himself back on the floor. He had repeated the same attacks over and over, trying to hit Chase at least once. It hadn't done any good as the corrupted warrior had gained great abilities from his pact. It was almost impossible to find a weakness.

After pulling back from his last assault, the Xiaolin monk had questioned Chase on his motives. He asked why he had betrayed him and Dashi, why he was doing this, and why was he trying to kill them. Chase hadn't answered.

Running up to Guan who had been caught off guard, the Heylin warrior had struck him in the stomach with a powerful punch, forcing his friend to fly up in the air to land harshly on the ground a meter away. Paralyzed with pain and fear, Guan had been unable to move, his cursed teammate walking slowly towards him with an evil grin.

At that moment, before Chase could strike once more, a figure had appeared between him and the injured monk. It was their master and mentor, the one Chase had adopted as a father.

Unable to take a step closer, the corrupted teenager had glared at the old man, all of his hatred controlling his mind, but also slowly slipping away. Chase had forgotten the words his master had spoken, but they came back to him as the memory continued to play in his head.

"Why, Chase? Why is there so much hatred towards the ones who loved you so much? Why is there so much violence towards the ones who stood by your side for so long? I believe that you have been blinded by your selfishness, but there is still time for you to redeem yourself. Come back to your rightful place. Leave the Heylin side at once and all will be forgotten."

The old man had stretched out his arm, leaving his hand wide open. Chase had stared at it, uncertain. The evil within himself had struggled to keep its control, but the teenager couldn't ignore his master's words. There was this little voice inside his head telling him that this hand was the portal to the real world, his rightful place.

Chase had slowly approached his shaking hand towards the one handed to him, still uncertain on what to do. When he was only inches away from the hand that could have saved him, second thoughts had quickly came to his mind. He had quickly drawn back his hand and taken a few steps back.

Both his master and Guan had looked as hurt as a mother at the funeral of her child. The old man had let his arm drop nimbly beside his body in ultimate defeat, eyes closed and head down. "If this is truly what you wish for, than none of us will stop you until you realize the grave error you've done."

Chase had stood there for a few seconds before quickly running away, tears flowing down his cheeks. Under the stern and concerned stare of his master and friend, the teenager had fled towards the woods, all of his unexplained hatred leaving him little by little. After a long and exhausting run, Chase had found shelter under a wave-shaped rock, his soul filling itself with regret. Sitting with his legs curled up to his chin, Chase had thought to be alone, but Hannibal Bean wasn't very far. Jumping on the warrior's shoulder, the bean had spoken to him again, this time saying that his master's request was actually a trap to annihilate him.

Chase had tried to ignore the evil mastermind's words, but it was far too late to change of mind. The teenager had once again plunged into darkness, and this time permanently.

Chase shook his head violently, this memory hurting him deeply inside. He never thought that he would feel regret for his choice to become Heylin, yet the events of that day were currently torturing him. The pain was unbearable, but Chase refused to let his emotions get the better of him. He had said himself that emotions could control a being, and that was something to avoid at all cost, especially for him.

Sitting down on the rock platform where he was standing, the teenager occupied his mind with other matters than memories. But once again, Wuya had seen everything inside his head, struck with disbelief and sadness. The witch was so shaken by this discovery that she didn't even notice that she was feeling strong emotions again, meaning that Chase's powers were weakening greatly.

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Author's Note: And there we go, another chapter about Chase's past... I can't believe I'm making all of this up. I have way too much imagination at times, especially about character backgrounds.