A/N Even though this show was my childhood, I have not actually watched it in over a decade; apologies for any unintended OOC-ness, but I really can't channel the characters as well as I usually can for my fics. So why did I write this? I dunno; I dreamed it, I edited out MOST of the dream logic, I wrote it down, and now it exists. I hope someone, somewhere, enjoys it, but it is going to be weird. Be warned.
Under a clear night sky, in the light of the full moon, Chase Young stood on the plateau outside his lair and practiced his Tai Chi, every move flowing seamlessly into the next, his focus absolute. From a rocky outcropping on the mountain face above, Wuya watched him, just admiring his silhouette and perfect form.
Even back when they'd fought on opposing sides, the Heylin witch had admired Chase Young, and thought he would make a fine dark warrior, much better than a goody-goody monk. Between skirmishes, she had occasionally remarked to Hannibal Bean how much she wished she knew of a way to sway Chase Young to the Heylin side; upon being freed from that infernal puzzle box fifteen hundred years later, when she'd discovered what a cold-hearted villain the former Xiaolin monk had become, she had been beyond delighted, though she still had yet to thank the three-centimeter-tall master of evil for making one of her dreams come true in her absence. Evil suited Chase Young much better than good - his spiked armor and wild, untamed hair as harsh and savage as his black, wicked heart, his stone-cold demeanor perfect for intimidation and absolute mastery of all things Heylin. Even his dragon form suited him, and her, as well. Almost too well.
She didn't love him, of course - a wicked soul like Wuya's could never know something like love. What she could feel, however, was obsession, lust, possession, desire, and she did. Unfortunately, while she knew for a fact that he thought of her as a possession - her abrupt shift of loyalty during that brief window during which Jack Spicer had trapped the evil warlord in the Sphere of Yun proved as much - he was far from inclined to possess her as she wanted to possess him. Incredibly, it was as though he thought such things were beneath him: a holier-than-thou black-hearted villain, absurd as that was. Still, it was enough, to live with him, to fight at his side - and occasionally undermine him or go behind his back - and know that he could wreak havoc in ways she once had. It wasn't as though she'd ever imagined any sort of 'happily ever after' with him, after all; such things were not for dark, chaotic people like her, or like what he had become. He was perfect like this.
As the ancient witch mulled over these thoughts, they were suddenly interrupted by a flash of light behind her eyes, a shift in the forces of the world alerting her to a new power awakening far away, the activation of yet another Shen Gong Wu: the Camera Obscura.
When she returned to herself, Wuya's first instinct was to start planning how to sneak out and try to get the Wu for herself - or, perhaps, to ask Chase for permission, depending on how she felt about it. Then she remembered exactly what the Camera Obscura did, and burst out laughing. Even she didn't want that particular piece of junk…
"Is something funny, Wuya?"
The witch jumped and turned around; at some point, Chase Young had left his Tai Chi practice to suddenly appear behind her.
"I'm sensing another Shen Gong Wu," she informed him, pulling herself together quickly, "but it's useless nowadays. Ordinary humans have figured out how to replicate the effect on their own - in fact, what was once a magical ability is now absurdly commonplace, most humans carry it in their pockets and think nothing of it." She chuckled to herself again. "I'm sure whatever holy man made the Camera Obscura is turning in his grave right now…"
"The Camera Obscura?!" Chase Young gasped, and Wuya blinked, surprised at the spark that had ignited in the dark warlord's catlike eyes. "Did you say the Camera Obscura?!"
"Yes," Wuya answered slowly, getting to her feet and gauging him carefully - passion was not something often seen in Chase Young, he was a stonefaced Heylin warrior who never batted an eye at anything, yet his piercing gaze was almost feverish. "The Camera Obscura is the Shen Gong Wu that just activated. Utterly useless, isn't it?"
"After all this time…" Chase breathed, his eyes wide.
"Rather late to the party, I know," Wuya shrugged. "Maybe it's embarrassed to be returning to a world where it no longer serves any purpose-"
"Where is it?!" Chase demanded, stepping forward to get right in Wuya's face. "Tell me where it is!"
"Does it matter?" Wuya asked. "Even I have no use for it."
"Tell me where it is!" he roared, grabbing her by the arm. "Tell me! I must know!"
She eyed him warily. His breath was coming hard, his expression was wild - she had never seen the ice-cold Chase Young like this, not even close. "What's gotten into you, Chase?" she purred, almost tauntingly. "I thought you had no interest in Shen Gong Wu."
"I don't," he growled, "but the Camera Obscura is mine, and you're going to lead me to it. Now!"
"Are we talking about the same Shen Gong Wu?" Wuya asked. "The Camera Obscura has no special powers, at least not anymore; modern humans have figured out how to replicate the effect without magic."
"I know full well the powers of the Camera Obscura," Chase snapped. "Better than you, I'd bet. You don't need to know anything, other than that that Shen Gong Wu belongs to me. I won't let it fall into the hands of those monks! It's mine! Now where is it?!"
He's lost his mind, Wuya thought, marveling. Perhaps repeated losses to the Xiaolin warriors had been taking a toll on his seemingly-unflappable psyche - ever since Raimundo had risen to lead the four dragon warriors, the Heylin side had been all but on the retreat, none of them, champions and minions alike, able to do much more than put up a slight resistance. Why the Camera Obscura of all things would send Chase Young over the edge was beyond her, though… "I could tell you," she said slowly, and she gave him a nasty smile. "But what's in it for me?"
"I don't have time to negotiate with you," Chase growled. "You can sense the Shen Gong Wu, so you're going to tell me where this one is before the monks get to it!"
"I'd be surprised if they went after it at all," Wuya shrugged. "I certainly won't. It's useless now."
"They're honor-bound to take every Shen Gong Wu in existence into their care," Chase argued, "and I won't let them take this one! It's mine!" Taking a step back, he shook his head and breathed deeply. "Tell me where to find it," he told her, meeting her eyes, "and once I have its power in my grasp, I will return some of your power to you."
Whatever Wuya had expected to get out of this, it wasn't that. "How much?" she asked suspiciously.
"Enough to summon and control four rock golems," he answered. "Maybe more, if I'm feeling generous. But only if you direct me to the Camera Obscura now - and without asking any questions!"
Oh, how dearly Wuya would have liked to ask questions just then. But if he was really going to return her power to her, even slightly… "It's somewhere in North America," she informed Chase Young, tuning into her natural affinity for the ancient artifacts of power. "In a mountain range somewhere in the midwest of the continent…of the United States, if I'm not mistaken."
Chase nodded. "Now, was that so hard?" he asked scathingly. His expression was still extremely un-Chase-Young-like as he looked at the sky, as though gauging the distance in the stars. "You are to find Spicer and Hannibal Bean and bring them to the place where the Shen Gong Wu is housed, along with yourself," he said; "you three are to bear witness to my triumph."
"What-?" Wuya stopped herself from asking a question just in time.
"Just do it," Chase spat. "Once I'm close enough, the Xiaolin monks will lead me to where I need to go…and the power of the Camera Obscura is a power that must be earned. I need witnesses of both sides to be there, that there can be no doubt."
"You've really lost your mind, haven't you?" Wuya remarked, crossing her arms haughtily. "Fine, I'll gather everyone. Clearly there's no point trying to reason with you."
"You don't need to know anything," Chase said in a low voice. "Believe what you will…but I will prove to that old fool that I am worthy."
It was the sheer number of questions crowding Wuya's tongue that kept her silent as Chase Young assumed a meditative stance, then leapt down the cliffs and off the mountain. Once he was gone, the questions retreated to the back of her mind, since she couldn't ask them anymore, and with a sigh, she went inside and found the communication device Jack had given her for the occasional event that she felt like undermining Chase Young's authority. Whatever's going on, it's probably for the best that the other champions see what's become of our dear warlord, she thought to herself.