Chase frowned in displeasure at the sight before him. When he'd first drank the Lao Mang Lone soup, he'd struggled to control his beastly side. More than once, he'd caught himself hunting down an animal in cold blood before feeding on the meat raw. Disgusting. But, he'd been able to control those urges for centuries. Staring across the table, Chase wrinkled his nose in disgust. If only he could say the same for Hitomi. Hitomi seemed to be craving a wide array of meats lately. Today's special was deer. Thankfully, he'd been able to convince her to at least eat the meat medium rare. Yesterday, she'd actually asked if he had hippo meat. He wasn't even sure how she knew what that tasted like to be able to specifically ask for it.

"That was better than I thought it would be," Hitomi said once she finished her meal.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Chase responded dryly.

"Yep!" Hitomi replied with a bright smile. After a few seconds, she sobered up to ask, "Chase, do you want a girl or a boy?"

"What difference does it make?"

"Well, we could either be having a sweet little girl or an arrogant boy," Hitomi hinted.

"I hope you are not implying that the child would be able to take after you and still be considered sweet," Chase said with a smirk. He saw Hitomi roll her eyes at him, but she still waited for his answer. "Boy."

"But, what if it's a girl?"

"What difference does it make? She would still be my offspring. I only prefer a male child because I would be more comfortable raising a male," Chase answered.

"I see. I'm not sure which one I prefer. I wouldn't mind a little girl, but I wouldn't mind a little Chase. I think you were cute as a baby," Hitomi said. She saw Chase shoot her a glare before returning to his tea. Hitomi grinned. At least he was thinking of the child as a living being.

~:~

Wuya wanted to destroy something. Maybe she could rain some fire down on a small country or sink an island? Anything to relieve this stress! Chase was being uncharacteristically quiet since he had made an appearance weeks ago. He had nearly killed someone to get his hands on the Indigo Pyramid of all Wu! But now, he was keeping to himself. Wuya couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like she was being watched. What was Chase planning?

"Why can't he just make his move already!?" Wuya exclaimed as she paced her throne room.

"Patience, Wuya. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you want Chase to lock you away," Hannibal chuckled.

"Why are you so happy? Chase wants both of our heads," Wuya reminded him.

"Yes. But we have bigger problems right now. I had Ying Ying do a little job for me. There's something funky going on with those

monks," Hannibal explained.

"How funky?" Wuya questioned with a raised brow.

"I can't really explain it. It's as though they hate each other or somethin'. They're all tense," Hannibal said with a shrug.

"Maybe they have an idea as to what Chase is up to?"

"Good luck getting them to squeal. Ying Ying's been watching' them for days. No one's sayin' a word. Not even to each other," Hannibal said.

Wuya was about to reply when her body suddenly went stiff and her eyes started to glow. "A new Shen Gong Wu is revealing itself!It's the Pearl of LiBai," Wuya said before shrugging once. "Who needs the power to make someone babble poetry?"

"I'll take your word for it," Hannibal agreed. It did sound like a lame Wu.

"Hannibal, why don't you send Ying Ying to visit Chase Young now? If the monks know what he's up to, we need to move quickly so we're not left out of the loop," Wuya urged.

Hannibal frowned. Send Ying Ying into Chase's lair? Hannibal wasn't sure if Ying Ying would make it out of that unscathed. The thought of his precious subordinate being injured didn't sit well with him. Chase thought himself to be level-headed and in complete control of his emotions, but Hannibal knew better. The boy always did have a short temper and was easily aggravated. "I have a better idea. But, you'll have to put your trust in me, Wuya," Hannibal started. Wuya narrowed her gaze at him suspiciously.

~:~

She was huge!

No matter what Chase said, Hitomi was sure that she had grown twice her size literally overnight. She couldn't fit in her old clothes anymore and had to resort to wearing the loosest of robes. This was getting ridiculous. That blasted book said that she had to be around half way through her pregnancy already. It had been less than four months! "You're growing too fast for me, Thumper," Hitomi said affectionately as she cradled her stomach while laying on Chase's bed. Her little one was already kicking softly. She had a little warrior practicing inside her. Sometimes, it felt like the kid was practicing its moves on her bladder. She had lost count of how many times she had inadvertently woken Chase up in the middle of the night when she had gotten up to go to the bathroom.

Deciding that she'd had enough of laying around for the day, Hitomi got out of bed and shuffled out of the bedroom. The palace was quiet when it was so empty. Chase had left a few jungle cats to act as security, but he'd taken the majority of them (including her mother) with him somewhere. He hadn't said where he was going, but he hadn't looked pleased when he'd left. Hitomi would ask him about it later.

What would she have for lunch? Maybe she could finish off the rest of her rabbit stew? That didn't sound too bad. In the middle of imagining her delicious stew, Hitomi felt a chill go down her spine. Pausing mid-step, she glanced around her warily. "Chase? Is that you?" she called out. When she didn't receive a response, Hitomi picked up her pace.

She was almost to the kitchen now. Her eyes kept glancing around her suspiciously. Her hand twitch at her side, ready to pull her chopsticks from her hair without a second of hesitation. Suddenly, she heard a soft whoosh behind her. Grabbing her chopsticks, Hitomi quickly transformed them into a sword and turned to face the intruder. It was...a bird? The black, red, and grey falcon looked oddly familiar to her. Hitomi narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the bird while brandishing her crystal sword.

"Woah! Woah! Easy there. We come in peace," another, masculine voice said. Hitomi's eyes widened when she spotted Hannibal Bean poking out from the feathers on the bird's head.

"You," Hitomi sneered. "Why are you here? And don't even think about trying anything funny or I'll squash you like a bug."

"Easy!" Hannibal soothed. "You've been spending too much time with Chase," he said and glanced down at Hitomi's large stomach. "Way too much time."

Hitomi placed a hand over her stomach defensively. "I don't care why you're here. Just leave before I make you leave," Hitomi threatened.

"Calm down, Hitomi. I mean no harm. I may be evil, but I could never harm a woman when she's with child," Hannibal said.

"Let me guess. Wuya has no problem with it, however?" Hitomi questioned dryly, her eyes glancing around the hallway suspiciously.

"Wuya's not here. I sent her out on a little errand for me. And judging by the fact that Chase has yet to show up, I'd say that he's not here either," Hannibal hinted. He'd sent Wuya to the Land of Nowhere in order to distract Chase. As long as Wuya kept Chase occupied, Hannibal wouldn't have to worry about nearly losing his head.

"I don't need Chase to defend me. Pregnant or not, I could still kick your-"

"Hey! Settle down already. I didn't come for a fight. I just want to talk," Hannibal loudly interrupted the girl.

"What would I possibly want to say to you?" Hitomi asked with a glare.

"I was going to ask you how Chase was doing. But I see there's no need. I already know what all the fuss is about," Hannibal said and gestured to her stomach. Hitomi growled lowly before swiping her blade at Hannibal's small body with deadly accuracy. Hannibal cried out at the same time that Ying Ying flew out of the sword's path. "Girl, you're really trying my patience," Hannibal growled.

"And you've already used up all of mine," Hitomi said glared.

"You don't even know. Do you?" Hannibal tried. This wasn't working. He had to try a different tactic to get her to listen to him. When Hitomi didn't respond, Hannibal went on. "I can sense a darkness in the child, Hitomi. It's only natural. All humans are born tainted by darkness. But your child? It's something mighty special. I mean, it is Chase Young's baby."

Hitomi frowned. Hannibal was probably lying. Just because Chase was evil, it didn't mean that her baby would have to be evil.

"I'm almost jealous that I didn't think of it first. Chase has ensured that he's got a faithful right-hand. Tell me. Are you going to side with the father of your child? I actually wouldn't mind having you on the side of evil," Hannibal suggested with a crooked grin.

"It's not enough that you turned Chase evil? You're going to try to do the same to me?" Hitomi huffed. "Give up. I may not be good, but I'm no where near as evil as you are."

"You mean, as evil as Chase is," Hannibal corrected. Hitomi glared harshly. "I don't doubt that. Even that child you carry has a soul darker than yours."

"I've heard enough from you!" Hitomi shouted and transformed the sword into a bow and arrow. She fired the arrow at Ying Ying's heart, but the bird dodged at the last second. Before she could notch another arrow, Ying Ying was swooping away.

"Mark my words, Hitomi! That child will grow darker by the day. I can only imagine how much faster that will be after it's born and Chase can really mold the youngin'," Hannibal Bean said with a low chuckle as he left the hallway. Hitomi could still hear his laughter trailing behind him as he left the palace altogether.

Softly placing a hand over her stomach, Hitomi frowned down at herself. "Everyone thinks that you're going to be evil, Thumper. I don't want them to be right. But what if they are?" she asked softly with tears gathering in her eyes.

~:~

Dragging her feet as she shuffled through her lair, Wuya tried her best to pat and run her fingers through her hair. Chase hadn't been in a particularly bad mood when he'd confronted her, but he had still felt it necessary to sick his jungle cats on her for trespassing. Some good for nothing panther had bitten her right on the rear! Wuya grumbled lowly when she approached the doors to her throne room. Hannibal better have some pretty good news after all she went through. Using her magic to force the large doors open, Wuya scanned the room for Hannibal.

"Wuya, you don't look so good," Hannibal said with a chuckle.

"Shut it before I shut it for you," Wuya growled at the bean before walking over to her throne.

"Then how am I supposed to tell you the good news?" Hannibal asked with a sly grin. Wuya raised a brow at him but didn't respond. "Chase hasn't been making himself stronger. The sneaky boy's gone and made himself an underling."

"That's what we were sensing? Chase roped some poor stooge into doing his bidding? Don't tell me it was Hitomi?" Wuya said with a roll of her eyes. That girl was pathetic.

"Not quite," Hannibal said with a grin. He decided not to beat around the bush. "She's pregnant, Wuya."

Wuya's eyes widened as she sat up quickly. She'd been so exhausted before, but her energy was quickly returning now. "Pregnant? Chase is going to be a father?" Wuya asked incredulously.

"You better believe it. I could sense the darkness in the child as well as the strength of its chi. The kid's gonna be powerful," Hannibal said with a greedy grin.

"Are you thinking what I am?" Wuya asked as she frowned deeply.

"Obviously. We steal the child and raise it for our own evil plans," Hannibal said and rubbed his hands together devilishly.

Wuya stared down at Hannibal as if he had grown a second head. "What? No! We need to get rid of the kid now before it's too late!" Wuya stressed.

"What!?" Hannibal balked. "Wuya, you can't be serious."

"If that kid becomes as powerful as you think it will, we'd be better off with it dead. You don't really think Chase will let us steal his kid and use it against him. Do you? It's better that we just end its existence now. We'll be doing it a favor if you ask me," Wuya said and folded her arms over her chest.

"Now I may be evil incarnate, but I'm not about to kill an unborn child, Wuya," Hannibal said and narrowed his gaze. "The child is more useful alive than dead. It'll be on our side no matter what. We should take advantage of-"

"It won't be on our side! It will be on Chase's!" Wuya stressed. It may be evil, but Chase Young only fought for himself. It would be foolish to hope for solidarity amongst them all to suddenly manifest now. "If you can't do what has to be done, fine. I'll do it. Just distract Chase long enough and I'll take care of the problem," Wuya said and used her magic to manifest a sharp dagger.

Hannibal's eyes widened before he shook his head. "You want to throw away such a good opportunity," Hannibal lamented.

"Oh please. This is just you trying to get the subordinate you were denied. Chase betrayed you so now you want to try to kidnap his kid. It's pretty pathetic if you ask me," Wuya shrugged.

"I didn't ask you," Hannibal growled. Straightening his back, Hannibal hopped over to Ying Ying and jumped onto her back. "It's obvious that we have different views. I think it's best we go our separate ways."

"Suit yourself. With or without you, I'll cut the child out of her womb if I have to," Wuya promised and folded her arms over her chest. Sharing a final, nasty look, Hannibal flew away on Ying Ying's back with Wuya watching him go. She wasn't sure how she would get close enough to Hitomi to enact her plans, but she'd find a way.