Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown.

A/N: This chapter is gonna explain a lot, and well . . . you'll see.

I woke up to feel myself lying on a bed. Huh? What happened? I remembered Chase Young breaking into Jack's lair, picking us both up, and taking us away. Maybe he knocked me out, I thought. I finally decided to open my eyes. When I did, it shocked me just a bit.

For one, the bed I had been lying in had Jack in it too. Two, the ceiling had a . . . chandelier? I sat up. I was in a room with no door. There was a window, but it was the size of a squirrel. There was a well furnished table in the middle of the room, a mirror, and a couch. The bed Jack and I had been laying in was the only bed in the room.

I knew the only place I could be in. Chase Young must have set this place up as the prison for Jack and me. I looked down at Jack. He was still out. He needed to see this for himself. I shook him. He didn't respond. It killed me to do it, but I pushed him off the bed. He stood up immediately.

"What was that . . ." He looked up, his eyes widened in shock. He began looking around the room. After two minutes or so, he sat on the bed, and looked at me.

"Kimiko?" he asked, as if he didn't know if I was there or not. I leaned over and hugged him, whispering in his ear, "I'm here, I'm here. Don't worry."

After a minute or so of comforting him, there was a know at the . . . window? That was interesting.

I got up and yelled, "Yeah?". The face I saw did not make me the least bit happy.

Chase Young opened the window. His eyes were dancing with gleam, as he smiled at me. Finally, he said, "You're up good. I wanted to talk to you. Stand back." I figured there was no reason to really disobey. If I did, I could start even more trouble.

The well that held the window opened just enough for Chase to come through. He looked like he was the happiest person on the planet. He walked in, and pushed me onto the couch. I was about to get up again, but he told me, "Sit down. It's a long story."

He looked and saw Jack, still sitting on the bed. "Spicer, sit on the couch as well. No doubt that the girl will need comforting after I'm through."

Jack looked up, and said defiantly, "Why can't I tell her? It might be easier if someone who didn't intend to use it told her."

Use what, I thought. I looked at Jack, and watched him walk over to the couch and sit. He was glaring at Chase furiously.

Chase began pacing around the room. Then, he began his story. "Well, I would let you tell her, but all I see in you now is a lovesick puppy. You would tell her to protect her. I tell her because I wish to cause pain." He looked at me, and said, "Kimiko, Xiaolin Apprentice of Fire. You're here because of something I discovered. I wish to rule the world, as you very well know, but there is something standing in my way. Do you know what it is?" A smile played on his thin lips.

"Yeah, I do. All us monks are standing in your way, because you know perfectly well we can defeat you." I thought it was my turn to smile, but I couldn't. For some reason, I knew that wasn't the answer.

Chase shook his head. "No. The reason is because a female has to rule. Wuya took over the world with ease. I cannot. Unless," His grin became malicious, "I marry."

I blinked. This had to be a joke, right? "OK then. Go ahead and marry away. See if I care?"

Chase smiled, making goose bumps appear on my arm. "Oh, you will care. For you see, I plan to marry you. For more than one reason too. I wish to marry you for your beauty, for your burning soul, and because I still wish for Omi to join me."

I felt a tear run down my face. He wanted to marry me? The idea was ludicrous! "And why would I consent to marrying an evil scoundrel like you?" I asked, fury shaking in every note.

"Because your friends are going to come and rescue you sooner or later. I have no use for the Apprentices of Earth and Wind. Only for Water and Fire. So, if you don't consent, I will have them destroyed. If you do, however, I'll allow them to pledge their allegiance to me, and have two new servants. But at least, they'll be alive."

I couldn't help it. I stood up, and walked to the mirror. Chase guessed what was going to happen next, and started walking to the door. By the time I had chucked the mirror, the wall had appeared again. The window opened, and Chase's voice flooded the room. "You have one day to make your decision." The window slammed shut, and the sound of his footsteps diminished.

I sunk to the floor. I had never cried this bad before. I banged my fists on the floor, screaming in pain. Why? Why me? Why did every single little bad thing happen to me? It was wrong! Pure evil!

I felt a hand on my back, and saw Jack next to me. And then I remembered something.

I jumped up, and backed away from Jack. I screamed, "You knew! You knew this whole time, and you couldn't find a moment to tell me? I trusted you! I even started considering you a friend! And you sat there and let this happen! How could you?"

Jack tried to walk towards me. I wouldn't let him. He lied to me. I couldn't believe I ever admitted to myself that I liked him.

After a moment or so, Jack stopped in his tracks. He started talking, head hung low in shame. "I was going to tell you in the lair. When you rolled over to me in the chair, I was going to tell you to stop so I could tell you. That was the reason why I kidnaped you. To protect you from Chase. This had nothing to do with shen-gong-wu. It had everything to do with you."

I stopped trying to avoid him. Was it true? Was he really telling the truth? Did he kidnap me to protect me?

"Then why did you bring me here earlier? You practically delivered me to Chase Young as if I were a gift wrapped present on Christmas."

Jack dared to look up. After a moment or so he said, "I didn't trust you enough to leave you there by yourself. If you had escaped, he would've found you a lot sooner. And the reason I came in the first place was to convince Wuya to convince Chase that it was a bad idea."

I considered everything he said for a moment. Finally, I walked over to Jack, and hugged him, whispering in his ear, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

And now, I had to deal with the problem of this stupid marriage.

(-)

A/N: And here it is. The main part of the story. I know that this chapter really sucks, but I couldn't think of a way to make the explanation better. Oh, I realized that in like at least two of the chapters, I went into third person by accident. And in chapter 3, I actually own the outfit I made Kimiko wear, which she's still wearing.

Thank you my reviewers. StephanieFan, Meggie Grotto, firewu, and animecrazy1017. Ya'll are the best!