"Please wake up" Omi quietly pleaded, watching the unconscious girl.
They'd been back a few hours, everyone startled from the events. Dojo had yet to stop sobbing, they could all still hear him now. The dragon remembered everything, yet despite being told he wasn't in control, he continued to blame himself.
Clay could do nothing but pace down the corridor just outside the medical room. The young monk wanted to talk to him, console him, but even he had to admit he'd never seen Clay so angry before. The cowboy was a master at controlling his emotions, it came hand in hand with his element.
Grounding, connecting with the Earth itself. Using that he was soon able to apply the same to himself, although he'd done this long before becoming a Xiaolin monk.
"Ow," Kimiko groaned, her hand moving to her chest.
Omi's head turned to the girl, ignoring the grazes across her skin he grinned happily at her waking up.
"Dojo! Clay!" He yelled, gaining the two's attention.
Dojo flew past Clay, diving onto Kimiko as he sobbed against her neck, profusely apologising as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Kimiko?"
The girl turned her head slightly, giving her best attempt at a smile. Her skin was lightly grazed all over, her element had protected her from burns. She grimaced as she tried to sit up.
"Easy Lil' Lady"
"Kimiko, you must rest"
"What happened to me?"
"We're not entirely sure"
She rubbed across her chest, "What do you mean?"
"Well," Clay mumbled, struggling to find the words. "Dojo was attacking you, because of Chase, but when you were fighting back you just... You looked like you were in so much pain"
"My chest?" She breathed.
He nodded in response.
She lay her head back down, "Raimundo..."
"We will sort him" Omi stated.
"I don't think... I don't-" her words came to an end as pain ran across her.
"Lil' Lady?"
"My chest!" She cried.
She pulled at her robes, ignoring the strange looks from her teammates she revealed her torso, her modesty fortunately covered by a sports bra. They looked in horror at the sight.
"What is that?"
"Omi, get Master Fung. Now" Clay ordered.
He and Kimiko stared at the black circle on the centre of her chest. The mark bearing a slight green glow.
"Clay it hurts" she whispered, forcing back tears.
Out of instinct, he grabbed her hand, holding it tight. "What the hell is happening?"
His fists collided with the wall. Left. Right. Left. Wince. Pulling his left arm back he looked down at his bloody knuckles.
"Shit" He hissed.
Upon return, the adolescent had been thrown into his 'room'. A spare cell located somewhere within the lair. He hadn't seen or heard anyone for hours. No food or water either. It was probably part of his punishment from before.
It was his fault. Her pain, her injuries, all of it. His fault, and his alone.
To him, he deserved to pay for it.
He breathed a heavy sigh. Two days away and he already wished they could save him. Save her.
"Now what use are you to me injured?"
Raimundo rolled his eyes."If I killed myself, how badly would it screw up your plans?"
The immortal laughed. "Now that is something you do not have in you, boy. As long as she lives, you protect her. Making you the weakest."
"Protecting my family does not make me weak," he snapped.
"Family?" He sounded surprised. "You actually see those monks as your family?"
"This coming from the guy who was determined to have Omi on his side?"
He laughed. "That didn't make him family."
"No, but the mannerisms were close enough"
His smirk turned to a whine as Chase's fist collided with his abdomen. His knees started to buckle before Chase held him up, his grip on his shoulder. "Don't push it" He growled, "Just because she's not here, doesn't mean I can't hurt her, and I won't think twice about hurting you."
Throwing him to the floor, Chase vanished. Once again leaving him alone.
Lightly rubbing his fingers across his abdomen, he sighed. This was going to be a long and lonely time.
"Well?" Kimiko asked, her nerves evident in her voice.
Master Fung, Dojo, and a few of the monks had been inspecting the mark over her chest since discovering it. Kimiko had become rather fed up with the attention, wishing she could just rest like she badly wanted to.
"It does have that Heylin glow... And that smell..." Dojo sniffed the air as if he smelt something cooking. "It does smell like their magic"
"We cannot tell for certain what effect this will have on you, but we do believe it is connected to your pain from before"
Master Fung was always good at explaining things in a calm manner, no matter how terrifying the situation.
Looking across the room, her gaze locked with Clay's.
"He didn't join freely, did he?"
She shook her head in response.
"Chase did something, didn't he?"
"I believe so, but Rai wouldn't tell me what," she sighed a shaky breath, "It does mean I'm involved somehow"
"Then maybe we should find out what" Omi proposed.
"You do realise whatever Chase did, he could most likely do again to me?"
"The Lil' Lady's right, this is gonna be more challenging than riding a bull blindfolded"
"We'll take your word on that," Kimiko sighed, allowing her eyes to shut briefly.
"I think before you do anything, Kimiko must return to her room and rest for the night. The events seem to have worn her out"
"Well, it's still early evenin'." Clay said, staring at the small clock in the room, "Omi and I can try and figure out a plan, and also how to stop this from happening to you further."
The Japanese girl simply nodded before sliding out of the bed and leaving the room.
Raimundo lay on the ground, ignoring the cold seeping into his spine. With no idea how long he'd been locked up and no chance of sleeping in the rooms conditions, he was currently bored out of his mind. The thought of breaking out of the room had crossed his mind a number of times, but he had no idea where he'd go, or what would happen if he were caught. Sighing, he once again looked around the room. Dark grey-brown walls which were starting to crumble in some sections rested on the stone flooring. The door appeared to be a dark, thick piece of wood. He wasn't even given a sheet to use, hell, not even paper to lie on.
He looked back up to the ceiling. His thoughts on Kimiko. He still wasn't certain on what Chase had done to her. So how the hell was he supposed to fix something he knew nothing of?
"We could... Attack him!"
"Chase or Raimundo?"
"I'm sure either will lose to me in battle, I do give them a challenge"
Clay rubbed his hand across his face. They'd been attempting to come up with an idea for the last few hours. So far: nothing.
"Omi be serious now," Clay sighed, sitting up some more, "We need a proper idea"
"Well..." The young monk rubbed his chin, "Getting Raimundo away from Chase without him knowing would be good"
"If Chase is using our Kimiko against him, Rai won't wanna leave"
"He can't say no if he is not conscious" Omi simply stated, far too quickly for Clay's liking.
"You... Want to knock our leader out cold?"
"If it means bringing him home, why not?"
"I'll let you tell Kimiko this idea in the morning..." He said, unknowing whether he should laugh, or fear the small monk.
"Is this the only way to get him back?"
"You're not considering this are you?!"
"Maybe..." Kimiko mumbled, taking another bite of her breakfast. "The worst part would be successfully knocking him out."
Clay sat speechlessly. "You've been hit with who knows what, which allows Chase to harm you whenever he pleases, and you want to go in and take Rai? What's gonna happen when we get him? Chase won't leave us alone!"
"I don't know, okay! But it's the only decent idea we've got" She sighed, eyes looking at her food, "me n' him, we've got things to discuss. I'd rather not be dead before that happens"
"Omi, go check on Dojo, see how he's holdin' up"
The monk nodded before walking away, Clay's eyes following until out of sight. He adjusted his position before turning to his teammate.
"I wanna know what happened."
"What?"
"Why'd you break up? Look, I've offered support, to both of you, I've been patient but now I need to know. I'm asking you to tell me why"
She glared. Silence filling the room before her gaze softened. "I told him I loved him"
"Pardon?" He didn't try to hide the confused expression.
"I told him I loved him, and he froze," Averting her gaze, she did her best to keep tears away, "It got awkward, awkward turned to frustration, and frustration lead to arguments. Both to blame really, then all this happened."
"That wouldn't even be the last reason I'd suspect Y'all to break up."
"I want him back with us Clay, I know what I'm risking but we need to try"
The cowboy sat back in his seat. "One condition, you stay here"
"Fine."
The cowboy and the monk peered around the mountains edge, looking over the back of Chase Young's lair.
"Do you remember the plan, Clay?"
"Find Raimundo, knock him out before he can argue"
"Exactly!" Omi's eyes cautiously scanned the area. "But where should we start?"
"We don't want Chase findin' out we're here. That'll just mean trouble... For everyone"
"I say we go in from the side, find a quiet way in and start our search" Omi offered, searching for any sign of jungle cats.
With no sign of immediate threat, the duo made their way towards the darkened building.
Raimundo kicked his feet as he wandered down the corridor. Surprisingly to him, Chase had allowed him some free time.
Although that translated to not being solely stuck in his poor excuse of a room.
A movement. He froze. Slowly turning on his heels he braced himself for whoever was there.
"Omi?"
The small monk placed a finger to his lips.
"What the-" his words cut short by the cowboy knocking him unconscious.
"Let's get back. I need to see if our Kimiko's okay, this seems too easy."
Standing in her bedroom, Kimiko carefully removed her tunic before moving to the mirror, looking at nothing but the Heylin magic.
Her eyes widened at the burst of pain, before noticing the magic slowly starting to spread.
"What seems to be the issue, my dear?"
Kimiko spun on the spot, startled by the unwanted visitor. "Chase..." She spat out before clutching her chest.
"It seems you and I have some things to discuss"
"Get away from me-"
"-Now, now Kimiko. I'd stay quiet if I were you" He chuckled as he held her against the wall, his hand firm around her neck.
"Your teammates seem to think they can just take Raimundo away. Well, I can't let that happen now..."
"What do you want from me?" She whispered, her breaths jagged and painful.
He grinned. Pulling her to him before making her face the mirror. She gasped a startled breath at the sight of her. The darkness spreading across her torso.
"The lovely thing about this, my dear, is the more I use it, the deadlier it is for you. Once the magic covers you up entirely, you die."
He took pleasure in watching the fear cover her face. "They take Raimundo, you're coming with me."
"Hey Kimiko, you in there?"