She was moved to the Chop Shop three weeks later. During the time she had healed, she had hoped with even a small inkling that the Xiaolin Dragons would come break in the house and help her escape- a delusion she marked off to the medication she was getting to help ease her pain. The robotic nurses were a little disquieting and programmed with only a few phrases.

"Sit still, please," One would say while taking her vitals; it's mechanical vocalizations put on the disturbing side when mixed with the fact that hospitals made her uneasy to begin with.

"I'm bringing your medication in a little bit. Are you in any pain?" The personality was friendly enough but she knew there was no real emotion behind any of it. The nurse was nice because she was programmed to be nice, not because she was a person with thoughts and experiences to make her that way.

Jack visited her on two other occasions duiring the time; One was to inform her of her location. The other was to inform her that the Xiaolin Dragons didn't even bother to look for her and down right assumed that she had come back here of her own accord. Even played a video he had recorded of them searching the room.

"She's gone!" Kimiko blatantly pointed out.

"And so is the Wu!" Omi hollared as he ran into the room.

"That lying, two timing Spicer!" Clay commented, hitting the palm of his hand with a fist.

"They're all the same guys, only going to stab you in the back after helping them." Raimundo commented.

-The video cut out right afterward-

Jaqulin's blood boiled. After the humility, the determination, and the patience she showed... they didn't even give her the benifit of the doubt! The look on her face must have been what he wanted because Jack's tone leaned towards pleased.

"See Cousin? Those 'Good Guys' aren't any better than the people they fight against."

Jaqulin didn't say anything, only chewed at her lower lip as she watched the video feed again. She knew that if they came to the mansion, the only thing they'd want is the Wu. She clenched her jaw. If they wanted the Wu, they'd have to fight for it. And if spending the last six months with them proved anything then she knew how to make it hard for them.

For a long minute she didn't speak, then... "I'm sorry."

"For?" he asked.

"Stealing your robotics. I was trying to accomplish something that never would have happened."

"And that is...?"

Jaqulin wouldn't answer him or look him in the face. Jack stared at her for a moment before laughing. She had hoped that by rebuilding the Jackbot and using it against him that they would come to like her. Rediculous. They have it against the Spicer Family; granted that's his and Cat-Nappe's fault but what can you do? A few bad apples spoil the bunch.

"Now," he began as he uncovered the unfinished Jackbot, "show me what you were doing."

She popped the fingers in her hand. "I never got to the programming stage. Never bothered to get a computer. Was tempted to 'borrow' Kimiko's." She took a screwdriver and loosened the screws on the back panel.

"Borrow or Steal."

"Probably would have forgotten to give it back."

"Probably." Disbelieving tone.

"Yep," a spark, "Ow, sonofa... Can you hand me a pair of pliers?" The tool passed over and twisted two wires together, ending the sparking problem. Numbers flew through her head, a list of ones and zeros, as she picked apart her planned progam in her head. It was simple, yes, but at least it would show a small amount of what she wanted to accomplish.

"The only problem with the line of code you're spouting off is that if you were really wanting to allow a multi-user interface so to speak, you need two sets of command lines at least. One per user."

"I know that, I'm just trying to do it from memory. I had a journal that I had written most of the code down on but I think it got destroyed when that psycho tried to break my neck."

"Ah. Want me to find it for you?"

"If you want."

Jack moved over to a pile of belongings that Jaqulin realized were hers. She returned to working with the mechanincal contraption in front of her.

"So... what happened between you and Chase Young?"

"I got tired of bending over backwards for that guy and only getting almost killed as a reward. I almost died when the latest Wu had activated. The same one that you stole my bot from. And the only thing I got was a sideways glance and a lecture about how Omi was the greatest."

"Omi?"

"Well, not those exact words, but he's more obsessed with that kid than I was with him. Rather sad really. And kind of creepy."

Jaqulin finished rewiring the 'bot, closed the panel, and searched for the cord that would connect the body to a computer for programming. She found it after five minutes. As soon as she had the machine plugged in, Jack approached with her journal, flipping through it.

"Some of this code is outdated. It's not compatable with my Jackbot mainframe."

"It's not?"

"Nope."

"Darn. Where?"

He flipped a few pages, gripped from the start and held half the journal up.

"This much."

"That's almost my entire code!"

"Exactly. I'm a genius, remember? I know how to tweak my programming so it's hard to mess with the Jackbots. Don't need anyone reprogramming and using them against me."

Jaqulin had to admit she hadn't thought of that. Of course, Jack had always been quicker on that subject of building the bots- even taught her things on occasions. But usually she was the programmer. When they graduated school early, she had to admit that it was only because of Jack that she worked as hard as she did. Their collaborated Science Fair project placed third only because the judges didn't want to admit that the two pale, red-eyed kids knew more than their own children.

So when he was able to stand there and tell her with confidence that her code was infierior to his, she knew either that he was lying... or he was telling the truth. And that thought sparked a number of emotions in her. Pride, a small amount of jealousy, and a tiny bit of intimidation.

"So, what Shen Gong Wu did you snag from the Temple?"

"A few. I'd rather show you than actually list everything."

"Okay," she ended the conversation there- unwilling to continue it further. His presence was different than she remembered. He really had changed since she saw him last. The look in his eye was different too- darker- almost as if he had lost a part of himself. She glanced at his hand and noticed the Ring of the Nine Dragons.

What did he do to himself...?