A Faint Light

By Auraine Ai

A girl from the long past returns for Chase Young. The Dragon of Light, his deceased friend, and his lover. But she's not just here for a visit, she's back in the living world because she's on mission: Bring Back the True Chase Young.

Chapter 3: Take Me Away

Wuya jumped back. "If I had my powers, I could take you down once and for all. Damn that Chase," she spat.

I got into my fighting stance with a smile. "If you haven't beaten me before, I honestly doubt you will now… being old and such."

"I am not old. I was just as beautiful as I was before," Wuya replied.

"Whoever said you were stunning to begin with?" I laughed.

Wuya lunged at me but just as she was going to make contact, she stopped and turned. There, standing before me was Chase.

"Chase!" Wuya leaped towards him and clutched his arm. "It's her! It's that Kanna!" she said as she pointed at me.

"I know."

"You do?" Wuya looked at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why bother?"

"Because I am your partner."

"And so?"

"I deserve to know."

Chase turned towards the monks and in a swift move, he clutched Raimundo in his arms and said, "Your friend needs to pay more attention to his surroundings."

"Let him go Chase Young!" Kimiko yelled.

"On one condition – a very simple request," Chase said.

"And what would that be?" Omi asked.

"Princess Kanna," he said, turning towards me.

"What?" Omi asked confused.

"The princess comes with me, and you may have Wuya in addition to your friend."

I saw Wuya's jaw drop. "WHAT?" she screeched.

"You heard me Wuya," Chase said to her. He turned to the monks, "Well?"

"No, you may not ha-"

I cut Omi off. "You have a deal, Chase."

Raimundo said, "Whaaaaaaaaaat? No, Princess Kanna! We need you!"

"No, you don't. But your friends do need you. Let him go, Chase."

"Come here."

I walked towards him. Oh my god. Oh my god. What is he going to do with me? As I stood beside him, he released Raimundo and shoved Wuya towards the monks who quickly tied her up with the LassoBoaBoa. Then, Clay ran up and tried to strike Chase who easily stepped aside to dodge the attack then hit Clay hard enough to send him flying many yards away.

"STOP," I said sternly to the monks. "I can take care of myself. Go back to the temple and take care of Wuya. I'll be fine."

The monks gingerly flew off after making sure that I'd made up my mind. When Chase and I were alone, there was a crack and we were at a mountain. A sinister-looking mountain that definitely didn't suit my tastes. It was too dark and too evil. I didn't like it at all, giving me a sense of foreboding. But such opinions changed as the doors opened and led to a beautiful palace with gardens inside. It was gorgeous and surprisingly peaceful for an evil being bent on taking over the world. Chase led me up the steps and into the palace, where he stopped in a hallway. With a snap of his fingers, two tigers padded in. Chase looked at me.

"My pets will lead you to your room. Stay there until I call for you," he said, pointing at the great cats.

"Fine," I said. His tone annoyed me. I hated being ordered around, no matter who it was… unless it was someone more powerful than me. Feelings from back then came back to me and I felt proud because of my seniority over Chase. Of course, such was not the time for such thoughts as I was led to my room. The room itself was quite decent… actually, it was beautiful. The bed was so soft. I loved it. Did he prepare this especially for me?

I took a few moments to take in all that had happened and the sight of the room. There was a balcony on one of the sides looking on to the garden inside of the mountain. Studying the area, I found that the flora pleased me, to my pleasure, lightening my stress. What darkened my opinions of the area, however, was that I couldn't see the sky. The free air couldn't reach me, and it made me sad. I couldn't feel the sun's rays, and it was depressing. I needed the sun, and I needed the sky. They gave me a sense of freedom and power. Chase used to love the free air as well, but I suppose he's changed to the stuffy-type.Sure seems like it.

From behind, I heard a soft growl. Turning, I saw a handsome Siberian tiger. It shook its head, as though beckoning me to follow. "I suppose Chase is calling me?" I said to it, although I wasn't sure if it could understand me. But then again, it was trained by Chase, and he always liked control. To a bit of surprise, the tiger nodded and turned to leave my room. Walking down the dimly lit hallways, I felt unnerved. I had great urges to throw some orbs of light to the ceilings to brighten the path, but I resisted. I followed the tiger to a big banquet hall with a table right in the center. The table was covered in food that made my stomach tremble and my mouth water. At the end of the table was Chase, sitting with perfect posture and an unsettling stare that followed me from the time I entered until I took my seat at the other end.

We sat for some time in silence, neither making a move to break it. I sat there, ignoring the food, but taking in the new image of Chase, his own demonic style. I suppose he was drinking in the sight of me as well, because we both stared for some time. Finally, I became nervous enough to make a sound. "So…"

"What?" he asked sternly.

So… what? What do I say? "What do you mean 'what'?"

"What else could I mean?"

"I was just trying to start a conversation," I said, my annoyance sparked.

"And I answered," he replied with the same uncomforting stare.

"You cut me off," I retorted.

"But I answered." Something changed about him when he said that, I just couldn't tell what.

"But I cou-" I cut myself off, because as soon as I'd started I saw something in his eyes, a faint glimmer, a humorous glint. He thinks this is funny? I stopped staring into his mesmerizing eyes, and looked at his face, avoiding direct contact with them. His appearance was still serious, and looking back at his eyes, the glint was gone. I guess I was hallucinating.

"So…"

"Don't start that again."

"What?"

"Don't start."

"Start what?"

"What do you want?"

"If you're going to be mean to me, we might as well eat separately."

"You're not even eating."

"I will, once you stop that stare."

"What stare?"

"You're staring at me."

"Am not."

"Are to."

"Am not."

"Now you are toying with me."

"Correct."

"You're horrible."

"Maybe so, but I can be nice."

"If you can, you haven't shown it."

"But I set up all this food for you."

"I very much doubt that."

"I really don't eat all this much." What is he trying to say? Is he TRYING to make me mad?

"Are you calling me… fat?"

"How could you have possibly taken it that way?"

"You'd be surprised of the way insults stream from that mouth."

"Then I apologize."

"Just stop staring."

"I'm not staring."

"Then don't look at me."

"Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"Is it that clear?"

He looked taken back, but his expression quickly changed to an evil smirk. "Why are you so nervous around me? Are you afraid of me?"

"Don't take it that way. It's that damn stare."

"I'm n-"

I turned my head away from him and cut him off. "Don't even say it. Just eat whatever you eat and leave me to gorge," I said, turning back to my food.

"Fine."

That was the last word said during the whole meal and I wasn't happy. He'd gotten on my nerves for half of the conversation. The last half actually did make me very uncomfortable. I couldn't tell where he was leading the conversation, and I was scared of where it would go. What I was afraid of, I'm not really sure. All I knew was that there was something I wanted to avoid talking about.

After dinner, the animals cleared the table, but Chase and I remained seated. I feared another silent spell but he cleared his throat and began to speak. "I see the years have been good to you."

I nodded. "I guess so. Same to you."

"I suppose it has been easier for you than me."

"Maybe."

"How've you been?" he asked casually. He's talking as if we're friends that have only been away from each other for a few days.

"Why are you talking to me like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're talking as if nothing's changed."

"Has something changed?"

Does he take me for an idiot? "You know what's changed. Don't fool around with me. How could you do this?"

"What? Switch sides? It's much more favorable. And as you can see, this life has been much more luxurious than the Xiaolin way."

So he changed for material benefit. For a life of luxury and power. "You used to worship the Xiaolin ways. You swore to be the protector of light and in the end, you betray it. What changed you?" Tell me. Please. I need to know.

"I'm not under obligation to tell you, because you don't need to know."

"But I want to know. I… I want you back Chase."

An evil smirk formed on his face. "You're here. I'm already with you. You got what you want."

"You know what I really want." I knew I was starting to sound pathetic, but I was becoming desperate.

"Let's pretend I don't. Enlighten me, my dear," he said with a sarcastic chuckle.

"I want the good Chase. I want the Chase Young that stood for the good in the world. I want the old Chase that protected the innocent… I want the Chase I fell in love with." I sounded pretty cheesy as I said that, but I was letting some feelings overflow from my heart. I let the words fly out of me, hoping.

From the looks of it, my words had no effect on him. He merely laughed. "You know good is overrated. You know bad comes from what's good. There is no such thing as light in this world. There is nothing as pure as they say. No one on this earth is innocent, so why waste my time protecting the lies? What is best for this world is to let evil reign. It is already present in everyone's soul. They just need to let it take over."

His words hurt me. I felt my heart chip. My desperation slowly became indignation. "Why? So they can turn out like you?"

"You've hurt me, Kanna. You speak as if that's a bad thing. I'm still Chase Young." He made a dramatic gesture, amusing himself.

I didn't think it was funny, in fact, it was insulting. I slammed my hands down on the table and stood up. "I can't believe you can speak like this to me!" I yelled. "How could you? You used to love the light. Back then, you would have rather died than say all that."

"That was back then, Princess. The past is past and you know what? Considering how things are going in the world right now, the future seems to tip in my favor. You can't stay in the past Kanna, because you're in the present now and the future is coming," he said with slight emotion.

At that, I exploded, "Perhaps it IS time to stop living in the past, but past can always become present and the future become nonexistent. If the world would be better off with everyone being like you, the world would be completely thrown off. The balance would become nonexistent and hell would be heaven compared to earth. Only idiots could even possibly consider life better with evil controlling lives and you've become one of the biggest ones!"

I left in a huff and stormed down the hallways.