The world swam in a murky swirl of faded light, throbbing pain, and muted sound. Omi distinctly heard himself groan; his head weighed a ton and his body felt as though it were moving in slow motion.

His vision was slowly beginning to clear..

He was in a room, a strange one at that.

Wires ran like multicolored blood vessels along the floor and walls, and the air itself was live with kinetic energy. The hum of well-tended machinery droned in different frequencies all around him, and the ethereal glow of dozens of computer and television screens bathed him in muted light. The air had the faint scent of oil and exhaust, but not enough to be suffocating. He faced toward the darker edge of the room, and an icy feeling crawled up his spine. He narrowed his eyes.

Someone was there…

Watching… Waiting…

Out of the corners of his eyes, Omi spotted his friends, and then surveyed his own personal surroundings. He, along with his friends, was in a large cage, one built into the wall of this dreary place. He sighed a breath of relief as they began to regain consciousness, making his way over to them. "My friends… It appears we may have been taking captive. These grounds are strange and unfamiliar to me." He only got groans and shuffles as a response, but Rai was the first to get to his feet.

"Well wherever we are," he said, rubbing his head, "let's leave. This place is giving me the creeps." He walked up to the bars of the cage, but as soon as his skin came into contact with them, and electric current ravaged his body and sent him flying back into the wall.

"What the heck…" Kimiko helped Rai to his feet with the assistance of a still woozy Clay. "Well, obviously whoever brought us here wants us to stay here…" She glanced over at Omi, who seemed to be concentrating on the dark portion of the room. "O-Omi…?"

"What do you see, Omi?" Clay asked, making his way over to the small monk. He didn't answer. Clay didn't ask why; he felt someone was there as well, and joined Omi in glaring into the darkness. "We know you're there. Come out."

There was a slight shuffle of clothing, followed by slow, concentrated footsteps coming toward them. Inch by inch, the figure became distinguishable, and mutual grimaces spread across the faces of the Xiaolin monks. "Jack, you bastard," Rai hissed. "Let us out of here, now!!"

Jack stopped not far from the cage, still shrouded in darkness. "The last time I checked, Raimundo," his voice whispered, "you weren't in control here." He held up a small remote and pressed a button. Only a split second later, electricity crackled across the metal floor of the cage and through the bodies of the monks.

"W-Why…. Are you doing this, Jack…?" Omi said breathlessly, his small body still trembling. In only a few steps, Jack loomed before the cage, and despite the fact that his body was blocking the pale light, his eyes burned ferociously.

"Why, Omi?" His voice was low, almost eerily inaudible. "Why?" He knelt so that his eyes met with Omi's. The young monk tensed; Jack had changed more than he thought. The ruby eyes, once filled with childish arrogance, were now voids of crimson loathing. "Because I'm tired of being disgusted with myself." His voice trembled, and he ran his fingers through his hair. "It doesn't matter what happens… I'm always insulted… Beaten…. And forgotten." A crazed look glowed in his eyes. "But not anymore; I won't lose anymore… Not to you, not to anyone…"

"Except to him, and you know it."

Jack's mouth twitched, glaring death at Omi. The young monk only stared back defiantly. "Shut up, Omi," Jack seethed.

"It pains me to see it, but I do, Jack… You are Chase Young's puppet, more of a lowly henchman than a partner. You fight us, you do his bidding, but he is never pleased. You worship that foul beast like a god."

"Shut up…" Anger was mounting in the youth's voice.

"You don't even live for yourself anymore, Jack!" Omi pressed angrily, his fists shaking with frustration and grief. "I have watched as he put more and more "apprentices" before you, even myself! He suffocates your spirit, inhibits your sense of self…. And in the blink of an eye, you become expendable to him… You are worthless to yourself, just as you are to him…" Jack looked as though he were going to explode. "You serve him because you feel worthless."

"Shut up, Omi, shut UP!!"

"I won't!! For years we have been enemies, Jack, and despite your defeats, despite your girlish screams, I respected you! And even when I…" His voice broke as renegade tears of frustration formed in his eyes. "Even when you were my apprentice… I saw your potential…. And I respected and appreciated your company, your presence… I wanted to trust you, Jack…"

"I said shut up!!" Jack pressed another button and three bars disappeared from the cage. With almost uncanny swiftness, Jack shot an arm into the cage, grabbed Omi, and flung him to the ground before him. He pressed the button once more and the bars restored themselves just as he pounced upon the young monk.

"Omi!" Clay yelled, gripping his fists together. "Damn you, Jack!"

"I swear, when we get out of here…." Kimiko growled low, her voice wavering with unmistakable rage.

Omi glared calmly up at Jack, whose eyes were now burning with malice. He perched over Omi's body like a predator, reaching back and drawing the sword Chase had given to him. In the metal's cold reflection of pale light, Jack saw Chase's face. With a sadistic grin, he slowly turned his eyes back to Omi and raised the sword high. "What's wrong, Omi? No more pretty philosophical words for me?"

Omi only stared darkly at him. "I have no hope in convincing you anymore; you are too busy being ruled by the mandates of that monster-" His eyes shot open as Jack's hand clenched tightly around his neck. "J-Jack…!!"

"You don't get it, do you?" Spicer said acidly, raising the sword so that Omi could see the fear on his own face. "I'm done with being a half-baked villain. I'm done with everything, but I'm tired of being nothing. I'm worthless to you, I'm worthless to the world…. But that's going to change; I can redeem myself with this, this one task will make me visible again…"

He looked deep into the monk's trembling eyes, and adrenaline charged its way through Jack's nerves.

'Make me….. Visible….'

He replayed his words through his mind once again, his heart pounding feverishly up against his ribs.

'Visible…. To who..? To him….?'

His grip tightened. The other Xiaolin monks were yelling and clamoring behind him, but he couldn't make out their words.

'Shut up…. I'm going to do this…'

Jack didn't know if he was talking to the warriors or himself anymore. But then again, he couldn't find it in him to care.

'I'm going to kill them, all of them…. Then, he'll-"

Jack froze; realization swam over him like boiling water.

'Kill them….. If I do that….'

His eyes wavered.

'If I do that….'

He was grappling with something inside of him, something deep inside, telling him to stop. Telling him to wait. To think… With an agonized yell and his eyes locked on Omi's, with all of his strength, Jack drove the sword down.

Raimundo's voice came like a shot in the dark. "OMI!!!"