Crimson droplets flew through the air like liquid marbles, splattering onto the floor after their short aerial dance. The air fell silent, except for a handful of sound effects.

The shallow breathing of the fallen Xiaolin warriors in the distance.

The murr of Chase's breath within his massive ribcage.

The silence itself was thick, almost audible.

Omi slowly opened an eye. He'd seen Chase's claws coming upon him, and the form of Jack rushing toward the two of them… He glanced at his sides… Shredded tendrils of rope lay strewn about like hay on the cold stone ground. He distinctly saw two arms, clad in black and trembling, supporting a body which hovered over him. He could feel labored breath just next to his face, and as he glanced toward where the sound was coming from, he saw soft, feathery red hair. Omi felt his heart stop. "Jack….." The pale face of the boy genius sat a few inches from Omi's, his eyebrows knit together in discomfort. Omi looked at him closer. "But how.." He gasped; the pieces of rope were tainted red with blood… Jack's heli-pack lay in a heap a few feet away from them, cleaved with four distinct claw marks. The cloth around Jack's shoulders was torn, and that only meant one thing….

"So, you shielded him with your own body," Chase hissed, quirking an eyebrow. Blood seeped through the gashes on Jack's back, staining the torn material of his jacket. "How noble of you."

"I won't let you hurt them," Jack whispered, his arms threatening to buckle beneath him. "Not Omi…. Not any of them…." He glared back at Chase. "And if I have to stop you… So be it." He was tired of denying that his connection to the Xiaolin warriors felt more real than his wire-thin, often strained connection to Chase, and though his own words just now frightened him, he knew they were true. These people were his life, and though he'd had a history of only caring for his own… He now knew that they were just as important to him than he ever imagined. He swiftly reached into Omi's pocket, pulling out the first Shen Gong Wu he got his hands on. "Eye of Dashi!" The lightning surged from the jewel, striking Chase square in the chest and knocking him back. The dragon screeched in pain and reeled, its eyes glowing as murderous hatred surged through his veins. "Omi, get out of-" Jack's words were cut off by a pained grunt as Chase's claws connected with his body, sending him tumbling across the ground and out onto the ledge outside. He wheezed, finding that his strength to move was completely nullified by this searing pain in his chest.

Cold rain was pouring from the sky like tears, thunder rumbling in the distance. Wind whipped about the ledge fiercely as lightning provided temporary illumination in the otherwise gloomy darkness… The only sound that Jack was able to focus on, however, was the footsteps….

Slow, concentrated footsteps, and a low hiss.

"You insolent wretch." The cold voice hissed beneath a beastly growl. Jack could see the glowing orange eyes, could hear the haggard breath. "I should have destroyed you when I had the chance…" Thunder rumbled viciously, and hellish lightning illuminated the approaching figure of the seething dragon. The Eye of Dashi was only a few feet away…. But the pain in Jack's ribcage made it feel like miles….

"Star Hanabi, Fire!!" The dragon reeled as its hide was pelted by fireballs, turning its attention from Jack to the mouth of his lair and narrowing his eyes. The Xiaolin monks, despite their injuries, had assembled together, their eyes locked on the beast. Kimiko held the Star Hanabi in her good hand, her eyes burning brilliantly as her hair danced like wildfire in the rebellious winds. "Back away from him."

"I'll deal with you later," Chase growled at Jack, slowly turning to approach the weakened Xiaolin monks. Jack panted weakly; the rain was chilling him down to the bone and his ribcage stung with the slightest movement. He saw the Eye of Dashi out of the corner of his eye, and then shifted his focus to the monks.

'If I don't do something………. He'll……..' Jack narrowed his eyes… Was he really willing to fight as hard for them as they'd fought for him……? He looked at the Eye of Dashi and, in a split second, made his decision. He grabbed the Wu, and then lunged toward Chase, wrapping his arms around the dragon's legs as tightly as he could while biting through his own discomfort. "Now!! Attack him now!"

Chase's eyes flashed with fury, reaching down and yanking Jack off of his leg. "You little fool," he cursed, turning toward the monks. "Attack if you wish…. But are you willing to risk hitting this worthless coward?" Jack's eyes met Omi's, and a quick, unspoken conversation took place that made Omi curse under his breath. But there was something else the boy genius was trying to say to him….. But what…? They were powerless against Chase as long as he had Jack in tow, that was true, but Omi knew those calculating eyes anywhere… "Look at them, insect," Chase's voice hissed in Jack's ear. "Look at their defeat… Soak it in; their desperation, their powerlessness, their grief… They are finished, just like you are… And what's more, they can do nothing about it… Brought to a shameful defeat due to their pity for someone as lowly, someone as pathetic, as worthless as you…" He held Jack up to look him in the eye, but he suddenly noticed a gleam of defiance within those ruby eyes.. Wincing, Jack pulled something out of his pocket… Chase's eyes shot open. "You-"

"Eye of Dashi!!" The boy genius aimed the bolt at the very ledge they were standing on, and as slabs of rock broke away, the ledge began to crack and shift. In only seconds, the ledge fell away due to Chase's weight. At the last minute Jack clasped his hands upon the remains of the ledge, straining between ignoring the pain in his chest and the knowledge that an enraged Chase Young had a death grip on his leg. The dragon was roaring and hissing curses upon him, his weight slowly pulling Jack downwards. With all of his might Jack struggled to hang on; his fingers were numbing from the stinging bite of the icy rain. "A-Ah…" He lurched downwards, now just barely hanging on by his fingertips.

Ruby eyes wandered to Chase. Hatred boiled within the molten amber eyes, the pupils dilated to mere slits of saturated animosity. Fear was beginning to make Jack's blood go cold, especially as his gaze traveled past the enraged dragon to the dark, cold chasm below, seemingly waiting to swallow them whole. He could see thunderclouds below them, further masking the fathomless black that awaited below. He snapped back to focus as he felt hands desperately clasping upon his own, and looked up to see Omi's hand holding onto his own. The monk's face was scrunched up in stress as he struggled to hold onto Jack, as well as hold onto Chase's immense weight. Clay, Raimundo, and Kimiko held onto the young monk firmly, straining to keep their weight back and not let go. "Don't worry, Jack… We've got you…" There was determination within those ink black eyes. "I won't let go… Not even for a second…"

Their eyes met, and Jack suddenly felt a surge of warmth he'd never felt before…. "Omi……." They did care…… Why else would they be straining for his very life like this…? Out on this Godforsaken ledge, in this blinding cold rain….. Against the very entity who had it within his power to kill them all at the slightest whim…? But that before he could voice his gratefulness, he felt Chase's weight suddenly shift. Jack let out a sharp yelp; the dragon's claws dug themselves harshly into his back in a desperate attempt for leverage.

"Jack?!" He heard Rai call worriedly.

Jack let out another cry as all of Chase's weight rested upon the claws in his back… Chase was using him like a ladder, and he was going to get to the Xiaolin monks if….. Jack's eyes darkened, blotting out the pain as best as he could. He only said three words, three words that made all of the color drain from Omi's face. "Let me go."

Omi almost couldn't believe his ears. He looked at Jack, and then at the slowly rising form of Chase Young, and then back at Jack, shaking his head desperately. "No…. N-No, I can't do that! I won't!!"

Razor sharp claws dug themselves into Jack's gut and pulled as the weight shifted once again. Jack sputtered; the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and trickled out of the corners of his mouth. Omi saw this, looking ready to scream at any moment. "Let me go, Omi."

"Hang on Jack, please!!" Omi practically cried. "I don't want to……" Rai and Clay began desperately pulling, but Chase's rapidly shifting weight made it almost impossible for them to get permanent footholds.

Jack's eyes rolled back into his head; all of Chase's weight seemed to be supported by the clawed hand burrowed harshly in his stomach. More blood came up in a harsh cough, and he could feel Chase's hot breath on his neck…

His eyes darkened more as his gaze locked with Omi's.

"Omi…. Let me go……… Please……." Spicer's voice came weakly, in a tone that sent shock down Omi's spine.

The young monk's eyes shot open; he could feel Jack's grip loosening… Tears spilled down his face. "Hold on….." Chase's head was rearing, but Omi didn't care about that…. It was the look in Jack's eyes that frightened him more… Though they were dim…. They seemed to be apologizing…. Jack was loosening his grip on purpose… That only meant… "Don't…… Please Jack, don't!"

"I'm sorry." It was said with a faint smile upon his pale face, and with one burst of strength, Jack yanked himself away from Omi's grip. He was weightless for a moment, caressed by the cold jets of air swirling around him. He heard a jumble of sounds… The rumble of thunder… The wind whipping past his face… A howl of rage from Chase as the dragon clung to Jack's mauled body….

And….

Omi's scream…

He hated to let it end like this, but a faint smile came upon his face…. Comforted only by the thought of ensuring the safety of his only friends, Jack and Chase plummeted into the abyss below.

"Jack!!" Omi screamed, his body going completely numb. He couldn't believe this… This level of grief was unreal….. As if on cue, an emerald streak shot past them like lightning; it was Dojo, and he was making a beeline after the quickly disappearing forms of Chase and Jack. Not wasting any time, the monks leapt aboard the speeding serpent, holding on tight as he dove into the abysmal darkness at breakneck speed.

Thunder roared around them as gale force winds threatened to rip them off of Dojo's back. Lightning sliced through the clouds all around them..

But Omi didn't budge.

Not one bit.

He stared long and hard forward as they descended, looking for any sign of the person he would not lose, the person he would not give up on….

The person he yearned to call "friend."

There was no way he was going to abandon him, not after finally seeing such a brave act… Jack had put his life on the line for them in this most dire of situations and, bound by his virtue and his heart, Omi was going to save him.