"Jack was kidnapped." Kimiko informed a shocked Raimundo. The monks were circled around his bed, looking down at him with concerned eyes.
"WHAT?! By who?!" The others looked away as Clay handed Rai the note Chase had left. Rai's eyes darkened as he read and he crushed the note in his fist when he was finished.
"R-Raimundo?" Omi asked, both concern and nervousness evident in his voice.
"I'm going to kill him." Rai growled, but his eyes did not remain angry for long. His resolve lost some of its luster when a flood of tears burst forth from his eyes, "Fuck!" He said through his sobs, "I knew this was going to happen. Both me and Feng did." He collected himself to the best of his ability and inhaled shakily. "Feng told me to keep an eye on him. That's what Jack and I were fighting about before… before I ran off." He fell silent for a moment before speaking again, volume rising slightly, "And Chase found me just so we would trust him. Ugh, how could I be so stupid?!" He hit himself on the forehead with his fist repeatedly until Clay grabbed his wrist.
"Stop it, Rai! You have to watch your stress levels. How is beating yourself up over this going to help Jack?" Clay said. Rai sighed and lied back down in his bed.
"I guess you're right." He ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled heavily again, "So." He said after awhile, "How are we going to get him back?"
"Eat, Spicer. I know you're hungry. You've barely eaten since the Wind Dragon got lost." Chase said. Jack glared as he ate. Once he was finished, Chase tossed some more cleaning supplies at him,
"God damn it, Chase! Is this why you kidnapped me? So I can be your maid? Can't you just hire some other-" Jack was cut off by a strike to the face that caused him to fall to the floor. He looked fearfully up at Chase, who glowered back down at him, hand still raised. "D-don't kill me." Jack pleaded softly, knowing full well Chase's propensity for such things when he was properly angry. Which he was, judging by the look in his dark, golden eyes. Chase lowered his hand and smirked. He knelt down in front of Jack so that he could look the smaller boy in the eyes. Jack looked away, unable to stand the intensity of his gaze,
"Relax, Jack." He purred. He dragged his fingers through Jack's hair, pulling off his goggles in the process. The act caused Jack's eyes to rip themselves away from the crack in the wall to stare intently back at the other man, an image of a snake flashed through his mind. "I'm not going to kill you." Chase said. Jack's tongue darted out to wet his lips, nerves scattered. Chase stood up, the usual look returning to his face, which spoke of both arrogance and danger. "Not unless you disobey me. You won't disobey me, will you?" Jack shook his head weakly. "Good."
"No, that won't work!" Raimundo said, frustration building. The monks had gathered to formulate a plan for Jack's rescue, but they had made little headway. "Look, we have nothing that Chase would want and between Chase's acute senses and reinforced castle, we'll never pull off a stealth mission. The only choice we have is to attack head on, with full force and take Jack in the commotion."
"We can't do that, Rai. Chase is just too strong. It's too risky."
"Well, what do you suggest, then? We hardly have a variety of options. It's not like we can teleport ourselves in and out… wait." Rai thought for a moment, but sadly, could think of no Sheng Gong Wu that acted as a teleporter, besides the Tiger Claws, which were somewhere in the center of the earth right now, "Never mind. Like I said, any ideas?"
"Well, I have one, but I don't know how well it will work.
Chase pushed Jack up against a wall, grinning. "W-what?" Jack asked, startled. "I d-didn't do anything w-wrong." Chase didn't respond. He just continued to stare at him; hungry look in his eyes. "Cha-"
"Shut up, Spicer." Jack clamped down on Chase's partially spoken name. Chase hadn't really noticed the boy's attractiveness before. Jack's whining had always distracted him; but now that the boy was silent… Chase's eyes roved over Jack's body. Plus, the couple months of training had developed a lean muscle tone, which certainly didn't do damage to Jack's looks. But it was Jack's face that caught Chase's attention. Skin ghostly pale from Albinism caused crimson eyes to look even bloodier, brick red hair to look even brighter, and black markings to look oddly foreboding.
Jack didn't understand what Chase was doing. He wanted to ask, but he was afraid it would cause Chase to lose his temper. A chill ran up his spine, causing the hairs on his neck to stand on end, when he noticed Chase's intense gaze fixed upon him. He swallowed nervously. Chase began to wordlessly unbutton his coat, "Chase! Wha-" Chase's hand shot up and grabbed Jack's face,
"Did I not tell you to be quiet?" Chase growled. The younger male fell silent. Chase let his hand drop to continue its work. When all the buttons were undone, Chase slipped the trench off narrow shoulders. Jack whimpered,
"P-please." He whispered, desperate for the other man to stop. Once again, Chase felt compelled to silence him, but this time, he achieved it by crushing his lips to Jack's.
"Everybody know the plan?" Dojo asked. The monks nodded. "Good." Rai felt his heart pounding. They were finally going after Jack and, because of the nature of said plan, he was going to come along. Raimundo hopped on Dojo's back. The others were taking a less conspicuous flying Sheng Gong Wu. "Ready, kid?"
"Yes." Rai told Dojo. The dragon nodded and took off, headed towards the Mountain of Doom.
Chase pulled away from Jack's mouth and chuckled. Jack looked at Chase miserably, "Why?" He asked, voice wavering.
"Oh, stop being so melodramatic. I thought you'd appreciate it." Chase said in a way that suggested that he thought the opposite.
"Appreciate it?" Jack repeated disbelievingly. At that moment, he wanted to kill Chase Young. Wanted to scream and yell and curse at him. Wanted to squeeze the life out of him.
"Well, you've always seemed like you would. Always throwing yourself at me like you do. Begging me to take you in like a cowering dog."
"You violated me." Jack accused. Chase smiled cruelly,
"Well, it seems now that I've finally giving in to your pleas, you are ungrateful. There is no pleasing you, is there Spicer?" He said, amusement in his voice.
Wanted to beat him. Wanted to cut and bruise his pretty face. Wanted to hurt him, cause him pain.
"I hate you." Jack said, voice unusually low and steady. Chase just laughed and grabbed Spicer, pressing his mouth to the boy's abused lips once more. Wanted to hit him. Wanted to push him away. Wanted to hate him. Jack grasped Chase's shoulder to steady himself and felt Chase smirk against him. Wanted to.
Rai watched the ominous, black mountain getting larger. They would land soon. He hoped that he would be able to distract Chase long enough for the others to grab Jack. He was still weak and he wouldn't be going in with back up. The plan was to trick Chase into thinking that Rai had come alone, impatient with others being so slow to act. Then, while Chase was fighting Rai, the other Xiaolin warriors would sneak into the castle from the back and sneak Jack back out. Rai took a deep breath. The plan was simple, and he was afraid it was too simple to work on Chase. But it was better than not trying at all.