CHAPTER SIXTEEN: APPRENTICE

Kimiko sipped her cup of tea elegantly. Her and Chase were enjoying their breakfast and Chase's dinner table. Chase was sipping a cup of tea, as Kimiko sipped her own and enjoyed some burnt toast. Her and Chase were getting on much better now. While she could not forgive him entirely for what he had done, Kimiko was, after all, loyal to him. She had finally accepted her place alongside him. After fearing Chase for a few hours, she had found out what an intimidating person he could be. As selfish as it sounded to Kimiko, she would not put herself in that position again, not matter what it cost.

Chase watched her as she ate. He could not help but marvel at her. Every aspect of her had improved dramatically since his apology. It seemed that she had not only learnt to respect him, but that she had gained the ability to follow his orders without hesitation. Chase was pleased to see that Kimiko had finally accepted her place and she seemed to be adapting well so far. It had only been one day since he had apologised, but Chase was seeing massive improvements already. She showed little emotion whatsoever now, a trait that she seemed to have developed from Chase. He wondered if she was finally embraced her role and was becoming what Chase intended her to. Evil.

"I thought that we could start our reign today." Chase told her, not taking his serpent eyes away from his cup of tea.

"Where would I start?" Kimiko asked, before biting off another piece of toast. Chase noted how she had said 'I' rather than 'we'. To Chase, it seemed as though Kimiko knew she was vitally important to him, which he did not like at all. Chase needed to know he was in the drivers seat.

"We," He corrected her, "will start small. Today, I want you to invade a neighbouring village, just south of here. Bring the villagers back here. Kill any who refuse to co-operate. You will be accompanied by ten of my jungle cats. I suggest you use your element to draw them all out into the open."

"Okay." Kimiko nodded; all emotions disappeared entirely. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew what she was going to do was completely wrong, but every inch of motivation she had once had, had left her body. All resistance had left her completely. She was just a robot. A slave. An evil accomplice. It was a surprise to Kimiko when she realised that she did not care anymore. The only thing she knew to do at the current time was as she was told.

Kimiko left the breakfast table with a polite nod towards Chase and went to take a shower. She undressed herself from her robes and looked in the mirror. All evidence of Chase's attack had vanished from her skin. Kimiko noted that her hair seemed much softer now it was longer and it seemed to hang better around the shape of her face. She took a cleansing shower and got dressed in some clean; black robes Chase supplied her with everyday. Kimiko left the bathroom and informed Chase she was leaving to fulfil her task. Chase smiled when she told him the news.

"I expect to see you in no longer than one hour. Take ten of my jungle cats with you. They will follow your command as they would mine." Chase was amazed at her gracefulness when she approached him now. She seemed to have transformed completely.

"You." Chase pointed to a group of jungle cats, which were sitting, guarding the west wing of his home. "Go with Kimiko, follow her orders as you would mine." Chase didn't have to tell his jungle cats to keep an eye on her. They anticipated his whim, more than they did his orders. After all, Chase could no longer penetrate inside her mind, whatever was going on inside her mind, Chase could not see. Chase could only hope that his efforts had genuinely changed Kimiko, and that it was not all just simply an act. She seemed genuine enough. In her current state, Chase trusted her.

Chase bowed to Kimiko and she did the same, before leading the jungle cats out of Chase's home.

Kimiko stood on a hill overlooking the village. If Kimiko had been a Xiaolin Monk, she would have admired the peace and tranquillity of the village, but all Kimiko saw now was a village, ripe to be ransacked. With Chase's Jungle cats grouped behind her, she raised her hand threateningly. Kimiko focused her energy into producing her element and a thick line of Kimiko's scorching fire appeared around the village, sealing off all the exits to the villagers. When the scruffy villagers, who had not noticed Kimiko, realised they were trapped, they screamed and ran around, frantic with panic, looking for ways to escape. Chase's Jungle cats leapt over the high flames surrounding the frantic villagers and herded them into a tight huddle in the middle of the village. The villager's homes were beginning to catch on fire. Children were squeezing their mother's hands, tears streaming down their faces, clearly frightened. Wives were clutching their children and husbands, whilst the husbands shouted at Kimiko, waving their fists at her. The elderly villagers were also shouting, but some were glancing around, terrified. It was clear that the villagers were all terrified.

Kimiko stood dominantly over the village, looking down upon their pitiful faces.

"Please! Why are you doing this?"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Let us go!"

"You can't do this to us!"

"Who do you think you are?"

The villagers screamed at her, but Kimiko stared at them. She waited patiently, as Chase would have done, for them to fall silent. Her chest felt hollow, as if the once caring heart she had once cherished had rotted and died, along with everything good she had ever known.

"You all live under Chase Young's rule now. You will come with me to his home, where you will then have further instruction." Kimiko spoke softly, but somehow, her voice carried over the noise of the flames cracking. Kimiko folded her arms. The women and children in the village began to tremble slightly.

"What makes you think we're going to follow you or this 'Chase'?" A mans voice shouted at her. A young male villager had stepped forwards and was shouting at, waving his arm. His wife was clutching a tiny baby in one arm and reached out towards him, attempting to pull him back by his shoulder and eyeing Chase's jungle cats nervously.

Kimiko felt a smirk slip onto her face.

"I'm under orders to kill anyone who refuses." She whispered to the villagers. The man stepped back into the huddle without another word.

By this time, most of the huts were up in flames. Their straw roofs had caught fire quickly and all of the villager's homes were slowly being destroyed.

"Will you all come with me? Or will you stay here to die? Make your choice now. There will be no second chances." Kimiko said softly.

The villagers whispered to their loved ones, panic and fear were etched onto their faces. Kimiko raised her arm and created a small gap in the circle of fire, wide enough for a few villagers to pass through. The Cats moved outside of the circle and sat next to the opening.

"I can't hold this gap forever, so I suggest if you want to leave, you'd better make your actions clear."

The villagers scrambled out of the gap, whilst Kimiko held it. To no one's surprise, the circle was empty when Kimiko closed the gap.

"Good. Now, you will all follow me. The jungle cats will kill anyone who attempts to harm them, myself or anyone who tries to escape."

The green dragon, which had been flying low, undercover of the trees surrounding the village, was shaking.

Gibbering to himself in disbelief, Dojo soared back to the Temple as fast as he could. The monks needed to know what had become of Kimiko.

Kimiko slid down the hill and began to walk back towards Chase's home. The villagers followed her like lost sheep. They were all huddled together, supporting each other; the younger generation were helping the elderly. Children were crying and hugging their panic-stricken mothers, who were pretending that everything was fine so that the children would not be frightened. The men of the village were holding their wives hands supportively, comforting them as much as they possibly could.

There was a loud yell and something large hit Kimiko from behind, knocking her forwards onto her front, winding her.

"No! Jimmy! Get back!" A woman screamed from behind her.

The person flipped Kimiko onto her back and was holding a blade inches from her throat. Before Kimiko could even gasp, there was a blur of orange and black, which flicked across her sight. The being which was on top of her vanished along with the flurry of colours, leaving Kimiko staring at the sky in confusion. There was a growl and the cry of a teenage boy.

Kimiko bolted upright to see what was happening.

"NO!" Shouted the same woman. Kimiko looked at the huddle of villagers and saw one of the village women attempting to break out of the pack. She was struggling in the arms of a muscular man, who was holding her back, begging her to calm down. She was shaking, in fear, or anger? Tears were streaming down her face as she stared behind Kimiko.

Kimiko whipped around and gasped. A tall teenager boy was underneath the powerful paws of a tiger, which was resting its two front paws on the boy's chest, leaving him choking under its massive weight.

With a jolt, Kimiko realised the boy must have leapt and attacked her and was now suffering the penalty. Something inside Kimiko dropped inside Kimiko's chest as she realised the boy was no older than sixteen.

Everything that had been inside Kimiko's mind up until that moment vanished, and all Kimiko wanted to do was help the boy.

They're going to kill him!

The boy groaned and choked. His mother was still screaming for her son.

Regaining her poker face, Kimiko attempted to look expressionless.

"Stop!" Kimiko growled, "I'll deal with him myself."

The tiger growled in the boys face and stepped off him. Instantly, the boys face filled with colour and he choked, clutching his chest.

"Jimmy! Oh! Please! Jimmy!" His mother shouted and attempted to break free from her husbands clutches.

Kimiko walked over to the boy and stood, dominantly over him. She was trying to act as Chase did.

"Take them ahead, I want to deal with him alone. I will catch you up." Kimiko told the jungle cats, who seemed hesitant to leave her alone.

"You heard me! Chase told you to obey my orders as you would his, so I suggest you do so! I will catch you up!" Kimiko shouted at the jungle cats, which suddenly moved as if they were afraid.

The villagers were herded away from Kimiko and the boy and began to disappear in no time.

Jimmy lay on the ground, clutching his aching chest and panting heavily.

"Go on then… kill me… It won't change anything…." He snarled at her, flicking his brown hair from his eyes.

Kimiko knelt down as the villagers disappeared from view, the boys mothers screams could still be heard, even from such a distance.

"I'm not going to kill you, Jimmy…" She paused for a moment and held out her hand to help him up. He hesitated, but took her hand.

"If you do me a favour, I can do you one." She said as she pulled him to his feet.

"How do I know that you aren't just going to kill me?" Jimmy asked, staring into her eyes, as if he were trying to read her mind.

"It's complicated." Kimiko said softly.

"If you aren't going to kill me, what do you want from me? I'm not going to live under this 'Chase' person. I refuse."

Kimiko grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

"Listen, if Chase wants you to serve him badly enough, my god, you will. How do you think I ended up here? He will blackmail you, or trick you. Either way, you'll end up serving him whether you like it or not. Either that, or you'll be dead." Kimiko warned.

Jimmy widened his eyes.

"You mean, you don't work for him?"

"No. Well, yes, I do, but not out of choice. Well, it was my choice - but I didn't. I mean-" Jimmy raised his eyebrows.

"He made me choose between him or my friends life…. I had to save my friend." Kimiko purposely blocked out Raimundo's name and the image of him. Thinking of them all would only bring her more grief.

"What will Chase do with the villagers?" Jimmy asked quietly.

"I don't know. It's probable they may all be forced to work for him in his home, or they may become his people."

"So they won't be killed?" Jimmy asked with hope in his brown eyes.

"I do not believe they will." Kimiko patted his shoulder reassuringly. He nodded at looked at the floor for a moment. Kimiko seized the opportunity.

"Listen Jimmy, we don't have much time before they come back. I just saved your life. Now I want you to do something for me…" Kimiko asked him. "It's very important that you do this. If you do this right, I can try and set your village free from Chase's home. I can't guarantee anything, but it's worth a shot." Kimiko stared at Jimmy's face.

"Okay, anything to save my family. What do you want me to do?" Jimmy looked determined.

"Alright," Kimiko smiled, "I want you to travel in that direction. It's a long way, but you'll know when you're nearly there. This area is really mountainous and there is a burnt forest and a burnt building there." Kimiko swallowed guiltily.

"It's vitally important that you find three people. They're called Omi, Clay and Raimundo. They should be there, if not, hang around for a few days. They will find you." The sound of their names made Kimiko's voice break. She had to swallow again to avoid tears.

Jimmy nodded.

"When you find them, I want you to tell them that you have escaped from your village after I burnt it. I want you to lie and say that you managed to escape, and you watched me force them all to follow me to Chase's home. I want you to make me sound as evil as you can, without bending the truth too much. If these guys think I'm evil, they'll take down Chase."

Jimmy looked like he was going to ask a question, but he closed his mouth again. He nodded, as if he understood.

"Can I tell them about this? You asking me to find them?"

"No! They must think that I'm a heartless, evil, deceitful bitch. You have to do this for me. When you've done this, you can return to your village. Maybe start getting the place back together for when your parents come home." Kimiko looked at the floor.

"What's your name?" Jimmy asked her.

"It's better if you don't know it. Now go!" She pushed him away from her.

"Be careful!" She called as she dashed through the tree's, leaving the determined teen behind her.

It took Kimiko fifteen minutes to catch up with her party. The villagers were silent and cowering as she approached. They looked away when she glanced at them, as though her gaze could burn them. The moment Jimmy's mother saw Kimiko return alone she screamed in anguish and huge sobs shook her body. She began calling for her son. Her husband was practically dragging her. She had lost the will to stand.

The jungle cats seemed to believe she had murdered the boy. Kimiko hoped that her facial expressions did not betray her secret as the villagers approached Chase's home.

Chase sat on his throne, smiling to himself. He stroked a tiger softly in between its' ears, which purred.

There was a loud creak as the door to Chase' swung open. Chase was delighted to see Kimiko return with a whole village behind her. He smiled as she approached him.

"I did as ordered." She said and she gave a slight nod towards him.

"You have done well. Were there any issues?" Chase was smiling like a proud parent, as the villagers cowered at his feet, under the watch of the jungle cats.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Kimiko smiled.

Chase raised his eyebrows in surprise.

How far she has come.

"You have done better than I expected. You may leave now." Chase nodded respectfully towards the small girl.

Kimiko bowed her head and left the room.

Chase smiled at his newfound followers.

Wuya had been watching Chase's home for a while. She had just watched Kimiko bring a whole village back to Chase's home. Wuya had watched her walk in.

Everything about her had changed. If Wuya hadn't known it was Kimiko, she never would have known. From the way she dressed to the way she walked, everything was different. Her face no longer showed any expression, her clothes were black, she walked with purpose and seemed to move much quieter than she had once done.

Wuya was furious.

It should be me brining home the hordes of people to worship him!

It was a rash decision, but Wuya had made it before she had even considered it. She burst through the doors of Chase's home and stomped up the stairs. Chase was sat in his throne with the group of villagers kneeling at his feet.

"Chase!" Wuya shouted at him, "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

Chase raised his eyebrows at the sudden surprise visitor, but then his face fell when he realised whom it was.

With a sigh, he flicked his hand at the jungle cats, which herded the villagers out of the room.

Chase had never turned down a Xiaolin Showdown and he did not intend to turn down one proposed by Wuya.

"Very well, Wuya. I accept your challenge. What are your terms?" He asked her, standing up and eyeing her closely.

"If you win, I'll leave you alone and I'll never bother you again, but if I win, I want Kimiko… and all of your Shen Gong Wu!" Wuya pointed fiercely at him, flicking her fiery red hair out of her eyes.

"Fine." Chase replied, folding him arms.

"The game is simple. We fight, the person who is defeated loses." Wuya said.

Kimiko had heard shouting at had come to investigate. She stepped through the door into Chase's throne room and froze.

"Wuya…" She raised her eyebrows, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Run along and play with your toys, little girl." Wuya snarled and glared at Chase.

Chase smirked.

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!" Wuya shouted.

There was a rumbling noise and Wuya, Chase and Kimiko were all moved from where they were standing, into a large, circular area in the blink of an eye. Kimiko was used to the magic in Xiaolin Showdowns, but it surprised her immensely to think how much she missed winning Shen Gong Wu.

Kimiko was sat in the stands of the arena. It reminded her of the images of the old coliseums the Romans used to use. Chase and Wuya were in the middle of the arena, both staring at each other.

"GONG YE TAMPAI!" Wuya shouted, before charging headfirst at Chase.