A/N: Firstly, before anything else, I want to apologize greatly for the horrible delay in this update. I've been dealing with the last couple months of school and I've had TERRIBLE writer's block... XP I could just never sit down and write like I usually can. But school is now officially over, so I should have more time to write and hopefully I cleared out my writer's block a bit with this writing session I just finished up. So, again, terribly sorry for the long wait, but I hope it was worth it with this chapter! Oh, and my apologies for the corny chapter title. I couldn't think of anything better. XD

3. Mysterious 'J'eff

When the monks touched down at the temple after their encounter with their evil sides, they all failed to notice one certain redhead flying away towards the mountains. When he was just about to fly out of sight of the temple, Jack turned his head back around to peer down at the tiny monks and their dragon. A small smile came to his lips as he clutched the stolen Shen Gong Wu closer to his chest, and then he turned and continued through the sky.

"So what do we do?" Kimiko asked as she and her team entered the temple kitchen. "The Yin-Yang Divider is in the hands of Chase Young. I hope I'm not the only one who's worried about that."

"Don't worry, you're not," Raimundo replied, pulling out a seat at the table and plopping himself down in it. He bent forward and rested his forehead against the surface of the table, his eyes closed, while Kimiko and Omi also took a couple chairs at the table and Clay began preparing himself a sandwich.

"What are we to do?" Omi asked, raising his arms in a questioning shrug.

"Good question," Kimiko sighed, folding her arms on top of the table and resting her chin on top of them. "No doubt Chase won't let that Wu even be removed from his hand. It's way too powerful."

"Perhaps we should invade his living quarters and catch his guards while they are off," Omi suggested, his eyes sparkling as he imagined the plan taking action. Of course, he would be the one to retrieve the Shen Gong Wu, as the others would not be nearly as capable of such a task as he. He smiled to himself, placing his hands on his hips in pride.

"Catch him off guard," Rai muttered without lifting his head. Omi's eyebrows lifted in confusion.

"…that does not even make any sense," he commented as Clay set a large sandwich down on the table and pulled a chair out for himself.

"Neither did what you said, li'l buddy," the cowboy told him, picking up his sandwich and chomping off a huge bite.

"And anyway," Kimiko cut in, "since when is Chase Young ever off his guard? I'm pretty sure trying to sneak into his lair would be a lost cause, no matter how you look at it."

"Then let us find the cause," Omi said, standing up on his chair. "This Shen Gong Wu is very important to have at the Xiaolin temple!"

"It's not just the Shen Gong Wu that has me concerned," Rai piped up, slowly but finally lifting his head back up. All eyes were on him as his fellow monks waited for him to explain himself. "You guys heard him earlier. He's obviously planning something and it's obviously not anything good. Yes, I'm worried about the Wu being in his clutches, but what really gets at my nerves is all the possible things that he may be planning to do with it now." Everyone was silent as Rai's words sunk in, and Clay awkwardly swallowed the bite of sandwich he had in his mouth. "I know it's not potentially the most dangerous Shen Gong Wu out there," Rai continued, "but it can, no doubt, do some potentially dangerous stuff. As can Chase Young's screwed up mind."

"So what d'ya reckon we do?" Clay asked, licking his fingers.

"Not entirely sure," Rai responded. "I think I'm gonna go meditate – I'm not really all that hungry. You guys help yourselves."

With that, the Shoku Warrior pushed himself away from the table and exited the kitchen, making his way towards the part of the temple where their individual cubicles were located. He pushed the curtain at the front of his cubicle to the side, and then pulled it closed again once he was inside. He started to sit down on his mat, but noticed a folded up piece of paper there. Kneeling down softly, Rai hesitantly poked the piece of paper. When nothing happened, the Brazilian shrugged and picked the paper up. He turned it over and over in his hands, looking for any sort of identification, but found nothing of the sort. After quickly looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was standing behind him, Raimundo quietly unfolded the piece of paper and read its contents. In a very messy scrawl, it read:

Raimundo,
Chase Young has something horrible planned.
Well, I don't exactly know what it is yet,
since he doesn't know yet either, but trust me
when I say that it's not gonna be good.
Especially for you.
~ J

Raimundo felt his eyebrow rise in confusion. 'J'? Who the hell was that? And how had they gotten a note into Raimundo's cubicle? The Shoku Warrior had never liked dealing with puzzles – why couldn't the pieces just be numbered or something to make things easier for everyone? It couldn't be Spicer… why would he leave a warning message in the Xiaolin temple?

Rai crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it back behind the trunk at the head of his cubicle, disregarding it completely. Not like it contained any earth-shattering information anyway; he already knew that whatever Chase Young was planning wasn't going to be good. It never was. The only part of the message that had the monk slightly disturbed was the 'Especially for you' bit at the end. What exactly was that supposed to mean?

Shaking his head, Raimundo crossed his legs and closed his eyes, trying to become numb and succumb to his thoughts. Although he was a total action guy, he found meditating very relaxing and rewarding, and soon he found himself disconnected from the real world and immersed entirely in his mind.

Chase Young was not happy. Granted, he hardly ever was, but Jack Spicer just had a special talent of being able to totally piss the shape shifting prince of darkness completely off.

"Why, in the great name of all that is evil, did you only take the Third Arm Sash, Reversing Mirror, and Serpent's Tail?" Chase asked as Jack set the said Shen Gong Wu down in his designated corner of the lair. The redhead turned to face Chase, an innocent expression on his face.

"Cuz that's all I wanted," he answered easily.

"And why is that?" Chase inquired suspiciously.

"Um… just… because?" Jack found it rather annoying how Chase couldn't just take a simple answer and accept it as the truth. There always had to be something more to a person's motives in Chase Young's eyes. Nothing was ever simple.

"You are getting on my last nerve, Spicer," Chase warned the redhead, quickly coming face to face with him. Their noses were almost touching, they were so close. "I'd advise you not to make me any angrier than you have already. There's obviously some sort of motive behind why you only stole these three specific Shen Gong Wu from the Xiaolin temple, and, although I'm sure it is far beyond an idiotic one, I am ordering you to tell me what that motive is."

Jack grinned. "I seriously don't have any motive behind it," he answered truthfully. "I didn't have my bag with me so I just grabbed what I could and got out of there before the monks could catch me."

Chase growled, grabbing the collar of Jack's long, black trench coat and easily lifting him into the air. "I am not surprised by your failure, Spicer, but I expected something at least a little more impressive."

"Your expectations are much too high," Wuya commented in passing.

"I agree with her," Jack said. Chase growled again and was about to throw Jack across the room when an unfamiliar voice spoke up. All three heads turned towards where the voice had come from, and six eyebrows rose in confusion.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I'd like to have a word if I could," the lean boy requested. Short, spiky black hair sat atop his head, his bright blue eyes had dark shadows underneath them, his skin was on the tanner side but with a deeper yellowish hint to it, and he wore a dark red short-sleeved shirt with a darker wash of khaki shorts. He wore no shoes and didn't look to feel uncomfortable about it.

Chase tossed Jack carelessly to the floor, where he landed with a quiet thud. "And who exactly are you?" the shape shifter asked, taking a step towards the new arrival. The boy smirked.

"I might be willing to reveal my identity to you if you hear what I've come to say to you," he bartered darkly, raising an eyebrow almost in expectancy. Chase stood still for a moment, merely staring over at the strange young man, and Jack quietly pushed himself back to his feet. The redhead's eyes were also on the mysterious new arrival, and he was full of confusion. Who did this guy think he was, just barging into the prince of darkness' evil lair and expecting them all to give him their sudden attention?

"I will hear what you have to say," Chase finally stated after a moment of silence. "It had better be well worth my time, though."

Another smirk came to the boy's face. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be," he responded. Chase's eye narrowed but he gestured towards a circular stone table with five stone chairs around it. Chase, Jack, Wuya, and the boy each took a chair, leaving one empty, and six eyes rested on the boy, waiting.

"Let's hear it then," Wuya said impatiently after another moment of silence. A small scowl slipped onto the boy's face, but he was quick to get rid of it.

"Chase Young, prince of darkness, I believe you go by, correct?" he started. Chase merely nodded once. "I understand that you've gotten yourself mixed into the lives of the four Chosen Ones at the Xiaolin temple. I will not reveal my sources but I know you've been having a bit of trouble with those Dragons recently."

"Not only 'recently'," Wuya growled. "The little pests have always been difficult little brats, right from the get-go."

"Yes, but I've also noticed that you've taken quite an interest in one of the monks in particular," the boy went on, causing Chase's eyebrows to rise slightly.

"You've now made me curious as to who or what your 'sources' are," the prince of darkness stated, locking eyes with the boy. "How exactly would you know something as confidential as who our sights are set on?"

"You're not exactly the only one with animals that will gather information for you," the boy answered easily, and at that moment a brightly colored parrot flew up to the table and perched lightly on the boy's shoulder. Chase, Wuya, and Jack all immediately jumped to their feet, their eyes all locked on the bird.

"Hannibal Bean!" Chase howled, his eyes furious. The boy sat still, however, completely unfazed by their sudden reaction.

"I'm not entirely sure who that is but this parrot does not belong to him," the boy spoke with assurance. "This little guy has been with me for as long as I can remember and has been helping me gather any useful information I may need."

The tense atmosphere in the room slowly began to dissipate as Jack and Wuya took their seats again. Chase, however, stayed on his feet, putting his hands on top of the table and leaning forward, staring intensely into the boy's eyes on the other side of the table.

"Tell us what exactly it is that you are here for," he demanded darkly.

"I'm here to offer my assistance," the boy merely stated. "I've had my eye on the Xiaolin monks for a little while now, but I've never actually made a move against them until now."

"And why do you wish to 'make a move against them', as you say?" Chase questioned, standing up straight and crossing his arms across his chest. The boy shrugged lightly.

"I know that evil has the power to conquer good, and so I'd really rather be on the team that has more potential of winning," he explained casually.

"More potential," the parrot on his shoulder squawked. Chase felt his lips twitch into a small smile.

"Good answer," he said approvingly. "But tell me why you think the Heylin side has more potential than the Xiaolin to win." The boy threw back his head and let out one loud laugh.

"Ha!" he exploded, the laugh echoing off the walls of Chase's lair. "Well, for one, evil isn't afraid to destroy things or break rules, since we have no rules to break. If you really think about it, it's a lot easier to be on the side of evil since you have no real morals to live by."

"So you wish to help us destroy the Chosen Ones because you believe it'd be easier to do so than to, say, join them?" Chase summed up in a guess, his smirk growing.

"And because it'd be nice to see the looks on their faces when evil actually does take over the world, proving to them that they aren't actually the best."

"Ah, you have issues with power," Chase chuckled.

"I just want to prove to people that I'm not worthless," the boy said angrily. "And I know that that will be easier to do on the side of evil."

Chase's lips were in a full smile now. "You are absolutely correct, my boy," he told him. After a short moment of silence, Chase took his seat again, crossing his right leg over his left, resting his elbows on top of them, and locking his fingers together. He looked the boy in the eyes across the table, his smile still present. "If you really desire to assist us, then it is accepted," he said. "I'm sure you'll be of better use to me than Spicer here." Jack threw a scowl in Chase's direction while the boy chuckled.

"I'm sure I will not disappoint," the boy said, smirking. "Or fail." Chase nodded.

"Failure is not an option," the shape shifter ordered. The boy nodded in full agreement. "Now then… since we have all of that out of the way… would you care to identify yourself to us?"

"Oh, yes," the boy replied, laughing lightly. "My name is Jeffrey, or Jeff."

"I hope the fact that you have a name beginning with the same letter doesn't mean you will be as pathetic as Spicer," Chase said, causing a smirk to come to Wuya's face and smoke to come from Jack's ears. Jeffrey chuckled lightly at Chase's comment.

"I will do my best not to be pathetic at all in your eyes," he said. Chase smiled again.

"Welcome to the Heylin side, then, Jeffrey," the prince of darkness announced, standing up again. Jeffrey smiled as well while standing up, the parrot still on his shoulder.

"Heylin, Heylin!" the parrot repeated. Chase motioned for Jeffrey to come follow him, and Jeff did so. Wuya got to her feet as well and started following the two men up a flight of stairs, leaving Jack alone at the table.

"Let's talk about this… specific monk you seem to think we have an interest in," Chase said to Jeffrey as they climbed the stairs. Another smirk came to the boy's face as Chase said this.

"Yes… let's," he agreed.

Jack watched the three of them reach the top of the stairs and then disappear beyond them. Something about that Jeffrey guy seemed fishy to the redhead, but at the same time, Jack seemed to think that Jeff was much better and easier to work with than Chase or Wuya. Maybe it was a good thing he had come to their doorstep, for multiple reasons.

The evil boy genius returned to his designated corner and sat down, cross-legged, taking his heli-bot off his back and placing it in his lap. He took his tools and began working on the mechanism, hoping to be able to take the slight delay out of the part that released the spinning blades. Out of nowhere, that annoying parrot landed right on top of the teenager's head. Jack released a high-pitched, girlish scream that reverberated throughout Chase's lair, throwing his hands up and swiping at the top of his head. The parrot hopped off his head and landed on the ground in front of him, looking up at his face. Jack groaned.

"What do you want?" he grumbled. The parrot cocked its head to the side.

"What do you want!" it shot right back. Jack rolled his eyes and slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Just… leave me alone."

"Leave me alone!"

"I'm not bugging you! You're bugging me!"

"You're bugging me!"

"No I'm not! Gah!"

"Gaaahhhhh!"

Jack promptly grabbed up his heli-bot and tools, swiveled his body to face the opposite way from the parrot, and then began working on the mechanism again.

"Stupid bird…" he muttered under his breath. Grinding his teeth, he continued his work, hoping that Chase didn't decide to come and give him some stupid errand to run or anything.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" the parrot chanted. Jack groaned again.

A/N: Alrighty, so not really an action-y chapter, but more of a plot-set-up chapter, lol. Think what you will about everything presented to you in this chapter ((the mysterious 'J', our new character Jeffrey, etc.)) but remember that all may not be as it seems. ;) I have got this whole thing so figured out, it makes me excited just talking about it!

But anyway! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Again, I apologize for the long wait, but now that school is out and I seem to have gotten rid of my horrid writer's block updates should be more frequent from here on out. :)

Please, please, please leave me a review! Whether it be short or long, I don't care! I just love feedback! So please leave me some!

(( Claire ))

P.S. ~ I put up a new poll on my profile page! I'd love it if you would go on over and put in a vote! I like to see what my fellow authors/readers are thinking about that specific topic! ;)