Consciousness rushed to her quickly, forcing Jiayi to sit up on the mattress and stare around the room in alarm. Oh…right. She ran her fingers through her long, dark hair and sighed. I'm with him. This is a house. Her mouth turned down at the corners, looking around the dark bedroom again. Something felt a bit 'off' about it, but she was unable to place what it was. Jack was asleep beside her, quietly drooling onto his pillow and unaware of her disturbance.

Shivering, she moved beneath the blankets again and put her back to him. He radiated warmth in a pleasant way that she was unfamiliar with. Even before the change, Jiayi had not been close to too many people. I did sleep next to someone once, she recalled. Him. We were gathering roots and herbs, but it started to rain. He kept close to me to keep me warm that night…because he thought I would get sick. She blushed and burrowed deeper beneath the blankets. I just…I need to stop thinking about him. How disappointed he'll be if he sees me with Jack. If he knows what I'm doing. He could never understand…

The second time that Jiayi woke, it was to the sound of Jack's alarm going off. She smirked when he jolted off of the bed, tumbling onto the floor, and she reached over to turn off the alarm. "…sleep well…?" she asked, peering at him over the edge of the bed.

The redhead blushed and rubbed the back of his head. He had never actually slept next to a girl before. Even though this girl happened to be a centuries-old immortal, it made no difference to his adolescent brain. "How did you sleep?"

"Well enough." She got out of bed and stretched for a moment, releasing a quiet sound of pleasure. "I'll make breakfast…get the directions ready."

"Directions? I could lead you there with my eyes closed!" he scoffed.

Jiayi pulled her long, wavy hair into a ponytail and made her way to the kitchen. It was a sizeable house that he typically shared with his parents, but they seemed to be abroad when she arrived. The kitchen was well-stocked at least and allowed her to make a decent breakfast for them. When they finished eating, she followed him outside to begin their quest.

It was a long journey to the temple, but when they did reach it, she was impressed. The Xiaolin Temple grounds were beautiful and clean. Of course, it had been quite some time since she set foot on temple grounds. "…this is it…?"

"Yeah. Here, I brought a map." Jack crouched down at the side of the road, unfolding what seemed to be a hand-drawn map, and pointed at one building. "This is where they keep the shen-gon-wu. It'll be easier since there are two of us. One of us can distract them and the other can grab the shen-gon-wu."

"Right…so…?"

"You're the distraction. They've never seen you before, right?" He saw her nod. "Then it works out perfectly! Just go in and strike up a conversation with them."

This plan…has many holes. I would point them out, but I'm curious to see if this will actually work. Of course, I have nothing to lose. Not really. She simply nodded and tucked her hands into her jeans pockets before strolling toward the temple. Many thoughts passed through her mind. Jiayi thought of her friend. The immortal man that she had not seen in quite some time. She wondered just how he would react to seeing her enter temple grounds. About twenty feet onto the grounds, a voice called to her and made her halt.

"Hey! Who are you and what are you doing here?" a male voice called.

The young woman turned and raised an eyebrow. "Hm…can you tell me? I don't quite know where I am," she said. Her amber gaze looked the approaching young man up and down. He was around Jack's age and had brown hair and dark eyes. He was wearing what she vaguely recognized as a monk's training outfit. Though she hated to admit it, he was rather attractive.

The young man had seen her enter the grounds and watched her for a while before calling to her. Her intentions were unclear and when she turned toward him, he stopped in his tracks. The first thing he noticed was that she was sort of short. Five feet and four inches, perhaps. Next was her beauty. Her skin was moon pale and her hair was the dark color of a stormy sky. The eyes that met his sparkled a sharp amber like fire. "You're at the Xiaolin Temple," he finally answered. "Where did you come from? Are you a tourist or something?" He looked down at her tattered jeans and tank top, knowing she had not come from the village.

"Tourist…? You could say that." Jiayi started toward him, half-grinning. He is quite attractive. A monk though. Xiaolin monk. Too much trouble. Forbidden romance…it's become outdated by this point, I'm sure. She hated that her cheeks were heating with a blush.

"You have a name?" He raised an eyebrow and tried to maintain his composure, but could not hide his alarm at her appearance. She had scars along her arms and upper chest, dark symbols tattooed on her forearms. Despite her best efforts to seem tough, she was coming across as being adorable. "I'm Raimundo." The monk held out a hand for her to shake and was amazed at how dainty her hand was.

"…Jiayi Xun…"

"So what brings you out into the middle of nowhere?"

"Hm…I make medicines…for the village," she answered quietly. Her eyes were directed to the three figure approaching from behind him. "…friends of yours…?"

"Oh!" He turned to the others, grinning. "Guys, this is Jiayi. She's looking for medicine ingredients, right?" He saw her nod once.

Introductions were given and Jiayi started talking to them about medicines. She nearly forgot about Jack and when she did remember him, she nearly bolted from the temple. "Sorry…I need to leave…" she apologized.

"What? You haven't been here that long," Kimiko argued.

"Yes, but…I have some things…I'm sorry." She bowed slightly. "It's been nice…meeting all of you…"

"Maybe next time you can teach us how to make some of the medicines," Clay suggested.

Jiayi had to smile. Besides her immortal friend, no one else had ever really shown an interest in her medicines. "That…would be nice." She walked casually off of the temple grounds and then ran when she saw Jack waiting for her down the road with a large sack slung over his shoulder. "So…what did you get?"

"Uh…well you distracted them for so long that I took everything," he admitted.

"Everything?! Jack…they're not bad…"

"They're the enemy, Jiayi!"

"Still…they were kind to me…you should put some back…" She turned toward the temple and froze, eyes going wide. Who is that?! How did they get so close? I didn't even hear them! Standing just a few feet away was a man in armor with long black hair. Jiayi stayed frozen in place, as if her lack of movement would make her invisible. He was watching them with narrowed eyes that made her heart skip a beat. Why is he staring at us like that?

Jack followed her gaze and fought to hide his surprise. "Oh! H-hey, C.Y.! What brings you here?" he tried to greet the man cheerfully.

The young woman's heart raced as the man strode toward them, her eyes never leaving him. I didn't sense him, but I can feel it. He's not like Jack or the people I met today. He's…like me. He's immortal. She shivered when he stepped past her to approach Jack and finally moved when he was out of her line of sight. Her hands had begun to shake so she shoved them into her pockets. Who is he? What does he want? He knows Jack. Maybe he's going to ask for some shen-gon-wu. That's fine. Just ask, take them, and leave.

"Who is your new acquaintance?"

The man's voice sent chills down her spine, but she refused to let her fear show. She bit the inside of her cheek, hoping that his attention would quickly be drawn elsewhere.

"Xun," Jack replied, remembering that it was the name Wuya had called her. "We were just getting some shen-gon-wu and leaving so-" He winced when the man, his idol, turned to look at the girl. Jack looked as well and could instantly feel her unease. "We need to get going, right, Xun?"

"…that's right…" Jiayi would have winced. The man moved toward her at an inhuman speed and was suddenly inches away, staring down at her. "You are…?"

"You've never heard of me." His voice held amusement, which was reflected in his eyes and smirk. "I'm surprised. You're working with him and he hasn't mentioned me?"

The corner of her mouth lifted ever so slightly and she tilted her head. "…not a word…"

Jack awkwardly approached the two, unsettled by how close they were suddenly. "Xun, this is Chase Young. Chase, this is Xun. We need to go so-"

"Where-?"

"Jack…I believe we should be going," she announced. Jiayi stepped around the armored man and grabbed Jack's hand to start leading him away. I want to run. Every instinct is telling me to run and hide, but if I do that…he'll know for sure. What if he already knows? What if he could tell right away that I'm…different?

Thankfully, Jack started to run and forced her to run alongside him. He had known her for a very short time, but he already knew one thing for certain. He did not like to see her so anxious. She almost seemed fearful and it made him wonder about her past experience with immortals. The redhead waited until they were back at his lair before confronting her about it. "So what exactly happened in the past? Why are you so nervous around your own kind? You're strong, right? Couldn't you fight him if you had to?"

"…I could…but I don't want to," she answered. "What happened…it occurred a long time ago. Shortly after I became this way." Jiayi perched on a chair beside Jack in the laboratory and watched him unload his haul from the bag.

"Why did you do it? And you drank Lao Mang Lone Soup, right? But…you're not exactly evil. Chase drank it and he turned evil."

She bowed her head, absently biting at a fingernail. "I was…initially. You know, Jack. I…tried to take over Europe and Asia…soon after becoming immortal." Strands of her long, wavy hair fell over half of her face. "The frivolous reason…for becoming this way…it was love. I fell in love…with someone extraordinary. But he had no interest. So…when I was approached with the opportunity…I took it. I planned something grand…to get his attention. Because if I did something terrible, he would have no choice, right? He would…be forced to face me. To stop me." The memory brought tears to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Instead, she watched Jack sort through the shen-gon-wu and ignored the way he watched her from the corner of his eye. "I got his attention…and he was furious. I was defeated. When he turned his back on me…for the final time…I regretted immortality and wanted death. Someone stepped in though. Told me I could make up for my misdeeds by learning medicines. To this day…I don't know what he sees in me…"

"Wait, what? Who told you to learn medicine?"

She shook her head, running fingers through her hair to pull it away from her face. "Just…a friend. He's been my friend for a long time. He always finds me when he knows I need someone." Jiayi met Jack's curious gaze with a pained look. "…are you disappointed…?"

"No way! I can understand why you did it. The guy you liked must have been pretty special though." He slid a shen-gon-wu to her and grinned. "This one suits you the best. The Lunar Locket. Go ahead and put it on."

The young woman accepted it from him and raised an eyebrow. It was a beautiful artifact, however strange its power, and she quickly fixed it around her neck. "…you're not just giving me this because I'm female…?"

He snickered. "That's only part of it. It does look good on you." Her story made him feel slightly disappointed. In truth, he really had been hoping for a more interesting reason for her turning evil. The story she told was a sad one and he was certain that the man she had loved was long dead. He was just glad that she was here now, with him. They could accomplish a lot. He had yet to even see a preview of her abilities. "So the reason you avoid immortals?"

"…right…well, I've just had so many run-ins with Wuya…it makes me wary of other immortals," she replied. "Are they all so arrogant?"

Again, he laughed. "Pretty much. You're the nicest one I've met so far."

You haven't met him then, have you? Jiayi slouched in her seat and looked over the other shen-gon-wu. "So…that one today…"

"Chase Young. The prince of darkness. The master of all evil. He's my idol!" Seeing her look of confusion, and possibly disgust, Jack frowned. "I mean, he's great."

"…sort of seems…cold…far from human…"

"That's what's great about him! He's completely evil!"

Jiayi shifted in her seat, crossing her arms. "Jack…there's such thing as a polite villain. Why do you idolize someone like him…?"

"You don't think he's great?" He saw her shake her head. "This is getting awkward. Well, he's really powerful! You have to admit that! I mean, you should have the same abilities since you both drank the soup, right? So you would know better than anyone!"

"…I suppose…but I still have manners…" She stood and stretched her arms over her head, listening to her joints pop. "I'm going to make dinner…will you be done soon?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to catalog these first." Jack started drawing a new chart, but paused when he felt that something was 'off'. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jiayi going upstairs, her back to him. Turning back to his task, he felt a chill run down his spine. The young man felt as though he was being watched.

Jack tried to focus on his work, but the sensation persisted. He looked over his shoulder often, though this proved a fruitless effort. There was no one in the basement with him. He could hear sounds in the kitchen above, proving that Jiayi had already set about making their dinner. Recalling that she had an immortal friend that watched over her, he started to wonder if it was him. This was followed by the question of whether or not this friend would try to take her back to the Xiaolin side. Whether or not this friend had followed them and was now in the basement with him, watching him, waiting for an opportunity to take him down and whisk Jiayi back to the forest. When she called down to him that their meal was ready, he was more than happy to run upstairs to join her.