Are you kidding me? This can't be real. Jiayi was sitting up in bed, staring at the spot where Jack would usually be asleep. In his place was a note. She lifted it with hands that began to tremble with rage. Are you kidding me?! The girl grabbed the phone that he had given her a few weeks ago and scrolled to his number, trying to call him. There was no answer. Quietly cursing, she contemplated calling Kimiko, but decided against it. I should handle this myself. But what kind of stupid-?! Jiayi found a pair of black jeans and a black tank top, grimacing as she dressed. When her boots were on, as well as a dark hooded jacket, she went outside.
Jiayi knew where she had to go to find Jack, but shortly after stepping out into the morning light, she began to wonder if she should get help from the monks. Pulling out her phone again, she growled quietly and called Kimiko. "…hey…"
"Jiayi? Hey! What's up? Are you coming by the temple today?" the girl greeted her.
She started to walk down the road, eyes lifting to examine the cloudless blue sky. "No…maybe…I have a problem."
"What kind of problem? Is Jack trying to pressure you or something?"
The immortal snorted. "Well he is part of the problem…but not in that way. He's been kidnapped." She winced when Kimiko started to laugh. "Yeah…I know how it sounds, but…"
"So do they want a ransom or what?"
Why did I think this was a good idea? Shaking her head, Jiayi released a sigh. "No. Just…can you send Guan to look for me…if I haven't called you by tomorrow morning?" The call ended and she shoved the phone back into her pocket. I should have known better. Why would they want to help me rescue a villain? They don't get it. None of them do and I can understand why, given their past with Jack. She located the note and looked at it once more. It read "You will find what you seek in the Land of Nowhere". Fortunately, she knew where that was. She had trained there in the distant past and once even followed her first love through the Land of Nowhere. Though she had no desire to go there, knowing that this was trap of some sort, she could never abandon Jack.
Running managed to bring her there within a couple of hours and soon she was standing at the border, glaring out at the wasteland. The only things that inhabited these lands were monsters that most mortals could never hope to escape from. There was very little to look at besides desert and rock formations. She put up the hood of her jacket and shaded her eyes for a moment to scan the area for signs of her human companion. I'm pretty sure he didn't go willingly. He wouldn't have wanted to leave me without saying something first. Jiayi started forward, half-closing her eyes to focus on all of her other senses.
The air smelled of nothing but heat and bone. The sun warmed her at a barely tolerable level. She heard the wind howl as it rushed past her in gusts. What she hated was that she was unable to sense his presence. I can sense Guan and every other immortal, but not Jack. Why? She fidgeted with the Lunar Locket and frowned as she continued on into the Land of Nowhere.
Though she wanted desperately to simply run through the lands in search of him, she feared that she might miss some detail that would tell her his location. Jiayi moved at a normal human pace, scouring the land for any signs of Jack. Everything seemed to be almost the same shade of brown and it irked her. It began to feel like she was losing her mind after a certain period of time. It was silent except for the wind and the occasional distant shrieks of some forlorn beast. It all made her feel very uneasy.
When she reached the Canyon of Doom and Agony, Jiayi stared at the rocky structures with annoyance clear in her sharp amber eyes. "…are you kidding me…?" she muttered for the third time that day. The structures were moving and froze when they heard her speak. She crossed her arms, staring them down as they stared back at her. "We can do this…the easy way or the hard way. Up to you." A few rushed toward her and she smirked. "Alright…sounds fun." She planted her hands on the first one's shoulders and flipped over its body to kick the head clean off of the one behind it. Turning, she quickly punched through the first one's chest and twisted out of the third creature's grasp. What is it doing? Did it just…try to grab me?
It came at her again and again, each time making her twirl just beyond its reach. Finally, it released a roar and lowered its head to rush the girl. She grinned and jumped up to land on its shoulders. While it flailed its arms in panic, she brought her hands together and smashed them down upon the top of its head, sending little bits of rock scattering everywhere. It fell to its knees and she leapt down to send her fist through its chest. When it lay unmoving on the ground, she turned her attention back to the others. They remained frozen in place, but watched closely as the girl walked past them.
Crossing the Canyon of Doom and Agony proved easier than the last time she had visited it. Few creatures approached her after the first display of ferocity so she was able to take her time and continue her search. At the end of the canyon, she felt nothing but disappointment. She soon found herself standing at the border of the Boneyard. Her eyes narrowed again and she checked her phone for new messages or missed calls. "…nothing…seriously?"
"It seems I overestimated you. I thought you would arrive sooner."
She looked up from the phone and scowled at the man standing a few feet in front of her. "Chase Young…of course it was you." Tucking her phone into her pocket, she sneered at his look of amusement. "Where is my boyfriend? If you killed him-"
He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Boyfriend? Do you really think he sees you as an equal?" The man turned and started to walk further into the Boneyard, forcing her to follow him. "I don't know what you see in him. He's weak."
"Funny…I was thinking the same about you. At least Jack doesn't need to go to such lengths to get my attention." She saw him tense and half-grinned. "Oh…I'm sorry. Did I bruise your ego?" Jiayi dodged his grasp when he was suddenly right in front of, grabbing for her arm. She took several steps back as he followed until her back slammed against the trunk of a dead tree. His hands gripped her shoulders tightly, their eyes meeting.
"You should know that it's a bad idea to taunt me."
She snapped at his face with her teeth, smirking when he pulled away a few inches. "What are you going to do…? You still think…that you can dominate me…? Is that what this is about? You should know that it's a bad idea to try to enslave another immortal. I would have all of eternity to slowly torment you to the brink of insanity."
Chase smirked back at her. "You think that is what this is about? Enslavement? You couldn't be more wrong."
The girl snickered and leaned toward his face, raising an eyebrow. "So…what then? You don't want to be my master?" To her horror, he drew closer to her.
"I intend to be your king." A hand shifted from her shoulder to grip her chin firmly, ensuring that she would be forced to meet his gaze. "I intend to take over this world with you at my side, watching everything burn to the ground." His lips pressed against hers in a rough, heated kiss.
Jiayi could feel her face turning red. Her small, pale hands went to his shoulders and held on tightly to steady herself as she quickly wedged a knee between his chest and hers. With a strong kick, she managed to push him away just enough to slip out of his grip and sprint off. When she turned back to him, she saw him lick his lips and raise an eyebrow. He looks like a predator. The corner of her mouth lifted and she felt her bones begin to shift. I'll show him a predator!
Chase dodged the large, dark blue tiger that had launched herself at him and shifted forms as he did so. Even her beastly form was beautiful, in a strange sort of way. He felt his tail twitch, watching her scrape her claws over the dry earth. The shen-gon-wu around her neck looked very much like a collar in this moment, the locket itself shining brightly against her dark fur. "If you submit, this will be easier for both of us," he growled. "You know that you want to rule at my side. You want to see them suffer. All of those villagers that fear you for no reason. You would never hurt them, but they can never put the thought out of their minds that you could kill them."
"…you know what…? I really don't care…what they think of me. Now why don't you tell me where my boyfriend is so I can leave this pathetic excuse for a domain?"
He charged forward and was mildly surprised when she followed suit, meeting him halfway in a clash of fur, scales, claws, and teeth. It felt exhilarating; their bodies rolling together over the ground as they fought and snarled. Almost intimately. The fight itself felt nothing like a battle. Chase found pleasure in the feeling of her sharp teeth against his neck, her claws frantically trying to break through his scaled flesh. When they parted, he watched her closely and felt a pleasant shiver run down his spine as blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. "Are you ready to give in and accept your destiny?"
Jiayi's tail swished back and forth anxiously, her eyes narrowed upon him. Her tongue darted out to lick up the blood, not entirely sure who it belonged to. Both of them were slightly battered; bruised and bleeding from their fight. She shifted forms again and, breathing hard, tossed her jacket aside. Now all of her scars and tattoos were on display. It immediately drew his attention and she took the opportunity to rush him.
The large, reptilian body skidded back in the dry earth when her fist connected with his face. It was humiliating. As he shifted back to a human body, he became determined to not let her take him by surprise again. When she darted back and away from him, he smirked in satisfaction. She still knew that he was strong, at least. "Do you ever want to see him again?" He could feel blood running down the side of his face and soaking into his left side. It went mostly ignored, choosing instead to view these injuries as tokens of her affection.
Her right eye twitched and her hips began to sway ever so slightly. "Where is Jack?" Like Chase, she was aware of her injuries. Unlike him, she did not view them as tokens of affection. She knew them to be his way of trying to weak her so she would be forced to submit. There were gashes in her right leg, a bite wound on her shoulder that was steadily oozing blood, and various bruises that bloomed all over her body like dark flowers on her pale skin.
The fact that she was standing, despite all of her injuries, did not escape him. Crossing his arms, he smirked. "I had hoped that we could have dinner," he started. "But it seems that someone supplied you with your dose of Lao Mang Lone Soup. It was Guan, wasn't it? He certainly does enjoy catering to your every need, doesn't he? I wonder why that is. You must be so special to him. He hid you from me for centuries and watched over you, didn't he? Have you ever wondered why that is?"
"Leave him out of this!" she snarled. "This…is not about Guan! This is about you telling me where my boyfriend is. Now tell me where Jack is or I'll-!"
"What will you do? Let me rephrase that. What can you do? We're almost evenly matched. Do you know why?" Chase started to walk toward her now, his smirk growing. "We're the same. You can no longer deny that we're the same. Who better to rule over a broken world than the two of us? Who better to spend eternity with than someone that will understand you? Someone that is just like you and will love every side of you?" He had reached her now and did not even flinch when she struck him across the face. Staring down at her, he felt his pulse speed up drastically. She was glaring up at him in defiance and it made him want to do something wicked to make her submit.
"You…think we're evenly matched?" She was suddenly several feet away, crouched on the ground and smirking. "…you haven't seen everything I can do…"
He watched her lift a hand, a bright blue flame engulfing her hand. When it was thrown at him, he dodged it and was faintly alarmed when she hurled another and it struck him square in the chest. Chase gritted his teeth and skidded a few feet back, more annoyed than injured. "Everything you can do, I can do."
Jiayi barely had time to dodge the green energy blast and grimaced. Lightning cracked in the sky above her and she darted toward him. Chase stepped back quickly, avoiding her strikes and countering with his own. She avoided his strikes as well and the lightning above seemed to grow fiercer. The sky was becoming dangerously dark. They moved across the dry earth in a violent sort of waltz almost, striking back and forth. She did not want to admit that he could be right. That they could be evenly matched. That they could be perfect together. It was too frightening to think like that. Besides, she had to focus. Even if she was able to hit him once or twice, it was not guaranteed that she could do it again. Another blast of blue flame was launched, this time at his face, and he countered with an energy blast to her ribs.
Her eyes went wide and she froze for a moment, clutching her undoubtedly bruised ribcage. Scowling, she felt his hand clutch her wrist and send her body flying a few feet away to slam against a dead tree. "Ngh! You…you're insane!" she shouted at him. He was suddenly crouched at her side, fingers tangled in her long, dark blue hair. "Don't touch me!"
"Do you think it wise to speak to me that way? I'm the only one that knows where your boyfriend is. Maybe you don't really care. Maybe you're better off without him," he taunted.
"Where is he?! Tell me where he is or I'll-!" She winced, feeling him tug at her hair.
"Do I need to teach you manners? I think a queen should show her king a little more respect than this. Don't you think so?" He dragged her face up so that she was forced to look him in the eye. Her hands were on his chest, trying desperately to push him away. "Jiayi. Don't you agree with me?"
She felt weak, being held by her hair and stared down like cornered prey. "I…ngh! Just…please…tell me where he is."
Chase tilted his head, a cruel smirk taking form on his face. "I think you're better off without him. He's below us. You could do without the distraction." He wrapped an arm around her, just beneath her arms, and dragged her closer to him. "If you agree to join me, I could still let him live. But you would never see him again." The man leaned down to the side of her neck, his mouth brushing over her pale skin as he kissed a trail down to her injured shoulder and then moving toward her throat.
"Blade of the Nebula!" A powerful gust of wind stirred up the loose dirt around them and gave Jiayi enough cover to quickly strike Chase and dart away from him. Raimundo grinned when he saw her emerge from the dirt cloud and was glad when she rushed to his side. "I heard you were having trouble with Jack so I had Kimiko track your phone. Why didn't you ask for help? We would've come here with you!"
"This…isn't over," she quietly stated. Her eyes were on the spot where Chase had been standing before the interruption. He had vanished without a trace.