Morning brought sunshine alongside worry. Jiayi leapt down from the cave with Raimundo quickly following, frowning to herself. She had woken to find him sleeping beside her and though she told herself that it was due to him being cold, she had a suspicion that he had ulterior motives. When she reached the ground, she combed through her hair with her fingers to detangle it. "…any idea where we should start…?"

The young monk frowned back at her. "No idea." A shiver ran through him when he saw something bright red in the distance. "Is that-?"

"Oh no." Jiayi cringed at the sight of Wuya emerging from a crevice in the rock wall. The other immortal was shivering, her clothes and hair muddy. "Stalking me again?" she taunted.

"I am not stalking you! What would give you such a ridiculous idea?!" the redhead demanded. She stomped over to them, scowling first at Jiayi and then at Raimundo. "Just what is he doing here?! Didn't you leave alone yesterday?"

The shorter woman took a step back, raising an eyebrow. "You were stalking me?"

"I said I was not stalking you! Wherever you go, Chase Young seems to follow! I'm not looking for you; I'm looking for him! Now tell me where he is!"

"Okay, first let's try to forget how creepy that sounded. I'm here to help Jiayi rescue Jack Spicer," Raimundo explained, brandishing his sword.

"Jack was kidnapped?" Wuya gave them both a frustrated and skeptical look. "How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know that she isn't trying to convert you to the Heylin side?!"

"Kind of the opposite. I was going to try to convert her to the Xiaolin side."

Jiayi stood for a moment, listening to them bicker but overall ignoring what was being said. When she caught the scent of something familiar, she started to sway her hips subconsciously and she glanced over her shoulder. There, in the distance, was a familiar figure. Wait…where's his armor? He's just wearing that black underarmor thing. He doesn't look right. She narrowed her eyes, biting the inside of her cheek. "…if you're looking for Chase Young…he's over there," she quietly stated.

Raimundo turned to follow her gaze and shaded his eyes with a hand. "Something's wrong. He doesn't seem-" The villain was suddenly standing right in front of him, smirking down at the young man. "Hey! Not cool!" He tried to maintain his courage, even as the front of his shirt was grabbed.

"You think you're her little hero?" Chase's smirk fell as his eyes narrowed into a glare that would make any normal person burst into tears. "You're weak."

When she saw the man move to throw Raimundo, she raced to catch him. "Leave him out of this. He has nothing to do with our quarrel," she snarled.

"How foolish do you think I am?"

She smirked and crossed her arms, Raimundo standing at her side now. "Fairly foolish. In fact, I would wager that you're incredibly foolish on top of being an arrogant sociopath." Her sharp amber eyes fixed on his and saw a spark of anger growing there. "Oh? Is that…? I believe it is. Did I leave a scar across your face? It's so faint, but I can still tell…and here you are wearing it like a badge of weakness." Jiayi shoved Raimundo to the ground and twisted quickly to avoid an energy blast aimed at her midsection. "…such a lack of control…" She shook her head, grinning. "Are you always like this…or do I just have some strange affect over you?"

Wuya began to fume at being ignored. When she stormed over to Chase's side, her mouth was twisted into a grimace. "I have been searching everywhere for you! Why is it that every time I see you now, you're pursuing this weak little girl?! What is so special about her?"

"You know she's right…I'm just a weak little girl," Jiayi said, her grin growing and hips swaying. "So just turn your attention elsewhere. Maybe to someone who would appreciate it."

"Weak?" The villain's lips curled into a smirk and his gaze seemed to darken, locked on the amber-eyed young woman. "Clearly, you don't want them to know."

"Know what? She is weak! She's always been weak! Look at her now! Why is she here? She's here to find Jack Spicer!" Wuya argued.

"Hey, what are they talking about?" Raimundo asked, raising himself from the dusty ground. He brushed dirt from his clothes and gave Jiayi a curious look. She appeared strangely ashamed, but tried to mask this with anger. "Jiayi?"

She gritted her teeth, feeling an odd progression of emotions race through her. Humiliation, anger, and finally a spark of madness. Her long, dark blue hair fell to hide the left half of her face as she tilted her head, the corners of her mouth drawing back into a horrifying grin. "I need to find Jack." Her voice seemed much louder than usual, but fell short of yelling. The volume caught the attention of the other two immortals as they paused in their argument to look at her. "Now that I have your undivided attention, I'd appreciate an answer to my question. Chase Young. Where is my boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?!" Wuya repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"You're too late." The expression he wore was one of complete satisfaction. "Even if you find him, you will never-" He cut himself off to dodge a blast of energy directed at his face. Seeing the fury in her gaze, his heart began to beat faster. This was what he wanted. What he had expected. Things were going his way now. They would fight and she would be defeated.

When she saw him shift forms and bound off into the canyon, she felt a growl force its way up her throat. "You will not escape me so easily, you arrogant sociopath! I will catch you, I will tear you apart!" Jiayi shifted to her tiger form and raced after him, not caring about those she left behind. What did he do to Jack?! I'll never forgive myself if he's dead! I'll never forgive myself for letting Chase use him this way!

Shift P.O.V

Raimundo looked at Wuya, who seemed irritated and confused by the turn of events. "What are you going to do? Aren't you going to follow him?"

"Do I look like I'm in any shape to do that?!" she snapped. "Go after Jiayi! We both know that's what you want!"

He rummaged around in his bag for the Mantis Flip Coin. "It's not like that."

"Lies." She crossed her arms and squinted at the two figures racing through the canyon. "I don't know what you're thinking, but I know that you like her. I don't care. Go ahead and take her. In fact…" Now she turned to him with a wicked smile. "Perhaps we can make a deal. You do know her alignment right now, don't you?"

"She's neutral."

"She's with Jack. She's on the Heylin side. But you could sway her to the Xiaolin side. I know you could; you probably remind her of him."

"That guy she turned evil for?" Though he hated the idea of being used this way, he was still curious. "You think I remind her of him?"

"I can see it in her eyes. So do me a favor. Sway her to the Xiaolin side so Chase Young will focus on me instead. Wouldn't it be nice? She could stay at the temple with you."

Shift P.O.V

Adrenaline surged through her veins as she pounced on his back. Her claws sank into his sides, her feline forelegs wrapping around his midsection and her body twisting to knock him off-balance. Chase thrashed, nearly throwing her off of him, but her claws sank in deeper. "You…think you can throw me off that easily?" she taunted. "I will never let you go now! Isn't this what you wanted?! You wanted me, right? Well here I am!"

"Not quite the scenario I had hoped for," he said in reply. "Let me fix that."

Jiayi's spine slammed against a rock wall when he threw her. Pain raced through her body, but she could feel her rage overpowering it. Her rounded tiger ears went back, tail swishing angrily back and forth. The man shifted back to his human form and smirked down at her, despite the bleeding gashes on his sides. She was reluctant to change forms as well, but did so for the sake of speaking from a human mouth. "I bet you wish you had worn your armor," she teased. "You look pale…maybe you'll bleed out."

He crouched in front of her, watching the young woman try to back further into the rock wall. "You thought you loved him, didn't you?" Jiayi was silent, staring into his eyes with hatred. "You keep calling me foolish, but I didn't try to fall in love with someone like him. Do you understand now? We belong together."

She lifted a trembling hand, her body beginning to feel the pain again. With a sharp movement, she tangled her fingers in his long black hair, tugging at it once. A low growl started at the back of his throat, his eyes half-closing. A short laugh escaped her and she pulled again. "Freak. Cretin. I don't know why…but you…" Jiayi felt his hand on her throat and froze. Her body slid up the side of the rock wall, his body pressing against hers to trap her there. "You think I'll let you take me?! I could destroy you! I could tear you apart and scatter the pieces around the earth!" she snarled. He isn't wearing his armor so I can actually feel his body heat. This is not a good situation! I never-!

"I could destroy you," Chase countered, his face drawing close to the side of her neck. His hand had shifted to the girl's side, holding her up and feeling each rise and fall of her chest. "But I won't. That would be such a loss. No, I can think of a few other things that could be just as satisfying. If you submit, this can end. If you continue to refuse, I can make things worse."

"You already took away what I loved. How much worse can you make it?" Jiayi yanked at his hair and felt the growl vibrate in his chest, his body pressing closer against hers. The girl began to tremble with nervousness when she felt teeth graze her neck.

"You really loved him? He was pathetic. Weak. I can't imagine what you saw in him."

She smirked and leaned up, bringing her face close to the side of his neck. Her body was shaking now with frantic giggles. "…you…all of you…not one of you could understand…not even attempt to understand…" she murmured. Chase's body went rigid for a moment as he felt something warm and wet trace up the side of his neck to his ear. Coupling this with the way she pulled on his hair, he began to growl lowly in pleasure once more. Jiayi's face turned red when she felt his hips push hard against her own. The friction of his lower half against hers sent jolts of unwanted pleasure through her.

When the young woman pushed him away, he made no move to close in again. Instead, he chose to examine her from a short distance. Jiayi's scarred upper chest and arms were bared, the tattoos on her forearms bold in the bright sunlight. He knew what they meant, but despite their warning, he wanted to get closer. Even the evil grin on her face could not deter him now. "Admit it. You enjoy this. You spent centuries alone, making your medicines. Admit that this is more exciting. You enjoy fighting me. You enjoy the fact that I'm pursuing you."

Her hips swayed back and forth, her eyes locked on him. Chase crossed his arms, confident that she would not run. I won't. I'm not going to run away. If I can't save Jack…I at least want to know where he is. If he isn't alive anymore, he shouldn't have to stay in a place like this. As she opened her mouth to speak, planning to demand that Chase tell her where Jack was, she heard her name being called from overhead. Jiayi tilted her head back and met Raimundo's gaze from where he stood on a ledge. It was several feet above her and he was grinning down at her. "What? Don't think that you can stop me from-!"

"I found Jack! He's alive, but…"

The girl's eyes went wide and she looked from Chase back to Raimundo. The rush of relief quickly overshadowed her anger and she rushed up the side of the canyon to the ledge. Inside, she found something that almost made her want to laugh. Tears ran down her cheeks and she fell to her knees, leaning against the glass sphere that her boyfriend was trapped in. "…are you kidding me…?"

Jack gave her a sheepish smile. "Hey, Jiayi. Sorry about this."

"Don't tell me you went with him willingly," Raimundo spoke up. He walked a circle around the Sphere of Yun, wondering how they would get Jack out of it.

"Do you even…realize how ridiculous this is?! Do you know what I went through to try to save you? I thought he had killed you, Jack! I was going to tear him into little pieces and-!" Jiayi scowled and put a hand to the glass. He put his hand against the other side, frowning guiltily. "Jack…you're such a troublemaker…"

"I never said that I killed him."

Hearing Chase right behind her, the girl's scowl deepened. "Step away…or I'll bite off your hand." To her irritation, he stepped closer. "How cute. You're trying to test me…?"

"Don't touch her." Raimundo put himself between Jiayi and Chase, brandishing the Blade of the Nebula. "I don't know what your plan was, but obviously it failed. She's not going to join you. Now back off."

Chase smirked at this act of bravery. "You're still trying to be her hero. Let me ask you. Does she look like she needs someone to save her? It isn't about that, is it?"

"You don't know what you're saying."

"Of course I do. I've seen the way you look at her. You want to be her hero. You want her to look at you the way that she looks at Jack." He saw a muscle in the boy's jaw twitch. "You want her for yourself. Do you think I'll allow it?" His hand closed around Raimundo's throat and met the younger man's glare with one of his own. "She belongs to me. She was made for me. Do you know what I do to people that try to take what is mine?"

"Put him down." The voice came from the mouth of the cave and held a firm tone to it.

Jiayi looked over her shoulder to see Guan standing there with his spear. He gave her a curious look and she nodded once to confirm that she was alright. Very carefully, she hooked an arm around Raimundo's legs and pulled hard to make him fall beside her. Guan rushed forward to meet Chase, but was sorely disappointed when the villain disappeared. The young woman's eyes were still fixed on Jack, who was watching everything from within the Sphere of Yun. "Alright…um…how do we get him out of this? Is there a shen-gon-wu that we use or-?"

"First things first. How are we going to get him out of this cave? Is this thing going to fit through the opening?" Raimundo glanced at the cave mouth and pondered whether or not they should leave Jack there while they figure out what to do. "Hey, how did Guan know to come here?"