"Aren't you Xun's kid?" The voice made her look up, frown, and return her gaze to the horizon. "What was your name? It was something that means luck, right? Jiao or Jia."

"…it's Jiayi…" the fifteen-year-old stated. "And exactly how close are you to him? You call him 'Xun'. That's our family name. If you are going to act familiar, at least use his first name." The snow continued to fall in large flakes, a cold wind blowing around the two. The girl was seated on a boulder at the edge of her family's property, watching her house with irritation.

"Right. I know his name. It's Renshu." He stood there beside her boulder for a long moment, silent. His gaze followed hers to the house and he raised an eyebrow. Though he knew of Renshu Xun's great skill in the creation of weapons and armor, he was unaware that Renshu's daughter was this age. If she were younger or older, it would be much less awkward. "Did you have an argument with them or something?"

Peering up at him through her long black hair, she scowled and bit her thumbnail. "Wh-what do you care? You're just here to see my father, aren't you? Go on. I don't care."

Though he could feel the venom in her words, he did not walk away. Instead, he reached down to pat the top of her head, earning a soft growl from the girl. It made him laugh a little. "I'm not going in without you."

"I said you should go on," she protested. "I'm not going back. Not yet." Jiayi turned to look at him more closely now. "…are you alone today…?"

"Wait. You've seen me before?"

Her glare turned fierce. "I am there every time you visit him."

"You know, you're cute when you're angry." Instantly, her face turned red and she turned away again. "Even cuter when you blush like that."

"Sh-shut up." She felt him ruffle her hair and hated that it felt nice. Truthfully, she was refusing to go into her house in protest of her parents trying to arrange a marriage for her. Many offers had been given by young men throughout the nearby village. She had no desire to change her ways; giving up her freedom, giving up everything that she loved. "…just go already…"

"Fine. I'll go in." The man lifted her over his shoulder easily, making her blush grow vibrant. "If I'm going in, you're going with me. I can't let Renshu's kid freeze to death."

Present day…

Renshu's kid. Was there ever a time he didn't call me that? Yes. The last time I ever saw him. He said my name, but he said it like a curse. Jiayi glanced at her companions. They all knew by this point that Guan would pursue them. Despite this fact, Kimiko and Raimundo remained calm. What if he deems this betrayal? You must be going against his orders. There's no way that he would allow you to help me.

"So we're really going into this completely blind?! We have no idea where he is?" Raimundo finally voiced everyone's thoughts.

"I doubt that he would be anywhere that Guan could easily find him. So he won't be at his lair. He won't return to Jack's. He won't go back to the Land of Nowhere. We need to search where he wouldn't be." Jiayi paused in her steps, contemplating this. "If you were an egotistical maniac, where would you not go?" she asked, looking to her friends.

"Um…maybe the temple?" Kimiko frowned. "I really don't know. Did he ever say anything to you that would help?"

She rubbed the back of her head, frowning back at the girl. "Insane as he is…you really think we've ever had a normal conversation? Does a cat talk with a mouse before it tears out the mouse's throat?" Kimiko shrugged. "Another thing. Just what is your plan? If I change forms…how will you keep up with me? I can't carry both of you."

Raimundo grinned. "I came prepared for that. I brought the Crouching Cougar and some other shen-gon-wu in case we all have to fight him."

"Wait. Did you ride on her back last time?" Kimiko saw them both blush and crossed her arms. "Really? Is it that embarrassing? She was in tiger form!"

"Can we not talk about this?!" Jiayi began to walk faster and frowned. Freezing in place, she listened closely for movement around her, but heard nothing. A glance around showed her nothing. "I can…feel his presence."

"Can you pinpoint it?"

"I don't see him anywhere." The boy squinted at the forest around them.

She held up a hand to silence them and bared a fang. "He's near…"

"He probably won't come out since we're here," Raimundo commented. "Between the three of us, we're stronger than he is."

"…it's not fear…" The immortal girl turned to look at them over her shoulder, amber eyes burning with anger. "Do you really think that he would be deterred by your presence? He would see it as a challenge. No…he has another reason. He must. But what is it…?"

Kimiko looked around warily. "Maybe he's planning another trap?"

"Can you really call that last time a trap? Jiayi knew what he was planning, right? He had to have known she wasn't stupid enough to go without knowing he was behind it." Raimundo brandished the Blade of the Nebula and shifted so his back was to Jiayi. "I don't like this. We should walk in a triangle, back to back so he can't sneak up on us."

Chase Young can move at superhuman speed. Do you really think he won't still be able to sneak up on you? Jiayi's hips swayed side to side in anticipation, still feeling his gaze on her. Kimiko moved to stand with her back to the other two and they began moving further into the forest. Even if we try, we can't really be prepared for this. He's close, which is good. But Guan is getting closer, too. I can feel it. If he reaches us before we find Chase and get the mirror, it might ruin our chances of saving Jack. Chase won't stay here if Guan is here.

"So what's the plan then? If we see him, we rush him?" Kimiko asked. Though she refused to admit it, she was trembling ever so slightly with nervousness. At the back of her mind, she worried about what might happen when Chase did emerge. She had never seen Jiayi fight him. From what Raimundo told her, their battles were fierce.

"Rushing him…sounds so frenzied. No, I think we should develop a plan before he comes into view," Jiayi answered. "Raimundo. You have any ideas?"

He frowned, tightening his hold on his blade's grip. "Well, you're the one he's after. When he does come out, he'll go after you. If you dodge backwards and pull him further down the path, we can attack from both sides. When we attack, you should try to grab him." Raimundo received a disgusted sigh in response. "I know you don't want to get close to him. I don't like the idea of that either, but that's what he wants and he knows that you don't like to be close to him. Getting close to him will throw him off-guard and then you can-"

"I can what? Just what do you think I should do once I get close to him?" she snapped.

"Grab him," Kimiko and Raimundo answered together.

"…it's what he wants…"

"I know that! But it's the best way to keep him in one place long enough for us to get the mirror from him!" The young man gritted his teeth and scanned the forest around them for signs of their target. He hated the thought of Jiayi getting close to Chase again. Seeing them close before had made his blood boil in a way that he did not quite understand.

Jiayi flexed her fingers, muscles tensing as she closed her eyes. "Fine. Just let me use my…ridiculous talent of inadvertent seduction," she stated with venom. I can feel his gaze on me like it's burning a hole in my flesh. Where is he? The anticipation is killing me. The group continued down the path in silence, each on high alert. Jiayi's eyes remained closed, opening her senses to everything around her. It's been ten minutes. No sign of him. But I can still feel his presence. I can feel Guan's presence growing closer. What will he do when he gets here? I can't let him stop me from confronting Chase. I need to get the Reversing Mirror so I can save Jack. Her eyes snapped open when a presence was suddenly right in front of her.

He appeared absolutely furious. Guan reached for her and she jumped back quickly, pushing the two monks to either side of her. They were uncertain of how they should react. Attacking Guan could be considered betrayal and he was frighteningly strong. Frowning down at her, he spared the others a glance. "Jiayi, you are being immature. Come back to the temple and wait." He saw her bare a fang and his frown deepened. "Do you know the danger that you are putting everyone in by being in this situation?"

"I refuse to sit around waiting for him! You know why he is doing this! He intends to let Jack die in that sphere and make me watch! He intends to provoke me!" she snarled.

"That is exactly why you must stop this. Go back to the temple and stay away from the Sphere of Yun."

Her eyes narrowed into a glare. "Perhaps you failed to hear me. I said I refuse!"

"You do not have a choice!" It was now that he brandished his spear, taking on a fighting stance. "I do not wish to fight you, Jiayi Xun. Say that you will return to the temple peacefully or I will be given no choice. This is for the good of the world."

"The good of the world?" she scoffed. "Guan…you don't care how I feel. I can see that now. To you, I was always evil, wasn't I? You've always treated me so carefully. Went to such lengths to hide me from other immortals. But in reality, you were hiding me from Chase Young. That was what this was about, wasn't it? You know that if I join him, we will be so powerful that you won't be able to stop us!"

"Jiayi, this is a bad idea," Raimundo spoke up. "Look, we should go back. Maybe he's already there."

"What are you saying?! Are you going to betray me as well? Kimiko, what about you?" Jiayi could see in the girl's eyes that she was fearful of how Jiayi was acting. A rush of evil pulsed through her veins as she saw Kimiko and Raimundo moving toward Guan. Her hips began to sway side to side, her fists tightening. "I see…all it takes to change your mind…and here I thought you were both on my side. Fine. But if you come at me, I won't hold back."

That was all it took to make Guan rush forward with his spear. Jiayi was able to dodge his first attack, but the not the second. Her body was thrown backwards, sliding several feet back down the path. He followed closely and struck again and again. Few of her attacks hit him and she soon realized why. He knows me too well. We trained together and he knows most of my moves. I could use my immortal powers, but…I don't want to hurt him. I really don't. We've been through too much for me to hurt him! Even as she thought this, his spear sliced across her midsection. Her shirt tore, her blood soaking the black fabric and she looked at him with wide eyes. "…Guan…"

He drew back his spear, planning to strike again, but was distracted by an attack from behind. As he turned to meet their attack, Jiayi rushed forward and latched onto his back. Her clawed hands sank into his flesh deeply, tears streaming down her cheeks at his betrayal. Over his shoulder, she could see Raimundo wielding the Blade of the Nebula and felt an odd sense of elation. Kimiko stood back, unsure of what to do in this situation. When Guan knocked Raimundo back, he threw Jiayi over his head. Her body flew through the air and smacked into a tree hard. The air was forced from her lungs and she lay gasping on the ground.

She was already worse for wear; covered in deep bruises and cuts. The slice across her chest was what pained her the most and made her move slower. He's too strong for me to take down, she realized as he approached her. Raimundo was slowly recovering behind him, preparing to attack again. It would be too late. One more hit from the spear and she would be too weak to continue. It might even knock me out. The pain. It might make me black out. I can't! I need to find Chase! I can't go back to the temple without the Reversing Mirror!

Guan was standing over her now, the spear poised to strike a final blow. "I did not want it to come to this, Jiayi." There was sorrow in his words. It reflected in his face and made her chest feel tight with guilt. "I must bring you back to the temple before you can relapse to the Heylin side. This is how it must be. Please understand."

Jiayi watched him draw the spear back and braced herself for the immense pain to come. What she felt instead was an arm wrapping around her and her body being lifted into the air. Faster than she could blink, Guan was vanishing into the forest along with Kimiko and Raimundo. She stared vacantly at the receding landscape, knowing exactly what had happened. Though she had trouble accepting it. Her body was too weak to fight off her rescuer so she was forced to limply lay across his shoulder and watch the world pass by. "…don't drop me…"

Chase smirked and tightened his hold. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Shift P.O.V

"What just happened?!" Raimundo was still in shock. One second Jiayi was there, about to be defeated by Guan, and suddenly she was gone.

Kimiko sighed in irritation. They were back at the temple, feeling rather defeated by their failure to retrieved the mirror. The added loss of Jiayi only made them feel worse. Raimundo was sitting away from the other monks, trying to ignore the way that Guan watched him for further signs of betrayal. "You know what happened," she answered after a while. "He took her."

"We didn't even-! I mean, come on! Did he know that was going to happen?!"

"Probably." Kimiko glanced at Guan. He was beginning to pace. "What's going to happen now? That's what I'm more curious about."

"He will try to take Jiayi back to the Heylin side," Omi stated. "We must get Jiayi back before Chase Young makes her evil again! Why are we sitting here?"

Raimundo stood and looked over at Jack and Wuya. The red-haired boy was asleep, his head leaning against the glass. Wuya caught Raimundo's gaze and raised an eyebrow in question. He walked toward her, feeling safer now that Guan was preoccupied with Omi's inquiries. "You're coming with me. We're going to get Jiayi back," he said in a low tone.

"Oh really? You plan to betray your fellow monks a second time today?" Wuya taunted. Despite this, she stood and brushed dirt from her dress.

"We need to get her back before something happens." He started toward the forest, receiving no protests from his friends and knowing that Wuya followed.

"One question. Are you willing to do whatever it takes?" She grinned evilly behind him as they entered the forest. The thought of tainting him once more elated her.

Raimundo frowned, his pulse racing as he thought of what might happen. "Whatever it takes," he agreed.