Chapter 5:

Chase Young held his arms behind his back, watching Kimiko with mild amusement. Her knees were trembling, though she was trying her best not to hide it, and her grip on the doorway was strong, as if she were afraid she might faint.

Of course, he understood that his appearance must have startled her, but her eyes were wide with fear, her mouth open, as if she were about to shout for help, but they both know she wouldn't do that, not while her sense of curiosity ruled.

He merely smiled gently, gesturing to the doorway behind her and to the peaceful courtyard beyond. "Please." He said pleasantly.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" She demanded, trying to seem fierce, but Chase could see right through her ruse. No matter how hard she tried, she could not disguise her true emotions from him. No one could.

He gave a kind smile. "Do not be afraid. Truly, I mean you no harm. I give you my word. I simply wish to talk." His velvety voice seemed to calm her.

Kimiko narrowed her eyes suspiciously, before taking a step back to allow him to pass.

He gave a courteous nod of his head and proceeded into the courtyard, before turning to face her once again. The air was crisp and cool, the courtyard silent, aside from the trickling of water and the sound of crickets chirping.

"I believe you are seeking some answers?" Chase Young spoke softly.

Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "How did you-" She began, but Chase interrupted her by holding a hand up to silence her.

"I know many things about you Xiaolin Dragons. I can assure you, you aren't going insane." He said casually. "But I would ask for something in return for giving you the answers you seek."

Kimiko's fear was gone. Instead, she looked uncertain now, doubtful of him, as if she did not trust him at all. "What is it?"

"I must have your oath as a Xiaolin Dragon that you will not repeat, write down, nor convey in any fashion, what we discuss."

"Fine." Kimiko said, without hesitation. Chase watched her face closely, eyeing every slight change in her expression. He could tell that her haste to accept his terms were out of desperation, frustration and boredom. She just wanted answers, no matter what it took.

Chase felt his lips curl into a smile, before he held out his hand. "Take my hand, Kimiko. I will explain everything."

"Where are we going?" She hesitated.

"You can trust me, Kimiko. I promise no harm will come to you and you will be free to leave once I am finished. I merely wish not to be interrupted, should anyone discover you are missing from your bed." He glanced around, watching the shadows for movement.

Kimiko wasn't sure, that much was plain on her face, but she reached out, her fingertips brushing his palm lightly.

And then they were gone.

XXX

When Kimiko first came to be awake, she was in complete darkness, so much so that she fumbled around, trying to find out where she was. Alone and afraid, she whimpered. She tried calling for Raimundo, Omi and Clay, but nothing happened.

She wasn't even sure if she was awake or dreaming. All she knew was that she was afraid.

She couldn't see a single thing, but she could feel a cold floor beneath her feet.

"Where am I?" She shouted into the darkness, hearing her voice echo through wherever the hell she was.

"Why are you doing this?" Kimiko found herself calling into the blackness, her arms flailing around blindly for anything that might indicate where she was.

At last, she found a wall. She trailed her fingers along it, and from what she could tell, it was made of stone, which felt old and crumbled at her touch.

Kimiko moved along, hearing nothing but her shaky breaths and panicked footsteps.

She opened her hands, expecting fire to come bursting from her palms, so that it might light the way, but no fire came. Nothing. Not even a flicker.

"What is happening?!" She cried, frustrated, but mostly afraid. "Chase?!"

"I'm here." His voice came from behind her, and as she whipped around, she saw him standing, boldly and holding a flaming torch.

"Where are we?" She demanded instantly, furious for the panic he had caused. He simply shook his head. "You better start telling me what the HELL is going on here right now, before I give you exactly what you deserve."

His armour glistened in the torchlight and the shadows danced across his face. He seemed almost amused at her anger. Even in the darkness, his eyes were hard to avoid.

"Calm yourself, Kimiko." He reached out towards her, and touched her shoulder calmly. He quickly let go again after seeing Kimiko's fury, and smiled gently. "I can explain everything."

"Start talking." She snapped quickly, feeling her fist trembling.

"First, come with me." He said, turning and gesturing with one arm into the darkness. He took a few steps forward, and seemed to find a doorway. When it swung open, the room was flooded with a light so bright she was forced to shield her eyes from the searing pain.

Stepping forward, it was as if she had been transported into another world. The room was mostly glass, with a beautiful night sky above her, glittering with stars. It was a big room, but she could only see a little of it. Ornate, marble steps stood in front of her, with trickling water running down the sides along little passageways. Polished statues glittered and blooming flowers decorated the steps, with fountains sprinkling water down the runways. The walls were a deep navy colour, with tall stone pillars, carved to look like dragons. It was like something out of a fairytale; the home of a princess or a great wizard. There was a beauty here that she had never seen before.

"Come with me." Chase Young said, and he began to climb the steps. Kimiko turned behind her, but the door she had come through had mysteriously vanished, and only a stone pillar stood where it had been. Transfixed, she touched the wall, baffled, but Chase Young merely cleared his throat.

"Come." He repeated again.

She followed him, wordlessly, finding herself enthralled by the beauty of the room. Once she had followed him up the set of stairs, she saw that the room extended further, with a large circular room at the top of the stairs, decorated in exactly the same way, but ending in two large and decorative thrones. Two fountains sat on either side of the throne, which had been carved to look like koi fish.

In the centre of the room was a large, stone table, covered in a white tablecloth, and two wooden chairs. On the table sat a teapot, and two small cups.

"What is this place?" Kimiko said in wonder, craning her neck to see everything she could.

"It's my home." Chase Young replied simply. With that, he took a seat at the table, gesturing for her to sit opposite him.

Finding the situation increasingly odd and confusing, she took a seat, feeling rather like Alice after she fell into Wonderland and stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to begin talking.

Oblivious to her stares, Chase Young carefully poured himself a cup of tea out of an old china teapot, and took a long sip, sighing with contentment.

She folded her arms, beginning to grow irritated. "Well? Where's my explanation? What am I doing here?"

He gently passed a cup of green tea in her direction. She did not reach out to take it, but stared at him intently instead. He seemed completely at ease, sipping tea calmly as if nothing were amiss. It was as if he didn't even realise she was there, smacking his lips softly after each sip.

Then, without warning, he glanced up. The eyes made her wince.

"You'd like your explanation then?" He said, his voice a gentle hiss.

"Yes." Kimiko responded shortly. "What is happening? What does the symbol on my shoulder mean? Just tell me, I don't want to play these games."

"I'd like to apologise, firstly." Chase Young said sincerely. His head bowed a little, and his eyes dropped. "It seems as though I am the cause of all your problems."

"You?!" She said, incredulously. Her eyes lit up with fire.

"Yes, I confess, it is not what I intended."

"Start talking. Quickly." She spat, her words like venom. She had had enough of him pretending to be mysterious. It was late. She just wanted him to tell her what the hell was going on so she could go back to her bed and get some sleep.

"At first, it was an unintended side effect of watching you. You see, Kimiko, I have been watching you for quite some time. I was not aware, at first, that you had sensed my presence. I should have guessed that your intuitive powers would be strong enough to sense that I was watching you closely. Indeed, it seems as though Raimundo felt my presence too."

Kimiko's brain began to whir. The mysterious hand on her shoulder, the voice, the eyes, the sense of unease, it had all been Chase.

"I assure you," he continued, "I meant you no harm."

Kimiko suddenly rose to her feet. "You were watching me IN THE SHOWER?!"

For once, Chase genuinely looked horrified. "No! I can assure you, I did nothing of the sort!" He almost dropped his teacup as he fumbled uncomfortably. "I had been watching you in the weeks leading up to your fall through my crystal eyeball, I confess, but after some time, I no longer needed to physically watch you to see you."

"You see, Kimiko, my telepathic abilities enable me, with much concentration, to see you, all that you are, without ever laying eyes on you. I can sense your surroundings, what you are doing, who you are with. See the world through your eyes, as it were. "

"But... I saw your hand!" Kimiko accused, but Chase merely shook his head.

"I give you my word, it was not me. Your Xiaolin instincts may have played a stronger role than you or I realised. You may have heard me speak, sensed me near, despite me being miles away. Your instincts were trying to warn you that I was close, which is why, you may have believed you saw me. I swear to you, Kimiko. I did not intend for you to get hurt."

"So... I subconsciously knew you were there... and it caused me to see you?"

Chase gave a short nod. "I believe so. But, it is also why it was necessary for that mark upon your shoulder."

Kimiko's jaw clenched. "Yes, about that. Care to tell me how that came to be there?"

Chase shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Well..." He said, avoiding her eyes, as though he was almost ashamed, but not quite. "Once you fell in the shower, I realised that it was I that caused you to fall. I felt terrible, of course, but I was rather concerned you would tell Master Fung what you had seen. I had spent a great deal of time watching you until that point." He was watching her very closely now, making her feel exposed as his eyes combed her. "Once I realised you could sense me, I knew that our connection could be broken, that you would be afraid and would turn to Master Fung. If you had revealed what you saw to Master Fung, I am sure he would have been aware of my presence as well."

Chase Young gave a small smile. "I made the decision to cement our connection. That is what the mark means. It means that I can always reach you, and you can always reach me." He placed two, gloved fingers to his forehead, and closed his eyes.

Can you hear me, Kimiko?

His voice sounded, clear as a bell. But his lips did not move. It was unmistakably him, not like before, where the thought had come from nowhere. This was clear.

She gasped, audibly, and Chase smirked a little.

"You see?"

" I don't understand." She said, weakly.

"The mark is a symbol of what we now share." Chase continued. He started to trace his fingers along the table in the shape of the mark on her shoulder. "There are three circles intertwined. One circle represents me. One represents you. And the third is our connection. Master Fung would not have recognised it. It's very old magic. Older, perhaps, than me."

"But... why?" Kimiko looked up at him. She didn't feel defiant anymore. Just scared, and vulnerable. What use could he possibly have with her?

Chase Young sat back in his seat, arms folded gently. "You are very interesting to me, Kimiko. I find you quite fascinating."

"Well, stop it!" She said, more brave than she really felt. "I don't want you watching me. I want you to leave me alone."

Chase gave a small, smug smile. "Our connection cannot be broken unless I remove it. And I will not do this."

Kimiko's fire raged inside her, rushing to her fingertips. At a moment's notice, her fingers burned with an inferno that she slammed down into the table, setting alight to Chase's fancy tablecloth and shooting in all directions as she rose to her feet.

Chase Young seemed not to notice.

"I'm afraid you have little choice in the matter. You can attempt to set me on fire, burn my home to the ground, trash more of my furniture," he cast a seemingly sad glance at his tablecloth burning away to reveal a stone table, "but it will do little good, I'm afraid."

"This is crazy." She growled at him, wanting nothing more than to rip his stupid, smug head off his shoulders.

He seemed to chuckle at that. "Yes, it is a little." He agreed, calmly, brushing the tattered remaining tablecloth to the floor, where it continued to burn away into ash.

"I want out. I don't want you poking around in my head. And I still don't know WHY you're doing it. Tell me, or I swear, all four of us will be back to beat it out of you."

"Your threats do not worry me." He said smoothly, getting to his feet. "It seems were are done for tonight, Kimiko."

She opened her mouth to argue again, but something hit her hard and she tumbled backwards, crashing into her bedroom back at the temple, thudding heavily onto her back on the hard, wooden floor. She groaned as pain shot through her body and she writhed on the floor for a few moments.

What the hell just happened?

"Kim? You okay?" Clay whispered from his bedroom.

"Clay? She called back urgently. "You've got to wake everyone! I know what's been happening!"

She sat upright, her body throbbing, her head feeling cloudy and dazed. A few heavy, thudding footsteps later and Clay barrelled into her room. "What is it?" He said, holding a lantern in one hand and his other curled into a fist. Kimiko would have been amused to see he was wearing his cowboy pyjamas, if she had been calmer.

"What are you doing on the floor? Did you fall?" He bent down to help her to her feet, but she was too preoccupied with trying to explain it all.

"I know what's been happening! Why I fell, the mark, everything! It's-" She stopped dead, mid-sentence, the words disappearing from her mouth. She opened her mouth again. The words were gone.

She tried to speak his name, but the sounds were gone, as if she had completely forgotten how to talk.

"Well? Kim? Are you okay? What happened?" Clay was looking at her with concern, but also mild mistrust, as if he suspected that she had had a nightmare.

Frustrated, Kim frowned at him. "You've got to believe me! It's all part of-"

Nothing. She opened her mouth once more, straining to enunciate the words, but yet again, her mouth just wouldn't obey.

"What's happening, Clay? Why can't I speak?"

"Kim, did you hit your head?" Clay inspected her head, looking for any signs of injury.

"No, I didn't! I swear. I'm trying to tell you. But I can't."

Clay put his hand on hers, looking at her kindly. "Kim, you've had an exhausting day. You need to rest."

Irritated, Kim snatched her hand away. "I'm not exhausted, Clay, I'm trying to tell you, but I can't! Why can't I tell you?!" Her voice had raised into hysteria and frustration now.

Clay moved so his eyes met hers. "Kim, please," he said soothingly, "you've gotta calm down. I don't know what's going on with you right now, but you need to rest. You ain't making any sense and it's 1 in the morning. I know you're all het up, but you need to try and relax."

Kim wanted to scream in frustration.

"It's -!" She wanted to desperately to get the words out, but they just wouldn't come. As if she had completely forgotten his name, yet was positive she knew the word. It was on the tip of her tongue, yet too far away to reach.

Without warning, she dove over to the other side of her bed, scrambling to grab her cell phone. She opened up a blank text message and began to type the name.

Except... how was his name spelt? Her fingers hovered uncertainly over the keypad.

Why can't I spell it?

She had never hesitated before. She typed another name. "Clay." She said aloud, with the real Clay looking at her in bewilderment and concern.

It was perfect.

Then she typed hers. "Kimiko." She said her name. Why?!

She tried again to type his name. But nothing came. It was as if she could remember it, until she tried to speak it or type it. Then it was gone.

"Kim..." Clay reached out to touch her shoulder, but she shrugged away from him, throwing her phone down in frustration on the bed.

How could she tell him when she couldn't speak? How could she tell anyone when she couldn't type?

Is this you, you utter bastard? She threw out at him, not even knowing whether he could hear her.

She couldn't hear the reply, but she could sense his cruel laughter in the air.

XXX