Xiaolin Showdown does not belong to me.
A/N: This is a very belated birthday present for DeAnime
Chase Young was a terrible and deceitful person. The worst that humanity had to offer, except for Mr. Bean, but he was not a person. Yes, every monk far and wide knew that the half-dragon was outright terrible, but only he knew that Chase Young was even worse than history described.
For one, he was terribly and awfully smug.
"You choose me."
Omi sighed. His tea was going to get cold. "Yes, I did."
Chase looked at him with those creepy hawk-like eyes, but his smug smile was even maddening. "I even gave you choices and you choose me," he said in a superior tone.
Omi eyed his swirling tea in the pretty china cup. "Yes, I did choose you."
Chase barked out a laugh. He still did not know how to laugh properly. They came out like awkward wheezes, dry and stuttering. "I told you that you had two options, didn't I?"
Omi was about to grab his tempting cup of tea, but pulled back his hand when Chase spoke again. Once he replayed his words, his face flushed red with anger. "You gave me two horrible choices!"
Chase drummed his fingers against the ridiculously elegant table while staring at his fading candles. Those candles must be replaced. They looked horrible, he mused. Not many people knew that beneath his cold mask lurked a vain monster.
His golden eyes drifted back to Omi and remembered that there was a conversation going on. "I gave you terrible options?"
Omi frowned. What made Chase Young even worse was that he was self-centered. How can an ancient agent of evil be so vain? It was like he was Jack Spicer, but older and scarier and quieter.
Omi gritted his teeth. "Yes, you told me that either I could choose to be bonded to you or I could choose eternal imprisonment."
"Eternal imprisonment is worse then bonding with me? What a spineless warrior! You choose to be free and living in luxury rather then being imprisoned for your righteous morals!"
Omi sneered as best as he could. "And you said that if I didn't, you would kill my friends!"
Chase paused his gloating to appreciate one of Omi's rare-to-come-about sneers. "Oh, right…that tiny condition."
Omi sighed.
"The first choice isn't so bad."
Chase Young's lazy gaze irritated him. His smug smile irritated him. His sharp teeth irritated him. Everything about him irritated him.
"Being bonded to you is terrible."
"Why? I could not fathom the terribleness of being bonded to me."
Omi snorted. "One, I am going to be a great Xiaolin dragon"
"Heylin," Chase corrected.
Omi rolled his eyes. "And I am going to defeat all the Heylins. Two, you're vain, self-centered, rude, power-hungry, evil and persistent."
"Those are all grand qualities. You should gain some of those."
Omi's eye twitched. The tea flickered in and out of his eyesight.
"Despite all of my bad qualities, you choose me over your friends."
Omi forgot how Chase Young forgot how to listen properly. That or he feigned it quite well. "Weren't you listening?"
"Of course I was," said Chase with an indulging smile.
"I said that the horrible Heylin warrior forced the good Xiaolin warrior into a lifetime union and how he's evil enough to threaten him with the deaths of his friends."
Chase Young dropped the smile that promised fake niceness. It set back into the usual harsh line. His trying-to-be kind eyes showed his usual contempt.
"Sorry little one, but you made your choice," he stated matter-of-factly and with a wonderful sneer. His voice dropped the false I'm-your-friend tone to become the honest I'm-your-enemy tone.
Omi cringed. It seemed as if the friendly banter had lifted to show it for what it truly was; an ugly set-up where he is the helpless captive under the rule of a half-empty man whose obsession for power and youth was downright deadly.
The half-dragon's lip curled. "You're bonded to me now…It's not so bad. Your friends are safe. You live in luxury. You are fed excellent food. You even get to see your friends on a daily basis. Yes, I know that those visits are supervised, but you still get to talk and laugh. So just how cruel am I being?"
It was a moment of silence in the eye of the storm. The monk stared down at the tea cup. He noticed that the enticing puffs of steam were gone.
"You're the cruel one. You deny me without hearing what I have to say. You judge me, looking at me as if I were not even human. I have seen better people than the Xiaolin warriors who want to bring peace and justice," said Chase Young with a bitter snarl.
The dragon bared his fanged teeth, like the animal he truly was, at the boy sitting across from him. Omi wanted to sneer, but oh how he cursed his childish face. He wanted to tell Chase Young that he was a liar, a liar with a honeyed voice and a charismatic smile. Chase was a liar, nothing but a liar.
Why did he want to become friends with him?
Chase continued to stare him, daring him to do something while smiling as if they were not even arguing. It just made him feel so angry. Chase Young was implying that the Xiaolin warriors are worse people than he was.
Omi wanted to spit out that Chase Young was not even human enough to feel human emotions and definitely not human enough to understand how repulsive this situation was. Thankfully, he willed himself to stay silent for his own sake. He merely nodded.
Why bait the monster when the monster does not want to understand?
Chase's smooth smile came back. "Good. Now drink your tea."
Omi scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Very well..."
Chase gave the signal. One of his poor thin slaves came to take away their still-hot food and drink. With that, Chase stood up.
"As I said, you have a free reign over this lair. Have fun."
Chase Young left him to brood on his thoughts; left him all alone to think about the sprawling future that lay ahead of him. It did not look very fun.
His stomach grumbled, reminding him of the food he had refused.
"Could you please bring me some food?"
The prisoner nodded without a sympathetic look for another trapped soul. He brought back some fresh spring rolls with a new cup of tea. Omi thanked him and ate in silence.
Without his host there, the meal was actually pleasant. The tea was especially delicious.