Here it is, Chapter 4! Big thanks to all my readers and reviewers for sticking with me and this story.
This chapter is gonna be a little sad, so I'm giving you fair warning. I don't think anyone's gonna cry or anything, but it's not going to be as humorous as the previous ones. (Atleast that's my intention, I tend to inject humor in everything I write.)
PLOT: Jack Spicer is tricked by Katnappe into being the test subject for her latest DNA-splicing experiment. The feline side effects can't be all that bad, especially if it gives Jack the opportunity to get closer to his idol, Chase Young.
DISCLAIMER: Please, if I owned Xiaolin Showdown, Chase and Jack would have been married by now. I don't care if it's a kid show, kids should learn that homosexual love is just as natural as heterosexual love.
WARNING: Male/male relationships(in case you haven't figured it out yet), sad lion cubs, and a vital of chack fanfiction - some Wuya-bashing.
CHAPTER 4 - CUTTING YOUR LOSSES
Eight days as a lion cub would most likely make most people irritable and a little frustrated. Although, looking at Jack Spicer, former human currently stuck in a feline body, that couldn't be farther from the truth. After getting over his initial anger at the cat-themed villaness, Jack would probably get on his hands and knees to thank Katnappe. Since the incident with the thunderstorm, the white lion cub has been able to spend most of his time around Chase Young. It became fairly routine as Jack would follow the Heylin master as he went about his daily activities in the lair.
At the moment, Chase is quietly meditating before a tranquil koi pond as his feline companion entertains himself with the large and oddly-fascinating fish. The young lion is perched near the water's edge, his paw every once in a while breaks the water's surface in an attempt to catch an early dinner. Sitting there, watching the colorful fish dart about, crimson eyes catch his own reflection.
/ / Wow, it's been a week, and I'm still not used to seeing myself as a lion. If I wasn't spending so much time with the bad ass of the Heylin side, I'd probably be really angry right now . . . Now that I think about it, if I'd known that turning into a cat would get Chase's attention, I would've done this a long time ago./ /
Lost in his thoughts, the evil genius doesn't notice the appearance of a certain Heylin witch. However her presence is immediately sensed by Chase, who is clearly irritated for being disturbed from his own thoughts.
"Wuya, your presence must mean you want something. What is it this time, a favor, a shen gong wu, your dignity perhaps?"
The sorceress bristles at the comment as Jack laughs internally. Chase simply ignores the reaction as Wuya begins to talk, revealing the purpose for her interuption.
"Well, it might interest you to know where I've been most of the day. . ."-trails the witch, trying to get a reaction from the Dragon lord.
Unfortunately for her, the warlord was enjoying her absence and could care less where she was.
"I decided to visit Jack."
The simple sentence causes both Master and feline to immediately turn their attention to Wuya.
"Judging by the usual mess his lab is in, I'd say that the idiot hasn't been in it in a few days. I found a pile of his clothes lying around, but other than that there wasn't a trace of Jack Spicer."
"I see," -begins Chase. "I suppose it's best to leave Spicer up to his own machinations. Now, if you're done meddling in the affairs of others, feel free to earn your keep and clean something."
Mumbling ancient curses under her breath, the witch turns on her heel and storms off. A small smirk forms on the warlord's face as he takes a twisted pleasure in insulting the other Heylin.
The young lion steals a glance at his evil idol as he resumes meditating. Having watched the warlord perform this ritual daily, the teen has learned that Chase does this to control his inner dragon and maintain focus. In his current form, Jack has learned more and more about the Dark Prince, his desire to know the intimate details of the man's life increasing with it. However, amidst his happiness, a singular thought worms it's way into the young mind, quickly bringing the feline back down to reality.
/ / I wonder what will happen once I turn back to normal. Before, I could handle being pushed away from Chase, I just thought that was how he was. But now that I know what it's like to be so close to him, I don't know if I'll be able to just shrug it off anymore./ /
Coming to that realization, Jack gets up and makes his way to the meditating former-monk. Without his usual hesitation, the lion cub curls up in the Heylin's lap, resting his head on a muscular thigh. Chase looks down to find the source of the new warmth in his lap, an eyebrow arches at the bold lion as he starts to protest. The ancient warrior stops as he takes a closer look at the feline in his lap, the small body showing classic signs of depression. A small whimper escapes the lion, causing the Dragon to let the feline muse on its own thoughts.
/ / I'm definitely getting too used to this. Tonight, when everyone's asleep, I'll leave before I make a complete idiot out of myself and that'll be it . . . But for now I'll be greedy and enjoy being this close to Chase./ /
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In the depths of night, the denizens within the ominous mountain lair of Chase Young have long since retired for the night; All except for a small white lion. Hearing the steady breaths of the other jungle cats surrounding him, Jack quietly sneaks to another section of the fortress. Slinking inside the hall where Chase allows Wuya to store her shen gong wu, the teen immediately searches for a particular item.
/ /C'mon, c'mon, please don't tell me the witch lost it to the monks!/ /
Finally, his crimson eyes widen as they rest on the Serpent's Tail. He stands on his hind legs and carefully grabs the wu in his mouth, trying not to set off the amateur traps placed by Wuya.
/ / Once Chase figures out what I've done, he's going to kill me! If I'm lucky, he won't notice right away and I'll just slip it back to him later./ /
Praying that this will work, the feline concentrates as he growls out the name of the wu. To Jack's surprise, the Serpent's Tail glows with a familiar yellow light. With a final look around the cavernous citadel, the evil teen uses the wu's magic to transport him to his destination.
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As dawn breaks over the Xiaolin temple, birds awake and their songs fill the tranquil air. The blue tiles of the ancient buildings reflect the light that bathes the open courtyards. Inside the main temple, the four Xiaolin monks sleep soundly in their beds, completely unaware of the lion cub that just sailed through the wall. Landing safely, the feline puts down the Serpent's tail and yawns.
/ / Jeez, you'd think traveling by shen gong wu would be a lot quicker. It took all night to fly here from Chase's place./ /
The teen's new found appreciation for the Dragons has compelled him to seek refuge with them until he returns to his human form. Sniffing the air, Jack searches for the scent of the female monk. His nose quicky finds her light floral scent emanating from one of the beds. Approaching Kimiko's sleeping form, the feline drops the wu and nudges her awake. Mumbling, feminine blue eyes flutter open as she turns over on her side. Locking eyes with the scarlet orbs before her, Kimiko sits up with a start.
"What're you doing here?!" -asks the Japanese girl in a hushed whisper. "I thought you were staying with Chase."
/ /So they figured out where I was, I wonder why they didn't come after me. . ./ /
As Jack ponders this, the Fire Dragon pets him searching for any sign of injury or abuse. The white lion cub studies Kimiko's face that has genuine concern etched in her features.
"Well, you look pretty okay. Then again, I kinda assumed Chase and his cats would take good care of you."
The only response the teen genius gives is another yawn, too tired to do anything else. Lifting him up, the girl places the sleepy lion in her lap.
"Well they definitely fed you well enough, little guy. You're a little heavier than I remember."
Seeing the cranky expression on the feline's face, Kimiko smirks to herself. However the smile fades when the monk notices the Serpent's Tail lying a few inches away. Wide azure eyes look at the lion cub questioningly.
"Please don't tell me you stole this from Chase. Do you have some kind of death wish or something?"
Before Jack can give any kind of response, another sleepy male enters Kimiko's area of the shared room. A half-asleep Brazilian holding a teddy bear (A.K.A. Ninja Fred) is seen peeking from the side of one of the bamboo walls separating the room. He lazily rubs the sleep from his emerald green eyes with a yawn.
"Yo Kimiko, you mind keeping it down in here?"
Raimundo blinks in disbelief as he notices the reappearance of the white lion in his girlfriend's lap as well as the stolen wu beside them. A sigh escapes his lips as he runs a hand through his chestnut hair.
"Look whatever is going on here, we'll deal with later. I'm gonna catch some more Z's before Master Fung-"
"Ah, Raimundo! How unusual for you to be up at this hour. You must be taking your responsibilities as shoku warrior seriously, young monk."
Grumbling under his breath, the chosen leader turns around to greet Master Fung. The elder monk stands in the doorway to the room with Dojo draped over his shoulders. Hiding Jack, the two monks stand and bow to greet their master.
"Good morning, Master Fung." -the teens greet in unison.
"Good morning to you as well. Please wake the others, we shall begin morning training after breakfast." -the elder monk requests.
"Did someone say training?!" -inquires Omi.
"Did someone say breakfast?!" -exclaims Clay with equal fervor.
"Yup. Now rise and shine kiddies, I'm making my famous Dojo pancakes!"
With that Dojo and Master Fung leave the young monks to get ready for the day ahead. Rai and Kimiko breath a sigh of relief, grateful that their guest wasn't discovered.
"Good morning my friends! I trust you all slept well?!"-Omi greets in a voice far too perky for the time of day.
"Listen up guys," -begins Rai, motioning for the others to come in closer. "It seems Jack's pet lion has come back and brought wu he stole from Chase Young."
As he explains, Omi and Clay look over to Kimiko's bed to see Jack and the Serpent's Tail lying on it. The cub is resting on the blankets, his ruby eyes heavy with sleep and exhaustion.
"What do you think we should do, Rai?" -questions Kimiko.
"Well, we need to keep him hidden from Master Fung and the other elder monks as well as Chase and Wuya. Once those two discover their missing wu, they'll probably come here first to start looking."
"Great, and here I was hoping today was gonna be a good day." -drawls the cowboy.
"Do not worry Clay, we shall protect our furry friend from the forces of evil, today shall be a good day indeed."
"Calm down Omi," -interjects Kimiko. "I don't think that we need to start some huge Xiaolin versus Heylin battle royale. Let's just train as usual and then return the little guy to Jack's lab. If Chase or Wuya shows up, no one mentions the lion cub and we'll just give them the Serpent's Tail back."
"Kimiko! You can not be suggesting we willingly hand over a shen gong wu to Chase Young and Wuya. The consequences could be very, very bad!"
"Enough with the melodrama, Omi. It's only one shen gong wu, and personally I'd like to keep this plan as simple as possible. I'm all for it." -Rai replies.
"Sounds good to me. Now let's get some grub, those pancakes sound as tempting as a popsicle in the desert."
Realizing their own hunger, the boys follow Clay as he makes his way to the kitchen of the temple. The tempting scent of pancakes and sausage wafting through the halls. However, Kimiko stays behind to talk to the resting white lion.
"Go to sleep, you look like you need it. In a few hours I'll take you back home okay?"
With the wu in hand and a playful rustle of his hair, the dragon of Fire follows her friends to get some breakfast while there's still some left. The feline watches her go as he shuts his eyes, finally being able to get some shut-eye. As sleep claims him, a single thought crosses the teen's mind.
/ / I left Chase's lair only a few hours ago and I'm already starting to miss him . . . I know that it's stupid, but I wonder, even if it's just a little bit, if he'll miss me too./ /
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After a few hours of much need rest, Jack is gently woken up by Kimiko. The white cub stands up and begins to stretch his muscles, quickly smelling the leftovers from lunch on the plate in her hand. In her other hand are the transportation wu, the Golden Tiger Claws. Placing the food down, the Japanese girl simply watches as the cub begins to eat.
/ / I guess it's time to take me back home. Assuming Katnappe wasn't lying, I should be back to my normal human self tomorrow. / /
Once Jack finishes his meal, he licks the remains from his face, indicating he's full. The teenage girl picks up the lion cub and cradles him in her arms with a comforting smile on her face.
"C'mon, let's get you back home."
Yelling the name of the shen gong wu while thinking of Jack's lab, Kimiko swipes the golden claws, creating a swirling portal. She steps through it, instantaneously transporting them to the basement lab. Once there, the lion jumps out of the monk's arms and bounds around the room excitedly. Despite the stressful ordeal he's been through, the evil teen genius is ecstatic to return home. Watching him, the Asian girl sits down on one of his stools, an all-knowing look on her face.
"Can I tell you a secret, little guy?"
The strange question captures the lion's attention. He stops exploring his lab and pads his way over to Kimiko, sitting in front of her with perked ears.
"About two years ago, I managed to get through all of Jack's firewalls and hacked into his main security systems. I know he doesn't look like it, but Jack can be pretty intelligent when he focuses on doing something. I never intended to use it to spy or anything, but I figured that it might come in handy one day."
Realizing that Jack's is hanging onto every word she says, the teen girl continues her story.
"Anyway, when you left with Chase, I started to get curious as to Jack's whereabouts. I figured I'd try to get in touch with him and tell him where his pet lion was. So I checked the surveillance system, and I came across something interesting that happened a week ago when Katnappe stopped by for a visit. . .
Trailing off, Kimiko lets Jack fill in the blanks of her observation. His eyes widen with fear as the young lion realizes what she is implying.
/ /Oh my god! Kimiko knows what happened to me! My life as an evil genius is over, I'll have to pack up and move to Antartica- / /
Watching the white feline panic in front of her, the Japanese monk rolls her eyes with an amused look on her face.
"Relax Jack, I'm not gonna tell anyone about your little secret. But I thought that even you would be smart enough not to take gifts from Katnappe. That girl is seriously messed up in the head."
As she speaks, the lion cub nods in complete agreement.
" Although I have to admit, that you were pretty convincing as a cute cub. Despite how closely you resemble yourself as a lion, you managed to fool us as well as Wuya and Chase Young. Now I'm assuming that these feline effects are temporary, right?"
At her question, Jack walks over to the area of his lab where his clothes are. Looking around, he finds a scrap of Katnappe's note which he picks up and walks back to Kimiko. As she reads it, the teen gets depressed as he realizes that he'll soon be returning to his human self and his "Chase-free" existence.
"Well, judging from the note you should be back to normal tomorrow. That doesn't sound too horr-"
The fire dragon stops speaking when she notices the depressed look on the young feline's face. Getting up, the girl walks over to Jack and sits down next to him with a concerned look on her face.
"Are you okay, Jack?"
The lion cub's response is only a slump of his shoulders as his ears droop down.
"C'mon, cheer up! You'll be back to normal soon, you should be happy. In a few hours you'll have pose-able thumbs, the ability to talk, and you won't have to pose as one of Chase's cats anymore."
As soon as the words leave her mouth, Kimiko realizes the reason for the evil genius' mood change. She pets his back trying to reassure the small feline.
"You miss Chase, huh?"
Her comments earns yet another nod from the cat next to her.
"Jack, you bring new meaning to the phrase, 'having high standards'. I knew you admired Chase as an evil mastermind but I never knew you liked him that way. It's kinda sweet, like the plot of some shounen-ai manga or something."
Getting lost in her secret obsession, the Japanese girl nearly misses the low growl of annoyance from the young lion. Although his mood has changed for the better.
"You shouldn't worry about it too much, whether or not Chase will return your feelings or not, I mean. Things always have a funny way of working out for the best."
Listening to the advice, Jack thinks it over, half-surprised that he can actually use it.
"Jack, for some reason, you have this strange trait about you. Granted, most of the time you are kinda annoying, irresponsible, helpless-"
The list of the evil teen's flaws is interrupted by a low feline growl.
"My point is that despite all of that, it's hard to completely hate you; the guys and I think you're okay in small doses. Personally, I think even Dragon-boy likes you a lot more than he lets on." -finishes the monk.
Jack looks up and stares at her trying to see if it was just an empty compliment. As if to answer his silent question, Kimiko pets his head with a genuine smile. She takes a look at her watch and stands up with a stretch.
"As cool as it hanging out with you Jack, I gotta get going. If I'm gone too long, Master Fung will know something's wrong. Take care of yourself, okay?"
Walking over to the work table, the Dragon of Fire picks up the Golden Tiger Claws as her eyes notice the left-over container of Katnappe's pudding. With a smirk she throws it away and turns back to the white lion still sitting on the floor.
"Do yourself a favor and switch to snack packs instead of the homemade stuff. See ya' at the next showdown."
With that, Kimiko swipes the wu and transports herself back to the Xiaolin Temple. Jack simply stares at the spot the female monk once occupied as he thinks over her words.
/ / Wow, either I'm seriously slacking in my firewalls or I've seriously underestimated Kimiko's hacking skills . . . / /
Heading to his cot, the young lion decides to turn in early, his body exhausted by the day's activities and the thoughts circling around in his head. Jack decides to sleep under the covers that night, knowing that when he awoke he'd no longer have white fur to warm his body.
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When morning arrives at the Spicer Mansion, robotic maids and servants are busy cleaning and cooking as they do every morning. Down in the basement lab of the evil teen genius, Jack Spicer sleeps in his makeshift bedroom. The teen is suddenly woken up by the blaring, screeching alarm next to his head. Groaning, he turns over on his side and stares at the flashing numbers that read 9:45 am. Opting to sleep in a few more hours, the teen hits the snooze button his alarm with his very human hand. Realizing that the appendage is covered with pale skin instead of white fur, the human teen bolts up and scans his body.
"I'm human again!"-cries Jack. "I can talk and I can pose my thumbs!"
Busy wiggling his thumbs, the tech wiz doesn't notice his shen gong wu detector going off. After a few moments, his eyes catch the blinking red arrow.
"Great, I just get my body back, and I have a showdown to deal with first thing in the morning . . . being a feline was so much easier."
Getting up, the teen genius dons his usual outfit, complete with his trademark black jacket. He takes a second to enjoy the familiar feeling of the black clothing on his body. Strapping on his goggles and signature heli-pack, Jack heads off to find the new wu with a team of Jack-bots trailing behind him. . .
Miles away in his evil abode, Chase Young was in a very similar, brooding mood. This was mostly due to Wuya screeching about the lair, ranting about the disappearance of the Serpent's Tail. Unknown to the Heylin witch, Chase and his cats already knew what had happened to the wu and a certain albino lion cub. In fact earlier that morning, the warlord had personally followed the scent of the young lion, surprised that it led him to the Xiaolin Temple. Upon his arrival, his dragon senses were understandably confused by the trail that had suddenly stopped cold. And to makes things even stranger, his pressence was greeted by the leader of the monks with a simple "hey" and was casually tossed the Serpent's tail with no form of an explanation.
Returning to his mountainous lair, Chase tosses the wu to Wuya, completely silencing her ranting. However his feline servants seem disappointed when they sense no trace of the precocious cub. A similar feeling grows within the ancient dragon as well as others he thought were long gone - worry and concern.
Hence the Dragon lord's present state of vexation.
His mood is almost palpable, picking up on it instantly, his feline servants avoid him as Chase enters the main hall of the citadel. The look of pure evil on his face dares anyone to even try to approach him. Taking a goblet from a nearby table, he drinks down his daily imbibement of the Lao Mang Long soup. Unfortunately, Wuya didn't quite get the memo as she approaches the irritable warlord, annoyed that he has neglected to tell her where's he's been.
"Chase, another shen gong wu has been activated! Let's go now, we must get to it before the monks!"
In a flash, the dark warrior has his hand at her throat, squeezing the life out of the woman before him. Her green eyes widen in fear as they look at golden orbs that have narrowed to dangerous slits.
"Your first mistake, besides your leech-like existence, was barking orders at me like some minion. Your second, was having the pure audacity to do so in my own home. One more, and you'll be searching for a missing body part instead of shen gong wu." -As he speaks, the dragon's words come out as a low hiss, each word guaranteeing immense pain.
Sensing this, Wuya nods her head obediently as she struggles to breathe. Strong fingers then release their hold on the witch, causing her to drop to the floor as she rubs her throat. Emerald eyes look up when Chase's deep voice echoes around them.
"Wuya, my senses are heightened to far more superior levels that yours. I have no need to be informed of things I already know. Now, let's be on our way, we wouldn't want to be late now would we?"
The scarlet-haired witch quickly follows the Dragon lord and with a snap of his fingers, the Heylin duo is gone in a flash of dark magic.
To be continued . . .
I absolutely LOVE writing Chase's lines, something about the aristocratic evilness with the subtle mocking tone makes me happy . . .
Anyways, The next chapter will be the final one, but it will be full of Chacky goodness! Pretty much Jack will battle in the next showdown in which he just might win something better than shen gong wu. (Use your imaginations!)
Feel free to leave your comments, questions, concerns, and creative criticisms I read and reply to every single one I get!
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