Chapter Four: A Flashback or Two
A/N: Okay, I keep updating when I haven't planned to. This is the last pre-completed chapter. Five is partially written, and the rest I just have planned (The rest? I don't even know how many I'll have. Meh.) But here I am. Oh, and I'm sorry about the random cut in narration to explain Kimiko's hair…I was randomly inspired by the hairstyle of a girl in my English class, and so I had to write it in. Yes, I'm retarded. Leave me alone. XD
Sorry for any screwups in this one...I've got a monster flu-thing going and so I'm not wholly sane...
Story:
In a smallish house not far from where Kimiko and Clay were having their reunion, things had been turned upside down. Closets were thrown open, items had been tossed about, and the owner of the entire mess was sitting on the floor, surrounded by boxes. One was sitting open in front of him, several of its contents unpacked and spread on the floor. These included a tattered trenchcoat, a pair of cracked yellow goggles with yellow swirls on them, and a red notebook with a young teen's scrawl proclaiming "Jack Spicer's Evil Journal: Do Not Touch. This means YOU Ashley! And the Xiaolin Losers! (and Wu Ya, too.)" on the front.
"Wow, it's been a while." The once-evil boy genius remarked to no one in particular. He held up the goggles, polishing them fondly on the bottom of his black t-shirt. Just for kicks, Jack mussed up his hair and put the goggles in their old familiar place on his forehead. He laughed to himself, standing up to put on the trench-coat. It was now even shorter than it had been, the frayed sleeves not even reaching his wrists. He struck an over-dramatic pose.
"I'm Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius! I—wait, how'd it go? Oh yeah. I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" He cried in a voice Raimundo might have used to make fun of the Jack of the past. He laughed again, though this time the laugh was filled with bitterness.
"Yeah, a showdown which I'll inevitably lose, and then you'll leave me broken and beaten on the ground with nothing to show for all the crap I'd just gone through. But do you care or even notice? Nah." Jack took off the trenchcoat and flung it on the ground. He took off the goggles and stared into them. "You guys would just run off, hand in hand, over the rainbow. Yay team, right? And now, now you want me to be a part of all that." Jack sank back to the floor. The goggles fell from his hands as she slid back into his own thoughts.
"Oh, Kimiko." He sighed. "Do you have any idea how many times I wished you'd want me back in the day? How much I wanted you to say exactly what you're saying to me now?" Jack looked at his own hands, as though expecting an answer to appear there.
"What am I gonna do?" Jack's voice shrank to a whisper. "I'm getting exactly what I always wanted, but there's no way I can do this. I just…I can't." His arms fell to the sides, and his fingers brushed the goggles. He picked them up once more, staring into their cracked surface. How many times had he been forced to find a new pair after a showdown, in which they got cracked or broken entirely? But this pair, his last pair, he had never bothered to repair or replace. They were still cracked from the last time he had gone up against the four monks. . .
Jack threw his wrench across the room with a growl of frustration. He had just spent an entire night repairing and upgrading his Jack-bots. Looking at them standing there spotlessly, he knew it was hopeless. Every time he built a better robot, the Xiaolin monks would just destroy it as though it were nothing. He leaned forward on his worktable, deep in thought. What was wrong with them? Jack sighed. Perhaps the problem was in his design. He had created his robots as a distraction, not to seriously hurt anyone. He wanted them to challenge his enemies, scare off intruders, and simply distract people until he had time to get what he wanted. Maybe that was the problem. They were harmless. . .and perhaps that made them too simple.
Jack took apart the first of the newly repaired Jack-bots. He studied the behavior chip for a moment, hesitating before taking the safety off.
"They want a fight, I'll give 'em one. There won't be any mercy this time. They won't make fun of me, Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius ever again!" he declared grimly, putting the robot back together. Robot Alpha, state your mission."
"Command acknowledged. Authorization: Master Jack Spicer. Primary Mission: Stop all enemies of Master Jack Spicer and Master Jack Spicer's command using highest logical method of action." The robot replied in its mechanical voice. Jack nodded.
"Very good." He said. He walked over to the closet under the stairs, in which he stored some of his more personal, less battle-ready robots. He activated the Yes-Bot.
"Hey there, Jack-o! What can I do to make your life more convenient?" the robot asked happily.
"Yes-Bot, I want you to take the safeties off all the Jack-Bots' behavior chips." Jack commanded. He thought a moment. "And find me a pudding cup!"
"Excellent ideas, as usual! I'll get right on it!" The Yes-Bot replied, tossing Jack a pudding cup before rolling merrily away to carry out his creator's orders. Jack went to bed knowing that the next time he went up against the Xiaolin monks, things would turn out different. He didn't know how right he was.
The chance to test out his improved program came sooner than he thought. The next day, a new Wu activated. Jack activated his army of Jack-Bots and took off.
"Jack Spicer!" The familiar cry welcomed Jack as he hovered above his arch nemeses. "Prepare for a most humiliating defeat!"
"Not today, Cue-Ball! Jack-bots! Attack!" Jack shouted. His robots flew into action with a vigor that surprised even Jack. He watched as the shocked Xiaolin warriors fought his new and improved Jack-Bots for a moment before heading for the Wu. It was shaped like a golden ear, adorned with several ornate earrings. Jack grabbed it and turned around. The triumphant sarcasm that he had planned to bestow upon his rivals flew from his mind as the scene before him unfolded. Jack had turned just in time to see two Jack-Bots grab Kimiko, one on each arm. A third aimed its laser cannon for a particularly deadly spot between the girl's wide blue eyes. Horror gripped Jack as he realized with a chill that his robots weren't going to be firing a petty stun-laser at Kimiko. This time, the laser was real.
"J-Jack-Bots! Deactivate!" Jack cried, the Shen Gong Wu falling to the ground, forgotten and unwanted. The robot which was prepared to execute the only girl Jack had ever loved spoke without turning toward him.
"Command overridden. Command conflicts with Primary Mission." It replied. Jack threw himself at the robot just as it fired, knocking its aim off. The laser grazed the side of Kimiko's head. She cried out in pain as blood began to trickle town her cheek. The robot, free of Jack's grip, took aim again and began to power up its laser. Jack leapt to his feet.
"Override Primary Mission! Authorization 5225! Primary Command Delta India Echo! Execute now!" Jack yelled. "NOW!" Instantly, the Jack-Bots fell to pieces. The other Xiaolin monks looked at each other, confused as to why their enemies had suddenly crumbled, utterly unaware of what had nearly taken place. Jack didn't notice them, nor did he even remember they existed. He ran to Kimiko's side, shoving the pieces of his robots off of her. He fell to his knees beside her unconscious form, gathering the girl into his arms.
"What in tarnation…" Clay began, noticing what was happening for the first time. Omi and Raimundo looked over to where their enemy knelt, holding Kimiko to his chest while rocking back and forth.
"Let go of her!" Raimundo shouted, running over, his anger growing by the second.
Jack noticed the approach of Kimiko's teammates. He looked up at them, tears streaming down his cheeks, leaving dark eyeliner streaks on his paler-than-usual face. His crimson eyes were filled with horror and guilt.
"I didn't mean to, I could've. . ." He whispered hoarsely as sobs wracked his body.
"What did you do, Spicer?" Clay demanded evenly. "What's wrong with Kimiko?"
"I didn't want to hurt anyone. I didn't, I swear, I didn't mean for this. . .oh god, I could have. . . it was an accident. I didn't want this to happen. . .I never. . .not her, not Kimiko." Jack said mournfully, bowing his head after saying her name. Clay and Raimundo exchanged glances. Raimundo nodded, then darted forward, prying Kimiko from the arms of his enemy. He gasped, as blood soaked his fingers, followed by how much was already on his comrade's face and gi(1).
"Spicer! What did you do?" Raimundo cried. He shoved Kimiko into a shocked Clay's arms and flew at Jack, fists flying. Jack didn't even try to fight back, knowing he deserved every blow. When Raimundo ran out of steam, Jack welcomed the darkness that came over him gratefully.
It was hours before Jack managed to pull himself to his feet. He looked around at his broken robots. For the first time in his life, he didn't see possibilities when he looked at that hardware scattered across the otherwise empty field. He didn't see things begging to be built. He didn't even see months of hard work destroyed, like he usually did. He saw monsters. He saw Kimiko being shot before his very eyes again and again. He heard the cold voice that used to be his only friend telling him that he himself ordered what could have very well been her death. For the first time in his life, Jack Spicer didn't want to build robots. He piled the pieces together, making sure the oil leaking from them covered everything. He pulled a lighter from his pocket and set the whole pile aflame. He didn't want his lethal army to hurt anyone ever again. As he watched his robots burn, his watch let out a cheerful beep, informing him that a new Shen Gong Wu had been activated. Jack stared at it in horror.
No more Wu. No more Showdowns. No more fighting. No more.
"I can't." He whispered apologetically, taking the watch from his wrist and flinging it into the fire along with the nearly-charred remains of his once-beloved robots. "I can't."
"I can't. . ." Jack whispered once more, lost in memory. He shook his head. He hadn't thought of that dark day in a long while. He wondered how Kimiko could bear to even look at him. He had almost killed her. He looked down at the goggles in his hands and gazed into their swirled surface thoughtfully. On the other hand, he was quite different than he had been. Perhaps that was why she seemed all right with talking to him. An interesting thought occurred to Jack. He grinned, though the grin was entirely devoid of humor, filled instead with mischief. Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius, was about to make a reappearance.
Four o'clock brought a knock at Jack's door. He, however, was otherwise occupied and didn't answer it.
"Jack? Hello?" Kimiko called. She frowned. His car was in the driveway, he had to be home. She tried the doorknob. It was open. She stepped into the living room of her ex-enemy and looked around in shock. The place was a mess. Boxes, notebooks, and large, rolled up sheets of paper littered the floor. She unrolled one of the large sheets of paper with her foot, to find it was a set of schematics for one of Jack's various robots. She leaned down and inspected the plans with some interest. She knew a little bit about technology from her father, and this was no simple plan. So he really was a genius.
"So nice of you to go through my stuff." A voice said coldly. Kimiko jumped, looking up to find Jack Spicer standing before her, smirking. Her jaw dropped. The boy standing before her was not the semi-normal looking teenage boy she had seen that morning. He was the Jack of her past. He was dressed from head to foot in black, though he was barefoot. He even had the strange curl under his eye in black eyeliner, just like he had before. A fluffy towel was wrapped around his head, but Kimiko had a feeling that the hair underneath was once more firetruck red.
"Jack. . ." she said, not really knowing where she was going with that particular sentence. Jack unwrapped the towel, though he gave his hair a good rub with it before removing it completely. As Kimiko had guessed, his hair was the same color as she remembered. He noticed her staring at him.
"You like it? Yeah, you guys showing up and all, well, it kind of sent me on a trip down memory lane. I kinda missed the old me." Jack said dreamily. He watched Kimiko's face carefully. The Japanese girl was staring at him. No, not at him. Past him. Into almost the very same flashback he himself had experienced a few hours previously. He had no way of knowing this, though he did have his guesses. And he guessed that his plan was working perfectly.
Kimiko, on the other hand, was seeing a completely different person than the one who stood before her. She was looking at a cruel boy who had nearly killed her almost two years before. . .
It had been a basic day for Kimiko. New Shen Gong Wu, the usual banter, an attack from one Jack Spicer that went horribly, horribly wrong.
Kimiko found herself strung between two of Jack's robots, a third pointing a laser directly at her face. She struggled against the two robots holding her, but something was wrong; the robots were stronger than usual for some reason. She heard Jack scream at the robot, though she couldn't quite make out what he said. The robot powered its laser and fired. By some miracle, Kimiko realized she was not dead. On the downside, she knew this because of the searing pain in her head as the laser grazed her. Blood ran down her face as she cried out in pain. Suddenly, the robots dropped her to the ground. She blacked out, bouncing her already wounded head against something hard.
Kimiko woke up several hours later in her own pallet back at the temple. Her friends surrounded her, concern written all over their faces.
"Kimiko!" Omi cried happily. She winced; her head ached.
"What happened?" She murmured. She tried to sit up, but failed. She touched her head, feeling a thick bandage there. The three boys looming over her frowned, their faces darkening simultaneously.
"That no good varmint, Jack Spicer tried to kill you off." Clay told her, anger lacing the normally calm cowboy's voice. Kimiko's eyes narrowed as she remembered him screaming at the robot, probably egging it on.
"I'll kill him." She growled.
"Don't worry, Rai took care of that." Clay said, allowing a somewhat mischievous grin to cross his features. Kimiko looked at Raimundo who smirked darkly.
"I don't think he'll ever mess with you again." He confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest proudly.
"Thanks, Rai." Kimiko said gratefully, closing her eyes for a moment. The boys exchanged glances and left the room silently, smiling warmly at her in turn. She stared at the ceiling. So. Jack Spicer had nearly killed her, and the Raimundo had nearly killed him. Somehow, Kimiko didn't quite feel soothed. Instead, she was angry. Spicer and his stupid robots. They had never been dangerous before. He had to have been deliberately out for blood.
"I'll kill him myself." She decided. "I'll get my own revenge someday."
"Someday. . ." Kimiko whispered to herself.
"Huh?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. Kimiko looked up at him, reminding herself hurriedly that all of that happened a long time ago. Jack was different, he wasn't evil anymore. But it was no small task. He looked like the Jack that had haunted her nightmares for months after that day. He looked exactly like the boy who had stood over her, laughing as she struggled to lift herself from pools of her own blood ever night in her dreams.
"Nothing." Kimiko replied, looking away. "So I see you still live like a slob."
"So, what, you're here to judge my cleaning skills?" Jack demanded, frowning.
"No, I . ." Kimiko faltered.
"I thought I told you to stay away from me!" Jack said sharply.
Jack-bots! ATTACK! Kimiko took a step back, visibly flinching. She shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk." She said, not looking at him. Jack tossed the towel that had been on his head onto a chair.
"Didn't we already cover this? I don't want to talk to you, Kimiko. I don't want to have anything to do with you." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"But I don't think you're giving us a chance." Kimiko replied.
"Giving you a chance? Did you ever give me one?" Jack snapped. Kimiko finally looked up at him, her blue eyes aflame.
"You know what? Yes we did!" She exclaimed. Jack blinked. That was not the answer he had expected, nor did he expect that reaction. Kimiko took a step toward him, her stance battle-ready.
"We gave you every opportunity to become good, Jack Spicer. Even when the rest of us were sick of your crap, Omi insisted on letting you come. Again and again we gave you chances and you blew it every time!" She lashed out, stabbing a finger in his general direction rather forcefully. Jack snorted derisively.
"Yeah? You never really gave me a chance. You never really believed I could change! You only put up with me because Omi asked you to. If it wasn't for him, you would have left me out in the dark!" he shot back. "You guys never wanted me on the team. I don't know why you're having this sudden change of heart." Kimiko let out a frustrated cry.
"I am sick and tired of your stupid emo whining!" She yelled marching right up to Jack. "All I've heard from you this whole time is 'wah wah wah, poor me, look at the injustice!' well guess what? You're absolutely right, Jack! I never wanted your whiny, shrimpy ass on our team! You know why? Because I flat-out don't like you! In case you forgot, the last time we saw each other, you tried to kill me! And I'm the only one here. Yeah, the other guys left me here all by myself because you know what? They don't like you either! But here I am, trying to convince you to come back with me. So get off your stupid emo-trip and stop making this more difficult than it already is!" Every few words, Kimiko jabbed him in the chest, shoving the surprised Jack back against a wall. He stared at her as she glared at him, her breath coming quick and hard. He didn't speak, he simply stared at her in awe and, admittedly, a good deal of fear. Kimiko realized how close they were and took a step back, placing her hands on her hips.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" She asked quietly, though not without fierceness. It was Kimiko's turn to be surprised as Jack's eyes darkened and dropped to the floor.
"If nobody wants me, then why are you here?" He wanted to know, his voice very quiet. Kimiko sighed, running a hand through her hair, which was at the moment short and spiked, with bursts of red and orange thrown in on top as though confetti had fallen into her hair.
"Because I have to. It's destiny. The fates decided that you're one of us. I don't' have any other choice but to put my grudge aside and welcome you with open arms." She said seriously. Jack's eyes stayed on the floor.
"But you don't even like me." He stated softly.
"But without you, we're incomplete. It hasn't made a difference yet, but something tells me that we're going to find out why the Fifth Dragon is so important soon. If you're not there, a piece will be missing, and we'll lose. The world will be lost." Kimiko explained. "We need you, Jack." For a long time, Jack didn't move, nor did he speak. Finally, he looked up at Kimiko.
"You don't need me." He said. "You need my powers. Powers which I have no idea how to access, by the way. You don't want me and I don't…I don't want to go somewhere where I'm not wanted. So how come you can't just, I don't know, suck out the power and go away?" Kimiko sighed. Good question.
"I don't think it works like that." She replied. "I know we screwed up, but can you just give us—give me a chance?" For the first time since she'd arrived, Jack truly considered her words.
"Look, I'm not completely convinced that you're not just out for some kind of twisted revenge, but stick around and. . . I'll think about it." Jack said finally. Kimiko took a deep breath. She pulled together a smile.
"That's all I'm asking." She said. "So, breakfast tomorrow?" Jack blinked.
"Woah, hey, who said anything about breakfast? Or spending time together for that matter? I said I'd think about it, not that I'd come play with you." Jack said, his arrogant demeanor slipping back into place. Kimiko shook her head.
"You said you needed convincing, how else am I supposed to convince you?" she retorted.
"Fine. Make it dinner." Jack amended. "Around six?" Kimiko nodded, flashing him a winning smile.
"It's a da-deal. I'll see you then." She said, without hardly missing a beat. She turned toward the door. She had her hand on the knob when Jack called her name. She turned. He was looking at the floor again.
"I'm. . .look, I'm sorry for. . .about the last time we saw each other. Really. I-it wasn't meant to happen." His eyes met hers with a rare look of complete sincerity. "Ever." Kimiko hesitated, then nodded, slipping out the door. From under her hoodie, she slipped a red notebook. Looking at the "Title" of the journal, Kimiko smiled grimly.
"I forgive you." She said, walking away.
End Chapter Four.
XD So? That's my favorite chapter thus far. Like the Jack's Last Battle flashback? Originally, it was a one-shot, and he actually killed her. But I liked it and decided to use it here. I might still make a one shot of it some day. We'll see.
Anyway, review replies! Splee!
PoisonousAngel: Eee, thanks!
H3llfist: The sad part is, I actually could decipher that…CURSE YOU MEGATOKYO!
FirebenderKitty: Man, what is with all the clay-hate? Seriously! He is soooo under-appreciated. :(
PyroKittyKat: lol, thanks! hands over cookie Enjoy!
Daxo: Aw, come on. The big/small thing is adorable! Lol, I don't know who she'll end up with, though, so don't worry yet. And I hadn't considered his special Wu…I don't know why…lol. And I gave you Jack back…happy? ;)
FireBladeQuickclaw: Eh, yeah, eventually. I heart villains…
Chickens: . . .wish granted. . . .your name makes me giggle. Why is that such a funny word?
Cara: Yep. I wrote it all for the monkeys. I hope you liked it. (Kelso style BURN!) Congrats on being my first flamer.
I'm now taking pity reviews…I have a cold. :(
