This chapter's quite short, sorry. It's mostly about Jack. I hope you like it.
Chapter 7
Plan B
Jack sat in his dark basement and listened to the silence of the house above him. No sounds of the vacuum cleaner or television. No house parties or dinner parties. His mam was gone and he was still struggling to get the thought of it to stick in his mind. He kept forgetting. Forgetting that his mam was dead. He did miss her though. More than anything.
He knew it was his fault. It was all his fault. He had caved in to Wuya and given her a body, even though if he had repeatedly said no to her she could have done nothing about it because, obviously, she was a ghost. But no, he'd given in and helped her. And now his mam was dead and a war had begun. Was he to blame for the whole war? Yes. He knew he was. The Dark Queen, whoever the hell she was, couldn't have started a war against Wuya if there was no Wuya to fight against. It was his fault and he knew it. And it was his fault his mam was dead. And it was his fault Raimundo was missing. He hated all the warriors but he'd never wanted them dead. He liked to think that was because he was merciful, but deep down, he knew he was just not evil enough. And now the guilt of it all was so overwhelming he thought he was going to be crushed by the very weight if it.
So here he was, locked in his own basement with a load of robot parts and no motivation left to put them together. He was huddled in the corner, hugging his knees. The house was cold. Cold and silent. His impending doom drawing ever closer and the only thing that could save him was just out of his reach. He didn't know how he was going to get the Healing Hand of Dashi from the Xiaolin Temple but Wuya would be coming soon to let him out and he'd have to get it then.
Jack got to his feet and began pacing around the basement, forcing his thoughts to remain on the Healing Hand of Dashi and nothing else. Then something in the corner of the room caught his eye and his plan formed instantly. Jack grinned, looking so much like his old self, and let out his trademark evil laugh.
.:.:.:.
Omi sat at the kitchen table listening to reports of the war on the radio which was perched on the kitchen windowsill where it got the best reception. The battle was currently raging in India. This Xiaolin death count so far was 2,000, but the battle was still young and Omi knew there would be thousands more. The Heylin death count was 3,000. Omi sighed. He was anxious to go to war. He knew it was dangerous but he had to fight to protect the world from evil.
Kimiko slouched into the kitchen. She had just come in from outside and her cheeks were flushed with the cold. She dropped into a seat opposite Omi and rested her elbows on the table and propped her head up on her hands.
"Any good news Omi?" she asked.
"I am afraid not, Kimiko," Omi replied gravely. Kimiko stared at the radio, as if she could see the reporter who was speaking, but her eyes were glazed and distant and Omi could tell her was neither seeing nor hearing the reporter. She was thinking about Raimundo. She was always thinking about Raimundo. Omi was beginning to worry. Master Fung had said she would let go eventually but that didn't seem very likely right now. She seemed to be doing everything she could to cling onto him, and make sure everyone else did as well.
Clay burst into the kitchen at that moment, panting.
"Spicer," he said. "He's trying to steal our Shen Gong Wu."
"He'll never get into the vault," Kimiko said, not taking her eyes off the radio.
"We've still got to get rid of him," Clay said and then ran from the room again, Omi at his heels. Kimiko rose from her chair and followed them at a slow pace. She didn't see the need to rush.
In the Temple grounds, Sampson was already fighting Jack. He threw a punch at Jack and then yelped in pain and clutched his hand.
"It's metal!" he cried.
"Jackbot!" Omi said, pointing at the phoney Jack.
"No, Jackbot doesn't do what Jack wants. That's got to be the Chameleonbot," Clay said.
The robot delivered a quick blow to Sampson's head and sent him reeling. Sampson ploughed backwards into the snow.
"Wudai Crater, earth!" Clay growled. He stomped heavily onto the ground, his foot going straight through the blanket of snow. The ground shook like an earthquake and knocked everyone over except Clay. Clay ran towards the robot while it was down but he got there too late. It jumped to its feet and flew away on its fake helibot. The other three warriors, now wet off being knocked into the snow, stood beside Clay and watched the robot fly off.
"Why did Jack send his Chameleonbot?" Kimiko asked. The others only shrugged, clueless.
.:.:.:.
By the time the Xiaolin warriors were watching the Chameleonbot fly away, the real Jack was miles away, flying as far away from his house and Wuya as fast as he could. He knew Wuya wasn't stupid and she would probably realise the Jack she beating up for returning without the Healing Hand (always assuming he was right in thinking the robot wouldn't be able to get it- it would be too well guarded) wasn't the real Jack not very long from now, he just hoped it'd give him enough time to find a place to hide. He didn't know what he'd do then. He couldn't stay in hiding for the rest of his life, but he told himself not to think of that yet. He'd take it one step at a time.
He looked down and saw China whizzing by below him. It was the country he had called home for many years and he found that if he ever had to leave it, he wouldn't be sorry to go. Too many bad things had happened here. However, he had nowhere else to go. His first choice would have been America, but of course, he couldn't get into that country anymore. Not alive anyway. He glanced around nervously, already feeling paranoia settling in.
"It's just your imagination Spicer," that odd voice said. He knew for a fact it wasn't his voice because he never called himself Spicer, but the only place it could have come from was his own head. An unsettling chill rippled down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold atmosphere. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and lowered his goggles over his red eyes. He continued to circle the Chinese skies, searching for a place to hide, but deep down, that voice was there and it wasn't his voice.
.:.:.:.
Wuya screamed with rage when she discovered the Chameleonbot in place of Jack. She threw a green ball of Heylin light at it and the whole thing exploded. Robot parts rained down around her as she stormed from the Spicer house.
"I'll find you, you useless bastard," Wuya promised the empty winter air. "And when I do..." she laughed cruelly. She took to the sky and flew off in the direction of India to join her troops.
I hope you liked it. I'll update as soon as possible. Please remember to review.
