I disclaim Xiaolin Showdown and all its characters, I in no way profit by writing this fanfiction.

(though, If I DID own XS, Chack would totally be canon and there would be a LOT more seasons, lol)

hope you enjoy the story!

Chapter 34

Dojo and the gang made their way back to the temple, Master Fung moved to greet them as they dismounted the dragon.

"Welcome home my young monks...Did you succeed in securing the Immortal Weapon?" he asked his voice hopeful.

The teens all looked at each other dejectedly, and then away as their leader stepped forward " I'm afraid not, Fungmiester...We think Chase Young might've beat us to it..." He sighed "We flew as fast as we could, but by the time we got there, all trace of it was gone! We looked for hours, but we couldn't find it anywhere!" Raimundo growled, his hands curling into fists as he grit his teeth in frustration.

the wise old monk sighed "That is...disappointing...But..." He lifted his hands, setting them on Raimundos shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze "You did your best...and that's all I've ever asked of you."

The Shoku leader gave his master a weak smile "That's...nice for you to say, Master Fung...But we're going to have to step up our game big time...The Bean has the sword...Chase has the flower...We CANNOT keep messing up like this! We need to work HARDER to find the remaining Immortal Weapons. No matter WHAT it takes."

"I'm with Rai on this one" Kimiko said, crossing her arms "We need to start looking for the other weapons NOW. Maybe we should consider using the golden tiger claws...to reach their location faster"

"A wise idea, Kimiko" the old monk praised "But first, you must rest."

"Rest?" Omi asked, raising an eyebrow "But Master Fung-"

"No 'buts' Omi. You're not going to find them any faster if you're exhausted...Your minds and bodies must be cared for...not JUST your mission objective You've all been training and searching non stop, and it's time for a well deserved rest."

The young monk sighed "Yes, Master Fung...of course, you're right."

"He usually is" Clay said, giving Omi a pat on the back. "Now how about we all go meditate for a spell, and then see about gettin' us some food in our gullets?"

"Sounds like a plan, rock man" Raimundo said, shooting him a grin and giving him a wink.

"Actually, I was thinking of participating in something a bit more...proactive..." The Elder monk chuckled "There is a festival being held in the village near here..." Master Fung said, tucking his hands into his sleeves "I thought perhaps it would be good for all of us to take some time to relax... You have all been pushing yourselves much harder than usual, after all..."

"A festival?" Kimiko asked excitedly. "I have the perfect outfit for that!"

"Man...It's been a while since we've been to one of those, huh?" Raimundo said touching his chin in thought "What do you guys think?"

"I think I is time to Boogie Up!" Omi said, grinning

"Down" Clay corrected.

"Yes! Up, down, sidewise, all of the directions shall be boogied!" the little yellow cheeseball grinned, shaking his hips excitedly

Raimundo shook his head, facepalming and sighing heavily, but a small smile tugged the corner of his mouth upwards

"Never change, Omi. Never change..."

"I can't believe you ate all those cupcakes..."

"Ugh..."

"...I CAN'T believe you ate ALL those cupcakes!"

"UUUUUGHHHHH...!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ATE ALL THOSE-"

"Shut UP, Spicer, I get the point!" the dragon lord scowled, hissing as he sat back on his throne, groaning as he leaned back, rubbing his temples "I'm going to get a sugar hangover from this for certain...I can already feel it settling in..."

"Forget a sugar hangover, I'm shocked you were able TO eat that much" The techophile said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Quite frankly, Spicer, so am I..." The dragon lord admitted "I MIGHT have gotten carried away..."

"I warned you to tap out after cupcake 45..." Jack said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms

Chase gave a grunt of acknowledgement. "So you did...Next time I believe I may heed your warning..." he grumbled, leaning back in his throne as he stomach gave an audible gurgle of displeasure.

"Well, look on the Brightside...At least you havn't throw up yet!"

Chase turned to him slowly, giving him a sour look, his face a bit green..and not in his usual manner. "PLEASE...Do not mention vomit, Spicer..." he grumbled, giving out a low belch as he quickly covered his mouth

"Hehe...oops..." Jack winced, holding up in hands in defense "I'll, uh... go...fetch you a bucket, huh?"

Chase grunted as he stomach made an audible noise, a hand going to his mouth again.

"And be quick about it...!"

000000ooooo000000

Jack fled the room, swiftly moving down the hall as he tried to recall the exact layout of lavish maze of walkways and halls.

"Let's see, let's see...Where's the nearest supply closet, there's bound to be a bucket in there..." he muttered "Was it the thirteenth room on the left, of the eighteenth room on the right...?"

As he stopped to get his bearings, a door to his right seemed to slowly open all on its own. Hearing the low squeak, Jack moved over to the door, pushing it open and peering inside. His eyes lit up as he saw a large walk in closet full of cleaning materials and old rugs that needed to be beaten at some point that had been stored away by less diligent jungle cats.

"Haha! Found it!" he grinned. Moving inside as he rummaged around, shoving the carpets aside as he felt around in the dim light of the room, his hands victoriously catching hold of a handle to a metal bucket as he reached around a crowded corner.

"Ha! Gotcha!"

::SLAM!::

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Jack jumped, yelping as the door suddenly slammed shut behind him, sending the room into total darkness.

"Hey, what gives?!" Jack yelled as he held his arm out in front of him, feeling for the door handle. pulling on it to no effect "CRAO! Where's the light switch, maybe there's something I can use as a lockpick..." he grumbled reaching up blindly into the darkness. His hand bumped the chain hanging from the ceiling, which recoiled and almost seemed to wrap around his hand. Jack have a victorious grin.

"Haha! Score ONE for jackaboy!" he grinned as he gave it a tug, A soft 'click' came from behind him as the lights came back on, cutting the inky blackness as light filled the room.

"Phew, that's better..." Jack sighed in relief when he could see once more. Grabbing the bucket he'd dropped in his panic, he turned around, only to find himself looking into the yellow and red eyes of Hannibal Roy Bean.

"Well, hello Jack..."

000000ooooo000000

Jack jumped back, his mouth opening to scream, only to find the fleshy tentacle of the bean wrapped around his mouth and throat to silence him as the other arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him back as the goths muffled scream filled the air,

"Shhhhh..." he whispered into his ear "now, now, Spicer, we wouldn't want to alert CHASE to this little meetin' now would we?" he asked in completely cheerful, pleasant tone, the sound of something tapping on metal letting Jack know that the bean had the sword with him...The sword that could kill even immortals.

Jacks eyes widened as he quickly shook his head. The Bean chuckled and released him, his tendrils unwinding from around his body "I thought not..."

Jack pulled away from the bean, stumbling forward as he whipped around, rubbing at his neck "Hannibal Bean...What are you doing here?" He asked turning around to keep his back guarded against the demonic legume.

"I SHOULD be askin' YOU that question, Spicer m'boy..." The bean smirked "Last time I checked, Chase Young didn't give one flyin' IOTA about anybody...least of all YOU."

Jacks posture slumped a bit at the jab. If he'd been a cat, his ears would've been laying back. "Yeah, well...Things are different now...I live here!" He muttered as he looked away uncomfortably, crossing his arms

"Oh, I heard..." he nodded "I heard all about you blowin' up your own house...Not one person offered to take you into their home, did they...?" he asked "How sad...Of course, what I'M curious about...is why CHASE of all people ALLOWS you to stay here, when you have absolutely NOTHING to offer him..."

"I clean the citadel" Jack insisted "Better than his cats, even... and I cook, and...and...besides! He's training me" Jack said with a firm nod

"TRAINING you?" The Bean asked, giving a dark laugh "Why would someone like Chase Young want to train YOU?"

Jack looked away again "He said I needed training so I can be-"

"Of more USE to him?" The bean filled in, his voice seeming to purr into his ear as he shrank down and began circling the evil boy genius, causing him to shiver as the legume hopped onto his shoulder "Yes, of course...Chase Young WOULD train you just enough to be useful to him...But not enough to have any REAL effect...Just look at you...Still as scrawny as ever...You wanna know WHY? Because ultimately...you mean NOTHING to him...Do you HONESTLY think that once you're little mansion is rebuilt and you finally get out of his hair, that he's EVER going to bother with you again?" he asked "You're nothing"

"You're crazy" Jack said, crossing his arms "Chase said-"

"What? That you have potential?" he said, giving a knowing smirk. "EVERYONE has potential of some kind, Jack...You think you're special to him? HA..!" he said, jumping onto his nose. You're just a clumsy, awkward, clingy, irritating WORM compared to him...One of the mere thousands he's encountered in his life...You're just something he can amuse himself with for a while...A new toy...And when you CEASE to amuse him anymore...He'll discard you just like he discards the husks of the dragons he imbibes for his Lao Mang Lone Soup...He makes THEM feel welcome and special too...Until he's done with them..."

Jack TRIED not to listen to the bean, but his words stung...Mostly because...He had a point...Chase was quite fond of the tactic of lulling his prey into a false sense of security. What if he was right?

What if Chase DID just see him as some...novelty? Something to keep him amused until he was bored of him?

No!

So much had happened since he'd moved in with Chase. After all THAT, it couldn't POSSIBLY be like that!

...Right?

"You're...You're lying." Jack said, turning his back on the bean, his shoulders hunched "Y-You're just trying to..to manipulate me or something. Turn me against Chase!"

"Am I?" The Bean asked, smirking wickedly "Or am I just trying to get you to see the TRUTH?"

"What truth?" Jack asked, scowling"

"That there are better teachers out there for you" He said, sinking into the shadows "Teachers that can see the TRUE value of your subservience..."

"Other teachers?" Jack muttered, "What're you-?"

Jack was interrupted when the door opened, letting out a loud, low creak. When the goth turned to look again, the bean seemed to have vanished completely.

Jack felt a deep sense of unease in his stomach. Feeling confused, wary, and anxious, he grabbed the bucket he'd dropped and backed out of the closet slowly, shutting the door and taking a step back, his heart pounding in his chest.

"...Well...that happened..."

"SPICEEEEEEEEEEER!" yelled Chase, startling the goth, who nearly fumbled the bucket as he suddenly remembered WHY he'd been looking for it in the first place.

"Gahh! Cheese and crackers! I'M COMING, CHASE!" He called, running down the hall, back towards the throne room, the feeling of being watched leaving him, but the sense of unease still sat in his stomach like a worm gnawing at an apple.

The Bean was wrong.

He was just lying to him. Decieving him like he deceived everyone else! Jack knew his game...but what did he have to gain? Why come to HIM?

...And what had he meant by...'other teachers'?

HEY GUYS!

Hope you're all doing well, I'm managing to keep to my promise about updating regularly so far this year :) I'm gonna try to update more frequently.

lots of real life bullshit, but I'm powering through it.

Be sure to leave me lots of reviews. You guys have no idea how much your reviews keep me going.

You all inspire me :)

I hope all enjoyed the new chapter! I worked very hard on it :)

Speaking of Working hard, I'm holding a Heylin Showdown Fanart contest on my deviantart account Xilex90

Send in your Heylin Showdown Fanart, and the top 3 winners will receive fabulous prizes!

see my dA page for more details!

Until next time, readers!

I love you all!

~Xile90~