A/N: I was pretty damn hungry when I wrote this, you'll see the influence. Anyway, to be safe, I'm caling this chapter out as being rated M. Starts dark, stays dark, and ends stupidly. Sorry 'bout the ending, it went according to plan, but it still sucks. However, fear not! The angst is not over yet! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (coughs, shokes, dies) Enjoy!
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Landing outside Chase's lair, the dragons found the door wide open. They charged up and into the throne room.
"Welcome," a voice far more chilling than Chase's met their ears.
Sitting sideways on the throne with his legs over one arm rest and his head resting on the other, Jack glanced at them. He grinned widely; a thin tongue flicking out as he did.
"So what brings you here?" he said, jumping from the throne, "Come to take me back?"
"Take you back? We never chased you off!" Kimiko was caught off guard.
"You were going to, but now you don't have to! Chase is out of the picture now. I'm sure that makes me an exception to the Xiaolin rules. I'll be the same rank as you in no time!"
"That's great," Kimiko smiled, "Now come back with us…"
"Umm… No, I think I won't."
"What?"
"I can crush you. Smother you. Annihilate you! Why sink to be like you! I own you! Pledge your loyalties to me and you won't end up like Chase," Jack pointed to a corner of the hall.
There he was. Chase Young. The epitome of evil lying crumpled in a corner with a dog collar around his neck and a chain binding him to the wall. The dragons turned back to Jack with fear. A wicked smile crossed his face.
"So how 'bout it? Hm? How 'bout you Kimiko?"
"Huh?" she shrieked.
"Give me your loyalties and you won't have to suffer," his smile softened.
"No way!" she growled, "You may have gone sour, but you're not taking anyone down with you!"
"But… I thought you liked me? I'm powerful now. I can protect you in ways you could never imagine," he held out his hand and a green flame flickered up in it.
Kimiko stepped back.
"What's wrong?" he closed his hand.
"You're evil, Jack. I… I can't care about you!"
"But…" Jack's arm dropped to his side, "You were the only one who cared…"
"And you threw that away for an empty promise!"
His heart snapped. In an attempt to make them proud of him, he became conceited. How could he even think of turning any of them evil? He hated them now. He scowled at her.
"If I return to good, I lose these powers and go back to being worthless, but, I get you back, right?"
"Get me back? Jack, you never had me…"
Jack's eyes widened and then became tiny pools of enraged hatred.
"Then die."
"Maybe there was hope for something, but there isn't now!"
"Even if I go back?"
"You can't…"
"There's an antidote, the bean had it…"
"You trusted that bean and traded in all the time you spent with us for power?" Kimiko was nearly in tears, "Everything that was ever good about you is gone, Jack! Gone!"
"If I wanted it back, I could get it…"
"You're a traitor!"
"You never said that to Raimundo any of the times he crossed over…"
"You drank the lao mang lon soup, Jack! You are a traitor!" her face was on fire.
There was a pause.
"Then that's it," Jack said softly, "You have to die now."
Darkness covered the walls. The swirls of faces covered Jack's face. A thousand shadows swarmed around him.
"I just wanted to be worth something…"
A tear dribbled down his cheek.
"Kill them," he murmured.
"Not so fast."
Everyone looked up. In through the ruins flew Hannibal Roy Bean on the Ying Ying Bird's back.
"That's enough Jack."
Jack's eyes dulled and the swarms of shadows disappeared. He slumped over lifelessly.
"It's a pleasure to see you all here in my new home. I see you've met the newest addition to the Heylin cast. Jack really is a good boy. He's done so very well, what with getting rid of Chase for me and all. Hehe. Jack," Jack turned slowly to the bean, "Show them your… evil side!"
Jack burst into his serpentine form. The clothes tore from his body and laid in tatters on the floor.
"Now kill them. Make it interesting, my pet. Heh."
A long tongue slipped from Jack's lips.
"Die," he hissed.
Jack lunged at Raimundo. Pinning him to the ground, Jack let his tongue run over Rai's face.
"Mmmm…"
As his jaw snapped open, the other dragons lunged at Jack, knocking him from Rai's body.
"Did he just try to…"
"Shut up Rai and help us!" Kimiko screamed as they grappled with Jack's flailing body.
Omi made a dive for Jack's face, but the demon bucked him off. Omi flew across the room, landing near Chase.
"Omi…"
"Chase Young?" Omi whispered loudly.
"Get the lao mang lon soup… My kind…" he breathed
"But, Jack is already evil…"
"No… I believe that if he consumes the real thing, he will… be free of the bean's hold…"
"How…"
"I know you can, Omi, just do it…" Chase let his head sink to the floor again.
Omi nodded and headed for Chase's pantry.
"Typhoon Boom!"
"Judulette Flip!"
"Seismic Kick!"
"Shadow Eclipse!"
"It's too much," Kimiko moaned, "He has the strength of two Heylin warriors as well as all those shadows…"
"So, basically, we're screwed," Rai noted as he struggled back to his feet.
"Not yet!" Clay exclaimed.
"Clay's right. Wudai Orion Formation!" Kimiko yelled.
Jack stood back by Hannibal and watched as the Omi-less formation fell to pieces.
"Where's Omi?" Kimiko screamed.
Hannibal and Jack laughed madly.
"Now that was most amusing. Where is our little yellow friend? Why don't you go find him, Jack. I'll keep the warriors company."
A toothy grin crossed Jack's lips.
"Let me kill them," he rasped.
"Don't worry, you'll get your chance."
Jack nodded and bounded off after Omi.
Omi was just emptying a can of lao mang lon soup into a bowl when Jack appeared.
"Omi…" he hissed.
"Y-You must be hungry, Jack Spicer. How about some lao mang lon soup?" Omi grinned stupidly.
"How 'bout I eat you?" Jack cocked his head to one side.
"Me?" Omi screeched, "Oh, I am most unappetizing, but this soup looks pretty good…"
"I think you look better…"
Jack lunged at Omi. Omi dodged him, sending him careening into a wall. On impact, Jack turned to his human form again.
"You sure you don't want some of this wonderful soup for dinner?" Omi smiled again.
"No, Omi, I want you for dinner," Jack said as he rubbed his red head.
"You cannot eat me! I am human like you are…"
Jack grinned, "I'm something greater than human."
Jack snapped his fingers and a bunch of shadows surrounded Omi. Omi looked around nervously for an escape.
"Repulse the Monkey!"
Omi broke through the crowd of shadows and ran to the throne room. There he found his friends sprawled across the floor and the bean wiping his tentacles together. Jack came in right behind him.
"None of that crap!" he shouted, "You're mine, Omi!"
Jack charged Omi once more, this time shifting into his monstrous form halfway. Just as his mouth snapped open, Omi flung the contents of the bowl into him. Choking and sputtering, Jack fell back. Lying on the ground, he clenched the sides of his head and moaned in agony.
"What have you done!" the bean yelled.
"I have simply given him some lao mang lon soup," Omi grinned.
"You what?" Rai moaned from the floor.
"You fool!" Hannibal bellowed.
"Ugh…" Jack was slowly getting to his feet, "My head… Wh-what's going on? Where am I?"
Jack looked around and found the bean at his side.
"Finish them," it hissed.
"Who?"
"Them!" Hannibal motioned to the Xiaolin Worriors who were now getting to their feet as well.
"I…"
Jack caught a glimpse of the pain in their eyes and everything came rushing back to him.
"I'm free…" was all he said as he turned to the bean, "Give me the antidote!"
"Heh," the bean laughed nervously, "Why would I do that?"
"Because you swore you would if I wanted it," Jack stuck out a hand.
"Not gonna happen! Ying Ying!"
The bird swooped down, but it wasn't quick enough. In one hand, Jack held the bird, in the other, he held Hannibal.
"Tell me the truth, you disgusting freak of nature! Who killed my parents!"
"Chase, of course," Hannibal smiled nervously.
"Liar! You did it!"
"How… How could you…"
"I know that you are lying. You killed them to throw me into a living hell!
"Now, now," Hannibal tried to calm him.
"No. Chase was right, you killed them. I see it… I see it in your pathetic mind. You wanted nothing more than to get rid of Chase once and for all. I was nothing put a pawn. Well, watch that backfire in your face! Hand over the antidote or I'll kill you…"
"Kill me?" Hannibal laughed, "You can't kill me, I made you!"
"Watch me," Jack grinned.
"Y-You wouldn't…" Hannibal was nearly shaking, "I own you!"
"Not any more."
Jack threw the bird aside and brought Hannibal to eye level.
"I own you now. Remember, Hannibal, you made me stronger than Chase. I'm not going to make the same mistake he made by simply banishing you," a long tongue came out of his mouth and licked his lips, "I'm going to destroy you."
Hannibal squirmed free and bounced to the floor.
"Ying Ying!' he called in desperation.
Jack grinned as he turned into his demonic form. Just as Hannibal jumped onto Ying Ying's back, Jack's tongue flicked out and caught him in mid air. As quick as it came out of his mouth, it went back it, this time with Hannibal. With a hard gulp, Hannibal was gone.
Silence filled the room. None of its six occupants said anything. Jack turned human again.
"Dude," Rai slurred, "You ate Hannibal Roy Bean! Why didn't anyone else think to do that?"
"Because who knows where that gross thing had been," Kimiko gagged.
Jack licked his lips, "Tasted like a day old burrito."
The dragons shuttered.
"I don't think even I would've eaten something as disgusting as Hannibal Roy Bean," Clay chuckled.
"Well I did, okay? Besides, I wouldn't be making fun of me. I am all-powerful still."
"True," Omi said slowly, "But do you want to be good again?"
Jack looked across the room at Chase then back at the other warriors. Tears welled in his eyes.
"I should never've left you guys," he wept.
"You know," Rai said methodically, "Your plan was initially to get rid of Chase because he killed your parents, which he didn't. But you ended up destroying the greatest evil this world has ever known. Now, does that count as a Wudai quest?"
"I think so," Omi said slowly.
"What does it matter?" Jack grinned, "I can never be anything better than Wudai. I should've just been happy as I was, but I wasn't. I'm sorry I let my greed take me over…"
"Well, this is great and all, but Jack, you're still evil," Clay pointed out.
"But he obviously wasn't meant to be," they heard Chase rasp from across the room, "The balance must be set right again," Chase explained as they approached him, "Jack is strong even without the power of the lao mang lon soup. He is a valuable ally. Besides," he sighed, "I need my powers back, or I'll die…"
"Here," Jack bent over and put his hand on Chase's forehead, "These are yours."
A burst of energy filled Chase Young's body. It was the power of his first bowl of lao mang lon soup all over again. Once the pain subsided, color returned to his face and he broke free of the chains Jack had bound him by.
"Yes," Chase mumbled, "They are."
Jack offered him a hand to shake, but Chase grasped his wrist and sent him flying across the room.
"That felt good," Chase murmured, "I find it interesting," he began as Jack struggled to his feet, "That not even the power of the real lao mang lon soup cannot corrupt you completely. Perhaps there is more to you, Jack Spicer, than I had ever assumed."
"Yeah," Jack laughed, "Well, being evil is fun and all, but… I wanna be good again! I'm no good at being evil…"
"Then I will help you find the antidote," Chase offered.
"Really? That's great. Let's get a move on then!"
As they hurried to the door of the cave, Jack tripped and a bolt of energy flew from his finger tips, shattering the stony door.
Chase went pale.
"Yeah, like I said, I'm no good at being evil…"
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MissKeith I just wanted to make sure that you understood that responce I sent you about Ecstacy. Seemed a bit confusing to me now that I think of it... lol