*this chapter has been updated! please enjoy!*
Chapter Four
Jake groaned as he crumpled a piece of paper in his hands and tossed it into the mini basketball hoop that sat above his trash can, adding it to the growing pile that sat inside.
When he had arrived home yesterday, his mother tore into him instantly. She yelled at him for a good half an hour until his father came to his rescue by mentioning that she had a doctor's appointment. She managed to squeeze in another 5 minutes of yelling before she finally let Jonathan lead her out the door.
Once they returned, his mother gave him the silent treatment for the rest of the night and hadn't been in to check on him even this morning before she went to work. His father threw him a few apologetic glances but took Susan's lead and also didn't say a word to him knowing better than to go against his pregnant wife.
Jake was actually kind of thankful for that since it gave him plenty of time to do the research he needed to do without anyone finding out what he was doing.
He felt bad that he didn't confide in them about the banshee and the vision, what he thought it could mean. But he couldn't tell them the entire truth just yet. At least not until he knew for sure what was going on.
He could picture the look of shock on his mother's face as he described the details of the dream and how she may have protectively put her hands on her belly as he told her he thought the boy in the vision could be the baby she was carrying. He imagined his father, who was still getting used to the magical side of his family, looking at him in disgust and fear as he told him about seeing the blood on his claws and how he thinks he was the one that...
No, he couldn't bear the thought of alarming his parents in that way. So if it meant them being mad at him for a bit, he would have to deal with that.
He stayed up all night and morning doing as much research as possible to try and figure out what happened. He even went against his gut and borrowed a few books from his grandfather, as inconspicuously as possible. When his search turned out not to help much, he decided to try another approach. There was still one thing about that night that he couldn't quite remember and he thought it just might be the thing he needs to solve this whole mystery. The strange figure he saw that night. It was still blurry in his mind but there was definitely another person there. He had to try and remember so he could find out if that other person was just an innocent bystander, or if they had other intentions.
He sighed loudly, crumpled up another piece of paper, and threw it into the pile.
"Come on, Jake, think." He put his pen back against the paper as he tried again to outline what he saw that night. He hadn't drawn in years but it was the only way he thought would help him remember what figure it was that he saw.
He usually had a pretty decent memory but for some reason as hard as he tried he couldn't remember what or who it was that he saw. He looked up at his laptop at the terrifying image that sat staring back at him and wondered, hoped maybe, that he had seen the banshee. Maybe that was the figure he saw and maybe he was the one that would die. The thought of that gave him a short-lived feeling of hope. Although he by no means wanted to die, he would much rather lose his life than take an innocent one.
He shook his head at the thought, there was no way what he saw was a banshee. The figure he saw seemed humanlike not like the creature that looked at him now. Although he was sure that this image wasn't completely accurate, he had a general idea of what they looked like.
He sighed in frustration and pushed away his sketchbook before pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes. Staying up all night was finally catching up to him. He took a deep breath and pushed through the tiredness before looking down at the pile of books down by his feet. He managed to find about 12 books on legends and fairytales but barely any of them had information on banshees. And the ones that did merely covered information he already found by himself on the internet.
He had just opened one up when he heard a knock on his door. He sighed, quickly closing the book, set it on the desk, and got up to answer the door.
"Haley, I told you I was busy. What do you need?"
"Well, you have two guests downstairs that wanted to come and see you."
Jake nodded at her impatiently.
"Okay, I know. That's Trixie and Spud obviously, so tell them to come up."
"Well they were about to, but I told them that since you're grounded it would be better if you received them downstairs."
Jake raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about? I'm not grounded."
"Well, not yet but we both know you will be eventually," Haley said, shrugging a bit.
Jake yelled over her head for his friends to come up before turning his attention back to the little girl.
"Why don't we just call it what it is, Haley. You want me to go downstairs so it'll be easier for you to listen to our conversation."
She gasped and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "That is so not it. I was just trying to keep you out of trouble like a good sister, but if you don't want my help, I'll go."
He touched two fingers to his head before pulling them away in a mock salute to his sister who in return stomped off toward her room. Jake chuckled a bit and watched her door slam just as his friends reached the top of the stairs.
"What's up, man." Spud smacked his hand against Jakes before slipping by him into his room.
He was followed by Trixie and then Jake who closed the door after them. Trixie nearly ran back out once a pungent odor overwhelmed her senses.
"God, Jake when was the last time you cleaned your room?" Her hand shot up to cover her nose.
"Uhm..." he silently counted in his head. "About 4 years ago."
She glared at him, her fingers pinching her nostrils.
"I'm kidding, Trixie. It's been like a week and it's not even that bad."
Spud leaned his head back and took a deep breath. "I don't know what she's talking about, smells fine to me."
Trixie rolled her eyes at them and went to open a window, letting some much-needed fresh air in. The light that came in illuminated the room and what Trixie saw on Jake's desk surprised her.
"Are those... books?" she asked. Jake followed her gaze to his desk. "And notepaper? Jake, are you studying?" Trixie walked over and picked up a piece of paper, she recognized her friend's barely legible handwriting on it.
Spud looked over at the open laptop, the picture that he saw on the screen made him yell out loud.
"Dude what is that?!" He covered his eyes but snuck another peek through his fingers. Trixie was also disturbed by what she saw but she instantly recognized the creature she was looking at.
"It's a banshee," she stated.
Spud slowly lowered his hands. "Oh man... that's what you saw?" He shuddered at the thought.
"Well I didn't see it, I just heard it, but trust me that was bad enough." He walked over to the computer, clicking on the soundbar underneath the picture. A loud screech filled the room, it sent a chill through his friends and although the sound was just a couple of seconds long, Trixie and Spud were visibly shaken by what they heard.
"You heard that?" Spud asked his friend.
"Something like that," Jake shrugged. The truth was that what Jake heard was far more terrifying and sinister than the sound that came from his computer.
"Anyway," Trixie started. "Did you find out anything new?"
"Not really," he said, disappointed. "There's not that much accurate information on the internet about banshees, it's mostly made-up stuff. I borrowed some books about them from Gramps, but they all pretty much say the same thing." Trixie chuckled at that statement.
"Did he go into shock when you told him you wanted to borrow some books?"
"Nah, I just told him I needed them to hold my T.V. up. Which was kinda true anyway." He pointed to a large stack of books that now sat comfortably underneath his television. "One book did say something interesting, though. It said that a banshee is supposed to be weeping for the person that's gonna die, kinda like what y'all just heard. If you listen real close, you can hear that it's like crying." He reached for his mouse to play the sound again but Trixie's hand quickly shot out to grab his.
"I, uh... I think we get it, Jake." She tilted her head towards Spud who had both hands clamped tightly over his ears. Jake nodded and continued.
"Anyway, what I was getting at is a banshee is supposed to be sad about the death. And it cries to show its sympathy."
"By scaring the life out of you and nearly blinding you? That doesn't sound like sympathy. That sounds evil," Trixie plainly stated.
"That's just the thing, they aren't supposed to be evil."
"How can they not be?" Spud asked. "I mean they pretty much kill people."
"Actually, they don't. People don't die because the banshee cries, the banshee cries because people die. See what I mean? Most people assume that banshees are just psycho murderesses that take pleasure in the deaths of their victims, and that's not how they are."
Spud nodded and sat down on the bed. "So then what now?" he wondered.
"I got no clue," Jake said as he lay down next to him, looking up at the ceiling. "All I know is that a banshee's cry means the death of someone close to you. And according to some of the books, it can happen up to 9 years after you hear it." He brought his hands up to rub his temples. "It's starting to get to me. How am I supposed to live with all this for that long?"
Spud patted his friend's arm in an attempt to console him. "You might not have to, there's still a possibility that it was just a dream."
"That's what I've been saying," Trixie said, taking his seat at the desk.
Jake pushed a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "I just wish there was a way to know for sure. Because if it was a dream and I didn't hear a banshee that night, then I'm stressing for nothing. But if it is what I think it is, I have to try and find a way to get ahead of this thing, to stop it from coming true." He felt hot tears prickling the corners of his eyes and quickly shut them to keep them from falling.
Trixie suddenly jumped up from her chair and clapped her hands together.
"Okay, you know what? We're gonna figure this out and we're gonna figure it out today. Because there is no way we're about to let some crazy dream or some creepy screeching lady keep our boy Jakey down." She looked to Spud who nodded in agreement. "But first things first, we can not work under these conditions. I'm gonna go find some Lysol and possibly a bulldozer to clean up this funky room, Spud and Jake you guys can..." She was cut off by light snoring and looked over at Jake who she noticed had started to doze off.
"Aw," Spud said once he saw the other boy. "He's so cute when he's asleep. Isn't he, Trix?"
Trixie scrunched her nose at him but couldn't help smiling. "Alright, maybe we should take over for a bit and let him sleep. C'mon Spud, let's get to work."
"Aye, aye Captain Carter," Spud said as he got up off the bed and headed out the door.
Trixie followed but paused and looked back at her other friend for a moment. "Don't worry Jakey, we got your back."
oOoOoOo
Jake jolted straight up in his bed as he woke up. His eyes instantly went to the clock that sat on the end table by his bed and he cursed under his breath as he realized that he had been asleep for almost three hours. Although, he knew that he still hadn't slept nearly long enough to make up for being awake for nearly two days straight.
He reached up and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. Once he opened them again and looked around, he noticed that his entire room was spotless. He chuckled to himself knowing Trixie must not have been able to stand it anymore and decided to clean.
"What am I gonna do with that girl?"
Just as he got up off the bed, Trixie walked back into the room, a basket full of folded clothes in her hands.
"Look who's finally awake," she said, setting the basket down.
He smiled as he stretched and walked over to her. "Is this gonna be our new thing? Like every time I wake up, you're gonna be there?"
"You say that as if it wouldn't be the best thing that ever happened to you," she said with a smirk as she opened up his dresser drawer and began putting the clothes away.
"More like the best thing that ever happened to you." He stood next to her, leaning against the dresser. "I must say I do like the new addition of waking up to you doing my laundry for me, though."
"Boy, don't even start. You have no idea what I had to go through to get this room clean." She shuddered as she recollected some of the questionable things she had found in there.
He laughed and reached over to grab some of the clothes, helping her put them in the drawer. "Well, thank you, so much. I really appreciate you guys coming over and helping out. And you didn't have to do all this."
Trixie smiled up at him and shrugged. "Don't worry about it, that's what best friends are for."
The pair finished putting away the rest of the clothes when Spud came back into the room.
"Hey man, you get enough sleep?"
"Way too much actually. Let's get busy."
The trio headed over to a corner of the room that Trixie had set up for their day of research and got right to work.
Jake had initially felt a burst of optimism now that his friends were going to be there, that maybe now he would be able to find the answers he needed. But after an hour and a half of reading and internet searching, the group came up with no more answers than he had before.
Jake had just slammed one of the books shut in frustration when his phone rang. He quickly swiped the green phone icon without bothering to see who was calling.
"Hey, I can't talk right now," he said, unable to hide the irritation in his voice.
"I'm sorry," came a familiar voice that instantly brought a smile to his face. "I was just calling about that 5 minutes of my boyfriend's time that I ordered. It still hasn't arrived yet."
Jake laughed a bit and stepped out of the room, ignoring the questioning looks from his friends.
"I'm sorry. Hey, Rose, how are you?"
"Hey yourself," she said. He could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. "I'm doing well. How about you, is anything wrong?"
Jake bit down on his inner cheek as he realized he was about to have to lie to her, again.
"Uh, yea, something is wrong. G hasn't been able to talk to the dragon council about me getting the rest of the summer off yet. So I have to work patrols every day this week so far." He added the last bit as hopefully a way out of explaining his whereabouts for the past two days.
"So that's what you've been doing. Why didn't you just tell me?" Relief was prevalent in her voice.
"Well, I was so busy being bummed about it I forgot we had plans. I'm really sorry baby."
There was a long pause before she spoke again.
"You could have still told me yesterday when you called, Jake. I would have been disappointed, but I'd much rather know the truth than to be left alone to my imagination."
His heart tugged when she said the word 'truth'.
"Yea, I know. I promise you it won't happen again. Hopefully, he'll talk to them soon and then I'll spend the rest of the summer making it up to you, okay?"
There was another quick pause and then he heard the smile in her voice once again. "Well, I do like the sound of that. I'll let you go then. Talk to you later. I love you."
"Love you too."
He hung up the phone and sighed. He hated having to lie to her like this, but he did it for the same reason he couldn't tell his parents, he couldn't bear to know what she would think of him if she found out. He wasn't lying about the last part though. Whatever he had to do, he was going to make sure he spent the rest of the summer making it up to her. He walked back into his room and saw Trixie and Spud hunched together talking in low, excited voices.
"Wow, I leave for five seconds and you two are already-"
"Jake," Trixie cut him off with a death glare. "If you finish that thought, I don't care how strong you are, I will find a way to beat you down."
Jake smirked and sat down next to Spud. "Well, what are y'all whispering about, then?"
Spud and Trixie looked at each other for a moment before Spud spoke up.
"Well, you see, Trix and I were just thinking that the people who wrote these books, know way too much about banshees to have just heard about them. The way some of them describe them, it's like they had to have run into one, or at least know someone who did."
"Right," Trixie continued. "So we got to thinking. What if we found them? We could go right to these people and just ask them if they had any type of vision when they had their run-ins. I mean it might not completely answer your question but maybe it would be a step in the right direction."
Jake leaned his elbows on his knees and traced the dusty lettering on the front of one of the books.
"Guys, some of these books are like a hundred years old. Do you think the people who wrote them are still alive?"
"Well, it can't hurt to look, right?" Trixie said with a hopeful tone. "I mean, we aren't exactly making a ton of progress right now are we?"
"And lots of authors decide to use a pseudonym, so we might not be able to find every single one of them anyway," Spud added. "But I'm sure I can backtrack most of the names to find out who they are."
Jake slowly nodded as he considered the idea.
"Alright, let's do it then."
"Sweet!" Spud hopped up off the floor, laptop in hand, and moved to the desk before turning to Jake who had followed him. "Uh... no offense bud, but I kinda need to work alone, because it would be much more efficient without anyone, ya know... breathing down my neck."
Jake looked over at Trixie and shook his head before backing away and sitting on his bed.
"Fine, bro I'll stay out of your way."
"Yea, I mean that's good. But you know what would be even better?"
The taller boy gestured with his thumb toward the door and Trixie burst out laughing.
"Wow, kicked out of your own room? That's pretty tough. See ya Jakey."
"Not just him little miss giggles," Spud said as he turned his attention to her.
Trixie clicked her tongue as she looked up at him. "Hey, this was my idea too, man."
"When I said I don't want anyone breathing down my neck, that means anyone, okay? Come on, both of you out. I need some space to work my magic." He put a hand on Trixie's back and guided her toward the door where Jake already stood, a smirk on his face.
Spud managed to get her out into the hall despite her protests and closed the door behind him.
She crossed her arms and looked up at Jake.
"You know, ever since he got that little bit of peach fuzz, he's been acting like he's the man."
Jake chuckled and turned toward the stairs. "Look, if he can help us figure this thing out, he is the man, okay? C'mon, let's go get some food."
The two of them made their way into the kitchen and pulled out a leftover charcuterie board his mom had brought home from a catering job last night.
"I'm telling you Jakey, your mom's got the best job," she said as she took a bite of a chocolate-covered strawberry. "Y'all always got some bomb food in the fridge."
"Yea maybe you can get into this kind of business too," he said, tossing a grape into the air and catching it in his mouth. " You know, if you ever learn how to make something other than ice," he added with a smirk.
Trixie glared at him and landed a jab in his arm.
"Ow!"
"Oh shut up you know that didn't hurt." She got up from the table and went to the fridge, looking for a drink. "Do you guys have any more milk tea?"
"I don't know, lemme see." Jake made his way over to the fridge, gently putting a hand on her waist to move her aside so he could look. "Hmm... I don't see any but we just bought a whole case. You know what? I bet mom moved it to the basement to make room for the-" he cut himself off as he turned and saw Trixie quickly look away. He smirked and raised an eyebrow at her as he closed the fridge. "What was that?"
"What?" she asked but quickly averted her eyes.
"Did I just catch you staring at me?" he said with a laugh.
"In your dreams. I was just noticing that you have a pen mark on your face that's all."
"Oh really? Well, I guess I'll have to check that out on my way back from the basement huh?"
Trixie rolled her eyes and sat back at the table. "How about, you just go get the tea."
"I think I already do have the tea. Be right back." Jake smirked as he walked past her toward the basement.
Just as he was out of sight, Trixie heard footsteps approaching behind her. She turned around in her seat, expecting to see Spud, but instead was facing Jake's younger sister.
"Oh, hi Haley. How's it going?"
"Hi Trixie!" the young girl said with a bright smile. "You look really, really pretty today. Not that you don't always look stunning, but I especially like your outfit today. And I just love what you've done with your hair."
Trixie put a hand to her chest. "Aw, thank you so much, Haley. You know, it took me forever to get this done. It was the first time I ever braided my hair on my own and..." she trailed off as she looked at the little girl. "Wait a minute, do you really mean that or are you trying to get something out of me?"
Haley tilted her head, giving the older girl a quizzical look.
"Why would I say something I didn't mean?" She walked over to the table and had a seat next to Trixie, helping herself to a strawberry. "Can I tell you something? Don't get me wrong, I love my brother but I've always wanted to have a big sister. Someone I could talk to, you know?"
Trixie smiled at the younger girl and turned to face her. "Yea, I don't have any siblings at all and pretty much the only friends I have are two guys so... I think I have a pretty good idea of how you feel."
Haley gave a sad giggle. "Well, at least you have friends. I never have anyone to talk to. My parents are always working and Jake hardly ever tells me anything." Her eyes drifted down to her lap. Trixie put a comforting hand on her knee.
"Well, I'll tell you what, you can talk to me anytime. About anything, okay?"
Haley smiled and looked up at her. "I would like that a lot. There is one thing that's kind of been bugging me... A couple of days ago, we were all here having breakfast and then Jake just took off out of nowhere and we didn't even know where he was for like 2 days. When he finally got back he told me what happened but he made me promise not to tell mom and dad. He told me you already know about it so... what do you think I should do?"
Trixie was silent for a moment, confused as to why Jake wouldn't tell her that Haley knew about the situation.
"Hold up. Jake told you something happened? What did he say?"
"You know when he went missing the other day. He did tell you guys what was going on, right?" She asked, hoping the older girl would take the bait this time. Trixie smirked once she realized what was going on and sat back in her chair.
"Nice try, Haley. You're not getting nothing out of me."
Haley crossed her arms in front of her and her eyebrows knitted together. "Fine, I'm sorry. But I don't know what else to do. He's been acting so weird lately and he won't even tell me what's going on with him. He's my brother, I just want to make sure he's okay." She covered her face and began to cry.
"Haley, I'm sorry. Don't cry okay? But don't worry, he's fine, Spud and I got him. He's okay." she consoled, pulling the younger girl into a hug.
"Then why won't you tell me what's going on?" Her words broke apart as tears flooded her eyes and she wrapped her arms around Trixie's waist. "I'm his little sister, I just want to help him."
Before Trixie could respond, Jake made his way down the hall, a pack of the milk tea in his hands.
"Drop the crying act Haley," he said sternly. "That's how she found out I crashed dad's car into the mailbox last year, remember?"
Haley's head shot up as she pulled away from the other girl and glared at Jake, wiping away her crocodile tears.
"You can't keep me in the dark forever you know. I'll find out what you're up to eventually." She turned back to Trixie, a guilty look on her face. "Sorry I tried to trick you, Trixie. But you shouldn't be mad at me, you should be mad at Jake for making me resort to such distasteful measures." With that, she marched to the front door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jake asked.
"To grandpa's," she said over her shoulder as she opened the door. "At least he doesn't hide things from me. Besides, I can't just waste these tears. I'm gonna see if he'll take me for ice cream or something." She huffed and slammed the door behind her.
"Damn, she's good," Trixie stated.
Jake smirked and pulled a bottle out, handing it to Trixie. "You're telling me? I'm so glad I convinced mom and dad to let me switch rooms. Haley being right across the hall was awful, I couldn't get away with anything. But with the help of my new room and a little bit of a soundproofing spell, I can finally have some privacy. I'm sorry she came and tried to poach on you though."
Trixie laughed as she took a sip of her drink. "I don't mind it so much. 'You look really, really pretty, Trixie.'" She mocked and shook her head. "Even though she was lying, it's still kinda nice to hear."
"She wasn't lying about that part, Trix." Trixie's eyes shot over to Jake who, judging by the look on his face, was just as surprised by what he said as she was. "I mean, she probably really does think you look pretty today."
Trixie nodded and quickly switched back to her normal demeanor. "I mean, I know I look good already. Outfit? Flawless. Face? Beat. Hair? Slayed, laid, and ready for the haters to throw some shade! But, it's still nice to hear someone else tell you from time to time."
Jake laughed and opened his own bottle of tea. "So, what? Nobody else ever tells you that you look pretty?"
Trixie gave him an exasperated look, noting the implication in his tone. "Jake, don't start."
Before he could say anything else, Spud's voice echoed through the house.
"Eureka!" Spud jogged down the stairs, laptop in his hand, and made his way to the living room, beckoning his friends over. The pair quickly got up from their seats and went to join him. "Alright my fellow compatriots, get ready to tell me you love me."
"You found something already?" Jake said. "We've only been gone for like five minutes."
"I got a hit on the very first name," he said with a shrug. "It was from this book I found on your desk. I just got lucky."
Jake internally rolled his eyes as he remembered the book he left on his desk earlier that day. "Crazy."
"So, what I did is I looked up Burdocks Ming, the author from the book 'Mistress of the Mourning' and it led me to a blog. And not just a blog, an active one, this guy literally posted a week ago." He opened up the laptop and pulled up the page.
"On the Hunt: A Magical Informative by Burdocks Ming. This dude tells stories of people who have met all kinds of magical creatures and in extreme detail, there's no way they're all made up. And he makes dozens of references to his book." He paused and looked at his friends who both nodded to show they were following him.
"Okay, so this book is kinda like his blog, a bunch of stories from different people, but it's specifically about people who have had run-ins with banshees. All the stories are told like some kind of twisted creepy bedtime story. This, makes me a bit concerned for his mental health, but, anyway... The way every encounter is described is almost exactly the same thing that happened to you. Only one thing-"
"He didn't say anything about a vision," Jake's question was more of a statement.
"Well, not exactly. The blinding light, the scream, even having it happen in a place where nobody is around, that's all spot on. But he never directly said anything about anyone having a vision. But he did mention one thing on his blog a couple of months ago that I thought was interesting," he pointed out in an entry on the blog as he spoke. "He said that he doesn't always post every encounter he's told about, he said that some of the interviews he's conducted have been very unusual, and see what he says here?"
"Including a specific interview regarding a banshee that I found very disturbing and couldn't bring myself to publicize." Jake read.
"What could have been so disturbing about it? Maybe this person had a vision too? That's something I think would be good to ask him." Spud said.
"So where does that get us, then? I mean, did you find out anything else about him?" Jake asked.
"I'm getting there, bro, let me have my moment." Spud stood up for effect and stood in front of his friends as he continued. "So, I searched all over the net trying to find this guy but, as I suspected, the name was a pseudonym. I went back as far as I could to try and find out who the real person behind Burdocks Ming was, and I found nothing."
"Spud..." Trixie said, impatiently.
"Okay, okay. Anyway, I thought about it and I figured, how does a person come up with a pseudonym? Some people get inspiration from fictional characters, some get inspiration from people that they know in real life but then I thought... this guy probably used an anagram. I mean, Burdocks Ming? What even is that?"
"Well, Burdocks are plants native to Europe and Asia whose roots and leaves can be used in medicine to get rid of toxins," Trixie stated matter-of-factly.
Both of the boys turned to her, giving her blank stares.
"Wow, clearly the years you spent babysitting Haley really took its toll on you," Jake said with a laugh, causing Trixie to roll her eyes.
"So, anyway," Spud reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notepad. "I went through every possible name that you could get with those letters and only one made sense and uh... it's a bit of a doozy." He opened the notepad and set it down in front of his friends.
Jake quickly reached out and grabbed the book. When he saw the name on the page, he had to read it twice. He looked up at his friend who nodded slowly.
"Spud, this is crazy," he said. "You sure about this?"
"It's the only thing that makes sense."
Trixie leaned over, looked at the page, and gasped.
"Oh my god... does that say, Sigmund Brock?!"
A/N 1.8.22: Hey you guys! For those who don't know, Sigmund Brock was the new principal of Millard Fillmore Middle School in season 2 episode 15. If you haven't seen that episode then you definitely should! Please let me know if you're all enjoying the rewrites! xoxo