Chapter 53: Robot Uprisings and Metallic Koi
Believe it or not, this was supposed to be up over a month ago, but by the time I was done packing for my trip I realized I didn't have a whole lot of this chapter done, so I decided to work on it during my vacation. Long story short, the file got lost somehow (I'm not tech savvy, RIP me) so I had to rewrite the entire damn thing, which let me tell you really destroys your work ethic. And since I'm on vacation with VERY limited WiFi access, I didn't exactly have a whole lot of time to actually rewrite this. It was just an awful mess.
Also, you may have noticed I forgot to take down the delay notice when I posted chapter 52, so if you go to review for this chapter, you won't be able to unless you do it while logged out. That's completely my fault, and I'm sorry for forgetting to take it down earlier, especially since this chapter is really poignant and I had a lot of fun writing it. I'll do my best to answer back.
Also, the taste of pink lemonade is a little shout out to The Wombats song, "Pink Lemonade", and was actually going to be a part of the chapter title, but I decided to scrap it because there didn't seem to be any point to it. It's a cute song though.
WARNING: There is a panic attack and some self-mutilation in the latter half of this chapter. The self-mutilation is pretty minor- it's completely bloodless and it's pretty short- so the panic attack takes more precedence. If something like this triggers you, tread carefully.
On with the chapter!
Valerie had figured she was in the clear. She had already told the others about how she and Raimundo had gotten together in that humiliating discussion in France- she still couldn't believe Dojo and Master Fung had been betting on them, what the actual hell- but she was wrong. So very, very wrong.
Valerie had wanted to start working on the Book of Alexandria, but not soon after unlocking it Kimiko had dragged her to the dorms and forced her to retell every moment of their 'first date', if you could even call it that ("We were looking for Wu, Kimiko!" "But still!"). Never mind that the memory kept invading Valerie's mind at the most inopportune moments, forcing her into a minor fit of clumsiness that was so uncharacteristic of her and incredibly infuriating. Or the fact that every time she happened to think about how soft Rai's lips were, she blushed furiously and wanted to hide her face away from prying, knowing, smug eyes.
Ugh. Having a boyfriend was the worst.
So no, Valerie was in no mood to recall her supposed first date to Kimiko, and yet she did, in the confines of Kimiko's messy room. Between Valerie's quiet voice and too red face, Kimiko learned that yes, Rai was actually a half decent kisser ("Guy's too smug, you need to knock him down a few pegs," Kim had joked), he blushed surprisingly easily ("Cute!" she had trilled), and that his lips tasted a bit like pink lemonade during their first kiss ("Where did he even get pink lemonade?" she had asked curiously).
By the time the interrogation was done, Valerie was a blushing, emotionally drained wreck and had to hide in the scroll room so no one would find her. Huddled up against the corner, the scent of dust and aged paper filling the room, she slowly felt calm washing over her. Her heated skin cooled, her coloring returning to its natural pale shade, and her frenzied state of mind slowed to its normal logical thought process.
Mostly back to normal, and with the nearby window filtering in the afternoon sunlight, Valerie reached for the Book of Alexandria and opened it. Flipping to the first yellow page, she eyed the tiny, messy scrawl that was most likely Dashi's handwriting and slowly began to read. It was tough going, since no matter how good at languages Valerie was, she still had to consciously switch between Russian to Italian to Spanish to French to even a few Mandarin Chinese characters. No matter how fluent she was in speaking, reading in different languages was a whole different ball game.
She had gone halfway through the page when she realized that this first sheet was most likely some sort of story. It was something she barely recognized- the name of the title was on the tip of her tongue, she just knew it, and yet the entire thing simply eluded her. It didn't help that she sometimes had to squint, especially near the edges, where Dashi's writing was pushed together in a messy smudge.
Getting up, Valerie began searching for a magnifying glass, scanning the mostly clean table backed into the wall. Clearing away a few wayward scrolls, she leaned forward slightly to better search around.
Arms suddenly encircled her waist, tightly bringing her backwards into a warm chest. The person leaned down, lightly brushing against her cheek. Warm air blew around her ear, a voice sounding out the beginning of a word.
Valerie whipped her head back and hit him square in the face.
There was a cry of pain and a loud thud, and she whirled around to see Raimundo sprawled on the floor. He was gripping his nose and glaring up at her, his shock evident. "Ai, what was that for?!"
"Oh shit, sorry, sorry, sorry," she said in a rush, quickly reaching over and helping him up. "You just totally surprised me there, I didn't expect you and I reacted badly," she went on babbling.
"Yeah, I can see that," he said flatly, letting go of his now red nose. "But damn, you've got a hard head." He flashed her a teasing smirk.
Sending back a relieved little smile, Valerie joked, "Well, something has to protect my big brain. I can't have anything bad happen to it."
"Fair enough," Raimundo noted before eyeing the scroll room. "What were you looking for anyway?"
"A magnifying glass," Valerie answered, gesturing to the Book still laying in the corner. "Dashi's writing is as small as it messy, so I figured it'd help."
"The others took it to show Omi this one science experiment," Raimundo told her. "Something about starting a fire?"
"Ooh, I remember that one," Valerie said brightly. "Don't you need a pair of glasses though?"
Raimundo shrugged. "As long as they don't set the Temple on fire, I'm good."
"Or set fire to any ants, you know how Omi gets."
"Yeah, the little dude takes his Xiaolin duties way too seriously," Raimundo griped. He then shook his head and turned back towards the Book. "So, any luck on figuring that Book out?"
"I've only read part of the first page, but it looks like a child's fairy tale," Valerie explained. "Something about mice collecting teeth?"
"You mean Ratón Pérez?" Raimundo asked quizzically.
"'The Tooth Mouse'?"
"In South America, it's a mouse who collects teeth, not a fairy," he quickly explained. "But what's that got to do with the Shen Gong Wu?"
"No idea," Valerie said, shrugging her shoulders. "I still need to read more of it to find out."
"I think it can wait, gatinha," Rai said, smiling. "Come on, how long have you been in here studying that old thing?"
"Not long enough, spatzi," she said, smirking a bit. "Pretty sure deciphering the Book takes precedence."
"But it's not like you can't take a break," he told her slyly. "Give your brain a rest so you can come back with a fresh perspective."
Shaking her head good-naturedly, she conceded, "I guess you have a point. Just what did you have in mind?"
Taking her hand in his, Raimundo lifted it to peer at her fingernails. "I've never seen you wear nail polish before. Why the change?"
Valerie's lips pressed together and she averted her eyes, cursing her cheeks for heating up. She had kept trying to flee the interrogation earlier, but then Kimiko had grabbed her hands and forced a sort of manicure and pedicure on her, therefore trapping her easily. The only real say Valerie had had was the nail color, a dark shade of blue that was reminiscent of the TARDIS.
"I don't want to talk about it," she finally muttered.
"Val," Raimundo drawled, drawing her closer.
"Nope. Not saying it."
"Pretty please with that coffee-flavored ice cream you like?"
"No."
"Ugh, you're no fun," he whined, placing her hand on his cheek as his other hand went to her waist. Valerie put her free hand on his shoulder- she wasn't entirely sure what to do with her hand, but Raimundo wasn't complaining, so she figured the shoulder was as good a place as any.
"I can't always be fun, Rai," she said, rolling her eyes. She idly wondered why the dark blue of her nails looked so well against his darker skin, but her train of thought scattered entirely when Rai moved his face so he could press a small kiss to the inside of her palm.
Valerie dot exe rebooting…
Taking a deep, shaky breath, she cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "You don't know where my hand has been."
He raised an eyebrow back. "Among the books, from the taste of it."
With a furrow of her brow, Valerie was about to snatch her hand back when suddenly Clay's voice echoed throughout the hallways. "What was that?" she asked, her voice a pitch higher than usual.
"I'm guessing dinner time," Raimundo told her, amused. He then pressed a swift kiss to her cheek and jumped back, smiling smugly. "See you there, gatinha!" Valerie fumed as she heard him cackle while running away.
"Boyfriends are the worst!" she hissed.
Later
One of the worst things about eating after a Shen Gong Wu hunt was the fact that everyone was famished, and therefore devoured everything in sight like starving wolves. Valerie was barely an exception, only managing to chew her food quietly before gulping it down. Eric would have had a heart attack if he saw Valerie and her friends like this.
The meal was only interrupted by Dojo suddenly popping in and slamming his little hands on the wooden table. "News flash kids!" He gestured to a nearby weather poster. "Today's forecast is clear skies, and a seventy percent chance that a Shen Gong Wu will reveal themselves."
"Not during chow time, little dragon buddy," Clay insisted through a mouth full of meat, carrots, and rice. He was about to bite down on another spoonful when Master Fung suddenly slid into the room, carrying the Ancient Scroll.
"Dojo is correct," he said. "A new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself somewhere in Japan, called the Zing Zom-Bone." He opened the ornate shell to reveal the animated picture window. "This most mysterious Shen Gong Wu has the power to render anyone into a zombie-like state."
"So, we've got a horror movie in the making. Wonderful," Valerie added dryly before popping a chunk of carrot into her mouth.
Raimundo had an enormous grin on her face. "Dude, I would love to have my own army of zombies!" His skin turned gray and shriveled, his eyes red and blood shot, and he made groaning noises as he wrapped his mouth around Omi's head. The little monk just laughed gleefully.
"And so begins the apocalypse," Valerie muttered good-naturedly.
Flying on Dojo's back
"So, let me get this straight," Kimiko said, pulling her shortened black hair into a spiky ponytail, "Eric's girlfriend, who happens to be a black belt, ones her own little clothing shop in Sweden."
"Yeah, apparently it's a family business," Valerie said, nodding. She gestured to the website on Kimiko's PDA. "Victoria recently helped create a website for them, which has some pretty decent traffic according to Eric. I helped by buying a bunch of stuff on sale."
"And you couldn't have told me this earlier?" Kimiko muttered sourly as she perused through the site.
"It slipped my mind," she admitted, pulling her hair out of its ponytail so that it would flow down her back in its usual waves. "Funny we should match, though." And they did, somewhat: Valerie was wearing destroyed jean short shorts and a white and blue striped short sleeved top with a small scoop neck that showed off a bit of collarbone (both of which she bought from Victoria). A silver zipper pulled all the way up was stitched onto her chest, paired with her amber necklace and black flip flops. Kimiko, in comparison, was wearing matching purple and black striped long sleeves and tights, black platform boots, and a sliced up black miniskirt showing off a green under-layer. A green t-shirt with a cartoon skull was over her torso, and the entire outfit was pulled together by a wide black belt with rows of metallic pyramid studs attached.
"Huh, we sort of do," Kimiko mused. She then sneered at Rai. "Step up your game Pedrosa, I'm working this whole couple thing better than you are!"
Raimundo smirked and flipped her off. "You really think Val's gonna leave me for you?"
"Yes," Valerie said flatly. "Rai, we're breaking up."
He gave a loud, melodramatic gasp and brought a hand to his heart. "Why?" he demanded to know.
She shrugged. "She's got better fashion sense."
"Ooooh!" Kimiko and Clay jeered, pointing at Raimundo, who merely pretended to cry into his hands. They all then laughed, Clay patting Rai on the back, Kim and Val trying to hug and failing. Omi just looked extremely confused.
Kimiko then perked up even more. "Tokyo! My hometown," she said as they neared the brightly lit, bustling city. She pointed to a building as they flew past. "Look, over there! That's the Tohomiko Electronics Skyscraper." Said building was a yellow clock tower that vaguely looked like it belonged in a video game.
"Tohomiko…" Omi muttered. "That sounds most familiar to my ears."
A disgruntled Kimiko lightly tapped him on the head. "Hello? That's my last name."
"Huh. I never thought of you with a last name," he replied cheerfully.
"Believe it or not, that's her father's building," Valerie said, jerking a thumb back in the direction of the tower.
Clay's hat popped off his head, and his jaw dropped slightly. "Your dad is Toshiro Tohomiko, the video game tycoon?" He then plucked his hat from the wind and jammed it back on his head.
Kimiko smiled at Clay and Rai's stupefied faces. "Yeah," she said fondly. "I can't wait to introduce you all to him. He's super cool."
"And super rich," Raimundo noted. A Cheshire cat grin stretched across his face, and his eyes became dollar signs. He then put an arm around Kim's shoulders and said, "Have I ever told you that you are my favorite monk?"
Omi stared at him with watery eyes. "I thought I was your favorite." he whimpered. He looked away, lips quivering.
"Nice," Valerie said flatly as Rai reached a useless arm out.
Dojo then swooped down to a sort of fish market near the pier, landing on a tin roof. Shrinking, he along with the rest quickly surveyed the area, playing their favorite game, 'Spot the Wannabe Evil Genius.'
Kimiko pointed to the left. "There's Jack and Wuya." They all turned to see Jack digging his hands into a cart of koi. "I thought I smelled something fishy," she quipped.
Omi's eyes then bugged out. "Curious! Look at that samurai statue." He pointed to the right, where an oddly carved giant samurai held something shiny in its outstretched hands. "It's holding the Zing Zom-Bone."
"Thanks for the 4-1-1 on the Wu, round one," Jack Spicer sneered as he suddenly appeared in front of them. "Now, meet my crew. Koi-bots, attack!" A gushing tidal wave escaped out of the sea, revealing a small army of red and black metallic flying koi fish.
"Fits the location," Valerie noted as she leaped to the side. She then climbed down the building and started running for the statue.
"TORNADO STRIKE: WATER!" she heard Omi yell, spinning and flinging starfish at robots from atop a fountain of water. Like many of Jack's robotic minions, these ones exploded upon impact.
Nearing the statue, Valerie chanced a look back. Raimundo was literally slicing koi in half with a swordfish (because cartoon physics apparently). Clay used his Seismic Kick to create a spiky shield of the wooden floorboards, making the incoming Koi-bots explode upon contact before crumbling into the ocean below. Kimiko used her Judolette Flip to breakdance in a circle, fire exiting her feet and sweeping up the nearby robots in a fiery explosion.
Valerie forced her head back and began climbing up the statue, her flip flops in her back pocket (they were awful for climbing, after all). Digging her fingers and toes into every little crevice available, she jumped up the statue, using her legs for one last push before landing onto the hand where the Zing Zom-Bone was.
Except it wasn't there.
"Seriously?!" Valerie cried as the others- plus Jack- finally caught up.
"Most curious," Omi noted. "It was here just a minute ago."
"Val, please tell me you took it," Kimiko groaned.
"I wish."
Jack, with the most tired and apathetic look on his face, didn't even bother commenting. He just turned around and floated away.
At the Tohomiko Electronics Skyscraper
It didn't take long to get back to the skyscraper, thankfully enough. Entering the building had certainly been an experience- a giant purple eye welcomed you before you went through the front door, what the hell- but stepping onto a moving walkway wasn't too bad. The giant X-rays were overkill, though.
But entering Toshiro Tohomiko's office was like stepping into a sci-fi playground. It was arched and domed like the inside of an alien spaceship, blimps and miniature aircraft hanging from the ceiling. Electronics and robotic toys on pedestals were spaced along the wall in between pictures of family. Instead of a desk there was a sort of circular platform, and behind it was an enormous window overlooking Tokyo.
Inside the arena was a short man wearing brown pants, a yellow button up, and a gray t-shirt with a cartoon graphic on the front. On his head was virtual reality visor, gray gloves on his hands. He was fighting an opponent in his video game, before he sliced his hand through the air in a finishing move. Bowing, he said, "Until we meet in battle again." He took it off to reveal the friendly, bespectacled face of Toshiro Tohomiko, video game tycoon and beloved father.
"Papa?" Kimiko said excitedly, rushing up to him.
"Kimiko! Konnichiwa!" Toshiro exclaimed, immediately jumping down from the platform and enveloping his daughter in a hug. "Welcome home." He then put her down and faced the rest of them, throwing his hands out in welcome. "So these must be the famous Xiaolin Warriors. Kimiko has told me all about you." He bowed, the four of them returning it. "It is a great honor to finally meet in person."
"Hello!" Dojo suddenly piped up. "Dragon here."
"We're sorry about him, he's socially awkward," Valerie said apologetically. She quickly elbowed Clay and Rai when they both snickered.
Toshiro just laughed. "It's fine! You must me Dojo-san," he said to the dragon. "You are much… smaller than I expected."
Slithering up to him, Dojo compared their heights. "I could say the same."
"What a most funny dragon you are," Toshiro said good-naturedly.
Omi then walked up to some of the figurines displayed. "What most exciting gadgets you have, Mr. Tohomiko."
"Thank you." Toshiro then walked over and sat down at his desk, which had been stuffed into a corner like it was a last minute decision. "We are the biggest toy and video game makers in all of Asia."
"Papa's always been a kid at heart," Kimiko told them as she walked up to her father. "When I was little, he got me every electronic toy out there. I had to beg him to buy me clothes!"
"You didn't wear any clothes?" was all Omi got out of that.
"This cowpoke would sure love to get a looksee at your factory, sir," Clay said cheerfully, tipping his hat.
"You mean, a tour," Toshiro said. "Fine!" He then steepled his fingers together. "Now, where is this cowpoke you speak of?"
Inside the factory
The factory itself was basically like how any toy factory on the inside looked: steel walls, workers in blue uniforms, boxes stacked up towards the ceiling, and constantly moving assembly lines. While certainly impressive, it wasn't enough to earn Valerie's awe. Still she smiled as Toshiro and Kimiko led them through the building.
"This is our latest product," Toshiro said, gesturing to the biggest room in the factory. Fat little gray robots made up the ever-moving assembly lines. "The U-Bot: it is a small, personalized robot that takes on the personality and physical form of its owner."
"Cool!" said the rest of the Xiaolin Warriors, along with other sounds of awe.
"So this is how the robot uprising begins," Valerie muttered.
"Sourpuss," Clay chuckled, ruffling her hair.
Toshiro pointed to his head and gestured with his eyes. "It also has a built in video camera that records everything."
"That's great," Dojo noted, "but can it dance?" He then did the wave dance move while singing a break dance tune off key. He finished by sending both pointer fingers Toshiro's way.
"I'm… not sure," he admitted. He then returned the gesture and laughed. "You got me again, funny dragon," he said, rubbing Dojo's head.
The others had climbed down the stairs at that point, eager to examine the new toys up close. Omi reached for one and said, "Greetings, I am Omi, the greatest Xiaolin Warrior ever."
"Omi is the greatest Xiaolin Warrior ever," the U-Bot parroted back in a deep masculine voice.
"Oh Jesus." Valerie face palmed as the rest of the monks reached them. All of their expressions were of varying levels of disgust.
Omi made a noise of approval. "I am most impressed with your superior robot intellect."
"And I am with yours," the U-Bot replied, mimicking Omi's voice and quickly morphing to take on his shape. Valerie blinked; the U-Bot had copied Omi perfectly, right down to the obnoxious personality. And it had done so with liquid ease. That wasn't concerning at all.
"It is so nice to finally have a conversation with someone so intelligent!"
"We're right here," Clay said under his breath. The others agreed with him with their exasperated body language, which Omi somehow ignored.
"I could not agree with you more!" said the Omi-bot.
Hugging his new toy close, Omi turned to Toshiro and gave him large puppy dog eyes. "Oooh, Mr. Tohomiko, please! Is it possible for me to keep my very intelligent new friend?"
"Of course you can keep him, Omi-san," Toshiro reassured him. Omi hugged his new friend and made an overjoyed noise. "In fact, I have U-bots for all of you!"
As the others rushed for the assembly line in a state of pure excitement, Valerie turned to Kimiko's father and said, "Thank you so much for the gifts, Mr. Tohomiko. You really didn't have to go this far for us."
Toshiro laughed. "It is all right, Valerie-san. As a toy maker, it is my great joy to give presents to Kimiko's friends. And you need not worry; the U-bots are programmed not to hurt you in your sleep."
"Kimiko really has told you all about us," Valerie joked. She thanked Toshiro again and walked up to the assembly line. Grabbing the first toy she saw, she slowly said, "Hello, I'm Valerie. Is this the part where you turn into me?"
The U-bot quickly changed, taking on Valerie's form. In a tinny version of her voice, Val-bot replied, "I guess. I'll try not to kill and replace you."
"Well, now I'm skeptical," Valerie mused. "How do I know you're telling the truth? Robots are capable of going against their programming in fiction."
"Very true," Val-bot agreed. "You'll have to take my word for it."
"But should I…?" she mused.
"Oh my god gatinha, calm down," Raimundo said exasperatedly. "Literally nothing is trying to kill you."
"Says you!"
"Papa, what's in the boxes?" Kimiko asked as a forklift carrying a giant box passed by. On it was a large cartoon panda, smiling brightly with the words "Bubba Boy" circling around it.
"It is our greatest venture yet," Toshiro explained, putting a hand on his daughter's shoulders. "We're so backed up on orders I even had to bring in a new business partner."
"That face looks kind of familiar," Kimiko noted casually.
"Now, which of you hungry warriors wants a delicious soba snack?" Toshiro asked, much to the delight of the others.
"That sounds wonderful, thank you," Valerie said amongst the cheers. She walked with the others through another brightly lit hallway, smiling as the others laughed and joked around. She was about to give her own comment when she noticed something green and slithery out of the corner of her eye.
No. It couldn't be.
Blood freezing in her veins, Valerie stopped short and darted into the adjacent hallway, dropping her robot in the process. The others were still conversing, having not noticed her leaving. That was probably for the best; chances were the Prince of Darkness merely wanted to talk, not start a fight. Though honestly, it was a bit hard to tell.
The hallway was dark, the walls the color of granite. Metal pipes hung from the ceiling and it was cramped, like it was only built to accommodate one person at a time. The hallway soon led into a wide area with walkways crisscrossing high above the floor. Steel beams attached the platforms to the ceiling, and each one had metal bars fenced in on either side to prevent anyone walking on them from accidentally falling off.
The area was clearly for some sort of storage, one that hadn't been used in a while if the low lighting was any indication. It was a great place for a sneak attack.
Valerie sighed and crossed her arms, refusing to show how tense she was. "Come out Chase, I know you're there."
Boots clacking against the metal, armor gleaming in the dim lighting, the Prince of Darkness himself walked out of the shadows, his perpetual smirk never leaving his face. "Hello Val."
"What do you want?" she snapped, quickly noting that he was only a few feet away from her.
"Why do you always assume I want something?" he wondered, shaking his head innocently- or as innocently as a reptilian man could. His hands were crossed behind his back, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. "Perhaps I merely wanted to talk to you."
"Doubtful," Valerie spat. "I don't have the patience for your mind games, Chase. Tell me what you want and leave."
He spread his hands out and shot a half-smile at her that still looked smug. "I told you, I only wanted to talk."
"Alright then, talk."
"So hasty," he chided, taking a step forward. She took an involuntary step back and cursed inwardly. She wasn't supposed to show weakness to someone like Chase; small things like that made them feel more powerful, more in control. She cursed more when she saw the triumphant little sneer wriggle itself onto his face.
"Why do you keep coming to me?" Valerie sputtered out, hoping to distract him. "A fifteen year old girl can't possibly be that interesting to talk to."
"You'd be surprised," he hummed, putting both hands on the side bar and looking away from her. He seemed more relaxed now, and Valerie almost entertained the thought that he really was just here to talk. Almost. "I find people to be so dreadfully dull. When you live for as long as I have, you notice how so many of them fit into a finite amount of templates. Humanity just doesn't seem to change." He turned to her, yellow eyes gleaming. "But someone with your template is unusual."
Valerie rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Is this you telling me how 'I'm different from everyone else,' how 'I'm not like other girls'?" she mocked, giving him a cold glare. "Because that's misogynistic bullshit right there. Literally no one is exactly the same as everyone else. No one has the same personality or the same template. Sure, patterns can repeat, but everyone's just a little bit different. There's no point in othering yourself."
Chase barked out a laugh. "You're a bit tactless, you know that?" he said, giving her a fond smile that actually seemed genuine.
"I only call out people when I have to," she admitted, relaxing a bit in spite of herself.
"Sometimes you have to, and you're never afraid to do it," Chase told her. "It's honestly quite refreshing."
Valerie could feel warmth spread inside her, but that was quickly replaced by an ice cold dread. "Mr. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?" she joked, but her shaky voice made it a weak attempt.
Chase looked at her, brow furrowed. "I don't understand."
"You don't understand how you're flirting with a teenage girl?"
He looked taken aback. "I was merely paying you a compliment. I wasn't trying to… flirt," he said, the word uncomfortable in his mouth.
"It really doesn't sound like it, coming from a guy who's fifteen hundred years my senior," Valerie told him.
Chase gave a huff and looked away from her. "Well, I wasn't," he said gruffly. "Why is it that two people of the opposite gender can't even have a civil conversation without someone misinterpreting it? I thought such archaic notions died already."
"Unfortunately, they haven't," Valerie said, rolling her eyes in sympathy. She put her hands on the metal bar and looked at the darkened floor below. "It's one of those dead horse tropes that people keep beating you over the head with."
"At least you're clever enough to see it," Chase said through gritted teeth. They stayed silent for a while, the air between them still tense, but now more companionable. The next time Chase opened his mouth, his tone was much less severe. "I noticed you never wear much jewelry. Why is that?"
Valerie turned her gaze towards him, showing him an arched eyebrow. "Really? That's where you're going with now?"
"It's a conversation topic, is it not?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I've always been more a tomboy, and jewelry can get in the way of fighting, so I don't see the point in wearing it often."
Chase nodded. "All good points. It's not like you need them anyway, you're quite lovely on your own."
Valerie snorted and shook her head. "There you go again, Mr. Robinson."
"Really now?" he said exasperatedly, but the lilt in his voice it was joking. He brought something out, a sliver of a thing that glinted golden in the darkness. "But in all seriousness, perhaps you could wear something in your hair? It might prove to be less bothersome."
Smiling, Valerie eyed the ornament in his gloved fingers. Her smile slowly fell, her face draining of color. The metal in her palms dented as she curled her fingers around the bar.
"Where did you get that?" she breathed, voice wavering. It was a black bobby pin, a golden nautilus at the head. She could see the shadows of his fingers through the delicate shell.
Chase looked at her quizzically. "It made it, actually. I picked up a few things over the centuries."
"Why did you…?"
"A gift for a mermaid, from me to you," he said in perfect Polish. It was smooth and rolled off his tongue with ease, like he'd been speaking it his whole life.
Valerie slowly shook her head and back away, eyes glued to the nautilus in his hand. "No, no nononono…" she whispered, her breathing short.
"Val?" Chase asked, alarmed.
"You were in my room," she said, hysteria building as her breathing grew more and more erratic. "You sent that to me, you snuck into my room to- no one's allowed in my room! And you were there, you just walked in there because you wanted to scare me-!"
"I never-!"
"Shut up!" she screamed, violet light seeping out of her. She scratched at the skin crawling up and down her arms, feeling bits of flesh dig under her fingernails. Energy swirled around her like a protective, volatile aura. "Bastards like you don't get to talk! You're a sick pervert who likes toying with teenage girls-!"
"VALERIE, LOOK AT YOUR HANDS!"
The shout cut through her hysteria, and Valerie blinked. She looked down and saw the torn apart flesh that snaked from her palms, up her wrists and spiraled around her upper arms. There was no blood, no muscle, not even bone, just violet energy that was thrumming as it leaked out of the wounds.
"What-I don't-what's going-?" she choked out, her throat closing. Her lungs burned for oxygen, her heart beating fast, too fast, her legs collapsing as she curled into a ball, protecting what was left of her arms, a low wail escaping-
Warm, heavy hands touched her shoulders, the fingers rubbing gentle circles on her back. A deep voice was softly murmuring at her; the words didn't reach her ears, but the voice was enough to slowly calm her down, her throat opening and allowing air passage again. She could feel the energy retreat back, folding itself into the tiny space that was her body, allowing the skin to stitch itself back together and contain it once more.
The soft murmurs stopped, and Valerie could feel herself breathing normally again. She took her hands from her lap, feeling the newly sown skin, seeing no blemish or scar. She looked to see Chase on his knees in front of her, his breathing synced with her own, actual worry in his reptilian eyes.
He peeled his hands from her shoulders and gently put one of her hands in his much larger one. "I'm sorry," he whispered, rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of her hand. The other wiped tears from her eyes (Valerie hadn't even known she'd been crying). "I never meant to scare you like this. I never saw you wear the pin and you never asked, so I assumed you never received it. I made you a new one…" He brought up the nautilus, and Valerie realized that it wasn't the same one as in her room, this one lacking the diamante crystals trailing up to the shell.
She then saw Chase toss it over the side of the platform. She didn't hear it shatter.
"Why…?" Valerie asked hoarsely, her legs crisscrossing themselves.
"It made you upset," he stated, staring directly into her eyes. "If I had known, I never would have brought it out." He leaned in closer, piercing her to the spot. "I mailed you the first hairpin. I promise you that I have not once stepped into your room. I will not do so unless I have your consent."
And Valerie believed him. Chase Young was comforting her, regret and promise lacing his voice as he looked at her and gave his word. There was no sign of any ulterior motive, but then again, Valerie was in no condition to look.
"Why-" she coughed, "why did you send it to me in the first place? You didn't even know me."
"I'd heard tale of a Dragon of Aether," Chase explained. "They come by so rarely, I needed to find a way to talk to you."
"So you sent a gift, something I could wear," Valerie realized.
He nodded. "It helped that I knew you were a girl, it made present-making a bit easier."
She giggled weakly. "Only you would consider finding a gift for a girl easy."
Chase chuckled lowly. "I've been known to surprise on occasion. I just- I didn't know what else to do," he admitted, his shoulders hunching in a show of vulnerability.
"Why did you want to talk to me in the first place?" Valerie asked curiously. "I may be the Dragon of Aether, but I doubt personality wise I'm very interesting."
"But you are," he insisted, no longer rubbing circles into the back of her hand. She'd forgotten he'd been doing that. "All the Dragons of Aether are so different from the other chosen ones. They don't think the same way they do, and there's always something fascinating about them, you especially."
"There you go, flirting again," Valerie teased lightly. It hurt to smile, the dried tear tracks on her cheeks making the skin stretch painfully.
Chase gave her a light glare. "I find you terribly clever. You always seem to see right through my façade."
"You mean your manipulation bullshit."
"You really need to stop swearing so much."
"I don't give a fuck about what you think, you pretentious asshole."
He rolled his eyes. "I find even that refreshing, oddly enough." He pursed his lips slightly. "Perhaps I sense so much more potential in you, more than the other Dragons of Aether."
Valerie stilled. That was the same thing Master Fung said. "Potential for what?" she asked carefully.
Chase shrugged bewilderedly. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I thought maybe, if I started up a repertoire, I could find out." He gave her a small smile. "Who knows at this point?"
"Yeah," she whispered. "Who knows?"
"Do think you can stand?" he asked suddenly. "I'm sure your friends are looking for you by now."
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Valerie said distractedly, forcing herself up. Her legs were still shaky, so Chase wrapped his hands around her biceps and helped her up, gently letting go once he knew she was stable.
"Hopefully, the next time we meet, it'll be under more pleasant circumstances," he said, walking backwards into the darkness.
"Wait," she blurted, forcing him to stop. "Thank you… for staying. For helping me. You didn't have to."
There was warmth in the half-smile he gave her. "I couldn't just leave you like that. I may be soulless, but I'm not entirely heartless."
"You say that, but you're not as evil as you make yourself out to be," Valerie countered.
Chase frowned at that, seemingly uncomfortable with the thought. "You don't know me as well as you claim. Until next time." And on that abrupt note, he disappeared entirely.
Valerie took a deep breath and let it go slowly, making her way down the cramped hallway and wandering alone in the stark white hallways. She wasn't sure what to make of what happened, from her panic attack to Chase's kindness. Chase being nice was something so alien to her that she had a hard time seeing the Prince of Darkness and that version of him as one person. Hadn't Chase been a Xiaolin monk once upon a time? Maybe that was a facet of him that he had buried and only brought out this one time? Valerie just didn't understand, and she wasn't in the right frame of mind to make sense of it all.
She was so lost in her musings that she barely heard Val-bot's indignant shout of, "Hey!" She started and looked down to see the miniature version of herself holding hands with Rai-bot. Val-bot stepped away from the foot that was about to squish her and led them both away, Rai-bot waving at the human before they disappeared around the corner.
"Wow, Rai really does need to step up his game," Valerie noted as she stared after them.
"Aw, not you too!" She whirled around to see Raimundo glowering down at her, a small takeout box of soba in one hand. "What is this, 'gang up on Rai' day?" he complained.
"You make it too easy, spatzi," Valerie told him bluntly. "That box for me?"
"Yeah, since you missed dinner," Raimundo lightly scolded her. "Where did you even go, you missed out on an amazing tour!"
"I was never one for electronics, you know that," Valerie said blithely, trying to ignore the roiling in her stomach.
"But still!" he whined, giving her an exaggerated pout. It was ridiculous and so utterly Rai-like that Valerie burst out laughing. She shook her head as he gave her a confused, "What's so funny?" And then she hugged him tightly, letting the sound of his heartbeat and the scent of oranges and cinnamon lull her into a sense of peace.
"Shut up and hold me, Pedrosa," she muttered into his shirt.
I'm not sure if you're supposed to touch someone who's having a panic attack, but syncing your breathing with theirs and saying kind things to them certainly helps them overcome it.
So, thoughts anyone?