"Live in the Now"

Disclaimer: I still don't own 'Xiaolin Showdown' in any way.

Open on the hospital. In a hurry, Jack kicks his covers off and gently takes his arms out of the slings. Ashley sets her coffee down.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Get back in bed; your stitches are still fresh, and you're still under observation," Ashley says. Jack quickly shakes his head and stands up.

"That doesn't matter! I have to … Whoa." Jack sways back and forth due to feeling woozy, and then sits back down.

"See? I'll pour you some water." Ashley turns and picks up a bottle of water off the little table next to her. She opens it and starts pouring into a Styrofoam glass.

"No, I … I really need to find –"

"Just relax and drink this." Ashley hands the glass to Jack, and he takes a few sips. He sets the glass down and catches his breath. "Feeling better?" Ashley asks. Jack slowly nods. "Good!" Ashley punches his shoulder as Jack screams in pain.

"Why's everybody always hitting me!" he yells. He throws the glass of water in anger.

"Maybe that'll knock some sense into you! What's the matter with you wanting to leave, huh?" Jack leans back a bit. "Huh?"

"Well, you didn't have to hit me! Especially on the spot where I'm obviously healing!" he screams.

"I didn't hit you that hard."

"Yeah, right …" Jack examines his hurt shoulder. "… I'm all bruised," he whimpers.

"Aw, really? Let me see," Ashley says while leaning in. She instantly turns and punches his other shoulder. "Now, you match!" Jack cries from the excruciating pain.

"Vile woman!" he screams. Ashley then grabs her coffee, removes the lid, and splashes it onto Jack's face. Before he could let out another scream, Ashley jumps up and kicks him right under the chin. The powerful kick sends Jack through the nearby window as glass falls everywhere. His infamous scream can be heard for a few seconds until he crashes onto a parked car. The car alarm immediately goes off while Ashley scoffs.

"Baby."

Jack screams as he wakes up back in the hospital room. It was just another dream. Ashley races into the room with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Hey, what's all the screaming about?" she asks. Jack raises an eyebrow and looks around in confusion, noticing the déjà vu. He then focuses in on the cup of coffee.

"What are you gonna do with that?" he asks. Ashley looks down at her coffee and then back up at Jack. She shrugs.

"Throw it in your face."

Jack gasps and tries to roll out of bed, but the slings keep him there. Ashley laughs and walks over to him.

"Calm down. I was kidding." She sits down in her chair as Jack watches her closely. Ashley removes part of the lid on her coffee cup. Jack flinches while she begins to sip it slowly. She sets it down on the table next to her as Jack sighs in relief. "So, why were you screaming? Did you have a nightmare?"

"You could say that," Jack says while resting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes. A car alarm goes off outside as Jack screams and jumps out of his bed, landing face-first onto the floor. "Ow."

Ashley stands up and helps Jack into bed. She chuckles while covering him back up.

"You're such a weirdo." She thoroughly tucks the covers under the mattress as Jack stares at her.

"Why are you doing this?" he asks. She finishes tucking and commences to fix his pillows.

"Well, I have to tuck the covers in so you won't fall out again."

"No … not that," Jack replies. "I mean … why are you taking care of me?" Ashley stops what she's doing and looks into Jack's eyes. She shrugs innocently.

"Hey, if I don't, who will, right?" She quickly smiles and turns around. Jack looks down and thinks about what she just said. Nobody has ever really cared for Jack, not even his own mother. After all, she just ran off with a guy she just met. After thinking about it, Jack finally smiles, touched by Ashley's kindness.

"Thank … you," Jack mumbles. Ashley turns and scrunches her face up.

"What?" she asks. Jack gulps and looks her right in the eyes.

"Thank you," he clearly says, showing signs that there is warmth in his cold heart. Ashley barely nods, a little surprised by his gratitude. Jack rests his head back on the pillow and closes his eyes.

"No problem," she whispers while smiling a bit. She sits back down in the chair and crosses her legs. She then watches Jack as he slowly drifts off. Fade out on the hospital.

Open on a restaurant. Jack's mom and Marty are inside eating dinner. They are sitting in a booth. Jack's mom takes a bite of her meat and moans from the incredible taste.

"Mm. Honey, you gotta try this pork."

"Uh … no thanks, babe. There's over 20 grams of fat in that thing." Marty chews on the food he's having.

"Oh, please, it's so good." Marty doesn't respond. She puts her fork through the pork and waves it by his face. "Here, one little bite." Marty turns his head away from it. "Come on." He doesn't move his head. She puts her pork back on her plate in defeat.

"Well, what are you eating?" she asks as Marty finishes swallowing a bite of his food.

"Stir Fried Chicken and Bok Choy. It's got plenty of vitamins, protein, potassium, low amount of calories …" He shoves in another bite. Jack's mom frowns and sets her fork down.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to take just one night off from being this glorified bodybuilder and eat like a normal person, hon," she whispers so only Marty could hear. Marty stops eating and scoffs.

"I'm sorry I care about my appearance, dear." He resumes eating while Jack's mom gets angry.

"Eating some real meat isn't going to hurt your precious body!" she shouts.

"Speak for yourself," he mumbles while continuing to not look up. Jack's mom gasps deeply, and then throws her napkin on the table.

"Jack was right about you! You come off as this charming, handsome guy, but in reality … you're just a schmuck," she says quoting her son. Marty stares down at his plate as the mom scoffs. She grabs her purse, slides out of the booth, and begins to walk past Marty before he finally looks up at her. He grabs her wrist, pulling her back.

"How dare you –" She immediately stops talking once she makes eye contact with the bodybuilder. Marty grins and stares deep into her.

"Why don't you sit back down, and we can forget any of this ever happened? … Ok?" Jack's mom looks away and shrugs.

"Ok."

She drops her purse back into the booth and slides in. She goes back to eating her food as Marty grins again and takes a sip of wine, never taking his eyes off her.

"Good girl."

Open on Jack sleeping on the floor next to a king-sized bed. A yellow dog is licking his face.

"Stop," Jack mumbles while pushing the dog away. The dog walks over to Jack's feet and proceeds to rapidly lick them. Jack giggles like a girl and wakes up moments later. He gets up as the dog runs up the stairs. He looks around and gulps. "Oh, no … please don't tell me I'm back."

Jack walks upstairs to see Clay, Wuya, Raimundo, Kimiko, and Master Fung gathered around the dinner table. Idle conversation goes on as Jack continues to not be noticed. The dog happily waits underneath the table for any food that is dropped or tossed to him. Jack stands confounded.

"Why am I always asleep?" he asks himself. Annoyed, he starts pacing back and forth. "Wake up, Jack! I get it – everyone but me will end up happy! Ok? I realize that!" He walks over to the side of the kitchen table and cups his hands around his mouth. "I don't need any of you!" Jack turns to Wuya's dad. "Not even you, Tom!" Master Fung obliviously chews on his corn on the cob as Jack narrows his eyes. "Especially you."

Jack flinches when he receives a tap on the shoulder. He turns and gasps to see an older-looking Ashley standing there.

"Ashley! Y-You can see me?"

"Of course, I can see you," she laughs while proceeding to give him a kiss on the cheek. Jack blushes and touches his cheek, having no idea why she just did that. Ashley wipes her lips with her sleeve.

"Ew, your face is all wet. … Aw, have you been getting kisses from Omi?"

"No!" he quickly yells while wiping the dog's drool off. Ashley chuckles. "Anyway … how did you get here?" Jack asks. Clay immediately interrupts, just noticing the two standing there.

"There's the newlyweds!" he exclaims. With a look of shock, Jack turns his head to the cowboy. Everybody turns their chairs to give them their attention. Clay gets up and gives them one of his bear hugs. Jack doesn't hug back due to still being in shock. Ashley, however, does. Clay lets them go and stands beside Wuya.

"Sorry for invitin' you over here last minute. Wuya and I just wanted to give y'all a congratulatory dinner."

"Oh, no, we're happy to be here. Thank you for inviting us. Your home is lovely," Ashley says while glancing around.

"So, what was it like getting eloped in Las Vegas?" Wuya asks as Jack's eyes widen.

"Vegas?" he whispers.

"Well, you know … what'd you expect," Ashley replies while putting her arm around Jack's waist and squeezing him tight. "But it didn't matter. Jack told me he didn't care how; he just wanted to marry me so we could spend the rest of our lives together. Right, baby?" she asks while cuddling him. Jack giggles nervously.

"Wow. That was really sweet of you, Jack." Kimiko says. "Always the romantic." Everyone chimes in on agreement as Jack raises an eyebrow.

"Uh … yeah, well, we're gonna get goin'," Jack desperately says wanting to get out of there. Ashley scoffs and pulls on his arm.

"Don't be silly. We just got here."

"We? I've been here for two dreams now! And, for your information, Katnappé never says, 'don't be silly'." Everyone looks at each other in confusion and then back at Ashley. Perplexed, she shakes her head.

"Katnappé? … Who's that?" she asks as everyone stares at Jack. Once again, he stands motionless, unable to make heads or tails of anything going on. Master Fung eventually breaks the awkward silence.

"Sit down, Jack. Here … eat some corn."

"I don't want any corn, you dirty old man!" Everyone goes back to being silent, alarmed by Jack's outburst. Ashley stares at him in amazement.

"Thank you!" Raimundo yells. Kimiko elbows him in the side. "What? He's been offerin' me corn all night!" he whispers. Kimiko grabs her forehead and starts rubbing it in frustration.

"Why do you always have to embarrass me in Jack's dreams?" she whispers back. Ignoring them, Jack sighs deeply.

"I don't understand. I … have no idea why I keep having these dreams. They make no sense," Jack says in defeat.

"They make perfect sense, Jack. You're dreaming the future that you want," Ashley says, taking a whole different tone. Jack looks at her curiously.

"What do you –"

"Subconsciously, you want Clay and Wuya to end up together and have a happy life because you realize Wuya will never like you for who you are … and you want Raimundo and Kimiko to be an old, bitter married couple. You want Omi as a dog –"

"I didn't want him to take my room!"

"Yes, you do. You put your old life behind you … to move on with me. You left all your old hobbies and obsessions behind … to be with me. Get it now? This is the future you hope for. The one you desire the most." Jack smiles a bit, beginning to understand. "Yet … you know this future can never happen." Jack looks back up and frowns. "It's just your imagination."

"But …" Jack sighs again and hangs his head. "Even the part about us?" Ashley closes her eyes and nods. Jack looks away as Ashley begins to hold his hands. Jack stares into her eyes as she stares back.

"You've got to live in the now," she says.

"What if I don't want to?" he asks with a quiver in his voice. Ashley shakes her head.

"Time to stop dreaming, Jack …"

"What if I want to stay here with you?"

" … It's time to wake up …"

Fade to black.

Open on the hospital room. Jack hears a garbled voice next to him but won't open his eyes to see who it is.

"Jack! Jack!" the voice whispers. "Wake up! Come on, we gotta go!"

The evil boy genius slowly opens his eyes to see one of his Jack-bots hovering next to him. He gasps and hugs his robot real tight.

"My Jack-bot!" he yells.

"Shut up!" The robot points to Ashley who's sleeping beside them in the chair.

"How did you find me?" Jack whispers.

"Remember the tracer that me and four other Jack-bots implanted into your skull while you were asleep last July?"

"No."

"Ok, so I brought your clothes, goggles, an extra heli-bot, and your evil makeup," the robot says while opening the little door on his chest. Jack sneers, gets out of his slings, and begins changing clothes.

"We'll go out the window and then start flying west back to –"

"Hang on. What makes you think I'm going back home with you?" Jack asks.

"Look, I know you were really serious about this quest for Wuya –"

"It's not about her anymore," Jack says cutting the robot off. "Or … at least I don't think." The robot scoffs.

"What was it about, then? … Her?" he asks while pointing to Ashley. Jack stares at her looking more confused than ever. He looks down and shakes his head. "Ok, good. Then, you can come home." The Jack-bot starts to hover towards the window, but Jack stops him.

"Not yet." Jack quickly turns off his robot by flicking the "on/off" switch on its back. He catches the Jack-bot before it falls to the floor and gently places it on the bed. Jack finishes changing his clothes and puts the heli-bot on. Before making his way to the window, Jack walks over to Ashley and thinks for a moment. He lets out a long sigh and then smiles.

"Thanks for the talk," he whispers. " … See you around."

He walks to the window and lifts one leg out of it. There, he begins to think about his life and everything that's transpired so far in Las Vegas. Good or bad, he knows it's all happened for a reason … and now, the only thing he has left to do … is figure out what that reason is.

Uncertain of what's to come and where he'll go next, Jack lifts his other leg out the window and starts up the heli-bot. He turns to look at Ashley one more time while the words "live in the now" echo in his head. Jack nods and lowers his goggles. He then jumps off the window sill, and begins to fly far away from the hospital.

Fade to black.