First thing first. I want to thank everyone here for reviewing this story. I know I've said this before but I am so GOD DAMN GRATEFUL for all these reviews. I want to thank a couple of people. First I want to thank Shadir who even though I sometimes can't understand what he's saying I appreciate the review all the same. Second Kez-o the Brave for supplying me with chocolates and later on tea, which made Mad Hatter REAL mad. Then there is Mad Hatter who has reviewed in almost every chapter of this story and supplying me with tea and making me get addicted to it in real life (Earl Grey….) and of course Jackie Jackie Spicey for being a very good friend, letting me use her OC when I need them and laughing at this lame jokes I sometimes post here. That doesn't mean all other reviewers are not appreciated! I luv everyone who reviews! (sniff) I'll just go and have a cry of gratitude… I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chase was just about to snap from the constant fighting. Even Curt was getting sick of it. The lizard usually walked about on all fours but in this case he was walking on his hind legs so he could cover up his ears. In case you're wondering what was going on it was this: Jack called Kimiko a whore and a lesbian slut. A sweep kick on Jack and a slap on Kimiko's cheek brought it to a climax with both screaming at the top of their lungs. Chase couldn't take this anymore. He spun around and grabbed both of their heads, smashing them together making a sound similar to a grand drum. And it hurt like hell.
"What was that for?!" yelled the teenagers, clutching their heads in pain. Chase gave them a shrug before he continued to walk along the narrow passage he had leaded them to. It came to yet another room but this one looked like it was the pantry. Chase looked at his supplies before him and picked up a container marked 'salt'.
"There we go! Okay, follow me!" chirped Chase, turning around again back the way they came.
"We followed you here just so you could get salt?" Kimiko asked in disbelief. Chase nodded back as his answer. The girl gave a groan of despair and anger, the fear for this man growing less and less.
"What? My soup needs flavouring." Chase sighed, pushing past them. Jack followed him and so did Kimiko but she made sure that the pantry was well and truly alight.
In the meantime Octavius was leaning on the wall trying to stay conscious from the sudden headache he experienced. The tentacles seemed slightly dazed as well, shaking themselves out of their sudden jolt.
What was that? Bimbo asked, worried.
Jack no doubt scoffed G.C.
Octavius gave a sigh and continued walking. The pounding headache was still there but this one was in the middle of his head. Octavius stopped. It was strange, Jack didn't cause this one no matter how accident-prone the boy became. His vision became slightly blurry making the tentacles support his body. The doctor gave a groan of pain and used the wall again for support. He vaguely heard the tentacles talking. Something was wrong, deathly wrong. He stumbled back the way he came, but soon collapsed on his legs. The tentacles gave a shriek of despair and started nudging him in worry but the doctor was motionless.
Chase finally arrived in the dragon room with the salt. Grabbing the tinned food he added the salt then turned to his bowl of soup. It had moved from its spot. His eyes widened and looked around the room.
"Jack… where is your uncle?" Chase called out. Jack emerged from the tunnel, giving him a puzzled look.
"He should be here…" he answered back, looking around at the cages. He then spotted the bowl of soup. "He didn't."
"He did."
"What happened?" asked Kimiko as she emerged from the tunnel with Curt. Jack pointed at the bowl Chase was holding.
"Yey, another lizard." she answered sarcastically, slumping her shoulders. Chase looked at the soup again and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Actually, he won't turn into a lizard. It's the wrong soup."
Everyone looked at Chase who was examining the soup.
"It's the Western Dragon soup. The one that makes you into a lizard is the Eastern Dragon soup."
"What's the main difference then?! My uncle is walking in this maze turning into God knows WHAT!" yelled Jack, pointing an accusing finger at Chase.
"He won't turn into anything. But I would still stay away from him. The Western soup makes people more aggressive." Chase explained but it was not enough for Jack. He got out his taser and set it to the highest setting, with enough volts to kill a man four times. He pointed it at Chase with one of those looks that said, "Tell me what else happens or death will come swiftly and painfully."
"What else happens?" asked Jack, in a serious tone. Chase looked at the gun and gave a small gulp.
"Well, the user that drinks the Western soup, wait a sec…" he said and went to the cupboard, pulling a cookbook out the cupboard. He flicked through the pages and found the appropriate page.
"Here we go! It says: "The user that drinks the Western soup suffers wild mood swings that result in aggressive violence. It gives the user heightened senses and the food they like the most are now addictive to them. Unlike the Eastern soup, it stays in the human system until the user has died but doesn't grant immortal life. To users that drank the Eastern soup it is considered a waking up drought like coffee." Chase read out loud before shutting the book. The gun was still pointed at him, making Chase grumble and opened the book again.
"The user of the Western soup will soon calm down after drinking the soup. As long as the user is not made extremely angry, they can function as a normal human. By drinking the Western soup, they can suffer a mild headache followed by a small time of unconsciousness. One can identify a Western soup user by the amber eyes, increased height, abnormal strength and short temper. There, happy?"
"Very. Lets go find him now!"
"Find who?"
Everyone turned around as Octavius walked out of the tunnel, with one hand on his forehead. The tentacles gave Jack concerned looks.
He collapsed in the tunnel! Bubbles cried. The others nodded in response.
It's the soup that did it… growled G.C. pointing at the soup Chase was still holding.
"We were just about to go look for you!" said Kimiko. Octavius looked at everyone in the room. They all looked somewhat guilty.
"You're all hiding something," he said, taking a step towards them, making them all take one step back. "Because then you wouldn't take a step back."
"We are honestly not hiding anything." Chase said, trying to fake a smile. "Want more soup?"
Octavius eyed the soup with suspicion. Chase's muscles were rigid ready to move if needed. The effects of the soup had already taken over. The doctor was taller than Chase, well the guy was already tall but you didn't notice the height because of the tentacles and the slight chubbiness of the man. But now the chubbiness was gone and instead there was a man who looked like he could get mad VERY soon.
"How did you know I drank the soup? And why do you want me to have more?"
"There is less soup and if you've drank some of this it's rightfully yours! I believe in cleanliness you know." Chase explained. He noticed Octavius flex his fingers before they turned into fists. Jack and the others flattened themselves against a spare piece of wall were no dragon cages were placed.
"What's going on here?!" yelled Octavius, knocking the soup down. The tentacles became agitated at this, thinking Chase as a threat once again. Chase backed away, with his arms in a defensive stance.
"Calm down! Nothing is going on!" yelled Kimiko, diverting Octavius's attention from Chase.
"We are telling you the truth uncle!"
That last word snapped the feeble strand of sanity. Octavius widened his now amber eyes and growled menacingly. Jack suddenly felt like he was once again in the first showdown he had against Octavius. A tentacle lashed out and pinned Jack to the wall. His back sent a wave of pain, complaining about this sudden attack. Octavius felt that pain but ignored, instead bringing his face to Jack's.
"For the last fucking time, I am not your uncle." Octavius hissed, the tentacle tightening its grip on Jack. The boy tried to get a breath of air but failed. Luckily Octavius let some slack off, bringing back air into Jack's lungs.
"Language uncle." mocked Jack. The doctor's faced darkened and flung Jack across the room only to have him caught by faithful Curt.
"What do we do now?!" Kimiko asked. Chase looked at her, then Jack to Octavius then back at her again.
"Run."
The group scrambled to the safety of the tunnels just as the top left tentacle strike the wall on which Jack was flung at. Mind you, the tentacle that was just mentioned was also not named. It was behaving like a wild animal and wild animals don't have names.
"We are up against a man with four tentacles and possibly crush stone with his bare hands. I don't like these odds!" yelled Kimiko as they ran through the dark tunnel passageways.
"We have the Prince of Darkness, a lizard who acts like a dog and the Xiaolin Dragon of Fire!" Jack shouted back, Curt beside him giving a small chirp of approvement.
"Not to mention a useless albino!" Chase shouted contributing to the conversation.
"Who scared the living shit out of you then?!"
"JUST SHUT UP AND RUN!!!!!!" Kimiko shrieked and ran past the boys and lizard. They didn't need to be told twice. The trembles in the ground reminded them of the terror a few metres behind. Suddenly Chase somehow managed to grab all three of them into a dark corner. A second later, Octavius flashed past them, unaware that the prey he was hunting was hiding in the dark corner. They stayed quiet for a while longer before Jack broke the silence with a whisper.
"What do we do?"
"We need to wait for him to calm down. There isn't much we can do." Kimiko answered.
"Unless…"
The teenagers looked at the scheming Chase Young and a look of suspicion crossed their faces. Oh dear God no…
"The Sphere of Yun perhaps?"
"It would be useful if somebody had it."
Chase gave another grin, showing them a toothy smile. Jack sighed and buried his face in his hands.
"I haven't got it on me but it's in the vault near the throne room. We can sneak in there, lure the doctor in and trap him in the Sphere of Yun!" proposed Chase, feeling extremely proud of himself.
"The real question is WHY do you have it?"
"I was originally going to use it along with the Soul Gem to trap the souls in. But that wouldn't work since SOMEONE has taken it!"
"Don't look at me. I didn't do anything illegal."
Chase glared at Jack before taking a sneak peek. The doctor was nowhere to be seen. He beckoned for them to follow. They moved out of the shadows and crept to the dragon room. All the dragons were in a state of fear. They chirped loudly and fluttered around their small cages in a panic. Curt voiced out his own chirps and sniffed the air around him. He stopped and started growling at the tunnel the group had just exited from.
"He's coming. Let's get out of here." said Chase grabbing the teenagers by the arm. Curt growled at the tunnel for a while longer before following the others.
Octavius didn't know what he was doing. He was confused and angry about nothing and everything. All he wanted was to kill those who had offered him the soup. Random memories came to the surface, causing him to have a headache. With one of the tentacles he smashed the wall beside him. He had reached a dead end. He could faintly hear the voices of the people he hunted. He turned around and followed the voices not knowing the trap they had set up.
"Is everyone ready?"
Everyone nodded his or her heads. Kimiko melted the metal doors so Octavius couldn't get out, Chase held the Sphere of Yun, Curt stood beside the doorway so he could close it when Octavius came through and Jack… well he was the bait. Jack stood in the middle of the room, trembling. He took a deep breath. The plan was about to start.
"UNCLE!!!!!!!"
Silence, then a rumble beneath his feet. Octavius had heard. Chase held out the Sphere whilst Kimiko took a fighting stance. The rumbles grew stronger until the stray pebbles on the ground started moving. Jack aimed his gun at the door and set it to enough voltages to paralyse Octavius. And as if the Devil had heard his thoughts, out came Octavius. The two top tentacles reared up, displaying their hidden daggers, the two bottom ones planted firmly on the ground, raising the doctor higher. Jack muttered a quick prayer under his breath before raising his gun.
"We are doing this for your own good!" Jack yelled, firing the gun. The blue, electric blast snaked its way at high speeds only to be deflected by a tentacle. Jack fired again but missed as Octavius had already moved spots. Jack heard Chase yell "Sphere of Yun!" Instead a scream echoed throughout the room. Jack turned around and found Octavius having a firm hold on Kimiko's leg. It seemed that Chase had missed. He slammed her into the wall repeatedly before letting her go. She slumped to the ground and stayed there.
"Octavius!" Jack yelled again. Octavius ignored him and instead raised one of his tentacles over Kimiko's head, ready to crush it. Suddenly Curt leapt out of nowhere and attached himself to Octavius. The tentacles tried to fend the lizard off but they would risk harming their host. Curt hanged on for dear life, waiting for Kimiko to get out of the danger area. Jack hesitated as he watched the tentacles flail dangerously close to Kimiko's motionless body. But someone had to go there and get her out. Octavius would seriously pay for this…
"Jack! Wait!" yelled Chase but the boy had already started running towards Kimiko. He ducked as a stray tentacle came out of nowhere, slamming into the wall. He flattened himself on the ground and did an army crawl towards Kimiko. He grabbed her arm and tried to drag her towards him, but damn it was hard even on the polished floor. Curt couldn't hold on much longer. A tentacle had grabbed his tail and was trying to pull him off Octavius. Curt gave a whimper but continued to hold on. As he did, one of his clawed feet tore through the fabric and into Octavius's stomach. The man roared in pain and with one final tug, tore the lizard off him. Jack gritted his teeth as he felt the sticky blood on his stomach but continued to drag Kimiko. He was so close to safety when he felt the cold metal on his ankle. A tentacle had successfully grabbed him and was currently trying to haul him back to Octavius. With one desperate attempt, Jack flung Kimiko over to Chase who was simply staring at this whole event. He snapped out of it and grabbed Kimiko so she was out of Octavius's reach. Jack was being slowly dragged towards the doctor who had a malevolent smile on his face.
"Sparrow Eating HOTDOG!"
Octavius looked up and found Chase's foot in his face. The tentacle let go of Jack's leg, making the boy scramble to safety. He clutched his stomach in an effort to stop the bleeding as soon as he was out of range. He looked at Chase who had delivered another punch into Octavius's stomach, sending another wave of pain into Jack. Jack shut his eyes trying to block out the pain until someone nudged him on the shoulder. He opened his eyes, quite surprised to find Curt. The lizard's arm was dangling from the shoulder, probably dislocated and he had a cut along his cheek, which had stopped bleeding. Curt reached out with his good arm, handing Jack the Sphere of Yun. Jack stared at it for a moment before extending his own bloodied hand to grab it. Suddenly a scream filled the air. Jack looked behind to find that Chase's leg had been pierced by the top right tentacle's dagger. Octavius towered over him but Chase wasn't about to give up the fight just yet. With his spare leg he kicked the dagger out of his leg before jumping up to give Octavius an uppercut. Octavius took a stumble backwards (so did Jack) but faced Chase again with a more determined and blood thirsty look in his eyes. Chase landed back on his feet with a wince as he felt the pain of his leg numb it.
"That's it." mumbled Jack. He couldn't take any more pain dished out onto Octavius and he wasn't going to sit back and let Octavius kill Chase or anyone else. He stumbled up and pointed the Sphere of Yun at Octavius. The doctor was too intent on Chase to notice Jack. The boy then picked up his gun that was lost when he was dragged along the floor and aimed it at Octavius. He pulled the trigger and once again, a blue, electric blast shot out of the gun barrel and hit Octavius in the back. The man didn't even have time to yell as suddenly he fell onto his knees and remained frozen, the tentacles stopped writhing. Jack activated the Sphere, enclosing the doctor in a glass ball. Then the boy collapsed on the ground, tired from the pain and the past events. He didn't even notice when Curt picked him up and took him to a nearby bench and a recently awakened Kimiko wrapping the Shroud of Health around his wounds.
Chase walked up to Kimiko as she nursed Jack and looked at the boy in front of him. Curt let out a low growl, warning Chase to back off. Chase took a step back and with a sigh sat down on the floor.
"Kimiko." he said suddenly. Kimiko blinked with surprised and faced him.
"You have known the doctor longer than I have, right?"
"I've only known Octavius for no more that a few hours, that hardly makes me an expert." answered Kimiko, looking at Octavius who had gone unconscious as well.
"Do you know why the doctor doesn't like being called uncle?"
Kimiko bit her lip and looked at Jack. She had promised the tentacles she wouldn't say but… she sighed and looked at Chase who was waiting patiently for his answer.
"I have a hunch. But don't tell them I told you this."