"What a face," Jack chuckled, looking at the bratty scowl. "If the wind changes, your face will stick like that."
Chase gave what was undeniably a whine, rubbing one mitten-clad hand across his eyes.
"Come on, sleepy boy. We're going to eat dinner, then we'll go home."
"Nooooooooo!" Chase whined. "I don't wanna go home yet!"
'Wow,' Jack thought. 'That is annoying.'
The albino genius levered the child up to sit upright. Chase flopped like a rag doll, totally trusting the young man cradling him to keep him from tumbling onto the floor.
"Jack?"
"What?"
"Are you my father?" Little Chase asked point blank. "You told that lady on the cable car you were but I just didn't know it. And that my mommy ran away." The dragon lord looked down at his lap sadly. "Is it true? Are you my daddy?"
Despite his earlier decision, Jack hesitated for a second. Actually telling Little Chase was the deep plunge in, no room for taking it back or 'I was just joking'. But he had to say something.
"Would you be sad if I was?"Jack asked. Chase's eyes remained on his lap, his whole demeanor downcast, but he shook his head. "You look pretty sad."
"W-why did my mommy run away? Was I bad?" The little boy asked in a tiny voice. "Are you gonna run away if I'm bad?"
Jack felt his jaw drop. Little Chase was mourning the loss of a mother he didn't even remember? A mother that didn't actually exist?
"Hey. Hey, I'm not going to run away." Jack promised. "I'll always be here for you, Chase. For as long as you need me. Even if you're bad. Even if you throw a tantrum and tell me to go away! I'm never going to leave you."
"You promise?" Chase asked, finally looking up at Jack.
"I promise."
"Promise on a pinky swear?!"
"What?"
"Promise on a pinky swear!" Chase repeated, holding up one pinky finger. Jack grinned, a bit puzzled. Where had he picked this up?
The young albino man hooked a pale finger around his young charge's.
"I promise on a pinky swear. I'll be here for as long as you need me, Chase."
Little Chase's face broke into a huge smile. He threw his arms around Jack, hugging tightly. The pale teenager felt a wave of warmth wash over him. Oh yeah; this was right.
"Sorry your little baby shower got postponed, kids, but a new Shen-Gong-Wu just activated!" Dojo stated, curling through the sky.
"Don't apologize," Raimundo grumbled.
"The good news is Jack'll probably be too busy with th' little fella t' come after th' wu!" Clay called from his spot furthest back on the dragon.
"Yes! We shall collect this wu without delay, then go aid Jack Spicer in his darkest hour!" Omi declared.
"Dojo, what's this wu?" Kimiko asked.
"The Glasses of Bi Shi. Uh . . . . this one falls under 'unknown', kids," the dragon said, holding up the mangled end of a scroll. The torn and tattered edges flapped in the wind.
"Great. I hope it doesn't do anything stupid." Rai sighed.
"Chase, how exactly did you manage to get more down the front of you than in your mouth?" Jack asked, swiping a napkin down the front of Chase's snowsuit. "Were you saving it for later?"
Chase growled.
Jack's eyes snapped to Chase's face, expecting Real Chase to be back. Instead, he was greeted with a bratty scowl from Little Chase.
"'M not messy," the boy snarled.
'Wow, he's going to be an unholy terror when he's a teenager.' Jack reflected.
"I know; that soup just snuck up on you." Spicer teased gently.
Another growl.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't tease you anymore."
Little Chase grunted, slightly mollified. Any further discussion was cut off by the beeping of Jack's Shen-Gong-Wu detector. Jack straightened quickly, pushing his sleeve back.
"What is it?" Little Chase asked.
"A new Shen-Gong-Wu! It's close; real close." Studying his instrument, Jack carefully lined himself up to the heading. "It's in this direction. Distance is approximately six . . . . feet?"
Jack looked up. In the lounge of the restaurant, frames and cases along the wall held knickknacks and souvenirs from events in the business's history. Jack held up his wu detector until it lit up like a Christmas tree. The albino youth peered at the object before him.
"That's a Shen Gong Wu?"
The tackiest, most hideous pair of pink sunglasses Jack had ever seen were displayed in a small frame on the wall.
"Gag me. I wonder what they do."
"Pretty! I like pink!" Little Chase declared.
"A wu's a wu." Spicer looked around, then lifted the frame off of the wall and made to slip into his snowsuit.
A massive hand clapped down onto his shoulder, causing Jack to shriek and spin around in alarm. He flattened himself against the wall, Little Chase pinned between his legs and the wood surface.
"C-Clay?" Jack gasped.
The Dragon of the Earth sighed, glancing down at Little Chase. The Texan was dressed in his thick winter coat and hat, the Third Arm Sash wrapped around his waist.
"I was hopin' you'd sit this one out, Spicer," Clay growled. "Just hand over th' wu an' we kin all go home happy."
"How does me handing over a wu I rightfully found constitute me being happy?!" Jack asked, still trying to flatten himself against the wall. Though Clay Bailey seemed the mildest of the Xiaolin Warriors, he was big. Like, really, big.
Little Chase picked up on Jack's fear, clenching his fists into the teenager's snow pants.
Clay sighed again and leaned forward.
"Jack, I don' wanna whup yer butt in front of yer boy, but I will." He said in a low voice.
Jack cringed backwards. Little Chase let out a whimper as he was squeezed uncomfortably between the wall and Jack's leg. Red eyes darted down towards the child.
"Daddy . . ." Chase whispered, the fear evident in his voice.
Deep down, Jack felt that burn start again; that angry/scared feeling that made him want to lash out. Clay was scaring Chase.
"I'll just take it, then. Third Arm Sash!" The mystical belt reached for the frame peeking out of Jack's coat.
Thick black eyebrows drew down low across crimson eyes. Jack reached up and grabbed the Third Arm Sash before it could grab the new wu. Then he planted one ski boot squarely in the Texan's Levi's.
The Dragon of the Earth shrilled out a note audible only to canines and folded up in his own private world of pain.
"A wu's a wu!" Jack repeated giddily, yanking the Third Arm Sash off of the prone warrior. "Come on, Chase, it's time for the get away!"
Spicer grabbed the boy by the arm and hauled him to the entry way where their skis waited.
"You can kick another guy there?" Chase asked in amazement.
"Chase, that's the only place to kick a guy that big."
"There goes Jack!" Kimiko's voice rang out through the restaurant.
The albino youth meeped and snatched up his skis in one hand and Chase in the other, running out into the brisk winter air. The shrunken dragon lord squirmed uncomfortably, letting out a quiet whine.
"Looks like we're going to have to make a dash for it, Chase. Or should I say a ski for it. Third Arm Sash!" Jack cried.
Chase found himself picked up by the enchanted belt and cinched snuggly against Jack's chest.
"Just hold on tight. We can ski down the top of the Black Diamond trail and take the 'chicken out' trail before we hit the avalanche damage." The tech wizard said calmly, tossing his skis down onto the snow.
Back up on the porch of the restaurant, Omi came out and pointed at the pair in the snow, crying out for his teammates.
"Aren't you scared?" Chase asked, blinking huge gold eyes up at his guardian.
"Nah, when you've run away as many times as I have -"
"Hello, Jack." A melodious voice purred.
Jack felt his blood run cold. With glacial slowness, he turned away from the restaurant and the approaching monks.
Wuya stood only a few feet away, leaning casually against a fir tree. To Jack's surprise, she had both of her arms, though he could see a vicious scar running around her right forearm. Okay, so probably some kind of magic healing wu or something. Fine.
"O-oh. Hey Wuya," Jack quavered. Little Chase let out a sharp gasp, twisting to look at the witch. "Shshshshsh." The albino teen rubbed Chase's back comfortingly.
"Out for a little wu hunting, are we?" Wuya purred, straightening up. The Heylin which didn't seem to mind the snow on her bare feet.
"Well, you know, we were in the area . . . ."
Jack leaned back, slowly clicking his ski boots into the slots on his skis. Spicer had done a lot of running away, and Rule #1 was: always make sure your running shoes were laced on tight. Or in this case, make sure you could hop on the slope and zip down the mountain.
"Jack Spicer! Prepare for a humiliating defeat!" Omi's voice rang out across the snow.
Jack half-turned to see the monks congregating outside the door of the restaurant. Clay was hunched over and looking definitely less than his usual cheerful self. Spicer cringed at the thought of what would happen when the cowboy finally regained the ability to move without pain.
The tech wizard made a quick decision.
"Wuya's got the Shen Gong Wu!" he yelled, pointing at the witch. "I'm just taking my son out of this hostile environment!"
With that, the albino youth stepped backwards and disappeared down the ski slope.
Chase keened in distress as the pair shot down the steep slope. Jack remained heading backwards until he was sure the monks had taken the bait and gone after Wuya. Luckily for him, they seemed thick enough to assume whatever one of their worst enemies told them.
"Losers." He declared, then spun and twisted deftly, ending up heading the right way down the slope.
Chase continued to whimper.
"It's okay, Chase!" Jack called. He reached up to pull his goggles down over his eyes. "As long as we can get down the mountain, they'll lose track of us among the snow bunnies. Cake walk!"
"I don't have the wu, you imbeciles!" Wuya snarled, trying to favor her injured arm. "If Jack took it, he still has it!"
"Why should we believe you?" Kimiko asked.
"Because neither of us has anything to gain by fighting each other! We should be fighting Jack!" The Heylin witch insisted.
"I sure owe that low down snake a thing or two," Clay announced, utilizing a handful of snow as an impromptu ice pack.
"He took off down the ski slope!" Rai cried. "How are we going to catch him now?"
"I know how I'll catch him." Wuya announced, lifting the Thorn of Thunderbolt.
"See, Chase? When you get good, this'll be easy for you, too!" Jack called, zooming effortlessly down the steep slope.
Chase didn't comment. Jack patted his back comfortingly and continued his downhill dash. Wow, he had forgotten how much fun this was; the air brisk in your lungs, the snow stinging your cheeks and the wind in your hair. The hot rush from zooming along so effortlessly . . . .why had he stopped doing this again? Oh yeah, 'cause his mom was a whore.
Well, maybe he could be an adult and get over that little fact; if Chase enjoyed this, too, then-
There was a deep crack.
For the second time that day, Jack felt his blood run cold. Every winter sports enthusiast knew that sound. They knew it and they learned to fear it instinctively; it was the sound of a few thousand tons of snow deciding it was in the mood to seek greener pastures.
A few more cracks followed the first. Jack wished he believed in God so he could start praying to someone that he'd hit the chicken out run soon.
"Are you crazy?! What's wrong with you?!" Kimiko shrieked at the Heylin witch.
Wuya held the still smoking Shen Gong Wu, a smug look on her face.
"In case you little children hadn't noticed, my relationship with Jack Spicer has gone to the next level. I'm not interested in stealing wu from him. Now I want his slow death."
"He had his boy with him!" Clay shouted. "They'll both die!"
"Yes?" Wuya asked, bringing out the Longi Kite. "And your point would be?"
"We gotta help him!" Rai cried. Beneath the monks, the mountain trembled as the avalanche began.
"Okay, okay, just gotta remember my avalanche survival training," Jack sang under his breath as Chase wailed in his ear. "Okay, rule number one: don't try to outrun it."
The albino youth hazarded a peek over his shoulder at the advancing wall of white death.
"Okay; fuck that. Rule two: try to get in the trees so they'll break up the snow. No trees, okay. Shit. Shit, shit, shit."
"Jack! There you are!"
Spicer looked up at the shout. Dojo was coiling and undulating through the air above him, Kimiko riding on his back.
"Fucking peachy," Jack snarled. It couldn't be Clay or Raimundo or someone sufficiently heavy enough to pull Jack up, no, it just had to be Kimiko! Kimiko who probably couldn't manage much more than . . . . Chase.
Oh hell. Bloody, peachy, flaming hell.
"Chase! You gotta be a brave boy for me now, okay?!" Jack called.
"D-Daddy?!"
Jack Spicer wrenched the child away from his chest and held him out towards Kimiko.
"Third Arm Sash!"
"No! Daddy!"
"Jack?" Kimiko gasped, feeling the magic belt snap around her waist.
Little Chase howled in protest as he shot towards the Dragon of Fire. Kimiko grabbed Dojo's mane to keep herself seated as the shrunken warlord cannoned into her arms.
"No!!! Daddy! Save my daddy!"
"Hey Kimiko! You let anything happen to him and I'll make sure you pay for it!" Jack called.
Spicer shifted his weight and shot down the slope, just ahead of the thundering wall of snow.
"Oh my god . . .Jack!" Kimiko called.
Dojo climbed higher, trying to keep the albino genius in sight as he dodged and zipped down the slope, trying to keep ahead of the nearly liquid wall of snow. Chase buried his face in his mittens and wailed.
There wasn't much in the way of rational thought going through Jack's head. All that was really happening was the mechanical, automatic desire to stay out of the moving, shifting wall of snow. The slope grew steeper, almost bordering on vertical. At some point he must have passed up the chicken out run and now the gaping chasm yawned wide ahead of him.
That was just great; he could choose between being crushed to death by an avalanche or fall to his death in a deep crevasse and then be crushed when the snow he outran caught up with him at the bottom.
Unless . . .just on the edge of his vision, a stark white line of snow jutted out over the dark chasm.
The jump.
The jump Jet Black Hair had been talking about back on the cable car. 'Who dares jump the gorge?' indeed. Someone who was going to die whatever choice they made, that's who.
"Marvelous." Jack growled, aiming for the thin white strip of hope.
"Oh geez . . . He's not going to do what I think he's going to do, is he?!" Dojo asked. "I can't look!"
"Raimundo! Get your Wudai Wind butt up here and do something!" Kimiko wailed, gesturing wildly for the Dragon of Wind.
Down on the slopes where the other monks searched for other victims of the avalanche, Rai got the feeling he was needed. He looked up to see the slight Japanese girl holding Jack's Chase and waving frantically at him.
For one heart-stopping moment, Jack didn't think he was going to beat the snow to the jump. He could feel the wind from the displaced snow blowing his crimson hair straight forward; was nearly deafened by the thunder of the churning, shifting wall of white death. Jack didn't dare turn his head to see how far it was behind him; he could see isolated patches of rushing avalanche catching up to him out of the corner of his eyes.
Then the jump sloped up under his skis and Jack was crouched down, trying to make himself as small as possible as he hurtled down the ramp. The jump turned sharply upwards and now the tech wizard was straightening up and leaning forward, his lean body almost parallel with his own skis as he shot out over the gorge.
Kimiko gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth. Dojo slapped a paw over his eyes. Little Chase didn't look away. He stared at the dark figure riding on the breeze, his young features a mix of awe, amazement, and horror.
"Daddy . . ." he whispered.
Jack kept his position; body held rigidly straight, arms pressed sharply to his sides, skis brought tips up and splayed slightly. Being skis owned by Jack Spicer, after about fifteen seconds of air time, slats detached themselves from the normal length of the skis and fanned outwards, forming fins to catch what extra air time they could.
Jack kept his eyes forward, kept them locked on his target landing site. He felt/heard the avalanche pouring into the gorge beneath him like a very chunky river. He felt the pitch and roll of his trajectory, knew his projected airtime from his work with his robots.
Half way over the gorge, he knew.
"Fuck. I'm not gonna make it." Jack breathed.