Disclaimer: Xiaolin Showdown © Christy Hui; Unknown Soldier © Breaking Benjamin

Author's Notes: Yeah, I didn't get this up any where near as soon as I was hoping to. I've decided to not make any promises with updates. They'll just happen when they happen. You'll probably be depressed by this chapter, though that is not my intention. The conversation between Jack and Rai at the beginning probably qualifies as Mature Rating. Not sure… The song is really supposed to mean anything, it's just one of my favorite songs by Breaking Benjamin.

Oh yeah, I finally figured out how to get links in this place. You can check out the character designs now if you haven't already. I highly recommend it. You can leave comments about them in the reviews if you want. (nudge nudge say no more say no more)

Omi: http/www.deviantart. com/ deviation/ 33730814/

Kimiko: http/www.deviantart. com/ deviation/ 33732091/

Clay: http/www.deviantart. com/ view/ 33732871/

Raimundo: http/www.deviantart. com/ view/ 33733378/

Jack: http/www.deviantart. com/ view/ 33734055/

-X-

"So, Kimiko is pregnant huh?"

"Yeah, she is."

"She had to have been on top right?"

I looked at Jack. "Excuse me?"

"Well think about it." He turned his head slightly in my direction. "She's only like… five feet tall right? And what? Ninety-eight to hundred pounds? Then Clay is almost seven feet and probably close to two hundred pounds. I mean, that's like a horse trying to fuck a cat."

"Jack…" I said in a warning tone.

"I'm being serious here Rai. She had to have been on top, he'd crush her alive. Kimiko has to be real snug fit for him too. Along with being the size of a horse he must be hung like one too… it must have hurt," he said the latter as an absent afterthought.

My brow wrinkled. "What is wrong with you?"

"What? You can't expect me to believe the dwarf is the one who got inside her. C'mon Rai, we both know she'd never whore herself out to that tiny bobble head."

"Quit it Jack, you shouldn't say those things. Besides, I know you don't mean that. You loved her once too."

"Yeah…" he said quietly.

I sighed and stared out the window of Jack's jet. We'd only just left the temple, and now we were flying over mountains and country fields. It was peaceful and beautiful, at least until Jack put a CD in the player. The music reminded you of how horrible the serenity really was.

"Borderline, dead inside.
I don't mind, falling to pieces.
Coming in, violin, let's begin.
Feeding the sickness.
How do I simplify, dislocate, the enemy is on the way."

People had called it Armageddon. It wasn't the biblical sort that everyone expected would happen, there were no angels or trumpets or horsemen, but everything still fell apart. Out in the countryside you couldn't really tell. The sky was slightly a different color; the horizon was always orange against periwinkle blue. Ocean currents shifted and there are parts of the ocean that are deeper than others. The water level of the Pacific Ocean rose almost ten feet. A lot of areas are grown over with vines and thick brush, but then you can see the ruins of temples and rural villages that had stood proud and functional just a few short years ago.

The fall of civilization becomes more evident the closer you get to the cities. Buildings have collapsed, leaving behind mounds of rubble and broken streets. Due to the effects of smog, the skies over cities are always this weird reddish color, at night it will turn really dark purple and for some reason the stars shine brighter. The moon is closer now too. Power lines tangled with each other creating spider webs over the tops of the cities. The entanglement of power lines have resulted in isolated areas of electricity, and that's were people live. Cities' populations have migrated to specified areas where they can find power and water.

Lower and middle class societies live above ground in reconstructed urban communities. They all function properly. You wouldn't really know anything had changed, albeit the ruins that made up the surrounding areas. Even though we're aware of the Armageddon that occurred, we all know we have to accept it or else we can never move forward. The upper class can be found in the Underground. People with the means and the money converted subways into metropolises. The Underground consists of a lot of dance clubs, high-end restaurants, bars, and lavishly furnished homes. Jack's house was one of the last ones left above ground after Armageddon. His home location, along with his vast amounts of wealth, put Jack at the top of the sociological food chain. No matter where we go, no matter which country we're in, everybody knows Jack. I guess, in a way, Jack really does control the world. Just like he always wanted.

"Show me what it's like to dream in black and white, so I can leave this world tonight."

I looked back at my red-haired companion. "Let's do something tonight Jack."

"You sure you feel up to it?"

"Sim, we haven't done anything together in awhile. Besides, I need something to take my mind off things."

He smiled. "You wanna go to Russia? Piotr called me the other night. He said he finally finished the renovations on the club. He asked if we would come to the new opening, he thinks if I'm there it will help bring back customers."

"Is that the night club with the fire and black light floors?"

"Yeah."

"Sim, that could be fun."

"Awesome!" Jack turned the controls and we headed northwest.

I returned to looking out the window. I could see the outskirts of the city we were about to pass over. I was almost glad to see it fading away as we flew further away from it. I wasn't in the mood to face the ruins and see the poor people scattered below us.

"Full of fear, ever clear.

I'll be here, fighting forever.

Curious, venomous, you'll find me climbing to heaven.

Never mind, turn back time.

You'll be fine, I will get left behind."

There are lots of graveyards, hundreds actually. You can't go very far without running into one. They aren't very fancy. America and Italy were the only ones who put any special effort towards burying their dead. The two countries created memorial parks for those who died in Armageddon. The cemeteries are well kept, very clean, and are occupied by thousands of flowers. Other countries didn't go to such extremes. England, China, Brazil, Russia, even Japan, all those countries and more just buried the deceased. Quite frankly there were just too many dead people to take the time and make lavish burials.

Potter's Fields, that's what I heard they were called… from the Bible I think. The earth is littered with Potter's Fields. Vast areas of cleared trees overpopulated with makeshift crosses. The grave markers were made from the trees that were cut down to make the burial cites. They're small, flimsy little things, but they are enough.

I get nervous around the graveyards. Call it third world country superstition if you want. All I know is that I get a cold slimy feeling in my spine and a hot hard feeling in my gut whenever I'm near one. Maybe I'm disturbed by the thought of dead people, maybe its Dashi's influence, or maybe I just don't like them. I get panic attacks, mild at first, but then I start to yell and rock back n' forth.

Some officials from the Chinese government came to Jack's house one time. Without even asking us, or coming to the door to tell us, they started digging ditches to bury corpses in. I saw them from the window. I didn't know what they were doing at first, but then they came out with trucks full of dead bodies. I started to scream, really scream. I had screamed for Jack. He came running into the room with a look on his face like he thought I was being butchered alive. I pointed out the window, screaming in Portuguese. Jack marched outside and started yelling at them. At first they argued with him, but then Jack punched the director in the face. He pointed to the window, where I was standing, and he was obviously making vicious threats. Eventually they left.

"Show me what it's like to dream in black and white, so I can leave this world tonight."

"Rai?"

I snapped out of my train of thought and turned my attention to Jack. "O que? O que você disse?"

"I asked if you wanted to eat somewhere before we actually went to the club."

"I guess, are you hungry?"

"I could eat. We're over Nepal right now, you wanna stop there?"

"I dunno Jack. All they ever have is rice and fish."

"It isn't a good idea to eat too heavy before clubbing. Besides, the rice will fill us up just enough that we can get safely plowed."

"Jack, there's no way to get 'safely plowed.'"

"Be a sport, Rai. We're stopping in Nepal, we're going to eat in a quaint tavern, and then we're going to Piotr's club."

"Fine Jack, whatever."

"Hold me, I'm too tight. Breathe the breath of life, so I can leave this world behind."

The world was undoubtedly broken. It would never be fixed. There were too many broken pieces to try and put back together. Everyone has just started over instead.

Governments don't really exist anymore. When people talk about the government, what they really mean is a group of people who are a face for the country. There is no law. There is no crime and punishment. There are still consequences to improper actions, but the consequences are based on the moral depravity of the action and depend on who caught you. Thieves are beaten by the victim. Rapists are beaten by men. Murderers are killed. Prison is a lost concept. There's no place to put criminals anymore.

It's sad really. The Xiaolin Dragons and I worked so hard to keep evil out of the world, evil like Wuya, Chase Young, Hannibal Bean, and Jack. But even if we rose to full Dragons and collected all the Shen Gong Wu and defeated our "evil" rivals, what could we do to stop the real evil in the world? What power did we have over the thieves, rapists, and murderers? I'm not sure if that thought ever crossed the others' minds, but it would bother me late at night every once in awhile. Ultimately I suppose there was nothing we really could do, but I had always wished we could.

Omi, Clay, and Kimiko were doing everything they could to help people. I admired the idea of turning the temple into a sanctuary. It wasn't much, but it was something. They were doing all they could to fulfill their duties as Xiaolin Dragons. What was I doing? I sat in a lavishly furnished house with central heating and cooling. I had more money than God. I went clubbing, drinking, watched television, slept in a warm bed, and ate three square meals a day. I lead the life of luxury with my "Evil Boy Genius" lover with fiery red hair and megalomaniac complex.

I haven't even been home to Brazil to see if my family is still alive.

"It only hurts just once. They're only broken bones. Hide the hate inside."

Not many people know what caused Armageddon.

We know what happened. That is to say, the Dragons, Jack, and I know. A few people we've become acquainted with over time know. Vlad, Ashley, and Guan, just to name a few, they know what happened. We keep it under the table. People wouldn't understand if we tried to explain it. I'm sure many wouldn't even believe us. I guess it's true when they say that ignorance is bliss.

It was the Shen Gong Wu… amongst other things… that caused all this. "The Shen Gong Wu maintain the balance of good and evil in the world." Master Feng had said that time and time again. I don't think any of us ever thought it was this severe. Something we all quickly learned was that there were outside forces that could affect the Shen Gong Wu. Forces that existed on a spiritual level.

Wuya and Dashi's existence were as pertinent to the balance as Shen Gong Wu. Who would have thought? Life cycles were something outside of the Shen Gong Wu's control, but were vice viscidly under the control of life cycles. Wuya managed to stay alive for fifteen hundred years, and while Dashi had long since died, he still existed in reincarnations. Omi was the purest reincarnation since Dashi's death, but he wasn't strong enough to maintain Dashi's power.

Four years ago, at the temple, during that two day battle, everything was thrown into chaos. Wuya and Dashi's spirits were displaced. All hell broke loose. Wuya and Dashi were the Yin and Yang of the universe, the paragons of good and evil. Their battle was an eternal one… and so was their love. All I remember was Wuya screaming, and feeling like I was suspended in time. Everything moved so quickly, like lightning, in the blink of an eye. When everything stopped I was looking down at Wuya's lifeless body.

"Show me what it's like to dream in black and white, so I can leave this world tonight."

The earth started to shake, so much that it even made Clay uneasy. When your own element frightens you, you know something bad is happening. We ran to the vault in order to save the Shen Gong Wu, but when we started to take them from their cubbies we found many of them had broken into pieces. Out of the one hundred and seventy four Shen Gong Wu we had, only about fifteen or twenty remain.

Without the Shen Gong Wu, the balance was broken. Armageddon had begun. All we could do was take cover inside the temple. Kimiko cried over Master Feng's dead body. Our elderly master had exhausted his life force with the chant that helped us defeat the Heylin Witch. Clay tried his best to calm her, but he was just as upset as she was. Dojo laid quietly tucked beneath the old man's chin. Omi was silent. And I… I guess I was in shock.

I suppose we should have been grateful about one thing. Dashi and Wuya's souls had found new hosts at the last second. Without them, nothing would exist. Without their respective bodies though, things still didn't work out quite right. The scale often tips dramatically from one to the other. It's a burden really, especially since they…

"Hold me, I'm too tight. Breathe the breath of life, so I can leave this world behind."

"Loathsome futile existence…" Jack muttered.

My attention was immediately drawn to him when the jet started falling downward. I looked at him and saw the spite in his eyes. I cried out.

"Wuya, no!"

-X-

Author's Notes: I feel Jack was in character for the first part of the conversation, but then it died. I failed at Jack's personality in this one, sorry guys, I'll do better next time when there's more foundational dialogue. I know this chapter was probably kind of dull, but it was necessary filler so that the story can make sense. Read and Review please. Thank you.