Disclaimer: Xiaolin Showdown © Christy Hui; Creatures © 311
Author's Notes: Wow, the whole Copoeira scene is painfully involved. It took me almost three hours to right that scene alone. The information Rai mentions about Brazil came from an actual census. Rio de Jinero isn't all it's cracked up to be people. Television sugar coats it until your teeth fall out. Raimundo does have 8 brothers and sisters, as he is quoted saying so in Omi Town. The names are just ones I pulled from baby name websites and the ratio of boys to girls (6/3) is an educated guess based on the economy and sociology of the country.
Edit: December 7, 2006
So after reading av17's review, I got to thinking. I take her opinion seriously because we respect each other. So when she said the Copoeira scene was too long and hard to follow, I decided to do something about it. I cropped a lot of the scenes and only left in the ones I hope are satisfactorily necessary and enjoyable to read. I also shortened some lines and cut out some nonessential dialogue to cut down on length. The whole thing is about a page shorter now.
-X-
"You're going to kill us!"
"Do you think that I care, Raimundo? All I want anymore is to escape this abhorrent shell. I'll shed this mortal Homo sapiens flesh, even if it means my own demise."
"You can't do that!"
"Why don't you get Dashi to help you?" she hissed with a crazed grin.
"Pesaroso." In thrusting my palm forward, a gust of wind slammed Jack's head against the window. Ignoring the loud crack that followed, I leaned over into the pilot seat and grabbed the controls. However, I was quickly overwhelmed by the numerous flashing lights and alarms. I just decided to do things my way. After strapping Jack in I proceeded to the outside of the jet. I stood on the center of the craft's roof and summoned winds to keep us airborne. It was another ten minutes before I recognized the border between Ukraine and Russia where Piotr's club was located. I maneuvered the flying vehicle, with surprising grace, to the ground and then I got back inside and waited for Jack to wake up.
Eventually he did. He just sat there with his eyes open for a while, and then he looked over at me.
"Dude," I said through chattering teeth, "I forgot how cold it was in Russia."
His brows came together and he glared out the window. "Damn it…"
I curled into a tighter ball and rubbed my hands over my bare arms trying to keep warm. He didn't say anything else. "Jack, can we go into the club now?"
All his senses seemed to snap back at once. "Oh, fuck… Yeah, Rai, lets get you inside."
We walked down the stairwell of an old subway entrance and made our way to the club. The place was easy to find what with the search lights, loud music, and huge crowd of people outside. Jack and I walked right to the front of the line and were generously allowed inside where the cold immediately left me. Dante's Inferno, Piotr's club, was this gothic techno place. There were giant stone statues supporting the ceiling, fire torches burned heavily everywhere (the source of the welcoming heat), the floor was made of black light square tiles that flashed in random patterns, and then there was the raised stage where the disk jockey played. The club actually reminded me of the one in that Vin Diesel movie, XXX. We were immediately met by Piotr who approached Jack with open arms.
"Господин Jack, I am so happy you decided to be coming to my club!" The bearded man kissed Jack on both cheeks. "So good to see you have brought your handsome brown friend," he said looking over at me.
"His name is Raimundo, Piotr. Your accent is no excuse for not calling him by his name."
"Да, of course Господин Jack. I beg for apologies, but please, only good times to be having here. Is the music to your enjoyment? I will have Iván play t.A.T.u for you if you are liking."
"No Piotr, just leave everything as it is. I don't really feel like being in a commotion right now, so don't announce my arrival. Just put this somewhere for me." Jack removed his coat and handed it to the older man. His almost white flesh glowed from all the black lights. Jack had the appearance of a god.
Piotr grinned idiotically and waved at us as we descended into the crowd. I didn't recognize the music at all, especially in the foreign tongue. It sounded like industrial rock so I thought maybe it was Rammstein, but then Jack reminded that Rammstein was German. We were met with loyal and adoring greetings as we made our way to the bar, or at least Jack was. Once we were seated Jack ordered something heavy with Vodka while I settled for an icy rum punch with raspberry. I remember being nervous the first time I had alcohol because I wasn't twenty-one yet, but then Jack reminded me that there was no one to get us in trouble.
We drank in silence together. People would come sit beside Jack and strike up a conversation with him, but he quickly grew bored and brush them away. I sat my empty glass on the counter when I suddenly felt Jack's nose press against my jaw. "Let's go dance," he growled seductively. I nodded with an air of agreement and he pulled me onto the dance floor. It was packed with bodies. There was barely three inches between any two people. It was too hot to breath on each other so we danced back to back. We knew the other without having to see him. Jack knew my moves and the way my body felt. I knew Jack's smell and the way his hair brushed against my arm. All the bodies were slick against one another. You were soaked in everyone else's sweat before you even broke out into your own.
A few songs later the music started to pick up in rhythm, and so did my feet. Jack glanced over his shoulder and saw the smile creeping onto my face. He knew the street beat hit close to home and I was begging for more. "Rai, you wanna do some of that acrobat dancing you like so much?"
"You mean Copoeira?"
"Right, Copoeira, so do you wanna?" I couldn't fight the excitement growing inside me and Jack could read it clearly on my face. I nodded with a smile. Jack grabbed the nearest person and told them, "Go tell the DJ I want something with rhythm, something fast, but not techno." The young man pushed his way through the crowd to deliver the message. Jack then started pushing people back to make room for me.
The current music stopped and then something a little more familiar to my ears pulsed out from the speakers. Since I'm sure Russian music didn't consist of what I needed, the DJ turned to something more foreign. I hopped a little as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I was warming up to the beat.
"My name is volatile
I've been this way a long while
I'd surely like to rest
But the energy gets the best of me and
It's been a wild ride
I wouldn't change a minute
I can't slow down inside
Guess that's why I live it
Watch it now!"
I started of with an Aú Giratoria, turning around with my weight on my left foot and then placed my right on the ground, transferring my weight from my foot onto that hand. I swung my left leg around and up behind me. My other hand came down onto the ground. I kept walking around by continuing to transfer my weight from hand to hand, in 45 degree steps. I probably spun around five times. From the Aú Giratoria I dropped down into a Queda de Rins to kip up. I bent my elbows and my weight was mostly on one arm, pushing with the other arm so that I rolled onto my shoulders. Then with one powerful thrust I kicked my legs up and a jumped into a standing position. One of the women watching me smiled excitedly and shouted something in Russian. In reaction to her words a number of people turned around and they all started cheering and clapping.
"The years of mischief
Followed by weeks of thrift
I land on earth's hard face
No legs could keep that pace
And through the rest I sift"
I dropped down into another Queda de Rins to kip up. I really started getting into the dance and I decided to advance into a Parafuso. I leaned further back, and whipped the second leg. I aimed for height with the jump and then speed for the kick. For more height, I swung my arms in a circular motion before the jump. My feet made contact with the floor and I took a walking step forward and swung my arms back for a Folha secca. I kicked my back leg up while swinging my arms and arching back like a mortal. I pushed off with my supporting leg when my kicking leg was parallel to the ground. The kick, swing and push were all a smooth motion, and I tucked my body into a ball completely while I was in the air. I landed on my right leg and let myself fall forward into a neckspring.
"Is there ever a time
When the state of sleeping willingly leaves my mind
Highly frustrated wanna feel elated
Come Monday morn you feel checkmated
You can be uncool and become the rule
Exceptions were made to drown
I'm not used to it, you'd think I'd be by now
The ins the outs the ups and the downs"
I started into a Aú Giratoria again, following through with another Relogio and my third Queda de Rins to kip up. The whole scene took me back to my days in the circus. I remember the happy days I spent with my family and the caravan. My siblings and I would hang out in front of the big top to attract customers. Since I was the oldest and most experienced I would perform Copoeira while my brothers and sisters played the music. Sometimes Djavan, the eldest of my younger siblings, would jump into the small ring with me and we would do combat. Thiago and Júlio were content to beat their drums and jungle reeds, but the Denilson was jealous of Djavan and me. He was the second youngest of my brothers and he wanted nothing else but to prove himself in the Copoeira ring. He jumped in one time without my permission and consequently he was on the receiving end of a Aú Sem Măo. I accidentally broke his nose and papai said he couldn't perform with me anymore. My sisters Raquel and Maria would play flutes, and Maria would even sing every once in awhile. Mamãe would dress Tânia, the youngest of my siblings, in a brightly colored dress and decorate her hair with ribbons and shiny trinkets. It was Tânia's job to walk around and collect money from the audience. She always looked so cute with her chocolate skin, round cheeks and rosy smile.
"I wanna make a mess
I wanna blow off stress
I wanna stoke the fire
Just creatures for a while
I wanna make a mess
I wanna blow off stress
I wanna stoke the fire
Just creatures, Just creatures
It comes and goes and comes and goes"
I stepped forward and swung my arms back for a second Folha secca. Coming out of the tight ball I had curled myself into, I landed on my left leg. I decided to attempt one of most difficult Copoeira moves, the Armada Dupla. Starting from my ginga, I stepped forward with my back leg like I was doing a Parafuso. I then stepped around with the other leg to bring both feet together while swinging my arms around and downward in a circular motion. Keeping my arms swinging so that they were now going around and upward, I twisted my torso toward the direction of the jump, and leaned back. When I felt my body rising, I kicked hard off both feet. I jumped high into the air with both legs in front and toes touching. I was in midair when a foot hit my side. I slammed into the floor and lost my breath.
"What the hell is your problem, dick?!" Jack snapped.
"Yeah, bro, what's your damage?" I wheezed. I sat up slowly and held my left side. Even though it hurt, I was more relieved the guy hadn't kicked my right side.
He was a tall man with light hair and a fair complexion. "You need more control," he scoffed with a Swedish accent, "Over your dog."
Jack glared darkly at the man. "I beg your pardon?"
The Swede smiled as if he wasn't doing anything wrong. "I never let my bondsmen act out this way. It's not their place to show off in such a manner, its bad behavior."
"Raimundo is not my slave. He's my friend, and you'll show him the respect he deserves." Despite Jack's height over most other people, he was still a head shorter than the jerk he was trying to stare down.
"Forgive me," he chuckled. "Since he's Brazilian I just assumed…"
"What does me being Brazilian have to do with anything?"
"Don't you know?"
I stood up clumsily. "Know what?"
Jack had an immediate look of nervousness on his face. He turned and started nudging me in the direction of the exit. "C'mon Rai, let's go." It was obvious Jack was hiding something from me and it frightened me.
"Não!" I pushed Jack aside. "What do you mean?" I asked the Swede. "O que aconteceu a meu Brasil?!"
"It is the hell hole of the world," he answered.
"That's bullshit," I told him.
"Oh is it?" He continued to smirk. "Obviously you haven't been home in awhile. It's pitiful really. There's no electrical power, no justice, no order. It's a primitive wasteland. People running amuck in the streets, fires burn and never die, and the sky is always dark. I went there to pick out my… merchandise… Gunshots, people yelling and crying, those sounds never stop. It's hardly safe to go out in public; the locals would sooner stab you in the back and steal your clothing."
My heart sank heavily in my chest. It was one of those moments when it doesn't really surprise you, and you hate it. Brazil was never the safest or richest place in the world, far from it actually. Despite being a large country with extensive resources and a huge economy, Brazil currently had more than 22 million people living in state of extreme poverty. Including those living in state of relative poverty, this number could rise to more than 53 million people living with an income insufficient for their basic needs. That's thirty percent of the country's population for those who don't know. Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the favelas, or better known as slums, which littered the country's surface.
In the past decades, the crime throughout Brazil had become rampant. In a 2006 census, Brazil was named one of the most dangerous countries in the world, if not the most dangerous. Brazilian murder rates were four times higher than that of the United States', and the vast majority of crimes remain unsolved. Street crimes represent a major problem for local residents, especially during the evenings, while in rural areas roadside robberies are common. Rio de Janeiro is considered to be in one of the most critical situations. Gunfights in favelas between police forces and criminals or rival criminal factions happen very often, resembling urban guerrilla wars. The city government has no control inside the favelas, which are ruled by drug dealers, some of whom already incarcerated but still exerting their powers from prisons. Kidnappings are a common problem in many cities of Brazil, and the country has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world.
At the temple I would dream of Brazil. I would brag about "my beautiful Rio de Janeiro," but it was never as wonderful as I made it sound. I think that's how it was for a lot of Brazilians. We knew how much of a dump our cities really were, but we would force ourselves to look past the dirt and the grime. We convinced ourselves it was a good place, because in the end it was home and it was all we had.
"The locals are desperate to get out, and bring money in. They're selling themselves out as slaves. Your people would rather wash our clothes and lick our shoes than try to fix their own country."
"That's a lie."
"You think so? I'm surprised. Mister Spicer hasn't told you anything at all?"
"Shut your face," Jack hissed.
I turned. "You knew about this? You knew?! Why didn't you tell me Jack?!"
"Rai please, we'll talk about this at home. Don't make a scene."
"Why would you keep something like this from me?! My family is down there Jack, minha família!"
"That's enough Raimundo. You're embarrassing me." Jack's pale fingers gripped my shoulders and he pushed me towards the door. "Get that man out of here," he told Piotr and took his jacket. "I don't want to see him in here again."
We were silent during the ride home. Jack tried to coax me into a conversation every few minutes, but I just sat and scowled. Once we were home I walked ahead of Jack into the house and started closing the door on him. "C'mon Rai, don't be this way," he said as he caught the door and pushed it back open. "Let me explain, please."
"This is the worst thing you've ever done Jack."
"Oh c'mon Rai, I've done worse things."
"No, you really haven't. This is personal Jack. Don't you understand? Why wouldn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to protect you."
"Protect me? Proteja-me?! Isso é a maior carga de shit você jamais tentou de alimentar me Jack! Você não pode usar isso desculpar desta vez. Eu não o posso acreditar! Você nunca me deixaria tomar umas costas de jato a Brasil, nenhuma questão quantas vezes que eu pedi. Você não me deixaria voltar ao templo e vê meus amigos. E você me contam é todo porque tentavam de proteger me? Penso que você são somente cioso!"
"That isn't fair Rai…"
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Oh isn't it?"
"You don't know what I did. I tried to help, I really did. I pooled so much money into Brazil's economy," he swung his arms out, "Millions of dollars, Raimundo! For months I tried to get the economy back on its feet. I pushed for food and water. I tried getting generators down there for power in homes and hospitals. I tried so damn hard! Nothing happened though. I don't even know where half the money went." Jack's painted fingers crept out from their sleeve and ran through his hair. "When I heard the people were being sold I tried to stop it, even if the whole transaction was of their own free will. I thought there was a better way. I don't approve of slavery. Even if I ruled the world, I would want worshipers, not servants." He moved closer to me and I got a hard feeling in my stomach. "When it became obvious I had no power of the situation, I turned to other measures. I tried to buy your family Rai."
"Minha família? You tried to save them?"
"Of course I did Rai! But that plan went down the shitter too. I exhausted all my resources in tracking down your family. Ten people is a lot Rai. Your mom and dad weren't up for sale." He cringed at the phrase, but continued. "There was nothing I could do for them so I started trying to get my hands on your siblings. Djavan, Thiago, and Denilson had been sold already to some governor in Africa. Júlio, I couldn't find Júlio. Raquel is married and lives in Chile with her husband. Maria had been sold to business woman in America."
"What about Tânia? What about my baby sister, Jack?"
"She was up for sale, on auction. More millions Raimundo. I bid so much on that little girl, I should have won! Someone outbid me Raimundo. At the last minute they won by five hundred dollars. God, Raimundo! I tried so fucking hard!"
I clenched a fist and frowned. "But you didn't tell me Jack." Fighting the wetness that was building in my eyes, I turned around briskly and walked away. I decided to retreat to some random room in the far corner of the house.
"I did it for you Raimundo!" he called out bitterly.
Did he expect me to thank him? Fat chance. Jack did a lot of things I didn't like. He put limitations on me, all of them in the name of "protecting me." What the hell was he protecting me from? All he was doing was keeping me away from the world, keeping me all to himself. Most of the time I didn't mind, I mean, what did the world have to offer anymore? The oceans weren't good for surfing anymore. I didn't have any friends to play football with. Sometime Jack would kick the ball around with me for awhile, but his poor coordination left him limited.
Those were the little things though. What really bothered me was how selfish he was when it came to my company. So many times I wanted to go home to Toberejo, just for a day, to visit my family. So many fucking times I wanted to go back to the temple and see my friends. But Jack always had an excuse to keep me home.
"I hear there's going to be bad weather."
"None of the jets are working right now."
"That's such a long way to push yourself isn't it?"
"I feel sick."
"I already made plans for us."
"I need you help with something."
"Isn't it getting kind of late? You can always go tomorrow."
Excuse after excuse, and why? To protect me. How could he expect me to be thankful? He keeps me locked up and running around in circels, like a hamster in those colorful plastic tube mazes. "He's such a bastard…"
As I watched the numbers on the clock flash over to four, I couldn't help but feel a tugging at my heart. I'd been sitting in that room for three hours trying to ignore that little twinge. Dashi was stubborn though. "Try to understand him," the little nagging feeling would tell me. And dammit all, it was right. I was the only thing Jack had left in the whole world. His parents were on a cruise during Armageddon, and are presumed dead. Wuya and Dashi aside, I suppose Jack really did love me. I knew I loved him. We had a scare, during Armageddon. Everything we knew just came crashing down and all we had to rely on were the tangible things. Jack and I were each other's tangible. He could touch me and I wouldn't break. I could act on him and he would respond. Not much of that left in anything.
Suddenly aware of the pressure in my lower gut, I ventured through the halls to take a piss. The first bathroom I came to was the one I hate the most. It was very large and very empty allowing for akward acoustics. I would have gone on for another facility, but the water bill was becoming more and more expensive every second. Did you ever notice at night, sounds seem a whole lot louder? The flush of the toilet roared and I couldn't help but feel mortified. Yeah, check me out, big man. I came out of the bathroom and was startled to find Jack waiting outside for me.
"Uh sorry," I mumbled as I tied the drawstring on my sweatpants. "Did I wake you?"
Jack stared at me for a minute. He just stod there in his tailored black silk pajamas. Finally he cleared his throat and spoke. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your family. I should have, you deserved to know. But I didn't want to upset you. I didn't want to risk the possibility that you would rush down there and then I might never have seen you again."
"Jack, I can take care of mys- "
He held his hand up. "I'm not finished. Even though I'm sorry about that, I won't apologize for the temple."
I flicked my head back a little. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, that is so. Look, I'm not sorry about that, and I'm not gonna act like I am. If I had my way you would never go back to that place, and you would never see those people again. Quite frankly, I just don't like those Xiaolin losers, and I'm sure you're well aware of that. Yes, I am selfish and I am jealous. I don't like the idea of you spending time with other people. I want you with me all the time, I want you all to myself. That's just the way I feel."
"Okay Jack."
"So are you still mad at me?"
"Well yeah, Jack. But not as much, 'cos at least you admitted to it."
Jack smiled and his eyes got all droopy. "Oh Rai… come to bed will you? It's so looooonley sleeping by myself."
"Fine Jack, I'm coming," I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Wunderbar!" He grabbed my hand and swiftly pulled me to our bedroom. Jack crawled into bed a snuggled under the black fur blankets, sighing contently to himself. I followed and turned out the light.
In the corner of the room was a small night lamp Jack constructed out of his old goggles, which illuminated the room with a soft orange glow. Just bright enough to let you see under the bed.
