Xiaolin Showdown © Christy Hui
Author's Notes: Oddly enough, I'm having a hard time portraying Jack's person. I spent some time speed watching my season 1 DVD, trying to capture his personality, but I'm not sure if I'm doing so well. I'm hoping that with the best of my 'Jack' abilities and the behavioral modifications I gave him, the character is still believable. Also, does anyone else ever find Omi's dialogue difficult to write? It seems many of the other authors I read don't have a hard time with it, but for some reason I hit road blocks. I guess I just don't always know which phrases qualify as slang and if he would say it wrong or not. This is the first chapter where I've actually written large pieces of dialogue for him. If anyone finds it out of character, as far as slang goes, I would really appreciate some tips.
-X-
"I don't understand why I have to come."
"I want you with me. Besides, you might learn something."
Jack and I were in one of his jets and currently flying over the Indian Ocean. We were en route to Australia. The island was severely secluded after the effects of Armageddon. The Pacific Ocean had risen dramatically on the eastern side. The once mainland of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland was now a part of the Great Barrier Reef. All that's left is a patch of outback in Western Australia a couple thousand square miles large. One single building stands on the land. It's nostalgic to the Trump Tower, used strictly for business meetings and transactions between world powers.
"But I'm always so bored. It's just a bunch of old suits and stuffed shirts. I wanted to go to the temple."
Jack's grip tightened on the controls causing his already pale knuckles to turn even whiter. He hissed as he gritted his teeth. "Well Rai, we both know what happened last time you went there," he said in a sing-song tone.
"Jack, I doubt anything will happ -"
"No!" he snapped. "Do not argue with me Raimundo! You have one job: to protect me. If I say you need to be there, then damn it Raimundo, I need you there! Can you please just… augh! Just do it all right?"
"Jeez Jack, fine, don't get so upset. You'll break a blood vessel or something, man."
The red head just snorted.
Eventually we landed. Jack said that the meeting was being held on the third floor in the Magnolia room. We rode the elevator up after being greeted by the receptionist and turned down an offer of coffee. Walking down the hall I went to the first door I saw and started to turn the handle.
"Rai, wait, did you check to see if this was the right room? We don't wanna barge in on anther meeting do we?"
"Não…"
"Right, so read the sign to make sure." When I hesitated he gestured forward with his hand. "Go on Rai, read the sign. Does it spell 'Magnolia'?"
I glanced up at the gold painted plaque on the door. I saw an M and a G and that was good enough for me. "Yeah, Jack, this is the right room. C'mon I'm not stupid."
He just looked at me for a brief moment somewhat accusingly. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. "All right Rai, go in."
Inside there was a long redwood table with five chairs on either side and one at the head. I noticed a second smaller table with an ice bucket, a bottle of scotch, and assorted wines.
"Oh no!" Jack suddenly exclaimed.
"What? What is it?"
"I specifically told them we needed twelve chairs. I told them there were ten guests and the two of us. My God, these people do this for a living. You'd think they could get a fucking chair number right." He started massaging his temples.
"Dude, chill out its okay, I can stand. I don't mind."
Jack smiled. "Oh Rai, you're such a peach." He patted the side of my face with his sleeve. "You're welcome to any of the drinks over there. I think the mini-bar in the corner there might have sodas in it if you want those instead. When the suits arrive would you be a darling and pour me a glass of wine? I don't want to be drinking it when they come in, but I don't want to abandon my position at the head of the table to get myself some."
"Sure Jack, no problem."
My lover smiled at me again and tilted his head a little. That was his cute face and it meant that he was really happy. "I'm really excited Rai. This will mean more money for us."
"Don't we have enough money already?"
I always felt uncomfortable saying 'we, us, and our' when it came to the Spicer fortune. Technically it was Jack's money, not mine, and I was definitely not used to having as much money as we did. I mean, if Jack ever decided to kick me out it wasn't like I would be able to lay claim to any of the fortune, so… how was any of it mine? I'd expressed the concern to Jack before, but he just kissed me, patted me on the head and told me the money was as much mine as it was his and that I shouldn't worry.
Jack had a ridiculous amount of money. I can't even put a number to it. Aside from the already existing Spicer family fortune of some odd million dollars from his father's company, Jack acquired much more money during Armageddon. He took advantage of the stock market and economy collapse that happened right afterward. Jack laid claim to international and local casinos, restaurant chains, manufacturing companies of ever kind, and he even got his hands on some retail businesses. Basically, if it made money, Jack made sure he got his hands on it.
"You aren't looking at the big picture Rai. The money isn't just for you and me, lord knows we have enough of it already. No, I'm putting a lot of dollars into restoration projects. I want to get some suburban societies rebuilt for the people. I mean, if everyone dies from lack of shelter and care, who will I be the ruler of?"
"Um… right…"
Within the next five minutes all the business men had arrived. None of them seemed entirely pleased to be there. They all took there seats and Jack began.
"Gentlemen, first I would like to say how pleased I am that you all could make it. This is a wonderful day for progress. I'm sure you will all come to appreciate what's going to happen here today." Jack tapped lightly against my leg as he continued to speak. I recognized the signal and went to get his drink. "Now, a few of you may not be happy with what I'm going to say. In fact, all of you are probably going to be unhappy when we're finished here today." The men all groaned they knew this was coming. Jack just smiled. "I've called you all here so I could tell you the news in person. Thank you," he said as I set the glass in front of him.
Jack kept talking. He was buttering the executives up and enjoying the sound of his own voice. I stood beside Jack, not really paying attention to anything and letting my imagination wander, when one of the men tapped my arm. "Hey, junior, I'll take a drink. Scotch on the rocks." I just stared at him. I hated when people mistook me for a servant. Couldn't they figure out that just maybe I was with Jack for personal reasons? The man raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter? Don't speak English? Habla inglés?"
"Excuse me, what did you just say to him?" Jack said suddenly. His tone was a snip which meant he'd been offended.
"Is your drudge deaf or just dumb?" the man asked with a grunt and thumbed at me. "All I did was ask for a drink and he's just standing there like an idiot. Do I have to give him money first or something?"
I could see the red color rising in Jack's cheeks and around his eyes. I knew his fists were shaking inside the sleeves of his coat. "My husband hears just fine, and I'm sure he's twice intelligent as you and your dust filled head. In the mean time you can pour your own damn drink, Ed."
The old man was flabbergasted, to say the least. He burbled and grunted through his heavy lips before getting up and walking to the drink table.
"And as for the rest of you," Jack turned his attention to the others around the table, "Get this through your thick fat skulls: Raimundo is here for the sole purpose of keeping me company. He is not a waiter, servant, slave, drudge, attendant, domestic, peon, servitor, or help of any kind. If you talk to him it had sure as hell be to ask him how he's doing because if it's not then so help me God I will see to it that you all become his servants!"
"Mister Spicer, why don't you just tell us why we're here," said a middle-aged man in a dark blue suit and white silk tie. "I've other things to do today than sit here and be yelled at."
"Very well then." Jack cleared his throat and with an insanely satisfied grin he said: "I'm taking control of your companies."
Ten jaws hit the floor.
"You mean this is a hostile take over? You can't do that!"
"On the contrary, I can do that, and quite easily too. I believe that's why they call it 'hostile.' In fact, gentlemen, I'm currently in control of your companies and all profits are being redirected to my account as we speak."
"You greedy little bastard! How much more money could you possibly need? I refuse to let you do this. I'm going to fight you for my company, count on it."
"I'm afraid you will find that quite impossible, William. You see I've already seized all of your assets. In fact I completed the process about three days ago, but I wanted to be professional about the whole thing and called this meeting. I'm willing to keep you all on as executive employees with generous salaries, but the companies are in my name from now on."
"You little abortion!" The man in the blue suit lunged across the table with his hands out and ready to grab Jack's throat. "I'll kill you, you insane bastard!"
I summoned up a gust of wind and sent the man slamming into the wall. Instantly I was behind him and twisting his arms behind his back. "Pleases refrain from touching Mister Spicer."
"Thank you Raimundo, you can let him go now." Jack stood and flipped his hair back over his shoulder. "Well gentlemen, there's nothing more to discuss here today. I want to thank you all for coming again. Thank you for your cooperation and have safe trips home. I'll be waiting to here from you all about my executive employee offer. I'll leave it on the table for about two weeks, after that you're on your own. Good day gentlemen." Jack walked to the door and motioned for me to follow, which I did. "Well," he said cheerfully, "That went about as well as expected."
"That man attacked you."
"Yes, but you stopped him. I told you I needed you there. Hold up Rai, I need to use the bathroom."
So Jack was right. I guess when you're ruler of the world you're bound to have a few enemies. Even though he's aware of the danger, sometime I don't think he takes it seriously enough. He continues to flaunt his power, wealth, and popularity despite the multiple attacks made on him. I wonder if Jack depends on me too much. I wonder if he could defend himself if he had to. He wasn't weak, but Jack didn't think too quickly on his feet.
"Are you ready?" Jack's voice broke my train of thought. I looked at him and nodded. He smiled and took my arm. "Let's go then."
I had an uneasy feeling as I climbed into the jet. All the other planes were gone. I had expected a few to still be around, y'know, the suits grumbling to each other or something. Jack seemed to have not taken notice, or he just thought nothing strange about it. If my amado wasn't worried then I decided to relax.
That was a mistake.
We had only been in the air for five minutes when an alarm went off. Lights flashed, buzzers buzzed, and all the gauges started dropping to zero. "Jack, what's going on?!"
"I don't know! Shut up and let me think!" He pushed some buttons and toggled switched. He tried pulling up on the controls but nothing responded. "Shit! Nothing's working! The battery isn't feeding the generators, we've lost power!" With the jet falling rapidly to the ground, it became obvious we had to get out. Jack tried the eject sequence. "Fuck!" he growled. "Son of a bitch!"
That was it. I pushed his head down and thrust my elbow up through the glass. I grabbed Jack and jumped. Outside the jet I came to a horrible realization: The air was dead. There was no wind, just stale air. Stupid desert.
"Rai, do something!"
As I arise today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
I- I'll stop drinking on Sundays.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
I'll stop looking at porn.
May Christ shield me today…
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left
I'll learn to read the Bible!
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
"Rai! Rai, wake up!"
I heard my name being called from far away.
"Oh, please God… Raimundo wake up! Open your eyes!"
I felt my hair shifting and a soft tingle on my face.
"Rai! Raimundo! Raimundo!"
I opened my eyes and saw red orbs flowing over with tears looking down at me. White chocolate skin was stained with ugly black smudges. I lifted a very heavy hand to wipe them away. My hand was caught by one larger than my own and quivering lips were pressed to it. I opened my mouth to speak but all that came out were painful coughs.
"You're crazy," said the voice from behind painted lips. He was probably right. "It was sabotage. We should be dead. Are you warm enough?" His coat was spread over me. I must have gotten hurt. "Rai, can you talk?"
"You okay?" My voice is hoarse.
He laughs. "Idiota, I'm fine. That was some stunt you pulled. Some Jack-bots are on the way to get us. Do you need anything?"
"Peace of mind."
Jack closed his eyes and nodded. He knew what I meant, and he knew he owed me as much as that. "Sure Rai, whatever you want. You can go in a few days once your arm is better, okay? I promise, just wait a few days." What did he mean my arm? Slowly I turned to look but Jack caught my face in his hands. "No Raimundo! Don't look at it. Just… just look at me. Look at me baby." He gently stroked my hair and cheek. "Just look at me."
-x-
Within the week I was back up and moving around. My arm had graduated from a sling to some heavy bandages around my shoulder where the thing had fallen from its joint socket in the first place. Just as he promised Jack allowed me to go to the temple. It was finally time I settled all the matters I'd left behind.
I conversed with Clay shortly before he told me where I could find Omi. The little monk was in the meditation chamber. "Hey Omi," I greeted cautiously.
"Get out," he said bitterly.
"C'mon Omi, you can't possible still be mad at me."
"You betrayed me Raimundo, and you abandoned your duties."
"I was scared!"
"Fear is no excuse Raimundo." He turned to face me. "Perhaps if you were so afraid, then Master Feng must have made a mistake. We were trained to be Dragons, not turkeys."
I wanted to say 'chickens,' but it was obvious that Omi was in no mood to be corrected. "How many times can I say I'm sorry? Can you honestly tell me that being Dashi's reincarnation never put any pressure on you, never made you flip out?"
"To be Grand Master Dashi's reincarnation was my honor. It gave me strength and I was proud to be blessed with his gift."
"You were a cocky little bastard!"
"You were a lazy disrespectful bum!"
"I tried really hard everyday!"
"You could have jested me," he said snidely.
I frowned trying to hold my tongue. "Well maybe if I had gotten some encouragement."
"You never did anything praise worthy."
"I trapped Wuya back into the Puzzle Box!"
"But not before joining the Heylin side!"
"You're one to talk. You were Chase's little pet!"
"I corrected the error of my ways."
"Then I would think you'd understand."
"You did not do nearly your share of work."
"I helped find plenty of Shen Gong Wu!"
He pointed angrily at me. "You lead us on wild duck hunts!"
"Wild gooses chases!" I spat. "God, why do you hate me so much?"
"You belittled me every chance you got Raimundo. Why shouldn't I despise you?"
"Maybe if you weren't so big headed. All I wanted was for you to approve of me. Tell me I'd done a good job. Instead of all that 'Raimundo equals last to become apprentice' crap you always lorded over me."
"You seemed confident enough," he said in an unusually calm way.
"What?"
"Did you look up to me, Raimundo?"
It was the perfect opportunity to make a joke, and in my bitter rage I was really tempted. But in the end all I wanted was for Omi and me to be friends again. I didn't want us to be angry. To say 'no' would make me feel guilty, so I stood in silence.
"I thought as much." Omi stroked his thin beard while choosing his words. "I was most entertained by you Raimundo. Before the three of you joined the temple I thought I was the giant cheddar -"
"Big cheese."
He gave me a sharp glare but continued. "You were quite tall, very suave, and obviously handsome. You were very…" The monk paused. He thought hard so as to get the right word. "You were very cool."
"You thought I was cool?"
"Most definitely. If you wanted encouragement, Raimundo, then perhaps you should have given it."
"What are you talking about Omi?"
"You mocked my every attempt to be modern. You corrected my follies with crude laughter. Jermaine provided me with positive reinforcement, unlike you. If you were not willing to aide me, then what reason did I have to aide you?"
"Omi, I didn't know…"
"I was not as selfish as all that, however. I would have been more than willing to support you had I not been afraid you would proudly reject me."
"Omi, I would never do that. I needed help. I needed your help. I didn't know what to do with Dashi's power."
"You did not ask for my help, Raimundo. You ran away instead."
"You were already so mad at me. I didn't think you would."
Omi bowed his head and closed his eyes. He sighed heavily. "You are right, Raimundo." His eyes lifted up to me. "I was not a good friend, nor was I a good Dragon."
Suddenly all the resentment we had seemed to disappear. I guess all we really needed was a good scream fest. We said all the things we were never able to say growing up. It felt really good. I got down on my knees and pulled him into a hug. "Siento muito, meu amigo."
Omi's hands settled on my back "I am sorry too, Raimundo." He pulled back and looked at me with wide eyes. "But I was still madder than a wet dog!"
"You mean cat?"
"That too," he said with a grin.
I burst into laughter and rolled on the floor with Omi clutched in my arms
-X-
Notes: Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
http:// upload. wikimedia. org/ wikipedia/ en/ b/ b8/ Australia – climate – map MJC01 .png
abortion: any malformed or monstrous person, thing, etc.
Catholic Prayer for God's protection and Christ's Presence, (St. Patrick)
