Well, I'll be damned.
An update.
It's about bloody time, isn't it?
Chapter 6: A Brief Interlude
It was already late in the afternoon when Jack finally woke up, though the ordeal he had gone through made it feel as though much longer had passed. Thankfully, the trip to the spiritual Jing fountain had proved to be relatively uneventful. All he and Kimiko had to do was fill their bottles up, after which the bottles had vanished, probably returning to the dream elves' shelves, and immediately after, Jack had blacked out, coming to inside one of the houses in Ping-jing.
Nonetheless, Jack had come to the decision that he never wanted to sleep again, not if he could help it. He didn't even wait while his parents jolted into life at his awakening; he sat up to get his bearings and, ignoring his father's jubilant cries, leapt up and ran downstairs. Did the others make it back safely?
The answer was yes. There was cheering all round, as the villagers had made a huge group to celebrate the safe return of the Xiaolin monks. Omi's parents were there, and Jack recognised most of the magical creatures – many of them had been out for his blood the day before. Long and Bai Hu were also present, though they were standing a small distance away. Cloudstorm was nowhere to be seen, however, and Luma Luma, the large giant was missing (Probably guarding that crazed thunderbird, Jack thought). In the middle of the crowd was a huge Omi grin, flanked by a comparatively reserved Clay on one side and a rather nonchalant Kimiko on the other.
Feeling left out once more, Jack cast a frown at the floor, but this time Omi noticed, and he ran over to Jack, taking his hand and pulling him along.
"Wait! What are you doing?"
Omi beamed as he guided Jack back into the middle of the crowd. Many of the creatures growled in hostile discontent at Jack, but Omi quieted them with a showy motion of his hands.
"We could not have helped Kimiko without Jack," Omi said to all of them, "so, please, do not think ill of him."
"Yeah," nodded Clay, directing a rare smile towards Jack, "he really came through for us." Kimiko rolled her eyes, not liking to be seen as the weak damsel in distress, but she reluctantly agreed that Jack had turned out to be useful after all.
"He should still be punished. The last person to steal the puzzle-box was sentenced to imprisonment for all eternity!" This was a unicorn – the unicorn who had yelled at Jack the evening before.
Oh, JEEZ, thought Jack. Don't tell me they're still upset with me …
"Ah, well," said Long, "that was hundreds of years ago. Jack wasn't the one who stole the box, was he?"
Dojo grumbled to himself. If only his father had always been this forgiving – then maybe he wouldn't have had to leave Ping-jing at all.
"Jack is no longer on the side of evil," said Omi, pouting at the creatures stubbornly, "and he is my friend, so you should all welcome in him with open arms."
There were several deliberating murmurs, and then the unicorn said, "Well … a friend of Omi is a friend of mine, I suppose." Jack was never really one for herd mentality, but he was glad of it in this case. Once that one unicorn agreed to give him a chance, the whole crowd followed suit.
"But, I've got my eye on you," the unicorn added. Long made a speech about welcoming Jack, the newest member of the Xiaolin order, and then at Long's request, most of the crowd dispersed, leaving Jack and the others alone for the moment.
Jack immediately turned to Omi. "Thanks for sticking up for me, Omi."
"You are most welcome."
"Uh-huh," said Kimiko, frowning at Jack and Omi as they both smiled, "and since when were you two so buddy-buddy?"
"Many turvy tipsy things happened while you were with Wuya," said Omi.
"Well, Jack certainly gets my vote for coming up with such ingenious anti-Wuya equipment," said Bai Hu. Jack almost thought he was wearing springs underneath his paws, because he bounded towards them with energetic enthusiasm, like a great, galloping bear. He came to a halt, so close to Jack that his whiskers tickled Jack's face. "I'll have fun training you."
Jack started. "Train me?"
"Your element's Metal, isn't it? Omi told me how you made a sword appear from thin air. SilverClaw retrieved it."
"Oh, y-yeah," said Jack sheepishly. He'd completely forgotten that Bai Hu was the Guardian of the Metal temple, and, between the disturbing, terror-ridden nightmares, and the tasks that had been given to him by Fengqu and the strange stork, Jack hadn't had time to think about what he'd done in Wuya's palace. There wouldn't have been much point in dwelling on it anyway, because Wuya had taken away all their elements, but now … it was just beginning to sink in. He had an element, just like the others! And he'd made a sword with it. How cool was that? Suddenly, he felt very pleased with himself, and he couldn't stop a grin from appearing.
"What?" said Kimiko, creasing her eyebrows in thought as her mind went backwards through her recent memories, trying to sift all through the jumbled, chaotic events that had occurred to her ever since they'd entered Wuya's palace. Raimundo had attacked her, in a crazed, possessed state of mind; then Wuya had taken her essence, had promised to kill her … but then Wuya had let her go … The Mengmei Plains … A dream about Raimundo … She couldn't remember Jack having a sword.
"Jack made a sword appear? From thin air? When did this happen?"
Long came back to the group, carrying the very same sword. "Not bad, for your first try," he said to Jack. "Not bad at all. SilverClaw was able to use it to good effect. But you won't be able to strike Wuya with it, I'm afraid. Not on its own, she's seen to that. Still, you may yet find a use for it." Carefully, Long handed the sword to him.
"Cool!" said Jack, like a child eager to try out a new toy. He grabbed the hilt with both hands – and crashed to the ground.
"It's … frickin' … heavy …"
"Your arms are just weak," said Bai Hu, though not unkindly. "It's all in the technique. Either that, or you put too much steel into it when you created it. Most swords aren't meant to be too heavy; it defeats the purpose."
How the hell did I lift this up before, then?
…
Whatever.
"What do you say, Jack? Would you like to train under me?"
"Sure," said Jack, his voice muffled by the soft ground. "Not really sure how a tiger can do swords training, but what the hell. I've seen stranger things."
"Well, it's settled. We'll leave for the temple first thing in the morning. Heh, heh. I can't wait."
"NO!" exclaimed Mrs Spicer sharply, surprising everyone, most of all Jack. How long had she been there? She stormed in closer, with Mr Spicer not far behind. "He's not going anywhere!" she snapped at Bai Hu, as if it had been his fault all this had happened. "Absolutely not! There's those – those things," she said with a shudder.
The Huai-Ren, she means, thought Jack, standing up.
"And – magic – and you creatures," she said, pointing to Long and Bai Hu, "and goodness knows what else out there! I won't have my son running around playing with dangerous swords, getting mixed up with this – this magic nonsense! I won't stand for it!"
Jack's mother had always been the practical type, never believing in things like magic and fairies – and this was why she had been so angry with her husband for pursuing what she thought was a silly, pointless cause – so it must have been a shock for her to see that things like unicorns and fairies really existed. Still, if her outburst had revealed anything, it was that she was worried about him after all.
"Quit making a scene," he said coldly, more coldly than he'd really wanted; but then he'd never had a warm relationship with his parents. "You're embarrassing me. You've never had a problem with me building dangerous robots."
"But …!"
"As long as it kept me inside the house, you didn't care what I did." Jack closed his eyes tightly, remembering what he saw in the future. "But you can't keep me cooped up inside that house forever. I have to leave. You understand, don't you?"
She still looked angry, but Jack could tell that her anger was distant, not directed at him. "They said she'd taken away your essence … I … when I saw you in that bed, lifeless, not moving … I realised how helpless I was, what a fool I'd been." Was she angry with herself?
"So now you're trying to overcompensate for your years of neglect by shutting me away from the world? That's your answer, is it?"
"Jack … I don't want you to leave because I'm afraid. Look what she did to you! She could kill you next time!"
"For the longest time, I've shut myself off from the world because that was the only way I knew how to communicate. But now … I have a chance to find out what I'm capable of. I can make a difference, mum! I really can. And … I'm the only one who can. After all, I know Wuya better than most. I've also seen what she can do, what she's capable of. I –" he looked back at Omi and corrected himself "– we have to stop her."
"Let him go," said Mr Spicer, shrugging offhandedly.
"Oh – well," she snarled, anger returning in full force, "you would agree to send him off, wouldn't you?"
For a moment he looked at her sharply, and she started. She wasn't used to seeing him with such fire in his eyes, but almost immediately afterwards he sighed. She relented, waiting patiently for him to speak.
"It's my fault he was involved," he said, running a hand through his hair, "but still, he was the only one able to open the puzzle box. Did it ever occur to you that he might be the only one able to put her back? And, if he wants to make himself stronger, why should we get in his way? We should be encouraging him to be a man, to go out into the world and take life's challenges."
Jack snorted to himself. Ha! Be a man. Now his father was starting to sound like Clay's dad. Like Clay's dad, though, he at least had the grace to apologise when he was wrong.
"If he trains with me he'll be able to defend himself better," Bai Hu intervened, in a rare moment of seriousness. "Your home isn't safe any more; and here – well, if Wuya should ever escape, what's the first thing you think she'll do?"
"She'll raze the entire place," Kimiko said grimly, though Jack and Omi exchanged doubtful glances, still not entirely sure what to make of Wuya after she had saved them. She'd desperately wanted to get to Ping-jing, but one had to wonder why, especially after what she had done in the Yinying world.
However, Clay narrowed his eyes, indicating that the cowboy still didn't really trust Wuya, no matter what she may have said. Jack nodded to Clay, silently acknowledging that he agreed, and then said, "Wuya's up to something, I know she is. Don't you think it's better if I prepare for it?"
"I don't want you to fight against her," his mother stated quietly, her eyes full of fear now.
"You must not worry, mother of Jack," Omi said, "I will personally see to it that Jack receives the training he requires. Of course, he will never be as good or as talented as me," he chuckled, as if this fact should be obvious, "but I will help him with his training until he is at least adequate."
"Hey …" frowned Jack, but he was smiling on the inside. Here was a person whose ego rivalled his own. "I don't need your stinkin' help!"
"Oh, yes, you do," said Omi haughtily. "In many, many ways." This brought a smile to Clay's face, and Jack pouted.
Jack's mother looked down at Omi suddenly, as if she'd only just realised he was there. "You're … Jack's friend?" she said slowly. It looked like it was taking a lot of time for her to process that information. Of course, she wasn't the only one surprised – Jack, too, was rather astonished at the degree of loyalty Omi was showing, despite his massive ego.
Omi nodded in response to Mrs Spicer's question, and she smiled sadly.
"He's … never had many friends. I suppose that's my fault …"
"Well," said Clay, who was still smiling, "he's got us. He ain't such a bad guy when he puts his mind to it."
"You see, mum? You don't have to worry about me."
"Well …"
To sweeten the deal, Bai Hu said, "We're not going to make any of the monks fight Wuya. That would be tantamount to suicide."
"Okay," said Mrs Spicer slowly. "I can't say I'm completely happy with it – or with any of you creatures, for that matter – but … if it's the only way to get the world back to normal … go for it."
Jack smiled, then – a real, genuine smile.
"Thanks, mom."
She smiled back.
For the first time since the events in Wuya's palace, Omi, Kimiko, Jack and Clay were finally back together in the real world. And so it was that the four youngsters were to be found in front of the Jing Fountain, standing in a line, rather like new recruits in an army. Because, now that the joy of reunion had died down a bit, it was time for something far less enjoyable.
The scolding.
And Long was furious.
"Why in the name of all that's good did you go to Wuya's palace? You were supposed to retrieve the Shen Gong Wu. That's all! You were never supposed to engage against her at all! You were supposed to stay well away from her, at all costs! What on earth were you thinking?"
Aha, thought Dojo, as Long paced up and down, going on a tirade about how dangerous Wuya was, how close they had been to death and how they'd lost their elements. This is more like it.
Omi had his head bowed, looking very ashamed, and somewhat in conflict. He valued obedience more than anything, except perhaps friendship. He felt like he'd done the right thing by trying to save Kimiko. Hadn't that been the honourable thing to do?
"I am most sorry," Omi began, "I did not th–"
"Oh," snapped Long, cutting him off. "So you're sorry."
"It wasn't our fault," Jack piped up defensively, the slightest hint of anger in his voice despite his attempt to remain impassive. "Raimundo pushed Kimiko inside a Tiger Claw portal! What were we supposed to do – let Wuya do to Kimiko what she's done to Raimundo?"
Something seemed to snap inside Kimiko, and she glared at Long, then. "Are we all that expendable? Trash? Is that all we are to you? Tools to get the job done?"
Long instantly faltered at this outburst. "W-w – No…" She had been the one to react so strongly to his suggestion to forget about the lost Dragon, he remembered. Perhaps that hadn't been the best thing to say at the time, he mused. He sighed. "No. Not at all."
"And how were you planning on getting back?" SilverClaw said coldly, arms folded. Apparently she had decided to invite herself to the Grill The Monks party.
"Magic?" Jack retorted sarcastically, not liking the Shoka's overbearing attitude. He liked her even less when she moved closer to him, coming to a stop right in front of him.
"You're nothing but a big baby," she hissed in a low voice, towering over him in an imposing manner, looking very much like a drill sergeant. "A baby and his toy robots," she sneered, flicking his forehead with a root-finger. "How quaint." Jack growled as she turned to her right and began to pace in the same way Long had. "By all rights, you should be dead. All of you. I'm actually surprised you didn't get lost in the Dream World. I'm even more surprised that Wuya chose to spare you, because you're not worth sparing."
Omi and Clay both frowned at her, holding her in even lower esteem than before when she'd been constantly suggesting to give up on Kimiko and just kill Wuya. Kimiko was seething, too, now understanding why Dojo didn't like her. So arrogant!
Long sighed, massaging his temples, as though he had a huge migraine. It seemed he hadn't counted on SilverClaw being present. "That's enough. If you feel so strongly about their incompetence, why don't you train them yourself?"
"Oh, no," she smirked, causing Long to become open-mouthed in astonishment, "I'm not bailing you out this time. I'm tired of solving your problems for you. This time you're on your own. I'm leaving."
Now Long narrowed his eyes at SilverClaw. "Have you lost your mind? How can you turn your back on us now, when we need you the most?"
"I'll let you in on a secret. I actually don't give a damn any more. I don't have to care about the world. All that matters to me is the safety of my people. Even so, I've given you my advice: kill Wuya. But you've all chosen to ignore it, so you can all reap the consequences of your actions."
"Where have you been for all this time, SilverClaw?" Long said, suddenly suspicious. "Why did you come back if you care so little for the world's future?"
She didn't answer the question, choosing to sneer instead. "I'll show you where the temples are, but that's all I'm going to do. And we'll see how long your champions last, Long. Not very long, by the looks of things. You'd better hope that they improve, because next time I'm not going to be there to save them."
Long frowned as she stalked away from the lake. He still looked disappointed with the group, but at the same time, he seemed to be more disappointed with SilverClaw. There was a pause where nothing could be heard except the trickle of greyish water from the Jing Fountain behind them.
Then Long said, "I apologise for SilverClaw's behaviour. You should disregard her remarks. You all have remarkable potential. There is great strength to be found in your camaraderie, but it was a little too much too soon. You all need to learn not to be so impetuous. In any case … Make sure to get a good night's sleep, because your training will begin tomorrow. You'll each travel to your respective elemental temples and work to regain your elements. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
He transformed into his red dragon form, and turned back to face Jack. "Oh, and Jack? Please go to Befana's house. She needs to speak to you about Raimundo." He flew up swiftly, and left the area rather hurriedly.
"That was SilverClaw?" Kimiko asked angrily, as soon as Long was out of earshot.
"What a bitch," said Jack.
"Tell me about it," said Dojo.
Jack was glad he was wearing his black overcoat. It was late at night and the fresh, cool mountain air had a biting chill to it, but he was braving it because he hadn't been able to sleep at all. It felt like he'd been awake for many hours while he'd been wandering through the Dream World, when he'd really been unconscious, and this awake-but-asleep sensation had messed up his body clock. Not only that, he was scared to go back to sleep. He didn't want to have any nightmare-visions of Wuya going on one of her killing sprees; and Fafnir had raised the weirdness factor to a whole new freaktastic level. To clear his mind, he had decided to gather some tools from his aircraft. Working on robots always made him feel better.
He knelt on some grass, using a wrench to tighten the screws on his Chameleon-bot, which was seated upright against a tree. The sphinxes had really messed it up, but it was nothing he wouldn't be able to fix. It could come in handy, he reasoned. And, if he was being honest, he was happy that he had something constructive to do. He hated being useless. He knew he was getting the hang of playing the friendship game – a game at which Omi excelled – but he still felt more comfortable around his robots. Back in his element again.
His element …
He was also excited and nervous about going to the Metal temple tomorrow, too … He had so many questions for Bai Hu it was as if his brain was suffering from mental diarrhoea. It was going to be a long night. He doubted he'd get that good night's sleep at all.
"Jack …"
He looked up to his right and saw Kimiko, and his Jack-bots shone all their torches in her eyes, forcing her to squint and put up her arms to shield her face. Jack was half annoyed that his time alone had been interrupted, but this was quickly overtaken by the surprise and joy that Kimiko – Kimiko! – had come to keep him company.
"Hey, Kimiko," he greeted, trying to act blasé. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?"
She nodded weakly and took a seat not far from the Chameleon-bot. Something was troubling her; it looked as though she hadn't slept in weeks. Her eyes were clouded over with worry and fear.
What's with her?
However hard it had been for him to be a lost soul, it must have a hundred times worse for Kimiko; her soul had been absorbed by Wuya. Even if it had been only temporary, it must have been a terrible experience, one akin to the nightmares he had gone through.
"What's wrong?" he ventured.
She blinked, as if coming out of a trance. "I … it's nothing. It's just … Raimundo."
Raimundo? Was that it?
"That jerk?"
Kimiko went from anxious to furious in less than a second. But then, she wasn't the Dragon of Fire for nothing.
"Look who's talking! You betrayed us in Wuya's palace!"
Funny, how much the trip to the Dream World had changed him. Before, he would have been on the defensive with a boastful claim that he was the greatest genius in all known universes, everyone else's opinions be damned. But now, he just shrugged nonchalantly, and went back to fixing his robot.
"I'm sorry about that. I really am. I admit it – I gave in. But at least I'm trying to make things right. I'm going to work hard to make sure Wuya doesn't take over the world. I can't do that the way I am now."
Kimiko was stunned into silence. Jack had admitted he was wrong, he had apologised and he had said he was going to work hard. And he didn't seem to want to take over the world any more…
Even though he didn't look directly at her, he could still sense her confusion. "You can think what you like about me. I don't care. I'm not going to take the easy way out any more. If you've got something to say, just say it."
"All right," she said, taking a deep breath. "You really want to know what I think? You're useless. You can't fight your way out of a paper bag. How in the world do you expect to win against someone like Wuya when even Omi couldn't beat her?"
He still didn't look up. "If that's what you think, then it's only going to be that much more satisfying when I wipe the floor with the lot of you," he said coolly. However, his voice lacked that arrogant bite Jack's words normally carried.
"You've changed …" she said, getting up suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"You – you're not you!"
"What?" said Jack, who was now focusing his full attention on her. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I've never seen you like this."
"Did it ever occur to you that this might actually be me finally asserting myself – my true self – and that what you saw before was just a façade?"
Kimiko said nothing.
"Hmph. Didn't think so." Even this was said without Jack's usual rancid sneer, however. He wasn't angry in the slightest. He was so calm. Kimiko had never seen Jack so focused, so determined before. Though it was a fine distinction, arrogance wasn't the same time as self-confidence, and Jack seemed to fully believe in himself.
"You've always been cocky, and self-assured, but there was no substance in it," she said slowly, staring at him with an emotion Jack couldn't quite place – awe? Understanding? It was as if she was seeing him in a different light for the first time.
"You were deluding yourself," she said, "thinking you were stronger than you really were. And yet now … You really believe in yourself and your potential, don't you? It's not just because you've got an element. There's a determination inside you that wasn't there before. It's as if you have to train, at all costs. Why?"
Jack was in no hurry to tell her. He didn't want to remember himself. "None of your beeswax," he said, meeting her strange stare dead-on. "But, I'll tell you one thing. I'm not going to give up like Raimundo did. And don't give me that look. It isn't my fault he went over to Wuya's side of the fence. Really. It isn't. It was his decision. So stop taking it out on me."
And then, Jack finally realised something. "That's why it hurts more, isn't it? Because he chose it. He was your friend, and he chose power and glory over you guys."
Kimiko swallowed. "You're right," she said, sounding loath to admit it. "It didn't hurt so much when you double-crossed us, because we were enemies to start off with. I didn't put anything past you, so it was easier to be angry with you. But … We trained together. Don't do the same thing, Jack. Don't let me get close to you and then stab me in the back. I'd rather you stabbed me in the front. At least it would hurt less."
"I'm not going to do any 'stabbing'. I saw –" His eyes lowered as he caught himself. "Look – I saw something in the Dream World. A vision, if you like. I know what kind of world Wuya wants."
And at that moment, when Jack's eyes dulled in remembrance, she understood. She could tell that Jack had seen the same darkness she had when she'd been inside Wuya.
"That's why I want to train. But," he said, standing up from his kneeling position, and grinning, "I never said I wasn't in it for myself."
"But Wuya's trapped behind Befana's prison, isn't she?"
Jack shook his head. "That won't last long. Trust me. It's only a matter of time before she finds a way out. It might be a matter of days, weeks or months, but she'll find a way. I'd rather be prepared for it."
Kimiko looked down at the ground.
"What's wrong now?" he frowned, finally letting his annoyance show.
"Befana said Wuya had drawn something on my forehead, and she thinks it was a way of labelling me as hers, but it's completely vanished now. I wonder why she let me go. I just don't understand it. She had me at her mercy. But she let me go. Why?"
"I think it has something to do with what happened in the Dream World."
"What happened?"
Jack gave a short, edited version of his and the others' adventures in the Dream World, leaving out the weirder bits, and emphasising the eventual battle against Fafnir in the Yinying world.
"So … what – we have a new enemy to worry about?"
"Seems so."
Kimiko thought about how spooked Wuya had been in the Mengmei Plains. "One that even Wuya's afraid of. This is bad …"
"See, Wuya wants us to train so that we'll do the dirty work for her. She's probably hoping we end up destroying each other."
"And that's why she let me go …"
"But … that's not the whole story. She's said some really cryptic things. Damn, I wish I knew what she was talking about. Why does she always have to have some hidden agenda?"
"Jack," Kimiko asked suddenly, "what happened in the Horn of Qilin cave? Did you see anything? Anything at all?"
Immediately, he frowned. "Why is it so important?" Befana had asked him for exactly the same information when he had been at her house earlier, and as soon as he'd mentioned Horn of Qilin, she'd gasped and become just a little more frantic than usual.
"It just is, okay?"
"I … well, okay. It was all a bit chaotic. Wuya had frozen Omi, and Dojo tried to save him. I swooped in and grabbed the Horn of Qilin. I chucked it on the ground because I thought it was useless, and it started shooting beams everywhere, and everyone ran for cover. I think someone used the Reversing Mirror."
Kimiko gasped and clicked her fingers, looking as if she'd just solved a sphinx's riddle. Jack's frown hadn't left.
"What's so special about the Horn of Qilin? I mean, apart from the obvious."
"Don't you get it? Jeez, you can be unbelievably dense for a genius."
"Evil boy genius. Evil boy genius."
She ignored him; though at least he was acting more like his old self again. "We've all been racking our brains, trying to figure out why Raimundo was being such a jerk. And we had the answer right under our noses the whole time! Remember when we were in your basement, talking about what to do? And Dojo was telling us about the hidden properties of the Horn?"
"I think …"
It really felt like such a long time ago, but Jack could vaguely recall Dojo talking about the Horn, and telling them to leave it outside his lab. Kimiko wasn't surprised it had taken so long to figure things out. So much had happened since the events in Wuya's palace – and that was where Raimundo had first been acting so bizarre.
"Listen. Omi's certain that Raimundo was normal before he'd been frozen, so whatever Wuya's done, she must have done after Omi was frozen. And Dojo said it was bad if Wuya had both the Reversing Mirror and the Horn of Qilin, because she'd be able to use them both together. That must be what happened to Raimundo! So," she said, practically bubbling with excitement and hope, "all we have to do is use the Horn of Qilin on him and he'll be back to normal!"
But to Kimiko's surprise, Jack's frown deepened further. "Something's not right. Why would Raimundo be so subservient towards Wuya? Think about it: if a beam makes a person truly evil, that person wouldn't be content merely being someone's servant, they'd want to do things their own evil way. I bet Wuya's done more than just Reverse-Horned him. She's gotta know that one zap from a regular beam would be enough to turn him back to normal."
Despite this statement, Kimiko was looking far less worried than she had when she had arrived. In fact, she was quite visibly relieved.
"At least now I know it wasn't really him," she explained, after a pause.
Jack's frown remained in place. He hadn't thought about it until now, but he was beginning to have an inkling of an idea.
And if he was right, then Raimundo was doomed.
"I'll ask her," he declared, placing his wrench on the ground and turning around, a determined look on his face.
"You – what?"
"I'll ask Wuya myself."
"But – that's crazy!"
"Like you said, she's safe behind bars for the moment."
"But –"
"Wish me luck."
Kimiko stared into his back as he left.
"Idiot …"
"Well," said Wuya, smirking broadly at Jack's demand from behind her magic barrier, "you've certainly grown a backbone. It must be the spell I cast on you. Or maybe it's just plain stupidity?"
"What the hell?" Befana barked, who, between dealing with Wuya, Raimundo's brother, Raimundo himself and SilverClaw's unexpected decision, was looking very irritable indeed. Jack's sudden arrival was something she most certainly didn't need. "Jack! How'd you get past the guards I placed? No, never mind, I don't wanna know. Go away!
"Wait," she added quickly and suspiciously, whirling round to glare at Wuya, "what spell?"
"Oh, don't worry yourself, dear," Wuya said with a snort, "it was just a little something to help protect him from Fafnir."
Confusion appeared all over the other witch's face. "Fafnir? What's he got to do with anything?"
"Actually," said Wuya, smiling pleasantly, "I was hoping you could tell me."
An apology and a confession:
I'd like to apologise to everyone who's been following this. I've been finding it increasingly difficult to find the time and drive to write this, particularly since the XS fandom appears to be crawling to a halt these days. To be honest, I'm not sure how far I'll go with it any more, since my interest in it is slowly dying. I really feel like this fic is overshadowing everything else, like it's draining resources I'd rather use on other fics and other things. I think it's the style I'm using for it. I seem to have two very different styles – or ways – of writing. One is to be very methodical and planned. The other is to just to write the first thing that comes into my head, similar to what I did with the Land of Muses fics I did long ago.
Dream Tomorrow uses the methodical way, and it takes ages because I spend a lot time going through each chapter, making sure I haven't missed anything important to the plot. I can't change this now that I'm so far in. I do like this style, because the tone ends up being a lot darker and sinister in nature, but the fact is, the more random way just doesn't take as long, mainly because the plot ends up being far less complicated. These days I only really have time to do chapters in short, sharp bursts; I simply don't have the time to do long-ass, confusing chapters any more.
Recently, I've been playing around with ideas and plots for other fics that I'd much rather write, but seeing that I had a good chunk of this chapter done ages ago I thought I'd update this one first before I really got going on anything new. My focus will more than likely shift to my other fics in progress. I have started (but not uploaded) a Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic, and a Legend of Zelda fanfic, both in the random, light-hearted manner.
In any case, this fic isn't quite dead yet, but I may have to put it on another hiatus if it takes me this long to update again next time.
And, finally: if there's one thing I've learned from doing this fic, it's this. Finish the story first and THEN upload.
Next chapter: "Some Answers"
