Chapter 7 The Value of Friendship
It was a quiet afternoon over at Big Green. There were no missions and it gave the heroes some time to spend with Xin. There was nothing better than eating lunch with him.
"So Xin, when did you realize that animals were good?" Mystique Sonia asked as she was eating some of her buns.
"Oh yeah! You never explained that." Mighty Ray added, as he was munching on his food.
Xin smiled, and began explaining, "After that night, I just felt like I had to leave. I packed my things and bolted out of Big Green, but I never knew Jumpy was following me." he drank some water, "As I was walking around, I fell into a hole and met the Soldiers of Darkness. As you would know, I joined them immediately."
"That explains why you had that uniform on this morning." said Lin Chung.
"We were going to attack Flamingo Castle, but then Jumpy tried to stop us." Xin smiled at him, "I'm glad he did though. Then two Zebras showed up and caused a whole lot of havoc."
"The Zebra brothers!" First Squad spoke out.
"They were trying to take me to High Roller. I guess they found out I was the Prince." he explained.
Xin smiled and pet Jumpy, "Jumpy saved me from them, and that's when I realized he was good, and that means all the others must be good as well."
"Well, I'm glad that you have made peace with the animals, but now you're in a lot of danger!" said Mighty Ray, "High Roller knows you're with us."
"If that is the case, Xin, then that means High Roller will not rest until you're destroyed. You are the rightful heir to the throne." Lin Chung added.
"I am not afraid!" Xin said with bravery, "I joined Big Green to bring peace and punish High Roller. With you, I will never lose."
They smiled at him.
"Yeah, we're unstoppable!" Mighty Ray grinned.
The eldest warrior remembered something, "Speaking of High Roller, he use to be your fool, right?" Lin Chung asked.
Xin paused, then spoke, "Yes. He was."
Ray realized where this was going, "Oh yeah! Did you know him well? Does he have a weakness or something?"
Xin took a second to think, "A weakness?" His expression changed to tense, "Well, he fell in love with one of my sisters." as he continued to talk about High Roller, he looked like he was in pain, "No, he was madly in love with my sister, Qiao. They were really good friends at first. He always did tricks for her and she was never unhappy around him. But his tricks really were just tricks. He did them to lower her guard and befriend her so he could have a hold of her later. He snuck into her room and…" his eyes welded up, "He's a perverted, disgusting, monstrous, ugly…" he went on and on.
The sudden change of mood affected everyone. Mystique Sonia sat next to the boy, and held him gently in her arms.
"Even though he didn't succeed on having his way with her, she still felt betrayed and dirty." Xin sniffed and rubbed his eyes, "She never wanted to trust a man again."
Everyone around Xin fell silent, but were also puzzled at how Xin was responding to his own words. It was as if he was the one who went through it. He was either very close to Princess Qiao or…
"Hey! Being gloomy is bad for you." Mighty Ray stood up, "Watch Mr. Comedy do his thing." He cracked his knuckles, "Alright, here's a joke. If fruit comes from a fruit tree, what kind of tree does a chicken come from?" He gave everyone a second, "A POLE-TREE."
Everyone remained silent, but Xin broke the silence by giggling and then his giggles became laughter. The hard laughter became contagious and the other members of First Squad began laughing. Mighty Ray grinned from ear to ear.
"Everyone loves my jokes!" he said cockily, "Here's another. Which animal keeps the best time?" he paused for another second, "A watch dog!"
Xin laughed again, "I get it!" he clapped.
"Thank you!" Mighty Ray bowed, "Thank you!"
The awful feeling faded and laughter filled the room. The jokes were not top notch hilarious, but Xin did not see the difference. He laughed and enjoyed them, which made the others see the humor in Mighty Ray's corny jokes.
Mr. Comedy told more of his corny animals jokes, since he had a million of them. Eventually the jokes ended and the squad returned to having normal conversations.
"Oh! Xin!" Lin Chung remembered, "Now that we have time, may I paint you after lunch?"
This made Xin remember too, "Oh! Of course."
"Maybe later you and I can hang out." Mighty Ray grinned.
"Sure! I can't wait!" Xin nodded.
"And later you can come to my room and tell me how you keep your hair and skin so clean and shiny." Mystique Sonia added.
Xin giggled, almost like a girl, "Don't worry, I'll tell you all my secrets."
Jumpy tapped the boy, "Then we'll go jump rope together?"
"Yes." the boy nodded, "You can teach me how to jump rope as well as you do."
The rabbit giggled.
For a few more minutes the heroes ate and talked to each other becoming closer and closer to one another.
"Well, I am done eating." Lin Chung stood up, "Xin, would you like to come with me now?"
"Sure!" Xin stood up as well and followed Lin Chung.
"When you're done, meet me at the training grounds!" Mighty Ray hollered.
"You know where to find me!" Mystique Sonia hollered too.
"I'll be outside!" the Rabbit King hollered as well.
Xin looked behind him and nodded, waving them good bye. ApeTrully watched as the team grew stronger in the heart. He had a letter sent by a human in Hippo Kingdom that begged for help. He knows that he should bring First Squad with him, but they were having so much fun getting along together, that he did not want to take that away. He pulled out his tray of gold and made his way towards Hippo Castle via helicopter.
Lin Chung opened the door to his room and the two walked inside. He pulled out a seat for the prince to sit on and set up an easel to paint on. The prince took his seat and pose with a kind warm smile that complemented his wondrous jade eyes. Lin Chung immediately felt inspired and commenced painting.
"Your eyes are magnificent." the painter spoke, "I feel as if they're holding me in a warm embrace. Hopefully, my painting can do the same thing."
Xin blushed again, and it made Lin Chung paint him blushing, "You're making me blush."
It took more or less an hour, but the painting was complete. However, it felt incomplete. The eyes just do not capture him like Xin's eyes do in reality. Then Lin Chung had an idea. He looked through his drawers and found a bag of jewels he would practice sketching. He pulled out two jades and placed them on the eyes of the painting.
"Perfect." Lin Chung smiled and turned the canvass over to show Xin.
Xin gasped. He walked up to get a closer look, "It's beautiful. Like looking into a mirror."
"This is one of the best works I have done." Lin Chung smiled and placed it on his wall, "I must let it dry so that I may show it to everyone."
Lin Chung stared at the painting, and noticed that the painting seemed to be a portrait of a beautiful woman than a young boy. He glanced at Xin who was still staring in awe of the painting.
"He is so oddly feminine." Lin Chung thought to himself.
"Can I have it when you are done showing it to everyone?" Xin asked.
"Of course. It is another gift for you." Lin Chung agreed.
"Thank you." Xin smiled and then remembered, "Oh. Mighty Ray is waiting for me. I will see you later, Lin Chung." he waved.
"Good-bye." Lin Chung smiled.
The boy skipped his way towards the training grounds already feeling good inside knowing he now has a beautiful painting in his possession.
Lin Chung realized that he completely forgotten about finding an exorcist. Lin Chung rushed out of Big Green. Even though Xin said he was fine with having Sima Cao around, Lin Chung still felt that it was not truly his words. He had a strong feeling that Sima Cao was brain washing him like how he brain washed Xin in believing animals were horrible monsters. He spent the rest of the day looking for someone that can cure Xin of this "evil spirit".
Xin made his way towards the training grounds where he found Mighty Ray lifting weights with the Lion King.
"Xin! You made it!" Mighty Ray placed the weight back to it's post and jogged up to the boy. His face was red and sweaty from working out, "C'mon, let's build muscles together." he said then flexed.
Xin giggled, "I guess I'll give it a shot." he made his way towards the bench. The Lion King was already prepared to get this prince pumped.
Xin laid back on the bench and tried lifting the weights off the hook.
"C'mon, you sissy! Get the weights off the hook!" the Lion King shouted at the boy like a drill sergeant.
Xin's face became red as he managed to unhook the weights and gently pull it towards him. Now he has to push it back up.
"Go, Xin, go!" Mighty Ray cheered.
"My grandma can do better than you! Get pumping, princess!" the king snarled.
That princess bit angered Xin to the point where he lifted the weights with ease pretending he was socking the Lion King with it.
"You're doing it!" Mighty Ray grinned widely, "You're almost as good as me!"
After doing about twenty lifts and gaining respect from the Lion King, Xin put the weights back and rubbed his arms.
"My arms feel like noodles." he grumbled.
"Are you whining, boy?" the king shouted in his face.
"N-No. I'm commenting on my arms. Th-They need more training." the prince stuttered.
The king saw through his lies, "You and Mighty Ray do twenty laps around this gym! NOW!" the Lion King whistled.
Xin was use to running, but when he noticed how big the gym was, he knew he was in for a work out.
The two walked towards the corner where they had to start running. Xin rolled up his sleeve and pants sleeves, exposing his slender arms and legs which got Mighty Ray incredibly confused.
"Man. The guy has the arms and legs of a chick." Mighty Ray thought to himself.
"Go!" Lion King whistled.
By the next hour and a half, Mighty Ray and Xin have been doing nothing but working out, with a small water break in between. Mighty Ray was face down on the ground and Xin was against the wall trying to catch his breath.
"Alright, ladies!" the king shouted, "That's enough for today! I better see you two tomorrow!"
"Y-Yes, sir!" both responded and limped out the gym together.
The two were walking down the halls together, tired, sweating, and limping.
"My body is sore." Xin writhed, "I can barely walk."
"It's not as bad." Mighty Ray smiled weakly, he was sore too, "It went by a lot faster today, since I had someone to hang out with."
"The others don't train?" Xin asked.
"Nah. Lin Chung is already accomplished and spends more time painting than anything else. Mystique Sonia is a girl and doesn't body build like I do. And Jumpy… well, he's off in his own little world. Literally!" Mighty Ray explained.
Xin felt pity for the stocky man, "Well, now that I'm here, I promise to spend gym time with you everyday."
"Awesome!" Mighty Ray gave Xin a high five, "We'll be gym buddies! We'll be so buffed out and all the chicks will love us!" he imagined him and Xin totally muscled out and flexing.
Xin laughed, then glanced at the clock, "Well, Mystique Sonia's waiting for me. I'll catch you later." he jogged off.
"Later, Xin!" Mighty Ray waved.
Xin jogged pass Mystique Sonia's room to take a small shower. He reeked of body odor from working out. Mystique Sonia saw him pass by and called out to him.
"Xin! Where are you going?" she asked.
"I'm really stinky from working out with Mighty Ray." Xin answered, "I'm going to take a shower."
"That's a hard stink to come off!" Mystique Sonia laughed, "Want to use my soap?"
"It's okay, I have my own." Xin laughed as well.
After a nice bath, Xin entered Mystique Sonia's room, in simple casual Chinese clothing. Mystique Sonia sniffed the air, and smiled.
"Wow, it's like a meadow just walked in my room. " Mystique Sonia grinned
Xin blushed, "Thanks. My soap is really rejuvenating." he pulled out a jar full of tiny soaps, "They're specially made for me so that I always smell pleasant."
Xin opened the jar and allowed Mystique Sonia to smell it, "Wow!" she exclaimed, "Can I borrow one?"
"Go ahead." he smiled.
The girls giggled and shared beauty tips. Even though Xin was a prince, he told her that even princes have to look good by styling their hair and wearing make-up. The prince even showed Yaksha how to do certain princess-like hair styles which will definitely come in handy when Yaksha decides to play dress up with Mystique Sonia.
They talked for hours, not noticing the time flying by them as they giggled.
"You know, it's really hard being the one of the very few girls here." Mystique Sonia spoke.
"Oh?" Xin asked.
"Although, I like the attention. Guys always gawk at me and send me presents constantly." Mystique Sonia sighed, "I don't need that. I already have Yaksha! I guess all I really wanted was someone I can talk to as a girl and not as a team mate."
Xin completely understood the violated feeling of a man staring down at a woman with nothing but lust, but Xin smiled, "Yes. My sisters and I gossip all the time. Being around you gives me someone to talk to and express how I feel about something."
"Express how he feels?" Mystique Sonia thought, "That's pretty girly for a prince." Then she spoke aloud, "Gosh, Xin. There's just something about you that makes me feel so open to you. I feel like we've been friends for a long time."
Xin blushed, and smiled, "Yeah, I'm pretty charming." he tooted his horn. Mystique Sonia giggled and Xin glanced at the clock, "Oh wow. We've been talking for hours. Jumpy's been waiting for me for a long time."
"Alrighty then." Mystique Sonia smiled and waved, "See you around."
Xin jogged outside and saw Jumpy on land skipping rope. It was around sunset and it seemed like Jumpy was outside all day.
"Jumpy!" Xin called out from on top of Big Green's dome.
Jumpy waved back at Xin, and then a row of turtles created a path for Xin to hop across. Xin made his way towards Jumpy on land and watched Jumpy get excited and skip around him.
"You made it!" he giggled, and offered him the jump rope.
Xin started to skip rope but it was no where near as fast and amazing as Jumpy's ability. Jumpy pulled out another rope and skipped it so quickly it created a force field.
"Wow, Jumpy. Where did you learn to jump rope so well?" Xin asked.
"High Roller taught me." he explained, "Then I just practiced and because a professional."
Xin paused, "Oh… really?"
Jumpy began explaining that High Roller taught almost all of the animals about some of the folk games and toys he knew. Jumpy learned to jump rope. The Baboon King learned to spin tops. The Liger King learned how to toss rings, and so on.
Xin became uncomfortable talking about High Roller at the moment, so he just smiled and said, "Well, it's a good thing. Now, you can use the jump rope to your advantage and fight him."
Jumpy giggled and nodded.
The two spent quite some time together till Jumpy's ears perked to a distant and faint sound, "I hear the alarm!"
Xin eyes widened, "We better head back!"
Jumpy piggy backed Xin and hopped his way back to Big Green and to the hatch room. Everyone else made it too.
Lin Chung was about to tell something to Xin, "Xin, I found-"
"First Squad! Deploy!" Mr. No Hands commanded.
"You can tell me later, Lin Chung." he smiled and dropped into the tube.
As all the heroes shot down the tubes of twists, even Mr. No Hands decided to join with them to rescue Apetrully.
The team learned that the signal was from High Roller's citadel. Xin felt a bit uneasy, and would do anything not to see High Roller face to face yet, but the commander was in trouble and he must make it his priority to rescue him. He told himself to put aside the fear he had towards High Roller.