Chapter 7- Servitude
Kimiko scowled at the white bands on her wrists. Sitting back on the cot, she slammed her hands into the wall, hoping they might break off or crack. Nothing happened. Rubbing her now sore wrists, she glared up at one of the corners of the room, where she knew there was a hidden camera.
It had been three days since Jack had brought her here, and Kimiko hated every second of it. After she had attempted to use her element, the energy seemed to have weakened her body even more. She could only now barely walk.
Kimiko had not even seen Jack that much. Three times a day he came in with food, but then had immediately left. She wasn't sure if he was scared of her and was trying to avoid contact, or was just letting the realization sink in. Either way, she wasn't going anywhere.
Lying down on the cot, she stared up at the ceiling and examined the bands. Made of hard white plastic and about a quarter inch thick, they rested only in one spot of her wrists. Like, Kimiko thought, suppressing a shiver. Like he had measured.
Aggravated at her weakness and the bands imprisoning her, Kimiko slammed them into the wall once again with what little strength she had. Immediately, the voice of the devil himself echoed from a speaker hidden somewhere.
"Oye! Kimiko! Stop banging on the walls; you're ruining my concentration." She scowled and sat up, her idleness bothering her.
"Then let me out of this hellhole, Jack! I've been rotting here for the past three days." From the speaker came a loud, exasperated sigh.
"Are you strong enough to walk?" Kimiko glared at the corner.
"Yes."
"Then stand up and walk to the door." Rolling her eyes, Kimiko shakily stood up and did as she was told.
"Let me out, Spicer," she called, tapping on the door. A soft series of beeps answered her, and the door swung open. Jack stood in the opening, pulling the spiral goggles off his eyes and resting them in his messy hair.
Grabbing her arm, he pulled Kimiko out into his lab and closed the door. She blinked her eyes in the sudden change of lighting, adjusting to the darkness. Releasing her arm, Jack left her and sat down at his computer, closing out some programs.
Kimiko's eyes widened as she looked around. The lab was messy, bits of wire and metal strewn everywhere, but just the sight startling. Half-finished robots, their plans hastily tacked onto the walls, rested on nearly every surface. The plans were deeply intricate, showing every last detail in words Kimiko couldn't even hope to understand. Complex microchips were stacked all around the lab while a few robots flew around the lab, delivering pieces to different tables and doing something to a computer in the back.
Finishing on his computer with a huge screen, Jack grabbed a piece of metal and walked over to Kimiko, sheepishly running a few fingers through his hair.
"My lab," he said simply, gesturing around the room.
"You've been busy," Kimiko stated, looking around the shadowed room.
"Yeah…Chase is always wanting me to build something for him. I don't really know why, but he just basically supplies me with unlimited money and just asks for something done once in a while. He just wants me to stay out of his way as much as I can. Well, I'm not complaining. Chase would've killed me by now if I kept interfering."
Her eyes wandered to the locations of all the doors and keypads, which she assumed were locks. Jack caught on at once and pressed a button on his watch. Immediately, a small red light turned on all of the doors except for one, which turned green. Walking smoothly back to his computer, Jack grabbed a bucket and sheet of paper. Then, turning, he quickly strode back to Kimiko and thrust it into her arms.
Kimiko blinked as the bucket was given to her, narrowing her eyes. "What's this?" she asked, gripping the handle.
"Work," Jack responded, his voice emotionless. He raised an eyebrow at her, his face suddenly turning cold. Kimiko stared at him and his sudden change of authority.
"What do you mean work?!" Jack sighed, handing her the paper. As she read it, he crossed his arms and smirked, eyeing her disbelieving expression.
"Don't you have robots to do this?" Kimiko scowled, looking up from the paper. It was an extensive list of chores.
"Why use robots when I have you?" he asked, his smirk growing. "I told you before, I paid a lot of money for you, and I'm making sure I get my money's worth." He narrowed his eyes at her, becoming stern at once. "Don't attempt to try anything. All the doors are locked; if you even try to open one, I'll know."
Kimiko glared at him, unbelieving that Jack was serious about this. "And what if I refuse?" She asked, the fire lighting in her eyes.
Jack shrugged and pressed another button on his watch. At once, a strain of the energy ran through her body. Kimiko gasped and dropped the bucket, closing her eyes tightly and gripping her wrists. After a few seconds, the energy top, but the pain still echoed throughout her body. Rubbing her wrists and glaring daggers at Jack, she stood up.
"And that was only the weakest amount I could do. Try to go somewhere I don't want you to go, it'll be a hundred times worse than that," he said sternly. Picking up the bucket, Jack put it back in her arms. Grabbing her sore wrist, ignoring her wince in pain, he led Kimiko to the door with the green light and opened it to reveal a staircase. Raising an eyebrow and gesturing to it, a scowling Kimiko walked through.
"I hate you Spicer," she snarled at him, clenching her hands into fists. She stomped up the stairs, trying to make as much noise as she could.
"That's nice," Jack called back, a little amused. He grabbed the door and looked up at her tiny figure. "Get to work!" Jack shouted, and slammed the door.
Kimiko winced and reached the top level. Sticking her head out of the doorway, Kimiko looked around and noticed a metal door. Dropping the bucket on the floor, she quickly walked over to it and tugged on the handle. Immediately, a large beeping noise went off as the icy energy flowed through her body once again.
This time it was a lot worse, though not nearly as bad as the first day. Gasping in pain, she dropped to her knees and huddled over, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Back in his lab at his large computer, Jack sighed as the monitor above him flashed on to reveal Kimiko. Rolling his eyes, Jack increased the power of the door and went back to work. Picking up a blow torch, he covered his unusual red eyes with his spiral goggles and walked to one of the tables.
He wasn't concerned that she could escape; Jack himself had personally installed sensors everywhere in his small house. With a simple push of a button, he could open, lock, or increase the energy at any location. Jack basically controlled Kimiko, and he knew it.
Sighing, he turned on the blow torch and aimed it at two pieces of metal. He gulped nervously at the flame, immediately thinking of the girl upstairs. Jack still had trouble believing that the Xiaolin Dragon was in his house. When he had first arrived, Jack had spent the night increasing the security around his house immensely. The last thing he needed was one of the other Heylin members come around on a surprise visit. Ashley has gotten into the habit of doing that lately.
Shaking his head, Jack quickly molded the two pieces of metal together with the flame. But his thoughts kept wandering back to Kimiko. He couldn't quite grasp the fact that he had bought her; after all, they had been arch nemesis. Jack was angry at himself for putting himself in danger and doing the one thing he knew would ruin his life. But he couldn't have brought himself to leave her to Tubbimura. And Chase-No matter what, Jack thought. I won't let that vile man get to her.
Jack didn't know why he suddenly felt so protective of her; after all, Kimiko would take no pity on him. Sighing exasperatedly, he turned up the blow torch and adjusted his goggles, now totally absorbed in his work.
After recovering some time later from the pain, Kimiko, feeling especially weak, followed the hallway she had first entered into another room. It turned out to be a large kitchen, the only room above ground. Kimiko guessed Jack mainly lived in the shadows of the lower level. Scowling at the list of work, she dragged the bucket over to the sink and filled it with water. Crossly, she sat down against the hard tiled surface.
After a few 'reminders' of her duties from Jack, Kimiko got back up and unwillingly grabbed the brush and soap she had found on the counter. Dragging the bucket down to the floor, she got down on her hands and knees, beginning to scrub the floor. Kimiko couldn't remember the last time she had done hand work; probably somewhere in the short two years the monks had had before Chase destroyed the Xiaolin Temple. The memory of Clay and Raimundo suddenly overwhelmed her, and she struggled to keep herself from crying. Biting her lip, Kimiko scrubbed the extremely dirty floor harder, trying to keep her mind away.
Small spheres in each corner of the room alerted Kimiko that she was being watched. No doubt there was a microphone somewhere too; Jack wasn't that stupid anymore. As much as she hated to admit it, Jack was a different person now. It scared Kimiko a little. When he had first revealed himself, Kimiko had expected the gullible, weak Jack Spicer she had known years ago.
But he had matured in a lot more ways than Kimiko could count. Not only did his intelligence seem to increase greatly, Jack was strong. She knew escaping would be ten times harder than when he kidnapped her in the beginning of her training. It seemed he had thought of everything to keep her imprisoned. But why? Kimiko wondered, feeling a little sick.
Angrily, she devoted more of her little energy to the floor. The world couldn't wait for her while she was playing maid to Jack Spicer. Kimiko was the last Xiaolin Dragon left, and the only one who had a chance against Chase Young. People were dying, the land was being destroyed, hope was forgotten and darkness was engulfing all. Kimiko knew she had to do something before Chase was beyond the point of no return.
Jack knew how to tire her out; that was for certain. Her head spinning, Kimiko made her way slowly down the steps, feeling like she'd pass out at any second.
She had just finished cleaning basically every surface of the upstairs. Kimiko didn't want to do it at all, and at first she had resisted. But every time she had stopped working for more than a minute, pain would engulf her body from her imprisonment. After a few of the shocks of energy, Kimiko couldn't take it and just did as she was told.
As Kimiko pushed open the metal door leading to the lab, Jack looked from the table, working on a half-finished robot. Pulling off his goggles, he brushed off his hands and stared expectantly at her.
"Finished?" he asked, his voice emotionless. Kimiko glared at him with what little energy she had left, hoping to at least intimidate him. No such luck; Jack seemed to be ignoring her completely.
Without waiting for an answer, Jack sat down on a stool and grabbed a pencil, scribbling away furiously on a set of plans. "Good; now you can scrub the floor down here."
Jack wasn't making her work just to get his money's worth. He was purposefully tiring her out so she didn't have a lot of energy. Jack had seen Kimiko fight many times; she let go almost inhuman strength and skills if she was energized enough. He was trying to keep her subdued. Once she regained her full strength, Kimiko would be able to fight him fully with her martial arts skills. Even though Jack knew he would be ready, and could knock her out with a push of a button, he didn't want it to come to that so soon.
Ignoring the deadly glower from Kimiko, Jack turned to his computer and began to write a program onto a microchip for the robot. Groaning, Kimiko sloshed her bucket of soapy water down the stairs and began to unenergetically scrub the cool floor. It was ten times worse then the room she had just completed. She scowled at the hand brush she held, knowing Jack was purposefully making it harder for her.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as each of them were absorbed in their own tasks. Kimiko could barely register what she was doing, the brush making endless gray swirls on the dirty floor. Suddenly, the air seemed to still for a minute in anticipation.
At once, red lights lit up the whole lab, encasing everything in an eerie red glow. Beeps, alarms, and sirens began to emit everywhere. Wildly, Jack raced to his desk and turned on the overhead monitor. His face went pale.
The screen showed multiple shots of a blonde haired woman wearing all black get easily around all of Jack's securities. "Shit," he whispered, horrified. Grabbing a small white container off the table, he ran over to Kimiko.
"Put these in!" he demanded, staring nervously at the screen.
"…What?!" Kimiko exclaimed, unsure of what was happening.
"Damn it!" Jack shouted, unscrewing the top. "Put your head back and open your eyes!"
Quickly, Kimiko did what she was told. As he emptied the contents into his palm, she suddenly felt something cool slip onto her eyes. Looking down into the smooth surface of the water in her bucket, Kimiko saw that her eyes were now a deep brown.
"She'll be here any second; keep your head down, don't talk unless I tell you to and do not look at her!" Jack shouted at her. Damn it…he cursed inside. Why did she have to come today? He took a deep breath and sat down worriedly at his computer, putting his head into his hands.
The door suddenly swung open, revealing a tall young woman. "Jackie," she called in a high voice, gazing around the room. Her cat-like eyes focused on Kimiko, and her lips curled into a smile.
Kimiko cringed as she recognized the voice. Katnappe?! What the hell is she doing here? Her own heart began to pound as she kept her head down close to the floor, still scrubbing with her brush.
Jack scowled at her and turned away from the computer. "What are you doing here, Ashley?" he asked, thoroughly annoyed.
"Katnappe," she corrected, striding over to the chair closest to Kimiko. Gracefully sitting down, she crossed her legs, sharp stiletto heels dangerously pointing at the floor. "Word on the street is, you bought yourself a little slave. I came to see if it was true." Her lips parted, revealing a row of slightly pointed teeth. "I guess the rumors were right."
She stared smugly down at Kimiko, tossing her golden hair. "What's your name, girl?" she asked saucily, raising an eyebrow.
Kimiko cringed, but didn't answer. She stared at the brush, feeling suddenly sick inside. Suddenly, Kimiko felt a sharp tug on her hair as Katnappe wrenched her long nails around it, pulling Kimiko's head up.
"I said what's your name, slave!" Katnappe snarled, looking down at Kimiko. Pain exploded throughout her head and she cried out, trying not to speak. Her heart pounded in fear, thinking Katnappe would recognize her.
"Yukiyo," Jack said smoothly from the other side of the room. Katnappe turned to face him, her claw-like fingers still curled around Kimiko's hair.
"What?" she growled.
"Her name is Yukiyo, Ashley. She only responds to me. And I'd thank you not to lay a hand on her; she's mine. Get your own."
The woman smiled and leaned back against the table, chuckling. "Yukiyo, huh? What's her story?"
Jack scowled and turned around in his chair. "Parents got stuck in the middle of an argument between Chase's warriors. As a punishment to them, they took her into the slave trade. Now she's here."
"Interesting," Katnappe murmured, eyeing Kimiko disdainfully. "How much?"
Kimiko narrowed her eyes and gripped the brush harder, the wood beginning to crack under her fingers. She's talking about me like I'm property! Flinching, Kimiko realized that's what most humans had turned into; slaves, and the possession of Chase Young overall.
"Not a lot," Jack said calmly, pretending to be unconcerned. Inside, his heart was racing wildly. What if she figures out that its Kimiko?! Chase will kill me! I knew I shouldn't have done this…
The woman shorted, revealing her sharp white teeth once again. "I can tell. Who'd want this piece of shit…" She trailed off, nudging Kimiko's side with her foot.
Jack's hair seemed to go on end as his shoulders rose in irritation. With his back to Katnappe, he narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to calm down.
"Anyway, don't you have robots to do all this for you? Why'd you buy a slave?"
Jack sighed. "…other reasons."
She grinned wickedly and slyly, leaning down near Kimiko's head. "Did you hear that, slave? He wants you for…other reasons."
Katnappe laughed maliciously as Kimiko cringed. Jack doesn't…he won't…she thought desperately, feeling the effects of her words.
Scowling, Jack turned around in his chair and faced her. "Did you come here for any reason then to annoy the hell out of me and harass my slave?" he growled, glaring at her.
Katnappe straightened in her chair. "Actually, I did. Chase just appointed me in charge of finding the Xiaolin Dragons, since Wuya failed miserably. He's already shoved that purple hag back into the puzzle box," she said rather smugly.
Jack froze in his chair, gulping nervously. But Katnappe was too caught up in her own little rant to notice.
"Aaaand, I've got my first lead on them. Well, her. Apparently Raimundo and Clay were already killed," she laughed, examining her long nails in the little lighting. "But Kimiko was captured. Chase actually saw her; she was in his lair. But then," she sighed, "something happened and she got away somehow…that bitch," she scoffed, eyeing Kimiko on the floor. "They'll be hell to pay once she's caught."
Kimiko flinched and moved away from Katnappe, pretending to be deeply engrossed in the dirty floor. She felt like she was going to throw up at any second.
"Why?" Jack asked, turning coolly back to his computer. "Was Chase mad?"
Katnappe laughed. "You should have been there. He was pissed. I've never seen him so angry in my life! He broke out the dragon-form and must have massacred a hundred warriors. Chase hates the Dragons more than anything, Kimiko especially now. He wants her alive, so Chase can kill her himself. That's what is going to be hard once I track her down…not killing her on the spot. But Chase wants them to pay for all they done. And," she sighed dramatically, her face curving into a smirk, "since Kimiko's the last one left, she'll pay for all of them."
"Wonderful," Jack muttered, toying with the keyboard. "Can you leave now?"
Her face twisted into an evil smile. "Don't worry Jackie; you'll play with your slave soon enough. You should break her soon, if you haven't already…they're harder to control later on…"
"GO!" Jack shouted, his face turning bright red. His hair whipped around his head wildly, his fury apparent. He stood up out of his chair and walked towards Katnappe, his arm outstretched and pointing at the door.
Giggling, she stood up and purposefully stepped on Kimiko's hand, the sharp heel just barely missing her fingers. "See you, Jackie," she cooed, climbing back up the stairs. "Have fun with your new toy."
Her high, irritating voice soon disappeared. Jack ran back to his computer and turned all the screens on, revealing that Katnappe had officially left. Pushing a button, a red light flashed through all the locations on the screen as a robot voice announced, "No detections found. Area secure."
Sighing, Jack slumped back against his chair, putting a hand to his forehead. His red face slowly retreated back to pale, and then a little green. A minute passed in the awkward silence, Kimiko still idly swirling the hand brush on the floor. Finally, Jack spoke.
"She's such…a ditz," he said weakly, blinking heavily at Kimiko. "Yet somehow, she always gets around my security…"
"Why did you do it?" Kimiko asked quietly, kneeling and looking at the floor. Her eyes were distant and full of sorrow, fixated on the cool ground.
Jack blinked again and sat up. "Do what?"
"Buy me. You brought me here knowing Chase wanted me dead and the whole world is looking for me! Now you've put us both in danger."
Jack scoffed and sat up. "I don't know why; it just happened. Would you rather have let me allow Tubbimura buy you?!"
Kimiko scowled at him and crossed her arms. "That would have been a hell of a lot better then rotting here with you."
"I doubt it," he smirked. "You were injured, weak, basically defenseless and vulnerable. I somehow doubt Tubbimura would have had a lot of pity for you. You should be grateful I stepped in when I did."
"GRATEFUL? For what?!" Kimiko shouted at him, getting to her feet. Her eyes flamed with fire as she angrily clenched her hands into fists. "First you knock me out, do who knows what to me, imprison me in your goddamn house, and make me your person maid! And it sounds like from Katnappe that you have a hell of a lot more things you want to do with me!"
"You actually believed what she said?! I thought you were halfway intelligent! Do you actually think I'd…" Jack couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, his face turned bright red as he narrowed her eyes. Sighing, he made contact with her. "Why the hell did I even bother? I should have let Tubbimura finish you off."
"You should have," Kimiko hissed. "I can take care of myself. Then I wouldn't be stuck here with you…"
Jack smirked, his eyes cold. "Then tell me why you can barely walk and are exhausted just after scrubbing a floor? You wouldn't have lived for more than a day if I hadn't come."
"Then let me go!" she shouted at him, hurling the brush at his head. Jack stepped to the side as it flew past, dangerously connecting with the wall behind him. "You obviously don't want me here as much as I don't want to be here!"
"No," Jack whispered, narrowing his eyes. "You're not going anywhere." He wasn't sure why he was being so possessive, but the idea of letting her go seemed unthinkable. If she gets captured again, they'll want to know where she went…My name is sure to pop up, and then…
"Then I'll fight you for my freedom!" Kimiko growled, the fire intensifying in her eyes.
Jack scoffed. "Yeah, right. You try and attack me, I'll knock you out with a push of a button," he said calmly, raising his arm with the watch.
"I'm serious!" she snarled, trying to keep her temper from getting the better of her. "I win, you let me go and take these damn cuffs of me. You win…" Kimiko paused and narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I stay…do what you want." Her voice was barely a whisper as she finished.
Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You want to fight? In that condition?" He knew he could win if she wanted to fight now; Kimiko was still weak, and without her element she had little to fight with.
"Yes."
"Fine. We fight right here, right now; I win, you stay and do as I ask. You win, I get you out of here."
Kimiko's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected Jack to actually accept. Kimiko knew she had the disadvantage; she was still weak and couldn't use her element. But if he's still the Jack Spicer I know… Defeating him would be easy, even in her situation.
"Let's go then. Take these cuffs of and we can't fight."
"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid? No; they stay on, I won't shock you."
Snarling, Kimiko ran at him, hoping to get a few hits in before he could react. Drawing her arm back, she aimed it at his chin and thrust it forward. But to her surprise, he easily caught her wrist and held it, merely inches from his face.
"Try something not as obvious." Narrowing her eyes, Kimiko jumped up and positioned her foot. Driving it forward into his gut, she looked up into his eerily calm eyes to see Jack looking unaffected. Her eyes widened as something struck her off to the side, below the rib.
Gasping in pain, she wrenched herself away from him and jumped backwards. While Jack had caught her wrist, he had taken the hit to the stomach and then used his free hand to attack while she was preoccupied. Originally, he'd been planning to hit a pressure point and knock Kimiko out, but had missed at the poor angle.
As Kimiko clutched her side in pain for a second, she took a deep breath and rushed at Jack once more. Raising her fist, she aimed countless punches at his head. Jack quickly put up his arms to block most of them, trying not to loose his balance.
Kimiko smirked; it was typical of Jack to try to defend himself rather then fight back. Like her pervious attack, Kimiko swung her leg up and kicked him square in the chest. Jack grunted and stumbled backwards.
A considerable amount of pain exploded in her foot as Kimiko herself moved away from him. Wincing and breathing heavily, she rested for a second, standing only a few feet away from Jack.
Removing his crossed arms from by his head, Jack quickly took his advantage. He knew Kimiko was short on energy; she would only be capable of meager attacks. Jack had grown noticeably stronger during the past few years, a lot stronger than Kimiko turned him out to be. Never underestimate your opponent.
Rushing forward, Jack leapt at Kimiko before she could react. Skidding along the cool floor, he dodged behind her and wrapped an arm around her neck and one around her waist. Kimiko cried out in surprise, instantly trying to get free. Working free an elbow, she whacked him in the stomach and managed to loosen his grip on her. Bringing up a leg and kicking Jack right on the knee, she sprang away from his arms and landed hard on the ground.
She wasn't fast enough though; Jack had seen her weak moment and taken advantage of it. Within seconds, Kimiko felt herself being tackled to the floor. Crying out again as she hit the ground, her hands were suddenly wrenched from her sides and forced above her head. An intense weight settled upon her legs, and Kimiko frantically looked up to see Jack's face only an inch from hers.
He had pinned her. Kneeling on her legs to keep them from moving, Jack had grabbed her wrists and held them against the floor by her head. Squirming ferociously under his grasp, Kimiko frenetically tried to get away but it was no use. After a few hopeless minutes, Kimiko went limp under his body, depleted of energy.
Her piercing eyes stared angrily up at his as Kimiko gave up the struggle. His lips curving into a smirk, Jack lowered his head even to closer to hers.
"I win."