A/N—Wow, you guys! You are all soooo awesome! I am super excited right now. Like you don't even know how amazing you all are. And you are all interested in my story, I mean, that's almost as amazing as all of you are. And I promise all of your questions will be explained in due time. Which means some of you might have to wait for a while for things to unfold. So stay tuned!
Disclaimer: I don't, in any way, shape, or form, own Kickin' it, or it's characters.
So on with the story!
Already, the Black Dragons were closing in on the girl, drawing closer and closer by the second. Jack forced himself to push back the many questions that were swirling around in his brain, and focus. He hoped Jerry, Milton, and Eddie had gotten the clue and were following close behind him. Though he had faced the Black Dragons many times before this, he knew he needed back up. There were at least six of the red and black-clad boys, and they were all probably armed. Not with guns. No. Shooting a victim would cause a painless death, something the Black Dragons never allowed. If they were to kill someone, they would kill them slowly, and painfully. But there was bound to be plenty of knives hidden in the folds of their clothes and the pockets of their jackets. But he didn't have time to turn around and see if the three boys were behind him. Surely the Black Dragons would have seen him by now. But he couldn't be sure. Why hadn't any of attacked him? He was in plain sight, and he wasn't doing much to guard himself from flying daggers, or anything of the like. Sure, this elite fighting force wasn't made up of the smartest kids in the world, but it was unlikely that they hadn't noticed Jack sprinting directly towards them. The Black Dragons couldn't be that stupid, could they? But then again, the girl by the fence was amazingly still sound asleep. Dread filled Jack as a ghastly realization dawned upon him. Maybe she's not asleep. He realized. Maybe she's dead. He cast the thought away as soon as it surfaced. She couldn't be dead. She had to be alive. Why would there be six Black Dragon warriors here to kill her if she was already dead? But Jack suspected that if she wasn't dead, she would be soon, if he didn't somehow distract the Black Dragons. So he went with the simple, but effective method of distraction.
"Hey!" He shouted, successfully capturing the attention of all six of the Black Dragons. Suddenly there were two targets in the equation. The Black Dragons knew who Jack was. They had come face to face many times before, rarely coming out unscathed. Whatever the Black Dragons were doing, it must be important. Their leader, Frank, was with them. Frank, though fairly idiotic, was the best fighter of all the Black Dragons. He only attended missions that were specially assigned by government officials themselves. Frank had come after Jack and a few other members of the rebellion more than once. Something must be important about this girl. But what? She looked perfectly normal to Jack. Aside from being stunningly beautiful. Jack was now only a few feet from the first of the Black Dragon officers. He heard the quick footsteps of Milton, Jerry, and Eddie as they stumbled beside him.
"Leave. Her. Alone." Jack growled. He wasn't afraid to let the frustration and adrenaline that had built up in his body escape through his words. He could feel the individual beads of sweat beginning to trickle down his forehead. He wasn't cold anymore. On the contrary—whether from his anger, or from running so much, he was hot. Both of his fists were tightly clenched, causing the veins on his arms to bulge. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it was stupid to be so close to the President's estate at this time of day, but he didn't care. The girl, whoever she was, was in more danger than he at the moment.
"It's nice see you, too, Jack." Frank sneered. "I thought you'd be too scared to come anywhere near us. At least, not after what happened to Lucy." Lucy. Jack felt like he'd been punched in the gut. The name felt like a dagger, digging into memories he thought he had forced himself to forget. Frank had killed Lucy right in front of Jack. She was only six. Lucy had followed Jack out of the warehouse one day, when he was supposed to meet Frank and make what he thought was going to be a deal about the black market. He was supposed to go alone. Little did he know that he was going to be ambushed. He could still feel the knife plunging into his arm as Frank questioned him about the rebellion. Lucy's screams still rang in his ears in the middle of the night. He had tried to protect her. He didn't even know she had followed him until it was too late. Though it had happened almost a year ago, the memories, the pain, still felt fresh. The scars, both mental, and physical, would stay with him forever.
"Well that's where you're wrong." Jack replied. "I'm not going to let what you did to Lucy happen to anyone. At least, not while I'm around to stop it. And anyone includes that girl." He could see the anger that quickly ignited in Frank's eyes. Good. Jack thought. He had to keep the other Black Dragons talking as long as possible. Give this girl a chance to wake up. Run away. He found it strangely humorous that the girl could stay asleep with so many people surrounding her. They were hardly being quiet. Perhaps the worst was true. She could still be dead. Jack forced the thought out of his mind. Even if she was dead, he would still have to face the Black Dragons. He had to do something before it was too late.
"You don't even know this girl. Why do you want to save her so badly?" Frank scoffed. Somehow the comment made Jack even angrier than he already was. Sure, he didn't know this girl, but somehow, they had a strange connection. He couldn't describe how he felt. Whatever it was, it was special. And even if he didn't feel so strange, he wouldn't let this girl die. She deserved a chance, just like everyone else. Frank didn't know this girl either. And he was going to kill her. That was one of the things Jack hated most about the Black Dragons. They would kill for a little pocket money. They would torture innocent children for a few dollars, and forget about it the next day. He was surprised they even remembered Lucy—especially that they remembered her name. He wondered if they knew this girl's name. He had to say something. Make Frank and the other Black Dragons so angry that they would go after him, instead of the girl. So he did the most offensive thing he could think of at the moment.
He spat in Franks face. Jack smiled. It worked like a charm every time. He watched with amusement as Frank's face turned a hundred different shades of red. He could practically see the steam rushing out of his ears in the cold winter air. If Frank had one crutch when it came to fighting, it was his temper. He could never control his anger, which usually resulted in a harsh defeat. Jack simply hoped that would be the case that day. He slowed his breathing, easily settling into a combat position without Frank noticing. He found his center of gravity, and relied on it. He was perfectly balanced. Ready for whatever was about to come. He noticed Jerry, Milton, and Eddie doing the same. He could feel it in the air. The fight was about to begin.
Frank struck first, shooting out his fist with such force, that it would have easily knocked the wind out of him, or sent Jack crumpling to the ground. That is, if Jack hadn't have caught it first. Sometimes the lack of care that was put into the Black Dragon's combat strategies was laughable. They were barely into the fight, but Jack's confidence level had already risen greatly. Not enough to compare to arrogance, no. Arrogance was weakness. But enough to allow himself to move smoothly and quickly. He noticed the other Black Dragons fumbling with their jackets, trying unsuccessfully to remove some sort of weapon to defend themselves. But they were too slow. Milton, Jerry, and Eddie had already moved in, striking and blocking, not giving them the chance to gain any advantage.
"You probably shouldn't have done that" Jack grinned, as he twisted Frank's arm, causing him to cry out in pain. He took no notice, keeping a firm hold on the boy's wrist. He ducked backwards when he saw another fist hurtling in his direction. Instinctively, he lashed out with his foot, and felt contact with another body. He heard muffled moan, as one of the Black Dragons fell to the cold concrete. Jack returned his attention to Frank, who he amazingly, had managed to hold onto, his arm still twisted unnaturally. Jack twisted, and struck Frank in the gut, then once again in the face. He felt hot blood gushing from Frank's nose drip onto his hand. Jack grimaced in disgust, and shook off as much of the sticky liquid as he could. He kneed Frank again in the ribs, then flipped him. The boy remained on the ground, not even trying to rise. Jack could see that it pained him to breathe. Maybe he had broken a rib. He was in no condition to continue the fight. Jack looked around. The other Black Dragon Jack had taken out was still lying on the pavement, almost, or already, unconscious. Jerry was standing by two other Black Dragons who were moaning. Milton had a small scratch on his forehead, but he too, was standing by an unconscious Black Dragon. Similarly, Eddie was sitting on a Black Dragon who had long since given up the struggle to try and get to his feet.
"Nice work guys." Jack started. Then he turned back to Frank. "I suggest you leave before we cause any more—damage." Jack stressed the last word. He knew he had won. Frank knew he had won. So the five Black Dragons struggled to their feet, dragging the sixth on their soldiers, and limped away. Most of them were limping. Two of them had black eyes, and the other four had bloody noses. Once they were out of sight, Jack turned his attention to the girl who was still sleeping, almost forgotten in the rush of the fight. Almost.
Jack rushed over to the girl, stunned by how much more beautiful she appeared to be up close. To his relief, he could see that she was, in fact alive and breathing. But she was still asleep. He was beginning to grow concerned that something was wrong. No. he told himself. She's fine. He knelt down beside her, and gently nudged her shoulder. She stirred slightly, but still, wouldn't open her eyes. He nudged her again, this time, a little more forcefully. This time she groaned. Thankful that she finally was waking up, Jack shook her a third time.
"Okay, okay, I'm getting up." She mumbled squinting. Her eyes widened as they fell upon Jack and the four other boys. She scrambled to a sitting position, but didn't run away. Jack noticed that she wasn't afraid of the four boys. Just suspicious. They were complete strangers, after all.
"Who are you?" She managed to say. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm Jack," Jack answered, "And this is Milton, Eddie, and Jerry." He gestured to the three other boys who had gathered behind him.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Jake—"
"Jack" He interrupted,
"Jack, whatever. But if you don't mind, I'd appreciate if you left me alone." The girl stated. She rose to her feet, gathering her things, and was ready to leave when Jack stopped her. She was clearly annoyed. He couldn't blame her. A complete stranger had shown up while she was sleeping and now wasn't letting her leave. He'd be annoyed, too if he were in her position. Reluctantly, Jack stepped aside.
"Thank you." She said, sarcasm leaking through her words. She turned away from the group of four, and began walking away. No. something in Jack's mind told him. Don't let her leave. He knew it was crazy, she was just a stranger, but that connection he felt still hadn't faded away.
"Wait!" He called. The girl stopped, and turned around.
"What?" she called back, irritated. Suddenly Jack was tongue tied. He didn't know what to say. But that was the point of telling her to wait, wasn't it? He had something to say.
"I just thought, you'd stay, seeing as we saved your life, and all." Jack replied. The girl started to inch back to where the four boys were standing, her frustration turning to curiosity.
"What do you mean, you saved my life?" She asked, still moving closer.
"There were six Black Dragons out here waiting to kill you." The girl was only mere feet from where Jack was standing now.
"And you want me to believe that you four valiantly fought off four of the nation's highest police officers?" Jack shrugged.
"Yeah." Jack said, "They're not the only ones around here who know how to fight."
"How do I know I can trust you?" the girl asked, suspicion still in her voice, not yet quite conquered by her curiosity.
"Yes." The girl raised an eyebrow, still not convinced. "But I'm going to need to know your name first. It's strange for one to save another's life, when they don't even know her name." he answered.
"Kim. My name's Kim" Jack smiled.
Kim.
And voila! Another chapter is done! Yay! So hopefully I'll be able to get more chapters done over break, but I'm letting you all know that all of these chapters being updated within such thin margins of each other may not be as common within the coming months. But you never know, I could be persuaded to write more if I get an exceptional amount of reviews. So at least one of your questions (why Kim was sleeping outside in the cold) should be answered in the next question or two. The reason as to why she got kicked out will come later. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
And remember, R & R please!