Ok so I forgot about this story. I really suggest that you read chapter 1 first (not on here)
Title: Tianshi
Author: ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
arizonaicerose, rockinlar, and kuro_rain
arizonaicerose, rockinlar, and kuro_rainRating: PG-13- strong- might change later if we need to…
Disclaimer: If I owned this Jack so woulda had the most screen time ever!
Pairing: Chase/Wuya, eventually- Jack/Kimiko
Warnings: Uh just the normal- blood, violence stuff. More may come in later as the story progresses. Slight Angst factor…
Summary: When Jack is found beaten and close to death little do the Xiaolin dragons know that the battle for the control of the world has started.
A/n: Alright so me and my brothers just came up with this idea- though none of us know how exactly. We were just driving when poof it came to us. Anyways this is written by the three of us, I type up the twisted plot that my brothers are telling me. And I thought I was the messed up one. Of course I’m helping to keep plot holes from forming.
So please read and review, however no flames please. Flames will be used to burn the annoying mosquitoes that are biting my toes.
Also I think the title means ‘Angel’ in Chinese, if it is wrong please tell me and I’ll change it if anyone knows the right spelling or word. I forget what site I found it on but the internet has been known to be wrong before and I do not claim to know Chinese nor try to.
Chapter 1 (FF.NET link)
Chapter 1 (FF.NET link)
A kick in the gut caused the teen to gasp painfully. Wheezing Jack pulled his eyes open, coughing through clenched teeth. Turning his head away Jack grimaced spitting a mouthful of blood onto the concrete floor. Hissing he pulled at the shackles that kept his arms securely above his head.
'Damn' Jack swore mentally as he stared at his attacker. Already he could see the fire in the eyes before him, the same fire that had brought so much pain before.
"Why handcuff me like this. Scared?" Jack had decided long ago that he rather die then keep living like this.
"I think you have it backwards. Look at you trembling there. Are you scared my dear Jack." A hand snacked out from the shadows to caress Jack's porcelain cheek. The same cheek that had managed to remain unscathed.
Swallowing hard the teen turned his head away from the soft hand, clenching his eyes shut. He knew what would come next. He knew...
A loud slap rang out from the room. Jack gasped trying to swallow back the cries of pain. Tears only made it worse. He had learnt that after the third day. Though it wasn't to say that sometimes the tears still flowed from his aching body.
Feeling the pain subside, Jack smirked at the floor as he spat out blood. He swore again tongue feeling his lower lip. 'Great, it opened again.'
His lip had been split on the fourth day he was brought here. And still had not been given the chance to close completely. Just like the other wounds he had been afflicted with.
"Hmm, so want to talk today?" The shadowed figure asked holding up a small silver dagger, a promise of what was to come if the answer was not to it's liking.
"No way!" Jack smirked at the figure before looking away as though bored. Inside his heart fluttered wildly as he tried to control his breathing. His stomach knotted and once again he was reminded of the kick that he had so recently gotten.
Breathing deeply, Jack closed his eyes trying desperately to put himself somewhere else. To pull himself from the dark room he was in and to his lab. He was not chained to the cold, cement wall but instead tinkering away with his robots, whistling to the music that blared from his stereo.
Slowly he could feel the cold wall behind him disappear until nothing pressed against him. Hands were free from the cold, heavy chains.
Instead they were replaced with heavy gloves.
Leather gloves. Looking to the side, Jack stared at the yellowing gloves above his head.
That's right, he wore them when he worked on sharp metal pieces. In a fleeting hope that they would not injure him too badly. That he would save his fingers for another day.
Smiling Jack sighed as he stared at the make-shift car above him. He just had to figure out what to do next. It was his prized possession. If it worked out right, Jack would have invented the first car that could not only drive on the road, but also fly and go out on water. And without the help of any Seng Gong Wu either.
Smirking he glanced around, tapping a couple screws with his finger, making sure they were tightly fastened. After all he didn't want to be 3700 feet in the air when one of the screws came free.
Smiling the teen sang quietly as he tinkered away with the underside of his baby. Feeling unusually happy Jack tapped his toe to the beat of the song he sang, a new song he had heard on the radio earlier that morning when his alarm clock had roused him from his peaceful slumber.
Throbbing from his left arm woke the teen from his daydream. Moaning Jack shook his head trying to clear his mind as he forced himself to keep his eyes closed. Refusing to allow the other person the joy of knowing that Jack was suffering.
Eyes clenched tighter as Jack tried to keep from thinking of the figure before him. He seriously didn't know how much more he could go through. How much torture could one body go through? One mind? Especially from someone that was never trained to withstand such abuse.
He was nothing more then a teenager. A teenaged boy. Sure genius teenager, but still nothing more then that. He was no government agent, no ninja. There had been no lessons, no practices on how to survive days upon days of never ending torture! Even when he was with Wuya he was never taught. And the beat downs that he received from the Dragons almost seemed like heaven compared to this!
His body ached. His mind ached.
His arms screamed to be let down as his wrists throbbed from the cutting metal cuffs that held his tired, sore arms up so high. Every part of his body- exposed or not- was covered in cuts, bruises and in a couple of areas burns.
And at night when he was granted a two hour break to sleep, Jack would cry himself asleep. But even that break was not really one. He was still forced to stand, his hands lowered slightly, but still not enough for him to sit on the chilled floor. If he let his knees slack the slightest, he would be rewarded with stiff, throbbing arms when the morning kick to the gut came.
Cold metal pressed against Jack's neck, while a mouth rested against his ear, warm air waffing over the teen's exposed shoulder. "Now do you think that closing your eyes is going to make this go away?" The voice lowered, malice dripping from every word, "Because if so, we may just have to reteach you the rules. You will never escape until you speak!"
The knife drug along the pillar of flesh, slicing at the pale skin, blood dripping from the wound.
Jack grimaced as he felt the sharp blade slide across his neck. He hated it when they drug it across slowly. It always hurt worse then when it was the slashed quickly. Breathing deeply Jack tried to keep his cool; calming his tears before they streamed over his lids.
'I'm not here right now,' Jack whispered in his mind. Calmly he repeated his mantra, ignoring the other voice that promised more if he did not talk. Didn't they get it? What would it take for them to understand that he would never talk! That he would die instead! What did he need to get it across to them?! A neon sign?!
Already Jack could feel his body slackening, his mind fading from the real world, hiding back into the world that he had created after his second day. In this world he was loved, he was safe. If anything tried to get him, all Jack had to do was pause it and change the scary part. In this world there were no Seng Gong Wu, no Wuya, no Xiaolin Dragons that loved to beat him up.
No instead it was just him and his robots. Here he could tinker with his circuit boards for hours on end. And just like the cartoon character that would spend a lifetime tightening that one bolt Jack would play with the circuits, pressing his tester against each panel before nodding and pressing them against the same panels again.
Toes curled against the rough rug that he kept under his table. His mother had tossed the beaten rug at him late one night when she ventured down to the basement. Her blond hair bounced as she shook her head, tongue clicking as she watched her son wrap thin arms around himself in an effort to keep warm. Sighing she had demanded that he at least put that rug down if he insisted on spending his life in the cold, dank basement while barefooted.
Breathing deeply Jack swore he could smell old oil lingering in the air, on good days his hair would smell like it too. Much to his mother's dismay when she saw him. She whined about how she wished that Jack was a girl! Someone to cook and play dolls with. Not another slob to clean up after and to make sure bathed at least once a month.
Jack smiled as he stretched his arms high above his head. Twisting slightly the boy could feel his back pop. Maybe tonight he would jump in the shower before bed. It would be a nice surprise for his mother when she came in to tuck him in.
A stupid little smile crossed his face. He didn't care that he was almost sixteen and that his mother still tucked him in. It made him feel special. Like that he was loved. His mother cared enough to come in and wish him a good night and sweet dreams. She loved him! And no matter how dorky that sounded to others he loved it!
Sure he was no girl that his mother wanted, but he was her son. And even when she was annoyed at the messes he left- she still loved him deeply! And just knowing that made everything negative that his mother say perfectly fine.
The bloodied knife clattered as it feel to the ground, the shadowed figure shaking its head. Amused the figure took a step back, watching Jack smile as he hid back in his dream world.
"Nah-uh."
Jack coughed harshly as a hard fist was delivered to his already injured gut. Breathing harshly he opened his eyes, glaring at the figure standing right before him, nose to nose.
"No zoning out is allowed. I want you to feel the entire experience. After all I thought long and hard about how to make today fun for you."
Swallowing deeply Jack turned away from the face, long absent tears brimming in his eyes as he clenched his fists trying the hardest to prepare for what was to come. Out of the corner of his eye Jack shuddered violently as he stared at the metal bar the figure pulled off the table of what they had called 'their toys.'
Some toys. To Jack toys were something that you could play with. Cars, trucks, action figures, robots, legos; those were toys, not the things that were on the table.
Jack had been acquainted with that bar several times, and he knew perfectly well how horrible today was going to be. Clenching his eyes tightly Jack balled his fists trying to pull himself away as much as he could. Though the teen knew that even if he lost himself completely in his dream world, it still would not mask the pain.
Screams bounced off of the walls of the small room as Jack tried to pull away, kick and punch. Anything to get his attacker off of him...
But nothing would work.
x-x-x-
Screaming Jack bolted upright in the small cot, his hand pressing against his stomach tightly. Wild eyes glanced around the small room as the red head tried to place his surroundings. Glancing to the side, he relaxed staring at a wide eyed, petrified Kimiko.
'That's right,' Jack sighed as he lied back on the fluffy pillow, his hand still pressed to his sore stomach. He had escaped. Barely. But he had. He had escaped with his mind and body in one piece- somewhat. And he was still living.
And best yet, he had not talked.
If he could have, Jack would have stood on the bed, announcing his greatness to the whole world! He had survived and was not even trained on how to.
"Jack!"
The teen cringed at the shrill voice, crimson eyes glancing over at the furious looking girl. Smiling he winked in her direction. For some reason he just felt cocky. Felt like he could easily take on the dragons for their Wu again. Maybe it was because of the hell he had survived.
"What was that?"
"What?" Jack whispered, his throat stinging from his scream earlier.
"The scream. What else!" The dragon of fire sighed as she watched her 'patient' shrug as though nothing had happened.
“It was that, a scream. You love to ask questions you know the answers to huh.” Jack slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, flinching when his arms protested the movement.
“Hey you're supposed to stay in bed!” Kimiko jumped up, her hand on the clammy shoulder.
Shrugging Jack sat straight, his legs crossed before him. “And what are you going to do if I don't? Fight me?”
He knew he should stay in bed, but Jack had never been the type to follow orders from doctors. He still had a scar on his ankle from when he had began running too soon after getting stitches in, they had broken from the flexing of his ankle and the wound had reopened. But still Jack ran around, until the doctor- after restitching the wounded ankle for a third time- finally decided to put him in a soft cast to keep him from moving his ankle.
Once again Kimiko had to fight the urge to throttle her patient. 'Why did he have to wake up,' she wondered while looking around for her game that she had tossed when he had screamed.
She had been placed in charge of the sleeping Jack. A job that was actually quite easy- at least while he was still asleep. While he slept she had played her newest Goo Zombies game and had almost made it to the final boss when Jack had screamed. Glancing behind her small chair Kimiko stared at the bold, blood red letters that flashed over the screen. 'Game Over.'
Well it was something to do later in the day, when the sun was too low to do training or chores. Though since she had not saved the game, Kimiko was doomed to begin at the beginning level again.
Hanging her head Kimiko picked up her hand held game, flicking the power switch to the off position. With that taken care of her attention was back on the shaking teen; his eyes- through calmer now- still flicked around the room. Almost as though he was waiting for a monster to jump out of the walls.
'What has he gone through?' Kimiko wondered as she pressed a hand against the clammy shoulder. She was going to have to change the sheets soon again. And probably have to bath the boy again.
Why did it only seem to happen on her shift?
Why her?
And why was it that a temple full of boys could be completely empty when it came time to bath the unconscious boy? Shuddering Kimiko stepped away thinking hard on how to relieve her of her charge.
At least before he decided that he wanted a shower or something. The severity of the wounds made any kind of bathing, except for soft sponges, nearly impossible. The smallest amount of force ripped the wounds open. As they had learned while moving Jack to the small cot he slept in now. Even bandage changing seemed to open the wounds. They had been ripped apart for so long that they were not going to heal easily.
But even still he couldn't lie in bed without moving until they healed. That could take weeks or even months. Kimiko didn't know a lot about health but she knew basics. And one basic fact was- the longer a person lied around doing nothing, the more health problems they could get.
With that in mind the young dragon of fire began planning on how to get rid of Jack. It wasn't that she hated him, it was just that she didn't want to be around him.
“Hey Jack,” Kimiko pushed the chair out of the way, tugging down the blankets. “Wanna go out and stretch your legs?”
“Eh sure I guess.” Jack glanced down, for the first time noticing just how badly wounded he had been. “Uh...” Glancing behind him and on the floor around him, Jack looked up confusion in his features. “Where are my clothes?” He asked holding his arms up for emphasis.
“I think Rai burned them.” Kimiko stated in a matter-of-the-fact way, her eyes barely glancing at the shirtless boy. Bending over she helped Jack straighten out his legs, hanging them off the side of the bed. “He gave you a pair of his pants though, so you have something to wear. At least until we figure out something for you to wear.” Reaching out she grasped Jack's hands, holding them tightly. Then she braced her legs, locking her knees in place. “Here let me help pull you up.”
Jack pulled his hands out of the girl's soft grasp. “Y-y-you burnt my clothes?! Why!”
“Because they were ripped and stained. There was no way they could have ever been fixed.” Kimiko tried to keep calm as she explained, trying to remind herself that Jack had been out of it for a few days now, but the annoyance was starting to show in her words. “Come on let's get you up.”
Sighing Jack took her hands, allowing the smaller girl to pull him out of the bed. With one fast- and painful for Jack- pull Kimiko was able to get the teen upright, though unsteadily. Unsteady, weak legs shook as they tried to get used to the sudden weight. A weight that they had not had to support for a few days now. Grasping his stomach Jack pushed away the girl's arms, determined to make it on his own. Slowly his feet shuffled forward, hands reaching out to steady himself against walls, door frames, furniture and whatever else was steady enough for him to hold.
Kimiko watched, arms held out behind Jack ready to catch him if he happened to fall. Her eyes watching his feet carefully, whispering to him when he reached obstacles.
“Watch out for the step,” Kimiko stared at the slight incline.
“I know,” would be Jack's tired answer as he would slow down long enough to safely clear it.
“Careful for the floor, the board's loose so it sticks up slightly.”
“I know!”
Though she meant well Kimiko was starting to annoy Jack. He hated to feel like an invalid. To have people fussing over him.
Slowly step by step, obstacle by obstacle they made it to the small kitchen. There Jack shrugged the concerned girl away. Looking around, he could only guess it was morning still. In the aftermath of his nightmare, Jack had forgotten to ask when it was, or even what day. But those were minor inconveniences right now.
Or so he reasoned looking around the kitchen. From where he was standing- holding the door jam as though it was his lifeline- Jack could see Omi sitting at the table holding a bowl while eating with chopsticks. At the counter was Raimundo, his back to him.
Carefully he stepped in, fingers sliding away from the door jam. It was a long walk to the table, and there was nothing to help catch him if he was to fall. Knowing that the teen took his steps carefully, never stepping further then a sliver away from his other foot. With patience he crossed the room with baby steps, arms wrapped around the bandaged stomach.
Already blood was starting to poke through the snowy bandages and soon they would have to be changed. Something he was not looking forward to. If breathing hurt this much, he could only guess how much it would hurt to get them changed.
Finally reaching the table-and without making a fool of himself, or at least as little of a fool as he could while taking baby steps across the room- Jack carefully crossed his legs before lowering himself down to the pillow on the floor.
Glancing up from his bowl of rice, Omi watched Jack try to get comfortable on the pillow.
"What happened to you Jack." Omi asked from his place at the low table, his hands leaving the bowl to grasp the wooden edge tightly. Excited to know what had happened to their enemy, the young monk leaned forward, his waist bending over the low table.
"What do you mean?" Jack changed his position again, finally settling to kneel on the overstuffed pillow, his finger digging into his ear in a bored manner.
"The bandages on you." A short finger pointed at Jack's bandaged chest before pulling up to his neck and face. "Those are not your normal clothes. Or look for that matter."
"What do you mean?" Jack held out his arms, smirking as he stared at the shorter monk. "This is the new style. Everyone's wearing it. I mean it's all the rage!" Nodding the crimson haired teen tried to suppress a wince as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. The sudden moves had jolted the wounds that were still healing.
Standing in the doorway Kimiko shook her head in annoyance as she listened to Jack's reasoning. Who would believe such an answer as that?
"Really?" Omi's eyes lit up as he stared at Jack's new 'style' with a new attitude.
'Ok besides him.' Kimiko thought as she slapped her forehead a disbelieving grunt escaping her mouth.
The smaller monk glanced over at the grunting girl before looking back at Jack. His eyes clouded with confusion as he glanced between the two. Between the crimson haired teen in baggy red pants and snowy bandages that covered most of his chest, neck and arms. His crimson hair disheveled from where the bandages on his head pushed them.
And then to the girl with her ebony hair pulled into two braids, each behind an ear, leather ties holding the braids together. Her fashion for the day had been toned down to a pair of bleach-faded jeans and a tan pheasants top- the same color as her leather hair ties.
Blinking Omi turned towards Kimiko before pointing a finger at her. "Then why does Kimiko not wear it. If it is the angry now. She always wears that kind of stuff!" The young monk nodded, as though he had solved the world's most perplexing problem.
"Rage," Raimundo corrected as he sat on the counter, not wanting to miss the show.
"Yeah that too!" Omi stated staring at the flustered girl.
The pain was getting to become too much for Jack now as he tried to keep from laughing. Arms crossed tightly over his stomach- as though trying to keep his innards in- the teen leaned over the table his forehead resting on the cool, polished wooden surface.
'How naive can he really be?' Jack wondered as he wiped the stray tears away with the palm of his hand. Was there still people really that naive in the world, Jack had to wonder as he stared. 'I guess I really was like that too.'
But that had been a long time ago.
Back when being 'evil boy genius' was a fun game. Back when it didn't hurt this much to be him.
"Omi!" The girl all but yelled as she stormed into the small kitchen, walking between where the two boys were sitting. Boys- especially teen ones- could just be so tiring at times. "Believe me bandages over most of your body isn't any style! Ok. Really who would wear that stuff? Think about it."
"Oh but hey this style is just so cheap." Jack was not about to let his entertainment die away so easily. However already he was starting to feel worn out. His head fell against the hard table with a dull thud. Lying his ear against the top he continued, "I mean if you work at a hospital then it's free!"
Omi blinked, quiet confused now. What Kimiko was saying did make sense, but still. "Why would Jack lie?" Omi asked the first question on his mind before a different one grabbed him. “And when did Jack start working at a hospital?”
Jack couldn't hold the laughter back anymore. Tears streamed down his face as the boy slapped the table. “Ow ow ow ow ow. It hurts!” Gasping Jack curled up, tears of pain now streaming down his face as his stomach pounded from the abuse it had just suffered. Laughing was defiantly a no-no.
The dragons paused long enough to watch Jack curl up, muttering before continuing their discussion over Jack's new style.
"Dude," Raimundo jumped off of the counter leaning against Kimiko's shoulder. "Think about it, it's Jack. When hasn't he lied to us?"
"That's true Omi." Kimiko shrugged the arm off of her shoulder before stretching. "And since he's up, my shift is over. Have fun Rai!" The girl laughed as she ran for the door, a smile crossing her face.
Sighing the Brazilian glanced at the injured one at the table before shrugging his shoulders. "As if it's going to be hard! He's so injured he can't move very far without collapsing." Turning he walked to the door that led outside, his hand raised. "Have fun Omi."
"Hey it is time for your watch!" The monk argued, though to no avail since the Brazilian was gone. Blinking Omi glanced at the crimson headed teen in confusion of what to do.
Shrugging Jack smiled lightly, a sympathetic look on his face. He knew why none of the others wanted to be around him. But still it hurt him to watch them toss him around, none wanting to have him for more then ten seconds.
Sighing Jack pushed away from the table, lying on the chilled floor. It felt good against his flushed skin. Gently he curled up, pulling his knees up to his chest before wrapping his arms around his legs. Sleep soon captured his fatigued body and mind, leaving the boy to roam free in the world of dreams.
X-x-x-
“So he escaped?” A small figure walked up, hands on hips.
“It seems he has escaped.” The other figure sighed staring at the empty chains. “I have to hand it to him. He is quiet resourceful.” The figure whispered toeing the thin piece of metal that had been used as a key, unlocking the chains.
“That still doesn't help the fact that he's gone and we still don't know where it is.”
“Patience is a virtue.”
“Don't preach to me,” the smaller figure huffed, hands sliding off hips before crossing in front of its chest.
“Don't worry we have him right where we want him.” The taller figure set an iron bar back on the table of 'toys.'
“Really? It seems to me the cuffs are empty.”
“Yes, but he is at the temple and right now he can't move far without passing out. So as long as he's there, we know where he is.” The taller figure winked, a smirk slowly appearing.
“Oh yes!” The other figure exclaimed. “So how do you suggest we get our information.”
“Hmm,” a long finger was pressed to closed lips. “Let's let the shadows take care of it. After all you know just how much he likes the shadows.”
“Oh yes that sounds wonderfully evil!” Laughing the smaller figure turned on heel, ready to watch what would happen next.
I'm off to bed now!