Ray of Remorse

Jack hadn’t been there for the next Shen-Gong-Wu battle.  He’d been at some prestigious scientific convention, winning award after award as well as hosting panel discussions and presentations on technology.  By the time he returned to China, several of his inventions had been tested and bought by various organizations, making him filthy rich.  He’d also received job offers (which he had no intention of accepting; he would not be some lackey!) and his counsel in the matters of things robotic had been sought.

All-in-all, the trip had been a successful one.  He returned home bone tired, but also very pleased with himself.

Naturally, once he arrived home, his Jackbots gave him a report of what he’d missed.

“Which Shen-Gong-Wu was it?” he asked, shucking out of the clothing he’d traveled home in.  He was tired and wanted a bath, and then a nap.

“The Ray of Remorse,” replied one of his Jackbots.  “It’s purpose is to zap battle opponents so that any guilt or sorrow they feel is heightened extremely.  The zapped people are so overwhelmed by their inner pain that the person doing the zapping can easily either win or run away.”

Jack snorted.  “Sounds just like the kind of thing the monks would love to have.  They cheat more than the Heylin do!”

“You got that right, Master,” said another Jackbot as it followed Jack into the bathroom.  “They’re testing it right now.”

“Making each other wriggle and writhe with shame? They’re good at that, too,” Jack sneered.

“No, Master. They’re at Chase Young’s castle.”

Jack froze.  Instantly, his mind raced through the logic of why the monks had gone to Chase’s place.  The only hope they had of defeating the brilliant and vicious warrior was by tagging him with the Ray of Remorse.  As desperate as they were, the monks would certainly work together as a true team in the attempt at zapping Chase.

“How long have they been there?” he asked quickly.

“Only a few minutes, Master. They flew in on—Master?”

The Jackbot was understandably confused as Jack bolted out of the bathroom.  Quickly, Jack ran into his closet and began pulling on pants, shirt, jacket, and boots.  He strapped on his helipack and, surprisingly, a laser pistol.  Then, he went running out of his room, down to his Lair, and then into the vehicle bay where his personal jet waited.

Within a few minutes, he was blasting off into the sky and racing toward the Mountain of Doom.


*~*~*~*


Chase was having a completely horrible, suck-ass day.

First, he’d taken stock of the Lao Mang Lone situation, which was getting pretty dicey.  There weren’t as many dragons in the world as there once were; perhaps a total of eight at best. Three of those dragons were homosexual, and so would not be producing future generations.  With the number of dragons down, Chase’s supply of Lao Mang Lone was going to have to be strictly rationed until such time as the dragon population experienced a boom.

Second, Wuya had tried to knife him in the back earlier that morning.  Literally, she had attempted to plunge a knife into his back while he’d made use of her body; rutting on her to achieve a satisfactory, if somewhat lackluster orgasm.  He’d broken her wrist to make her drop the knife, and then flipped her onto her front and finished what he’d started, relishing her cries of pain as he sought relief from the aching pressure in his balls.

Third, he was bored.  Spicer was off at some science convention, and so was not there to entertain him.  One way or another, Jack Spicer usually provided him with some amusement.  The fact that the frighteningly brilliant young man turned into a bumbling, fumbling idiot around him drove Chase mental with frustration, but something interesting always happened.  When he found himself admitting that he missed Spicer’s presence, that only pissed him off enough to go actively searching for the monks, and found them on their way to collect the Ray of Remorse, which Wuya had conveniently failed to mention had activated itself.

Fourth, the monks had managed to win the damned showdown and now they were making use of it by battling him in his own home!  They’d shown up on his doorstep and he’d fought with them and then there’d been a bright flash of light directly in front of his face and just ow, damn it!

Nothing was going right today!  Not a gods-damned thing!

Chase Young, to his internal horror, burst into tears.

Some small part of him frantically demanded he get control of himself, but largely, he just couldn’t be bothered.  He was a miserable, lonely old man; that’s all there was to it.  Who the hell gave a damn about him and what he felt? Nobody!

Gods, but he hated them all!

Stumbling, Chase tried to get away from the monks to find some peace and quiet to be miserable in, but they were following him; taunting him cruelly about his weakness.

Over the sobbing howls that ripped from his throat, Chase suddenly heard a sizzling noise, followed by screams from the monks.  He didn’t care. He ran forward again, only to crash into something warm and heavy that toppled to the floor beneath him.  Trembling violently, Chase managed to open his eyes enough to see a blurred vision of black, white, and red.

Oh, that was just perfect.  Spicer, of all people, got to see him for the weakling he really was!

Broken-hearted, Chase gave up.  He went limp as he cried and cried and cried.

Eventually, he became aware of being jostled as something partially lifted and dragged him.  Then, he was settled against something warm and firm and cozy.  He tucked his face against black cloth, curled his legs up against his body, and wallowed in his misery.


*~*~*~*


Nearly three hours later, the emotional storm ceased as abruptly as it began.

Chase stiffened as he realized someone was holding him. Not only holding him, but gently stroking his hair.  His nose caught the subtle scent that identified Jack Spicer, and mortification very nearly gave him heart failure as he realized the young fool had witnessed his break down in its entirety.

With a rough sigh, Chase pushed himself away from the warmth and strange coziness of being curled up against Spicer.  He rubbed at his eyes, which kept trying to glue shut from the gumminess of dried tears.  He felt the dried saline crumble beneath his gloved fingers as he rubbed firmly.

When he finally opened his eyes to glare balefully at Jack, he was startled by the look of calm concern on the teenager’s face.  A glint of light reflecting off of steel caught his attention, and Chase shifted his gaze down to see a pistol clutched in Jack’s hand.

“Why do you have a gun?” he asked, confused.

“I got home just in time to hear from my Jackbots that the monks were hunting you with the Ray of Remorse,” Jack said quietly.  “It was the only weapon in their arsenal, currently, that would give them a chance to not only defeat you, but humiliate you, too.”

“Came running for a good show?” Chase asked cruelly.

“Did it feel like I was sitting back and munching on popcorn?” Jack returned acerbically.

Chase sighed.  “No.”  He glanced around but saw no sign of the monks, though the marble floor of the courtyard was scorched with burn marks.  “What happened?”

“I shot at them with my laser pistol,” Jack replied, causing the dragon-lord to gape at him in shock.  “I’m a pretty decent shot, actually.  Lots of video game playing. Kimiko had to deflect my fire, which meant they had to hide behind her.  While they were paying attention to me, your warriors snuck up behind them and pounced.  The cats dragged them out and gave them a good thrashing.”

“Then what?” asked Chase, absolutely amazed.

“You just wanted to cry, so I dragged you over to this little alcove we’re in and held you while you vented,” Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders.  “I kept the pistol handy in case anyone else tried to make a play for you while you were vulnerable.”

Chase closed his eyes as he struggled to find his center.  None of this was making any sense!  Spicer should have been one of the challengers come to take advantage of his moment of weakness!

“Why did you do this?” the warlord asked brusquely, opening his eyes to glare at Spicer.

“Because I know what it feels like to be ganged up on when I’m helpless,” Jack said simply.  “I know how vicious they can get; how hard they can hit.  I didn’t want you to suffer all that.”

“So instead of allowing them to finish me off, I must now live to hear their childish taunting of watching me fall to pieces,” Chase sneered meanly.

Jack smirked.  “You could do that. Or, you could turn the tables on them.”

Intrigued, Chase lifted an eyebrow.  “What do you mean?”

“They’re going to taunt you. They’ll try to make you lose control by reminding you of how hard you cried.  Wow… your eyes look amazing.”

“What?” The dragon-lord was not amused by anything at the moment, and he sensed he was being made fun of.

“All that crying flooded your eyes with saline, but all that does is clean your eyes.  That, plus your anger… they’re even more pretty than usual,” Jack said quietly.  “So gold… amazing.”

Chase stared at Jack, utterly surprised that the youth could say something so profound, especially in regards to him.  He was far too used to Spicer being a sycophantic screwball.

“Anyway,” Jack said, clearly embarrassed at being so forthright with his thoughts, “you can play their taunting to your advantage.  Those monks are the biggest hypocrites I’ve ever met.  They’re mean and vicious and dirty rotten cheaters, but if you so much as hint that they’re on the path to joining the Dark Side, they wig out.  So, when they start with their taunting, you just take it with a little smirk and then call them ‘apprentices’ or some similar term. Tell them that they are learning from you at a tremendous rate; why, it’s almost as if it comes naturally to them!  After all, it took hardly any effort to concoct a plan to cheat by weakening you with the help of a Shen-Gong-Wu.  And then, to attempt to attack while you were vulnerable and with the cruel words… why, they’ll be fully-fledged Heylin before they know it!”

Chase thought about it for a little while.  Then, slowly, he nodded.

“Spicer… that’s a rather wicked idea,” the dragon-lord approved.  “Why don’t you normally display this level of intelligence when it comes to the monks or to me?”

Jack got himself up off the floor and held a hand out for Chase, who reluctantly accepted it.  He was pleased that Spicer simply pulled him up instead of playing the juvenile trick of abruptly letting go in mid-pull.

“I get flustered around you,” Jack said, looking at Chase as their hands slid slowly apart.  “Even around the monks because I know you’re watching. When I was younger, I hadn’t learned enough. Then, I was learning, but it didn’t matter because I knew you were somehow nearby.”

“You’re saying that your incompetence is all my fault?” Chase growled.

“Not all your fault, but a good chunk of it,” Jack said with a smirk.

Then, he surprised Chase deeply by stepping close and lightly touching his mouth to the older man’s.

The kiss was cool and dry, and not very long, but for all that it was still a kiss that had a heavy impact on Chase.

“In case you didn’t notice,” Jack said with a slight smile as Chase’s hands settled firmly on his waist, “you matter to me.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Chase murmured, and then dipped down and closer for another kiss.

Then again, he didn’t need to hear it.  Jack had proven it by staying to keep Chase safe during his weakest moment.

Chase figured the temporary loss of his dignity was worth it.


The End