21Disclaimer: Xiaolin Showdown does not belong to me.
A/N: PLEASE READ THIS! I just found out about the shootings that have happened in Illinois, Louisiana, and California. It breaks my heart to know that some people would willingly do this to others. After I read articles on these tragedies, I was inspired to write this. This story is dedicated to the victims and their friends and families. Thank you.
As he ducked behind one of the auditorium chairs, Jack knew that he had made a mistake. He had had a very bad feeling when he had made the decision to come to class that Tuesday morning, but, because of his part in trying to aid in the fight for shen-gong wu, the young genius had missed much of this class already. It's not that he needed to be there for the material, but not going defeated the purpose of paying almost two hundred dollars to take the damn thing, so he had to show up a few times at least.
But now his ears rang from the roar that had reverberated through the hall seconds before, deafening the albino to the despairing screams around him. Some of the smarter students stayed hidden behind the hard plastic of the seats, but most scrambled for the doors, trying to cram as many bodies through the narrow openings as possible. Crimson eyes peeked through a gap in between two of the chairs to look at the figure down below, standing near the professor's podium with a statistical grin on his face and an automatic machine gun in each hand.
The pale man's deep blue eyes sparkled with maniacal glee, not at all dimmed by the hanging raven locks that peeked out from under the black stocking cap on his head. Chills ran up his spine as the man began to laugh hysterically and lifted the weapons toward the crowd at the doors, still struggling to flee. The teen's hearing cleared just in time for the sound of shots to ring out once again, and the youth found himself wanting desperately to throw up at the sound of bodies dropping to the ground with sickening grunts and moans. Beside him, Jack could hear one of his fellow students crawling over the linoleum, but the teen refused to tear his eyes away from the monstrosity that stood at the bottom of the lecture hall. It wasn't until he felt a warm body push frantically against his that he realized that something was terribly wrong.
Forcing his eyes to the middle-aged man at his side, Jack found that he was unable to let out the harsh whisper that he had been planning on letting loose. Over the entire side of the other's head was a continuously flowing stream of blood and the youth had to wonder how the man was still alive and moving with the seriousness of the wound. But he didn't think on it for very long as the man moved forward and pushed against his body with as much force as the injured form could muster.
"M-move, you idiot!"
Jack opened his mouth to tell the man just where he could stick his attitude, but instead let out a yelp as he was shoved harshly into the metal support to the chair in front of him. He could feel the man push past him in the tight space, the larger body driving against his back roughly. So the albino did the first thing that sprung into his mind to do; he pushed back. And that action caused the one thing that would prove fatal.
When Jack pushed back against the man, it shoved the older into the one of the built in armrests in the row of seats, and being painful as it was, the man thrust his body away from the pain and back in Jack's direction. In the tight space that they were in, the movement was enough to make any other action impossible, so to keep from being painfully squished; Jack's body instinctively moved the only direction to escape the pressure. Up.
Being so separated from the few people left struggling to escape through the doors; Jack's sudden movement was enough to capture the lunatic at the front of the room's attention. Crimson eyes widened as cerulean locked on his and time seemed to slow to an agonizing velocity. Insanity entrenched twinkled in delight at the fear that radiated from crimson, and Jack had only the space between the blink of an eye before he felt three bullets rip through his chest. Pain exploded in his body, but all that escaped his mouth was a ragged gasp as the pale body collapsed to the tile, his head striking one of the chair backs with a sickening thud on the way down.
Silence suddenly reigned over the room, though if it was reality or his mind beginning to shut down due to trauma, Jack didn't know. All he knew was that the screams had ceased and the only noise to reach his ears was the sound of a heartbeat.
Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump
He could feel wetness soak through the back of his shirt and felt an odd sense of relief as he realized it was his own blood. Tiredly, the teen stared at the ceiling, letting his mind wonder as the pain in his body began to recede.
Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump
A few memories flashed though his mind's eye. He saw the first time that he met the monks and let a small snort escape him. He saw Raimundo, tanned and lean, standing tall and confident in the sun. He saw Clay, a mountain of a man with eyes as soft as down under that unkempt blonde hair. He saw Kimiko, her small frame full of passionate energy as she readied to fight and show she was as good as any man. And he saw Omi. Strong-willed, naive Omi. Jack hoped that they knew that he thought them as friends, rather than just the enemies that they were supposed to be.
Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump
He saw his mother working diligently in the garden, humming a tune under her breath. Her long black hair was braided neatly down her back, keeping the silky strands out of her bright green eyes. Faded jeans and an old tee shirt covered her lightly tanned body as she pulled out weeds on her hands and knees, rear swinging back and forth as she shimmied in time to the songs beat. She had never known how he had watched her, just admiring her strength to carry on even after all she had been through and thanking fate that it had been kind enough to give him a mother that was so willing to love him despite his faults. Jack wished he could tell her how much it meant to him.
Ba-Bump…Ba-Bump
It was getting kinda cold and his vision began to fade at the edges, but Jack wasn't bothered by it. Instead, he focused on the next memory that flashed across his thoughts. One night after Wuya had gotten her body back and she had returned to work with him. The teen let a weak smile grace his features. It had been a warm summer night, the sky had been clear and the humidity made it sultry enough that neither had been able to find the energy to do much of anything. Wuya had sat in the hammock on the porch, low enough that she may as well have lay on the ground, gently letting her fingers comb through Jack's hair as he lay on his stomach at her side. Neither had spoken, but had just lay there in the soothing calm of the night and watched the stars make their journey across the sky. The woman had been like a second mother to him and he regretted not telling her goodbye.
Breathing was getting hard and his vision faded to the point that he could barely see the shapes of the lights above him forcing him to close his eyes, but it didn't matter, not as the sequence continued in his head. Golden eyes looked at him with scorn, stared at him in amusement, gazed at him with rage. Jack had tried so hard to make the overlord understand, but in the end, it all amounted to nothing. The teen's heart clenched as tears tracked unchecked down his face. He could feel himself falling as the Monsoon Sandals proved to be too much for his balance, waiting to feel the painful crash of his body on the sand. But the collision never occurred, instead he felt himself being caught in strong arms, feeling strangely safe all of the sudden. Jack opened his eyes, expecting to see the ceiling again, but found himself staring into curious golden eyes with cat-like pupils. They were the most beautiful eyes that he had ever seen, framed by ebony hair that was highlighted with green as the sun shimmered brightly behind it. He had known then, that all he ever wanted was holding him in its arms, and he had never wanted the moment to end.
The albino genius closed his eyes to the memory and let the tears fall harder. How Jack wanted to tell the man that had stolen his heart, just how he felt. Chase would never know how Jack would have given anything and everything under the sun just to make the dragon man happy. He would never know the reason why the youth had returned to the mountain lair, again and again, no matter how cruelly he was treated. He would never know how much the teen loved him.
Ba…Bump…Ba…
The police had been unable to apprehend the man responsible for the shooting, as he had turned the guns on himself in one final act of insanity. Only thirty minutes after the end of the crisis, the story had hit all the major news stations in the world, telling people everywhere of the largest school shooting to have ever occurred. People everywhere shuttered and felt a bit of sadness run through them at the headlines, knowing what a tragedy it was for all involved.
Two days after the attack, there was a memorial service held in front of the lecture hall for all of the victims and their families. Flowers and candles were placed together to honor those who had lost their lives; all one hundred and seventy-four of them. In the days that followed, there were many funerals. Each a deep cut in their own way, but only one was held that Friday.
On February fourteenth, there was a small ceremony. As the casket was slowly lowered and gentle words softy spoken, the figures around the grave stood quietly. A tall, broad man with blonde hair stood stoically, his eyes blank and empty of all emotion. In his arms, a woman with long black hair and green eyes sobbed quietly over the loss of her only child. Across the opening, four young monks stood closely together, a small dragon curled around the tallest's shoulders. Their eyes were dry at the moment, but rimmed with red from previous emotion. Beside them stood two women, one blond and one redheaded. Silent tears poured down their faces, as the box finished being lowered and dirt began to be piled on.
No one said a word. No one needed to.
After the last of the soil had been laid, the mourners had left, some more reluctantly than others had. By that time, the sun had begun her descent, coloring the sky with soft purples and pinks. A shadow moved out from the trees that it had been resting in since the ceremony had begun, and made its way to the grave with slow hesitant steps. When sandaled feet reached the simply engraved tombstone there was a pause before the figure kneeled down and touched the cool stone. As fingers moved over the name inscribed there, golden eyes softened and the beast behind them thrashed in sorrow and loss. The figure's breath hitched as a single red rose was laid across the base of the headstone, magically altered so that it could never be removed and would never fade.
As Chase Young slowly walked away, he felt his heart clench and cursed himself for the millionth time. It was too late. The boy would never know.