Chapter Text
''Y/N, I challenge you to a Xiaolin showdown!'' Jack said with a cheeky grin.
Why did he still insist on fighting against the Xiaolin monks? He knew he was gonna lose, so why try so hard? ''Alright. What're we doing?'' Master Fung was going to be very happy with the new Shen Gong Wu the monks would bring to him today.
Jack looked around at the hairpin curves that slid up the mountain like snakes. ''How 'bout this?'' He said, ''We'll do a car race to the finish line! I wager the Star Hanabi!''
''And I wager my Tangle Web Comb... Let's go.''
The mountainous scenery changed significantly, the mountains grew higher, stretching out the hairpins and more greenery grew on the side of the road. Roots tore parts of the concrete. Two cars drove in their direction, one red, the other white. The white one stopped in front of Y/N. She stepped inside the car and revved the engine. Perhaps this was going to be more difficult than she thought: Y/N had never driven a car before. Jack, on the other hand... A traffic light popped up out of the ground before them. The light went red, orange, green.
''Gong ie tampai!'' Y/N and Jack screamed at each other. The engine of the red car revved dangerously, then it sped away. Y/N pushed down the gas pedal and slowly sped up her car, careful not to drive over the many potholes and roots on the road. She had to take it slow and steady. Who was she kidding? Jack would probably win this one. Cars and machinery were basically his specialty, it was martial arts he was bad at. Y/N should've just chosen a game where they had to run against each other, she'd win that one easy-peasy.
A blink of inspiration hit her. Of course! Jack was playing into her weakness, but there was no reason as to why she had to play the game like he intended to. She pressed down the gas a little more and approached Jack's car. She then reached for the Tangle Web Comb in her pocket and aimed it at the red car. Focus. Focus on the red car. ''Tangle Web Comb!'' She yelled and a sea of golden strings poured out of the comb, shattered the windshield, and latched itself onto Jack's car. Y/N gulped, then jumped out of her seat, and allowed the Tangle Web Comb to pull her onto Jack's car. She landed on the rear windshield and climbed on his roof.
''Hey, what the-?!'' She heard his squeaky voice from inside the car. The driver's window rolled down and Jack stuck his head through the opening. His bright red hair swirled in the wind. ''Whaddaya think you're doing?!''
''Winning the showdown. Keep your eyes on the road.''
Jack returned his face to the road. ''Like hell you will. Star Hanabi!''
The roof under Y/N's knees became hot and she ducked away as a ball of fire shot through the air. She squeezed the Tangle Web Comb in her hand, it'd be a waste to lose it now. Jack laughed his signature evil laugh.
''You can't ride my car if there's nothing to ride on!''
He pointed the Star Hanabi at the remainder of the roof, and fired another ball of flame at it. Y/N jumped off of the car when it hit, and used the Tangle Web Comb to latch onto one of the seats. With a rather unflattering thud, she landed on the backseat.
''Hey!'' Jack called out in annoyance, ''I don't like you backseat driving!''
''What're you going to do about it?'' Y/N asked.
Jack picked up the golden star. ''How about this?'' He asked as he gave her a mischievous grin, ''If you don't get out of the car right now, I'll blow it up.''
Y/N arched a brow. ''You wouldn't.''
''Try me.''
''Alright.'' Y/N climbed onto the molten rear windshield and held onto the backseat for support.
''You're just going to stay there?!'' Jack exclaimed, ''I could blow it up at any time, you know!''
Jack was right, Y/N had to use a lot more stamina and focus. Jack pointed the Star Hanabi at her, and at that moment, Y/N pointed the Tangle Web Comb at him.
''Tangle Web Comb!'' She yelled.
''Star Hanabi!'' He yelled.
The golden hair poured out of the Tangle Web Comb once more and knocked the Star Hanabi out of Jack's hand.
''No!'' He yelled and turned back to the road. ''You're gonna pay for this!''
He started swerving and driving through potholes. Y/N had to hold on tight as she was swung left to right, and almost bounced off of the backseat. Y/N pulled herself into the leg gap between the front and the back seat and hid there for a moment as Jack kept up his reckless driving. Y/N peered through the gap between the two front seats and pointed her Tangle Web Comb at Jack. She whispered its name, and again, a wave of golden locks poured out of the comb and wrapped itself around Jack.
''Hey! What?!'' He struggled against the hair.
The car started swerving. Y/N came out from between her hiding spot and threw Jack out of the car. She then jumped over the front seats and sat down in the driver's seat, leaving Jack behind, tied up on the road.
When the showdown ended, Y/N was holding the Tangle Web Comb, the Star Hanabi and the Jet-Bootsu, the Shen Gong Wu they had the showdown over. Jack rubbed his head. He wasn't tied up anymore, as the showdown had ended, and everything had gone back to normal.
''Ugh, I can't believe I've been highjacked!'' He jeered, ''Usually, I should be the one to do that!''
Omi, Y/N's friend, walked up to Jack. ''Yes, we are most certainly getting you high and jacking you off!''
Raimundo cleared his throat. ''Uhm, better not say that... thing you just said.''
''Perhaps it's better if you don't return,'' Y/N spoke, ''We are out of your league.''
Her sister Sunday nodded. ''I agree. You should do something you're better at... like selling patents! You could make this world a lot better for a lot of people!''
Jack crossed his arms. ''Never gonna happen, sweetpeas. I'm not interested in 'making the world a better place'.''
After the showdown with Jack, Y/N and the other monks flied to their home- the temple- on the back of the temple guardian and local dragon, Dojo. After a long, collective meditation session, they all had dinner together. Y/N watched as Sunday squished and bounced her tofu with her chopsticks. ''Clay, dear,'' she said to the built, blonde man sitting across from her, ''Could you open your mouth for me, please?''
''Hm? Why's that?'' The man asked in a Texan-American accent.
''Just do it.''
Clay opened his mouth wide and with her chopsticks, Sunday bounced the tofu into his mouth. He chewed it with a pleasant smile on his face.
Raimundo opened his mouth and pointed at it. ''Do me, too!''
Sunday laughed and, with a few motions of her chopsticks, shot a piece of tofu into Raimundo's mouth. ''Hm, impressive,'' he said as he chewed. ''Now, let me try. Kimiko, open your mouth.''
Kimiko grinned as she shook her head. ''If I choke on it, you're doing all my chores for the next week.''
''Deal!'' Raimundo said and shot a dumpling at Kimiko's mouth. She caught it between her teeth and made a few satisfied hums as she chewed it.
Omi shook his head. ''This is more dissatisfactory. Food is for eating, not for playing!''
''If they spill some,'' Y/N muttered, ''They're cleaning it up themselves.''
Kimiko rolled her eyes. ''Don't be boring, Y/N! Open your mouth!''
Y/N shook her head. ''I prefer to eat my food like a normal person.''
''I agree with Y/N!'' Omi proclaimed, ''Here, we eat like monks. And monks most definitely do not throw food around!''
''Well... these monks do,'' Raimundo added smugly.
Sunday, Kimiko and Clay laughed.
That evening, Y/N was doing t'ai chi on her own under the light of the half moon. She could hear soft footsteps approaching on the grass. They stopped behind her. Y/N continued to do her t'ai chi exercises as if no-one was there.
''Are you still training late at night?'' Master Fung's gentle voice asked behind her. ''You need to wake up early tomorrow.''
''If I go to bed early, I won't be able to sleep, anyway.''
The old man stood next to her and began doing t'ai chi as well. ''Perhaps not. However, you'll be getting rest by only laying in bed. Rest you most definitely need tomorrow.''
Y/N sighed. She didn't like laying in bed, waiting for sleep to take over. She'd often find herself with dark thoughts- anxious thoughts, sad thoughts, angry thoughts. She preferred to keep herself in the real world, where it was safe.
''Will you go to bed sooner tomorrow night?'' Master Fung asked, ''The other monks depend on your alertness.''
''Yes, master Fung.''
''I'm sensing a new Shen Gong Wu!'' Dojo cried out in panic as he scratched himself all over. ''It's the Hand Mirror of Tanbo, it shows you your deepest desire! Or... one of your desires, at least. Come, quickly now! These rashes aren't gonna go away on their own!''
While simultaneously holding onto Dojo and trying not to sit too close to his gross sores, the team flew over to the African rainforest where the Hand Mirror of Tanbo was hiding. It took them a while to find the glowing mirror, and they found it just in time: right when Jack found it. He sent his Jackbots after the monks, which were defeated easily, and Kimiko and Jack touched the Hand Mirror at the same time. It started glowing even more, and Kimiko challenged Jack to a Xiaolin showdown. Y/N sighed and rolled her eyes as the trees made a clearing where Kimiko and Jack could face off. Was this never going to end? How many times did Jack have to lose to finally realise there was nothing to be gained for him? Y/N sat in the tree with the remainder of the Xiaolin monks as she watched the battle go down. It was certainly one-sided: Kimiko threw Jack on the ground every time he so much as touched her. They were playing a game where the first one out of the circle was the one to lose. After a few minutes of fighting, Jack was bruised, scratched and covered in dirt while Kimiko still looked as if she just finished redressing. And yet, he refused to give up. He kept attacking her, trying to push her out of the circle, but Kimiko could easily outmatch his strength. It was actually rather sad to see. Y/N started wishing that Jack would just give up, she really couldn't bear to watch him get beaten like this. Why'd it have to be so dragged out? Well, because Jack didn't want to give up, of course. And although Kimiko would clearly be the winner of this showdown, it seemed that she couldn't push Jack out of the circle as long as he was still standing. Y/N found herself relating to Jack in a strange way. She thought he was pathetic and that he should just give up, and yet... she was rooting for him. She wanted him to win, just once. Like he used to. How he wasn't permanently bed-ridden with self-worth issues, she didn't know, because if Y/N had been in his shoes, she would've given up ages ago. And that was what she admired about him: no matter how bad things got, Jack kept on going. Even though Kimiko pushed him out of the circle and ended the showdown, Y/N knew he'd be back next time a Shen Gong Wu revealed itself. She was counting on it.
Jack spat out some dirt and wiped the sand from his pale cheeks. ''Ugh, you only won because I was holding back on you!'' He yelled at Kimiko while shaking his fist at her. ''It's because you're a girl, but I won't hold back on you next time!''
Kimiko stuck out her tongue and climbed onto Dojo. ''Yeah, yeah. We'll see about that, Jack!''
Y/N climbed onto Dojo as well as she watched Jack struggle to stand up while Wuya, the ghost of a once powerful witch, scolded him. He really had it bad, even worse than Y/N, and yet... he seemed relatively stable. He was pretty, too. The others often made fun of Jack for being feminine, but Y/N liked that about him. She watched Jack become smaller and smaller as Dojo flied higher and higher, taking the monks back to their temple.
That night, Y/N went to bed earlier like master Fung had asked, and still, she couldn't sleep. Not only was she not tired, she was restless. All she could see was Jack behind her eyelids, his really pretty face grinning that mean grin at her, like he had that first time they'd had a showdown and he'd beaten her. It was a grin of an accomplished villain, one he hadn't worn as much since. Now it was mostly a grin of someone who was planning to win, but never actually got around to it. Y/N sighed. He had a really nice voice, too. The others didn't think so- they found it annoying, but Y/N quite liked it. Something seemed to lodge in her throat. She wasn't falling in love, was she? She couldn't be, Jack was the villain. Heroes weren't allowed to love villains, it was... against nature. She couldn't be good and be in love with a bad guy at the same time, right? Y/N shook her head. No, there was no way she could do that to her fellow monks. Falling in love with Jack, of all people. Sunday would be disappointed. Y/N rolled over to her side. Sunday was probably always disappointed, she was just really good at hiding it. Or perhaps she really was the gullible, good-natured hippie she made out to be, and didn't have a cell in her brain designated to critical thought. Y/N had always been disappointed with herself, so why wouldn't Sunday, the girl who could always do better, be disappointed with her, too? Y/N clenched her fists. Sunday could do it all: get along with people, martial arts, using Shen Gong Wu... She'd always been better and would always be better than Y/N. No amount of practise would change that. And the worst part was, it all seemed to come naturally to her. She could always do it on the first try, balancing, martial arts moves, meditation... while Y/N practised night and day to get it right, Sunday was always just given the solution. She was the perfect little sunshine child, while Y/N had been the dark cloud looming over everyone. Perhaps it was better for her to join the evil Heylin side, she'd get appreciated for her skills there... Y/N turned onto her other side. No, she shouldn't think like that. Though a jealous, neurotic sack of shit, she still wanted to do good. She'd feel even worse than she already did if she joined the Heylin side.
Y/N sighed as she leaned over the bow of the ship Dojo had turned himself into, and stared into the sea. The Gills of Hamachi were supposed to be around here somewhere, hiding in the water. They were said to give the wearer the ability to breathe underwater, which, although Y/N wasn't planning to use during battle, she still really wanted to try out. Some of the most beautiful destinations were under water, after all.
''Hello, Xiaolin losers!'' Jack's voice rang from the sky. Y/N's heart started beating faster and she whipped her head up to see Jack flying the dumb little helicopter he had attached to his back. ''Are you guys looking for the Gills of Hamachi, too?'' He asked with that mocking grin of his. ''Too bad, because I'm gonna find them first!''
It was scary how tense she was, Y/N didn't think she'd feel like this the next time she saw Jack. ''Don't hatch your eggs before you've counted them!'' Omi yelled at the edgy teenager.
''You're looking for the saying: 'Don't count your eggs before they've hatched'.'' Raimundo corrected.
''Oh, tomato, potato!''
Y/N didn't wait for Raimundo to correct Omi once again. She dove into the water and with her lungs full of air, sought the bottom of the ocean for the Gills of Hamachi. She didn't quite know what, but she had to do something about this whole situation. Perhaps beat Jack personally to show herself what a pathetic little loser he was... She spotted the Gills of Hamachi at the bottom of the ocean, and on her last dose of oxygen, swam towards them. Right when she touched them, she saw a gloved hand with pale fingers touch them, too. Y/N looked up, right into Jack's reddish brown eyes. Y/N nodded at him. Jack's thick brows furrowed, then he nodded as well.
The water drained from the ocean and they both gasped for air. The Gills of Hamachi were still in both of their hands, glowing more strongly than ever. ''I challenge you to a Xiaolin showdown,'' Y/N strained, ''A game of uncle.''
Jack grinned at her. ''I wager my Shroud of Shadows.''
Y/N realised that the only Shen Gong Wu she had with her was the Tangle Web Comb, which required intense focus to use properly. Focus she simply didn't have when she was fighting someone she was falling in love with.
''And I wager my Tangle Web Comb.'' She just wouldn't use the Shen Gong Wu, no big deal. The fight would be more balanced this way, anyway. Y/N was never up for a fun challenge, but at least she could convince herself she was worth something if she could beat Jack with a handicap.
The Gills of Hamachi disappeared. ''Gong ie tampai!'' Jack and Y/N shouted in unison.
Jack pulled out his Shroud of Shadows, and disappeared. Y/N slipped on a blindfold she always had with her for these occasions.
''What, are you so sure of yourself that you can beat me blindfolded?'' Jack's voice asked on her right, ''Don't get cocky, you might just lose the showdown!''
It was Jack who shouldn't be getting cocky: Y/N now knew his exact location. She'd put on the blindfold because, in situations like this, her vision would just distract her. She couldn't see him, anyway, but she could sense him. Keeping her vision would just add extra noise. His footsteps approached from behind her, and in a single movement, Y/N pulled the Shroud off of Jack.
''Hey!'' He yelled annoyedly.
Y/N pulled the Shroud over herself and whispered: ''Shroud of Shadows.'' She should be invisible now. Jack launched at her, and she took a step to the right, causing Jack to fall into the mud with a rather humourous 'hmpf!'. Y/N took off her blindfold and watched Jack struggling to stand up. It was actually really charming to see him messing around like that, but now was no time to fawn over him. Jack looked around in a daze, clearly afraid that Y/N would show up at any time and knock him over. Y/N snuck up to him, locked his arm behind his back, and pushed him to the ground. The Shroud of Shadows slipped off of her, but it was of no matter. She pushed her knee between Jack's shoulder blades. It surprised her how warm his skin was.
''You can lay here as much as you want,'' Y/N hummed, ''I've got all day to keep you here.''
Jack wriggled around in the mud to try to get her off of him. ''Argh! I'm not giving up that easily!''
''Oh, no?'' Y/N hummed and pushed Jack's arm further down his back. She'd never break it, of course, but this should convince him enough that she might consider it.
''Ow! Uncle! Uncle!''
When the showdown ended, Y/N was standing on boat-Dojo with the Gills of Hamachi, the Shroud of Shadows, and the Tangle Web Comb in hands. Jack was floating in the frosty sea water and unpacked his small, personal helicopter to float himself over the ocean. Y/N decided to bow to him out of respect- she didn't want to be a sore winner. ''You did well, Jack. I commend you.''
His pale face went visibly red. ''Y- Yeah? Well, I only took it easy on you because you're a girl!''
Sunday laughed. ''You should stop taking it easy on girls!'' She yelled at him, ''Otherwise, you'll never become a successful villain!''
''Hmpf, I'm hearing you loud and clear, Xiaolin losers. Until we meet again!'' And with his evil little backpack helicopter, he flew off.
Sunday patted Y/N on the back. ''You did really well!'' She really did feel the need to say that, didn't she? As if it wasn't the norm. ''Also, great showmanship. It didn't even cross my mind to congratulate Jack on his performance. I feel like it'd be a kind gesture.''
Raimundo scoffed. ''The guy's already got an ego big enough as is, you don't need to actively try to make it bigger.''
Dojo started sailing himself back to the temple as the Xiaolin monks talked among themselves.
''I can see we're all getting better,'' Kimiko chuckled as she leaned with her arms on the bow of the Dojo-ship, ''Y/N could beat Jack without using the Tangle Web Comb this time!'' Yes, because it would've been more of a drawback than anything.
''Hah! That is nothing!'' Omi argued, ''I could beat Jack with my feet tied behind my back!''
''That is... with your hands tied behind your back,'' Raimundo corrected.
''I said what I said!''
''Fellas, fellas,'' Clay chuckled, ''Let's not take victory over that varmint Spicer for granted. I bet he's got a couple of extra aces up his sleeves... even if they're not that well-hidden.''
Sunday laughed. ''You're right, honey. But, I must admit... showing down against Jack and winning all the time is getting boring. Too bad Chase Young is seriously unbeatable.''
''At least Chase isn't a prolific charmer like Jack is,'' Y/N caught herself thinking. ''I mean, only to me, of course,'' she corrected, ''for... some reason.''