Adventures in Parodyverse - Winners And Losers Part 3 (UT#321)


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How was it?”  Yuki asked Liu Xi as she arrived at the Lair Mansion very late at night.  She caught Liu Xi in the darkened kitchen, looking through the refrigerator.  Unlike Liu Xi, Yuki really didn’t need much light to see who else was there.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Huh?”  Liu Xi asked, sounding a little distracted.  She stared at Yuki for a moment - the purple-haired Lair Legion member was dressed in a form-fitting colorful skydiving rig that was plainly visible even by the dim light from the fridge.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You know I can hear like a quarter mile away, don’t you?”  Yuki asked, leaning to one side with her arms folded.  “I heard what you and Joe were talking about during the party.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  Liu Xi blushed, seeming embarrassed at the thought that Yuki overheard the conversation.  “It was...okay, I guess.”

    Yuki removed a few buckles and thick belts and put them on the table before sitting across from her.  “That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.  I’m worried about you, Liu Xi, because if you keep having bad experiences--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, no, it wasn’t bad.”  Liu Xi interrupted Yuki.  “It was...it was very good.  Just...um...awkward.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Awkward?”  Yuki leaned back in her chair and smirked briefly.  “Yeah, you’ll get over that.  The catch to participating instead of being used like a blow-up doll is things don’t work so smoothly sometimes.  But the reward?  Definitely worth it.”

    Liu Xi looked embarrassed, but laughed anyway.  Yuki wasn’t afraid at all to be so graphic in her descriptions.  “So why are you dressed like that?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, this?”  Yuki looked down.  Her voice softened and her smile disappeared.  “I guess you could call it a tribute to Carl Bastion.  Climbed a building, took a shot of whiskey, and poured out a shot and toasted it to Tricky.  Then I jumped off.”  She smiled and laughed then and said, “Of course he beat me by taking the ultimate trip, the little bastard.”

    That made Liu Xi smile, but then she became saddened when she saw Yuki look down and cover her eyes.  She never saw Yuki cry before.  She remained silent, allowing Yuki a few moments to compose herself.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You did good though, Liu Xi,”  Yuki whispered.  She finally removed her hand from her eyes.  “If there’s any night you deserved it, and anyone you deserved to share it with after all he’s been through.”

    Liu Xi’s mouth hung open with surprise as she turned to look at the doorway.  Yuki actually became pale, because she wasn’t sure if she was seeing a ghost standing there.  The mansion was supposed to be haunted after all.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hiya guys,”  Lara Night greeted the two of them quietly.  “I thought I’d stop by to tell you I’m okay.”

    Liu Xi’s chair wobbled as she left it quickly to hug Lara.  Yuki thought she’d join in, so she stood and hugged them both.  Lara giggled at the show of affection.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re alive!”  Liu Xi announced.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And she got laid,”  Yuki noted.

    Liu Xi punched Yuki hard in the arm.  But then she relented, and nodded, seeming a little embarrassed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Congratulations!”  Lara said.  “How did you like it?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It was okay.”  Liu Xi shrugged.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It does get better,”  Lara told her.

    Liu Xi looked at Yuki, who nodded.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hey,”  Yuki said as she looked at Lara again.  “Maybe one of you can help with something.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay.”  Lara nodded.  “What do you need help with?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“While everyone’s been celebrating, I know Hatty has secretly been something of a mess.  You know, with all that stuff going on in his life.  He’s so distracted.”

    Lara looked at Liu Xi.  “A close friend should talk to him first.  I don’t really think it’s my place to start giving him suggestions.”  That led Yuki to stare at Liu Xi as well.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay,”  Liu Xi sighed and agreed reluctantly.  “I’ll see him.”


---


    Liu Xi knew Jay to be someone who was pretty obvious about his feelings, at least to someone who knew him.  It was easy to tell when he was sad, depressed, upset.  Or when he was happy, it would be easy to tell because he would become much more social and involved.

    Rumor was, Jay barely participated in the party last night.  That’s how Yuki figured out he must be a complete mess.

    What Liu Xi didn’t expect was that Jay was more distracted than she thought.  She found evidence of that quickly upon knocking on his room door politely late at night.

    Jay was already awake, she noticed right away.  For Liu Xi, or Lara, that might be normal.  But Jay was an early riser, someone who attacked the day in ‘full uniform’, so to speak.  For him to be up so late meant there were other things weighing heavily on his mind.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are you okay?”  she asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah,”  Jay replied half-heartedly as he let her in and closed the door.  “Why?”

    Liu Xi narrowed her eyes and looked at him as he stared at her suspiciously.  “Who told you?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Told me what?”  he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Someone told you what I did,”  Liu Xi clarified.  “I can tell.  You’re looking at me like I’ve been poisoned.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s your own business,”  Jay responded almost emotionlessly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“But you don’t approve.”  she guessed.

    He simply shrugged.  “It’s just that...Joe has been dating Marie.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Joe told me Marie is his friend,”  Liu Xi replied.  “Like you and me.”

    A minute or so of silence passed between them as they simply stared at each other.  Then Jay said something that scared Liu Xi.  “It doesn’t matter,”  he said.  He walked further into his room, not really seeming to care if she followed.

    She slammed the door shut to get his attention as he sat on the bed.  She walked over to him and asked point blank, partly with sympathy and partly with anger, “What’s the matter with you?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You can’t tell anyone,”  Jay began in a near whisper.

    Liu Xi gently sat on the bed next to him and listened.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Whitney offered me a chance,”  he said, “to go to my happy place.”

    She didn’t understand the reference right away.  Not until her memory managed to link that phrase to something Yuki told her about a big glowing ball, and where Tricky went.  Then she became angry.  “You are still stuck in that dream world!”  she accused.  “You’re trying to go back there!”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, no,”  he insisted.  “Liu Xi, I lost so much--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Bullshit!  You’re going to leave us because you’re afraid to live anymore!”

    Her tirade prompted Jay to cast his eyes down, and look sad.  He didn’t speak anymore.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry, Jay.”  Liu Xi moved closer to him and hugged him gently.  “I shouldn’t have said that, I don’t want you to feel worse.  But Jay--”  She looked down sadly too.  “If you leave this world you’ll lose me.  And all your other friends.  It’s a selfish act, Jay.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t I get to be selfish just this once?  What if I choose to stay and I never find happiness?  Is it fair for me to be lonely and unhappy forever just to spare my friends the pain once?  Do you know how much it hurts to be so close to real happiness...living in peace with a woman I love, and a family...and have it slip through my fingers?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“If I must, Jay, I’ll promise to make you happy myself,”  Liu Xi spoke softly.  “We lost too many friends already, both of us did.  If you leave, we both lose even more.  Do you really want to lose everything for fake happiness?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I really don’t know,”  he replied.  “It’s a tough decision.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Dammit, Jay, you’re not listening!”  Liu Xi held on to his shoulder and shook him.  “If you want a wife and a family so badly you are willing to flee to a fake place...I will be your alternative.  I will raise a family with you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Why would you do that?”  Jay asked.  He looked up to see her face.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Because it would stop you from wanting to disappear.”  Liu Xi stared into his eyes, seeming dead serious.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What about what you want?  I can’t let you toss your life away for me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Jay, I want to be married and have children someday,”  Liu Xi replied.  “If it must be sooner than I expect...it’s worth that to make you happy.  You’ve always be gentle and sweet to me.”  She smirked slightly and added, “And you’re hot, too, so it’s not as if I’ll be stuck with someone I don’t like.”

    Jay sighed deeply and looked down.  “So many choices,”  he whispered.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t think of what I say as a choice,”  Liu Xi told him.  “Think of it as a gift.  A small one, for not giving up on us.  And it’s yours if you only claim it.”  She waited until Jay looked at her, and then added,  “But I don’t want to make your decision more difficult...so I don’t need an answer now.  Just keep it in your mind, remember it, see how you feel.”  She stood and began walking toward the door.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Do you really mean all you said?”  Jay asked, his voice trailing off mid sentence.  “Because...everything seems like a dream.  I need to--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes,”  Liu Xi interrupted him.  “I mean it a hundred percent.  Because I do want you to have happiness, Jay.  You know that saying, if you want something done right you do it yourself?  That’s what I’m offering.  If nothing else makes you happy I will do it myself.”

    Liu Xi then quietly left, peeking into the room once more before closing the door.

    Jay felt somewhat soothed by the visit at least.  His mind stopped racing, because for some reason he could only remember what Liu Xi said.  It prompted him to secretly wonder what it might be like to curl up with the Asian beauty on a night like that, when his life felt in turmoil, and let her warmth lull him to sleep.  Even the thought of it was making him drift off a little.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hey.”  a soft voice he recognized whispered.  In the darkened room, two eyes flashed with dim light, an effort by Lara Night to identify herself.  She sat on the edge of the bed next to him and massaged his tense shoulders gently.  He was finally too tired to argue.  “She has a generous soul, doesn’t she?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah,”  Jay whispered distantly in response.  He opened his eyes again and said, “You’re alive!”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes, I am,”  Lara whispered.  She shrugged.  “I’m sorry to drop by late like this.  I debated whether to say hi now or in the morning, but I thought you might sleep better knowing I’m okay.”

    She felt Jay nod, but his eyes were closed so he didn’t really reply.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Not much I can add to what Liu Xi said,”  Lara noted, “But I do want to say I’m really against you jumping into that portal.  You see, I know what’s in there.”

    Jay’s eyes opened again but he still said nothing.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Potential...that’s what’s in there.”  She switched to massaging his temples.  “Potential isn’t real though.  It’s like...putting youself in a refrigerator.  Everything in your fridge is potential food, right?  Well guess what happens if you leave something in the fridge too long?”

    His expression changed just slightly as he thought about the analogy.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t blame Whitney though, she doesn’t know that.  She just knows how the potential makes her feel.  She thinks it’ll take your pain away.  But you’re a smart guy, and eventually you’d start to feel like it’s fake.  It’ll really disturb you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I haven’t decided yet,”  Jay mumbled.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You know, the one power of mine I really mastered is the ability to go pretty much anywhere I want and bring anyone back with me,”  Lara said.  She switched back to his shoulders, and massaged them a little harder, seeming to emphasize her next point.  “If you go through with this, Jay, I’ll have no choice but to go and get you.”

    Jay’s eyes opened again.  “Why?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, I’m not going to tell you that just now.”  Lara smiled.  He could tell she was smiling, because her eyes still had some residual glow.  “Because I want you to want to know.  It’s tiny things like that which make a person want to stick around and find out.”  She gently leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead as his eyes closed again.  “Good night, Jay.  I trust you’ll make the right decision.”

    As Lara suddenly vanished from the room, Jay’s thoughts were a mix of Liu Xi’s words, and the thought that Lara could be incredibly evil, being able to manipulate with words like that, if she wasn’t so nice.  He wondered if that was the plan, for the two of them to haunt him with thoughts of them on the eve of such a big decision.

    One part of it seemed to work, though.  It was the first night in a while he didn’t feel like crying as he fell asleep.  He drifted off to sleep feeling at peace.



TO BE CONTINUED?


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2007 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin