The Good Apprentice

……………………

Hector P.O.V.

I never liked that cliche where the Main Character - or any other youngster - was being trained by an obviously more experienced and capable Master in a strange way, and they doubt the effectiveness of the training.

Like, dude… Trust the process. If he is making you carry milk every day, cleaning cars, or even outright beating you up, there must be a deeper hidden meaning that you are not seeing.

Most of the time, is just a way to go back to the basics and test your patience.

Something they fail at when they start bitching up.

So that is why I am holding my tongue right now.

“Don’t pause! Keep the rhythm!” Uncle shouts while I perform a ridiculous dance.

Jumping with only one foot, the opposing hand holding a dried sardine, and balancing a teapot with burning leaves on my head… that is the state I am right now.

Don’t ask me what the actual fuck I am doing because I don’t know, and I will not ask.

I’m trying to figure out by myself, maybe move my chi together with the dance… I don’t know. I will just stop thinking.

“Good… Very good…” Uncle praises for some reason “Now repeat after me: Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!” 

Oh, there it is! The famous incantation! But is it just for me to say it? Like… shouldn’t I be visualizing something? Opening my chakras? Manipulating my Chi?

“Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao.”

“Again!”

“Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao.”

“Louder!”

“Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao.”

“With each jump!”

“Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao.”

“While swinging the fish!”

“Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!”

I do as I told each time. I think I’m a good disciple, obedient… So where are the results? This embarrassing dance must work for something.

“Good… Very good.” Uncle praises emotionless while striking his chi “You can stop now.”

I do as I told and bite back a “That’s it?”.

What in the actual fuck? Is this magic? The Genie is right then, it doesn’t make sense, it’s just poof and it happens.

“Come help me with something.” Uncle says while turning around and walking away.

“...” Did he end the practice so that I could help him and not because I did it right?

Ah man, whatever… You can always do self-study when your teacher sucks.

…………………………………

“You have talent for this.” Jackie Chan himself praises me with an impressed smile.

“Thank you.” I answer humbly, staying beside Jade while we practice the same moves.

I have no problem going through the “Kid’s course”. Everyone starts from the beginning, and patience is one of my few qualities.

“Argh!” Jade, on the other hand, is not that patient, getting increasingly frustrated every time she fails an exercise or a posture.

Right now, she has just fallen on the ground while trying to put a foot high in the air and deliver a sequence of high kicks. She put it too high. Know your limits, girlie.

“...” I look down on her while I pass over the 50th kick while keeping perfect balance and without touching the ground with my right foot once.

“How can you do that so easily?!” She finally asks while shouting

“Patience, little grasshopper.” I can’t help but tease the brat, giving her my best smug smile while not pausing the kicks. I’m even looking down on her. “Don’t compare yourself to my genius, you're just gonna become even more frustrated.”

“...” She stares at me for a good five seconds before narrowing her eyes and trying to sweep my leg with a low kick on my shin.

The keyword here is “tried”

“Argh! From what your leg is made for??” She learned a hard lesson in the shape of my unmoving leg.

This brat is funny, she is even jumping comically while holding her foot.

“Jade…” Jackie gives her a reproachful look that promises nasty pulling of her ear, so I decide to help the twerp.

Stopping my kicks, I talk before Jackie punishes her. “Comparison is the thief of joy, little brat. I’m older, and despite starting at the same time on kung fu with you, I am more developed and have a good foundation with sports and other physical activities. It’s like if we are gonna race… We can start on the same line and run the same distance, but my legs are larger and I have a good tennis shoe, while you are barefoot.”

“...” She pouts, only half convinced.

“C’mon, let’s continue training… It's just different timeframes. Did you even think that when you reach my age, you are gonna be better than me right now?”

“Oh, it’s true!” Her eyes lit up “While you're getting old, I will be getting stronger! I will be the strongest and youngest martial artist.” She starts throwing punches at the air, hyped to train again. “Then I'm gonna beat you up!”

“...” I guess that worked, even if her motivation is not in the right place… 

………………………………………….

Days later, I’m stuck helping Uncle prepare something inside a cauldron in a very “witchy” style… Thankfully, this is not the 15th century, and we are not women.

“Two quickly! Move it slow.” He shouts at me.

At his orders, I start mixing the concoction more slowly.

It’s just the two of us today because Jackie went to get a talisman, and Jade followed. I thought about going too, but from what I overheard with my enhanced ear while Jackie was on the phone, he is going to get the Monkey talisman.

The one that can turn people and objects into animals. Cool power, very “witchy” too, what a coincidence. 

The thing is, this talisman is not a Tier 1 of priority, as I would classify it, and it is deep in the ocean of Micronesia. Yep, Micronesia is a real country. I thought that it was the universe version of Indonesia when I watched it. It’s a bunch of islands north of Australia, looks like an incredible place to go on a tropical camping vacation.

But you know? Dive into the ocean for the Talisman? Hehe, no.

When Jack goes to a talisman in Europe, I will follow secretly and get all of them there; for now, I will just let him and the rest do the work for me.

‘The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.’ I’m starting to use a lot of Chinese proverbs because of the ambience.

“Now I’m gonna add dried eel powder with, turned away if you like your eyebrows.” Uncle warns

“What?”

Boom

……………………………………………

It was a soup…

I almost lost my eyebrows to a soup.

It was not a complete waste of time, because with just a few more ingredients, it would become something that would help the body get rid of the effects of zhaoliang. Now, what is that?

I didn’t know till I researched by myself.

Something that I think I saw a hundred times in novels, the imbalance of the body, the yin becoming excessive and causing symptoms similar to a cold.

Well, at least I know what to do in case I need to save someone suffering from an abundance of Yin energy.

That, or I can do like most of the Chinese main Characters and give them my “Yang energy”. Only if she is a beautiful woman, of course. With jade-like clavicle and all that.

…………………………………………. 

I’m finally good enough to receive direct instruction from Jackie with a spar.

Yesterday, he came back with the Monkey Talisman and put it on Section 13. I followed him with the help of the Snake Talisman, and now I know how to get there. There’s a phone booth some blocks away from here.

But I only have one shot if I need to invade it. It will not be a sneaky mission.

Right now, only six talismans remain, so my time is running short.

“Are you ready?” Jackie asks across from me, putting his hands forward in a relaxed stance

“Yes, please.” I say respectfully, putting my own stance.

I obviously have a much higher status than Jackie, even if he is stronger than one would normally be with his build. Cartoon logic, maybe. So I will hold back, of course, I will not learn shit if I overpower/everyone with my superior stats.

Not that I will embarrass myself either.

Now, different from Chi Magic, Martial Arts are easy and understandable to me, and I’m pretty good at it too.

Okay, all my knowledge came from playing Sifu and watching movies, but I have a Platinum Trophy in Sifu, and I watched a looooot of fights through all kinds of movies. So it must count for something.

And now… With my connection between body and mind being closer than a Chinese novel main character and their convenient master figure in a spiritual body, I can replicate almost perfectly the moves that I saw and remember.

I still need some training to get used to it, after all, one thing is having a move in your repertoire, and the other is using it.

“You can start.” Jackie says

“Okay, then, excuse me.” I always remember to keep my manners.

I start with a probing light jab with my left hand while giving a quick step forward, my right hand ready to respond to his answer.

Jackie evades by moving his head back and his feet to his right. His left hand grabbed my wrist at the same time his right hand struck my armpit.

“Ouch…” I say and retreat; it didn’t hurt. He held back, and I’m durable than he thinks, but I can admit my loss. “I see, I see… You got out of my range and entered my blind spot, holding me in place in my awkward over-extended position, and then attacked at the same time. It's not only about being fast… You did all of this at the same time because you predicted my move and were ready for it.”

He nods impressed, “You have good eyes, this is a very important talent to a martial artist, not something you can learn easily.”

“Thank you.” My senses are overpowered. In truth, I’m still holding back because with the Hercules method I can see his muscles moving, see a little of the future, and all that… But then I would not learn.

“When you fight, you need to think many steps ahead. The farther you can see, the farther you will be ahead of your opponent… You will not be easily surprised, will not be caught flustered, and consequently… Will not hesitate.” He ends his teachings with a strong tone.

See? Those are the kind of things I would not figure out by myself because I have cheats giving me things in my hand.

Thinking ahead… Because I have a Walmart version of Future Sight of Observation’s Haki, I adopted a “wait and see” approach.

It worked all the time because I’m fast enough to intercept my opponent’s attacks even after I start moving after them! This will not fly if I find someone as fast as me, or even faster…

Heck, I will have my ass handed to me if I find someone faster.

My thoughts immediately go to the Cheating Option, I can use my telekinesis to remove my opponent’s footing or something like this…

And this annoys me more than I realized.

The fact that my line of thought goes in that direction shows that I’m developing a loser/escapist mentality.

No, no, no, no!

Hector is no loser… My ideal self is a cool guy who is a master of all. Someone without weakness or blind spots. Someone who works hard with his not-earned gifts.

“I understand it now…” I say while once again adopting a stance.

Jackie does the same, getting serious, and I want to believe that he felt my resolve.

I’m not leaving this universe till I get enough hands to distribute through a good chunk of the Omniverse.

………………………………………….

“You are indeed incredibly talented.” Jackie Chan himself praises me with some admiration in his tone.

“Thank you.” I answer while faking being tired. Going for the Hercules Method so early, it was really the right decision, even if I end up needing to clean the universe.

It gave me talent beyond what I could have dreamed of. I’m not Yujiro Hanma, but I will get there.

“You need to work better at multitasking. If you think too much about the future, you will not be moving in the present.” Jackie gives some advice “You need to do the two at the same time. Thinking ahead and responding in real time.”

“Sounds hard…” I comment.

“It is, only with a lot of practice, you will learn to do things on autopilot. Your trained body will move before you even think… But you will need a lot of experience.” 

“That and still have spatial awareness…” I gumble. I’m not so naive as to think every fight will be a fair one versus one.

I can be ambushed, the space can restrict my movements, or the enemy can use the environment to their advantage… Like how Jackie loves to do.

“That too. It’s good that you think about those things, it proves that you have a good head on your shoulders.” He chuckles “But don’t think too much and overcomplicate things. Focus on mastering yourself first.”

“Got it”. I give him a thumbs up and he finally walks away from the little dojo.

Things are going nicely… Too bad is time to play the mysterious villain now.

Well, it can be fun too.

………………………………………………..

I was distracted, and Jackie went to Europe without me even noticing.

What a mistake… I guess I was too engrossed in training and by the fact that I already got all the best talismans. I can simply wait for them to get the rest before I steal them.

My focus is also on the Rat Talisman, which one can’t fall into Shendu’s hands.

Despite the location being literally here in San Francisco, the timing is off. It will only appear at the time of the auction. It can be anywhere now, maybe a ruin, or a rich person’s vault.

Jackie went and came back before I even noticed, with the Sheep Talisman in his hands, giving it to Uncle to study.

I know which episode this is… Things are still under control.

Hmm, maybe I should bug the phones so that something like this doesn’t happen again. I don’t want to do something like this with a Spy Organization as my neighbor, I’m not a specialist.

I can’t get complacent just because I think my technology is superior; they have some cool gadgets too, I saw them.

Whatever, the talisman that I really want in Europe, the Dog Talisman, is still there. It’s the dog and the pig that are caught in the same episode, one in the Netherlands and the other in Germany.

“Now, what to do with it?” I ask myself while looking at the Sheep Talisman lying unprotected above an open book.

And I thought I was careless by letting Jackie get out without checking where he was going… The main reason I missed his travel was that Jade was still here doing homework instead of sneaking behind him. I unconsciously thought that I just needed to pay attention to her sneaky behaviour and I would be able to know when Jackie was leaving for a mission.

She is easier to catch than Jackie, too.

For example, now… She is tiptoeing close to the Sheep talisman while looking around.

“...” I watch her from behind a shelf… look at that dumb kid. She is not acting suspicious at all.

“Hehe~ Instead of studying what it does, it is much easier simply using it.” I hear her murmur with a gremlin smile on her face.

I wait for the right moment… When her little “ratty” fingers reach for the talisman…

“What are you doing?” I move behind her and ask in a loud voice.

“Iiiiiiiiiihhhhhh!” She jumped like I just tased her neck. Jade turns fast, but not before grabbing the talisman and hiding behind her back, the little rat. “Nothing!” She says her face is much more honest than her words

“Oh… nothing, huh?” I say, unimpressed

“Erm… Did you see Uncle?” She asks to change the topic

“An acquaintance called, said that he had some ingredients for him, but he needs to go there fast… Uncle would not miss a free taste of ‘real China’, so he went there practically running.” I say.

It seems old Chinese people around here have some sort of hidden rule where they share things that they got from relatives in China. It’s nice, even if they bicker all the time and call each other names.

The last time a friend of Uncle appeared, he asked the guy why he was still alive.

They are probably best friends.

Jade laughs, half amused and half nervous, at my little joke.

“Well, I need to go… to… to do my homework!” She says a little too loudly while walking sideways to hide her back.

“Look at you, when did you become so academically inclined? Doing your homework without anyone telling you?” I use a fake, impressed voice.

“It’s math! I love math…” She lies

“...” Ah, please, Jade~ You are not the stereotype asian student. You are a tomboy brat that was sent here as a punishment.

“Byee~” She says, now walking backwards to the door, still suspiciously hiding her back.

“Jade…” I say slowly

“What?”

“Give me the talisman.” I extend my hand, my face a deadpan mask.

“Whaaaat? Wha-what ta-talisman?” To be more suspicious, only if she was trying to whistle casually. Her eyes are even darting around.

“You know, the octagon made of stone, this size… Specifically, the one with the turquoise sheep engraved in it and behind your back, of course.” I say sarcastically

“Oh… that one…” She says slowly, her hands appearing and the Talisman on her right hand. “Oh wow! How did it get there?”

“...”

She gives me a smile full of teeth, but I just tap my foot impatiently

“Hehe~” She still tries to play innocent. “I was just gonna clean it… It’s filled with dust, you know?” She lies while putting it on my hand.

“Yeah, yeah… I will not tell Uncle or Jackie, just don’t do it again. Those are not toys.” I roll my eyes and put the talisman back in place.

“Ah c’mon, Hector! Don’t tell me that you are not curious about what it can do??” Now that the threat of me snitching on her is gone, she gets comfortable and tries to convince me to become her accomplice.

“I know what it does…” I answer calmly and put the book that I was holding on the table and open it to the marked page “Here… ‘The Sheep Talisman possesses the power of Astral projection’.” I read. I already got the book explaining it because I was researching it since I started work here.

“Astral Projection?” She climbs a stool to look at the counter.

“It’s an ‘out of the body experience’... Your soul leaves your body, and you can interact only with the Astral Plane, not the material one.” I explain. It can do more.

It will probably be a very useful talisman in other universes. It may even be a tool for me to learn how to do Astral Projection on my own.

“So, like a ghost??” She asks with a big smile.

“...yes, like a ghost.” I say in a flat tone “But a boring ghost because you will not be able to haunt anyone. But if you want to be sneaky…” I end with a shrug.

“I want to try! Please, Hector! Let me try! Please! Please! Please!” She starts jumping excitedly on the stool while her hands are on the counter. “Please, big brother! Please!”

“...” I give her a side glance. “No.”

“Whyyyy? Don’t be stingy!!” She whines

“Like I said… It’s not a toy.”

“Please, Big Brother Hector. Pweeaasee~” She changes tactics to Puppy Eyes.

“...” I continue to stare at her with dead eyes.

She is still trying to look pitiful, big eyes filling with tears, lips trembling… This girl is really a gremlin.

I think about it a little… The plot of the episode happens because Jade used the Sheep talisman without anyone seeing, and then the Dark Hand came and took it from her unconscious body.

Shendu, with a talisman in hand (in statue, really), used it to possess Jade’s empty body and try to infiltrate Section 13 for the rest of the Talismans. The plan obviously failed because Jackie took Shendu, in Jade’s body, to the Moose World, the amusement park that Jade had wanted to go to for a long time. Wasting the villain's time.

The episode ended with Uncle sealing Shendu back in his Statue Body, rendering the Sheep talisman useless to him even if he had it.

So to prevent all this shitshow from happening, I just need to prevent the Sheep Talisman from being stolen. 

And even if it happens - it will not with me here - I will be suspicious if Jade wakes up and acts strange.

I sigh and say “The Astral Plane can be scary, you know? Maybe some ghost will possess your body…” My words amek her flinch “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes!” but she doesn’t back down. She is braver than she is tall, I will give her that. Reckless, but brave. “Please, Big Brother!” She continues, seeing that I am almost folding.

“Fine…” I finally say, and she cheers loudly

I stop her “Don’t shout, remember that Jackie is sleeping. Do you want us to be caught?”

“!!!” She quickly clamps her mouth shut with her hands

“And there will be ground rules.” I raise my finger. “First, you are allowed only five minutes… believe in me, it will get boring fast. After that, you will return to your body.”

She nods eagerly.

“Seriously, don’t overstay… We don’t know the consequences of a soul's staying off the body for too long. It can be dangerous.” I say with my most serious tone.

She nods again, now more seriously, trying to contain her excitement.

“And if you don’t know how to return, we are doomed. We will need to ask Uncle for help…”

Her wince is all the confirmation I need to know that she understands how serious it can become.

“Okay, here.” I give her the talisman. “Remember, five minutes. Not an extra second, if not, I will wake up Jackie and throw you under the bus.”

With this last threat ringing in her ears, she grabs the talisman.

………………………………………..

Jade

She grabbed the stone talisman and, knowing what to expect from it, sat comfortably on a chair.

Jade once used the Rooster Talisman, so she had some experience in calling the powers of those objects, but even so, it took some tries for it to really work.

It was very sudden… One moment, she was concentrating and squeezing the stone object, and in the other, she felt lighter than ever in her life.

She was suddenly floating, and when she looked down, Jade could see herself sleeping.

“Wow!” She exclaims while moving her limbs around, but staying in the same place.

She watched Hector put two fingers on her neck and then in front of her nose.

“Heart is beating and she is breathing…” He then opens her eyelids to check her pupils. “Instant R.E.M. sleep.” He says

Then he starts shaking her. “Jade. Jade… Jade!”

“Lalala! I’m here! Ooooo~” Jade floats around him, but Hector really doesn’t notice anything.

“So it worked…” He stands up and, after putting her in a more comfortable sleeping position, closes her two hands on the Sheep Talisman and puts them ot rest on her tummy. “Don’t forget, five minutes! Just go look around while invisible and return.” He says while moving his head around

Jade listens to him and pulls one of her eyelids while sticking her tongue out to him, “Bleeeh!” Then she flew away while laughing, enjoying the freedom. “I will come back when I come back.”

One will never know how restricting a body is till they are free from it.

Jade was able to fly through walls. She went to Jackie’s room and pranked him with her finger going through his nose while he was sleeping. After having her fun, she decided to explore outside.

She also entered his dream briefly; she even thought that the five minutes had passed, but when she got out, she discovered that time passes differently in the dream.

Jade flew through the roof and looked down on the whole of Chinatown.

“It’s like with the Rooster Talisman.” She says to herself while flying around the street, making funny faces at the old people who always demand too much respect.

It was during this tour that she saw them…

“The Dark Hand!” She gasped, seeing the gang of villains walking into the antique shop.

She quickly went back, going through the walls and finding Hector still leaning against a counter while passing the pages of a book.

“Hector! Watch out! They’re coming!” She shouts, but he just continues to keep his head down to read. “Ah yes, he can’t hear me.” She facepalms.

She went down to the shop and saw the Dark Hand advancing beyond the counter, going to the private part of the shop where it becomes the house. They only need to walk up the stairs.

It happened quickly that she expected…

Hector noticed the villains and looked at them appearing from the entrance.

“The back of the store is off limits to customers.” he says while closing his book, his face serious

“We are not customers.” The red-haired guy in a white suit says

“Then I will ask you all to leave.” Hector replies while calmly walking to stay between her unconscious body and the three villains “The big guy is not here… do you guys think that you have a chance?”

“We will see about that, boy.” the one that looks like a zombie says.

All of them pull some sticks, electricity running through them as a clear threat.

Hector, on his part, maintains a calm posture and waits.

Patient… like Jackie taught them. And patience is not something those villains have.

The guy in the white suit attacked first, bringing his arm back to a wide swing while running at Hector.

Hector strikes, left hand on the forearm, preventing the electric baton from touching him. His right hand strikes the guy’s throat and then snakes around his neck to pull him.

His forehead hits the table, and he falls dizzy.

The other two attacks at the same time.

Hector decides to counter with a long-range throw to shake them off, grabbing a book and throwing it at the forehead of the big guy. Then he is at the last one who is an easy prey.

At the same time, Hector was beating the orange glasses guy, the first one in the white suit stood up.

A brawl started, the thugs standing up just to be brought down again.

“Yes, Hector! Beat their asses!!” Jade cheered, moving her limbs around like she was fighting herself.

Hector holds back and doesn’t cripple anyone. At some point, they notice that it is useless and scurry back like rats. Running while supporting each other, Jade cheered all the way.

“Jade, time to go back.” Hector relaxes his stance and says to the room

She doesn’t argue. Jade’s astral body goes back to her body. She has some difficulty; nothing happened initially, but with some focus on the talisman in her hands, she was able to merge back body and soul.

Her eyes flutter open, and she sees Hector's face immediately.

“Welcome back.” He says and snatches the talisman from her hands “I hope you had fun, this is going back.”

“Meh, it was not that fun after the first two minutes.” She shrugs, trying to act nonchalant, but it was indeed a cool experience. Jackie would not let her play with a talisman.

And watching from above, Hector demolishing the Dark Hand was also nice.

Overall, it was a pretty nice day for Jade.

And it seems they are very lucky too, because they barely had the time to tidy the things around before Jackie appeared, yawning.

“Waah~ That was a good nap… I needed that.”

“Hello, Mr. Chan. You will be help to know that I found the passage explaining the powers of the Sheep Talisman…” Hector says to Jackie’s surprise.

“Oh, is that so? That’s good, now Uncle will not force me to continue researching with him.” Jacke says happily, he was only able to nap because Uncle went out.

Jade’s mind turns off while Hector explains what he found, just turning back when Jackie addresses her personally.

“Jade, why don’t we take the opportunity that we finish our job early, and that tomorrow is a Saturday, and go to the Moose Land like you wanted?” He says softly to her

“Seriously, Jack?! Do you really mean it??” Jade’s eyes widen

“Well, you hadn’t gotten in trouble for some time… Maybe you deserve it.” her uncle says with a small smile.

“...” From the corner of her eye, she can see Hector scoffing, but she doesn’t care.

“YEEESS!” She jumped in place, her arms high in the air.

She played with a talisman, watched a fight, and is now going to Moose Land! 

Best day ever!