Samurai Jessie: Origins P2

Maya and Dan were running on foot while Richard and his goons jumped in a black SUV. It didn’t take long for Richard to catch up to them. They chased them into an alley and blocked it off. Richard, Greg, and Toni got out of the car. Greg and Toni each grabbed a pipe that was lying on the ground. Maya and Dan nervously looked around for something to arm themselves with and each found something. Maya picked up a piece of pipe and Dan picked up a broken umbrella. Greg and Toni looked at each other and busted out laughing. Maya and Dan looked at each other and Maya nodded her head towards Dan’s weapon of choice. Dan said, “Oh. Right.” and he dropped the umbrella and picked up a wooden plank. “Now I’m ready,” he said. Maya put her hand on her face and groaned.

“Now, we know you two have seen a lot back there. You two must know that we can’t let you live now. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Before you choose, please know that I opt for the hard way.”

“So do I,” Jessie said from above them.

“Who are you?” asked Richard.

“I’m Jessie!” Jessie jumped down from the top of the building and he stood between Maya Richard.

“Hey. I’m Jessie.”

“Yeah, we heard,” said Maya.

“You on our side?” asked Dan.

“Is he touched in the head?” Jessie directed the question at Maya.

“I wonder that same thing myself sometimes.” Maya looked at Dan, shaking her head.

“Three on two, three on three—it doesn’t matter. We’ll have to hide three bodies when we’re done here. Boys!”

“We’re on it, boss!” Greg and Toni slowly started to walk towards the three and hit Jessie in the head and the other hit him in the gut. But nothing happened. He didn’t double over in pain, he didn’t try to dodge them, he didn’t even flinch. Everyone stared at Jessie in amazement. Greg and Toni dropped their pipes. Then Jessie started to speak.

“My turn.”

Toni tried to punch Jessie in the face, but hurt his fist and pulled it back.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said it was MY turn.” Jessie returned the favor to Toni and punched him in his face. Toni fell down and stayed down for a good 30 seconds. Greg tried to punch Jessie, but he moved out of the way. Then he tried to kick him, but Jessie grabbed his leg and flipped him. Toni waited for Greg to get up and they tried to tag team Jessie, but he did something that nobody saw coming.

He seemed to turn into some kind of liquid metal and solidified behind them. The surprises kept coming as he then turned into a woman and said, “Let’s have some fun boys.” Jessie kicked Greg in the side of the head, and “metal-shifted” over to Toni. Startled, Toni threw his fist forward, but hit air. Jessie dodged Toni’ fist, then kneed him in the stomach, then his head, and then kicked him so hard, he went flying into the side of the dumpster and the lid closed.

“Dang! That would have been so cool if he actually went into the dumpster,” Jessie said as he “metal-shifted” behind the attacking Greg and asked him, “Really? Really, bro?”

Jessie grabbed Greg’s fist and pulled his hand back and shouted in pain. Maya, Dan, and Richard looked at Jessie’s hand, and saw that Jessie made a little spike come out of his hand. Greg was bleeding a little bit, but he still grew angrier and started to punch and kick and try to hit Jessie any way he could. But Jessie kept dodging, and dodging, and dodging every attempt Greg made. Richard yelled, “Alright. No more Mr. Nice Guy! Time to settle this!”

Richard charged at Jessie and punched something. Something also hit Richard. Jessie “metal-shifted” out of the way and Greg and Richard hit each other. Greg was knocked out cold, but Richard sat up and shook his head. He stood, grunted, and again charged at Jessie. Jessie dodged and tripped Richard. Richard lifted his head and pounded his fists. He screamed and got up. He picked up a pipe and swung at Jessie’s head; Jessie grabbed the pipe. Jessie smiled and said, “If you try to hit a woman, then you’re not fit to be a man.”

Jessie changed back into his form from when we first saw him and he absorbed the pipe. It changed to liquid and became a part of him. Richard stood back in disbelief. Maya and Dan smiled from ear to ear. “Maybe you’ll appreciate women more when you haven’t seen one in two to three lifetimes, punk.” Jessie said, as he turned his left arm into a giant hand and slapped Richard’s face so hard, he went spinning onto the top of the dumpster. “Man! That would have been a lot more awesome if the dumpster had been open.” said Jessie.

Maya and Dan stood looking at Jessie with their jaws dropped.

“What? Did I not do well?” asked Jessie.

“You did great,” Maya replied.

“Yeah. But uh… are you on our side is still my question,” Dan said.

“Dude, you really don’t get what just happened here, do you? If I wanted to hurt you two, I already would have.”

“He has a point, Maya,” Dan told Maya. Maya again put her hand on her face, only this time, it was out of embarrassment.

“Look, if you two are fine here, then I’m gonna take off.”

“No! Don’t! I – I want to know more about you. I want to know how you were able to do those things. Please. Humor me,” Maya pleaded.

“Yeah. I want to know if you can teach me a couple of those moves,” Dan chimed in.

Jessie looked at them, and then thought about it. He agreed to tell them his life story. The three of them tied up Richard and his henchmen, and Dan called it in to the department to come pick them up. Then they headed back to Maya’s house. They sat near her balcony and Maya asked Jessie what he was exactly. So he told them everything.

“It all started when I was a child. I was about eight years old and my parents were trying to have another child. They loved having a boy and they wanted to try raising a girl as well. So they –”

“So you’re a guy!” Dan pointed out. Maya and Jessie just looked at Dan, stared for a few seconds, and then they looked at each other and Jessie continued.

“Anyway, they wanted to try raising a girl. So they went to the village doctor to find out if they could get pregnant again. The doctor told them that they were not. He said that the spirits were not too kind to those who would ask for more than one child to love. The child could be born with … complications. My father was a samurai and he did not want his pride to be hurt if he tried to conceive another child but couldn’t or did but the child was different from the norm in those days. He really loved my mother and divorce was out of the question. I was their only child left to carry on their legacy. They were disappointed that they could never bring another life into the world. So my father –”

“Wait a minute. Village?” asked Dan.

“Yes, a village.”

“Where were you?” asked Maya.

“This was in Japan.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, um what was the year you were born?” Maya had a suspicion.

“Why, the year was 1285, of course,” Jessie replied.

“But, you look so young. How are you able to look this young for… about 730 years?” Dan asked.

“Actually, I did not become how I am from birth. That is why I must continue my story for you to fully understand my… abilities. May I?”

“Yes, of course, Jessie,” said Maya.

“Thank you. Now then, like I was saying, my parents were upset that they could not have another child. So my father told me—now, remember: I am eight years old at this time—to start training. He had me training every day. I got education while I was training. He made me grow stronger, faster. Then, the day I turned 15-years-old, he took me and his trusted samurai sword to these strange people, who were said to have magical powers. They wore robes that completely covered their faces. My father told me that he was planning this event since I was eight. All the training was to prepare me for this moment.

The people in robes never said what we should call them, but they said to call them “magicians.” I just call them robies. The robies put me on one pedestal and my father’s sword on the other. They said that when it was over, I would be one with the sword. I had an idea of what they were talking about, but I was wrong. They said some words, made some hand gestures, and then I blinked. I started looking at the robie on my left, and ended up looking at the one in the middle when they were done. I looked at myself and I was essentially myself, except I was taller, I had more muscle, and I felt… different. They explained that I had combined with the sword.

My body could turn to some kind of steel that wasn’t visible to anyone, but I would be able to feel it. I could absorb other things made out of metal and by doing so, I could make myself taller, or make more of me, or even become stronger. The robies also said that my strength and speed was basically multiplied by 100. But they also warned me of some drawbacks. I could not have children, which meant that my parents’ legacy would die with me. If I was exposed to an intense heat, I would melt.

Then, I would take on a human form again and would look like a different person each time it happened. I first took on a male form, then I would take on a female form next, and the pattern would keep repeating like that. I saw that as a plus more than anything, but they said it was like a side-effect of being a metal. I could always transform back into any of my previous human forms, but they said I should just live as the form I was given. They were really go-with-the-flow type… thingies.

The robies told me that I would live for 1000 years and then the rest of my natural life would come back into play. I would resume the life of a 15-year-old living wherever I may be, doing whatever happens in the year 2300. Assuming that there IS a year 2300, given the way you humans live. However, I do have to take care of my human form if I want to keep from rusting. Oh! Also, I feel that I should mention this one small detail um… kinda quickly. I am from another dimension. That seems like everything.”

“Um… that was a lot to process,” Maya said.

“Yeah, so how did you get to our dimension anyway, uh Jessie?” asked Dan.

“Funny story actually. The robies said that something went wrong during the combination spell. At the end of the little explanation they gave me, they said that I have only one minute left in this dimension before I jump to the next dimension. My father started freaking out. I did too. I mean, he wanted someone to carry on the family legacy for a long time; instead, he got someone who will live for a long time but not be around for him to see what becomes of him. My parents definitely got the short end of the stick. We hugged, he told me some things he wanted me to remember the rest of my life and I do. I still remember them. Once the minute was up, a portal opened, sucked me in, and then I was in this dimension. Huh. I guess it wasn’t a funny story after all. Oh well.”

“That’s so sad.”

Dan broke down and started crying. Jessie and Maya looked at him, then each other, and decided to give him a hug. Once that got settled, Maya started asking Jessie some questions while Dan went to the bathroom to collect himself.

“So, Jessie, is Jessie even your real name?”

“No. My real name is… my real name is… funny. I can’t seem to remember my real name. I guess with time, you just seem to forget some things that you thought you would remember forever. Go figure.”

“Have you ever killed anyone?”

“No. My parents told me that killing is never okay. I mean, seeing some of the things that happen today, I am sure they would tell me to go and kill some of these people, but I doubt they would tell me to do so even if they did want some bad people dead.”

“Alright. How many people have you saved?”

“I’m not sure. I stopped counting after 557. That was in 1641. I am sure by now I have saved close to 1000 people.”

“Nice. Have you save everyone you ever attempted to save?”

Jessie’s smile quickly disappeared. “That is a question I kind of figured would come up sooner or later. I was hoping later.”

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked the question in the first place.”

“No, no. I should answer the question. It is good for me to face reality,” Dan sighed. “Once, there was a fire. I was a woman at the time of the fire. I went into the burning building to see if there were any people still trapped inside. I found two people. A woman and a child. Both had injuries to their legs. The roof on top of the child was about to collapse so I ran over to her and propped the ceiling up. The child’s leg was hurt, so it was going to take her a while to get out safely. The child was almost out when the roof on top of the woman was starting to give way. I tried to make two of me so I could also get her out, but I lost some of my strength when I split and the roof was coming down faster. I rejoined myself and knew I had to wait for the child to get out of the building completely. She looked up, and then looked at the child. She looked at me and she shook her head no. The roof collapsed just as the child made her way out. I rushed over to help her, but the roof had fallen on her and in a flash, she was gone. I made my way out of the building and then ran as far away as I could from that place. That was it.”

“I am so sorry to hear that. When did this happen?”

“It happened in 1641. That’s why I stopped counting how many people I have saved. I realize that I cannot save everyone, but I still try to save everyone that I can.”

“I had no idea. How about we switch to a lighter subject, hmmm? Have you ever had … you know?” Maya awkwardly asked.

“I know what you speak of, but how about you try to make it a little clearer?”

“Just answer the question, you.”

Jessie laughed. “Yes, I have. Not many times, just enough to keep me from wandering from my true task.”

“And what is this true task, if I may ask you?”

“Saving people.”

“Then, are you a samurai? You didn’t make a sword or something when you were fighting them,” Maya asked.

“Well, I fight not only humans but other things and I usually use a sword on them, but I fight with the honor, the dignity of a samurai. So, I guess you can call me Samurai Jessie.”

Dan came out of the bathroom staring at his phone. “Hey, guys? You know those infamous crime scumbags we had the police take away?”

“Yes. What about them?” asked Jessie.

“Apparently Richard had some cops on his payroll in the precinct I work in. They let them go.”

“Man, we have GOT to start weeding out Richard's goons. Wait a minute. Any idea where that guy from the warehouse lives?” Jessie asked.

“Yeah, why? What’s up?” Maya asked nervously.

“Because I told that kid, Damian, to go back to his father and check on him. I got a feeling Richard is gonna try to finish what he started this morning.”

“So what are you going to do?” asked Dan.

“I can’t believe you, the police officer, are asking me that question,” Jessie stated.

“Well… I don’t… know if we can… um, trust any other police officer other than me. You know? Because of the whole corrupt cops letting them go thing. Yeah,” Dan replied.

“Dan has a point. And knowing Dan, it is something to say that he has a good point,” said Maya.

“I have good points. It’s just that people can’t see that sometimes. Come on, Maya. You know that, rather, you should know that.”

“OK. All the bickering aside, I am going to go and save Damian and his father from Richard and his henchmen. I’m the one who told him to go home. I knew that Richard knew where the kid lived and I sent him there anyway. I HAVE to help him. I can’t let another person die because I failed to do something to help them.”

“Jessie, that girl dying was not your fault. You tried to help her and if you did, then neither of those people would have made it out alive. We didn’t know that the cops that handled Richard would be crooked. No one could have possibly known any of that.” Maya tried to comfort Jessie.

“Still. I have to help Damian now.”

“Then we’re coming with you,” said Dan.

“Dan, come on. What are you –”

“Don’t try and stop us Jessie. We’re coming whether you want us to or not,” Maya insisted.

Jessie sighed. “Fine. Just hang back until I have everything under control, okay?”

“Absolutely.”

“You got it.”

“Alright. Let’s go save a kid I accidentally put in danger.”

Maya and Dan look at each other.

“What?” asked Jessie.

“It doesn’t sound right when you put it that way. You are trying to do the right thing. Don’t remind yourself of the bad stuff, okay?

“Okay. Fine. Let’s just go and save him.”

“Yeah. Let’s go to his place.”

Our story concludes in "Samurai Jessie: Origins 3." If you would be so kind as to go to my page and check it out. Thank you.