A/N:
I've had this idea in my head for this story for years now and finally decided to thoroughly type it out after re-watching some Xiaolin Showdown.
One of the main things that I loved (and still do love) about Xiaolin Showdown, was the friendship between the monks, and their relationships to Master Fung and Dojo. It's what kept me hooked to watching their adventures during the series progression (well, besides the action and humor), and when Time After Time aired, all I could think about was what adventure they'd go on next. The years passed by and Xiaolin Chronicles aired.
For reasons apparent, this chapter takes place during the events of Time After Time, part II. The rest of this story will of course take place after that.
So this chapter may be long, but it's important and necessary. Future chapters will be as long or short as they need to be. To make this author's note short, let's just say I'm a believer in character development and story arcs.
Feel free to read and review, and critiques are welcome. Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown.
Thanks for taking interest in this story, and I welcome you to read the premiere chapter of Contemplating Justice.
Prologue:
Continuation and Beginnings
"Now that you have risen to the rank of Shoku Warrior, your job has just begun. The survival of the world depends on you."
"Not too much pressure there..."
Raimundo smirked at the hoard of villains that were amassed before charging into battle towards them with his friends. With a collective battle cry that echoed throughout the temple, The Heylin charged to clash with the Monks.
With a battle cry, each of the monks took down a villain within the first few seconds. Raimundo's foot slammed into Wuya's face, sending her shooting backwards, Clay's fist tore through a giant Jackbot, Omi sent Le Mime flying with a punch, and Kimiko landed a blow to Katnappe.
Raimundo soon found himself tearing through a plethora of Jackbots with more confidence than he could remember ever having. Gone were the worries of not being good enough; now that he had his friends here with him, fighting beside him with the same radiating confidence he had, there was no way he could doubt himself.
He quickly thrust his arm into the charging Chameleon-bot before ripping out its electronic insides and letting it lifelessly crumple to the ground. Spotting three airborne Jackbots, he kicked the Chameleon bot up at them and offhand-backhanded a recovering Le Mime as the robots exploded.
Katnappe flew sprawling past him, with a blazing Kimiko in pursuit.
"Wudai Mars, Fire!"
Kimiko's foot slammed into Katnappe's face midair, shooting her through a wall of Jackbots with a small explosion. Kimiko turned and darted her gaze around for any more opponents before she heard a shout and turned to see Vlad charging for her like a bull.
"Fire!" Kimiko kicked out a flaming leg and sent a fiery blast straight into the Russian's stomach, sending him flying over Clay with an echoing yelp.
Clay tipped his hat and gave the army of Jackbot's that surrounded him an observant once over.
"Wudai Crater, Earth!" Clay slammed his foot into the ground with a large boom, and a shadow loomed overhead before the Jackbots noticed that there were two oversized and messily uprooted trees falling towards them. They scrambled, but only a few managed to escape getting pulverized. Clay caught the two trees with each of his hands and slammed them into the remaining Jackbots, letting out a small grin as the scrap metal remains of the the Jackbots crashed to the ground.
"Wudai Neptune, Water!" Omi's voice echoed across the battlefield, and serpentine streams of water lashed at the air around him, snaking from the ground as he puffed out his chest, daring any potential challengers to come and feel the wrath of his element.
Growls and roars were heard as Chase's Jungle cat army took up the challenge and raged for Omi, their sharp fangs bared and glinting under the afternoon sun.
In a flash, Omi's water streams were whipping and slamming through the jungle cats, with some streams wrapping around the Jungle cats like boa constrictors and thrashing the felines away.
Raimundo smirked as he sent two of PandaBubba's henchmen flying with his element before proceeding to take care of his share of the Jackbots.
After kicking through a few of the remaining Jackbots in his area, he threw his gaze around to check on his teammates, smiling as he witnessed how they'd been dominating their opponents.
Then, his eyes caught sight of Chase Young. The armored Heylin warrior was standing just outside the battlefield, eying him with that usual creepy air and look of nonchalance with crossed arms.
Raimundo frowned. As calm as Chase Young looked, he could tell that Chase was itching for a fight, and probably just waiting for the right time to strike. And Raimundo stiffened slightly at that.
Even though they were tearing it up with the other Heylin nearby, Raimundo wasn't about to let Kimiko, Omi, or Clay take on someone as dangerous as Chase right now.
A small army of Jackbots decided to try and attack him, and Raimundo began to concentrate his efforts on eliminating the unwanted metal distractions so that he could concentrate on the larger looming threat.
"Shoku Astro, WIND!" Raimundo shouted, shooting his arms out and destroying the distraction with an explosion of wind torrents. As the destroyed remains of the Jackbots clanked to the ground, Raimundo sharpened his stance and shot a pointed, challenging look at Chase Young.
In response, hazel reptilian eyes narrowed ever so slightly back at him. Slowly, Chase's lips curved into a frown, and he disappeared.
A hazy flash of black and green blurred in front of Raimundo, and Raimundo knew what to expect next. He brought up a forearm just in time to block a blow from Chase, and looked straight into Chase's eyes with a look that shone with the utmost confidence and resolve.
Chase glared back, and for the slightest moment, reptilian hazel and Jade green eyes bore into each-other with radiating suppressed malice and vehement determination.
Then, the two warriors clashed, their blows and battle cries echoing across the battlefield. Their attacks clashed with raging vigor as they struck, parried, and dodged each others attacks in a series of agile movements.
In between their exchanged blows, Raimundo noticed that Chase's movements were slowing slightly, and decided to take advantage of this by striking in a wind jab, but Chase suddenly back-flipped so that he was meter's away from Raimundo. Raimundo grew a hardened look and sharpened his stance, preparing to attack until, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bare foot glowing with green energy come at him from behind.
Before Raimundo could try and block or dodge the attack, a blur of yellow flashed behind him, and the Shimo staff blocked Wuya's foot from striking him, forcing Wuya to back flip off of the ice weapon.
Raimundo found himself back to back (or leg to back, because of Omi's height) with a sharp-stanced Omi.
"Fear not!" Omi said, his concentration remaining on Wuya.
"I have your spine firmly protected!"
"I got your back." Raimundo corrected. He decided to not let that botched slang reference bother him, instead concentrating on the meaning behind it with a smile.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way." Raimundo and Omi turned their heads to give each other friendly grins before they proceeded to fight the Heylin forces with everything they had.
Raimundo struck a parried blow to Chase as Omi thoroughly pummeled Wuya with his Shimo Staff, and this process repeated until the battle became an all out onslaught with punches, kicks, and parries on both sides.
As the battle progressed, Omi and Wuya had been distanced from Chase and Raimundo, and Omi was grinning as he was obviously winning his fight against Wuya.
Wuya began to recover from a direct hit she just took from the small monk before gritting her teeth and snapping her fingers.
Omi just remained in his stance with a confident grin. Did Wuya think she was going to win by snapping her fingers...
Near demonic growls were then heard, sending shivers up Omi's spine before he noticed a very large army of winged monkey's with glowing green eyes had surrounded him. And Omi would've guessed that they were famished by the way that they were drooling.
"Mince. Him. Up." Wuya ordered.
The monkeys bared their fangs, and without a second to waste, hundreds of them began to pounce for Omi.
"WIND!"
All of the demonic monkeys were knocked out of the air and sent sprawling across the ground with a howling wave of wind as Raimundo landed beside him, glaring at Wuya with a look that could best be described as fiercely protective.
Raimundo's eyes narrowed at Wuya before he shot a look back to Omi to make sure the little monk was ok.
Then, he proceeded to pummel Wuya with gusts and waves of wind as Omi looked on. Omi noticed Chase Young standing on the edge of the battlefield and frowned. Raimundo probably ceased fighting Chase to save him from Wuya's demon monkeys.
Omi's eyes grew a look of determination. If Raimundo wasn't battling Chase, then he could take care of the former Xiaolin menace so that his older friend didn't have to.
Omi charged towards Chase, jumping in the air with a battle cry before landing in a stance in front of Chase.
"I trust you will not surrender, so a most humiliating defeat is in order for your next few moments." Omi said, glaring at Chase.
The corner of Chase's lips curved downwards as he looked at Omi. The look he had on his face wasn't exactly one of anger or determination...and Omi didn't quite know what to make of it. The look was empty...cold in a way that didn't seem evil and didn't seem inherently good either. It was like Chase had no interest in what was going on and was lost in his own thought, but still prepared to fight him. Omi frowned more deeply before he heard growls and turned around to see Chase's jungle cat legion eying him carefully.
Omi frowned, bracing himself for frontal and rear attacks before turning his attention back to Chase Young, only to see a cloud of green smoke and realize that Chase had vanished. He then turned around to battle the jungle cats only to see that they had vanished as well.
Omi blinked, confused.
Then his eyes caught sight of a heavily outnumbered Raimundo, and he forced his lingering confusions aside to rush and assist his friend.
With a battle cry, Omi extended his Shimo staff and swatted away a few monkey's before he found himself swatting away hundreds of demon monkey's with Raimundo.
"Wudai Crater, EARTH!"
A tree shot through the monkey's that had been giving Raimundo and Omi trouble before Clay landed by them with an earth shaking thud.
"I reckon I'm beginnin' to like my new signature weapon." Clay said, tipping his hat with a small smirk. Raimundo and Omi gave him appreciative smiles before Wuya stood and glared at them with gritting teeth, her hands lighting with green fire.
Clay, Raimundo and Omi each took stances as they prepared to face off against the witch.
"Wudai Mars, FIRE!"
A blaze of fire shot past them before crashing into Wuya with a fiery explosion that sent the Heylin witch flying rather far away from the battlefield. Raimundo, Omi, and Clay relaxed their stances, and the fire dispersed to reveal Kimiko before she jumped in the air and back flipped to land beside Raimundo, Omi and Clay.
Then, what was left of Wuya's demon monkey army began to growl and approach the monks, clearly not too happy about seeing their Master get defeated.
The four monks smirked.
"Look at them!" Dojo wailed from his position on Master Fung's shoulder, a tissue in hand as he wistfully and nostalgically watched the monks beat up an army of demon monkey's.
His little sprouts were blooming on the battlefield, trouncing an army of their enemies with coordination and fluidness that made him think back to the days of Dashi, Guan, and a good Chase.
"They're growing up so fast!" Master Fung grew a small smile at that as Dojo loudly blew his nose.
"Yes," Master Fung seemed to muse, his eyes glinting with a proud gleam.
"They are." He said softly.
A wave of wind knocked out the last remaining monkey's, and the four elemental monks grinned in triumph as the monkey's dissolved in a green dust.
Then, thousands of Jackbots began to assemble out of nowhere. There were enough Jackbots to stretch across the battlefield, and they blocked out the sunlight as they surrounded the monks. Jack Spicer stood in front of the mechanical army, an overconfident grin firmly etched on his face.
"Jackbot Brigade, dominate and annihilate!"
The army began to descend on the monks, who merely grew smug grins at the display.
Clay cracked his knuckles.
"Whadd'ya say we wrap up this here rodeo?"
The four monks shared a look of agreement before charging for the Jackbot's and springing in the air with a sudden burst of energy.
"Xiaolin Nimbus Formation!" They shouted in unison as they landed in front of the Jackbots. The ground shook and crumbled as Earth, fire, water and wind blazed through the Jackbots in the form of a powerful wave. The sound of the exploding Jackbots echoed across the entire temple before the remains of Jack's Brigade crashed to the ground.
A cloud of dust blew away in the wind to reveal the monks in a new formation. They were standing side by side, each in their own improved fighting stance as they grinned triumphantly.
Dojo wailed again at the sight before blowing an unhealthy amount of snot into his too tiny tissue. "Beautiful..." The tiny dragon cried. "Just beautiful!" Master Fung's smile seemed to brighten at the display. Dojo blew his nose again before twitching and shaking as a familiar sensation racked his reptilian form. He groaned in annoyance as a red rash began to stretch across his scales. Master Fung awkwardly eyed the small green dragon before stepping to the side as Dojo twitched off of his shoulder and onto the ground.
Jack took a look at the charred remains of his Jackbot army before looking up at the monks. He promptly wailed before turning on his helipack and hurrying off.
The monks ignored the retreating redhead before their attention turned to their last remaining opponent.
Hannibal Bean simply glared at them from atop a flapping Ying-Ying, his teeth grit as he observed the damage the monks had just done. He frowned.
He wasn't about to fight a bunch of juiced up monks with no Shen Gong Wu. He directed a pointed gaze at the improved team, making no effort to hide his displeasure.
"Let's go Ying-Ying." The bird cawed in response and began to fly away. Hannibal let his gaze linger on the monks before he and Ying-Ying disappeared into the Horizon.
The monks relaxed their stances before eying each other brightly. Raimundo turned to his fellow monks and gave them a beaming grin.
"Way to go guys! You kicked evil butt out there!"
Clay, Kimiko, and Omi smiled back at him.
"I reckon we kicked evil butt out there Rai." Clay said, removing his hat before firmly plopping it on Raimundo's head.
"Yes; we have sent the forces of evil to stuff their luggage!" Omi said, beating his chest.
Kimiko and Clay looked at each other confusedly. Raimundo face-palmed.
"I think little guy's trying to say we sent them packing." Raimundo clarified. Kimiko smirked at that.
"Next time they wont be so lucky." She said.
"I'd hate to break up the big victory party..." Dojo voiced as he shuddered up to them, trying to stifle his twitching to no avail.
"But we've got a live Wu, and it's an eight point O on the fifteen hundred years of darkness scale."
"What's the 411 Dojo?" Kimiko asked from atop Dojo's back.
Dojo frowned, his brows furrowing as he soared over a mountain range in Portugal.
"The Cube of Jiya." Kimiko opened the scroll to see the effect of the Shen Gong Wu, and the others moved to look at the scroll also. It showed an image of a black figure bound by something before another figure appeared with a cube. The cube floated upwards before a black line came from it and pulled the first black figure into the cube.
The monks each arched a brow as Dojo frowned more deeply.
"It's one of the most dangerous Shen Gon Wu that Dashi ever created."
The Monks attention snapped to Dojo at hearing the serious tone in the Dragon's voice, suddenly growing even more interested in the Wu.
"Whoever possesses it can access the Yang Parallel." Dojo's eyes flashed back at the monks before he aimed his gaze back ahead.
Omi frowned.
"What is this 'Yang Parallel'?" The small monk questioned. Raimundo peeked at the scroll from behind Omi.
"It sounds like it could be like the Ying-Yang world."
"Warm, but not hot Raimundo." Dojo spoke, preparing to elaborate.
"The Yang Parallel is a world inside of the Ying-Yang world that Grandmaster Dashi created as a prison." Raimundo, Clay, Kimiko, and Omi grew surprised at that.
"Dashi used the Cube of Jiya to trap some of his most dangerous enemies there." Dojo continued. "Kang the tyrant, Juan the sorcerer, Grant the great..." Dojo began to descend.
"We're talkin' magical beings powerful enough to lift mountains, drain oceans, even bend the fabric of space and time."
"If even just one of the guys on the wrong team gets their hands on it..." Dojo began.
"Then it's either 1500 years of darkness, or total world destruction." Dojo finished as he landed. The monks hopped off of the Dragon before he reverted to his normal size and settled on Clay's shoulder.
"Then we'd better find it quick before a certain evil boy genius or wannabe world emperor do." Kimiko said.
The monks surveyed the area where they landed. They were in a grassy area, but the land ahead of them had some rugged looking rocky terrain.
Kimiko quickly took in the sights before turning to Dojo.
"Can you get a lock on the Wu Dojo?" She asked. Dojo lifted Clay's hat before furrowing his brows and sniffing at the air.
"I'm getting a pretty good signal from over there," Dojo said, pointing to a nearby path that led down the mountainside. Then, Dojo shuddered, his small snout jerking in the opposite direction as a red rash began to form on his nose.
"I'm also getting some readings from there..." The monks looked at where Dojo was pointing. It was an area deeper in the mountain that was darkened by thick trees.
"You sure your Shen Gong Wu detection bone is working right Dojo?" Raimundo said, glancing at Dojo. "They're completely opposite directions!"
"Hey, this Wu's given me a pretty nasty cold, and it's messing with my senses." Dojo huffed indignantly from his position on Clay's head. "This is the best I can do!"
Raimundo sighed before turning to Clay, Kimiko, and Omi, who were eying him expectantly.
"Looks like we have to split up." Raimundo said. "Kimiko, you and Clay take the path; Omi and I'll take the creepy woods."
"Sounds like a plan." Kimiko said before taking the path down the mountainside with Clay and a sneezing Dojo.
Raimundo and Omi then began to amble through the forest, occasionally lifting up a stray rock and searching through the treetops for the Shen Gong Wu.
"Perhaps we should remember to bring cold remedies for Dojo the next time a Shen Gong Wu awakens." Omi voiced as he jumped out of a tree to see Raimundo drop a rock he'd been looking under.
"Sure. Next time we go grocery shopping, I'll stop by the Dragon pharmacy and see what I can find." Raimundo voiced, ceasing his fruitless ground search for the Shen Gong Wu.
"You go grocery shopping?"
Raimundo sighed exasperatedly.
"Forget it..."
Omi frowned before his ears picked up some faraway rustling in the bushes.
"Did you hear that, Raimundo?" Raimundo chucked aside a bucket he'd been looking in that seemingly came out of nowhere.
"Hear what Omi?"
There was another rustling sound, but this time, it was closer and louder.
Omi frowned before taking a stance as Raimundo observantly peered around the area. Omi spared a quick glance back at Raimundo before he heard a small, squeaking noise and came face to face with big, black beady eyes, a furry face, and bucked teeth.
He promptly screamed before tearing off deeper into the woods as the squirrel scurried off. He heard Raimundo worriedly call his name before he abruptly smacked face first into a cliff-side.
"That was most unpleasant..." Omi muttered, rubbing his head. He then shivered slightly as a chill brushed his small form before standing and looking around to see where he was.
He was in a small clearing that was lined with trees on one side, and a cliff-side that lead to a higher peak on the other. For some reason, the area he was in suddenly got darker, clouding over as another chill breezed in the air. Omi frowned and forced his body to ignore the cold before his eyes caught sight of something embedded in the mountainside.
It was a whitish light blue cube that looked rather plain, other than the strange glowing wisp of energy inside of it. Omi's eyes widened at the mystifying object before he realized what it most likely was;
The Cube of Jiya.
"Leopard Strike!" He shouted, jabbing in a hand to free the Cube from its embedded place in the mountainside. He pulled out the Cube and grinned triumphantly.
"Yes! I have found the Cube of Jiya!"
A figure blazed into Omi, knocking him onto his back with an 'oomph' as the Cube flung out of his hands.
"You'd think you'd learn not to announce finding a new Shen Gong Wu to the world by now."
Omi quickly sprang up off of the ground and into a stance at the familiar voice.
"Wuya!" Wuya smirked as she tauntingly tossed the Cube of Jiya in one hand.
"In the flesh, cream-puff." Omi glared at her as he remained in his stance, and momentarily wondered how she'd gotten here so fast until he caught sight of one of Jack Spicer's hovercars and answered his own mental question.
"I'd love to stay and catch up," Wuya said. "But I have evil allies to free and pathetic worlds to conquer-
"Wudai Neptune, Water!"
Omi shot at Wuya with a battle cry, slamming a wave of water into her and knocking the cube out of her hands. Omi lunged for the cube before a sharp nailed hand pulled him back and flung him into a tree. Wuya grinned triumphantly before running to the Cube of Jiya
She snatched the Cube and was about to make off with the prize until Omi's voice bellowed in her ears.
"Shimo Staff!" A familiar ice lance touched the Cube of Jiya, and it began to glow. Wuya's teeth grit before she glared back to see a determined looking Omi glaring at her with an extended Shimo staff gripped firmly his hands, the tip of which was touching the Cube of Jiya. Raimundo, Clay, and Kimiko skidded into the area at that moment, and Kimiko and Clay did their best to catch their breath as Raimundo eyed Omi and Wuya's standoff.
"Wuya," Omi began. "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" Wuya frowned.
"I wager my Monkey Staff for your Shimo Staff." She said. Omi nodded, momentarily wondering just how Wuya got the Monkey Staff.
"The game is rock climbing; first to reach the top without falling wins!" Omi said.
"I accept." Wuya said. The area was consumed in a bright light before the ground that Omi and Wuya stood on shot up in the air. A cliffside erupted in front of them, seemingly stretching to the sky before dark Grey clouds encompassed the sky overhead, eclipsing the sun and only allowing small rays of light to shine through on the challenge field. Another pillar of stone emerged from the ground for the spectators, lifting Clay, Raimundo, and Kimiko high enough to overlook the entire mountain.
Omi stood clad in his Wudai armor, glaring at Wuya before he crouched as he prepared to scale the mountain.
"Gong Yi Tanpai!" The two shouted in unison.
Wuya wasted no time in scaling the mountain, vaulting herself on the cliffside and clawing her way up the mountain as Omi blazed up the mountain, gripping whatever stable rocks he could grasp and scaling the cliffside with ease.
"Go Omi!" Kimiko cheered.
"You get 'em little fella!" Clay voiced. Omi grinned up at his friends before speeding his ascent. Wuya frowned up at the yellow monk, her teeth clenching. If she was going to win this, she had to start getting her hands dirty. She glanced at the only Shen Gong Wu she had and frowned further. The Monkey Staff. She'd stolen it from Jack while that imbecile was wailing and fleeing the Monks one sided temple battle royale. She didn't want to grow a tail, not now or anytime within the next 1500 years, but she had to win this Wu. If she didn't, she'd be stuck trying to crawl back to Chase, and she was tired of being a glorified housekeeper.
"Monkey Staff!" She forced down a shudder and ignored the sudden extra appendage she gained on her posterior before agilely scaling the mountain, and easily passing up Omi.
Omi frowned and lifted down his armor mask before pulling out his Wudai weapon.
"Shimo Staff!" Omi whipped it across the air, sending several ice projectiles at Wuya. Wuya noticed the projectiles moments before they could hit her, and dodged them all in a series of acrobatic movements.
"You'll have to do better than that Cheeseball." Wuya let out a monkey noise and frowned at herself before resuming scaling the mountain as Omi trailed behind.
"C'mon Omi! You can do this!" Kimiko said. Clay eyed the scene worriedly as Raimundo's eyes gazed intensely at the scene below.
Omi looked up at Wuya, frowning as he rummaged through his mind for an idea to stop her from winning this showdown.
An idea flashed through his head before he grinned.
"Wudai Neptune, ICE!" Water flew up at Wuya, and she smiled smugly before dodging it.
"Better work on your strategy." She taunted, looking down at Omi before kicking at a nearby protruding area of the cliffside. A piece of the cliffside broke away before falling towards Omi.
Worry flashed on Clay, Kimiko, and Raimundo's faces as they watched the rock hurl towards Omi.
"ICE!"
Omi froze the boulder before slamming the Shimo Staff into it, shattering it to pieces. Wuya frowned at seeing Omi thwart her attempt to squish him before turning her attention back to scaling the mountain. She didn't notice that the area ahead was frozen though, and she slipped as soon as she tried to climb further. She began to fall with a loud yelp as Omi grinned.
"My strategy seems to have 'worked' most excellently." He said, speeding up his ascent of the mountain. Wuya grabbed a protruding area of the cliffside to prevent herself from falling further before looking at Omi. The yellow monk was almost at the top. At this rate, he'd win the Wu soon; but Wuya wasn't about to let that happen.
Letting out another monkey noise, she started to vault herself up the cliffside, but it seemed Omi had already had a plan to quash any chance she had of getting to the top.
"Shimo Staff, Water!" Omi swept his staff down at Wuya, and as he did so, a huge wave of water was sent downwards at Wuya, crashing into her and sending her falling with an echoing yelp as Omi vaulted up the cliffside and landed at the top with a triumphant grin. The area was encompassed in a bright light before the scenery reverted back to normal. The surrounding mountains shrunk back to regular size, and the sky began to clear before Omi appeared by his friends, holding the Monkey Staff, Shimo Staff, and the Cube Of Jiya.
"You did great out there Omi!" Raimundo said, grinning brightly down at the youngest monk. Omi gave his friends a small smile as they complimented his performance in the Showdown.
"Way to take out the trash!"
"Nice job partner!"
Wuya frowned and dusted herself off before glaring at the monks. Her teeth grit slightly as she watched them cheer for Omi and celebrate the small monks victory before she frowned further. Now that she didn't have the Cube of Jiya, she had to try and work up her alliances again. Chase was probably already suspicious of her by now, and she had to come up with a plan to save face. She figured she could still try and steal the cube from the monks some other time, but with how strong they'd become lately, Wuya figured the chances of that plan succeeding were slim. She frowned further, walking off into the forest to mull over her situation and find that Hovercar she stole from Jack.
"Alright kids," Dojo voiced, slithering to the ground and glancing up at them.
"Time to get back to the temple and put that thing under lock and key." Dojo said as he enlarged, eying the Cube of Jiya.
The monks hopped on him, and he soared to the skies.
Omi looked at his friends as Dojo flew them back to the temple, and his smile faded into a small grin as he watched them talk and joke about the day's events. How easy it was to defeat Jack's robots, PandaBubba, and Katnappe, how Wuya had been sent 'packing'.
As he looked at his friends, his eyes idly wandered to Raimundo's new Shoku robes before his small grin faded into a morose frown.
Sharp reptilian eyes gazed at the silhouette of a serpentine form gliding through the skies, narrowing as they watched the silhouette land in a cluster of pagodas and abbeys that had been darkened by the evening sky. Reds and golds spilled across the heavens, fusing with the slightest hints of blue and white to set the sky ablaze in a picturesque sunset that sent fading rays of light across the skies and mountains, cloaking the figure that the reptilian eyes belonged to in the shadow of trees as he stood on a cliff, watching his targets from high and afar.
A breeze shuffled the trees, momentarily shifting them just enough to allow a wayward ray of light to reveal the identity of the figure.
As the breeze brushed against his armor, Chase Young continued to eye his targets with a pensive scowl as his mind lingered on the past years events; specifically the trials and advancements of four certain monks that he was watching.
He'd observed them for quite a while now, studying their strengths and weaknesses; finding their most dangerous traits, watching them grow.
They'd grown quite a bit in ways he hadn't even imagined, and at a speed that left his former plans of exploiting them in the dust.
No longer were they just a thorn in his side;
No – certainly not. Now, they're a force to be reckoned with. Little Omi was no longer an easy target – actually, Chase was beginning to think that Omi was never an easy target. He'd probably assumed that Omi and his friends shared the same connection that he'd had with Dashi and Guan: almost none.
The smiles and laughter, the joking and mischief; none of that seemed tangible to him. It was probably a mask; a front for the feelings that the monks truly had for each other.
Today, he was proven sorely wrong about his assumptions.
Omi truly cherished his friends, and his friends had made it very clear that they cherished him also.
And for some truly confounding reason, that had actually seemed to make Omi stronger. Omi was still naïve, reckless, and even to some extent gullible, but now he had a wall to protect him from himself: His friends.
And as long as that wall stood, supporting and protecting little Omi from his own faults and providing Omi with the strength and confidence and bonds that the young monk foolishly believed he needed, the monks would grow even more powerful. Powerful enough to stop evil from fulfilling its ultimate purpose.
Eyes narrowing further, his frown deepened.
He couldn't let that happen. The monks must be stopped. Omi must either join the dark side or be destroyed.
That wall must crumble.
His eyes stayed fixed on the area where his targets were no doubt joking and laughing and bragging to each other about how the forces of evil were quaking in their boots. But little did they know, the situation was far from it.
Then, Chase sensed something that made his brows knit slightly;
A presence.
Someone else was here, and they'd made their presence known. Chase remained still though, not sensing an immediate threat from the presence.
But once he could sense the presence close behind him, Chase turned his head slightly to eye whomever it was who had the audacity to approach him in this manner. His eyes showed a look of displeasure as he viewed the person before him.
The sight that greeted his eyes was an orange-cloaked figure with a mysterious air that even Chase couldn't place. There was a short silence as Chase eyed the figure, a breeze whistling by as the figure was unmoving. Chase grew mildly interested at the person before him before the cloaked man slowly removed his orange hood and said something that made Chase's eyes glint with intrigue.
"I have a proposition for you."