It has been several long years, but the battle between the monks and evil rages onward. The greater of the evils (namely Chase Young, Hannibal Bean, and Wuya) have been quiet lately, and even Jack Spicer has stopped showing up to Wu spottings. The monks are growing weary as the days trek onward, so when two Shen Gong Wu activate at the same time, it doesn't alarm them. We start with Kimiko and Raimundo, dropped in South America while Dojo and the other two monks continue on to the northern continent.
A/N: Okay, so I apologize for the exceedingly sappy introduction. But, based upon the fact that you've stuck with it this far, I suppose you'd want to read the story instead of listening to the author ramble, so I'll make it quick. I wanted to get this story out before Xiaolin Chronicles in the spring. And while Jackkim isn't necessarily my OTP, I see potential in it, so I'm sticking with it. Plus, Jack is my favorite character, so he gets some perks because of it. Anyway, that's all I really had to say. Carry on, and I'll meet you at the end. Happy reading.
"I think we should definitely check this side of the river too." Kimiko pointed out, already feeling the heat pressing on her from all sides.
"Ugh, fine, we'll split up. You take the north, I'll take the south." Raimundo dictated, leaping and flipping over the stream. Kimiko shook her head at his antics. Ever since he had been promoted to Shoku warrior a few years ago, he was more and more confident with his decisions. Not that it was a bad thing, he usually was right, and he still cared about what the others thought.
She set off on her own, determined to find the Shen Gong Wu as quickly as possible. Dojo had taken Clay and Omi to find the other Wu, meaning that, as soon as they were done, she and Rai would be picked up. The sooner that was, the better off everyone would be. She had been in the forest for less than five minutes and she was already irritated by the temperature and humidity.
Leaping up into a tree, she attempted to get a vantage point and see if she couldn't spot the Wu from above. Scaling several dozen feet, she found a perch and sat down. She wiped some sweat off of her face, and then took off the heavy jacket she had put on that morning. Scratching at her head, she wished that she hadn't chosen such a thick wig. Deciding there was nothing she could do right now besides speed up the process of finding the Shen Gong Wu, she scaled a few more branches. She was doing well until a branch gave away beneath her hands, and she let out a yelp before she managed to catch herself several branches below.
A short cackle from nearby gave her pause as she regained her balance. Flipping onto the branch and getting her feet back under her, she looked over to see Jack laughing at her from a nearby tree.
"Spicer. I haven't seen your ugly mug in a while." Kimiko taunted, ready to attack.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it shorty. You've missed me, I know." Jack said, sitting on a branch in the opposite tree. Jack Spicer had grown up in the last few years. He was still gastly pale, rocked the same emo-punk look, and even wore the same eyeliner. He had, however, taken up martial arts, actually matching the monks in speed and strength. In the last few years, he had been collecting nearly as many Shen Gong Wu as all the monks combined. He no longer seemed interested in doting upon his idols, but decided to do things his own way.
"In your dreams, Spicer. I was enjoying every second I had away from your irritating voice." Kimiko responded. A few months back, Jack had stopped showing up to Wu spottings. Since the other forces of evil never even attempted to collect them, the monks had turned into mere errand boys. As much as she hated to admit it, Kimiko had missed Jack, if only for the thrill of a fight.
"Awww, and here I thought we were going to have a moment. Straighten your wig, Tohomiko, I'm not even here for the Wu." He said. Kimiko noticed that she was still in a fighting stance, and forced herself to calm down. It was just Jack, for Pete's sake. He didn't even seem to have any robots with him.
"Then why are you here?" She asked, subconsciously letting her guard down. Jack wasn't exactly one to set elaborate traps, so she didn't really worry.
"As a matter of fact, I was here on business, when I happened to see a giant flying dragon drop a couple of my favorite arch-enemies off in the forest." Jack explained, "I thought it would be rude of me if I didn't drop by to say hello."
"So, you have no interest in this Shen Gong Wu at all." Kimiko stated, feeling crestfallen. Without Jack, the monks were just running around picking up magical trinkets at the drop of a hat. The thrill of the chase was gone if you weren't chasing anybody.
Jack picked himself up off his branch and nimbly made his way over to Kimiko's tree. "Let's just say, I've decided to start choosing my battles. You know, start thinking about the big picture. If I wore myself out hunting down the Wu one-on-four, I'd never really win, would I? No, I've decided to be smarter. Live up to my 'evil genius' title." He sat down on a branch facing Kimiko. She stared daggers into him as he made himself comfortable.
"Well, while the explanation is all nice and dandy, I'll be heading off." She said, readying herself to leap down to the ground.
"Nuh-uh-uh, not so fast," Jack called, halting her in her tracks. "There's more. I do have a warning." Kimiko glared at him warily. "Something's coming. It's going to be big. It would be best if you monks prepared yourselves."
Kimiko rolled her eyes at him. "If that's all you have to say, Mr. Cryptic, I'll be on my way. We're still interested in mystical items that have the power to destroy the universe, believe it or not."
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Jack said.
"Why ARE you warning me, anyway?" Kimiko questioned.
"Easy. I needed to get the word to you guys, and if I sent a messenger you wouldn't have taken me seriously. And besides, Raimundo was right."
"What do you mean?"
"The Shen Gong Wu was south of the river." He explained, cracking into a grin.
The tension between the two of them was broken when they heard Raimundo calling through the woods. "Well, that's my cue to get going. Later, loser." Jack said, giving Kimiko a small salute as a goodbye. He stepped off the branch and let his helipack carry him away.
Kimiko was still pondering the entire incident when Raimundo came up to her, waving what looked like a tiara. She jumped down off the branch and landed gracefully next to him.
"Well, I got the Wu, so let's phone Dojo and blow this popsicle stand." He said, gesturing for Kimiko to follow him back to where they were dropped off. After a nearly silent trek, he looked over at her. "Yo, girl. You in there?" He asked, waving his hand in front of her face.
"huh? Oh, yeah," Kimiko said, broken from her trance. "It's nothing… let's just get back to the temple. I gotta talk to Master Fung."
A/N: Okay, so, clearly this was just an introduction for you. There are some more chapters in the works, so let me know what you think. Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated, even if you're just telling me about grammatical errors. Seriously, anything and everything is appreciated. Thanks for reading~! Until next time, Dysphoniq.