Hey, look, my first Xiaolin Showdown fic. And it's a Clim and Chack fic.

And I don't want to hear it. If you don't like Clay/Kimiko, don't read. I don't want to hear your childish remarks. Take it elsewhere. I've heard enough "RAIKIMFOREVERZ!1!1" to last me a lifetime.

Fandom—it's supposed to be fun!

Thank you for being mature about this.

The Elemental Spirits of Old

The Last Resort

I

Plip. Plop.

The rain sounded like a song.

Plip. Plop.

Kimiko loved watching the rain.

Plip. Plop.

Her arms were resting on the windowsill. Kimiko watched the little beads of water fall from the sky. The Japanese girl watched as a large bead of water roll from a leaf to another leaf, and then fell to the ground, with a loud plop. She did not feel like calling her father or Keiko. She was just . . . bummed out. Sad; depressed.

They were losing.

The Xiaolin Side was losing to the Heylin side.

It had been over a year since Raimundo became leader of the Wudai Warriors, and so far, the young warriors had gone down a downward spiral of loses. It was not Raimundo's fault—the Xiaolin Warriors had been off their game. From what they heard, Chase captured Roy and the others, throwing them into the Yin-Yang World forever in their own, personal prison; their own personal hell. All that was left was Wuya, Katnappe, Tubimora, and—surprisingly—Jack. Kimiko did not want to know why he was still there or even alive. It stunned her beyond her wits. But she was bummed out: she lost the Golden Tiger Claws to Katnappe. Kimiko rested her head on her arm, reaching out, water plopping on her palm and fingers.

"Kimiko?"

The young Japanese girl turned around, seeing a frowning Omi.

"Hey, Omi," she breathed, turning her attention back to the raining atmosphere.

Omi moved over to her, sitting next to her, placing his hands into his sleeves. "Oh, my friend Kimiko," he said. "There is no shame in a most humiliating defeat."

Kimiko looked sternly at her custard-coloured friend. Omi looked at the fire in her eyes, and smiled nervously.

"But you will win the next one."

Kimiko, smirked, nodded, turning back outside, and looked at the rain. Omi pulled his right hand from his sleeve, patting her shoulder fondly. "I'll let you meditate," he said, standing up and walked away.

Kimiko lightly smiled as her friend left, but then let out a sigh. From her gi top, she pulled out her PDA, searching her files. She sat there silently, just listening to the rain. Kimiko soon began to grow bored, and placed the hand-held device to the side. She suddenly had the need to have an intelligent discussion with someone. Master Fung came to the mind, along with Clay. It was odd, but Clay was a surprisingly good listener. Kimiko grabbed her PDA, going to her room, gently placing it in a safe spot, and searched for either Clay or her master. She went to the hall, seeing Raimundo kick a soccer ball around. He looked to her, a smile forming on his lips.

"Hey, Madam Falls-a-lot," he sniggered.

Kimiko growled, glaring daggers at the Brazilian. "Shut it, Rai," she hissed menacingly.

The ball came down, coming to rest on his ankle. She had noticed that Raimundo practiced fighting a lot more than he used to. This was one of his rare breaks. He held up his hands. "Oye, menina," he said with a beaming grin, "sorry. Okay? I was just wanting to pull ya leg, menina."

Kimiko narrowed her eyes at him. He sighed, kicking the soccer ball over to her, and she caught it.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Kimiko sighed, fondling the ball in her hands. "I know," she whispered. "It's just that we've had a bad streak of losing Showdowns recently."

"Yeah . . ." Raimundo reached up to rub his neck. "Do you think it's me?"

"What? No! Of course not," Kimiko said. "You're a good leader."

Raimundo shyly smiled. "Thanks, Kim," he said, holding out his hands to her.

She smiled gently, throwing him the ball. He caught it without even looking. He threw up the ball, it coming to land on his shoulders where it rolled across, behind his head, and to the other hand where he spun it. Kimiko smiled.

"Maybe things will get better, Kim, you'll see."

"Hai, you're right," Kimiko said, nodding her head. She glanced up. "I'm going to take a walk or something."

Raimundo nodded, bouncing the ball back and forth between his knees. Kimiko soon found herself outside, the cool night air upon her. That was when she heard the light notes of a guitar playing. The Japanese girl looked up, following the sound until she saw Clay under a cherry blossom tree, playing his guitar. He had a calm face, as if he was in deep thought. His fat fingers strung along, and Kimiko approached him.

"Do requests, cowboy?" she asked with a smile.

Clay's hand ran down the strings of his guitar, knocking his tune off. He looked up, slightly startled. "Oh, Kimiko," he breathed. "It's jus' ya."

Kimiko nodded, sitting next to him. "Sorry for surprising you," she said, pulling her knees to her chest.

Clay nodded, and continued to play his guitar. Kimiko was silent, her chin on her knees. The gentle giant looked at her, a frown tweaked at his lips. He stopped, looking at her. "Wha's th' matter, Kimiko?" he asked. "Ya look sadder than ah dog without his bone. Ya en't still bummed out 'bout losin' th' Golden Tiger Claws?"

"Sort of," Kimiko admitted.

"Ah, Kimiko, don't worry 'bout that sort of thing."

"Yeah, I know."

There was a pause. Kimiko could only hear the ululation of the wind and the soothing sound of the large cowboy's breathing.

"Is it just me, or does it seem like the Heylin side is winning?"

Clay looked down at her, reaching up to rub at his neck. "Yah, it does look like that," he said.

"Why?"

"I dunno."

Clay rested one boot over the other, resting against the trunk of the tree. Kimiko looked at him, reaching up to tuck a stand of hair behind her right ear.

"They've jus' 'ave ah lucky run."

Kimiko nodded, looking out into the distance.

"Maybe there's somethin' else."

Kimiko looked over to her friend. "What do you mean?" she inquired.

"I mean, maybe he's gettin' help or somethin'," Clay said.

"You think?"

"I dunno. Jus' ah guess."

"He may just be training his 'warriors' better," Kimiko snarled. "They've gotten better! Katnappe's faster and wittier. Tubbimura is stronger, and God forbid, even Jack's robots are better! He's just enhancing them!"

Clay let out a chuckle. The Japanese girl looked sharply at her friend. "Why are you laughing?" she demanded.

The cowboy looked at her through his bangs. "But Jack's still ah lill' whiner like he always is," he said, rubbing at his cheek.

Kimiko could not help but to smile. But then she let out a laugh. "That'll never change!" she bellowed with a smirk.

"Jus' his wimpy robots got ah enhancin', not 'im."

Kimiko laughed, her cheeks flushed red. Her hand went to her belly, bending over, still crying out in mirth. The gentle giant smiled at her.

"Ah, see, a purty gal like ya shouldn't be so sad," Clay said, reaching over to pat her shoulder comfortingly.

The Japanese girl glanced up at her friend, just staring at him. But then she beamed. "Thanks, Clay," she said.

Then there was panting. Dojo scurried over to the duo, skittering under Clay's large tan hat. Clay flinched, surprised to see Dojo move so fast. "Lill' buddy?" he called, reaching up to remove his hat.

And there was Dojo, trembling, clinging to the Big Bang Meteorang (that Clay always kept under his hat—just to make sure). Kimiko sat up, looking at the little dragon, her hands reaching out to the little dragon.

"Dojo, what's wrong?" she asked in worry.

"It's Chase's cats!" he squawked, trembling violently as he mentioned his name.

Clay and Kimiko shared a surprised look. Chase or Jack was here? So soon? Their egotism had inflated greatly. The cowboy placed his hat back on his head, covering the terrified little green dragon, not forgetting the Big Bang Meteorang. "C'mon, Kimiko," he said, rushing back to the Temple.

The Japanese quickly stood up, following her friend. When they reached the Temple grounds, large felines guarded the grounds, snarling and hissing. Clay screeched to a halt, glaring at the large cats, Kimiko slid next to her friend, both reverting into their fighting stances.

"Ready, Kim?" he called, looking at her through his parted bangs.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she answered, a smirk forming on her face.

Both linked hands, and the large cowboy threw her towards the felines. She roughly landed on one, and kicked another aside. Clay drew back, holding up his boomerang Shen Gong Wu, aiming it at the large cats.

"Big Bang Meteorang!" he yelled, throwing the Shen Gong Wu.

The magical boomerang split into several versions of itself, moving towards the tigers and panthers. They were struck, Kimiko ducking as the Big Bang Meteorang came her way. More tigers seemingly materialized near the Japanese teenager. She jumped in surprise, her foot thrusting up, kicking the tiger in the jaw. She clapped her hands together, flames forming from her palms.

"Wudai Mars Fire!"

Flames moved like wild stampeding horses, knocking aside the tigers like pebbles. She went to the Temple, seeing Raimundo fight off a few tigers. He smirked, kicking one aside. He looked at Kimiko, winking at her, but another large cat attacked him, ripping at him like he was a rag doll.

"Sesmic Kick Earth!"

A large mound of rock propelled towards the cat, knocking the large feline aside. Raimundo quickly stood up, brushing off the dust and rocks from his fanciful robes. Clay smiled, thumbing towards his friend. Raimundo beamed like the sun. There was a loud series of snarls, and the three monks turned, seeing another round of tigers. Clay was first to move.

"Big Bang Meteorang!"

The Shen Gong Wu came across, sweeping aside the tigers. Clay caught it as they came around, catching it with a smirk on his face. But another wave of large cats attacked the three unsuspecting monks from behind. Kimiko kicked the tiger in the jaw, but struggled as another tiger got her.

"Orb of Tornami!"

A large, cool wave of water blasted towards them, knocking away the tigers and other large felines. There stood little Omi, his robes ripped from the tigers' claws. All the tigers and panthers bounced up, some that were laying on the ground stood up, shaking their heads, and then began to snarl. All fours friends stood back-to-back, looking at the large cats. All shared looks, nodding their heads, preparing to fight.

"Dragon X-Kume Formation!"

They combined quickly in unison, and the tigers jumped. The foursome, who were unable to fight back the felines, were soon covered with large felines, but the large cats were blown away by the four monks, and all four fought as one. Kimiko was first to move. She bounced off Omi's hands, roughly kicking several tigers in their chests. Fire formed around her wrists, throwing them at the big cats. Clay slammed his heel into the ground, large shards of earth moving upward, and like bullets, the rocks shot outward, hitting panthers and tigers. Raimundo leapt, clapping his hands together, a large gust of wind burst, knocking away the tigers like leafs. Omi then moved, commanding the water from a nearby fountain. The custard-coloured boy propelled the water forward, sweeping aside several felines. The foursome looked at their work, all beaming. But soon, more cats materialized from nowhere. Just then, there was a whistle. All the cats looked up, even the ones arousing from the ground glanced up. Like sheep in formation, they moved to where the whistling had come from. Raimundo shakily stood up, watching the tigers with large brown eyes. He motioned for his friends to follow, and soon they saw Jack Spicer, a smug look on his face, reaching out to pet one of the tigers. A bag was slung over his shoulder.

"Isn't this great?" Jack asked, smirking widely. "Chase lets me control his tigers! Isn't that awesome?" He was beaming like a little girl.

Raimundo frowned, glaring at the pale redhead. "Since when did Chase ever let you command his tigers?" he asked spitefully.

"I've proven my worth."

Kimiko scoffed. "So? You still whine like a little girl," she snarled.

"I don't whine!" he bellowed, narrowing his eyes at the Japanese girl.

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for the Shen Gong Wu," Jack said, scratching the top of a tiger's head. "Really, that was nice."

The monks moved forward, but several tigers snarled, halting them. Jack chuckled evilly. "This is great! I've reduced all of you to nothing!" he laughed. "You're about as pathetic as me!" Jack paused, looking at his shoes, but then glanced up. "Well, I'll see you later!" And he zoomed off, the tigers and panthers following, smirks on their furry faces.

Raimundo snarled, stomping his aching foot into the ground. "Damnit!" he snapped. "Why does this keep happening? We were doing fine up until a few months ago!" He kicked aside a rock, it bouncing to a wall.

Kimiko, Omi, and Clay shared looks with each other, but said nothing to their friend. The little Japanese girl approached her friend, placing a hand on his arm.

"This is worse than I thought."

All four monks glanced over, looking at the saddened face of Master Fung. His robes were ripped—he must have been fighting some tigers. Dojo popped from Clay's hat, glancing around. He skittered over to the older man, clinging to Fung's leg. The older man bent down, picking up the dragon in his old hands, stroking his back. Omi stepped forward, looking at his master.

"Master, what now?" he questioned silently. "What do we do now?"

Master Fung and Dojo shared a look. "Do you think it is time?" the little green dragon asked, snaking around Fung's shoulders.

"I believe so," the older man answered.

Omi looked at his friends, who were all confused themselves. Kimiko stepped over to the older man. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Master Fung let out a deep sigh. "I think it is time to wake the Elemental Spirits," he simply said.

"Brilliant, Jack!" Wuya laughed, digging through the Shen Gong Wu in the bag.

Katnappe watched in the background, examining her claws, slightly jealous that Jack was getting all the attention. Tubbimura looked at the Woozy Shooter, smirking under his mask. Jack beamed with smug pride, his hands on his hips. "I know," he said. "Those Xiaolin Losers are worthless now! Hah!"

"Don't be so certain," Chase said, sitting in his chair, stroking one of his tigers. "You may have won, but that does not mean that this will continue to last."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. "We're winning."

A tiger nudged Chase's limp hand, and the reptilian man stroked the head of the large feline. "Something will happen," he said knowingly. "I just know it. Something that will destroy us."

Jack pursed his lips in disbelief, waving his hand dismissively. "Yeah, right," he said. "That en't gunna happen."

Chase looked at Jack through his half-closed eyelids, absentmindedly stroking his "pet" tiger. The large tiger growled happily, rubbing against the man's hand. "I would not be so sure," Chase simply said. His fingers played with some strands of thick fur. "We should be prepared for whatever comes next."

Jack looked up, flipping the Mantis Flip-Coin, catching it without even looking. He did not know what to think. He looked at the coin Shen Gong Wu in his gloved hand. It glistened in the rays of light that filtered from the lamp-covered ceiling.

Menina (Portuguese): girl.

Hai (Japanese): Yes.