Huh...it's been a while since I've written here.
Raimundo: We know - we're still waiting for that sequel!
Hey, I'm working on it! ...I just had to rewrite the entire plot because it sucked...;.;
Raimundo: -.- Of course. Well, at least I get SOMETHING, I suppose.
Jack: What about me?
Raimundo: Why are you even here?
Omi: We were taken the shoe!
Jack: Given the boot.
Yeah, that's why they're here. Well, don't own XS, obviously - I would've made ALitD an episode. Well, here's the story...I suppose.
"Dojo, what does the Tiger's Eye do?" Omi asked, examining the scroll, his fellow warriors peering over his shoulder to get a glimpse of the animation before looking to the forty-foot dragon for an answer.
"Oh, it's a bit like the Shadow Slicer," Dojo started, trying to find a way to explain it. "You see, well, you know how the Shadow Slicer creates an illusion of yourself? The Tiger's Eye can create a full-blown illusion, even altering surroundings. It only exists, though, as long as you believe in it. Once you don't believe in it, it vanishes. However, it can't be used to create an illusion of yourself."
"Makes sense," Clay muttered, "So, Dojo, where is it?"
"Somewhere around…here." Dojo landed in the clearing of a thick forest, letting the warriors jump off before shrinking down to normal. Nearby was Jack's plane, parked with a little red light blinking (his alarm).
"So…any idea about which way?" Raimundo asked, looking around. There was something here that felt…wrong. Something that wasn't supposed to exist was in the area. Dojo sniffed the air.
"It's…tha- no, thi-, no…" he stuttered, pointing several different directions. "I'm…I'm not sure. It's like it's moving." As if on cue, there was a loud, girly scream, and Jack ran out of the woods, screaming as though he had seen the most horrific thing on Earth. Not even noticing the warriors, he hid behind his jet, whimpering.
"Um…Jack? What is it?" Kimiko asked. Jack's expression quickly became one of glee. "It's you guys! Save me! There's a monster in there!" The monks all looked at each other, raising an eyebrow simultaneously.
"Whoa, wait. A monster?" the brazilian asked suspiciously. Jack nodded starting to calm down.
"It was…well, I'm not really sure. It had gray fur and red eyes and – it was just hideous! I sent my Jack-bots after it, but it destroyed them!" He whimpered. "It was about to kill me when I got away."
"Monster, huh?" the Texan remarked, looking towards where Jack had come running from. "I say we go take a look."
"You do that," Dojo said, hiding behind Jack, "I'll be right here if you need me!" The four warriors exchanged glances before entering the woods.
(---)
The four Dragons had decided it would be wiser to split up; Kimiko was with Clay, and Raimundo with Omi. Raimundo had wanted Kimiko to be with him but, as Clay pointed out, someone had to make sure Omi didn't take on the monster himself, and Raimundo was the only one who had fast enough reflexes to do so. With much grumbling, the Shoku Warrior agreed, and then they split up. There was an unspoken agreement of sending up a signal to announce that the Tiger's Eye had been found.
Kimiko couldn't help but notice how the trees became denser, making the forest ominously darker. It almost started to look like a…lair. Worrisome, but not enough to make either Dragon consider turning back. A subtle fear filled the air.
"Fire," Kimiko whispered, making a tongue of flame appear in her hand, keeping their area illuminated. For a while, neither talked. Finally, Clay broke the ice.
"There aren't any animals here," he remarked, "I mean, usually, you'd think there'd be a stray bird or somethin'." Kimiko raised the fire, looking up into the trees. She saw a nest – abandoned. Clay was right – nothing seemed to live here. Were they in over their heads? What kind of thing lived in here?
There was a growl to their right. Turning, Clay and Kimiko saw, emerging from the undergrowth, a monster.
That was the only was to describe such a horrendous beast, with one gnarled horn, oozing acid and all 12 bloodred eyes studying them. It resembled something akin to a lion, except that its fur was a muddy shade of gray, and it had a see-through skull. Six clawed arms were raised by its sides. 'Nightmare', actually, was another way to describe it.
Clay reacted first, pulling out his Wudai weapon: "Big Band Meteorang!" He threw the boomerang-shaped weapon, striking the beast in the face. It seemed unfazed, moving its head as if to shake off the attack. It reared back and lunged at them. Clay rolled out of the way while Kimiko ducked, the flame in her palms growing. The monster turned around, about to attack again.
"Wudai Mars, Fire!" she shouted, firing the flames in her hands at the beast. It did not shrink away; rather, it took the fire head-on, and was left unfazed. Kimiko stared. There was something terribly wrong here…unless…
She stood her ground as the beast scuttled closer. She knew what she had to do. Clay, however, not quite understanding, moved to help – and was blocked by a wall of flames.
"Just wait," Kimiko replied, staring at the hideous monster. It glared and swung three arms at her. And they went right through. Clay stared. This thing…isn't real? As he thought that, the monster's form wavered and vanished. The fiery wall died down, allowing him to walk to the Dragon of Fire's side.
"It…was an illusion?" he asked uncertainly. "But – then who has the Tiger's Eye?" Kimiko shrugged in reply.
"Maybe it's active on its own. It has to be around here." She walked towards the bushes, parting them slowly, looking for the shen-gong-wu. Clay quickly joined her, checking the bushes on the other side of the path. He couldn't help but recall that horrid monster. To him, it was the result of some person's imagination, one working overtime. Besides, he had never heard of a shen-gong-wu doing that. Dojo would've mentioned it sooner.
His thoughts were rudely interrupted as Kimiko suddenly shrieked, stumbling into him. Turning, he saw part of a clawed hand sticking out from under a bush. He assumed that it had only startled Kimiko, as she walked back towards the bush, fire appearing in her hands.
"Hey, Kimi, I don't think that'd be a good idea," the Dragon of Earth said, quickly grabbing her by an arm. "You might hurt someone. Maybe, y'know, that lil' doggie is just sleeping. Probably didn't mean to scare you." Kimiko growled. Clay was right. As much as she wouldn't mind setting that bush on fire to scare whoever was there, there was that possibility that she could really do a lot of damage to the person. "Look, let's at least see what they're doing here."
"Whatever," Kimiko said, rolling her eyes. Clay let go of her and the two slowly approached the bush.
"Hey, partner," Clay said, starting to clear the bush, "Hey, can you – WHAT IN TARNATION?!"
The Dragon of Earth jumped back as the Dragon of Fire stared in horror, her hands over her mouth to muffle her shriek. She had expected a person. A nice, normal person. Instead, lying on the ground, there was a young dark-skinned boy wearing dark blue jeans, bony protrusions sprouting from his wrists, upper arms, and spine. Orange fur with black stripes grew from the wrists, shoulders and on his legs, as evidenced by the fur near the ankles. His feet were padded and hands clawed. Instead of the dark hair Kimiko was accustomed to seeing, he had vivid orange hair, also with black stripes. He was shivering, eyes closed and droplets of sweat visible on his face. To be honest, he looked terrible.
First to recover from the initial shock, Kimiko approached the tiger-like boy. "Hey…hey, can you hear me?" she said quietly, putting a hand on his back. She quickly pulled it back; he felt like he was on fire. "Clay, he's burning up!"
"Probably sick, I bet," Clay murmured, pulling a rope out from under his hat. Just because the boy was unconscious didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. He wasn't taking any chances. After tying the boy's hands behind his back, Clay heaved him onto his shoulder. As Kimiko had said, he was burning with fever. "Hey, Kimiko, can you send up the signal?"
"Wha – yeah." The Dragon of Fire cleared her throat. "Wudai Mars, Fire!" A large plume of fire escaped from her right hand, shooting up to the sky. It was a miracle that none of the embers had hit a tree. The flames took the shape of a phoenix – a little trick she had learned recently – before dissipating. In reply, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew through the forest.
"Ok, Rai knows. Let's go." Kimiko said, starting to walk westward. Clay paused, closing his eyes.
"Um, Kimiko?" The Dragon of Fire looked at Clay, who pointed in the opposite direction. "Dojo is that way."
"Oh…yeah. I knew that," she quickly said, doing her best to brush it off as the two Dragons headed east with their new 'friend'.
(---)
It took more than a few minutes to reach the clearing, during which Kimiko and Clay speculated on the kid's strange appearance.
"D'you suppose he somehow fused with the Tiger's Eye?" Clay suggested, shifting the said person a bit. The bone protruding from his shoulders was making it hard to carry him.
"How? I mean, have you ever heard of a wu doing that? Don't forget, when we all read those scrolls to try to save Omi, there was NOTHING like this," Kimiko countered. Yes, Clay's explanation made sense, but it just wasn't possible. "What do you think about the…" She gestured to the bones. "…those?" Clay made a movement, meant to be a shrug.
"Maybe he's got some sorta sickness. One we don't know about." Kimiko instantly stepped away. "Kim, I really don't think it's that contagious. Besides, you touched him earlier." She shrugged, unable to deny that.
"It makes sense, though. I mean, he looks sick, doesn't he? I doubt his fever's gone." Clay shook his head, knowing it wasn't. The Dragon of Fire thought for a moment. "Well, he probably is sick, so what are we going to do with him? I mean, we have to get the Tiger's Eye from him, and we can't use force."
"Because it's probably inside him?"
"Yeah, that, and, well, he can't be older than Omi."
"Who can't be older than me?"
Both Dragons looked up to realize two things: they had reached the clearing, and Raimundo and Omi were here.
"This lil' doggie." Clay moved the person and laid him on the ground so they could see him. Even Jack and Dojo approached him cautiously, confused. "We think he has the Tiger's Eye."
"No kidding. Dojo, I thought you said it couldn't be used on yourself," Raimundo commented. This kid certainly looked strange.
"It can't. I…" Dojo trailed off. "Did he have that when you found him?"
Both Kimiko and Clay looked down at the boy's chest. Fringed by bone was a yellow-orange star shape. It didn't seem like much. "Well…yeah," Kimiko replied. She then noticed Jack looking at his pants. "What the-"
"You sure he has the Tiger's Eye? I mean, where the heck did he put it?" Jack asked, poking a pocket. The Dragon of Fire smacked his hand away.
"It's inside of him…we think." The three boys stared.
"As in…he swallowed it?" Omi asked.
"No." The five humans looked at Dojo, still staring at the star shape. "You guys haven't touched him with anything besides that rope, right?" Clay shrugged.
"No, but-"
"Good. We need to get back to the Temple with him." Dojo grew to his forty-foot-long form.
"Hey! No fair, I need that wu!" Jack complained, shaking a finger at Dojo.
"If it's what I think it is, then the wu doesn't matter," the dragon retorted as the Xiaolin monks got onto his back. Before Jack could complain, he took off.
"Hey, Dojo, what do you think that star is for?" Raimundo asked, twisting his body to better see the strange kid.
"Let's hope it's not for what I think it is."
(---)
"It's the Heaven's Light."
"What?" Omi asked as Master Fung unrolled the scroll. They were treated to a small animation of a person touching a rock, and then touching the Longi Kite. The Kite vanished, and the person grew dragonic wings.
"The Heaven's Light is a mysterious shen-gong-wu, which little is known about-" Master Fung started.
"We got it from aliens." Everyone stared at Dojo, who shrugged. "Well, I think the guy was an alien…wasn't human."
"…so, how come you couldn't sense it?" Clay asked.
"Because it's always active. Disguises itself too. I mean, right now, all I smell is the Tiger's Eye." Omi picked up the scroll.
"It looks most fascinating. I wonder if I could try it-"
"I'm afraid, young monk, that's not possible." Master Fund plucked the scroll from the young monk's hand. "Once a person bonds with it, it will remain with them until they die, along with whatever else they have bonded with."
"Look on the bright side, it won't be long." Omi looked hopeful at Dojo's words. "The user usually goes mad and kills himself." All of the Dragons stared at Dojo in horror. "I mean, once or twice, they don't, but it's pretty rare."
"We get the idea," Kimiko hastily said. A monk entered the room, one arm of his robe shredded from the elbow down.
"Master Fung, the boy is awake – but we're having a hard time containing him. Master Hong thinks he may have malaria." As if on cue, something brown and orange darted past the doorway, pursued by a monk. Raimundo darted out in the hallway, pulling out the Sword of the Storm to help. Omi too darted out – with a more helpful wu.
"Sphere of Yun!" There was a flash, and the tiger boy was safely encased in a bubble. He growled, swiping the walls, but getting nowhere. Omi beamed while he tucked the Sphere of Yun back into his robes. Raimundo arched an eyebrow, wondering when the Dragon of Water grabbed the Sphere.
Cautiously, the Dragons-in-training and the two monks approached the energy field, fully expecting the boy's animalistic snarl. "…well, I suppose if he is sick, someone will have to take care of him," Clay finally said, "Y'know, give him medicine and stuff." Instinctively, they all looked at Kimiko. Her glare, though, made them all turn away.
The Dragon of Fire rolled her eyes. Men. Still…. She approached the energy sphere, watching as the boy tilted his head out of confusion. She felt a bit guilty for nearly setting him on fire back in the forest. Besides, he wasn't growling or snarling at her now. He actually looked curious about her. She sighed. "Fine, I'll take care of him."
"Thank you, Kimiko-" Master Fung started.
"I'll help her." Master Fung gave Raimundo a 'look'. The Shoku Warrior shrugged. "What? If that guy tries attacking her, she'll need someone to watch her back."
"…and thank you, Raimundo." Master Fung directed his attention to the older monk. "Master Hong, I would appreciate it if you could go to the nearest town to retrieve some medicine for our new friend." The monk nodded and scuttled out of the room. The four Dragons exchanged glances. This would be an interesting week.
(---)
"WIND!" The Shoku Warrior directed his attack to the pouncing tiger boy. The sudden pressure pushed him to the ground, away from Kimiko, and pinioned him. "Ok, Kim, he's all yours!" She nodded, pulling the needle from the bag. It was the only way to get the drugs – both for the malaria and for sedation – into his system. She knelt down beside him, pricked his skin, and emptied the needle's contents. Thankfully, the sedates were fast-acting and, within seconds, the boy was out cold. Raimundo dismissed the gale and walked over to Kimiko.
"So, how do you think he's doing?" he asked. Since Kimiko had taken this task, it seemed to be one of the few things on her mind.
"He seems ok. Better than last time." She placed a hand on his forehead. "His fever's breaking."
"Good." He thought for a moment. "Why did you volunteer anyways, girl? You seemed pretty mad when we suggested it."
"That's because I wanted to decide. Besides, I felt kinda bad."
"For nearly burning him up? Clay told me about that."
"Yeah…that, and he can't be older than Omi."
"Ok, good point." Raimundo activated the Sphere of Yun on the boy, putting him back in the energy bubble. "I wonder if his parents know he's missing." Kimiko shrugged in reply. A cold wind started to pick up, and she shivered.
"Let's go inside." Raimundo helped Kimiko to her feet, and they both went inside the Temple. The boy watched them go.
(---)
It was raining. Kimiko groaned as she looked outside. Stupid rain. And she still had to check on that kid. She grabbed an umbrella and walked outside with the Sphere of Yun, expecting her normal greeting of a snarl.
She was surprised when all the boy did was lift head and wave his hand weakly. So…he was better? Only one way to really check. "Sphere of Yun!" The energy bubble flashed before, dissipating, dumping the kid into the mud. He got up and darted over to Kimiko's side, seeking shelter under her umbrella. She arched an eyebrow. Well, she guessed his delirium was finally gone. "…wanna come inside?" The boy nodded.
She walked in. Noticing how muddy the boy was, she took him to the kitchen. The entire time, he didn't say a word. She wondered why, but didn't comment on it. Instead, while the boy sat on the cool tiles, water and mud dripping from his body and hair, she grabbed one of the dishtowels. Not much, but, for now, it'd have to do.
"Here." The Dragon of Fire handed the towel to the boy. He stared for a second before realizing what it was meant for, and wiped his face dry. "What's your name?" He shrugged. Ok, she had to rephrase that. "What do people call you?"
He paused, obviously thinking. He cleared his throat. Then, a low, rasp voice whispered something. Kimiko stared and leaned in a bit closer. "What?"
"Jericho." He coughed several times. Maybe he had a sore throat. As if reading her mind, he added. "Sorry. Can't talk right."
"It's ok. Sore throat?" He tried to clear his throat once more.
"Bone in throat." She decided not to question that; considering his strange appearance, it made sense. He started coughing even harder. Kimiko then had an idea.
"Here." She handed him her PDA, the 'keyboard' on the screen. "Try this." The boy hesitantly took the PDA examined the screen, and tapped something on the screen. His face grew more confused, and he tapped several more times. Then, a voice recording played : "Thank you." His face visibly lit up.
"It's nothing." She thought for a moment. He couldn't keep her PDA, sadly. It had all of her contacts, e-mail, and a list of who had what wu. "We could teach you sign language. Do you wanna?" He nodded vigorously and handed Kimiko her PDA. Weird. "Ok, well, where do you live?"
"Darfur-" He stopped to cough.. She arched an eyebrow. How did a kid from Africa reach China? As if reading her mind again – she started to wonder if he was a telepath – he added, "Where am I?"
"A temple in China." His eyes bugged out. "Well, we found you in a forest sixty miles from here." That did little to remove his surprise. She decided to change the subject. "Do you want something to eat?" He nodded vigorously. "Ok, there's a table in the next room. Can you wait there while I look for something?" He shrugged and exited the kitchen.
Kimiko walked over to the cabinets and opened them, looking for something suitable. She didn't really know what he ate – any attempts to feed him before had resulted in her nearly losing a finger. After a few minutes, she settled on some fresh fruit and oatmeal. On a rainy day like this, she didn't mind the hot cereal very much, and she couldn't think of many reasons for why he'd object to any kind of food.
"What the-?!" She jumped at Raimundo's voice in the next room. There was a gust and Jericho dashed back into the kitchen. She groaned. Perhaps she should've kept him in the kitchen.
Raimundo poked his head in the doorway. "Hey, Kim, the tiger-kid's out-" He stopped, seeing Jericho cowering behind her.
"I know, Rai. You really scared Jericho."
"….Jericho? …so, he's not trying to attack us?" Jericho shot a confused look at the Dragon of Fire.
"Yeah. He's a bit warm, I think, but he's fine now." She looked at Jericho. "I'll explain later. Just go back into the dining room, please." The younger boy nodded and scuttled back to the next room. Raimundo shot Kimiko a look. She shrugged.
"…can you help me make breakfast?"
(---)
"Jericho? Jericho?" Kimiko looked around He wasn't outside, like he promised to be. "Where is that kid?" She walked into the temple. "Jericho?"
"Think he's in your room, hiding," Dojo said as he slithered around the corner. Kimiko arched an eyebrow, looking at Dojo.
"Why would he be hiding? I mean, no one's going after him." Dojo chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, well – he kinda didn't know I was a dragon, I supersized, and the kid freaked." Kimiko glared.
"You'd better hope he's ok, Dojo." Kimiko walked to her room. As Dojo had said, Jericho was there, sitting in a back corner. He was calmer than Kimiko predicted, and he was examining a picture. She walked up and looked over his shoulder. The picture from Rai's cousin, a group photo of the Heylin Tigers. She almost chuckled at the irony.
"You ok, Jericho?" The boy jumped and turned, guilt plain on his face. "It's ok, you're allowed to look at pictures and stuff." The boy shrugged before looking at the picture again. He pointed at the lone girl in the picture.
"Who's she?"
"She's Ciara, Heylin Tiger of Wood." Jericho suddenly giggled, and Kimiko guessed he got the irony too. She pointed to cursive letters on the bottom of the frame. "All their names are here."
"Thanks." He looked at the words for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the picture. He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. A new idea struck the Dragon of Fire – namely, why he wouldn't use her PDA and why he had to ask Ciara's name.
"Jericho, can you read?" The boy shook his head no. Kimiko sighed.
"We'll deal with that later. Right now, Jericho, you have a sign-language lesson."
(---)
"You all ready to go, kid?" Jericho looked at the large dragon and nodded, awe present in his eyes. He still wasn't used to that, but he was getting better. He looked back to the four Dragons. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to go.
As if reading his mind, the largest one – Clay, he thought – said, "Your family probably misses you, partner. You should go."
"Yes, your parents and sister must be wishing for you terribly," the youngest, Omi, affirmed. Jericho smiled slightly. "Besides, perhaps we'll find a shen-gong-wu in Darfur."
"Knowing our luck, we'll probably find several there," Clay added. The younger boy shrugged. Who knew?
"Just don't get sick again, ok?" Raimundo asked jokingly. Jericho nodded and then looked at Kimiko. He touched his fingers to his lips and then flipped his wrist to her. Kimiko recognized it as the sign for 'Thank you'.
"You're welcome." Jericho grinned and pulled himself onto Dojo's back.
"Next stop on the Dojo Express – Darfur!" The large dragon took off, and the tiger-boy could be seen waving. The four Dragons waved back until both were out of sight. The Shoku Warrior then looked at his teammates.
"Well, I guess that's that." Somewhere on the grounds, a gong rang, its echoes carrying across the Temple. "Ok, guys, let's go in! Dinner's ready!" He offered his hand to Kimiko, who took it, and both walked inside. Clay and Omi, however, continued to watch the sky.
"I don't suppose your tiger instincts are telling you anything, pardner?"
"No, Clay; they seem to be telling me something very bad will happen."
"Oh. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one."
"Clay! Omi! Come on, dinner's ready!" Both Wudai Warriors exchanged glances before hurrying inside.
(---)
Dojo didn't return the next day. Though it was worrisome, none of the Dragons-in-training could justify going after him in the Silver Manta Ray. They had to wait.
The day after, however, was a different story. Kimiko, Omi, and Raimundo were done eating breakfast (Clay was just finishing) when they heard a familiar whooshing sound.
"Dojo!" Omi excitedly dashed outside ahead of everyone – and stopped dead in his tracks. The others had to skid to a dead stop to avoid squishing their smaller friend, but he didn't notice. "Jericho?"
The tiger boy dismounted Dojo, refusing to look up at them. His hair and fur were covered in soot. He was shaking like a leaf.
"Jericho? Are you ok?" Kimiko asked. It was only then that he looked up, his face streaked with dirt, tears, and blood. That was enough for her. "Look, just go into my room. I'll get you breakfast, ok?" He just nodded and walked past the four into the Temple. An awkward silence descended onto all of them. Finally, Clay spoke up.
"What happened?" he asked. Dojo spat on the ground.
"The Janjawid, that's what happened."
"Wait." Kimiko pulled out her PDA and looked up the word Dojo had just used. She read aloud: "The Janjawid are a group or Arab soldiers that…" She stopped. "Dear Kami."
"What? Tell us, Kimiko, please!" Omi pleaded, jumping up and down to get a look at her PDA. She ignored him.
"Dojo, were there any survivors?"
"Nope. All we could do was just clean up the bodies." Dojo hesitated. "We….we kinda found his dad, though."
Clay pulled his hat down and Omi bowed his head. They had both known something bad would happen, and it had. Of all the times to be right.
"Hey, didn't he have a sister? And what about his mom?" Raimundo asked, disbelief written across his face. The small dragon shrugged.
"They weren't there, but that doesn't really mean much. Janjawid could've carried them off." He looked towards the Temple and sighed.
"Just be careful with him, ok?"
(---)
Kimiko watched Jericho sit at the west-facing window, looking at the night sky. She was worried about him, but didn't know what to say. Still, there wasn't anything she could say to make it worse, right? She carefully approached the boy. "…um, hey." He waved a hand. "How are you doing?"
'Ok,' he signed, 'I'm just upset about my dad. Those men were…' He paused.
"Vicious?" Kimiko suggested. Jericho nodded. There was a slightly awkward moment. Then, Jericho signed, 'Still, at least I know one thing.'
"What?" The Dragon of Fire looked at the younger boy, who now wore a bittersweet smile. He signed, 'My mom and sister are still out there – and probably alive.' Kimiko nodded. That was one way to look at it, and she wasn't about to burst his bubble.
"You could probably stay here until we find them."
'You sure?'
"Yeah. I mean, Dojo flies to a lot of places. We'd find them sooner or later."
'Yes, but, I meant if I'd be a problem.' Kimiko shook her head.
"It'd probably be better if you stayed here. It'd actually be a favor." I mean, having the Tiger's Eye, it'd be best if you stuck around.
He just looked at her and smiled.
Raimundo: ...okay...
Jack: Yeah...so, when are you working on that other story?
I know, I know. I just kinda liked the idea, ok? Feel free to critique Jericho's character - unlike Roni, I'm not sure if he's a Gary-stu. Which means?
Omi: Reviews! Please, review!