Well, yeah, three months of total silence. Happy holydays by the way! May this year bring us all joyful stories to quench our imagination and fantasies for the wonderful cartoon of 'Xiaolin Showdown' and others!

I was initially planning on working on the sequel for 'Different Paths', however I found my inspiration dwindling severely and that along with an annoying beginning that I just can't write has put a buffer in my plans. I haven't got around to write much since August, not because I was too busy with school but because I didn't want to write things that I wouldn't like later on. But now it's the winter break and despite the fact I was supposed to finally start doing my homework I've decided to publish this story, which has been sitting around somewhere in my computer since summer. It is not done yet, I have three more chapters to write and I expect to get them finished soon.

Hope I'm not gonna disappoint you and keep my word with this one, especially since this is my last high school year and everything is gonna become crazy when the term starts. But I'll try!

Happy New Year, guys!

Chapter 1

Up or Down

"Gong Yi Tanpai!"

Clay jumped off the ice cliff just as a water slide shaped out of nowhere in front of him. He landed on his belly and took off on the slippery surface with Hannibal right on his tail. The demonic evil bean laughed mockingly as he passed the cowboy and took the lead.

Clay pulled off an annoyed grunt and used his hands to push his body forward in an attempt to gain speed. Hannibal smiled at the sight of the finish line closing in. He couldn't believe he won so easily and looking behind at Clay struggling to get closer, an evil idea scooped in his mind. A snicker escaped his non-existent throat as he activated his signature shen-gong-wu.

"Moby Morpher!" As Hannibal transformed into an octopus, he could hear Clay swearing behind him. He then extended a tentacle and tripped the boy out of the water slide with a satisfied grin.

"Mantis Flip Coin!"

His momentarily satisfaction was cut short when Clay came hurling like a canon ball straight towards him. Wide eyes open, Hannibal morphed into his bigger form just as the cowboy knocked into him. Both of them rolled on the slide while at the same time being engaged in a wrestling match.

The slide ended with a waterfall and the two opponents were thrown into the air and on another ice cliff. Hannibal shot his tentacles-like-arms at Clay tossing him out of the way and passed the finish line before the cowboy had any time to react. In a bright flash of light, the battlefield turned back to the frozen grounds of Iceland, where the remaining three teens gathered to comfort their fallen friend.

"Maybe next time Clay!" Spoke Kimiko softly patting him on the back.

"Correct! Next time we may be lucky and the evil ones shall challenge me in a battle!" Raimundo and Kimiko glared at Omi while Clay tipped his hat disappointed.

"Anyhow, we oughtta get to a warmer place! This place only reminds me of that rotten varmint." Added the cowboy at which the others nodded, suddenly prompted of the frozen winds blowing around.

-(-)-

The way back was uneventful except of some minor bickering between Kimiko and Omi that soon died down anyway. The air warmed up as Dojo flew closer to the Equator and they decided to take off their coats. Clay had his usual white shirt along with his scarf and gloves, Rai had a long sleeved red t-shirt and Kimiko a black sweater with a blue scarf covering the cleavage.

After a while, Dojo was above the green forests of the mountains, soaring closer to the ground as the landing drew near when a sudden black beam of light shot him straight in the head, effectively knocking him out in mid-air. As gravity made itself known, the monks' screams pierced the air, everyone holding onto the dragon for dear life. It all ended when Dojo's massive body crashed into the ground with a resounding boom, raising a cloud of dust and debris and throwing his passengers away.

"Ugh…what in tarnation has just happened?" Asked the only blond of the group confused as he stumbled back on his feet.

Beside him, the other three were clumsily gathering themselves up and at the same time surveying their environment for any signs of the mysterious attacker. Narrowing his eyes, Raimundo motioned to Omi to wake up Dojo as he, Clay and Kimiko searched the settling dust for anything suspicious. With a splash from the Orb of Tornami, the dragon came to his senses and groaning in pain touched the sore spot where he was hit. He quickly retracted his hand with a hiss.

"Ouch…What happened?"

"We have no idea!" Replied truthfully Kimiko, blue eyes seeking intently her surroundings.

"They're coming again!" Everyone looked questioningly at Omi, but after noticing the glowing dots on his forehead they each swiftly fell in a battle stance. "And they are many!"

"And who exactly are they?" Spoke the Brazilian quietly.

Dojo gulped as he turned small and snaked around the boy's shoulders. "I'd rather not know."

Nonetheless, his prayers weren't listened. From the foliage around the clearing leaped several blurs that rapidly neared the dragons. The teens frowned as they were forced to separate and take cover from the explosion of magical rays of energy. Raimundo rolled on his shoulder right behind a boulder resulted from Dojo's collision, hearing a bang in the next second from the place where he had been. He peeked around his makeshift shield and gasped catching sight of a blade coming down on him.

He stepped back as the sword cut through the rock and slid on the ground trying to strike his opponent in the legs and unbalance him. The man with spikes protruding from his forearms and back, grinned as he jumped swinging the blade once again.

Dojo yelped covering his eyes while Raimundo leaned back and spun on the heel of his foot in a roundhouse kick that successfully made contact with the demon's middle. He groaned in pain and the brunet took that time to deliver a bone-crushing uppercut to his jaw, fast followed by a chop on his wrist that caused him to drop the sword.

The spiked man growled reaching with clawed hands to grab the teen but Rai was faster. He dropped down, twisted his body and shot up with a kick to his chest that knocked him back. Getting back up, Rai stroke once again with a perfect spinning kick to the head that put the man out of the fight.

He smiled in relief watching the unconscious man when a blast beside him threw him off his feet. Raimundo grunted, spitting out the mud that ended up in his mouth and looked around for the source. Kimiko was launching fireball after fireball at a human-alligator crossbreed not too far away from him while the one on the receiving end of her fury was easily slipping out of her hits.

Rai smirked slightly, deciding to aid his short-tempered girlfriend. He stood up and began running to her side, slowly gathering chi in his hands that he molded into cutting edges. As he drew nearer, Kimiko spotted him and she sent one last wave of fireballs which speeds and sizes Rai quickly enhanced with thick blades of air thrown into the mix.

The combined attack surrounded the reptilian demon barely giving him any space to maneuver his escape through. He was saved by one of his fellows, a female with large grey feathered wings that flew him out of the assault's range.

"Where did she came from?" Grumbled annoyed Kimiko.

"From where all the others came." Replied Raimundo bluntly.

The raven haired girl threw him a dirty look before her attention was captured by two large streaks of energy approaching them. Kimiko formed a shield in front of them making the attack bounce off. When she ceased her flames, Raimundo shot a strong gust of wind at them. The woman flapped her wings desperately trying to stay in the air but the brunet wouldn't have any of that. He sent another blast of wind that hit the winged demon in the shoulder making her fall downwards with a cry. The two landed in a heap farther away and before they could get up they were bombarded by relentless waves of fire.

Kimiko and Raimundo high-fived joyfully but the moment was short-lived. From the fire, the reptilian man leaped out swiftly closing the distance between them. Kimiko cursed softly under her breath as she brought her hands up ready to block. Beside her Raimundo bent his knees feeling the air spinning around his hands.

"I'll take care of him, you go after the girl." He whispered slipping in a ready stance.

Kimiko smirked, calling over her shoulder. "Already on it."

She flipped over the man not even slowing down as fire sprung to life in her hands. The flames of the last attack faded away revealing a burnt but relatively fine winged demon. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she advanced and her nails glinted in the slowly diminishing flames.

"Bring it on, human!" She snarled before she flew to meet her.

Meanwhile, Clay was exchanging blows with two opponents at the same time. He ducked under a punch swinging his own fist around and catching one of them in the shoulder before sidestepping a kick and spinning with an elbow in the back of the other's head. He slightly slid his foot tripping the second one before throwing a kick to the first one's ribs clearly hearing a crack as it made contact.

A claw passed inches away from his chest having stepped away just in time, and he blocked the other one with his forearm, grunting in displeasure as the sharp claws dug in his skin. He kneed the demon in the guts and had to awkwardly evade an incoming punch, feeling it brush lightly against his hat.

He pushed himself back, panting faintly. He stopped a kick to his head and another one to his ribs, twisting the offending limbs in his arms and tossing their possessors at his feet. His leg smashed in the ground and two rocks stuck out chucking the demons further away from him.

Omi leaped over them and gracefully landed beside Clay as his own opponents were knocked by his teammate's. The four demons moaned at they were all blew away so easily and attempted to stand. The idea soon died when Raimundo and Kimiko joined the two.

"Who are you? And why did you attack us?" Voiced Omi in an unyielding tone.

One of them, a man with orange skin and vibrant green eyes, spoke sneering disappointedly. "We thought you'd be an easy catch. Since you're humans, y'know?" He vaguely waved his wrist shrugging and then regretted it as a pang of pain flashed through his shoulder.

The dragons glanced at each other confused. "What do you mean by that?" Raimundo asked next.

The same man, the leader apparently, answered. "No one ever said you could control the freaking elements." He frowned then, eyes gazing at the trees in the distance. "More are coming. No matter how strong you are, you can't hold back an entire army."

His comment only confused more the teens but before they could ask anything else the group of demons disappeared in the woods.

Dojo blinked, having finally revealed himself when the fights ended. "Okay…did anyone else find that weirder than usual?"

Omi nervously glanced around. "My friends, I think we should listen to his words. I sense more demons coming and they will surely attack us too."

"Then let's hightail it out of here." Concluded Raimundo. "And…" He began when Dojo went to jump off his shoulder. "We're gonna go on foot."

"Huh?"

"Think of it this way, pardner. Do ya want to get knocked out and crash again?" At his quick shake, Clay nodded having got the point across. "We ain't far from the temple anyway."

As they began jogging through the forest, Kimiko spoke uncomfortably. "I have a really bad feeling about the temple right now."

"And it's most likely true, Kimiko." Responded Omi. "Why attack us so close to our home if not to arrange a trap?"

"Well, we'll see when we get there." Interrupted Raimundo. "The sunset is near so we should up the pace a bit."

The two nodded and a silence settled on them as they continued the run to the temple. By the time they reached it, night has overruled the sky. The nocturne wildlife sang their prayers unobtrusively as the four dragons snuck around the walls towards the river entrance. As they got closer they could discern voices, low mutters that they couldn't quite make out. The light of a camp fire entered their line of sight and with it the shadowy figures gathered around it.

Omi had to cover his mouth to stifle the gasp of surprise. The others were just as stunned as him seeing the monks all assembled in the courtyard, tied and constantly watched by attentive demonic eyes. Kimiko motioned for them to retreat in the forest, however, Omi was so shocked by the sudden development that Rai had to drag the young boy by the back of his robe and keep a hand on his mouth, preventing him from doing something stupid. When they were a safe distance away, with no danger of being overheard, Rai released the short young dragon.

"We need to save them." He blurted out instantly.

"And how pray tell are you gonna do that with so many demons around?" Angrily returned Raimundo. He was just as shaken up as the boy about everything but he had to force himself to take this rationally. He wasn't the leader for nothing after all.

"Guys, please calm down." Kimiko pleaded. She didn't want to put up with a fight just now. Everything went out of control without them even knowing. Hell, they didn't even know what was going on exactly. Her head started throbbing only thinking back to what they had witnessed at the temple. "What the heck are we gonna do?"

They remained silent for several moments, all of them racking their brains for an idea. Clay finally spoke, although, it wasn't what everyone was hoping for. "B'side an all out assault I've got nuttin'. Not even sneakin' around seems too appealing with that heap of maggots scamperin' the ground."

"This is so not good." Muttered Raimundo rubbing his eyes. "We don't know why all this is even happening."

A sudden explosion broke any conversation that would have followed. Five pairs of eyes snapped in the direction of the temple watching with growing anxiety the smoke rising to the heavens.

"Now what?" Spoke Dojo rhetorically.

"Master Fung!" Before anyone could stop him, Omi bolted towards it and his remaining teammates couldn't do anything but go after him, if only to make sure he wasn't alone.

When they reached the grounds, they were taken aback by finding out the cause of the blast. Through the mess of running demons and burning buildings, a blob of pink stood out and it hardly took a second to Clay to know what it was.

"Karyne!"

The yell drew her attention and turning around, a smile spread on her face. "Clay!" She breathed before sprinting in their direction.

But her distraction alerted the others of their arrival and not wasting time they jumped to attack them. Kimiko kicked the first brave soul that reached them straight in the face, happily noting the crack it caused. She swung her flaming fists landing punches and scorching skins with no mercy. Why would she have after everything that had happened that day, anyhow?

Omi activated the Shimo Staff, turning it into a pole that he used to strike anyone getting close to him. At the same time he was on the lookout for the captive monks thinking that he might be able to free them although with the numbers of their adversaries his confidence suffered a heavy fall. Despite that, he wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to abandon again the only person he considered family.

Raimundo summoned the Blade of the Nebula to help him parry the demon's weapons as well as give him an advantage in controlling the air around him. He swung the azure blade to block a swipe from overhead and pushed against it, knocking the offender with a blast of pressurized air that sent him sailing through a wall. He swiftly turned and dodged in time another hit responding in the same manner by lashing out with his weapon. The clang announced him of an impediment and he struck with a middle sweep kick instead. The man sidestepped coming again from his side but Raimundo expected that and he slid down removing his feet from beneath him in one rapid motion. As he fell, Rai came beside him shoving the butt of his blade in his head and knocking him out before turning to his next opponent.

Meanwhile, Clay pushed through the crowd trying to reach the pink haired girl who was doing the same on the other side. He callously flung a punch at an approaching demon, elbowed another one in the neck, rammed his shoulder to give himself more space to move or kicked someone out of the way, only to get to Karyne's side. Stomping on the ground, he raised vines that tangled the demons and created a clear path, offering the girl an opening to leap next to him. She lightly placed a peck on his cheek before spinning to glare ferociously at her peers.

"I have bad news for you!" She spoke in a sing-song tone.

Clay scoffed as he took a stance. "Worse than this?"

Karyne took a moment to think. "Yep! It can get worse than this, yes."

"Ain't that awfully nice!" He mumbled sarcastically, delivering a devastating kick to a demon's face.

The girl cracked a fond smile as she swiped her claws at the nearest enemy leaving three long scratches on his arm. She then jumped with a kick to his chest that knocked him to the ground before she ducked under a slash and placed a hard elbow in her attacker's stomach, fast followed by a palm to his chin. She flipped backwards putting her hands on another one's back for better balance before snatching his feet from underneath him and thrusting her leg in his chest for good measures.

She puffed as she continued to avoid any sharp edges and land numerous hits. Nevertheless, her moves were getting slower and weaker by the minute. A quick glance at Clay and she saw him fighting strongly, but her eyes caught the small frown on his face, the sweat pouring down his neck, the tense muscles and forced movements. They were being overwhelmed.

She gritted her teeth shoving a demon away from her and began to run to Clay when a shadow covered the ground and she looked up. The massive figure of Dojo loomed above them and she spotted standing on his back Kimiko, Raimundo and Omi. Dojo quickly went to grab both her and Clay before pushing upwards to the sky.

"That was a close call." Sighed Kimiko wiping the sweat pouring down her face.

Karyne and Clay climbed in front of her from Dojo's grasp. Clay took off his hat letting the wind blow through his blond hair while Karyne glanced at the ground below searching for anymore surprises.

"What are you doing here, Karyne?" The raven haired girl asked again.

The demon girl blinked suddenly shaken out of her stupor. "I wanted to warn you about…that." She inclined her head towards the temple. "I guess I was too late."

"Do you know what is going on?" Inquired Raimundo. His arm bent around Kimiko's waist and she graciously placed her hand on his needing the comfort his presence provided.

The pink haired girl closed her eyes and nodded. "Unfortunately." She looked back at Clay, taking in his curious gaze before her stare returned gravely to Raimundo. "Hades has put a price on your heads."

A roar sliced the air. Dojo's curse hardly registered in their minds as the humongous form of a skeletal dragon flew above them. Two others appeared on the dragon's sides while their riders aimed glowing black hands at them.