Chapter One: Trial by Moonlight
All text in bold like this is a/n.
LoneWolfPrincess: Hi, peoples! This is my first fanfic ever, Cry of the Lone Wolf. This fanfic takes place after "In the Flesh", and let's just say that Raimundo sees the error of his ways and returns to the Xiaolin Warriors, and he gets promoted to Xiaolin Dragon Apprentice. I'll explain later.
Dojo: Wait a minute! Isn't this the part where one of us reads the disclaimer?
LWP: Hold your horses! I'm getting there. As I was saying, I got Jack Spicer arrested for all the evil stuff he's done, and now he has to do community service, starting with my disclaimer.
Jack Spicer: No way!
LWP: Oh, and did I mention I went with the Monty Python crew on the quest for the Holy Grail (neither of which are mine) and made a new friend? Get him, Squeaky!
(The killer rabbit pops out, scares the heck out of Jack, and chases him all over the place.)
LWP (slight Scottish accent): I tried to warn ya, but did ya listen? Oh no, no, no. It's just a harmless little disclaimer. (Normal voice) Dojo, it's up to you. Please read the disclaimer while I write Chapter Two.
Dojo: Gee, I'd love to, but um...
LWP: If you don't, I'll dress you up like a girl, record it on video, and broadcast in on public television for all the world to see and point and laugh at you.
Dojo: You wouldn't dare!
LWP: Oh, but I would.
(And so, through the magical powers that are bestowed upon authors and authoresses everywhere, the LoneWolfPrincess pulls out a turquoise dress with little yellow buttercups, a straw hat, and a video camera from behind her back.)
Dojo: The LoneWolfPrincess does not own Xiaolin Showdown, but she does own Miakoda, Torri, Storm Rider, the Hunting Dog Arrow, and the Dragon's Heart, and half-owns Squeaky. Happy now?
LWP: Very. Oh, but I wish I did own Xiaolin Showdown, or at least Clay. (Pause) Anyways, enjoy the fanfic!
The very first ray of light had just streamed over the mountainous horizon, but everyone was still asleep. Dojo was sleeping by the Xiaolin scroll, snoring away like crazy, when he was given a rude wake-up call by a headache the size of Mount Rushmore, give or take a few inches. This probably meant one of two things: he either needed one heck of an aspirin right now or a new Shen-Gong-Wu had just activated. He opened Xiaolin scroll and took a peak. Inside was a silhouette of an arrow with a wolf-shaped head. Yup, Dojo thought. Definitely the latter.
Dojo grabbed a small megaphone and an air-horn, slithered down to the hallway where the living quarters were kept, and yelled into the megaphone.
"Wake up! Shen-Gong-Wu alert!" He blew the air-horn for good measure. Kimiko was the first to come out. She had quickly brushed her lustrous black hair and put on a silky pink robe.
"This had better be good," she mumbled.
"New Shen-Gong-Wu just activated. Powerful one, too."
"Gimme those." Kimiko grabbed the air-horn and megaphone. Holding the megaphone to the air-horn, she blew it at full blast, making some of the birds outside temporarily migrate a little early this year.
"What the heck!" Raimundo screamed as he burst out of his room. "Do you know what time it is, Kim?"
"FYI, a knew Shen-Gong-Wu just activated. So help me wake up the others."
"Don't worry," Clay yawned as he opened the door. "Already up."
"Please, do not summon the horrendous noise again!" Omi begged as he ran out.
"New Shen-Gong-Wu, people," Dojo announced. "The Hunting Dog Arrow just activated."
Omi gasped and his eyes grew wide at the mention of the Hunting Dog Arrow's name.
"The Hunting Dog Arrow is a very powerful Shen-Gong-Wu. By itself, it can give you great enhancement in speed, coordination, and marksmanship and destroy most anything you aim it at. When called upon, it transforms you into a wolf. An extremely powerful Shen-Gong-Wu."
"And one of the most loyal. It bonds to the first person that touches it, for life!"
"Even if you lose it in a showdown?" Clay asked.
"Even if." Dojo grew to half of his real forty-foot height. "Which is why we have to move now."
The gang went back to their rooms, got dressed fairly quickly, gathered two Shen-Gong-Wu each, and went outside to where Dojo was waiting for them.
Dojo headed east as Raimundo and Omi were fighting over who should get the Hunting Dog Arrow.
Kimiko: Hold it! I need to know my outfit and hairstyle before we go any further.
LWP: Cough (prima donna) cough. All right, then. I see... pink and orange hair in a straight ponytail, and orange tank top with pink zebra stripes, orange shorts, a pink fanny pack, and pink tennis shoes with orange laces.
Kimiko: Hmmm, not bad, for a tomboy.
LWP: Thank you, Kimiko (I think). Now, let's get on with the fanfic, shall we? Cough (egocentric) cough.
Just as Dojo was flying over the Hunting Dog Arrow, thunderclouds started rolling in.
"Great," Dojo exclaimed. "Just great. We have to find an extremely powerful Shen-Gong-Wu in a thunderstorm!"
"No problemo," Raimundo said as he stood up and whipped out the Sword of the Storm. "Sword of the--"
But before he could say, "Storm," the clouds started to roll away slowly.
"Gee, this stinks," Raimundo said to himself. He sat down in a huff.
"Relax, kid. You'll get plenty of chances to use the Sword of the Storm. Like right now; we're here." Dojo pulled into a dive over a forest lake. He landed close to the lake's edge and shrunk again.
"Here we are, people," Dojo announced. "Spirit Lake, Washington."
"Okay, so what happens if we find the Hunting Dog Arrow and it's already bonded?"
"Well, they either have to join the team or there's another way but we could go to jail for it. But don't worry, Kim. There isn't a human around for miles."
Suddenly, in the distance, they heard a flute.
"Except for whoever's playing that."
And, lo and behold, across the lake, was a girl around their age. She looked about Raimundo's height and had thick, loose, rich chocolate brown curls pulled back into a low elbow-length ponytail with her right bang hanging freely at chin's length. Silver, lupine eyes were set into her creamy face and her slender frame was donned in jeans, a slightly baggy dark blue T-shirt with a silver wolf's paw, a denim jacket, a brown quiver, and white tennis shoes with silver, black, and blue stripes. She was leaning against a snag, playing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion LWP: Not mine, but it's a beautiful song. on an ivory flute with a golden mouthpiece and an eagle's feather dangling from the other end. She was wearing a simple gold ring on her right forefinger and a pointed, turquoise blue, spring green, and lavender crystal on a long silver chain. It might have been a trick of the moonlight, but the crystal appeared to have a white glow around it.
"Who the heck is that?" Raimundo asked as the girl put down her flute, closed her eyes, and allowed a small, secretive smile to play across her lips.
"And what's she doing out here at this hour of the night?" Clay added.
"Got me, but we have to keep her from touching that arrow," Dojo answered.
"Silence! I hear something," Omi interrupted.
But except for a couple of crickets, some frogs, an owl, and their own breathing, no one heard anything. Then again, Omi was raised as a Xiaolin monk from birth and his senses worked better than the rest of the group.
"What is it, Omi?" Kimiko whispered.
"Someone other than that girl across the lake is with us tonight."
"You mean like Jack Spicer?"
"I do not know, but who ever it is, he or she humming a very annoying song."
Suddenly, another girl jumped from behind a tree to the left of the wolf-eyed girl's snag. She was about the same height as the girl with the ponytail and had frizzy, straight, chin-length red hair kept out of her sparkling brown eyes by two black hair clips and a big, freckled smile that practically screamed, "Fear me for I am sugar high." She was wearing a black Gap hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and black hiking boots, and humming "I'm Afraid of Americans" by David Bowie LWP: Not mine, but my best friend's big sister wishes they were hers..
LWP: Hi, peoples! Just some things about the way my characters sound like. For the redhead (fear not, her name shall be revealed in time), her voice is supposed to sound like Codename: Kids Next Door (which I do not own at all) member Numbah Three, lose the Japanese accent, or Teen Titans' (not mine, but I wish) Starfire, if you have no idea what Codename: Kids Next Door is. And the girl with the ponytail (she has a name, too) is supposed to sound like The Wild Thornberries' (not mine, either) Eliza Thornberry or, if you've never seen that show in your life, Rika Nonaka from Digimon: Digital Monsters (again, not mine). Just so you know. Now, let the fanfic commence! So say I, the LoneWolfPrincess, authoress of this fanfic!
In a very high (pitch-wise and sugar-wise) voice, she squealed one word:
"Hiyee!"
The girl in the denim jacket's eyes snapped wide open as she swung around clockwise and aimed a punch at the voice. The redhead ducked and the blow hit a dead tree branch instead, smashing it clean off the charred trunk.
The redhead stared at the place where the branch used to be, looked back at the wolf-eyed girl, and went down on her knees, hands joined, bawling, "What for do you fling my potato salad? Where did our love go, man!"
The girl with the ponytail ran close to the redhead, fell on her knees, and hugged her.
"Torri! Thank goodness you're here! I am so sorry. I thought you were-- never mind." She broke away from her hug. "Wait a minute. What are you doing here?"
"Um... you've been telling me for a week now that this was going to be the most important night of your life and, as your bestest best friend in the whole wide world, that you wanted me to be along side you every step of the way?" The amazing thing is that Torri said it all in one breath.
"Right. Sorry. It's just that I need to keep my mind clear so I can react quickly when the time comes."
"Oh, right. The whole 'this is going to be the first step to my destiny' thing. But the thing is, Mia..." Then Torri started to tear up. She hugged Mia. "Why must you leave me!" She bawled. "Your leaving makes me feel so young! And the wolves shall miss you a bunch!"
Mia patted Torri on the back. "Hey, it's okay. I talked it over with them and they said they can take care of themselves."
"Yeah, but I-- Hey!" Torri broke from her hug with Mia. "What do you mean, 'Take care of themselves!' We're supposed to take care of the wolves together, and if one of us is unable to help, the other's supposed to take charge. But if the wolves are taking care of themselves, then that means..." Torri's eyes grew wide and her sugar-high smile returned. Mia just gave her head a nod.
"Oh, Mia!" Torri hugged Mia again, this time it was squeezing the life out of Mia. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're such a good best friend, I love you!"
"You're welcome," Mia choked. "Can I breathe now, please?"
Torri broke from their hug. "Sorry. It's just that (cue mariachi band playing 'La Cucaracha' in the background) I am so happy, I am so happy!" (End 'La Cucaracha' LWP: Not mine.)
"Shhh! Okay, I get it!" Mia whispered. "Just keep it down! You don't know what might hear us!"
"Right; the psychotic moron. So, could you please tell me how you're going to corner him, again?"
"Well, after I freak him out with a combination of Tala Adanvdo and elemental magic," Mia said with a mischievous grin on her face. "He'll start running for his life screaming like a baby. And when he does, I'll take my bow," She stood up and grabbed a mahogany bow from behind the snag.
"And an arrow," Mia reached into her quiver and pulled out an ash arrow with an obsidian head and raven's feathers.
"I tighten the bowstring as much as possible without breaking it," Mia continued, doing so as she spoke.
"Align the arrow with the target perfectly." She had the arrow targeted at the very tree the Xiaolin Warriors were hiding behind. This scared them a little.
"And let go!" The arrow flew across the lake, hit the tree, and sunk through so that the tip was just coming out the other side.
"Hey! Watch where you're aimin' that thing! Why, I oughta--" Dojo was interrupted by Clay clasping the little dragon's jaws shut.
"Shhh! Do you want 'em to hear us?" Raimundo hissed.
Mia, who had just crouched down to admire her work, shot up and her head snapped to face their direction.
"You hear something, Torri?" she whispered as her friend joined her. All those years of wolf training had taught her to pay more attention to her senses. She could "see" in what most consider pitch black, decode scents that most people just took for stench, and hear sounds that many considered it silence. Silence was almost as real to her as Britney Spears being a natural blonde. LWP: I wish I did own her; then I could chase her around with a bazooka and not get in trouble; (sigh), but alas, it is a dream. Everyone who thinks she's a witch, please raise your hands (waves hand around wildly)!
"Nope; except for a couple of crickets, some frogs, an owl, and our own breathing, nothing. Then again, I'm not lucky enough to be friends with wolves since I was three."
Mia pushed herself and Torri into the shadows and focused on the tree branch she had smashed off the trunk. The spring green in her crystal became an aura joining with the wind magic Mia was using to push the thunderclouds away. Her eyes became mint green. She levitated the branch into the lake with a splash. In dim light, the log's silhouette created the illusion of one of them diving into the lake. The spring green returned to the crystal and Mia's eyes became silver again. Then she used more wind magic to levitate herself a foot off the ground.
"Now remember, if you see a miserable excuse for a Goth wanna-be with spiky bright red hair in a leather jacket coming towards you--"
"I know; 'let out a signal and you'll come running.'"
Mia smiled to herself as she zoomed off around the side of the lake to her left.
She was fifteen feet away from them when she stopped levitating and started sneaking. She concentrated on her breathing to fight the extremely tempting urge to snicker. Scaring the heck out of them was going to be a bad first impression, but she couldn't resist.
She hid from the opposite side of the tree the Xiaolin Warriors were hiding behind. She was close enough to smell them. And, boy, were they scared.
"You think that girl's all right down there?" Clay asked.
Dojo didn't answer. He was scared of the possibility of Mia drowning and turning into a ghost and coming to haunt him throughout all eternity. He went around the corner to check the lake when he ran face to face with Mia.
"Hi, there," he squeaked. Mia just replied with one word:
"Boo."
Dojo jettisoned back to the gang screaming like a little girl, letting off a chain reaction of pandemonium. Mia doubled over in laughter. She held onto a tree limb to keep from collapsing to the ground.
"What the heck did you do that for!" Raimundo screamed.
"I'm sorry," Mia apologized as she regained herself. "I couldn't resist. You were just standing there. You should have seen your faces!"
Just then, everyone heard a scream from the other side of the lake, which was now radiating red, orange, and gold light. Dojo started to shake like a scaly, grass green maraca.
"New Shen-Gong-Wu. It's the Dragon's Heart. I know that fever anywhere; and it isn't helping my Hunting Dog headache much, either."
"Torri! Oh, my gosh, she's in trouble! We've gotta save her."
"Way ahead of ya," Kimiko said as she whipped out the Golden Tiger Claws.
"Golden Tiger Claws Fire!" She screamed as she fused them with her element, coating them with red and gold flames, and opened a stormy purple portal tinted with red fire magic. The whole gang was sucked in. They arrived on the other side of the lake. Jack Spicer was there, and Torri was tied to a tree by the Tangle Web Comb. The gang hid in the shadows.
"So where's the Hunting Dog Arrow?" Jack demanded, pointing his glop-shooter at Torri.
"I'm not talking, you pig-headed twit! And if you don't let me go, I'll sing a song that'll make you go crazy if not deaf!"
"You know, you're kind of cute when you're threatening me. Now I'll ask you again; where's the arrow?"
"Okay, but you asked for it." Torri plastered the sugar-high grin on her face once again as she took a deep breath. LWP: This is gonna be good. And "We Like the Moon" by the Sponge Monkeys is not mine; so don't sue me, sue the Quizno's Subs people (not mine) for butchering a good song like it was one of their meat products!
We like the moon,
Because it is close to us!
We like the moon,
But not as much as a spoon,
'Cause it's more used for eating soup,
And a fork isn't very useful for that unless it's got many vegetables,
And then you might be better off with a chopstick!
Unlike the moon;
It is up in the sky!
It's up there very high, but not as high as maybe dirigibles or zeppelins or LIGHTBULBS!
And maybe--
"STOP! Okay. You win. Just. Stop. Singing!" And he was serious; he was kneeling.
"Okay. And besides, the cavalry has arrived, so I don't need to sing anymore. And just when I was getting to the best part, too."
"Huh?" Jack turned around slowly to see the Xiaolin Warriors and Mia standing right behind him, ready to pound him flat.
"H-hey, guys." he stuttered. "Who's your new friend?"
"Two things. One: just think of me as your worst nightmare. And two: let Torri go now."
"I've got a few things of my own. One: no. And two: Jack-bots, attack her!" Mia ran into a clearing, with the Xiaolin Warriors and Jack following to see what would happen, only to have Jack-bots speeding towards her from all sides.
"Robot minions?" Mia asked herself. "Didn't see that one comin'." But just as the Jack-bots were about to sandwich her, she shot up ten feet in the air. The robots crashed into each other and exploded.
"Correction: didn't see that one comin'... not!"
"Well, I'll be!" Clay shouted. "She's flyin'!"
"And without the Jet Bootsu!" Omi added. Dojo, Kimiko, and Raimundo shared Omi and Clay's awe and delight, while Jack Spicer, on the other hand, was shocked, jealous, indignant, and above all, very, very, angry.
"Actually, she's not really flying!" Torri yelled. "Only winged animals can truly fly! The wind's just lifting Mia off the ground!"
As Torri was giving her flight lecture, Jack was walking towards her, and as she finished, he pulled her hood over her eyes and shouted, "Be quiet!"
Torri gasped and exclaimed in her sugar-high voice, "I found my happy place!" There was a brief pause before she added, "It's kinda dark."
Mia slowly floated down, her right foot placed on a dismembered Jack-bot head.
"Now, before we go on, I just need to do one little thing so we're both fighting at full potential."
Mia closed her eyes and raised her head to the sky. The white glow of the crystal disappeared as clear patches became part of the crystal. Now that there was nothing holding them back, the thunderclouds were coming in at full force.
Mia opened silver-green eyes and gave a feisty look at Jack Spicer.
"Gimme your best shot, punk."
This really ticked Jack off. Because all of his Shen-Gong-Wu were too lame for words, he knocked Omi down and stole the Eye of Dashi from him. He activated it, but Mia just used earth magic to create a wall of earth in front of her, sending the lightning into the ground. Then Jack tried to use the Lotus Twister, stolen from Raimundo, to stretch his arms and catch her, but Mia kept using wind magic to swerve just out of his reach, tying them into complex knots. But before long, Jack freed himself and stole the Fist of Tebigong from Clay. He came at Mia at full force, but she just used more wind magic to levitate out of the way. A smirk plastered itself onto her face, but Jack smiled, too.
He could see that she was tiring out, and all he needed was one good shot from the Eye of Dashi and she'd be done for.
"Eye of Dashi!" Mia tried to levitate out of the way, but it took too long to accumulate that much power. She fought the instinct to scream as the lightning surged angrily through her body. She was kneeling, using her hands to keep from being face-flat on the ground. Her jade green eyes were dark and cast downward. Her crystal was throbbing with very dark purple- almost black- light.
"Ha! Not so high and mighty now, huh?"
She couldn't hear him. All she could hear was a mixture between maniacal laughter and a snake's hissing. She could only feel pain from the shock, sweat forming on her brow, and cold. Her senses created an illusion of the forest being covered in snow. Jack had turned into a giant steel gray snake with blood-red eyes and slits for pupils. He was constricting the Xiaolin Warriors, Dojo, and Torri to the brink of suffocation. LWP: I don't own "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence. I wish I did, but I don't.
How can you see into my eyes, like open doors?
Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb.
For some strange reason, she hated this cold. She hated it with every fiber of her being.
Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold.
Every part of her was begging, screaming for warmth, for the sun. No, she wanted fire. Yes; strong and passionate flames swirling all around her, engulfing her; that's what she truly wanted.
Until you find it there and lead it back home.
"Fire," Mia whispered. She did it so softly that even she couldn't hear.
"What did you say?" Jack Spicer asked. His voice was quiet but firm. For some strange reason, he was scared that he might have hurt Mia fatally. He didn't have a crush on her, like he had on Kimiko once, but he still felt a weird connection between Mia and him.
"Fire," she repeated as she lifted herself to her knees, louder and firmer this time. The crystal's light had turned lavender, like the parts of the crystal that had now disappeared. Her eyes had turned a deep violet.
(Wake me up!)
Wake me up inside!
(I can't wake up!)
Wake me up inside!
(Save me!)
Call my name and save me from the dark!
"Fire!" she screamed as violent flames of pure, lavender light engulfed her. A trickle of red, hot magma was lethargically streaming down the side of Mount St. Helens'. Jack wasn't about to find out what else she could do. He ran to his plane as Mia collapsed, dropping the Eye of Dashi, the Lotus Twister, and the Fist of Tebigong as he did so.
(Wake me up!)
Bid me blood to run!
(I can't wake up!)
Before I come undone!
(Save me!)
Save me from the nothing I've become.
"Mia! Dragon's Heart!" Torri's necklace- a swirled red and orange dragon's eye mako pendent with a golden line down the middle in the shape of a heart- was burning with red, orange, and gold light from underneath her sweatshirt. Her eyes changed from a cheerful cinnamon brown to a wild turquoise with golden slits for pupils. Red scales were growing out of her skin. In seconds, she was a dragon- only two feet shorter than Dojo's full form- and free from the Tangle Web Comb. Every part of her was a shimmering ruby red, except for her gold and turquoise eyes.
She plucked Jack Spicer's plane right out of the sky and turned it around so Jack faced her.
"Now listen here, you punk! If you ever come around these parts again, I'll tie you up, lead you down the deepest, darkest sea lion cave on the California coastline, and leave you in there two minutes to high tide! And it's breeding season; you don't want to go anywhere near a sea lion harem during breeding season. CAPICHE!"
"But I'm afraid of the dark," Jack squeaked.
"I know, because I can see into your evil little soul. And it looks tasty."
Jack screamed like a baby as he activated the turbo and sped off in the opposite direction.
Torri turned back into the redhead teenage girl everyone knew well and ran to Mia's side, which was surrounded by the Xiaolin Warriors.
"Mia! Oh, gosh! She needs water!"
"Might this help?" Omi offered, holding out the Orb of Tornami. Torri immediately snatched it away.
"Gimme that! What's its name?"
"The Orb of Tornami."
"Thanks. Orb of Tornami!" A bucketful of water was poured onto Mia. She slowly opened her eyes and eased herself up. Torri ran to Mia's side and hugged her gently.
"Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"
"You worry too much." Then she realized that they had company. She straightened herself and bowed on one knee. "Welcome to Mount St. Helens' National Park. Miakoda Tyler at your service." She rose and extended her hand. Torri just held out her hand.
"Torri Sampson. Pleased to meet you." Raimundo was the first to accept it. He used the other hand to smooth back his hair as best as he could.
"Raimundo Pedrosa. Pleasure's all mine." He gave a flashy smile, used the hand not shaking Torri's to point at her, and winked. Her face turned red as she kicked his shin. Raimundo collapsed and squeaked, "Owowowowow!"
"Pull a stunt like that again and I'll make sure you won't be able to sit down for a month!"
Raimundo looked at Mia out of the corner of his eyes, but Torri just added, "Try it with Mia and it'll be even worse!" Raimundo slinked down into a fetal position. Mia laughed.
"It's okay. We can still be friends." She extended her hand to him. Raimundo perked up and shook her hand eagerly. When he wouldn't let go a few seconds later, she pried herself free with the blunt end of one of her arrows.
"Kimiko Toho. Nice to meet you, too."
"I am Omi. It is an honor to make the acquaintance of such skillful young warriors."
"So, do you have a name?" Mia asked Clay. He walked over, tipped his hat, and shook her hand.
"Clay Bailey, ma'am." For some reason, Mia cast her eyes downward as he did. She felt her face heat up and her small, mysterious smile melt into a big and, in her eyes, idiotic grin. She shook herself to normal as soon as she realized this.
"Dojo Kanojo Cho, ladies. But in case you've forgotten, guys, WE'VE GOT AN ARROW TO FIND!"
"Well, Mia knows this forest inside and out. If you're looking for something, she can find it faster than you can say 'Vini Vidi Vichi'."
"Well, we're looking for a mahogany arrow with red-tailed hawk feathers and a blue diamond arrowhead in the shape of a wolf's. It's called the Hunting Dog Arrow and it's really important that we find it right away."
"Well, the good news is I know where your arrow is; but the thing is..." Mia paused as she reached into her quiver. In her hands was the Hunting Dog Arrow! "It's mine. Funny, I've always called it the Spirit Wolf Arrow or the Skin Walker's Arrow."
The Xiaolin Warriors huddled to discuss the problem.
"'Don't worry; there isn't a human around for miles,'" Raimundo fumed. "You were right, Dojo! There isn't a human around for miles; it's two of them! And one them just happens to be bonded to the Hunting Dog Arrow!"
"Look, I'm just as frustrated, and a little confused, too. When the arrow first bonds, there's a flash of blue light, and the person is bonded for life. But it didn't happen when she took it out, which means she must have touched it before, meaning it activated sooner then I could sense it, and I can also sense when it bonds."
"That's impossible!" Kimiko argued. "You and Wuya are the only ones who can detect activated Shen-Gong-Wu and you sense them as soon as they activate."
"I don't mean to barge in, but it's actually quite simple," Torri stated. "About a year ago, Mia and I found the Hunting Dog Arrow and the Dragon's Heart in a cave filled with crystals and have kept them there until this very night."
"And your point would be...?"
"Well, according to Mia, all crystals produce magical energy. So I think that there were so many crystals in the cave..." She trailed off so the others could guess.
"That it cancelled out the arrow's signal and nobody could sense it?" Kimiko had just filled in the blank.
Torri's smile turned sugar-high again.
LWP: And Bingo belongs to everybody in the world, so you can't sue me! Ha! Or maybe you can. (Pause) Okay, I take it back! I don't own Bingo! Just don't hurt me!
(The LoneWolfPrincess folds herself into a fetal position with her fingers forming a cross.)
LWP: Squeaky? A little help here? SQUEAKY! WHERE ARE YOU! HELP!
"BINGO!" Torri cried out.
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
And Bingo was his name-O!
"Yay!"
"Are you always this crazy?" Raimundo asked.
Torri's lips pouted and her eyebrows became angry as she took of her sweatshirt to reveal a red, pink, orange, and gold tie-dye T- shirt.
"Read the T-shirt," she said flatly. The T-shirt had something written on it in sparkly green cursive.
I'm not crazy...
I'm just sugar-high!
WHEE!
Everyone just stared and took a step back after they read it.
"You like? I made it myself."
"Well, that's reassuring," Raimundo mumbled to the group. Omi kicked Raimundo's shin; the one that Torri just kicked a couple of minutes ago. He squeaked in pain.
"Silence, Raimundo!" Omi whispered. "Torri is in possession of the Dragon's Heart. She has the power to change into a dragon at will. If we are quiet, we may learn something."
Torri just giggled. Two boys were arguing over her, and Raimundo was kind of cute, in an insolent, obnoxious-beyond-all-reason sort of way.
"It's okay. I get that a lot. And don't worry; my sugar-high is natural and comes in brief, random bursts." She moved away so she could skip stones.
"So, what are we gonna do, now?" Kimiko asked.
"Well, I think we should let them join team," Clay voted.
"Oh, yes." Omi nodded eagerly. "Miakoda's magic is incredibly strong, while Torri is very intelligent and hilariously entertaining. They shall be powerful assets to our team. With them on our side, Wuya shall be defeated in a New York second."
"Minute, Omi," Raimundo corrected. "It's minute. And I'm not letting some Pocahontas wanna-be into our group. If she comes, I go. Besides, that friend of hers gives me the creeps. If we let Miss Hunting Dog Arrow join, she'll probably want her trusty sidekick to come along, too."
After ten minutes of debating, and Raimundo's bad shin being kicked twice by Omi, the group made their decision and broke the huddle. Clay stepped up to them.
"Kody-- er, Miakoda, there's something important I need to tell you about."
Torri stifled a giggle. He sounds like my dad, she thought.
"And I want you to think long and hard before you say a word," he continued.
Mia raised an eyebrow. "You're not gonna propose to me, are you?"
Clay shook his head and waved his hands out in front of her rapidly. "Heck no! You've just been accepted as a Xiaolin Warrior is all."
Mia's Mona Lisa smile grew a little bigger. Then she looked at Torri who was on the verge of crying. It was obvious that she hadn't been accepted because Clay didn't address her.
"I accept your offer, Clay." This made Clay smile a little more. "On one condition."
"Oh boy," Raimundo said to himself. "Here it comes."
"Torri comes with me," she stated, grabbing Torri's hand. "She's the closest thing I've ever had to a sister. We're bonded, guys. We're bonded in every way but blood. Wherever she goes, I go."
"No, no, no!" Raimundo exclaimed. "We are not having Miss Naturally Sugar-High join the team!" Omi kicked his bad shin again. This was almost as much fun as the time he and the other boys raided Kimiko's bedroom. I'm gonna need a cast after tonight, Raimundo thought.
"All right, I see there's only one way to settle this. Kimiko, in my hands I have the Orb of Tornami. May I please use the Golden Tiger Claws in exchange for it?"
Kimiko nodded as she and Mia traded Shen-Gong-Wu.
"Thank you. Now close your eyes."
Reluctantly, everyone but Torri obeyed. Torri picked up the Tangle Web Comb, the Eye of Dashi, the Lotus Twister, and the Fist of Tebigong. Mia activated the Golden Tiger Claws and opened a portal, sucking everyone in. When the gang opened their eyes, they were on a grassy sand dune overlooking the ocean. The sky was clear enough to see a full moon and stars by the thousands.
"Where are we?" Kimiko asked. This was the most beautiful night of her life. She was tempted to grab Omi's hand and kiss his cheek, but they weren't alone so she resisted.
"Guys," Torri whispered. "Look behind you. It's amazing!"
Everyone did, and Torri was right; it was amazing. There was the biggest herd of horses any of them had ever seen, and Mia was stroking the muzzle of the biggest, blackest stallion of the herd. They appeared to be having some sort of conversation.
"You know the awesome thing about Mia?" Torri asked the Xiaolin Warriors. "She doesn't need a Shen-Gong-Wu or a magic crystal to talk to animals. She can also dream about the future without it. She knew you guys were coming tonight seven years ago. As for me, I can transform into a dragon and become invisible in that state, but I need a Shen-Gong-Wu to do it."
Mia ended her conversation with the stallion by nodding her head. She walked over to the Xiaolin Warriors.
"Storm Rider, head stallion of the Chincoteague Island herd, welcomes us to Assateague Island and grants us permission to settle our dispute on their land."
"But why here?" Clay asked. "The lake seemed as good a place as any."
"Glad you asked, Clay. Now hold out your hand." He obeyed. She placed the Hunting Dog Arrow in his hand. Immediately, Clay felt invisible flames penetrating his glove and licking at his hand. The arrow blazed with golden light.
"Clay Bailey, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"
LWP: Ooh... a cliffy. Me like cliffies! Just so you don't get confused, in Native American, Tala means "wolf" while Adanvdo means "heart". So, basically, it means "Heart of the Wolf." I know, it's a little on the corny side, but I like it. Anyways, I found Squeaky, and Jack is getting punished for trying to hypnotize him.
(The scene cuts to Jack Spicer writing, "I will not tie Squeaky to a chair with the Tangle Web Comb or hypnotize him to be harmless", on a big chalkboard.)
LWP: Anyways, before you send in your reviews, I'd like to introduce two golden rules for the review section. One: you never know if little children are reading the reviews, so please keep them G-rated. Two: do unto other as you would have others do unto you, so please do not flame me for I am lacking in Two Ton Tunics and fireproof jackets and other protective garments. Other than that, feel free to express your emotions. And I'd like to give a big shout out to the Kitsunequeen, who's CYOA for Xiaolin Showdown rocked far more than words could possibly describe, to cartoonhottie200, who is a talented author with a bright future ahead of her, and to my best friend Britany, whom I give credit for testing this fic and being the inspiration for Torri. That's all, folks! (Brass band plays "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits".) Not mine!
