Disclaimer;
Hello folks. Just a friendly reminder that I did not create Xiaolin Showdown and I do not own it. Also, I did not strap a cat to a claymore and toss it into the sun. That's just mean, and I'm evil, not mean.
A/N
For those who find themselves curious, this story takes place after Rise of the Fallen, the Seven Guns, and Extinction Agenda. This may take place after those adventures, but I am writing it so that it can also be enjoyed by those who have not or do not want to read the past stories (although it helps). Feel free to e-mail or PM me any questions, and if your interested in this story, even a little, be sure to read the note at the bottom.
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Prologue
Invitation
A arctic air wisped through the night sky, slowly pushing back dark clouds to reveal the once hidden night sky. The icy gusts that rustled the dying plant life began to gradually warm while the sounds of forest creatures crept into the clearing night. Trees that had fallen or crumbled now erupted with new life as the spell that had nearly over taken the world faded away like a mid summers night dream.
Exhausted, Raimundo sat comfortably on Dojo's back, relieved to see the familiar sight of the Xiaolin temple. Letting out a sigh of relief, he felt the warm embrace of Kimiko as she wrapped her arms around him from behind, and smiled over his shoulder to the battered girl behind him. Returning his attention forward, he watched while Dojo quickly glided into the courtyard a moment before Master Fung, Omi, and Clay hopped onto the grass.
"Sure is nice to be back home." Clay limped over to a fallen pillar and sat down.
"Too bad it was trashed by that big blue butt head." Dojo returned to his normal size and hopped onto Master Fung's shoulder.
"Material possessions can be replaced." Master Fung glanced at each of them. "What matters is that we are all safe and that you have succeeded in preventing the extinction of mankind."
"Yeah, we rock." Raimundo threw his arm up to pump his fist only to regret it as a sharp pain shot through his ribs. Shouldn't have done that, he chided himself, remembering his experience in the cave that had nearly killed him.
"At least we got some of the Shen Gong Wu back from Rin and her dweebs," Kimiko stated, referring to their short lived alliance with Lady Rin Anor and the Fallen Dragons.
"Here's hopping we don't see them for a long, long time." Taking a seat next to Kimiko, Raimundo let his mind replay the events of the last few weeks. After the battle with the sorcerer that had captured his friends and tricked him into believing Master Fung was dead, he had been forced to team up with Chase and the Fallen Dragons to save them.
"I must admit that without their help it would have been most difficult for me to once again save the world." Omi plopped the bag full of Wu down near Clay before collapsing onto the ground.
"I'm just grateful for the assist," Clay replied. "Spending ten thousand years in a glass jar ain't exactly appealing. Least now we don' have any more Fairfolk to wrangle."
"Actually we prefer Faye over Fairfolk." Caught by surprise, Raimundo shot to his tired feet and turned towards the direction the flat, monotone voice had came from to find a man of average height and weight wearing a aqua blue suit with a white shirt a blue tie stepping out of the shadows. He looked as if he were in his mid thirties and had short blond hair. "And I am afraid that your dealings with us have not reached a conclusion."
"Don't tell me there's another one," Kimiko spat, fighting to hide the pain from their last battle.
"Who are you and why have you come here?" Master Fung asked.
"I apologize if I startled you. It is not my intent to confront, but to congratulate and inform. My name is Owen, and on behalf of the High Queen of the Faye, I am to issue you an invitation to compete in her Majesties martial arts competition."
"I'm confused." Raimundo glanced at the others only to find that they mirrored his bewilderment. "We take down one of your guys and you thank us with an invite to some tourney?"
"Allow me to explain." Owen held out his hand and a red scroll blinked into his open palm. "The man you defeated was becoming a problem for us as well. We intended to remove him from this realm, but to our surprise you and your allies succeeded in destroying. You have done what none would have thought possible and shown that we have greatly underestimated the power and ability of the Xiaolin." He paused for a moment as he handed Master Fung the scroll. "As such, we offer you an opportunity to claim a reward. In exactly three months from tomorrow, a tournament will be held on the Queen's island. The tournament will consist of beings from all over your world as well as other realms. Once a winner has been found, they will be granted one wish from the Queen."
"What do you mean one wish?" Raimundo stared at the wooden man.
"If you win you will be granted anything you want; anything at all."
"What's the catch?" Clay stepped forward.
"There is no catch. No hidden string." Owen shook his head. "The winner will get whatever they want. All you need do to earn this is fight and win."
"A most tempting proposition." Omi scratched the back of his head. "But what if we decide to decline your offer?"
"This is not an order, nor is there any ultimatum attached to this invitation. You are free to decline if you so chose; but not everyone who receives this invitation is as altruistic as you have proven to be."
"I see." Master Fung nodded. "How long do we have to consider your offer?"
"I have included a map inside the scroll showing the point of departure for the island. If you are not there by midnight, three months from now, I will assume that you have declined." Nodding Stiffly, Owen turned, walked back towards the direction he came from, and disappeared into the shadows.
Shaking his head, Raimundo limped over to where Master Fung stood. "We really need to make those walls higher. Maybe that'll stop everybody from waltzing in here as they please."
"Indeed." Master Fung unrolled the elaborate scroll and read silently for a few minutes.
"What does it say, Master?" Omi stepped over to him followed by Clay and Kimiko.
"Haven't seen that symbol in a while." Dojo pointed to something Raimundo couldn't see.
"You know of this tournament?" Fung asked.
"It's held every couple of thousand years or so. Grandmaster Dashi entered it once."
"So this is for real?" Kimiko looked up at the dragon.
"You better believe it. The queen that runs this thing has some serious mojo up her sleeve. I mean she's got more juice than Wuya, Chase, and the Wu combined."
"It would appear that we are left with little choice," Master Fung said after a long minute. "We cannot allow a wish with that much power to fall into the hands of the Heylin."
"I knew you were going to stay that." Raimundo let out a tired sigh. "So what else does it say?"
"It lists some of the rules." Dojo took the scroll from Master Fung and held it up. "It says that participants will enter in teams of no less than two and no more than seven."
"That's an odd number," Kimiko said.
"Least that men we don' have ta fight each other," Clay responded.
Omi smiled and patted Raimundo on the back. "That is most fortunate for you, Raimundo."
"Let us discuss this further after we have gotten some rest." Master Fung smiled at each of them then turned and made his way inside the damaged temple.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna be way more trouble than it sounds?" Raimundo asked as he followed Master Fung.
"'Cause it usually is?" Clay replied dryly.
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A/N
This story will pit the Xiaolin Dragons against 31 other teams. The wining team of the tournament will receive one wish from the Queen of the Faye. Given the nature of this story, I'm going to need a lot of characters to fill my roster of teams so if you're interested, I would love to borrow OC's from you, my readers, and other authors. In each chapter that an OC appears I'll name the author who created him/her and make sure proper credit is given.
I plan to have a great deal of audience participation in this story; so if you want to let me borrow one or more of your OC's just leave the following info in a review, or PM/email me the following info: the characters name, alliance (good or evil), age, gender, country of origin/current location, appearance, fighting style/ abilities, and back-story (I may need to slightly alter the back story to fit with this one but I'll try to stay as true to your version as possible.) Also, I would really like to use some of your evil OC's, if you have any and are willing to let me. If I due use your character I'll PM you to let you know.