Disclaimer – I dun own Xiaolin showdown or any of its characters!
AN – Howdy! Looks like im writin' another story x.x This one is the sequel to The Twins. Its set in present day so youll get to understand a little bit more about most of what happened in The Twins. Hopefully yall like it! Thanks so much for reading!
You might not know:
Yin black(evil)
Yang white(good)
The Protectors
By Tippy
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"Damnit…" Raimundo hissed, spitting out grit as he pushed himself off the ground. He noticed the mixture of red, but paid no mind to it as he turned back to his opponent. A smug grin hung on the oversized bean's face as the shoku warrior fell into a defensive stance.
Around the figures lay three forms, battered and bruised from the previous battle. The Brazilian cursed under his breath again as he glanced at the still unmoving forms of his team. Why'd I have to get picked to lead… despair tainted his thoughts, I'm failing them…
"Focus."
His inner voice quieted at the familiar snap and his gaze was back on Hannibal bean. The evil legume had moved, seemingly unthreatened by his presence, and come to rest against a large oak, the mocking grin ever present.
"Come now, boy. I'd expected more from a Shoku warrior, but it seems I was mistaken." He taunted. Pushing off the tree, Hannibal made his way towards the fallen shen gong wu; the rediscovered Yang yo-yo.
"He wants you to attack."
"And that's just what I'm gonna do…" Rai leapt forward, hiding his grin as he descended on the enemy.
Hannibal had expected this, wanted this, and the brown haired teen had to grin, watching the flash of confusion fill the bean's face as he twisted in mid air, shooting a pulse of wind at the ground beneath him. Dust and grit chocked the air around them, leaving Hannibal blind to the next attack as Rai rebounded off the tree his enemy had early leaned against. Bringing up his hands across his chest, he swung out, two blade like blasts slamming against the trunk and propelling him straight into the disoriented villain.
Hannibal flew back into the surrounding forest and an audibly garbled "Moby Morpher" could be heard before the figure disappeared into the shadows.
The dirt settled leaving a very satisfied Rai grinning at his victory.
"Not to bad." The voice teased.
"For a shoku warrior!" He gloated, stretching out his arms in front of his chest.
"Okay Mr. Shoku warrior," she was smiling, "go check on your team."
"Oh, right!" Mentally kicking himself, Rai quickly stepped over to Kimiko who had begun to stir.
"What hit me?" She grumbled, rubbing the back of her head tentatively. He was about to give some off kilter remark that would undoubtedly send the girl into an anger fit, but a groan from Clay caught their attention.
"Ugh… I feel like I been horse whipped with the backside of an angry porcupine…" Silence ensued as the three looked at each other. "What? It's hard to come up with stuff when yer heads achin' more than… than uh… ya, I think I'll stop there."
"Ohhh my aching head." Omi's voice from across the small battle field.
"You alright, Omi?" Rai asked, standing to his feet followed by Kimiko.
"Yes, I believe- "
Crack
"Um…" Omi looked around in confusion.
"What was that?" Kimiko asked, just as confused.
More cracking sounds could be heard, the number growing with each passing second.
"Uh oh…" Rai thought as he watched the base of the tree he had used as a springboard begin to splinter, and it was going to fall with Omi under it.
No more time to think, Rai acted, springing forward, his eyes set on the small, yellow monk who sat frozen under the growing shadow of the falling tree. The ground shook, dirt, limbs and leaves raining across the group, and Rai sat beside Omi, his heart pounding as he saw the few inches of space between them and the belly of the tree.
"That was too near for coziness…" The older teen didn't care to correct the bald monk as he stood, brushing the debris from his clothes. Kimiko and Clay were already jumping over the massive tree, their faces full of worry.
"Rai…"
"Woo boy, you two are slicker than a pair of shined up cowboy boots!" The cowboy helped Omi to his feet.
"Rai!"
He jumped, not expecting the sharp tone of her voice. "Sorry, what's wrong?"
"Did you grab the yang yo-yo?" He could here the tinge of worry and for a split second he almost wanted to laugh, but that second faded quickly as he recalled the wu's last location.
"Oh no…" The others turned to look at him, "This is bad…"
There were no questions as Rai walked up to the side of the tree and picked up a piece of severed string. Clay stepped in, all of them aware of what they would find as he lifted the large tree with an earth pillar. Shattered and indented into the ground was the yang yo-yo.
Rai bent down and picked up the pieces, a doomed expression on his face. "This is real bad."
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Dojo flew over the country side, his speed seeming slower than usual. Occasionally, he would glance back at the four xiaolin monks, their faces downcast. Their thoughts lay on the upcoming event of telling master Fung what had happened; if they told him what happened. Raimundo hadn't said much after finding the broken wu; only a quick "Lets get back to the temple." They'd all stayed silent after that.
Rai was thumbing a small piece of the yang yo-yo, his thoughts a mess on what to do.
"Are you going to tell master Fung?"
"I don't want to…" There was a short silence as he tried to gather his thoughts. "but we have to…"
She was quiet for a while, but he took no notice, intent on staring at his current problem. "shen gong wu have broken before, right? Maybe master Fung will know how to fix it."
Rai let out a halfhearted sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly, "I hope so…"
Back at the temple…
Master Fung slowly placed his tea on the table, his attention turned towards the four monks and the item set in front of them. His pale eyes showed no sign of his thoughts, but the tense silence was enough to let the youths know there was trouble ahead.
"Can it be fixed?" The leader of the group asked; his voice low and cautious.
The elder monk looked on Rai, "It can." There was a visible lift in the groups' spirits at this answer. "However, it will not be easy."
"What must we do, master?" Omi voiced for the others.
"The only one who can fix a shen gong wu such as this lies in the YinYang world."
"So we need the yin yo-yo." Kimiko stated.
"Correct. Once you have the yin yo-yo, you must go into the YinYang world and find the Protectors. They are beings at the center of the world that protect the balance of Yin and Yang." He paused for a moment, watching as the monks absorbed this information. "However, with the Yang yo-yo destroyed, I do not know the affect it will have on the world. It is possible that the side of evil will have grown stronger by this event. You must be careful."
The small group nodded before standing, determination set on their faces as they quickly left the room to prepare.
"If I remember right, Jack had the Yin yo-yo. We'd best check him out first." The other three agreed with their leader. If Jack didn't have the wu, he would at least know where to find it. "We'll need the reversing mirror to get back, just in case we can't fix the yang yo-yo." They moved into the wu vault, Omi setting out to collect what they needed.
Rai slipped the shattered Yang yo-yo into his pants pocket. His nerves were starting to grow each second they waited for Omi. He was still having doubts about his abilities to lead. What if something went wrong and he put them all in danger.
"What are you thinking about?" Her tone warned, sensing he might not be on track with their current situation.
"Just the usual." He crossed his arms anxiously and continued when she didn't ask for clarification. "I don't want to make a mistake again. Things could end up worse."
"Don't worry so much. You're doing fine, and you're not alone. The others support you're decisions regardless the outcome."
There was no reply as Omi chose that moment to return with the items needed for the journey. "We ready?" The group nodded. "Then let's go."
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The flight to Jack Spicer's home was a short one and the group landed quietly behind an outer wall. The mid day sun still hung in the sky as they made their way towards the mansion.
Rai wasn't expecting too much of a challenge, but finding the yin yo-yo could present a problem.
Having visited Jack's residence so many times, the group easily made it to the not-so-secret lab entrance and proceeded inside.
The red haired boy genius was in his lab, whistling a tune as he worked diligently on a set of Jack bots. There'd been a lull in the wu detections and with such a low supply, he was forced to salvage his older models to aid in his conquest.
Between the whistling and the clank of tools against machinery, Jack was unaware of the four figures that stood behind him until a loud 'ahem' caught his attention and he spun around, arms flailing in a pathetic attempt to protect himself.
"Don't hurt me!" He cowered back behind the husk of his robot.
The monks let out a sigh of annoyance before Rai spoke up. "Don't worry, Jack. We're just here for a shen gong wu."
"Oh… Well you can't have 'em! I stole them fair and square." He'd made it into the open, his thumb digging into his chest to emphasize his statement.
"Come on, Jack." Kimiko chimed in, "we all know how this is going to end, so why don't you just-" Her demand was cut off by the sound of a loud crash as something rammed the inner door of a locked metal cabinet.
"Hey!?" Jack yelped as they all turned towards the noise. "What are you doing?!"
"That's not us." Rai corrected. The banging repeated, harder this time and the latch snapped open, the lock scattering across the cement floor. One of the doors swung out ever so gently and out of the darkness came a black, clawed hand that clung to the sides of the opening, pulling to free itself.
Rai felt a chill run up his spine as he continued to watch the dark creature emerge from the confines of the cabinet; beady red eyes attached to a featureless face peered out and came to rest upon the group.
"What in tarnation…" They all were thinking the same thought as their gaze followed the creature as it pulled the rest of its body from the opening.
"Rai… get everyone out of here, now…" He could feel the terror emanating from the girl's words and this scared him more than anything.
"Out…" his voice was low and the others turned to question him, "Out! Get out now!" This time the urgency in his voice pushed them into gear as they began their retreat.
Jack was the first to make it to the outer door, throwing it open as he rushed out into the daylight. Clay and Omi were next and they turned back to find Kim being quickly followed by Rai… and the creature was doing something. Its arm-like appendages rose revealing what could only be described as a spear; energy bolts curling around it. It was going to attack!
"Look out!" The two boys shouted and Kimiko took a single moment to glance behind her before she hit the open door. The creature pulled back and launched its weapon. There was no time to move, no way to avoid what would happen next and they all knew it.
Rai didn't have to look to know he'd been hit by something. He heard the cries of the other monks and saw their faces twist with shock and despair. He couldn't feel any pain, but an overwhelming sense of evil flooded his body and darkness began to cloud his vision. He couldn't hear his sister's screams, couldn't feel himself being jerked back into the clutches of the dark being, there was only a numbing black.
And then he felt it… a part of him was being ripped out from his mind. The evil that had engulfed him began to ebb and he was suddenly aware of the cold floor he now lay on; registered the hands that held his arm.
Green eyes opened slowly and he looked up to see Kimiko leaning over him, tears being held back as she tried to bring him around. His head moved and he could see the monster standing a few feet away, its focus centered on something in its black claw. Rai found that he couldn't look away, even with Kimiko yelling at him to move. His eyes were fixed one the item in the creatures hand; a gold amulet. Instantly, his hand shot up to his chest frantically searching, but he couldn't find it.
"Carly?!" His mind yelled, but there was no answer. Without waiting another second, he pushed himself up, weakly getting to his feet with the help of Kim. He wanted to attack, wanted to rip the thing's arms off, but his body wouldn't let him. All he could manage was a feeble step forward before bolts of energy and a blinding light shot out from around the gold trinket.
The group was forced to shield their eyes as the flashes overwhelmed the lab. Rai was first to turn back, bearing through the piercing light to see what had happened. What he saw caught his breath and for a moment time froze. There was no awareness of the events that were going on around him, no sound to fill his ears, only the sight before him, and when time caught back up he somehow found his voice.
"Carly…"
Tbc…
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x.x mmmmm I hope that scene played out ok! And im pretty sure ive confused somebody! So im gonna explain a little bit if its not too clear
If you haven't figured it out yet, Carly was put into the amulet when she died, thus why she was able to talk to Rai…. I think that's the only confusing thing that doesn't deal with the cliff hanger… if you have questions just ask and ill try to help
ANYWAY that's chapter one! Chapter 2 will be up soon, if im a good little writer ill have it finished before I even post this one :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Thanks so much for reading!