The Fear Within
Full Summary: Everyone fears something, and Kimiko is about to face her darkest fear. After getting sent to an alternative dimension where the roles of good and evil have been reversed, she will have to find a way back while facing that which she fears. But will Chase Young help her face her fear? Or use it against her?
(A/N) This is my first Xiaolin Showdown fanfic, so hopefully you guys and gals like it. It is a Chamiko story though, something I'm rather nervous about, but I find it to be an interesting concept and seeing as it doesn't have many stories I decided to do one for all the fans of the pairing out there. Hopefully I'll do it justice. It takes place after the original series took place.
This was inspired by the episode 'The Evil Within' and also a bit of inspiration came from an episode of Charmed I watched a few years back with the demon of fear. Can't remember which episode.
Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or any of the characters from the show. Nor do I own Mulan which I have referenced to in this.
'There are four ways you can handle fear. You can go over it, under it, or around it. But if you are ever to put fear behind you, you must walk straight through it. Once you put fear behind you. Leave it there.'
Donna Favors
Every night, it's the same dream that hunts her.
Sometimes it follows her like a floating Spector into the waking world. She catches glimmers of the phantom like figure in the mirror, or reflected in the flames that she conjures. Only for the briefest of moments, and every time she turns to face it it's gone with the wind, leaving behind no trace it was ever there… or even existed.
The nightmare which stalks her is like an outer world experience. Kimiko can see herself walking down a cobblestone pathway down a graveyard at night. Somewhere a clock chimes twelve, signalling the witching hour's arrival. Scattered throughout the sides of the path, on gravestones, at the bases of withered, naked trees and at the edge of the path are candles alight with eerie blue, red, purple and white flames.
All around her mist floats, creeping by her and the dark silhouetted trees in the distance. A blue wisp hovers in the air, and she follows it as it leads her past unmarked gravestones and further into the dark cemetery. Once she passes each candle, like a dark curtain closing behind her, they extinguish.
A light, like a blazing red flame flares further ahead of her, and she can see a dark shape forming from the flame. The flame vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a dark shadow. The blue wisp she had been pursing dissolves into nothing as she gets a few feet away from the dark shape and sees that it's a mirror. A large mirror much larger than she, framed with silver flames and encrusted with blood red rubies. Blackened roots reach up from the ground and cling to it, slowly crawling up along the edges and touching at the top.
She approaches it slowly; one hand gently reaches out and tenderly touches the glass.
That is where the true nightmare takes place. For the moment her hand meets with the cool glass she can no longer see her reflection in the mirror. Gone is blue eyed Kimiko with her two pigtails at either side of her head and a sweet smile gracing her lips.
Instead the girl that looks back at her has a smirk on her face, a dark evil smirk that sends a shiver through her core. Her red robes are now jet black with golden flames soaring from the trims and edges. Her black hair falls down her back in one dark wave, with one long red streak of hair falling partly over one eye.
Her nightmare ends with a shuddering heart throb when the reflection opens her one unveiled eye. And despite being veiled by her hair, Kimiko can see the other eye shine brightly through the strands of red hair.
The eyes that stare back at her… are crimson red.
Just as they had been for the few brief moments she had left behind her good chi in the Ying Yang world during her battle with Wuya over the Black Beetle.
After this, she always wakes up in a cold sweat, tears in her eyes, and silent sobs shaking her body.
Then she forces herself to forget.
To forget the nightmare which plagues her.
To forget the fiery red eyes that haunt her.
And falls back into a dreamless slumber.
'Ahh, what lovely weather' Kimiko sighed contently, titling her sunglasses up to see the sun shining brightly high above her.
Currently, the young Dragon of Fire was lounging on a lounge sun bed in the temple gardens, basking in the glorious summer sunrays. Beside her, on a smaller lounge chair was Dojo. The small lizard wore a pair of dark shades and was holding a fold away mirror in front of him to catch more of the rays of sunshine. Not a breeze swayed the trees, making the air thick and clammy.
"You know what Kimiko, I could get use to this" Dojo began conversationally.
"And what's that? Dojo?" Kimiko asked, sinking further into her lounge seat.
"Oh you know; just sitting here, relaxing, no Shen Gong Wu setting my senses into haywire, some nice ice cold lemonade and this gorgeous heat. I may even be able to get a tan" Dojo said, lifting his sunglasses and examining his body for possible signs of bronzing.
"Too true Dojo" Kimiko nodded in agreement.
It had been a few days since the last Shen Gong Wu revealed itself, and in all honesty she wasn't complaining. Once the daily training and chores were out of the way, she and the guys pretty much had the rest of the day to themselves. Well, besides extra training in the afternoon.
Rolling over in her lounge chair so she was lying on her stomach, her arms tucked under her chin acting as a pillow, Kimiko let out a content sigh. Life was good. No having to fight the dark forces of evil. No having to prevent ten thousand years of darkness descending upon the lands. No having to look up, down, left, right, high, low, near, far for Shen Gong Wu that the forces of evil may beat you to finding. No Xiaolin Showdowns. And the cherry on top of the cake, no evil trying to corrupt, manipulate and hurt her and her friends.
Nope, she didn't have to worry about any of that right now. All she had to do was focus on simple relaxation, catching up on her magazines to find out the latest trends back home, and getting to chat up with her friends and family.
Had she already mentioned that life was good?
"It's kinda weird though, we don't usually get temperatures this extreme. We gotta be a least in the sixties" Dojo added, taking a sip from his drink that was sitting by his chair.
"Really? Feels pretty normal to me" Kimiko shrugged.
"I'm not surprised; you are the Dragon of Fire of fire after all. Your use to holding a thousand degree flame in the palm of your hand" Dojo said between sips of his drink.
Kimiko lifted her sunglasses and tilted her head at the little dragon beside her. "Hmm, I never thought about it that way. I've always wondered though why is it I never burn when I produce flames. Is it the power of being The Dragon of Fire?"
"Yipe. You're fireproof. Another perk about being the Dragon of Fire is you won't even sunburn" Dojo said with a yawn as he stretched his muscles and repositioned himself conformably.
Kimiko titled her head in thought. Thinking back she couldn't recall any memories of her ever being sunburned. Unlike her poor papa who, using a Clay expression, would burn redder that a lobster dripped in oil baking in the dessert sun.
"Out of curiosity, what's the highest temperature I would be able to withstand?" Kimiko asked with an air of curiosity.
Dojo sat up at that, tapping his chin thoughtfully with his talon. "Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be a limit on how high a temperature you'd be able to endure. I've previously seen Dragons of Fire create blue fire, which if I remember correctly from chemistry is about one thousand four hundred degrees!"
Kimiko rolled back over onto her back, starring up at the cloudless blue sky. Endless possibilities surged through her mind. How hot could she make her fire? Would she be able to tolerate the extremely high temperature of molten lava like the Black Beetle Shen Gong Wu could?
Momentarily, the fleeting thought of whether or not she could be engulfed in lava and survive the ordeal unscathed flickered through her mind. She lightly giggled it off, opting that it wasn't a theory she'd be willing to test.
Other questions ignited in her mind like dozens of tiny flames that with time and energy spent on them would expand and flare up more brightly as it became a possibility.
If she tried could she create other types of flames? Blue? Red? Violet? White?
A flare of excitement blazed inside her at all the possibilities ignited in her mind.
"Your limits, Kimiko, are something that I'm afraid you'll have to discover by yourself" Master Fungs words came from nowhere.
Kimiko blinked and a flush of embarrassment etched her cheeks as she realised Master Fung was standing directly behind her looking down at her. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed him! She hadn't even heard him approaching!
"Tsk, tsk, Kimiko" Omi's chiding voice came from beside the elder monk. "As a Xiaolin warrior you must always be on top of your guard and expect the unexpected."
Kimiko let out a groan and sat up, swirling around to face the monks. If Omi was going to scold her using expressions then he should at least have the decency to get them right.
"That's be on your guard, Omi" Raimundo sighed.
Kimiko leaned forward in her chair and saw Raimundo and Clay approaching from the temple. Both were wearing shorts and a thin vest, the heat had plastered their hair to their faces and beads of sweat poured from their heads. Kimiko giggled at the sight. The poor boys were literally melting from the heat.
"Howdy partners" Clay said as he took off his hat, wiping away the sweat. "This is some awful heat, aint it?"
He then began using his hat as a fan to try and cool him off. Raimundo took a rather liking to the idea and a mysterious freak wind blew the cowboy hat from Clay's hand. The hat glided through the air towards the Dragon of the Wind, whom caught it and took to also using it to cool himself off.
"Hey!" Clay shouted angrily, his nostrils flaring.
Raimundo jumped up in the air, avoiding Clay whom had charged like a raging bull towards him in an attempt to take back his prize possession. The Dragon of Wind let out a laugh as Clay crashed straight into a bewildered Omi, sending the two crashing in a tangle of limbs across the yard.
"So much for expect the unexpected, huh Omi?" Kimiko grinned, cherishing the sweet taste of revenge.
Raimundo laughed, then went over to the lounge chair. Kimiko scooted over and crossed her legs, giving Raimundo plenty of room to sit.
"I call it karma" Raimundo shrugged.
"Ahhh karma. One of life's few certainties" Dojo drawled nostalgically.
"Indeed that is true" Master Fung nodded in agreement. With a scolding glance he added, "As I am sure you very familiar with Dojo Kanojo Cho."
It was an obvious dig at some past antic that Dojo had been involved in. Dojo recoiled as though recalling a bitterly bad memory.
Kimiko and Raimundo looked at each other, both realising that Master Fungs comment was most definitely a dig at Dojo, and that there was certainly a story in there somewhere. If not one, then many. A story that they would most certainly have to find out.
"Hey now that's uncalled for!" Dojo snapped, tossing aside his mirror. He pointed a talon at Master Fung. "I learnt my lesson! Alright! Just… just took me a little while longer than most…"
"I take it Dojo's had quite a few run in's with karma, huh?" Kimiko grinned, fishing for any information on the story behind the dig.
Master Fung sighed, "One is meant to learn from ones mistake. But in Dojos case he learns after the…"
"Millionth time?" Raimundo interrupted.
His comment earned him a glaring scowl from the lizard. "Hey! That's not true! I learn from my mistakes just as well as the next person! Tell them Master Fung!"
Raimundo and Kimikos laughter only made Dojos attempt to have Master Fung agree with him more urgent. Master Fung however, simply stood in silence shaking his head.
"Master Fung! Tell em!" Dojo whined, darting up to sit on the old monks shoulder.
Omi, whom had finally managed to untangle himself from Clay, appeared beside Master Fung.
"Master Fung is silent because one cannot argue with the truth, Dojo" Omi laughed.
"There you all go again! Completely disregarding me and everything I say!" Dojo snapped, crossing his arms in a huff.
Raimundo and Omi burst out laughing while Kimiko tried to stifle a giggle. She knew they shouldn't be teasing the little dragon, especially considering how sensitive he could be. But sometimes you just couldn't help it. He just made it too easy and his reactions were always the most adorable things.
"What is it Dojo did to deserve the wrath of karma anyway?" Kimiko asked.
Dojo began protesting wildly, his arms frantically swaying in the air as he begged Master Fung not to tell.
"I'm afraid that shall be a story for another time" Master Fung said dismissively, sparring Dojo any further embarrassment. The little lizard beamed up at Master Fung with thankful eyes at his mercy.
"Hey guys, is it just me or is it getting hotter out here?" Raimundo mumbled while closing his eyes, using Clays hat to fan himself more vigorously.
A large dark shadow fell over him.
"Shade! Oh finally! Clouds are finally here! Let's hope that's the rain going to…" Raimundo opened one eye to see a raging Clay, steam hissing through his nostrils.
"Start" Raimundo finished weakly before being seismic kicked half way across the temple garden.
If there was one lesson that Raimundo should have learned by now, and clutched onto for dear life and refuse to let go no matter the cost, then it was the lesson to never. Ever. Touch. Clays Hat. Ever! Unless you wanted the beaten of the century!
Clay's hat gently glided down to sit beside Kimiko. Timidly, Kimiko picked it up and with a weak smile handed it to Clay.
"Heh, heh. Here you go Clay!"
Clay took it and placed back on its rightful home a top his head.
"Thank you, Kimiko" Clay said with a tilt of his hat.
"So Master Fung, what is our plan of action for this afternoons training?" Omi asked, somersaulting up in the air then landing with his hands above his head then moving onto the crouching tiger position.
"Are you kidding?" Raimundo cried as he dragged himself back towards the group. He cracked his back, a bruise forming as a result of Clays attack, then wiped a wave of sweat from his brow. "You expect us to train in this scorching heat!"
"We must train in order to prepare ourselves for when evil next attacks!" Omi chided, hopping in the air and landing on the lounge chair beside Kimiko.
"Oh come on Omi" Kimiko groaned, "We train all the time. One afternoon off won't make a huge difference."
All Kimiko wanted was to laze about and soak up the sunshine. She wanted to enjoy and relish this short break on Shen Gong Wu collecting and get as much out of it as she could. What was one silly little lesson going to do for them anyway?
"I am afraid that is not quite true, young Dragon of Fire" Master Fung said solemnly.
"Oh great" Raimundo mumbled. "Here comes more gibberish wisdom from the Fungster."
Master Fung's eye twitched but he made no further comment on Raimundos interruption. "A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One days' worth of training could be the defining difference between victory… and defeat."
"Now if you don't mind me saying, but that saying sounds awfully familiar to me" Clay said, rubbing his chin.
Kimiko titled her head thoughtfully, snapping her without sound as though trying to summon the knowledge. Her face lit up, a light bulb appearing above her head as her fingers finally made a loud clicking noise. Clay was right when he said he knew that saying, so did she!
"The movie Mulan!"
"That's where a've heard it from!" Clay grinned.
"You've seen Mulan?" Kimiko asked Dojo and Master Fung.
"Of course we've seen it. My cousin Mushu's in it after all" Dojo said casually.
"Wait, wait, wait! Hold your horses!" Clay interrupted. "Mushu's your cousin?"
"Twice removed" Dojo explained with a shrug.
Clay, Raimundo and Kimiko started laughing.
"Wow never mind that! What I can't believe is you and Master Fung would watch any movie, let alone Disney movies!" Kimiko said astonished. "I bet that's where you get all your wise words of wisdom from!"
"I didn't even know this old place even had a television let alone a DVD player…" Raimundos laughter came to an abrupt halt as he processed the knowledge. "Hold up! Does this place have a television?"
Dojo snorted, "What do you think me and Master Fung do when you guys are off running about in your free time. Of course we have a television!"
"Do we?" Omi asked bewildered, looking up at Master Fung "How come I did not know this! I have been here my whole life! How could I not know this!"
Master Fung face palmed himself, and Dojo cringed, realising he had let slip something he wasn't meant to.
"I demand an explanation!" Omi shouted, pointing a finger accusingly at Dojo. "Now make the beans spill out!"
Raimundo shook his head and folded his arms. "You mean 'spill the beans'."
"That is what I said!"
"No" Raimundo stress out, "You said…"
Dojo let out a yelp, catching everyone's attentions. He leapt off of Master Fungs shoulder and started jumping up and down, his tail twirling around wildly. His scales bristled, causing an itchy sensation to wash over the dragon. "Hold up gang. We gotta live one. A new Shen Gong Wu is revealing itself!"
Pulling out the scroll, he laid it down beside Kimiko on the lounge chair. Everyone gathered around and watched the image play out. A paint brush with a green star appeared on the scroll before warping in a mash of swirling blues and blacks into the image of a man holding the Shen Gong Wu and using it on a tapestry of a person. The person in the tapestry jumped out of the frame as though brought to real life.
"The Ana Ana Animator" Dojo stated. "It allows the user to bring any image, reflection or drawing into the real life world."
Dojo rolled up the scroll and changed into his fifty foot dragon form. The Xiaolin warriors all leapt up onto his back.
"So where is The Ana Ana Animator hidden anyways?" Kimiko asked as Dojo took to the air.
Dojo pondered on it for a moment. "I'm pretty sure it's in Antarctica, if I remember correctly."
Red alarms went ringing left, right, and centre. At the moment Kimiko was only wearing a pair of black denim shorts and a green tank top. The guys were also wearing extremely thin clothing due to the apparent heat wave they were suffering from.
"We can't go dressed like this!" Kimiko shouted, leaping off of Dojo and heading straight for the temple. Although she could take the heat, the cold was a whole other ball game.
"Typical female" Omi shook his head. "It must be exhausting to constantly worry about your attire and hair."
The words 'typical female' next to each other in the same sentence sent Kimiko's temper flaring. She hated how Omi always assumed everything she did was simply because she was a girl. It was frustrating beyond compare. Always being judged because she was a girl, something she had no control over. If anyone was going to judge her then judge her on who she was, not what she was!
"Omi! Look at what everyone's wearing! We'll all catch our death of cold!" Kimiko snapped. Common sense should dictate to him that changing into more appropriate attire was the smart thing to do.
"We do not have time to change! At this very moment the forces of evil are already beating us to the Shen Gong Wu!" Omi protested, jumping up and pointing towards the sky. "And what do you mean catch hold of death! One cannot catch death! And at current time we have more pressing matters to deal with!"
"That's not what she said or meant" Raimundo said with a roll of his eyes.
Clay scratched his head, looking down at his clothes. "Sorry little buddy, but am afraid I agree with the little miss. It's mighty cold up in Antarctica. It's best if we change first. That and we need to get some Shen Gong Wu to fight with."
Omi glanced at everyone's clothes, then with a reluctant sigh nodded.
"Very well, but let us hurry!" Omi said, leaping down from Dojo and rushing past Kimiko into the temple. He stopped at the entrance and turned to his teammates. "Chip chip!"
Raimundo shook his head in frustration, at time the little monk aggravated him to wits end. "That's chop chop! Not, aghh forget it. I don't even know why I bother sometimes."
Dojo and Master Fung watched as the young warriors disappeared into the temple.
"The Ana Ana Animator will be a most powerful weapon if used by one who knows how to utilize its powers to its full potential."
Dojo shrugged, "So are all the Shen Gong Wu in the right hands. But as I recall the Ana Ana Animator wasn't anything too special.
"Where exactly in Antarctica is it located, Dojo?"
Dojo scratched his head, biting on his lower lip in concentration.
If he remembered correctly, though one had to remember how poor the dragon's memory could be at times, then he and Dashi had hidden the Ana Ana Animator in the Fields of Enchantment. No, that couldn't be right. Images of grassy flowery fields that sparkled and shimmered with magical essence flickered through his mind. The fields didn't fit in with Antarctica. He almost slapped himself when he remembered the fields had been relocated a few hundred years back to Sweden.
Perhaps it was the top of the Ice Mountain of Death? The snow fields of treachery? Hmmm, where oh where had he hidden that Wu?
"Dojo?" Master Fung pushed for an answer, raising an eyebrow at the dragon.
"I'm not one hundred per cent sure. I'm torn between the snow fields of treachery or maybe the Blizzard Hill Region of Doom and Gloom. Hmmm…"
Dojo thwacked his tail off this ground as he sifted through the memories of all those years ago. If only he could have convinced Dashi to catalogue everything; it would have made life so much easier!
Changing Chop Sticks; Easter Island.
Lotus Twister; the amazon. Note; Bring bug spray!
Monkey Staff; Spikey Mountains of Perish!
Tangle Web Comb; Scotland, at the bottom of Loch Ness. Have a nice swim! P.S Dojo remember to say hi to your cousin Nessie, you know how huffy she gets when she doesn't get attention.
Ana Ana Animator; Antarctica in the Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment.
Silk Spinner…
Dojo backtracked to the last Shen Gong Wu, snapping his fingers in recollection. Bingo!
"Ha! I remember now! The Ana Ana Animator is in the Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment! Ha! I knew I should have gotten Dashi to invest in a cataloguing system, eh… oh" Dojos excitement was cut off when he saw the worried expression on Master Fungs face.
"The Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment" Master Fung said lightly. "You and the others must take extra caution on this journey."
Dojo's eyes widened in realization. "Ohhh, this'll be a tuff one."
"I am afraid it will be a most difficult challenge" Master Fung said gravely as he began walking towards the temple.
As he reached the temple the young warriors came racing out, all dressed in winter gear.
"Prepare yourself young ones. What lies ahead..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Raimundo cut in with a wave of his hand. "Will be one of our most challenging challenges. If we fail this challenge the fate of the world will fall into the hands of darkness. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Geese, we get it already. Don't screw up."
Master Fung breathed in deeply from his nostrils, keeping his anger at bay. One day the young Shoku leader would learn to listen and respect his words. But it seemed like Dojo, he would have to learn the hard way.
The young monks hopped up onto Dojo's back. The three boys were pulling at their clothes and fanning themselves with their hands to try and cool themselves due to the heat. Only Kimiko didn't seem to mind the ungodly warmth.
"I reckon we ought to leave before Spicer or worse gets to the wu before us. That and before we melt like an ice cream in the afternoon sun" Clay said, fanning himself with his hat while keeping a steady eye on their leader in case he made another go for his hat again.
"Before you leave a word of warning" Master Fung looked to his students to see he had their attentions. "The Shen Gong Wu is located in the Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment. These caves are a series of tunnels walls, ceiling and floors are lined with ice that can reflect ones imagine like a mirror."
"So it's shiny ice. What's so special about it?" Raimundo asked, wiping away sweat from his head.
"The mirror image often, when one least suspects it, reflects ones inner most self, their desires of what they could be, their dreams of what they wish they could be, or even… their greatest fears of the may become."
Raimundos eyes widened at that, "Hold up! So are you telling me I might run into my Jelly fish monster?"
Clay perked up and looked at Master Fung in horror. "What about my Granny Lilly?"
Having to re-face their worst fears, despite having conquered them before, was not the most appealing of thoughts. Just because they did it once, did it really mean they could do it again?
"Only If that is what you fear becoming" Master Fung responded, turning to head back into the temple.
A collective sigh of relief flooded the group. Only Kimiko found herself holding her breath. What did Master Fung mean by 'what you fear becoming?'
Red eyes and a feeling of pure evil flashed through Kimiko like a flash of lightening. She shivered, but swiftly repressed the feeling.
"Well that's a reliever" Raimundo sighed thankfully.
"Come on guys!" Kimiko said suddenly and in an all too upbeat manner that contrasted deeply with the unnerving feeling dwelling deep inside her. "We gotta go! Spicer's going to beat us to the wu! Lead the way, Dojo. To the Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment."
(A/N) What do you think? Bad? Good? Hmmm and what do you suppose Kimikos greatest fear is? Find out in the next chapter.
Now for anyone wondering about when the romance takes place, it will be later on. I want to develop their relationship slowly and not rush into it as I want it to be as realistic as possible. I kinda think that if these two characters where to ever develop any form of relationship that it would be something similar to Caroline and Klaus from The Vampire Diaries.
For those that don't know, Klaus is an evil thousand year old hybrid (cross between a werewolf and vampire. Very powerful. Very scary). Caroline (who happens to be a vampire) is a sweet, kind, good person, who always looks out for her friends and tries to fix everything. They're not a couple, but they do have a very complex relationship. Klaus pursuing Caroline much to her displeasure. Caroline doesn't want anything to do with him because he's done hundreds of horrible things in the past, but despite this she finds herself struggling not to forget about them because she dose enjoy his company from time to time. He is quite a nice guy... once you get passed his killing sprees and murderous temper that is.
Anyways, feel free to give me any tips, advice, suggestions or ask any questions. Or point out any mistakes I've made, I haven't watched the whole series in a long time and have only started re-watching episodes so I might get mixed up at times.
Next Chapter: Mirror Madness!
Summary: Inside the Ice Mirror Caves of Enchantment, the gang discover the Shen Gong Wu. But they're not the only ones… Xiaolin Showdown time!
Kimiko Vs. ?