Breath was a luxury when there was no air to breathe. With none of it within reach, Raimundo found he desired it more than he had ever realized when he still had it readily available. Only now did he realize he had taken it for granted his entire life, not truly appreciating what was and what it did for him.
The weight of the water was crushing any oxygen he managed to retain up until that point. Despite how far away the air he needed seemed to be, he tried to reach for it. Kicking himself to the surface proved futile when his legs wouldn't respond, and any other method of swimming to the surface was met with the same results. The most his body would do was a periodically odd twitch.
Slowly sinking lowering into the depths of the sea, he came to the realization that he was actually going to die. Raimundo had never feared anything before, as he defiantly insisted almost daily, but the fear that he would die hit him like a club and rattled him to the bones. If he hadn't been submerged in the salty water, tears would have stung his eyes and lined his cheeks.
He desperately called for help, but only bubbles of air escaped his narrowly open mouth. Even if the water would allow him to call for help, words would not be able to form from his paralyzed lips. His lungs began to strain from the lack of life-sustaining air they needed and consciousness began to flee as black dots scattered across his vision.
The last thing he remembered before finding himself in his predicament was falling off the safety of the boat and into the water. He didn't try hard to remember how he had fallen off because it no longer mattered. He was positive a painful and lonely death was the only future he had left. For it seemed as if the moment Raimundo hit the water, he was unable to move as pain shot agonizingly through his body, hindering his ability to escape from death.
He had his share of close calls in the eight years of his life, but the feeling of invincibility had always been there to guide him through undeterred. In those moments his short life flashed before his eyes, he had never felt so unfulfilled and empty, as if his life wasn't yet complete and this was a mere trial to pave the way to greatness. But that was ridiculous; he could not imagine any way to escape his current predicament.
Up on the deck of the ship, its form blurred due to the distortion of the water, he saw a crowd quickly grow and worriedly look down at him. The form of one crowd member dove into the water after him without hesitation, the desire to protect his son overriding the possible dangers. As he continued to sink further into the depths, Raimundo could see the form of a Portuguese Man 'o War innocently drift past.
Raimundo woke and shot up with a start. Heart racing, he looked back and forth, almost expecting the same white walls and sterile scent of the hospital room he had woken up in after that day. The memory of his terrible eighth birthday, though it happened exactly eight years before, haunted him every year on the same day that it happened.
He may have overcome his fear of not being good enough to be a leader when Hannible Bean invaded his mind, but his fear of the stinging creature was the embodiment of another—the fear of dying. Despite that, he'd continued to take risks that could kill him because he'd shoved the fear into things such as the Man 'o War and jellyfish as if the stinging creatures were the only things that could rob him of life.
Glancing at the clock in his room—which resembled a personalized stall rather than a room— he found that it was nearly the standard temple wake-up time, and normally too early for him to be willingly getting up. Despite his efforts to be more responsible, he couldn't seem to manage waking up on time, so one of the other three Xiaolin Dragons in training should be arriving soon to drag the Shoku Warrior out of his mat/bed.
Preferring to get up rather than revisit the nightmare, the Dragon of Wind got up and removed his pajama shirt, which revealed the angry scars along the lower right side of his back from his encounter with the stinging creature in this dream, and clad himself in his Shoku temple robes.
Still tired and rubbing sleep from his eyes when Omi appeared within the sorry excuse for a room, Raimundo leapt back in surprise with a shout and crashed into the rarely used surfboard behind him. Picking himself up from the mess he just made and mentally promising himself he'd clean it up later, he swiftly glared at the smaller monk.
"Omi! You're supposed to knock or something before waltzing in like you own the place!" The annoyed Brazilian exclaimed.
"I did not anticipate you being a morning bird today," Omi explained as if it were a plausible excuse, however true it was.
The Brazilian grumbled something about "the early bird catching the worm" in his native language of Portuguese that the younger monk—who knew ancient Chinese, modern Chinese, and English(not so much of the cowboy variety)—could not understand.
"Now that you are already up-and-Steve, it is time for our morning meal!" Omi informed in his usual egotistical manner and headed out to the dining room.
"At 'em," Raimundo corrected, lazily following behind.
After pausing to glancing back and forth as if looking for something, Omi asked, "Who is Adam?"
"Never mind."
Omi paid the mysterious "Adam" no second thought and continued leading his leader to the dining area where the rest of the team was eating breakfast. Clay was hidden behind his massive pile of flapjacks as he inhaled them two at a time while Kimiko settled for her modest number of calories. Their mystical dragon, Dojo, noisily gobbled up at least five times his own weight in pancakes as if to challenge Clay's appetite. Finally, Omi claimed his respective seat and piled a couple pancakes for himself.
Sighing, Raimundo picked Dojo out of the seat unclaimed by the other three Dragons in training, ignoring any complaints from the mystical creature. And as the meal progressed, and usual breakfast conversations persisted, Master Fung approached the chosen ones with a battered box in hand. The ever curious Dragon of Water stood on his toes to see what the package was with the hope it was something specially for him.
"A package has arrived for you, Raimundo," The elder monk alerted, placing the box on the table next to the mail recipient.
Giving the box a quick glance over and hasitly removing an envelope taped to the top, he replied, "Just on time. Thanks, Master Fung."
"What is it?" Omi asked curiously. The question went unanswered by the Brazilian.
Clay asked, "Who's it from?"
Raimundo responded, without looking at the return address to check, "My family in Brazil."
In his effort to discover the mysterious contents of the package, Omi placed himself uncomfortably close to Raimundo. As he tried to lift the corner up to peek inside, he impatiently repeated, "What is it?"
"None of your business," Raimundo informed, a hint of annoyance tugging at his tone, as he pushed the bald monk away, interrupting the fervent investigation.
Before any further inquiry of the package could be conducted, the Pedrosa picked up the box with the envelope that came with it still in hand and took it to his room-more accurately referred to as a personalized stall. With the Dragon of Wind gone, the other three monks looked at each other, all curious as to what could be within the confines of the package that could cause the leader to be so secretive about it.
"Any idea why he was being so defensive about his beat-up box?" Kimiko asked.
Clay responded with a shrug, "Whatever it is, we've got no reason to go invadin' his privacy."
"You can't possibly be saying you don't want to check it out."
"Not at all, I'm just sayin' that curiosity killed the cat."
With a gentle smirk that didn't distort her petite features, Kimiko retorted before Omi could mourn the death of the metaphorical feline, "Yeah, the cat who got caught. So let's not get caught."
"I'm not so sure about that plan. Sounds like a mighty fine way to jump out of the fryin' pan and right into the fire."
"In case you forgot, I'm the Xiaolin Dragon of Fire." Kimiko reminded, and then quietly added, "In training."
Clay, persistent to respect his fellow teammates, responded, "If you're plum set on it, I'm not gonna stop you."
The noble ways of the cowboy tugging at her guilt strings, she caved, "Fine, fine. You win."
Back in his personalized stall, Raimundo sat on his mat-which he still wanted to trade for a bed- with the box set in front on him. After staring at it intently for a moment, he turned his attention to the envelope that came with the package. Carefully tearing the envelope to avoid ripping the card inside, he read the Portuguese silently, "Happy 16th Birthday Rai! We hope you enjoy what we got you! With love from: Mom, Marco, Thays, Sophia, Bianca, Antonio, Lucas, Juliana, and Miguel! P.S. Send more pictures." Each name was signed by the person who owned it, the contrasting handwriting styles scattering the paper in a variety of ways.
Placing the card down on his pillow and proceeding to the box, he cut the tape that sealed it closed. Noting the battered condition of the box, he muttered to himself, "Behold the great Brazilian mail system's finesse. Everything will always come to you broken."
Peering inside, he found more than one gift. He pulled out a new IPod to replace the one Omi soaked two months before, a new soccer ball to replace the one who met it's end when Clay kicked a little too hard, and a camera. The camera came with a note to send them more pictures of him, his friends, and the places he visits. No doubt the camera was meant to encourage him to send them more pictures. Though the presents were nothing spectacular, it was a nice upside to his day.
He stashed the box in the chest at the head of his mat and with the birthday present out of the way, Raimundo went back out for daily training with the other three monks. Starting with the morning meditation that had been moved after breakfast when, within days of their first arrival approximately three years previous, Clay's stomach complained about waiting any longer for the most important meal of the day and insisted on interrupting the time of peace.
Meditation had been as boring as every other morning until Dojo came shuddering spasmodically through the doorway, shouting, "Shen Gon Wu alert! We've got a live one!"
Their unceasing quest for the Shen Gon Wu was always a welcome interruption to the boring art of sleeping as they sat in a meditative position. The four Dragons in training promptly leapt to their feet, asking the usual questions about what the Wu was and what it did as they surrounded the twitching dragon in anticipation.
In reply, Dojo pulled out the mystical scroll of the Shen Gon Wu and read the name printed at the top. "The Waters of Rejuvenation. It can heal any wound, pain, or affliction." On the scroll, the image of a person with a broken arm poured water out of a teapot onto himself and was instantly healed. "It could be useful for the rash that's beginning to blister on my tail."
The dragon held out his tail for everyone to see, which elicited Kimiko to complain, "Please put that thing away. It's not something I want reappearing in my nightmares."
"So where are the Waters of Rejuvenation located?" Omi asked, eager to retrieve the Shen Gon Wu before it could fall into the wrong hands.
Dojo tapped his chin in thought for a moment before answering, "If I'm remembering right… somewhere in Brazil. The rainforest, I think."
As Raimundo, Clay, and Omi went to the vault for Shen Gon Wu to take with them, Kimiko used the cover of taking an extra-long time to do her makeup to snoop around in Raimundo's stuff. Though Clay had convinced her not to, when the temptation arose again, she could not bite back her curiosity. To console herself, she insisted that it was merely payback for the times he had played pranks on her.
Her first stop was the chest at the head of the mat identical to the ones she, Clay, and Omi had as well. She spotted the battered box and lifted the flap to peek inside, unimpressed to find the three objects held within it.
"What was the big deal about these?" She muttered to herself; giving the soccer ball a poke and browsing through the camera's empty memory, she failed to understand why Raimundo acted the way he had earlier.
As she was about to leave, disappointed, she spotted an envelope laying on the pillow, remembering see had spotted it taped to the top of the box. Also recalling that he had immediately removed the envelope, almost suspiciously, she quickly looked at the card. Annoyed that she couldn't read Portuguese, she prepared an online translator on her PDA and entered in what she saw. Her eyes widened in shock when she read the message written on the card.
"I can't believe he never told us!" She mumbled, and then added to herself, "I can't believe I never wondered. The others will want to know this."
After putting everything back where she found it, she hurried to the vault to claim the Shen Gon Wu she wanted to take with her. Thankfully, Raimundo didn't suspect a thing.
Point one goes to the curious cat, She thought, relieved. Now she just had to find the opportune moment to tell the others what she learned, and maybe find out why Raimundo didn't tell them. If all went well, she may be able to weed it out of the secretive Shoku Warrior.
Aboard Dojo's back as usual, they approached the large city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Raimundo looked at it with admiration, the beauty of his city never ceasing to amaze him. Seeing it from an aerial view was a new experience for him, and he soaked in the spectacular sight and committed it to memory, wishing he had thought to bring his new camera.
"That's odd," Dojo began, "I could've sworn I hid the Waters of Rejuvenation in the Rain Forest farther north."
"Who cares? It's here now and I'm not complaining," Raimundo cut in.
"Maybe while we're here we can meet your family, Rai," Kimiko suggested with an innocent smile, as if she didn't know what that day was. "I mean, today is a special day; isn't it?"
"Oh yes! That would be most wondrous!" Omi agreed.
The Brazilian hesitated before slowly answering, "You sure? I mean, it's a big family and they're not exactly—"
"Why not? We've met my family, and Kimiko's pa, so why not yours?" Clay supported.
"I'd prefer if you didn't refer to my dad as 'pa.' It sounds weird," Kimiko voiced.
"Maybe if we have time," Raimundo answered. Kimiko was positive he looked nervous about it.
Dojo touched down into an area of tightly packed buildings on a hillside that appeared to be stacked and squeezed together randomly. Shrinking down to his smaller size, the dragon exclaimed, "My Dojo senses say the Wu is… this way!" He pointed straight ahead of them before changing his mind, pointing left then right, "No, this way! No, wait, wait, this way!"
"Is something wrong with your Dojo senses?" Raimundo quipped. "I have a feeling we'll be searching for the Wu on our own."
"There's too many weird smells around here, I can't pinpoint a direction," Dojo admitted.
"That might be because you landed us in the favelas," The Shoku warrior pointed out. "What you smell is trash."
"Let's pretend I don't know what favelas are," Dojo suggested.
Raimundo sighed and clarified, "The slums, the bad side of Rio, whatever you want to call it. Jacarezinho is not exactly the best place to be."
"Right, I knew that."
Clay said to Dojo, giving him a light pat on the head, "Sure you did, little buddy."
The little dragon defensively put his hands to his hips, if he had hips, and defended, "I did!"
Not keen on the idea of being caught up in any drug dealing or violence within the favela called Jacarezinho, Raimundo led them to more a more favorable area called, Méier. They looked around for anything that could be the Shen Gon Wu they were looking for, but came up short. Many teapots had been spotted, but Omi tested and confirmed that none of them were the Waters of Rejuvenation.
Frustrated and exhausted, the four monks sat down to take a break from their fruitless search. Watching all the people walk past, Raimundo found he wasn't very surprised when he spotted a familiar face among them. Deciding they could use any help they could get, Raimundo stood up and caught up with the 11-year old boy he found. His fellow monks, though confused, quickly followed suit.
"Yo! Antonio, buddy! Did you miss me?" Raimundo greeted the boy in Portuguese with messy black hair adorned with light curls.
Unable to understand what their leader had just said, Kimiko turned to the others and asked, "Do any of you three speak Brazilian?"
"I speak a little Spanish, but I didn't catch any of that," Clay responded unhelpfully. Besides, he really only knew how to ask for a large steak.
Kimiko asked, "Dojo?"
"I used to know some, but I'm just a bit too rusty to remember anything helpful."
"So what do you know?"
Counting on his fingers, Dojo answered, "Food, Bathroom, and some dirty words I really shouldn't tell you."
The boy, Antonio, turned around with his green eyes widening in near disbelief. Seeing Raimundo's face, he exclaimed, "Rai!" Before Raimundo could react, Antonio wrapped his arms around him in a hug and continued, "You're back!"
"I'd say you missed me." Raimundo decided. Ruffling Antonio's black hair, Raimundo inquired asked, "So how has everyone been?"
"Okay, I guess. Sophia caught Dengue a couple weeks ago, but Marco says she's fine now. And Lucas still thinks you promised to give him your medallion."
Folding his arms and defending his ownership of the medallion, Raimundo said, "Come on, man! I never promised him that."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Antonio waved his hands dismissively, and then pointed to the clueless listeners Raimundo had brought with him, "So who are they?"
"These are my friends from the Xiaolin Temple," Raimundo proceeded to introduce each one of them, "Kimiko, Clay, Dojo, and Omi."
Able to understand their names upon being introduced, Kimiko waved, Clay tipped his hat, Dojo grinned and waved, and Omi said, "I am pleased to meet you, as you should be even more pleased to meet me."
Antonio turned to Raimundo for a moment and asked, jabbing a thumb in the bald monk's direction, "Is he serious?"
"Yeah, it's just how he is. It frustrates me all the time."
"I can imagine."
Interrupting the two Brazilians' conversation, Clay said, "Rai, mind filling us in a bit there partner?"
"Oh, right," Raimundo said in English, a language they could all understand. "Guys, this is Antonio, one of my little brothers."
Omi raised an eyebrow and asked, "One?"
"I mentioned that I have eight brothers and sisters. There's Marco, Thays, Sophia, Bianca, Me, Antonio, and then the triplets Lucas, Juliana, and Miguel."
"Your family is quite large," Omi observed, impressed.
"Yeah, now back to business," Raimundo changed the subject and turned to his younger brother, "Antonio, I need your help. We're looking for one of those Shen Gon Wu things I told you about and we're having trouble. It's called the Waters of Rejuvenation and looks like a teapot. Does that ring any bells to you?"
Antonio thought for a moment before saying, "You know Jon, right? He came running over the other week completely missing his arm!"
"Might want to get a doctor to look at that," Dojo interrupted.
Antonio continued, "He said he found a weird cave near the Christ Statue and went exploring in it and said he found a teapot on a pedestal. Does that sound like what you're looking for?"
"Sounds like a mighty big possibility," Clay mused.
"Where's Jon now?"
"At home. Marco is helping him out."
Turning to his friends, Raimundo said, "Well, it looks like you get to meet my family after all."
Mentally pumping her fist into the air in success, Kimiko and the others followed the brothers to their home.
A/N Just so it's clear, italicized words usually means their either dreaming, thinking, or speaking in a different language.
So I could accurately predict what jellyfish was Raimundo's fear, I googled it. The Portuguese Man O' War isn't really a jellyfish, but a colony (close enough to it though, I guess. But that's not important). I decided it was a Man O' War after learning they drift to plenty of places in the world and comparing a picture of it to that of the jellyfish that appears in the show. I decided it looks more like a Man O' War than any jellyfish I could find.
I'm no expert on Brazilian culture or anything about it, but while my brother lived there(in Rio too), he sent us a package and it was all beat-up and battered. He said that was standard Brazilian packaging, so I applied it here. I'm just using what I know. And, "Thays" is pronounced more like "Ty-ese" because there's no th sound in Portuguese.
I hope I did an adequate job on this so far. I've had this idea in my head for so long now.