Ana: Yo! Ana here.
Rai: Don't forget about me. What's up everybody!
Ana: Oh yeah… he's here too. Please have fun reading the story and—
Rai: Don't read it! It's going to be terrible!
Ana: Thank you Mr. Supportive…
Rai: Any time :)
Ana: Boy, shut up! Anywho, enjoy. See ya later! Bye.
Disclaimer: I own no aspects of Xiaolin Showdown, but Ahn-Li and all aspects surrounding her story belong to me.
Chapter 2: Fighting Evil 101
Two days had passed since Ahn-Li arrived at the Xiaolin Temple. The young monks were just beginning to crawl out of bed, all except for Ahn-Li. She was passed out on her mat with the blanket weaving in between her limbs, her head turned to the side. Her body still trying to adjust to the major time change. Dojo slithered his way into her room, putting his claws on her back and shaking her. "Hey, Ahn-Li. Wake up!" Dojo said, attempting to wake her up.
"Ten more minutes, Papa…" the girl mumbled, pulling her pillow over her head and turning.
Dojo took out his little gong and began to bang it beside her head. "Come on, kiddo. Rise and shi…!" The only response he got from Ahn-Li was being grabbed by the neck and thrown out of the room to the other monks feet. The gong came out next, landing in his lap. "Sorta reminds me of the way Raimundo slept when he first came." He joked.
"I have the solution!" Omi said, his face brightening up. He went around the corner into Ahn-Li's room. "Wudai Neptune: Water!"
"AIYAAAAAA!" They flinched as they heard Ahn-Li shriek. "Omi…"
"It was the only way I could wake you up." Omi told her. "Wudai—"
"Gǔn chūqù!" she yelled in she and Omi's native tongue.
They heard a loud slapping sound and saw a blur of yellow, red and black fly out of Ahn-Li's room and slam face-first into the wall. Omi fell onto his back, his cheek a bright red. "I'm not certain, but I think she was upset." He said as he rubbed his swollen cheek.
"No, really. Omi?" Raimundo asked sarcastically.
Ahn-Li came out of her room with her body drenched from head to toe. The deep frown on her face showed that she was obviously unhappy about getting such a very rude, very wet awakening. Kimiko handed her a towel along with a sympathetic smile. "So, I guess you guys will give me a walk-through of this whole Xiaolin Dragon thing today." She said yawning and wringing her hair out into the towel. Suddenly everyone's stomach growled. "Preferably after breakfast thought… I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Clay agreed. Then again, Clay always agreed on food.
At breakfast, they were surprised to find out that for such a skinny girl, Ahn-Li could put away as much food as Clay. It was rather unexpected.
Afterwards, though, they led her to the Great Hall so they could give her the basic overview of what life would be like at the Xiaolin Temple. She sat down and rested her chin in the palm of her hand, looking at the others as they sat down in front of her. "Our mission here at the Xiaolin temple is to gather the Shen Gong Wu before the forces of darkness can get them first." Omi began.
"The Shen Gong Wu? As in the mystical power objects?" she questioned.
Omi cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know about the Shen Gong Wu?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Well in my family, this stuff is kind of relative knowledge. Nai-Nai told me stories when I was little." She explained, rubbing the back of her neck. "She said that they were the power objects created by this guy named…um…Master Denshi…?"
"Dashi." Omi corrected her.
"Yeah, him." She said, snapping her fingers. "I always thought it was some old country myths… But that's not the case here, is it?"
"Nope." Kimiko said, shaking her head. "They're real all right. Some are dangerous, some are not so dangerous, but we don't really take any chances."
"Yeah. In the wrong hands, things can turn ugly." Raimundo added.
"So shouldn't y'all be telling me who would be considered the wrong hands?" Ahn-Li asked with a light smile. "It'd kind of make this job easier."
"All righty then." Clay said, leaning back on the steps behind him. "First off, we got Jack Spicer, so-called evil boy genius. He wants to get all the Wu to take over the world and stuff. He couldn't do it, though, even if we weren't stopping him. He builds a bunch of crazy machines that never work every now and again, too."
Omi was the next one to speak. "Next is the Heylin witch Wuya."
Ahn-Li nodded her head a moment, recognizing the name, but then she frowned. "But, wait, wasn't she was defeated by Grand Master Dashi, like, I dunno… Centuries ago?
Omi nodded his head. "Yes, Nguyen Ahn-Li, and sealed in a puzzle box, where she stayed for 1500 years. Jack Spicer foolishly let her out, though, and her spirit was released into the world again." he explained. "She was restored to human form by Raimundo when he turned to the Heylin side."
Ahn-Li looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders. "Lapse in judgment." He said nonchalantly.
"She was swiftly defeated, though and returned to her spirit form." Omi continued, "She was restored to human form once again, but only makes an appearance for certain Shen Gong Wu, seeing as her full power has not been restored."
"These are your 'wrong hands'? A genius failure and a powerless witch? They seem like pushovers to me." Ahn-Li responded as she put her chin in her palm, looking bored again. "The job's sounding pretty easy so far."
"Trust me," Kimiko said, shaking her head with a frown. "It's not easy at all. Especially not with the next villain on our list."
"And that would be?"
The room grew quiet, a bit of suspense building. "Chase Young." they all replied after an extended pause.
Suddenly, Ahn-Li's lilac eyes lit up and she lifted her chin from her palm. Her mouth hung open for a moment and she couldn't find the words to speak. "Chase Young?" she asked at last, her voice going rising an octave with surprise. "As in Prince of Darkness, Chase Young?"
Dojo let out a little chuckle, a minor trace of amusement in his eyes. "He really does have a certain reputation."
"You know him?" Raimundo asked her, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.
"I…uh…I know of him." She said, although the tone in which she said it gave the impression that she knew more than she was letting on. She put her thin finger to her chin, looking as if she were thinking. "Nai-Nai told me that he was one of the greatest warriors in all of China."
"He certainly lives up to the name. He also happens to be the most dangerous warrior in all China." Clay said. "He doesn't go after Shen Gong Wu much, but when he does, he's a tough one to beat."
"Chase Young is the one who restored Wuya again and he nearly destroyed the world once." Omi went on.
"He's that bad?" Ahn-Li asked, finally showing some interest.
"Baddest of the bad." They all answered.
Ahn-Li urged them on with a flick of the wrist. "Continue. Please."
"The main thing you should know is to not get on his bad side." Kimiko told her. Then her head went to the side a bit, thinking. She flipped her hand through the air casually. "Well, you're a Dragon now, so, don't get on his worse side."
"How come?"
Dojo slithered up to her, holding a flashlight under his chin to create a scary shadow over his face. "He'll transform into a dragon before your very eyes." he said, trying to sound spooky.
Ahn-Li's eyes dulled at that. "Tch… I'm definitely not afraid of dragons."
"You should be very afraid of this one." Omi answered, "That form only amplifies his power as a warrior."
"What happened to make him that way?" she wanted to know. Then her head tilted to the side a bit, continuing her little act. "Or was he born that way?"
Dojo threw his head back with a laugh. "Born a dragon!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "That's a good one, kid."
Ahn-Li pouted at his laugh; she knew her dragon stuff. Omi's head was hung as he went on with the explanation. "Chase Young used to be a Xiaolin warrior. One day, the mostdangerous villain of all, Hannibal Roy Bean, an actual bean, convinced Chase that Master Monk Guan, his good friend, would betray him one day and convinced him to drink the Lao Mang Long soup, turning him into a Heylin warrior as well as a dragon. On that day, Hannibal Bean destroyed two fowls with a single rock."
"I think you mean two birds with one stone, Omi."
"Of course!" Omi chuckled. "Chase Young immediately sealed him up in the Yin Yang World afterwards."
Kimiko nodded her head. "Now Hannibal is running loose again because Jack, being the genius that he is," she said with a roll of her eyes, "Set him free."
Clay raised one of his golden eyebrows, a little grin tugging at his lips. "Wasn't it y'all who set him free?" He asked.
Raimundo pointed a finger at him. "Hey, that was totally not our fault!"
Kimiko, again had to roll her eyes. "Alright, alright!" She shouted, shutting both him and Clay up so she could go on. "The point is Hannibal's out now. And Wuya works with him, too."
"So, wait." She looked up, putting pieces together. "Jack released Wuya, who was a spirit before our Leader restored her human form, but then you guys defeated her, then she was released again and left Jack for Chase because he restored her human form."
She took a breath. "Chase was once Xiaolin, but was turned to the Heylin side by Hannibal Bean, who got sealed up in the Yin Yang World, until he Jack released him." Clay shook his head and she snapped her fingers. "No, until you guys released him." Clay nodded. "And Wuya left Chase to work with him and… Aiyaaaa." Ahn-Li put her forehead in her palm, a small headache developing. "This is a lot to dish out at once y'know. I'm sensing some brain overload."
"Hey, don't worry, You'll catch on in a little while." Raimundo said, slapping her on the back and making her gasp.
"The thing 'bout fighting evil is to expect the unexpected." Clay was explaining, "They're about as predictable as when a Shen Gong Wu goes active."
Speaking of the Shen Gong Wu devil, a loud crash was heard from the vault. Everyone looked up and ran, crawled in Dojo's case, to the vault. As everyone expected, there was Jack Spicer trying to steal their Wu yet again. "Jack Spicer! Put down the Wu and we will spare you a most humiliating defeat." Omi said as the five monks assumed fighting stances.
"Xiaolin losers, I—" His face distorted and he put his hands into a T shape. "Okay, time out! One, two, three, four…" Jack counted the present monks. "Wait a minute! There were not five of you three days ago! Who's this girl?"
"The name's Ahn-Li Nguyen. Learn it. Know it. Fear it." She turned to Kimiko and whispered. "This is Spicer? He looks like a sissy to me. And is that make-up he's wearing?"
"I AM NOT A SISSY!" Jack whined, not really helping his case. Then he growled. "Jack-Bots attack!"
About fifteen of Jack's robots came out of various places; the Dragons stood their ground and prepared to attack. The robots, the monks and Jack began to face off for the Shen Gong Wu Jack was trying to steal. As the fight began, the winds shifted, a chill blowing through Ahn-Li's hair. She heard a light brush beneath her feet and looked down to see the leaves dancing around her on the ground. Then, they shifted directions, drawn to the area behind the vault; it was almost as if they were calling for her. After taking a moment to confirm that her fellow monks were busy, she followed the leaves with curiosity and caution.
She jumped behind the vault in her fighting stance. However, there was no one there for her to fight. Just bricks and dust and the leaves that had led her there. She shrugged her shoulders, turning around again. She couldn't help feeling that something wasn't right, though.
She was about to go back to fighting with her fellow Dragons when suddenly, a hand clamped over her wrist and yanked her back. She opened her mouth, ready to scream, but another hand covered her mouth. No one was able to hear her. After being pulled around the corner, Ahn-Li bumped her head and was about to yell at the person, but stopped when she saw who it was. Holding her by her wrist was a man with pale peach skin dressed in bronze armor, long black hair running down his back. A corner of his mouth went up in a smirk as his golden, reptilian eyes locked with her widening lilac orbs. Ahn-Li's mouth fell open with a light popping sound. "Crap."
"What's the matter?" Chase asked, chuckling darkly. "I figured you'd be happy to see me, Ahn-Li. Or should I say, Miss Dragon of Light?"
"Why in the hell would I be happy to see you?" she snapped, trying to free her wrist from his grip. "How'd you even know where I was? Freaking stalker-pedo…"
He tightened his grip on her wrist, pressing it into the wall. "I see you're still careless with your words."
She hissed at the pain. "What do you want?" she demanded through gritted teeth.
"The same thing as before, of course." He answered simply, lifting one eyebrow. "A year and a half is more than enough time to think it over, I believe…"
"Don't think just because we were out of contact, I'm going to change my mind." She tried to pull her wrist away again and flinched, as it only brought more pain. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You knew. You knew from the very beginning, didn't you?"
The smirk grew wider. "Possibly."
Ahn-Li again attempted to pull her wrist from his grip. "Let me go, or I'll make you."
He would have cackled at the feeble threat, but due to the nearby witnesses, he simply chuckled. "Bite me." He challenged her.
The lilac eyed girl glared at him for a moment, then put on a smirk of her own. She moved her head closer to his hand then opened her mouth wide and chomped down upon Chase's hand, making sure to get decent contact with her incisors. He instantly released his hold on her wrist and drew back, his eyes narrowing on her. "Savage…"
"Hey, it was your idea." Ahn-Li shot back, getting into her stance again. "Why don't we redo our last match?"
He smirked at the idea. "I was going easy on you last time." He warned her, getting into his own stance.
"Then don't hold back now."
"As you wish."
She was about to rush at him when the other Dragons began calling Ahn-Li. "Ahn-Li!"
"Nguyen Ahn-Li!"
"Where've ya gone, lil' lady?"
Chase and Ahn-Li both stopped. "Looks like we'll have to postpone this fight." Chase said.
"Looks like." Ahn-Li groaned, clicking her tongue.
"So, I will take my leave." Chase said, turning away from her and stepping out of the sunlight, into the large shadow created by the vault. He swiftly turned around again to look at her. "One day, you will come to the Heylin side and when that day comes, I'll be waiting." He took a few steps back with his signature smirk on his face. "Until we meet again, Miss Dragon of Light."
And with that, Chase disappeared into the shadows.
His words echoed through Ahn-Li's head, her lips tightening as she mulled them over. "One day, you will come to the Heylin side and when that day comes, I'll be waiting…"
"Snowball's chance in Hell, I will!" Ahn-Li shouted to the skies, knowing full well he could probably hear her, and then walked back to rejoin the other monks.
Ana: Well, that was it. By the way, Ahn-Li yelled "GET OUT!" Hope you like it.
Rai: I hated it, and I'm sure everyone agrees with me.
Chase: (appears out of nowhere) Don't be so hard on her, that'smyjob.
Rai: AAAAAAH! What are you doing here!
Ana: I invited him, you dufus!
Chase: She was bored out of her skull, so she called me. (sits in a chair)
Rai: That's my seat.
Chase: You weren't in it.
Rai: I was going to be.
Chase: Maybe you want to settle this like men.
Rai: Bring it on Pretty Boy!
Ana: Review please! I have to keep these two from destroying my house. Hasta!