Chapter 2
"I… cannot bring myself to this," began a nettled Master Fung as he stood amongst the monks and the bemarun in the main hall. "Taking from its home a giant creature … which we know nothing about… here to domesticate? Raimundo… we have enough to worry about as it is."
Dojo shrugged, shook his head, and lay back on his tree branch. "I tried to tell him. And it was hard enough getting that thing to fork over the BRACE just now. Yeesh."
Raimundo ignored the stuck-up dragon. "Okay look, I knew this wasn't exactly something you'd want in the 'sacred temple,' but can't we have a little more companionship going on? Bemarun are about as mystical as they get anyway."
Dojo looked away and flung a wrist at him.
"Didn't you mention something about responsibility too?" Omi brought up.
"Oh, and that. Having a pet would also help us with our… responsible-ness."
Fung raised his eyebrows. "Responsible? Oh? Like with the miniature dinosaurs?"
"Yeah, we went through the dinosaurs," Kimiko stated impatiently. "But this time'll be different and yadda-yadda…"
"YES, that's right," Rai affirmed.
"I'm sorry, the answer is no. We cannot afford an animal running about and making all sorts of mischief! Despite how tame you believe it to be. I'm afraid you are going to have to take it back to Peru."
Raimundo's look turned into one of disappointment and exhaust. "What? No…"
Clay then scratched the side of his head in thought. "Hey Master Fung, if this don't work out, at least have this be-ma-run stay here a bit? We don't have to make a second Peru trip in one day."
Omi agreed enthusiastically. "Yes. We are very tired. And we could learn a lot about this creature."
"That's true!" Rai burst with more persistence.
Master Fung glared down in intense thought for a time. "Hmm. If I understand it, I believe Dojo will not be willing to fly. Will you Dojo?"
"Eh, not right now," the green dragon replied as he scratched at his chest scales. "Later, but not now – if it's okay."
"…All right. The 'bemarun' can stay for the night, but you all must take it back first thing tomorrow. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes Master Fung," answered the four monks out of unison.
"Good. Now then, let's see what we can do for you." The Master walked up to the tall bemarun creature, and it gave him an inquisitive look.
Meanwhile, during the heat of day, a small mysterious bird was seen flying down toward the house of Jack Spicer. It approached a window overlooking the basement-lair, and did not hesitate to peck at it with all its might.
The "evil genius," however, was sound asleep on his worktable, with machine parts and tools and wadded-up papers sprawled out around him. Apparently he had been working pretty hard the last several hours.
"Ahhhwww!" The bird wouldn't stand there waiting for Jack to get up and as such it broke through the glass with its beak.
Jack rolled his head over to the side slightly, his slobbery left cheek pressed against the table. "Eh-huh?" His eyes reluctantly opened to some bothersome flapping noise, and then he eventually came to see a pair of dirty parrot feet standing on his blueprints.
"Ah!" The redhead jerked himself upright in his chair at the sight of "Little Jack."
"What're YOU doing here? …What happened to my window?"
The parrot squawked, "Message from Hannibal Bean! Message, eee-YA!"
"Hannibal?" Jack turned from panicked to surprised.
"Yah." The parrot drew closer. "He needs YOU to fetch a WU."
"Wait, really? Why?"
"Certain reasons. Hear of the Baberu Brace? …Oooh, but you be slacking."
"…I'm sorry, SLACKING?" Peeved, Jack stood up from his chair. "Look around Ying-Ying! I've been trying to build a super-durable robot suit the past few days! To GET more Wu! Now wouldja leave me alone?"
"Wuya sensed the Brace this morning. You did squat."
"I DIDN'T DO SQUA-" the mechanic stopped himself. He had been sleeping right then. "Ooh. Agh, look, I'm tired, I've stayed up late to get this thing done, and I JUST wanna rest now." He sat back down.
The Ying-Ying Bird's parrot feathers got ruffled. "CA-AHHH! NO!" It took a furious swipe at Jack, who shrieked and shot his head back reactively.
"Hannibal needs the Brace ASAP. You go get it back NOW. Bring it to the rebuilding of Greensgate Power Plant, South Carolina!"
"A power plant? What? What's HB doing there?"
"Hannibal rewards you with direct connection to revolutionary fuel! He must talk to immigrants first!"
"REVOLUTIONARY fuel? I don't buy it. Unless it involves Z5…"
"Go! Now!" Ying-Ying cawed. "Or I cut you up into little meat chunks and splatter them all over the floor!"
Jack sat still and nervously joked, "…Heh, we wouldn't want THAT, now would we?"
"Nope."
"O-kay then, I'll see if I can finish my suit and, be on my way." He flinched as the Ying-Ying Bird rose up to nag him some more, but instead it spread its wings and flew nonchalantly out through the other closed window, leaving Jack to stare down at a new mess of broken glass.
It was soon time for lunch at the Xiaolin Temple, and the bemarun knew this all too well as it licked the air with its forked, teal-colored tongue. The giant beast was sitting at the outside dining table, and something definitely smelled good.
"Got the teriyaki loaf!" Clay walked out on the porch proudly carrying a plate of large steaming meat. "Hey, ya hungry big fella?"
The bemarun continued to smack its mouth in earnest.
"Well here ya are." The cowboy set the plate down in front of it. "Now I don't mind sharin' some of the cut, AT LEAST some."
Soon enough the other monks came to lay out the rest of the spread. The "big fella" watched as tea, rice, vegetables, fruit, chicken, and egg rolls were all placed appropriately. And quick as a flash everyone took a seat around the table, ready to dine.
"… What're you doing?" Raimundo noticed the bemarun just staring at him as he stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth.
"Yeah, come on, feel free to eat!" said Clay, his own food hole filled to the brim.
"Maybe he doesn't like the food," Omi thought aloud.
Kimiko swallowed before speaking and pointed her fork. "That's a possibility."
"Well, anyway," Omi resumed, "Master, those stolen Shen Gong Wu? I believe we can retrieve them without having to win Showdowns."
"And how so?" the Master inquired, sipping his tea. "By stealing them back?"
"Yes… NO. I mean… yes, the act of theft is immoral. But if we can infiltrate Chase's lair without EVER being seen, then we may be able to find the Wu and bring them back where they belong. The same for Jack Spicer."
"By the way, where WAS that little doofus?" wondered Kim. Clay shrugged and made a sound through his chewed food that could be made out as an "I don't know."
Raimundo set down his cup. "Well Omi, heh, you're kinda pointing out the obvious. But yeah, we'd be stealing from thieves themselves, so I don't see the 'immorality' there."
"We have been through this before," stated the Master. "You must win Shen Gong Wu fairly, and not stoop to the level of criminals. Monks in the Xiaolin Arts know this: respecting your enemy."
"But don't forget an eye for an eye!" Dojo mentioned atop Master Fung's head.
"Dojo…"
"I know… sorry."
That's when the two heard the bemarun busily cutting its teriyaki meat loaf with its brown claws. After slicing every morsel into even tinier morsels, it proceeded to take a handful of the mush and chomp upon it, making quite a mess. Everyone's eyes widened.
"…My appetite, has just decreased… a little." Omi lowered his silverware and looked at the others.
"Uhhh… yeah…" Dojo tightened up around Master Fung's shoulders. "Someone can, uh, give it a napkin. Please."
"Here." Raimundo promptly grabbed the bemarun's napkin and lifted it up. "Use this."
When the creature did choose to take the table linen, it placed it on its tongue and just chewed it like a cow and cud. As Rai leaned back baffled, Kimiko covered her forehead with her hand. "Oh for crying out loud…"
Clay was watching the creature from the right. He was amused by it somehow. "Ha-ha-ha. Ooh… that's not what you do! Master Fung, something's tellin' me we shouldn't have let the 'dog' sit at the table."
As he said so, the bemarun wolfed down the last of the meat loaf, its head rested firmly on the plate.
"Indeed Clay." The Master turned his attention to Raimundo.
Rai looked back at him questioningly with his mouth full, shaking his head at the same time. "Wasn't MY idea," he muffled.
After lunch had gone by, the monks commenced with their regular chores around the temple grounds – or at least tried to settle on who was doing what. Clay already set to work cleaning the windows while whistling along inside their special "decision-making room."
"Okay, so Kimiko, you can sweep up the halls this time, Omi can take care of the birds, and I'll go ahead and see if I can't fix those dumb axe pivots on the training course," Rai explained, holding up a list of chores.
"And is that ALL you're gonna do?" Kim probed as she grabbed a broom that was leaning against the wall.
"I'll also be working on anything else that's broken; don't worry…"
"Yes! Thank you Raimundo for giving me the easiest job!" Omi smiled deviously.
Rai looked over at the satisfied monk as he picked up a bag of birdseed and a scrub-brush. "No problem. See Kim, HE's not complaining."
"Like I was," mumbled the "Japanesian." "Ho hum…" She looked down at the dustpan in her hand, but then stared back up at Rai in confusion.
"…What?"
"Uh, where's the bemarun?"
Raimundo shot glances right, left, and behind. "I thought he was right here! Clay, what happened?"
"Say what now?" The cowboy was interrupted from his duties.
"The bemarun! What happened to him?"
"…Pardon me," began Clay from high up on a ladder, "I've been washin' this window pane the whole time; I wouldn't know."
"Okay… Omi! Hey, Omi! How'd he get away?"
Omi was just making his exit down the hall when he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around hesitantly. "Uhhh… I am… not sure."
"Well we need to find him!" Rai proceeded to dash past the monk. "You can feed the birds later, come on!"
"All… right?" Omi continued standing there as he watched Kimiko come up behind him, similarly uncertain of what to make of this.
Outside at the fountain, Dojo was busy reading a Chinese novel. "Hee-hee-hee…" he giggled to himself. "What a choice of names. 'Rong'…"
"DOJO!"
The green dragon both leaped and let out a shriek, nearly tumbling backward into the fountain's waters. Raimundo and Kimiko (and Omi, who was lugging along his bag of birdseed) ran up to him while he regained his balance.
"Please, do NOT do that. I'm kind of jumpy right now."
"Yeah, 'many pardons,' but Brownsaur's on the loose," Raimundo explained. "You seen him?"
Kimiko looked over. "Brownsaur huh?"
"His new nickname."
"…Gotcha."
"No, I haven't seen the 'brownsaur,' as you call it," answered Dojo. "What's the problem?"
"If Master Fung sees him wrecking stuff we'll probably be getting in trouble for bringing him here in the first place. 'We' as in 'me.'"
"Well, that's not MY problem then." The dragon yanked open his book and seemed to be literally burying himself in it.
Rai had just about had it with Dojo's snarkiness, so he then decided to test his patience. "Hey, you got the nose for Shen Gong Wu, and you can't even track down a giant pet? Gimme a break!"
To that Dojo slammed the book. "Okay, OKAY; no need to insult a crotchety old 'gecko's' most exquisite sense. Let me up."
"Gladly!" Raimundo grinned a happy grin and seized the reptile by the throat. As he was being hauled away like game, Dojo told Omi: "You can skip out on feeding the birds, kid."
Kim casually strolled by the small monk, just humming along.
The Dragon of the Water did not bother to move, nor change his contemplative yet flustered face. "Yes. I suppose I can carry this huge bag back without it having purpose out here."
So, Raimundo was making Dojo search for the lost bemarun against his will around the temple grounds, which was sure to cause a few issues.
"Hey Brownsaur! Where are you?"
"He's not gonna respond, not knowing his name and all."
"Who cares? He'll hear my voice."
"Not the same thing."
"Shut up."
While the ruckus the two made was bouncing off the walls of the buildings, Kimiko crept away to get back to her fun task of sweeping every floor. She only went so far before she unwittingly crossed paths with Master Fung by the porch.
"Kimiko! Isn't it time for you to be doing your chores?" The Master was just in the middle of sketching a picture of a tiger in the grass.
"I-I know; I'm getting to it. Right about now." Kim clasped her hands together and glanced around.
"Hmm." The old monk took her fidgety actions into account. "Is something the matter?"
"OH no, nothing much."
"…Do you know the whereabouts of the creature?"
She was hoping he wouldn't ask that. But now she had to spill it. "Ahh… no."
Master Fung cocked one side of his mustache. "Then we should go find it."
"Yeah, but don't be TOO angry if, by chance, it breaks something," Kim requested, imagining the worst scenario.
The Master put down his pen and paper and arose, tickled by the thought. "Well Kimiko, I assure you I will not be 'seething with rage' – not the kind you might be thinking of."
"Ha, that's great then… thanks. 'Kay. Guess I'll be going… "
Just then the pair heard a shout. It sounded stunned, horrified, and furious all at once, and it was coming from the monks' resting quarters.
"…Second time today," Kim reported. Her eyes gave Fung a sense of enlightenment.
"NO, put that down! You're shredding up Ninja Fred!"
The bemarun had been found, but it was sitting in the Shoku Warrior's cubicle… chewing on the stuffing it had ripped out of his teddy bear.
Dojo's vociferation was uncalled for. "Oh SWEET karma!"
"I'm warning you dude." Raimundo raised a fist, ready to the bop the pest off his shoulder.
"All right, I'll stop," trembled Dojo – trembling because he could barely conceal his laughter.
"Yeah, you'd better." Rai smirked in an irate fashion and went back to business. "Now come on. Hand it over."
Unfortunately, the creature could not understand. It merely desisted from moving the cotton around in its jaws, keeping its eye fixed on the boy.
Rai groaned. "You're not making this easy. Now give it to me, or I'll have to take it."
The beast glimpsed down at the mangled bear, but went back to chewing.
"Here we go; I'm taking it." The monk began moving in to try and pry out his beloved stuffed animal by means of reluctant force.
A voice, however, came in without warning and stopped him. "Taking what?"
He and Dojo looked back to discover Kim standing right behind them.
"Oh, just Ninja Fred… who probably needs some new stitches," Raimundo explained, rather composed now.
Kimiko peeked over his shoulder. She started cracking up.
"It isn't that funny," he responded apathetically.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha!" Amidst her rising laughter Dojo threw in a few cackles of his own before clamping his mouth shut. Rai straightened his face and leaned his hand against the doorway post. The bemarun was watching this, unresponsive.
"Oh-hoh MAN!" The Fire monk slapped her knee. "You know, that could be a kind of omen Rai! Growing up? Living responsibly?"
"Sure, that's it." Raimundo turned and posed to tackle her. "It could also be an omen where I bury your head in the wall!"
"Ooo, nice one," she snickered. "Okay – if ya say so, then bring it! Flaunt some o' that 'machismo!'"
But then all of a sudden the bemarun scrambled up and hightailed it past everybody.
"Whoa!"
"Hey!"
It still had Ninja Fred.
"Great going you two," said Dojo, looking in the bandit's direction.
His head also pivoted, Raimundo tossed the yelping dragon off of him.
The hulking monster was trudging down the hallways as fast as it could, unwilling to give up its "food." It stopped at one point to choose which of two paths to take, yet it soon escaped to the outdoors and kept on running in its search for a hiding place.
Meanwhile Clay, who had remained in a sing-song mood after all this time, emerged from the temple cache carrying a soapy bucket and a couple of dripping washcloths. "Oh I'm reachin' the edge… the edge of the world… no sunset to see me… no mountains a-pearl – "
His ditty came to an abrupt end when the cowboy saw the bemarun bulleting across his view from the alley.
Then Clay heard distant yelling voices telling the beast to stop. He exhaled deeply and set his equipment down; the tranquility of the day would have to be put on hold.
Omi was also found outside, in the garden, scrubbing the birdbath diligently to make it sparkle with cleanliness. Before he could look, two legs rushed by. Although he sprang up his head, he didn't bother scanning his surroundings and got back to work. But then the distracting sounds of more feet came, and the Water monk rotated around and noticed Raimundo and Kimiko on the move. He wasn't going to take part in this – not again.
Eventually, the panicky bemarun halted in the wide-open space of the stone training grounds. "Can't just keep running!" Rai called. It peered over and faced its pursuers in a nervous stance, the teddy bear held firmly in hand. Jutting its neck backward, it made a reverberating guttural noise.
Raimundo approached the creature curiously, and it stepped back. When it attempted to turn and take flight once more he shouted "Shoku Nova, Wind!" and with a thrust of his arms he grappled it in a small cyclone, effectively catching it off guard.
However, the monster refused to give up. It slowly but surely got on its hands and knees and pressed on against the current.
"…Want me to go ahead and set it on fire?" questioned the Fire Dragon as she stepped up.
"Of course not!" the Dragon of Wind replied over the blowing air. "All I'm doing is slowly reeling him in."
But it was still taking an awfully long time, since the bemarun now had its claws gripped onto the stone tiles. Rai quickly increased the wind power by clenching his fists, and teeth, tight.
Yet this tug-of-war was getting nowhere, and it was only until someone else yelled "Wudai Crater Earth!" that the bemarun loosened its grip while simultaneously feeling a quake in the ground. It swiveled its head side to side when the ground it stood upon tilted upward at an angle, causing it to tumble down right in front of Raimundo. It lay there in defeat, staring blankly as he took Ninja Fred from it, with Kimiko, Clay, and even Master Fung gathering around.
That night, the four monks were commencing their same old bedtime routine, each going to his (or her) cubicle and throwing on some pajamas.
"Man, what a day THAT was, am I right?" Kim remarked as she took off her shoes.
"If ya say so…" yawned Clay, walking to his mat.
Omi was perched upside down on his head, just thinking. "I have NO idea why the bemarun found Raimundo's bear toy so tasty…"
"Beats me Omi." Rai pulled his sweater over himself. "He had the stuffing in his mouth, but he didn't swallow it or anything. So I'd say he was either 'savoring the flavor' or just not liking it."
"I doubt any critter would like the taste o' cotton," Clay said. "And speaking of which, was it really so bad that we needed to stick the bemarun outside in the cold?"
Kimiko jammed her makeup into a tiny box. "Master's orders, what are you gonna do?"
"Yeah, at least it's not too chilly out," figured Raimundo, itching at his nose.
Back outside… on the ROOF of the lecture hall, the strange creature rested, gazing out beyond the walls of the temple. Its bright orange eye was unblinking as it studied the faraway land, the vast cosmos, and everything else out of reach. The wind started to howl – but then it picked up in a suspiciously unnatural manner. The bemarun moved its head.
There was an amplifying roar that descended on the temple grounds. Then there was a BOOM and a CRASH.
The beast sat up instantaneously and jumped off the roof, hustling toward the source of commotion. It swerved around the buildings and soon came to one it had never seen before: the Shen Gong Wu Vault. But a giant hole had been blown in its side.
Not too "actiony" here, but it looks like things are finally starting to ramp up. Hmm...
