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The day was clear and crisp, the sun shining brightly. Dojo flew through the air in a powerful ripple of emerald and gold scales, the four humans clinging to his back peering closely at the unravelled scroll in the hands of the young Chinese seated at the dragon's head.
" The Harushu Gem can created living illusions using just light and reflection." Dojo stated, referring to the image formed on the scroll's face. " Really great for parlour tricks." the dragon grinned with a flash of sharp teeth at his own quip, clearly trying to lighten the tense mood.
" Too bad Shen Gong Wu can't understand how we've got bigger fish to fry at the moment." Clay huffed, one hand holding his hat tightly on his head as Dojo performed a sudden dive. " We can't just drop this great loomin' Ying Yang world problem that's hangin' over our heads just to go chasin' after some Wu."
Ever since the breaking of the barrier, the monks had been working overtime, training from dawn till dusk in preparation for anything to come. Their exhaustion showed from the weariness in their voices and bags under their eyes. Everything had been quiet for weeks, with minimal activity from Heylin or Shen Gong Wu. So they had dedicated their time to trying to figure out who was behind the attacks against the barrier, but with no prevail.
Raimundo shook his head, the wind whipping his flyaway hair into even more disarray than usual. " But we can't let any Wu fall into the hands of Jack or Wuya. That's the last thing we need right now."
Kimiko tossed her long braid over her shoulder as she smiled wickedly at her leader. " Actually, I think something like this is just what we need at the moment." she said, her tone pondering.
Arching an eyebrow at the girl, Raimundo leaned forward slightly. " How so?"
Before Kimiko could speak, Omi intervened, spinning around on Dojo so that he could face the three behind him. " Kimiko is correct!" he agreed, rolling up the scroll with a snap. " It will be most uplifting to our spirits when we beat some Jack Spicer behind!"
Raimundo rolled his eyes. "You know what Omi, I'm done trying to correct your take on slang." he sighed as Clay chuckled and Kimiko giggled into the back of her hand.
Dojo drew to a sudden halt mid-air, unsettling his passengers. "Wu, dead ahead!" he called.
The warriors looked around, scanning the area. They were hovering over what appeared to be an empty plain, the sharp winds creating miniature dust storms all around them. There was no glint of Shen Gong Wu, no hint at any artifact whatsoever.
" Uh, are you sure, Dojo?" Clay asked, rubbing the back of his neck with a large hand.
Dojo gave an affronted huff, shrinking in size until his riders had no choice but to jump off.
" When have I ever been wrong?" the now two foot in length dragon questioned crossly, slithering up Clay until he rested comfortably around the cowboy's broad shoulders. He offered one last instruction before diving into his usual hiding space under Clay's hat, the only shelter from the blazing sun. " You guys just have to go and look!"
In their years of hunting Wu, the four had faced one of Dojo's more stubborn moods on far too many occasions to count, and had long since figured out how to handle a situation like such. Clapping his hands together, Raimundo called for the attention of his team. " Alright, let's split up into teams of two. That way we'll cover more ground." he nodded to Omi and Clay " You two will take the west, Kimiko and I the east. Then we circle back to cover north and south, got it?"
" You can count on us, Raimundo." Omi bowed before tearing off across the plain, leaving Clay behind. The blond shook his head with a good-natured sigh before following his friend at a more steady pace.
" You better conserve your strength, partner!" he called to the monk shaped speck in the distance.
Kimiko bit her lip, fingering the satchel containing her Arrow Sparrows. There was a gnawing feeling of unease in the bit of her stomach that she couldn't shake, like they were being watched. It prickled at her skin, raising goosebumps despite the sweltering heat. She squinted, blue eyes roving across the space. Red eyes gleamed back from the shadows cast by a cluster of boulders not far from where they stood. Something dark tugged at her mind, a gaping coldness spreading through her body. She felt the closeness of things she couldn't name; they shrieked in voices that made her ears bleed, the stink of rotting flesh filled her nose.
" Girl, are you listening to me?"
Raimundo's voice pulled her from her thoughts with a gasp. The eyes vanished in the shadows, the rocks returning to a state of insignificance. She stumbled back, choking slightly as she inhaled large gulps of fresh air.
" Hey, you okay?" Raimundo asked, gripping her arm with a worried hand. " You're white as a ghost, you're shaking, you're-"
" I'm fine." Kimiko said brusquely, swatting at his hand until he released her. " Let's get going." she smoothed down the front of her pink and blue pleated skirt and set off at a brisk pace.
" But you-"
" I said I'm fine!" she snapped, even though she couldn't rid the reek of death from her senses. " We have to find this Wu!"
Raimundo watched her for a moment, his lips tightening into a thin line. Shoving his hands into his pant pockets, he followed her, keeping his eyes trained for anything that could lead to their prize.
They walked for minutes that dragged like hours, until Raimundo's sharp hearing picked up on an annoying familiar sound; the whirring of helicopter blades.
" Tem que ser brincando... " he muttered, angrily kicking a loose pebble. " Kimiko!" he called, bringing the heiress to a halt. " Looks like we got some unwanted company!"
Swooping down overhead, with a dozen robots behind him was none other than their oldest enemy, Jack Spicer. He grinned toothily at them, his eyes mocking.
" Aw, did I interrupt a little lover's spat?" Jack needled, hovering a short distance away. " Really, Raimundo, you've got to stop being the girl in the relationship and man up."
" Ever try flying when there's no air for those blades of yours to circulate?" Raimundo taunted at the same time as Kimiko's bark of " We're not a couple!"
" Details, shmetails." Jack waved a hand. " All that's important is that I'm gonna be the one who get's the Gem of Harusho, and yoyu Xiaolin losers are gonna eat my dust!" he pointed at the two with a bellow " Jack-Bots attack!"
The robots swarmed, and Kimiko and Raimundo quickly took up defensive positions. Something moved in the corner of Raimundo's eye, a flicker of darkness. It grew in size rapidly, launching itself at the fire dragon.
" Look out!" he roared, lunging in Kimiko's direction. He shoved her out of the way and sent a sharp gust of wind in the direction of their newest attacker. It looked like a Shade, one of the creatures Master Fung had warned them about. A faceless mass of shadows, it ran on all fours and shrieked with a muffled keen. The heady scent of death was thick in the air. The shade tumbled head over heels when the the wind made contact.
" What the hell is that?" Jack yelled, screeching when another shadow detached itself from the ground and launched itself at the red-head. The shade phased and tangled through his hellapack, short-fusing the technology. He went crashing to the ground, his Jack-bots spinning crazily out of control and smashing into each other. Explosions went off, debris flew everywhere. Kimiko flinched when a scraps pieces of metal grazed her arms, which she had flung up to protect her face.
Their first attack leaped at Raimundo, sending him sprawling. He shook his head, seeing double. The shade pounced, it's weight crashing down on his chest. For a being of shadows and nothing else, it was surprisingly heavy, knocking the wind from his lungs. His head reeled, overpowered by the smell of decay. Breath rattled wetly in his ear.
A fireball struck the shade, knocking it off the Brazillian. He coughed, turning his head in time to see Kimiko launch another fiery attack. The shade screamed, flames licking at it's body and tearing it apart. Kimiko grinned, gathering more flames around her fist to take care of the shade tearing at Jack. Raimundo pulled himself to his feet, starting to grin in return. Then stopped.
Swiftly, the shade was pulling itself back together, doubling then redoubling. Legs grew and lengthened for standing. Now, there were six shades instead of two, each varying in size. Their attention focused on Raimundo and Kimiko, they came at the two at a run. Even the one attacking Jack left it's prey, leaving the man huddled and unmoving in the dirt. Raimundo reached for the hilt of his Blade of the Nebula, while Kimiko shoved her hand into her satchel, withdrawing a fistful of Arrow Sparrows.
The beasts pounced. Thinking fast, Raimundo spun his blade, stirring the air around them into a twister. Kimiko flung her arsenal of darts, the flaming metal mixing with the wind and creating a towering cyclone of fire. The shades were swept up and spun, shrieking and burning.
" Please let that keep them down." Raimundo mumbled, wiping a hand across his sweaty brow. Kimiko placed a hand on his shoulder, glancing over at Jack's prone form.
" Do you think he's okay?"
Before he could answer, a growl ripped through the air. They wheeled around. The shades wrenched and fought their way out of the fire, their bodies warping and shifting. Kimiko screamed. Raimundo turned to pull her closer, only to find someone else having the same idea. Two pairs of hands clutched the struggling girl, dragging her into a patch of light that burned white hot.
" No!" Raimundo leapt forward, rapping his arms tightly around Kimiko. The hands continued to pull. Sinking into burning pain, Kimiko swore she heard an unknown male voice yelling.
" No! Curse you, follow them! FOLLOW THEM!"
Unseen by the Brazillian or the Japanese, a small patch of darkness detached itself from one of the shades, latching onto Raimundo's show. The white light flared.
Halfway across the plain, Clay paused, fanning himself with his hand.
"Omi, I think we should start headin' back soon. I don't think we Wu is anywhere over here."
Omi dropped the rock he had been peering under, blinking up at the cowboy. " Well, what does Dojo think?" he asked, pointing at Clay's hat.
There was a muffled sound from under the hat, and Clay sighed, removing it from his head.
" Oh, so now you trust my opinion?" Dojo glowered, crossing his arms with a sniff. He made a rude sound when Clay plucked him from his hiding spot, cradling the dragon in the palm of his hand.
" Come on, lil' buddy, don't be like that. You know we appreciate you."
Omi nodded vigorously. " Oh yes, very much so! We would be found without you, Dojo!"
Dojo paused, picking at a loose scale while he contemplated their words. " I get what you're saying..." he hedged, before breaking out into a bashful smile. " Alright, I forgive you guys!"
The two men grinned. " Then could you..." Clay gave a nod, gesturing to the space with his free hand.
Dojo pulled himself up, stretching out his neck and giving the air an experimental sniff. He turned his head from side to side, inhaling deeply. His nose wrinkled. " Nada. I got nothing. There's no Wu he-" the dragon sniffed one more time, then stiffened, whipping around. His eyes went wide with dread. " Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!"
" What is it, Dojo?" Omi asked, only to yelp when the dragon suddenly grew to his full size, sweeping the two monks off their feet and onto his back. Dojo shot through the air at an intense speed, flattening his two passengers.
" Dojo!" Clay called, his voice nearly unheard over the whistling wind. " What in tarnation?"
" No time to talk!" Dojo snarled " Kimiko! Raimundo! Shades!"
The two squinted, trying to see through the sharp gusts in their eyes. Then they saw. The dissipating fires, the smoke, the sound of distant screams carried on the wind. Dojo added an extra burst of speed.
They reached the battleground, leaping from Dojo and landing in fighting positions, only to notice the fight had long since finished. Whatever had lead the attack had disappeared, leaving scorch marks in the ground and an array of broken robot parts. Kimiko and Raimundo were nowhere in sight. Omi's eyes narrowed as he glanced around, his gaze fell on the crumpled form of Jack Spicer. He and Clay ran over to their fallen foe. He looked like he had been through Hell; his clothing was torn, his face battered and bruised. Exchanging a glance with Omi, Clay nudged him lightly with the toe of his boot.
Jack's eyes flew open with a gasp. His arms flew up to shield his face. " No! Get away! GET AWAY!" he wailed, his voice breaking.
" Easy there Spicer, we ain't gonna hurt you." Clay reached out a hand, only to pull away when Jack slumped back to the ground, unconscious.
Omi frowned. " What has happened here."
In case you guys were wondering what Raimundo said earlier in the chapter, here's a translation:
Tem que ser brincando: You gotta be kidding.
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