"Beverly Hills! Not a bad place to live," Dojo said as he landed in front of the gate of the large mansion-like home that Chase's son lived in. "Ooh! I think I saw Taylor Swift!"
Rai quirked an eyebrow. "You listen to Taylor Swift?"
"What? No! Of course not..." he defended nervously.
The four laughed, making Dojo pout and frown.
"Fine! You can find Devon on your own. Come get me when you're done. I'll be over there," the dragon said.
"Isn't that where you saw Taylor?" Kimiko asked.
"Was it? I didn't notice," he replied with a sheepish smile before quickly slithering off.
"What do you reckon we should tell him when we see him? We can't just come out and say it," Clay stated.
"Why not? It is best to get it out of the way," Omi said.
"Clay has a point. What if Devon doesn't even know he was adopted?" Kimiko asked.
"Master Fung said this mission was time sensitive! We must act quickly!" he objected.
"Kim and Clay are right," Rai stated.
"But-" he continued to object.
"We don't have time to argue," he interrupted.
"We don't have time to hit around the rock!" Omi yelled.
Kimiko and Clay looked at each other. "... I'm gonna guess he means beat around the bush," Clay shrugged.
Rai took a deep breath. "I'm leader. What I say goes, and I say we go with what Clay and Kimiko say. You'd be out voted anyway."
"Sorry, Omi," Kimiko apologized.
"Maybe next time partner," Clay consoled.
The youngest of the monks scowled. "Let us just be on with it."
"So how are we going to do this?" she asked.
Just then, a boy stepped outside of the gated house eyeing them up. He was tall and have very pale skin. His hair was a short and held a dark onyx color that contrasted with both his pale skin and his sea-foam green eyes. "No more actors! We told you to stay away, he doesn't need anyone else for his script."
"You have us confused for someone else," Kimiko stated.
The boy quirked an eyebrow and crossed his hand in front of his chest. "Then who are you?"
"We were about to ask you the same thing, partner," Clay responded.
They boy's eyes widened. "You seriously don't know who I am? I'm Devon Lawrence Ashton. The son of Albert Ashton, director extraordinaire."
"Oh, so you are Devon!" Omi said. "I am Omi, and these are my fellow monks; Kimiko, Clay, and Raimundo."
"We need to talk to you about something important," Kimiko stated.
"I don't have time to talk, and no, you can't be in my movie. I'm sick of people coming up to me and-" Devon started, before being interrupted by another voice.
Kimiko growled. "This isn't about your stupid movie!"
"Who are these people? More actors?" Albert asked. He strolled up to the group, looking each of them over, then noticed the clothing that Omi was wearing and sighed. "I knew this would only be a matter of time."
"What?" Devon asked.
"You know who we are?" Rai asked.
He nodded. "I could tell by his robes," he explained then pointed to Omi. "I was told seventeen years ago that this was going to happen, I guess I forgot over time. Let me talk to Devon, father to son, for a little."
"Um..." Rai said, then looked back at the group. Kimiko nodded, Clay shrugged, and Omi shook his head. "Of course."
"What?!" Omi snapped as his face was practically red with anger. "We do not have-"
Rai quickly cupped his hand over Omi's mouth. "They can take all the time they need. Don't you can Clay need to go somewhere else, anyway?"
Omi was oblivious to what Rai was hinting at, but Clay caught on right away. "Right, we need to head off."
"But-" Omi started again, earning a light elbow from Kimiko.
"Right... Let us go?" Omi asked, sounding very confused.
Clay nodded before walking off with Omi to find Dojo.
"As for you both," said Albert, who now turned his attention to Kimiko and Rai, "you can make yourselves at home here while I talk to Devon."
Rai and Kimiko nodded, gave him their thanks, then wandered inside the large mansion.
"Why didn't you just say we were going to find the other person?" Omi asked.
"Because it's supposed to be a secret mission?" Clay somewhat answered.
"But wouldn't he already know?" he asked.
"Well... Here's what happened," Dojo began to explain. "When Devon and Krista were dropped off at the orphanage, Ashton's wife was just drawn to Devon. Her husband wasn't a big director yet, so they had the time to raise a family. Devon was adopted almost immediately, even while Master Monk Guan was still there. So, he decided to fill them in that Devon was a monk, and may need to be called upon someday. They didn't care, they just wanted him."
"That story sounds too unrealistic," Omi stated.
"There's a reason behind it. Just ask Master Fung," he replied.
The terrain below them went from green to tan, and the sun began to beat down on them even more than before.
"Where exactly is Krista?" Clay asked.
"Well... We don't technically know. Since she wasn't adopted right away and her parents aren't big time celebrities. We have to start at the orphanage they were left at," he replied.
The landed outside of a large city that was hustling and bustling with people. There were advertisements for shows and casinos all over, and many large themed hotels stood out proudly against the desert horizon.
"Las Vegas. It's a lot... Dirtier than I remember," Dojo said.
"The amount of filth does not matter, all that matters is that you remember where the orphanage is," Omi said.
"Right, it's that way," Dojo said confidently and pointed east, then paused. "No... Wait... That way," he corrected, pointing west. "Or was it that way?" he asked, now pointing North.
Omi was now fuming. "You have got to be kidding me! We are on a time oriented mission, and you forget where the person we must find is?"
"Hey, we've got a picture of her," he defended, pulling out a picture of a girl with long maroon hair, yellow eyes, and pale skin.
"How did y'all get a picture of her if you don't know where she is?" Clay asked.
"Easy," the dragon replied, "I used the Fountain of Hui and Eagle Scope."
"And you couldn't use that to remind yourself where the orphanage was?" the cowboy questioned.
He deadpanned. "I.. Uh... Um... Don't blame me! I'm just a flying dragon who senses Shen Gong Wu!"
Omi sighed. "Let us being searching."
"Why Las Vegas, anyway? I reckon it's not a place for kids," Clay stated.
"Exactly," Dojo agreed. "No one would think we'd hide them here. That way, if they weren't adopted and someone came after them, they'd be safe.
The Texan reached his hand under his hat and scratched his head. "I guess that makes sense."
"Watch it!" yelled a voice as she plowed through the group, stumbling a bit. The girl made a sharp right turn down into an alleyway, and was soon followed by two men who appeared to be chasing her.
"That was suspicious," Omi stated. "As much as our mission is important, it is our duty as Xiaolin Monks to protect those in need of our help."
"And it looks like she could use a lot of it," Dojo agreed.
The three sprinted into the alleyway, only to see that the girl was almost cornered due to a fence blocking the exit to the alleyway.
"Hey, fellas, come on," the girl tried, "it's technically not stealing if you're taking something back, right?"
One of the men grunted, while the other cracked his knuckles.
She scowled. "Fine! Have it your way!" She quickly turned on her heels and ran full speed ahead toward a fence. She sprung off the ground and onto an air conditioner protruding from one of the windows. From there, she kicked off the top of the fence, flipped forward, and grabbed onto the bottom step of a rusty, yet partially retracted, fire escape ladder. The fix was only temporary though, because as soon as her full weight pulled down on the ladder, it fell to the ground.
"Crap..." she mumbled then began her ascent up the fire escape. By now, the thugs were halfway over the fence.
"What do we do?" Dojo asked. "She's being attacked, but she also admitted that she stole something."
"I do not know," Omi answered, studying the three very carefully. Then, something clicked. "Dojo! Let me see that picture."
"Are you sure now is the time for that?" Clay asked.
He swiftly ripped the picture from the dragon's hands, looking at it carefully before turning his attention back to the girl. "Yes! Look! That's the girl, only she has blue eyes!" he stated.
"Contacts?" Dojo guessed.
"It doesn't matter," the youngest monk replied as watched them all reach the roof top. "We cannot pass up this opportunity!"
"We gotta get up there, and fast," Clay agreed as the three followed in their footsteps.
On top of the building, the girl had pretty much gotten herself cornered. "I led you this far on a chase, what makes you think I'll stop here?" she asked with a smirk.
The two thugs only looked at each other and laughed, considering they had her just off the edge of the building.
"You don't think I'll jump? Try me," she challenged.
"You won't have to!" interrupted Omi, who used his Shimo Staff to sweep the thugs off of their feet.
"What in the-" the girl started, before feeling a sharp pull from behind her. She screamed as she felt herself falling, but was quickly caught by someone. She looked down to see that whatever had caught her was floating in midair!
Her eyes continued to trail up until she met the blue eyes of a cowboy who tipped his hat at her. "Looks like you could used a ride."
She was speechless as Omi hopped onto Dojo and they took off.
They landed on top of a plateau in the Mojave desert, and she was all too happy to get off.
"Okay... I'm going crazy," she mumbled to herself. "Absolutely insane. Oh man, oh man, am I screwed now..."
"Are... You alright?" Clay asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She reacted by quickly tensing up, and turning to nail his face as hard as she could with her fist. He caught it with ease, earning a shocked look from her. "Hey, now. No need for violence."
"Let go of me!" she snapped, pulling her hand out of his grip and taking a step back. "Who are you? No, what are you and what the hell do you want?"
"Geez, you think she'd be nicer to the guys who just saved her butt," Dojo commented.
"I didn't need any saving. I was handling things fine on my own," she stated and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"We do not wish to harm or alert you. We just wish to talk," Omi said.
She quirked a curious eyebrow. "About what? Before you answer that, can I have some names to go with your faces? I'm Krista."
"I am Omi, the one in the hat is Clay and the dragon is Dojo. We are Xiaolin Monks, tasked with subduing evil and keep balance between all forces. We were sent here on a mission to speak to you, and tell you that you're in grave danger," he explained.
A small, amused smile crept across her lips. "Kid, this is Vegas. You make a wrong turn and you're always in danger."
"No, it's not that type of danger. It is far worse," he assured.
"Really, now?" she replied, unamused.
"Yes, so you must come with us back to the Xiaolin Temple and-"
"I appreciate the help, but I think I'll take my chances," she stated.
"You do not understand! You could be injured, imprisoned, killed, or turn to darkness!" he warned.
"I highly doubt that," she said and began walking back toward the city, even though it was quite a walk away now.
"But you may very well upset the balance between darkness and light. The world could be plunged into ten thousand years of darkness!" Omi emphasized.
"Look, if you're so adamant about it, I'm sure you'll find another way to stop it. Now, is there any way you can give me a ride home?" she asked.