Hi, this is Ruwot talking here. I'd like to say I've worked a LOT on this chapter, and since my class has been working on themes lately, here's a universal one: PEOPLE WORK VERY HARD ON THEIR FANFICS, SO IT'S REALLY SAD TO THEM WHEN NO ONE REVIEWS. Okay, thank you. Please enjoy!
Chapter Two: Opposites and Noses
Raimundo's Point of View
"Shen Gong Wu! Shen Gong Wu!" shouted an incredibly itchy green dragon. He was carrying the lofty-to-him Shen Gong Wu scroll.
As the Shoku Warrior, it was my duty to be at certain events the first before anyone else did. Boy, you did NOT want to see the reaction I had when I found out I had to get up an hour earlier than the others. What a pisser-offer.
As Kimiko, Clay, and Omi – mostly Kimiko – came racing into the room where I was for about five minutes – five LONG minutes, by the way – they asked hurriedly, "What is it?"
Dojo exposes, "It's called the Axle of Change," as he opened up the scroll, revealing a silhouette holding a baton. As we waited for an explanation, Dojo just sat there staring, and scratching very creepily, at the statue-still man.
Running out of patience, Omi said, "So what does it do?"
"What does what do?"
"The Axle!"
"What about the Axle?"
"What it can do!"
"What can what do?"
""DOJO..."
"Okay, okay!" shouted Dojo, almost being jumped by a very red Omi. "Truth is I have no idea. I just remember that Master Dashi made it on his deathbed, so he didn't explain anything to me. He made two of them…or was it three? Maybe it was four!"
"Okay, okay," I repeated, also growing impatient. "Where is this Axle of Change?"
Dojo, upon hearing this, immediately became forty feet of scales. "Hop aboard the Dojo Express!"
After about thirty minutes of quick flying, we arrived at a marching band convention in Boston. People short and tall were walking around with big and colorful costumes. To me, they were pretty gaudy. I scoffed and thought, 'What nerds.'
Kimiko certainly got annoyed as she jabbed me in the ribs. I squealed – like a MAN of course – as she scolded, "What was that for?"
'She should be talking.'
"Marching band is cool."
Omi shot up immediately. "Cool?" he started to tilt his head to the side and touch some of the geeks. "But they are wearing so much!"
"It's an expression, Omi," explained Clay with plenty of patience.
'Well, this certainly is a typical conversation,' I judged to myself.
It certainly was hard looking for the Axle considering there were so many batons everywhere.
Not only that, but everyone was walking around with poofed-up, goofy costumes with dumb-looking instruments producing flatulent sounds. I frowned in disgust.
Just then, Kimiko marveled, "Oh, my goodness! Those costumes are so extravagant, and those instruments are awesome! And listen to the music – it's just wonderful!" I looked at her in total shock. It was no surprise at all when, or if, someone heard we were total opposites.
Finally, something unconventionally shiny beamed into my eyes. At another angle in which the light was not exploding in my face, I saw it – the Axle of Change. It was pretty obvious actually – a sterling silver rod with small flourishing marks at the near-ends, scored off with big, peridot grips. The truncheon was jutting out of a nice vase.
Before telling the others, I quickly shot around the auditorium to see if anyone was in near-grasp of the Shen Gong Wu. Without any notification, I quickly sprinted to the Axle, and out of nowhere, a craggy, bony hand of gray held onto the pole as soon as I did, and I knew Jack Spicer was there. It was typical of him nowadays to be alone.
"Well, if it isn't the Shoku loser," exclaimed Jack, looking at me with a wannabe-evil grin.
"All hail the King of Losers, Spicer," I retorted. It was then that Kimiko, Clay, Omi, and Dojo showed up, encircling our proclamations.
Jack, getting all geek-like and all over the place, finally declared, "Raimundo, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown. I wager your Wings of Tanabi against my Nose Mask."
To all of you people who studied the Bubonic Plague, you would know what a "nose" mask looked like. A mask covering all but the mouth and the forehead with a beak – a LONG beak – for a nose place was characteristic for clueless doctors who tried to ward off the epidemic. It was like a crow for a face, if you know what I mean. It was quite a surprise to me when I saw the Wu I had never seen before. The entire mask was made out of solidified amber and bronze – I don't know how the heck they mixed exactly – and had no strings attached, which was strange.
I retained my focus and affirmed, "The challenge is 'Tell the Truth' – the first to fall into the abyss loses.'"
"I accept your challenge," snapped the very-commonplace villain as we said at once, "Xiaolin Showdown!"
Kimiko's Point Of View
As Omi was playing a tug-of-war with a very angry color-guard and her flag, we all heard a very loud challenge between Jack and Raimundo. Turning around, I noticed, with plenty of annoyance, that my love found the Shen Gong Wu first.
'Wait, did I say love? Jeez, I have to stop reading those cheesy romance novels.'
I stared at Raimundo for a couple of seconds and how he was moving his mouth with verbal rage. That mouth was moving pretty fast, and the way he twisted those lips put a smile of joy and amusement on my face.
'Boy, his hair was all messed up and wild, just like his ego and his element, and his eyes…don't get me started!' I blinked and shook my head crazily that a bobby pin I was wearing flew out and clogged a really bad clarinetist. 'Hey, I know how to stop thinking like this!' Immediately, I turned to Jack a couple of seconds. After I shivered and shuddered, I snapped back to reality.
Just then, the red-haired dimwit pulled out a Shen Gong Wu I had never seen before. Dojo gasped, "The Nose Mask!" Omi, Clay, and I faced in his direction for an explanation. Dojo looked around, eyes wide, and, getting the picture, admitted, "It's another one of those Shen Gong Wu that Dashi never explained to me. I'm still not sure how many there are though. I think there are two left…?"
Immediately, the multiplex full of instruments became percussion frenzy as drumsticks and tubas were possessed by the rules of Dashi. Then, it seemed as if the multiplex vanished from the surrounding area as a shroud of abstract purples and blues made a dimensional difference in the environment. Each wearing a Wudai uniform, the others stood on the sidelines on timpani. Standing on a colossal snare drum, Jack and I shouted, "Gong Yi Tampai!"
Jack, being the rash idiot he was, immediately evoked his Shen Gong Wu. "Let's test this baby out," he said, rubbing his hands together in irritating delight. "Nose Mask!" he summoned. The mask suddenly magnetized to his face, glowing. Aside from that, nothing happened. Instantaneously, he became edgy. "Why won't this thing work?"
Trying to hold in a chortle, I sneered, "Do you even know what the mask does?"
Jack, without reason or any hesitation, screamed out, "Of course I do!" A drumstick smashed the sneer, causing him to fly off and hit the crash cymbals below with a thud. It was characteristic of Jack to lie, but the way he responded was way weird.
"Wings of Tanabi!" I declared myself, rising onto some bells with a spectrometric meteor. "What's the matter, Jack? Can't control your Shen Gong Wu?"
"Of course I can!" he screamed with the same, robotic-seeming tone. The crashes obviously collided, and he fell like a Frisbee – note that he is, in fact, two-dimensionally circular in shape – onto the last of all the instruments – the edge of the bassoon.
'Boy, he's acting weird today. Ha, maybe his Nose matches his truths.' He was wobbly on the edge, and I wanted to see how far his dishonesty could have gone.
"Jack," I said at last, "Is your name Jack Spicer?"
"No, it's not!" with much surprise he said. The bassoon tilted, and he fell into the masses of pipes. As I heard Clay, Omi, and Kimiko giggling uncontrollably on the timpani, I could well say the showdown was over.
When all the instruments shrunk back to their original sizes and the multiplex became the multiplex it was, all three Shen Gong Wu dropped into my arms. Jack was rubbing his head in a distant crowd.
As the other four walked over to me, they started to scold me.
"Why did you not tell us you were getting the Wu? I cannot believe you traveled such subterranean area."
"I think you mean 'how could you stoop so low,' partner."
Yeah, Kimiko was pretty at me seeing that she placed her hands on her hips and her eyes were glowering mad. "Raimundo Pedrosa, that was the stupidest thing you have EVER done!"
'No, it's not.' Sorry – sudden break in thought.
"Why did you have to not tell us? Are you trying to hide something?" she asked, eyeing me.
'Yeah, I love you to death to the extent that I'm actually trying to impress you by being a total dumb-butt.' I mentally screamed at her. I hoped no one else felt that pain where you want to tell a girl something that you can't, because if you did, it would break your entire friendship.
I just shook my head and smiled stupidly. "Hey, at least I got the Shen Gong Wu!"
Her expression eased some amount as she sort of grinned with a high cheek. "I guess. Good job anyway."
"Thanks," I said modestly. I did not notice the foreign Axle in my hand glowing weakly.
'Who needs her? You're the best.'
"Well," I scoffed to Kimiko with such bothered egocentricity, "I am the best."
After that, I opened my eyes wide open and gave everyone a strange look. That seriously came out of nowhere but inside some strange place in my head. I shook it off and said, "Well, at least Spicer's toast." Even from a midst of a huge nerd population, we could see him crying for his mommy.
Kimiko snorted. "Yeah, true. What a heinous loser."
I smiled. At least we agreed on something.
Kim gave me a look. She punched me very lightly and chuckled – a little too flirtatiously – "Hey, what're you staring at?"
"Nothing," I said. I smiled that smile again – you know, the one when I think of Kim? 'Maybe we're not total opposites after all.'
Rairox64: What am I doing here?
Ruwot: You're here because you're cool enough to favorite my story.
Rairox64: Bleh, okay.
Ruwot: So yeah. I give thanks to Rairox64, rAiKiMlOver455673, tennisgurl13, and Dark Angel of Pain and Chaos. Thanks a lot!
Rairox:64: That was redundant.
Ruwot: R&R!