Chapter 4 - A Most Humiliating Defeat

Back at the Xiaolin temple, the monks had just made it back and walked through the door, all heads hung with shame. Master Fung was walking by and asked them how things went, even though he could tell by how they walked that the answer was not good. Dojo was the first to respond. "Don't even ask… it was tragic. By the way, that ancient scroll isn't very accurate! It didn't mention that the Draco's Choke allows the user to speak dragon language!" Master Fung looked worried, and spoke. "Do not fear young monks. We cannot expect to win them all at first, but we will gather all the Shen Gong Wu eventually. For through failure we learn humility and can improve our skills for the next battle"
The monks looked less sad, expect Raimundo. He left for his quarters. "Poor Rai" said Kimiko. "That was our first time out with him as the chosen leader; he must feel like he let us down". Master Fung replied, "Never fear Kimiko, I chose Raimundo for a reason. He has a strong will and shall always redeem himself if he feels it needs done." Kimiko still wasn't happy but all the monks left for their beds as Dojo climbed upon Master Fungs shoulders. "So about the scroll?" Dojo badgered. "Please Dojo, have some respect, but I do wish to discuss the lack of information on the Draco's Choke with you and the other elders"
"Yea, I know. But, Master, Chase Young's new buddy knew more about the Draco's choke than me"
Master Fung became hesitant. "Chase Young's new buddy?"
"Yeah, some shady guy; dressed in all black; carried a lethal looking scepter with him and had piercing red eyes. He's like the guy that would have inspired Dashi to make the Shadow of Fear. And that, is saying something considering I know what inspired him to make the Shadow of Fear" Master Fung looked even more worried.
Hidden in the rafters above, Rai gasped and almost fell. He realised that Dojo's description matched that of his nightmare. It was him in the dream; he didn't recognise him because the dream scenery was dark and murky where he fitted in. And like a flash, Raimundo remembered the dream he had; the dark scenery of the Land of Nowhere, the dead and crusted earth where withered and cold tree trunks had grown, and between them and the eerie mist of the dream, the shadow of a man, the man they had just met.

Later in the kitchen while doing their chores, Raimundo explained to the others about his dream again and that it was the same person that used the Draco's Choke. "I'm telling you guys, there's gotta be a reason" Rai pleaded. Omi responded first, dramatically. "Maybe it wasn't a nightmare, but a vision!"
The rest of the monks looked sceptical. Omi expanded then, "Raimundo is now a Shoku warrior, maybe having visions is a new ability of his and that the man we fought is the same man in Raimundo's dream"
"That's what I've been trying to say, it's the same guy and my drea- Vision, gives off a really bad vibe about him, frightening really" exclaimed Rai.
"I dunno partner, it seems a little strange. It's giving me a headache worse than the time I fell off a cattle when I was six" said Clay.
Kimiko added, "Okay, so if Rai can now have visions, that's great. But now that it's happened and we've meet this guy and he wailed on us; how do we stop him? He's allied with Chase Young too, which makes him even stronger"
"I'm not sure" sighed Raimundo. "But I don't think Chase is in charge anymore of things anymore"

"What's that supposed to mean?" shrieked Dojo from the table behind them.

Raimundo stopped momentarily and answered, "Chase Young only came to collect Shen Gong Wu that would hinder us or just to get the chance to wail on us. And none of those two reasons is why he was there today; he barely said anything apart from boasting his new ally. Plus this Synyster guy is pretty strong and even worse... knowledgeable"

"A very dangerous combination for an evil-doer" finished Kimiko looking bereaved.

"Well I for one, have no fear" Omi said proudly. When the others looked at him in doubt, he finished "Because we have each other and Raimundo to guide us"

Raimundo smiled for a moment, but the knowledge of the deadly new foe set in his mind stopped him from being cheerful.

"This Shen Gong Wu is completely worthless" proclaimed Syn as he lifted the Cat's Ear Shen Gong Wu from its pedestal in the hollow. The hollow was slightly deep and had a path to a central platform; the rest of the floor was covered in a light eerie mist. The surrounding area was a ruin and the walls of the hollow were covered in vines and dull leaves that looked ready to crumble.
"Maybe so, but it still contains some magical power that will give us- I mean you, power" added Wuya. "Let's just leave before the monks show up" As she finished her sentence a cannon sounded and Clay lay in the base of the hollow shaking the earth, the shock caused Synyster to let go of the Shen Gong Wu and it flew into the air. Next thing, the glowing Cat's Ear was seen through the mist. Two hands lay on it, one belonged to Syn, and the other was Clay.
"Synyster, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown, you dirty snake" exclaimed Clay. The other monks and Wuya gathered around as the terms where being discussed. "I accept" hissed Syn. "I wager the Draco's Choke against your Cannon Blaster, first one to escape the hollow wins". Clay and Syn stared into each other's eyes with a flaming hatred. "All righty then, let's go..."
"Xiaolin Showdown!"
"Xiaolin Showdown!"
The environment suddenly began to change. The depths of the hollow became deeper and deeper still, the sides expanded out and became covered in scalable vines and some platforms raised up from the pit emerging from the mist at the bottom, vines were also stretched across the width of the hollow. Syn and Clay then appeared on the lowest two platforms and looked down to see a dense fog which seemed bottomless. It was clear that if a competitor fell into the fog, the Showdown would end.
Clay was dressed in his usual battle robes with his elemental symbol on this chest, with some fabric covering his lower face. His eyes we're still visible, but they were squinted with rage. Syn also had a different get-up; his fingers which were normally bare through his fingerless gloves were plated in steel like a knights gauntlet and the same steel had warped itself around his leg. But his face was also changed… it was tattooed; there appeared to be deep crimson patterns around his eyes, cheeks and mouth; it was an unusual design but it was sharp and dark, it gave off a truly evil appearance. And as if that wasn't enough, Synyster turned to face Clay just as his eyes had turned black, all of his eyes; as well as this, his hair had grown longer and automatically styled so that it was spiked outwards with blood red streaks visible in each spike, similarly to that of a hedgehog. As the two competitors stood they shouted, "Gong Yi Tanpai!" Syn was the first to act with a dirty move using the Draco's Choke to abruptly push Clay off the edge of his platform, but he managed to grab on to the ledge safely and pull himself up.
"No good, dirt bag" he mumbled as he struggled up. Syn had already jumped onto the vines, cackling, and had manipulated his scepters' shape into a hook to allow for easier climbing.
Clay took a risky move and used the Cannon Blaster as a head start; he grabbed on to another platform higher up below some vines and began climbing from there. The two competitors scaled the vines quickly; Clay was struggling slightly whereas Syn looked elegant as he cackled leaping from vine to vine and platform to platform. He then landed on one of the last platforms looking down. "Let's make things interesting, shall we" he growled silently. He pointed his scepter towards Clay and sent a small flame in his direction. The flame then became a wildfire as it made contact with the vines, burning all the greenery in its path leaving Clay without a gripping. Clay groaned as the fire burned and he summoned a huge boulder out of the wall below him and landed on it, however once he looked up he noticed that Syn already had the Cat's Ear in his hands just outside of the hollow.
The environment then went back to its natural form and Clay lay next to the pedestal looking like a disappointment. Syn and Wuya soon fled using the Shard of Lightning, while Dojo transformed allowing the monks to board. "Don't feel so bad big guy, this defeat means that when you do kick his ass, it'll feel great" said Rai in a comforting attempt. "Well that's does actually make me feel a little better, Partner. Thanks Rai", Clay said enthusiastically.

Back in throne room of Chase's palace, the villains assessed their Shen Gong Wu and their usefulness. "You could have lost the Cat's Ear and it would have made no difference to the progression of the monks, or us" stated Chase. Synyster replied, "But I didn't want to lose the Draco's Choke either, it is best if we slowly dwindle the number of their Shen Gong Wu, but I feel that we may have to steal some of their Shen Gong Wu"
Wuya was ecstatic about the idea, but disappointed when Chase dismissed it. "That would cause an act of war, meaning they could come here with a good reason. No, we must win the Shen Gong Wu in Xiaolin Showdowns, by the way, was that not your first Showdown?"
"It was indeed" Syn responded
"How did you find the experience?" inquired Chase as he stood up.
"The sudden change in scenery startled me, but the event itself was nothing special"
"I see, and if you feel that way, why do you collect the Shen Gong Wu? If that is how you felt about your first Showdown, then you can clearly handle more power than just them. Your body can withstand great forces capable of such destruction on a universal scale, why start here?"
Syn hesitated, "All will be revealed... All in good time. Now back to business, who has the Hidoku Mouse?" Chase looked down at the floor and massaged his forehead and finally replied. "The idiot, Jack Spicer, dropped it when we were underground and it is most likely lying somewhere at the centre of the planet. To retrieve it, we would require either the Golden Tiger Claws and the Black Beetle or the Serpents Tail on its own. We have none of these Shen Gong Wu, unfortunately"
Syn put his hand on Chase's shoulder and said gently, "That can be easily changed, just let us know when our... Act of war can be undertaken"
Chase smirked.

Jack Spicer's lair was nothing more than his rich father's basement that was the length and breadth of the house above, allowing for him to build his endless army of bots. It was dark and murky, with the occasional oil drip from the ceiling like a hanging corpse drips blood onto unsuspecting passer-by's. Jack's "lair" was as pathetic as he is, the table in the middle was lit well by a large bright bulb hanging above and the walls were not even visible due to the piles of scrap metal stacked to the ceiling, some of the bots still operational, just not functional, others were simply unfinished. It was messy and dirty, not to mention wreaked of sweat and gasoline; it was a poor "lair" but for someone like Jack, it was perfect.

Jack himself lay underneath a dune buggy with the normal Jack Spicer decoration and style. He lay there tightening a bolt and muttered curses at every turn of the wrench until the bolt shattered and suddenly began oozing oil onto his face. Jack slid out from underneath the buggy and was greeted with Hannibal Bean, prompted against Jacks boot. He still screamed when he saw him after cleaning his face from oil.

"Jack, you gotta stop all this screaming business, you're gonna burst somebody's eardrums someday. Or everybody's." said Hannibal.

Despite this, Jack shrieked his reply, "What you want, you crazy bean person? And how did you get in here?"

Hannibal covered his ear for a moment before answering, "You ain't very good at listening, are you. Here's the deal, squirm; I'm no longer in charge of anything… for now at least. But I'm here 'cause I got a message from an accomplice of Chase's. He said that you best be prepared to do what's necessary to take down the monks and join the true forces of evil of your own free will. The boss has plans for you and everybody else; he knows exactly how this will turn out, one way or another. You don't mess with this guy, just stick to the message I gave you"

Hannibal walked to a large wall of scrap and then crawled through a hole and was gone. Jack sat up and got lost in thought confused, before concluding that the message was an attempt to put him off his game and decided to ignore it.