I won't deny that I had absolutely no intention of making this chapter this long. However, I'm happy with it, so I'm not going to mess with it. A bit of a warning is necessary here, as this chapter is the first one that actually warrants the PG13 rating for violence. It isn't too terribly graphic, but still...a fair warning.

Enjoy!

The Beginning of the End

Chapter 3

"You know," mused the Apprentice of Water, stepping lightly over the rather mutilated corpse of a gigantic cyclops. "I just may have been wrong. These missions are almost too easy." In the year that had passed since the four young monks had become Xiaolin Apprentices, little Chase Young had, at least physically, ceased to be a child. Although he was barely fourteen, he already possessed the long-limbed grace and pride of a young adult. He had gotten taller, though he was still shorter than both other boys of the group, and his straight, dark hair now fell to the bottom of his shoulder blades. However, his face had retained the gentle features and wide-eyed innocence that characterized it, and it was currently twisted into an expression of mild disgust at the monster he and his friends had butchered. Sounding slightly nauseated, he let out a muttered "ew" before adding, "Master Chang made it sound like we would be facing real danger.

Leaning against a tree-trunk and folding his arms in front of him, Guan nodded and replied, "True enough. We have yet to have a real challenge." Unlike his friend, he had changed very little in appearance, but since he had always looked older than he was, he had no complaint about it.

The female of the group, on the other hand, had developed the most out of any of them. Instead of her formerly boyish body, she now was beginning to have a woman's curves, and even in her nondescript monk's attire was certainly unashamed of showing them off. She had forsaken her pigtails in favor of letting her slightly wavy red hair hang loose to her hips, and had made a habit of applying wine-colored paint to her lips, even on days of training or fighting. She nodded her head, flipping her hair behind her shoulders, but said nothing.

At that moment, these new features were being admired by the last of the adolescent Apprentices, as they often were. Dashi had shot upwards in height, but little else about him had changed, particularly not his playful demeanor. "Well, at least we got to get creative with this one," he said, laughing when a still vaguely ill-looking Chase glared at him.

That day, the four Apprentices had been sent on yet another mission to deal with a cyclops that had been wreaking havoc on a nearby valley, which was bowl-shaped and heavily forested, with a dark, circular lake in the very center. The hulking, one-eyed creatures were ridiculously common, although the reason for this was quite unexplainable; considering the monsters' usual level of intelligence, the young monks occasionally wondered how they hadn't yet died out by blundering off cliffs out of sheer stupidity. Their impressive size and brute strength did make them a serious threat to normal people, but even for a group of adolescent student warriors, they were an easy kill. Aside from cyclopes, the only monsters they had faced were acromantulas, but they were weak unless they were in large groups. As it was, the lack of any challenge was beginning to become frustrating.

The absence of real competition, however, had not hindered their training. The time for windsocks and candles was long past, and Master Chang worked the Apprentices to the bone every day to teach them to master their elemental powers. Dashi and Chase had taken to their magical abilities easily, but the other two had been less fortunate. Although Wuya was able to harness her Earth element, the sheer magnitude of its power was outside her control, and she rarely dared to use her abilities in battle. On the other hand, Guan's fire abilities were pitifully weak, and he had fallen so far behind the others that he had resorted to becoming an almost purely physical fighter.

From his place against the tree, Guan watched his three friends chatting idly and laughing over the corpse of their foe. He sighed; sometimes, between the constant training and fighting, it was so easy to forget that they were, in fact, still teenagers. They'd had their fair share of fun, as well as the typical petty arguments, but even the latter were few and far between- there simply wasn't time. In actuality, very little in any of their relationships had been altered by the passing time; the same friendships, as well as the same childish affections and rivalries, remained unchanged purely because they were given no chance to blossom or wither. As always, the Earth and Fire apprentices competed for their Water-elemental friend's attention, but neither was ever given the chance to make any further moves. As always, said Water-elemental remained completely oblivious, and as always, the unfortunate Wind Apprentice's feelings toward his female comrade generally went unreciprocated.

Once they had made absolutely certain that their foe was destroyed and that the threat of an attack by more of its kind was not an imminent one, the four decided to begin the tedious, two-day hike back to the temple. However, as they prepared to leave, Chase tilted his head upwards, inhaling deeply. "It feels like rain," he muttered, frowning.

Upon imitating the Water Apprentice, Dashi agreed, "Yeah, it does." Sure enough, not five minutes later, they felt the first drops. It began as just a light spitting, but soon progressed into a hard deluge, and the dark clouds were illuminated with flashes of lightning. None of them bothered to run for cover, though; they were hot, sweaty, and bloody from their battle and the rain felt good.

Wuya's expression became troubled. "We shouldn't leave in this- the climb will be way too difficult."

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Guan asked, a bit perturbed. "We can hardly just stay here."

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Chase pointed out, though he didn't look particularly unhappy about it. Sighing contentedly, he ran his fingers through the foremost strands of his soaked hair and smiled as the excess water streamed over his fingers and down his arms. Wuya had to stand up on tiptoes to reach the Water Apprentice's head properly, but she did so anyways, reaching out to make a playful attempt to fluff the limply-hanging strands of his dark hair. After a quiet moment, she noticed that a strangely rubbery hand wrapped in green vine tendrils was poking her incessantly on the shoulder from behind. Rolling her eyes, she snatched the vine, which morphed back into the flower-shaped Lotus Twister, and Dashi's hand went flying back at him like elastic and smacked him full in the face. The Earth Apprentice giggled mischievously as he grumbled and rubbed at the red mark that had appeared on his cheek.

"A-hem," Guan made a vain attempt to get his friends' attention before giving up and talking over them. "There was a rock ledge of sorts over by the far edge of the lake. We could stay there until the rains stops." Finally paying attention, the others indicated their agreement, though Chase looked disappointed at the prospect of having to get out of the rain.

After a precarious trek along the slippery edges of the pitch black lake, they reached the ledge Guan had suggested. In reality, it was little more than a small cluster of weather-beaten boulders that jutted out from the steep mountainside, but it was enough for a few small people to squish under. Crouching down as low as he could, Dashi crawled under the ledge and pulled his knees close into his chest to sit. He gestured to the others to join him. Mentally weighing her options, Wuya decided that the possibility of quelling the almost convulsive shivers from the cold and wet was worth a bit of close contact, even if it was with the infuriating Wind Apprentice, and she reluctantly cuddled up next to him. He grinned indulgently and held her tightly around the waist, surprised and pleased when she did not object. The Fire Apprentice moved to join them, but stopped abruptly, squinting out into the rain. Growing alarmed when he saw nothing, he called over his shoulder to the others, "Where's Chase?"

"Wasn't he with you?" Dashi asked uncertainly, reluctantly dislodging his arm from Wuya's waist and stepping back into the pouring rain with the Earth Apprentice close behind.

"I thought he was!" Guan exclaimed a bit frantically, turning his back on the dark expanse of water to survey the heavily forested mountainside. "I know he was behind us on the way here, but- GAH!" He yelped loudly in surprise as a dark figure barreled into him from behind in a splash of lake water. The arms that wrapped around his shoulders were slick, a bit slimy, and coated with fine, green scales, and the slender fingers were connected by thin webbing. Its hair was green like seaweed and even its uncontrollable giggling sounded muffled, as though from lack of air. Sighing shakily in relief, Guan shook his head and said, "Chase...please don't do that."

Loosening his arms from his friend's shoulders, the Water Apprentice placed his hands over his throat and said, "Gills of Hamachi!" As the fishlike characteristics faded and vanished, a swirling, golden choker materialized in his hands. Still laughing quietly, he said apologetically, "I didn't mean to upset you so much. I just thought it was funny." Although he appeared genuinely sorry, a few muffled giggles still escaped, and the other young monks were more than a bit cross at him for worrying them. Acting on the first form of revenge that crossed his mind, Dashi picked up the lighter Water Apprentice by the waist and threw him bodily into the lake.

Chase surfaced moments later, coughing and sputtering. Looking scandalized, he yelled back to the Wind Apprentice, who was standing on the shore wearing an expression of infuriating smugness, "What did you do that for?"

It was Wuya who answered back, teasingly, "You deserved it for worrying us so much!"

Pouting adorably, the waterlogged Chase Young waved a hand limply at his friends, who were growing more visible as the rain thinned out and finally ceased, and called a bit sarcastically, "Come on in- the water is just lovely!"

At the younger monk's suggestion, Dashi pointed out, "We might as well. We're already soaked and we don't have anything better to do." Squeezing the water from his black-trimmed, red sleeve, he added, "Well, except to go back to the temple, but what fun is that?"

Chase blinked in surprise as his friends joined him in the chilly lake. Dashi and Wuya jumped in eagerly, and Guan waded slowly behind them. "I wasn't being serious," he pointed out, but immediately ceased any talking as a playful splash from Wuya hit him in the face. Laughing lightly, he threw a handful of water back, using his elemental abilities to shape it into a perfect sphere that exploded in a colossal splash on contact. Immediately, he was bombarded from every direction by more of the slightly murky lake water. "That hardly seems fair!" He pretended to be indignant.

Guan replied, "It's no more unfair than you using your element," but the statement held no real anger.

"Very true," Chase agreed, grinning playfully as he formed an even bigger ball of water.

As the splashing fight continued, the Earth and Wind Apprentices returned to shore and began a rock-skipping contest. Wuya manipulated handfuls of coarse sand and the soil below to form smooth, heavy stones and threw them effortlessly to Dashi, who conjured small but powerful gusts of wind that sent them sailing out over the glassy surface of the lake. Smirking deviously, she created increasingly larger and larger rocks to try to throw him off, but he was never surprised enough to drop one. However, his aim did begin to suffer.

"Would you please be more careful?" Chase called out in alarm as a flying stone narrowly missed his head.

Nonchalantly, Dashi answered, "I'm not going to hit you." Even as he spoke, he blindly hurled another rock out into the very center of the lake. Instead of splashing into the water and sinking, however, it made contact with an obstacle and shattered in an explosive shower of sand. Blinking in surprise, the Wind Apprentice muttered, "Must have hit a log..."

Moments later, all four monks staggered as the entire valley lurched violently, then began to shake and rumble. Circular shock waves rippled from the exact center of the lake- the spot where Dashi's rock had landed. Wuya looked frightened, and she struggled to remain standing as the quaking intensified. "W-what's going on?"

"I don't know!" Guan looked equally alarmed. Grabbing hold of Chase's slender wrist in a firm grip, he pulled his smaller friend to his feet and out of the increasingly turbulent water. As they reached shore, and awful screeching noise echoed through they valley, and a monstrous head on a long neck erupted from the center of the lake in a fountain of water. Fine, dark green scales coated the entire figure, and a finned crest ran up the length of the neck and ended right between the eyes. Those eyes were the barest slits that glittered bright yellow, and when the snakelike jaws opened, they were revealed to be filled with wickedly sharp teeth.

Opening its gaping maw, it let out another painful shriek, and a cacophony of shrill but muffled noises answered. Moments later, the shock waves disappeared, the shaking ceased, and everything was silent. Then in an even larger spray of water, eight more heads rose from the water, along with a multitude of powerful, suction-covered tentacles. All nine heads screeched in unison, and the four young monks staggered backwards with their hands pressed tightly over their ears.

Eyes wide in a mix of awe and terror, Chase breathed, "I've read about those...that's a hydra." Since he had learned to read, the Apprentice of Water had spent countless hours with his nose buried in the many scrolls and codices in the temple's library. Any and all literature fascinated him, and he was capable of sucking information out of reading materials at a frightening pace. Through this, he had gained an extensive knowledge of magic and monsters in a short time, which had proved quite an asset on numerous occasions.

Cracking his knuckles and smirking grimly, Dashi growled, "Well, whatever it is, it's no match for us." He brandished the Lotus Twister threateningly.

Wuya snorted, shifting into a fighting stance beside him. "You look really impressive, wielding a flower."

However, Guan took several steps backwards, shaking his head vehemently and exclaiming, "Are you all out of your minds? We can't fight this thing! This is just the kind of situation-" the four cringed at another ear-splitting shriek from the creature. He continued, "-that Master Chang told us to avoid! We were supposed to kill the cyclops and that was it!"

"Quit worrying!" Wuya snapped. With a grin, she added, "I'm all for an actual challenge."

Offering his friend a reassuring smile, Chase agreed, "We can take it."

Dashi made the first move. Crying out, "Lotus Twister!" he stretched his arms to each grasp a sturdy tree on opposite sides of the wide lake, stepping back and bracing his feet. When he let them go, he flew forward like a human slingshot in what would have been a devastatingly powerful kick, had it hit. However, the head he had been aiming for swung out of the way, and he went hurtling past, landing in a disoriented heap on the far shore of the lake.

With an exasperated sigh, Wuya slipped a pair of ornate, winged sandals onto her narrow feet and exclaimed, "Fancy Feet!" She hated to have to use Shen Gong Wu at all, but sometimes they proved a necessity. In a split second, she was just inches from the leftmost fang-filled mouth, and she slammed her fist into the creature's jawbone with all her might. The powerfully muscled neck, however, was extremely resilient. Though several razor-sharp teeth were knocked from the hydra's mouth, the spine refused to snap, and the unexpected resistance sent the Earth Apprentice plummeting downwards into the water. "It's too strong!" she gasped.

"No kidding!" Dashi exclaimed as he returned to the other monks, looking nervous. "I think we may be a bit out of our league with this one."

"Maybe you'll listen to me next time," Guan grumbled.

Wuya retorted, "This is an awful time for 'I told you so's, you know."

As the three overwhelmed young warriors cautiously stepped back out of the monster's striking range, only Chase remained immobile. Glaring resolutely forward, he assumed a fighting stance.

Wide-eyed, the Fire Apprentice yelled, "Chase! What are you doing?" He was terrified that his prideful friend was about to do something extremely stupid.

Chase's normally gentle features were twisted as he snarled, "I will not be defeated by a creature of my own element!" In spite of his friends' shouted protests, he reached inside his red tunic and pulled out a shining, coin-shaped Shen Gong Wu. After flipping it into the air, he caught it determinedly and called, "Mantis Flip Coin!" With an elaborate, spinning leap, he soared over all of the monster's fearsome heads, catching hold of the finned crest on the back of one of the necks. Hooking his legs around the scaly neck for support, he reached his hands around to the front of the throat and conjured a shimmering blade of ice between them. Struggling to hold on as the creature thrashed and shrieked, he wrenched the blade backwards. The head was sliced clean off in a spray of hot, ink-black blood, and Chase laughed triumphantly.

"I can't believe it! He did it!" Dashi said in astonishment. Emboldened by their friend's success, he, Guan, and Wuya rushed back into the fray.

At that moment, however, the flesh of the hydra's severed neck began to writhe and contort, and a new head suddenly burst forth from where the old had been lost. All nine mouths opened and screeched deafeningly, and the three warriors stopped dead in their tracks as the new head twisted around and one of the tentacles whipped up, grabbing the terrified Water Apprentice around the waist. Chase screamed as the creature flung him away and he went flying, impacting with a tree trunk with a sickening crack. He dropped limply to the ground and did not get up.

"Chase!" Crying out in unison, the remaining monks ran to the side of their unconscious friend. Kneeling down beside the smaller boy, Guan rolled him gently onto his back, running a hand through his dark hair. The Water Apprentice moaned softly, and when Guan pulled back his hand, it was covered with blood. Horrified tears welled up in Wuya's eyes and Guan's fists were clenched tightly enough to break the skin. Before they could even consider their options, however, the Apprentice of Wind was ripped away from the others and lifted into the air by another of the hydra's many powerful tentacles. As he struggled violently to escape the appendage that held him, the nearest head lashed out, clamping the young monk's shoulder in its crushing jaws. A wave of pain hit him as the razor-sharp teeth ripped through muscle and skin, and he let out a strangled yell. At the sound, Wuya ran forward, concentrating her mind and energy as best she could and raising her hands above her head. When she slammed her palms into the ground, a spire of rock shot up from the earth underneath the lake, slicing through the tentacle that held Dashi. He landed with a splash in the water along with the severed tentacle. Hoisting the limp form of Chase Young up over his shoulder, Guan yelled to the other two, "Come on! We have to get out of here!"

As they ran, one final tentacle whipped out from back at the lake, entwining itself around Guan's ankle and attempting to drag him back. The Fire Apprentice managed to wrench his leg out of the creature's vice-like grip, but not before the powerful appendage twisted upwards and he felt the bones of his foot shatter. Gasping sharply in pain, he stumbled and fell forward, clenching his fingers in the dirt in bitter anger. With a slicing blast of wind, Dashi gouged a deep gash in the soft and fleshy underside of the tentacle, and it retracted, the valley echoing with the creature's pained shrieks. They knew they were finally, at least for the moment, safe. The young monks collapsed all at once, too overwhelmed by exhaustion and pain to even speak, and the images of the trees and grey sky above spun and blurred before fading to blackness.

End Chapter 3

Oh dearie me- what will happen to our heroes now? Heh, it's so obvious that Chase is my favorite- I'm so mean to him. XD

Feedback is much appreciated!