Author's Note: This is word emphasis

This is book, movie, song, anime/manga, and copy written titles

This is dreams/mindscapes/flashbacks

Chapter 6

After seeing the others fall to Omi's instincts Usagi rolls her shoulders, casually walks past Omi, and then immediately sweeps him off his feet, startling the young Monk. Yusuke smirks from where he's watching, " What he's really doing is reading your body language. "

This has the other three in training dragons twitching, and Omi looks at them sheepishly, while sending death glares towards Usagi's cousin. Well, more like fourth cousin, but they simplified it to being cousins. No one commented about Usagi's new necklace, a silver locket, on a silver chain. Raimundo had given them the unvarnished truth about Usagi's party, and how all of her relatives were vipers trying to tear her down enough to become heir or heiress themselves. They'd seen how her walls were back up, and the results of her spar with Ranma as well. Jin was just there to teach Raimundo since Jin knew how to use their shared element in combat much better than Raimundo currently did.

Ranma was able to teach them all useful things, and with his help Kimiko now had the Martial Arts Tea Ceremony under her fighting belt as well. It had been a week and a half since Usagi turned fourteen, and in that time Raimundo had been strictly on damage control with his girlfriend, with Yusuke's help to get her to actually talk to the both of them. Raimundo was hoping to hell he wouldn't have to break her mask to help her heal fully. If that needed to happen...he didn't know if he could do that to his Conejita. Getting her to talk was helping though, though just letting her snuggle into him worked to. He'd found out she'd never really gotten any positive physical affection, if that meant letting her cuddle with him then so be it.

None of them notice Kimiko get kidnapped by Jack Spicer, and his Chameleonbot, said Chameleonbot taking Kimiko's place. The one Xiaolin Dragon in Training that would have noticed immediately...well...without warning she just drops. Raimundo pulling off a slide tackle to get under her to cushion her fall, and the three present Xiaolin Dragons in training look at their Lightning Dragon in concern. " What happened? " Clay asks, rightly baffled at what happened.

It was Ranma that gave them their answer, " She's been cursed, which means Raimundo is on lockdown. We can't risk anything happening to him right now. His job as her anchor is even more important now, than previously. "

Raimundo already is scooping her up, and he tosses the Golden Tiger Claws to Yusuke, and sends him a look, " Get to Umika, tell her that her heiress has been cursed, then get back here, you're on defense for both of us. "

Yusuke nods, he actually cared about Usagi, the fact that someone had the cowardly balls enough to curse her like this...it pissed him off. " I'll stay and defend them as well, Ranma, they may need your help in the field. " Jin says.

Ranma nods seriously at this while Raimundo carries Usagi to his room. If anyone came after her directly they'd expect to find her in her room, not Raimundo's. Yusuke had already taken off to tell Umika what had happened to Usagi, Umika would hunt down the individual, or individuals responsible for attacking her heiress in such a vile, and cowardly manner. While the others go after the Helmet of Jong Raimundo looks after Usagi, whom had developed a fever, which told him she was fighting the curse off. He has her laid out on his bed, and a basin of water nearby as well. Ranma had mentioned she could develop a fever from fighting the curse off. He wipes her forehead, and neck down. He knew conventional means would not work as this was magical in nature, all he could do was keep cooling her off, and believe in her completely. " Sos más fuerte que la maldición, Mi Conejita. No me voy a ir a ninguna parte, si necesitas mi fuerza, la tendrás(You're stronger than some curse, my bunny. I'm not going anywhere, you need my strength, you'll have it). " Raimundo murmurs.

Jin and Yusuke are both patrolling, Jin the skies, and Yusuke the temple itself. Yusuke had taken the time to familiarize himself with the whole temple, though he had given the Golden Tiger Claws back to Raimundo, mostly so if necessary he could get himself, and Usagi out. It was only when Clay came to check on Usagi that Raimundo realized they had gone to get a Shen Gong Wu, only for whom they thought was Kimiko to lose a Showdown to Jack. Clay fills Raimundo in, and Raimundo tells Clay as much as he can about Usagi's condition.

Usagi's Mindscape:

The blonde Lightning Dragon in Training slams back into a wall behind her. Her mindscape resembled the palace on the Moon. " You're pathetic. You can't even defend yourself in your own mind. "

Usagi pushes off the wall, flipping herself over her opponent, which happened to be a malevolent spirit given corporeal form. Said curse also had the additive effect of making it so she couldn't use any magical attacks without weakening after each attack used. This meant she had to rely on her wits, and physical attacks until her grandmother broke the damned curse. It was a nasty waiting game where she also had to fight for her life as well. If not for the fact that she could feel Raimundo's emotions acting as the mooring she so desperately needed at the moment. She'd heard him earlier. He believed in her, believed she was stronger than this curse, and was more than willing to lend her his strength as well. Usagi centers herself, and her eyes narrow. She smirks, " Catch me if you can. "

Usagi knew damned well her best chance was to play to her strengths, one of which was her speed. She knew the palace, this upstart invading her head didn't. Time to take advantage of that fact.

Exit Usagi's Mindscape:

Raimundo wipes her down again, and blinks when he finds his free hand trapped by Usagi having grabbed it without him noticing. He laces his fingers through hers, squeezing gently, " You've got this, Mi Conejita. "

At the same time Kimiko is escaping, Jack is using the Changing Chopsticks he steals to steal the rest of the Shen Gong Wu as well while the Chameleonbot keeps the Dragons busy. Omi does manage to destroy the Chameleonbot, but Jack makes off with the Wu. He did notice that the Eye of Dashi, and Golden Tiger Claws were missing. He hadn't seen Raimundo or Usagi though, then he hears that Usagi had been long distance cursed. He decided he didn't need to grab those two items, and the only other one left happened to be the Mantis Flip Coin.

Usagi had gained a death grip on Raimundo's left hand, causing the Brazilian to wince. He endured it though, being an empath's anchor could get brutally dangerous in situations like this. Anchors could get killed alongside the one they were anchoring should things go south. The Brazilian isn't worried about that though, he knows his Conejita will survive this. He just had to keep his own strength up. It was about then that Ranma brings him some food, and helps Raimundo eat it as well. " Yusuke's gotten word from Umika, the curse has been backtraced, finally. We just need to keep you in good shape, so you can bolster Usa-chan when necessary. "

Raimundo looks down at Usagi, " I know. Did anything happen that I need to know about, Ranma? "

" Jack kidnapped Kimiko, replaced her with a Chameleonbot, and while we were all distracted made off with everything save for the Golden Tiger Claws, Eye of Dashi, and Mantis Flip Coin. " Ranma fills him in.

Raimundo winces, " Ouch, Conejita would have noticed immediately. "

" Omi was suspicious, to be fair. " Ranma says, " You're right though, Usagi would have known immediately. "

Just as Raimundo is about to say something he slumps over on top of Usagi, and Ranma curses. That could mean nothing good.

Usagi's Mindscape:

Usagi still wasn't sure how she had ended up pinned to the ground, hands wrapped around her throat. She had tried bucking, but her opponent was physically superior to her, she was desperately trying to pry those hands off of her throat even as things start going dark. Her dark side had appeared, and before she could reach their foe, collapsed to her knees. She. Would. Not. Go. Out. Like. This. Dammit! If she could use her powers then it would be a different story. Then the weight was off of her, and Shinimegami blitzes forward, pushing off the ground, and then off a wall to add more striking force to her hit on their foe. It was only when she's pulled upright, and hugged tightly, that she realizes what had happened. Raimundo had been called into her mindscape, " I'm here, Conejita. "

Usagi takes in some deep breaths, " Fucking curse, I can't use any of my powers, dammit! "

Shinimegami backflips away from the invader, " You have made the monumental mistake of pissing me off! No one messes with my light side like this, asshole! "

" Ha, as if there is anything you can do about it. She's pathetically weak. "

Usagi bristles as she gets to her feet, and power blasts out from her in all directions as the Demon Blood Amplification Gems appear on her person, it was time to use her last resort, " Shinimegami, keep that pest busy. There is only one spell I have in my arsenal that I can use in this situation. SHE will not be happy that one of her blessed is being fucked with like this. Serenity-hime, get your ass out here as well, I need all fucking hands on deck while I do this. Raimundo, you'll have to cast with me. "

Raimundo looks at her, " Which spell are you going for? "

" The only one I can, I'm calling on a Higher Power. Only my ancestress Lina has ever been able to use this spell successfully, after she recreated it. "

His eyes widen, " Are you insane? "

" Do you have any better ideas? " Usagi asks him.

He stands up, and wraps his arms around her from behind, propping his head on her chin, " No, I don't. Let's do this. "

" Darkness beyond blackest pitch, Deeper than the deepest night, Lord as Vast as the largest ocean, Colder than the coldest ice, King of Darkness whom shines like gold upon the Sea of Chaos, We call upon thee and swear ourselves to thee, We stand ready to bear the strength you give us, Let the fools whom stand before us be destroyed by the power you and we possess...Giga Slave! "

While they had been incanting Princess Serenity and Shinimegami had been keeping their foe on check, and they both leap away at the same time as the Lord of Nightmares herself takes over Usagi's mental body, and obliterates the invader just as the curse is stopped. The Lord of Nightmares looks at Raimundo, " Thank you for just being there for her. Save my chosen from herself, please. "

Usagi falls back into him, exhausted, but fine. Princess Serenity walks forward, and smirks, " I could do much worse than you. Hmm, wonder if I can control things enough to have some fun. "

Usagi lifts her head up, " Go relive one of your encounters with Sailors Eos and Hesper. "

" Aw, but I know you're curious too. " Serenity says.

Usagi groans, " It's not my fault you were hard up for any decent eye candy of the male variety. "

Raimundo grins, " I knew you were subtly trying to get me topless. "

" Well, can you blame me? As I pointed out, my last life had a sincere lack of decent male eye candy that she wasn't related to. " Usagi says.

" You could have just asked. " Raimundo points out.

" There's no fun in that. " all three portions of Usagi state.

Shinimegami licks her lips as she looks him over, and Usagi curses her dark side, her dreams were going to be very interesting after this. Raimundo smirks wickedly, and pulls Shinimegami to himself, " There's enough of me for all of you, Mi Conejita Oscura(My dark bunny). Mi Conejita needs me more at the moment though, so wait your turn. "

Shinimegami found herself weak kneed from the look of dark promise in his eyes, and she fades back into the background. Raimundo looks at the princess, his eyes softening, even as he shifts Usagi, " I promise, you'll get your turn as well, Princesa. "

Exit Usagi's Mindscape:

Raimundo groans as he comes to, levering himself upright, muttering in his mother tongue about stupid curses and what he'd like to do to their casters. It was sheer instinct that had him grabbing Usagi, and using the Golden Tiger Claws in the same move, just barely avoiding a knife in the back. Usagi snaps awake as they emerge, and rolls to her feet, only to immediately step to the right, and grab the arm that was behind the knife that had been coming at her, she snaps the arm with little thought, grabs the knife, and stabs the idiot in a place where he couldn't run away. Raimundo is dodging his opponent, and he uses the Claws to go to Jack Spicer's home where he snaps up the Sword of the Storm, before heading back.

Yusuke had joined his cousin, " These idiots caught us off guard, Kimiko, Clay, Omi, and Master Fung are locked in the Wu Vault. "

" What about Ranma? " Raimundo asks.

That was when a tornado was spawned, " Never mind, Heaven Dragon Blast, there he is. " Raimundo states.

Usagi is going knife to knife with another pest, " Soon you will no longer be the heiress. "

" Susanoo, what the fuck did I do to deserve this, dammit! " Usagi snaps, her blade slashing through the throat of this one.

Raimundo smirks, " Conejita, Eye of Dashi please. "

She tosses it to him, and he combines the Sword of the Storm with the Eye of Dashi once more while Yusuke goes back to back with Usagi, they'd been in enough street fights to have their teamwork down. Yusuke was able to beat Omi in spars because he didn't fight fair, and Master Fung had admitted that they needed to face opponents like that in training so they would know how to handle it. The massive storm Raimundo calls up rounds the idiots all up into the courtyard, whereupon Ranma hits them all with the pressure point that paralyzes them. Usagi was still alert though, and acted before anyone could think to stop her. Raimundo spins around to see Usagi impaled just to the right of her heart, one sharp twist would end things for her.

Sapphire eyes glare at the one holding the sword, she grabs said sword to hold it steady, and pushes herself off. The blood started flowing faster, but Usagi didn't notice, " You are nothing more than a coward who doesn't have the chones enough to face me outright in combat for the position. It was your damned sister whom cast the curse, right? "

" Correct, you damned bitch. "

" You sir, have made a monumental mistake. " Usagi snaps, and the sigil of the Moon Princess bursts into brilliant existence. Princess Serenity was fully awake, and she was pissed off! Seven streaks of light wing their way to her, and orbit her, before swirling together to form the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou. She cups the Ginzuishou in her hands, it's forming healing her immediately.

Ranma, Yusuke, Jin, and Raimundo can only watch in stunned disbelief at what they were seeing while alarms go off the world wide at the massive outpouring of power. Indicative of sleeping power waking up in a hurry. The Time Storm at the Gates intensifies at the awakening of the princess much too soon. Princess Serenity the V stands tall and proud, " You tried to take the life of my Shield and Anchor knowing full well my current incarnation would act to save him. I would generally never do this, but you, and all with you, shall be judged by the feather of Ma'at. "

To the absolute astonishment of the observers Anubis, Egyptian Judge of the Dead appears to do the judging, " Princess Serenity, it has been quite some time. "

" Anubis, deal with them for me, please. They went after my Shield and Anchor. "

" That is precisely why I have answered your call personally, Princess. Your father sends his regards, and that he approves of him. "

Sapphire eyes light up, " Thank you, I'll leave you to it. "

Princess Serenity walks over to Raimundo, and gently closes his mouth, since it had dropped from shock. She snaps her fingers, and rolls her eyes before blowing gently on his ear. A whole body shudder traverses Raimundo's body, had he been coherent that would never have been as pronounced, and he wraps his arms around her immediately upon regaining his bearings. If she could feel minute shudders traversing his body as he assured himself she was in one piece she ignored it. That had been way too close. Raimundo had been right when he said losing him would cause her to snap, not just because he was her Shield and Anchor, but her true other half as well. The spiritual wounds had made it so the bond hadn't fully solidified yet. Hence why Usagi couldn't have just warned him telepathically.

" Huh, was not expecting something like this out of my favorite cousin. " Yusuke says when his brain reboots.

Ranma just groans, and looks at her, " Not my fault, it always takes something like this to wake a being like me up. I would have been happy to never wake up, thank you! " Princess Serenity states.

" Tranquila, Mi Conejita Lunar(Easy, my moon bunny). " Raimundo murmurs in her ear, his emotions were settling now that he had her safe in his arms. For one horrible moment he thought he'd lost her to save him.

Jin shakes his head, and goes to free the others. Anubis is gone by the time they get there, and they're just in time to see Serenity fade back into Usagi, the blonde sagging in Raimundo's arms, the Ginzuishou gripped lightly in her hands. Raimundo swings her up, " Everything they tell you is true, I'm taking her somewhere that we can relax, it's been a damned long day. " Raimundo states, and one swipe of the Golden Tiger Claws they were gone, Raimundo taking the Sword of the Storm and Eye of Dashi with him.

Jack's Home/Serra Geral:

Jack's eyes widen when, on his security footage, he sees Raimundo pop in with the Claws, and steal the Sword of the Storm back, before popping back out. Then to his surprise a portal appears under his feet, and he's sprawled out before Raimundo and Usagi, whom was nestled in Raimundo's arms, sleeping. Raimundo quirks an eyebrow at him, " You don't have any friends, do you, Jack? "

" What makes you say that? Also, why am I here? " Jack asks, pushing himself into a sitting position.

Raimundo sighs, " You're more alive during Showdowns, as for why you're here, you cannot challenge for the Sword of the Storm, or Eye of Dashi. They're needed to protect Mi Conejita. "

" Something happened after I left the Temple, didn't it? I heard she had been cursed, it's why I didn't hunt down the Golden Tiger Claws, or Eye of Dashi. "

" She's the heiress to the Albarn Demon Hunting line, and the ones behind her are becoming even more underhanded to become heir or heiress themselves. One group attacked the temple, it's why I stole the Sword back. I'm her Shield and Anchor. "

Jack blinks at the emphasis, and then curses creatively, using Hephaestus' name more than once, " She's an empath? "

" Emotionally abused empath, it's why she's always with me, and why I had to go with her to her birthday party that her paternal grandmother threw her. One of two relatives of hers that I've met that actually give a damn about her. " Raimundo answers.

" Fuck, yeah, I can see why you would want to keep those two along with the Golden Tiger Claws. " Jack says, running his hands through his red hair, and displacing his goggles.

" Usagi and I, we understand the shades of gray, Jack. The others would never even think about asking you for help, but me...I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Besides, she's Kitsune. "

Red eyes widen in shock as Jack looks at the sleeping blonde, " Well, damn, at least I'm not challenging her for her title. You can count on me. All mayhem purveyors will come together to protect Kitsune, she's our Queen. "

" I thought you might be one of her subjects. I'll send you back after I recover from this clusterfuck of a day. Can I count on you to keep us safe, and not steal the Wu while I get some rest? " Raimundo asks.

Jack sits up straight, and looks him dead in the eye, " Prankster's honor. I personally will not challenge any of you for the Golden Tiger Claws, Eye of Dashi, or Sword of the Storm. "

Raimundo relaxes, and lays back, allowing his guard to drop, and sleep to overtake him. Jack is stunned at the amount of trust Raimundo was showing in him. No one had ever trusted him like this...ever.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, Xiaolin Showdown, Ranma Saotome, or Yu Yu Hakusho. Nor do I own any spells from Slayers.