Disclaimer: -sigh- Not mine.

A/N: Holy crud! This story has gotten over a thousand hits! O.O Thank you, all readers, and especially you reviewers.

Ugh, this chapter didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped... -.-;


Prophecy

A Xiaolin Showdown fanfiction
Written by Calistar Heir

Chapter Seven: The First Signs

Raimundo raised his head, looking around. Mist hovered heavy just above the ground, but there didn't seem to be walls or a ceiling. He had the distinct feeling of being in a dome; everything around him at perhaps a fifteen-foot radius was visible, and untouched darkness waited beyond. For a moment Raimundo thought he'd entered his own mind again, but this was a different place.

There was noise somewhere: the movement of feathered wings. Raimundo looked around, searching for it, and found himself looking at a small dead tree with a single branch, which he knew had not been there seconds before. On the branch was a bird, a falcon specifically; it had sky-blue and forest-green plumage, and silver eyes...which were looking straight at him.

Raimundo blinked; the falcon did not mimic the action. He wanted to move, but his feet seemed to have been turned to stone.

It was strange; Raimundo was looking at the bird, he could see it...but he couldn't see it. It was like he was staring at an optical allusion or something; it was in focus but out of focus, all at the same time.

The two stared at each other; the bird sat still as a statue, and nothing happened.

Finally, Raimundo cleared his throat. "Um...hello?"

The falcon smiled; despite that being very strange, it was a relief to Raimundo.

"Erm, can you speak?"

"...Don't be scared, Raimundo," said the falcon calmly.

The boy stared blankly at the bird. "What-?"

"Raimundo!"

Raimundo's eyes snapped open. He blinked, and Omi's face came into focus. Seeing the small monk's expression, the Brazilian felt a ripple of surprise; Omi was looking strangely lethargic, and there were barely noticeable circles under his eyes. The Dragon of Wind couldn't understand why he hadn't noticed earlier.

"You went off dozing; we were wondering when you'd be joining us!"

It took a moment for Raimundo to realize what Omi was talking about. "Soon, Omi," he yawned, shoving aside his annoyance of the interrupted dream. It wasn't just that the dream had been cut short, but the fact that his escape had been foiled accidentally. All that morning, Raimundo had been pestered by a breeze. He tried to make sense of it, but he'd been so tired that he couldn't concentrate on it. Frustrated, he'd finally just decided to take a nap and try to cool down. Now, however, he'd have to get up.

His eyes closed again, but Omi didn't move. Raimundo could feel the dark eyes looking at him, and felt a prickle of discomfort. The boy sensed that Omi wanted to ask him about something (judging by how the small monk remained where he was Raimundo felt he was right) yet as the moments passed in which Raimundo waited for him to speak, the Brazilian suspected that his friend really didn't know how to bring it up. He peeked open an eye to look at Omi, and saw that he was trying to muster up some words.

Sighing, Raimundo sat up, swinging his legs over the side of his cot. "Yes?"

Omi hesitated. "I can understand why you fell asleep...you were up late last night."

Raimundo felt confused, and all he managed was, "Huh?"

"I...," started Omi, as if he thought he shouldn't know this, "...I think I heard you breathing heavily last night. Were you out practicing?"

The Brazilian felt his stomach plummet as he remembered what Omi was referring to. Shadows had interrupted his sleep throughout the evening; off and on that night a nightmare (or as he suspected, nightmares referring to each other) had woken him up for long periods of time. They'd quickly disintegrated, however, and now all he could remember were vague shadows and shapes.

Did dealing with nightmares count as training?

"...Whatever makes you feel better, Omi," Raimundo said in a defeated tone, and, getting off the cot, walked out of the room to join his other two friends.

It didn't take long for Omi to fall into step with him, feeling better. Raimundo couldn't help the tiny stab of envy; it had taken him over a year to get over his incident with Wuya, but Omi? A few days with unnatural humility and he was his old self again. With a sudden shock, Raimundo realized that he'd slightly missed egocentric Omi.

But right now, Omi was being very quiet. This combined with the way he'd been acting seconds ago made the Dragon of Wind a little worried about what had been going on while he was asleep. Suddenly, the circles under Omi's eyes looked even darker.

"Omi?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay?"

Omi seemed to come out of a deep stupor, and then grinned weakly at his friend. "Fine!" said the Dragon of Water with forced cheerfulness.

Raimundo paused in his tracks and stopped his friend by putting a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, pal?"

For several seconds, Omi considered telling the older boy what was troubling him. But something held him back, and he shook his head. "It's alright, Raimundo. I mean you no disrespect, but I do not particularly feel like telling anyone."

The Dragon of Wind almost felt reproachful, but then he realized that he'd just done the same thing Omi did. "Fair enough," he said, starting to walk again.

But his mind wouldn't leave Omi's unusual soberness alone. Even when Dojo came scrambling up with the news of a new Shen-Gong-Wu, Raimundo was only half listening. Suddenly, when Kimiko and Clay approached, Omi brightened, acting perfectly normal; however, when the other three weren't looking at him, his face clouded into the expression Raimundo had been greeted with upon awakening. He was acting very odd...

Then a thought crept into his mind as three engaged in conversation, unaware that the other two weren't fully listening:

Why had Omi been awake in the first place?


Jack Spicer flew through the air as fast as his helipack would allow. His detecto-watch beeped out the directions quietly, drawn to the newly awakened magic. Bright-red hair was being whipped by the wind, the yellow, swirling goggles pulled down over his red eyes.

The hum of his Jackbots behind him was of little comfort. At best they only kept the Xiaolin Losers busy, and even that wasn't very long... They took a lot of time and effort on his part, and he didn't particularly like asking about money for parts.

And mom wondered why he was always looking so tired these days.

He scowled to himself as he impatiently shoved his mother's concerned words from his mind; the newest Shen-Gong-Wu had to be his. He was pretty low on Wu as it was, even with the raid he'd somehow managed to pull off the previous day.

"Let's see here...," he muttered to himself. "Mwahahahaha! ...No, no, no, too overused... Myeheheheh! ...Myahahohee! Um..."


"The Pendant of Light," read Kimiko aloud to her friends, looking at the Shen-Gong-Wu scroll. Upon Dojo's back, the three boys looked at it as best they could. The circle in the middle of the scroll showed a long-chained sun-shaped pendant, and promptly went into an explanation. "It gives light to the user in...the most impenetrable of darkness?"

The scroll showed the "example man" holding it, and then vanishing in black. Suddenly he reappeared, illuminated by the glowing pendant.

Clay scratched his head. "What's it mean by 'impenetrable darkness' anyway?"

"Well, it's not talking about the natural kind, is it?" remarked Dojo, eyes shifting back to look at them.

"There is an unnatural kind?" asked Omi, eyebrows rising. He was acting far more awake than he actually was.

"Of course there is!" snorted Dojo. "But it needs a lot of power behind it... That's what makes this one and the Bracelet of Darkness among the most powerful Wu."

"That would be the Pendant of Light's sister Shen-Gong-Wu?" Kimiko inquired, closing the scroll. She brushed one of the black curls she let hang on either side of her face out of her eyes. The rest of her hair had been pulled back by a clip and allowed to fall down her back. She then fidgeted with her white top, smoothing out the sky-blue skirt and white sash.

"Duh," said Raimundo irately, rolling his eyes.

Kimiko stiffened at the tone in his voice, and whipped her head around, her eyes blazing at him. "That's the fifth condescending remark you've made since breakfast," she said angrily. "What's got you in such a foul mood?"

"Mind your own beeswax," Raimundo grumbled.

"Raimundo!" said Omi; his tone was surprised. "Why are you so bothered today?"

"Yeah, Rai," Clay frowned from behind the Dragon of Wind. "You're about as irritated as a cat at a dog park."

Raimundo glared down at Dojo's scales. "Nothing's wrong," he muttered.

Clay raised an eyebrow. "And I'm a half-dead coyote."

Raimundo felt the blue eyes fixed on the back of his skull, filled with, he knew, a desire to understand why his friend was acting the way he was. Looking away from Omi's concerned gaze and Kimiko's irately quizzical stare, he struggled to blot the images of their faces from his mind...with, as usual, no success. Behind his grumpy mood, the boy felt himself in the middle of an internal war. Half of him wanted to spill everything, while the other fiercely insisted on keeping up the façade.

Shaking his head to clear it of vague nightmares and thoughts of troubled wind struggling in vain to tell him something, he sighed, "Forget it; sorry, Kimiko."

Kimiko narrowed her eyes questioningly at her friend, opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and faced front again. Omi and Clay exchanged looks; when Clay shrugged, Omi returned the action and, like Kimiko, faced forward. Raimundo was relieved to see the Japanese girl's shoulders relax as they traveled, and was further relieved when she fell into comfortable conversation with him and the other boys.


The California Redwoods were relatively quiet, the silence nearly undisturbed by the sound of a woman making her way through the trees.

She was a beautiful woman, though most would be reluctant to admit it. Slender and tanned, her green eyes glittered beneath fine eyebrows. Her hair curled down her back in vibrant red waves. The black, orient dress she wore complimented her nicely, and her slim feet were shoeless. There were very few things that suggested she wasn't human: her sharply-pointed ears, the pupils, which seemed to swirl amidst the green, and the aura that followed her everywhere. It was the feeling of someone who'd once held great power but lost it.

In fact, she had held power. Fifteen-hundred years ago, she had left the world in terror where she walked, ruled over man with her dark, Heylin powers. Her memories of that time were frequent and bittersweet for her. Fury leapt up within her at the thought of that Xiaolin fool who had somehow found the way to defeat her, bringing her reign of chaos to a premature end.

She recalled him as he was alive, tall, strong, proud, powerful (she knew that all too well,) a cocky smile gracing his Chinese features. The last image of him, ending that fateful battle, had haunted her as she was trapped in limbo, robbed of everything but free-thought and her life: battered, exhausted, but dark eyes glittering with grim triumph as he hurled a seemingly unimportant puzzle-box at the unsuspecting and equally tired Heylin Witch.

"Dashi." The name hissed out lower than a whisper through the witch's grinding teeth.

"Who now?" asked a cool voice.

Startled, the woman jumped and whirled on the spot. Calm and collected, as always, a young handsome man, dressed in armor, stood several feet behind her, an equally handsome tiger prowling slowly around his legs. His long black hair was tinted green, ears pointed as well, and his eyes were unusually reptilian, gold with black slits for pupils. A Xiaolin Warrior who had fallen to the Heylin forces, he had sold his soul for a potion of eternal youth, the side-effect of this brew turning him into a fierce dragon.

Now, however, the only sign of his reptile side was his unusual eyes. He stood with alert ease, his eyes focused on her with calm authority. Struggling with her shock, she managed a stiff nod.

"Chase," she said quietly, her voice laced with anger, hate, and unwanted fear.

"Wuya," Chase Young replied in the same cool tone; the tiger stopped to stand at Chase's side, who began to gently scratch it one-fingered behind the ear. One eyebrow curved upwards while his eyes remained unsurprised. "Gone Shen-Gong-Wu hunting, have you?"

Wuya's eyes flashed, but she stifled it hastily. This man had managed to restrict her of her powers; someone as gifted as that was someone to be cautious of. Controlling her voice, she said, "Surely you don't want the Xiaolin monks getting hold of such a powerful Shen-Gong-Wu, would you?"

"I don't care for Shen-Gong-Wu," said Chase brusquely. "Relying on objects that can easily be taken away from you is foolish."

"And you're saying I shouldn't, either?" Wuya asked; she couldn't keep the edge out of her voice.

Something close to amusement entered the Heylin warrior's face. "You don't need it, do you?"

Wuya didn't answer this. She was well aware of the fact that Chase knew she needed Shen-Gong-Wu to return to her full power. She cast around for a change of subject, but it was not needed; Chase suddenly stiffened and looked around, eyes narrowed. The witch was confused for a moment, but then realized that she sensed it, too. Her eyes swept slowly around the forestry, but she saw nothing. Still, she wasn't satisfied.

Neither, it seemed, was Chase.

Lowering himself onto one knee, the fallen warrior hissed a few instructions into the tiger's ear. The tiger nodded, and, silent as a breeze, padded away and disappeared into the forestry. Chase straightened, nodding approvingly after the cat.

"He'll tell us if he sees anything strange," he said with reassurance. The warrior turned and fixed Wuya with one reptilian eye. "I suppose you'll be going for the Pendant of Light?"

Wuya stiffened with surprise. "You-"

"If I don't let you go now, you'll just sneak away from me and cause me a chase that I don't want," said Chase with a false sigh.

The Heylin witch raised one delicate eyebrow. "...You just want to find out what's stalking us, don't you?"

"Very perceptive," said Chase coolly. He brushed past Wuya, stone-faced. "Now come along, before I change my mind!"

Wuya narrowed her eyes after him, but followed without a word. Within the treetops, two very different pairs of eyes watched as the witch and warrior walked soundlessly through the forest, and completely aware of the striped feline stalking them, slipped after the two without disturbing a single leaf.


"Yosemite National Park, coming in," said Dojo, beginning his descent into the tall trees.

The dragon distinctly heard Kimiko hiss, "Finally." He glanced back briefly with narrowed eyes but didn't rise to the girl's impatient remark.

Almost immediately, everything that'd been troubling Raimundo that morning was shoved to the back of his mind by strange adrenalin that wasn't normally associated with Shen-Gong-Wu hunting. An incoherent question was starting to nag at the back of his mind, but he pushed that down for later.

Once on the ground, the monks hopped off of Dojo, who shrunk to his smaller size and took his usual position atop Clay's hat, and the group stood where they'd landed, looking around at the tall trees.

Eyes scanning the large trees, Raimundo asked, "Any ideas?"

"Not really," said Kimiko, scraping the ground with one stylish brown boot.

Clay squatted close the ground and felt the soil, allowing his element to run through his fingers and enjoying its cool softness, so unlike the dirt found on a Texas prairie. Looking back up, the boy remarked, "It's probably best that we stick together."

Omi nodded in agreement, his eyes wide as they remained fixed on the sequoias. "Quite," he murmured. "The foliage here is most vast, and- Raimundo, what are you doing?"

Raimundo had frozen, standing stiff-limbed and wide-eyed; when Omi spoke, he lifted a hand for silence. The others stared at the Dragon of Wind with confusion. It was almost as if he'd stopped breathing, eyes scanning the sky.

"Don't tell me I'm the only one who hears that...," he said quietly.

The others strained their ears, and heard it too: a humming noise that sounded suspiciously like a pair of mini helicopters, accompanied by the familiar sound of flying machinery. Suddenly, Jack Spicer zoomed by overhead, and stopped to hover several feet above them, smirking.

"Well, well! Hello, Xiaolin Losers!"

"Jack Spicer," growled Omi, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, me!" said Jack, looking down at them and taking their hostile looks in stride. "Usually I'd sic my Jackbots on you-" He scowled briefly at the silent sniggers coming from his enemies. "-but since I'm in such a good mood right now-"

"Spare us your pathetic excuses of torture!" Omi interrupted regally. "We have better things to waste our time upon!"

"Speaking of which, could someone just find and grab the stupid Shen-Gong-Wu?" Dojo howled. They all jumped, and Jack started looking around. "Does nobody care that my tail-"

"Too much information!" yelped Kimiko, clapping her hands to her ears.

It was then that Omi noticed Jack had stopped talking; seeing as he'd usually be taunting Dojo or one of the others at this point, this was a rare occurrence during Wu hunting. Confused, he looked up at the wannabe Goth and tugged on the sleeve of the closest to him, Raimundo; the Brazilian gave Omi a questioning look, but the small monk merely motioned upwards at Jack. The robot fanatic's gaze was focused near the top of the tree next to them, head tilted back so the boys watching below couldn't see his expression. Then Jack started shifting back and forth in the air, as though trying to make sure his eyes weren't tricking him. He paused, gave a triumphant bark of laughter that sounded suspiciously like "Wu!" and shot straight up into the air.

At Jack's shout, Kimiko, Clay, and Dojo looked up at their enemy. Omi and Raimundo shot each other mystified looks, and curiously followed Jack's line of movement to what seemed to be his destination. Suddenly Raimundo noticed something glinting in the tree; the one Jack was currently headed for.

It hit him like a sack of bricks.

"SHEN-GONG-WU!" he yelled, pointing. Not waiting to see his friends' reactions, though he heard Omi give a grunt of surprise, he gathered his element around him in powerful, howling gusts, and bellowed, "Wudai Star WIND!" Immediately, he shot upwards, Spicer and the prize rapidly zooming into focus; he didn't notice the leaves and branches off to the side rustling.

Once he was within reach, his hand shot out to grab the new Wu – a ruby surrounded by orange rays, suspended by a gold chain – and he saw two other hands touch it at the same time, causing it to glow bright gold. One belonged to Jack Spicer, pale and covered by a fingerless black glove; the other was slim, feminine, and tanned, and Raimundo knew it well enough to not have to look at its owner.

Wuya's green eyes, glittering in her finely crafted face, looked at her two competitors; the expression she wore was unreadable. Jack, on the other hand, was clearly miffed; he had wanted to be able to take the Pendant of Light and go without competition.

"Jack, Wuya," growled Raimundo, glaring at both of them, "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Trio!"

"Fine," said the Heylin witch calmly, though her eyes had narrowed. She held out a shimmering black cloth. "I wager the Shroud of Shadows."

"I wager the Third-Arm Sash," said Raimundo, the blue, tasseled sash dangling from his hand.

"And I wager...the Lotus Twister!" said Jack, digging through his pockets and pulling out the Shen-Gong-Wu.

Wuya and Raimundo both looked at him, genuinely surprised. "How'd you get that?" asked Wuya just as Raimundo was opening his mouth.

Jack only shrugged. In a guarded tone, he said, "I'm an Evil Genius, aren't I?"

"That could be argued," said Wuya scornfully. Jack scowled at her.

"Hey, hey, hey! Keep your disses to yourself, you old hag! And where's Chase? Still bowing to him?"

Jack smirked when Wuya bristled.

"That's none of your concern!" she spat.

Really having no place in the exchange, Raimundo watched the two with mixed exasperation and amusement. He glanced down briefly, and saw that his friends were watching; Kimiko, Clay, and Dojo were blankly expressionless, though their eyes were wide, and it seemed Omi, considering his look of disgust, couldn't believe the two were arguing at a time like this.

Then Raimundo found himself repressing a shudder. The breeze had picked up mysteriously, and Raimundo sensed it was trying to tell him something, just as it had all morning. Frustration began to build up as he tried and failed to decode its message.

"What is it?" he hissed, Jack and Wuya bickering too loudly with each other to hear him.

Suddenly Raimundo lost himself; he was conscious, he knew that, and still in the Yosemite national park...but he was somewhere different. He suddenly had the impression of hard muscles beneath a tawny, faintly tiger-striped coat and blazing green eyes, along with a different presence that seemed to be hidden by the first-

And he was back, panting slightly, eyes wide as they looked around. He raised one shaking hand to his head, just as he realized that he could still sense the...whatever it was...its presence lingering in the air; with a tiny jolt of panic, he realized that he could feel the eyes burning into him. Raimundo looked around unobtrusively, but saw nothing. Yet the presence wouldn't go away.

It was familiar...where had he sensed this presence before...?

The only thing that came to mind was a mangled steel cage. Yowls reverberated in his memories, and he suppressed another shudder. What did that have to do with this? But it continued to prod at him, growing more persistent with each passing moment.

A bark of mocking laughter broke his concentration. Suddenly he realized that Wuya and Jack were still arguing, and saw them shooting daggers at each another. It looked as though Jack had just finished handing out a retort of some kind, and Wuya was bristling.

"Anyway, why do you care?" snarled the witch. A knowing smirk teased at the corners of her mouth. "Jealous?"

"No!" snapped Jack in an equally vicious tone. But judging from the brief glimmer in his red eyes, Raimundo couldn't help but think that Wuya was somewhat right. Jack seemed to pull himself together and continued to glare at his former partner. "I refuse to believe that he let you come alone," the redhead insisted, eyes glittering with triumph.

"I didn't," said a voice from the direction Wuya had come.

Raimundo and Wuya both twisted their heads to look at the newcomer. Chase was balancing with ease on a slim branch, looking at them each uncaringly, and Raimundo felt a bristle of anger.

Far below on the ground, the other three monks and Dojo watched everything. Seeing his old foe, Omi's face contorted into a scowl, a low growl emanating from his throat as his hands curled into threatening fists, and Kimiko was forced to place a restraining hand on the smallest monk's shoulder.

"So what's your challenge, Raimundo?" asked Wuya, turning her green gaze to the Wind Dragon.

Sending Chase one last look of loathing, Raimundo turned to his opponents, thankful of something to draw his mind from the uncomfortable prickle the strangely familiar presence was giving him. After a moment's thought, he said, "The game is Tree Climbing. First to the top of this tree gets the Pendant of Light."

"Agreed," said Wuya at once, her eyes flashing with inner anticipation.

Jack hesitated, and then sighed, reluctantly, "Fine."

"Then let's go!" said Raimundo.

Three voices mingled together in a familiar cry: "XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"


"What do you think?" A series of growls and low snarling answered.

Young's tiger crept up from behind the two he'd been sent after. The golden eyes narrowed, and he refrained from turning into his warrior form. He still couldn't see them...

"And...what about him?"

The tiger's eyes widened considerably when two pairs of eyes turned to face him; they'd known he'd been following all along...

The green eyes seemed to grin. Their owner growled again.

The tiger didn't even have time to cry out before the two lunged.


As expected, the scenery began to change; the words hadn't even finished echoing through the forest when everything began to rumble. The sky overhead was darkened when thunderclouds rolled in with no need of explanation. Suddenly three trees shifted into a row close to each other, the Pendant of Light towards the top, where they converged, and the others moved into a circle around the three; their tops began to twine together, and suddenly the only light came from the pendant high above. Omi, Kimiko, Clay, and Dojo, along with Chase found themselves upon a branch that seemed more like a thick, sturdy board. As usual, the four dragons had switched into their blue armor.

At the base of the three trees stood the competitors: Jack on the left, Raimundo in the middle, and Wuya on the right. Each of them were brandishing their wagered Wu, and staring up at the imposing trees with raw determination.

"GONG-YI TAMPAI!" they roared in unison.

"Lotus Twister!" shouted Jack's voice. Caught unawares, Raimundo felt a fist connect with his cheek, and he staggered a little. Jack had lashed out with both limbs, but Wuya seemed to have been anticipating such an attack and had leapt away, up into her tree. Without hesitation, she started scrambling up the conveniently placed branches. Thus far she was in first, Jack scrambling after, and Raimundo had yet to start.

"C'mon, Rai!" cried Kimiko from her spectator position, her heart pounding with excitement and worry. Clay, Omi, and Dojo began lending their voices of support as well.

Gritting his teeth, Raimundo leapt into the tree, scrambling through the branches as best he could. It wasn't as simple as it'd first looked: the branches swayed every now and then, and some slid in and out the tree periodically. But he'd managed to catch up to Wuya, and Jack was using the Lotus Twister to surprisingly great effect; his long, rubbery limbs were reaching upwards to higher branches and hauling him up in half the time.

"Heads up!" Dojo yelled suddenly, just as rumbling came from above; looking up, Raimundo saw huge logs tumbling down, as though to knock away anyone far enough from the trunk.

He immediately pressed himself against the huge tree, feeling the air being disturbed as the logs zoomed by. Chancing a glance, he saw Wuya had mimicked him, her back shoved against the bark and her limbs spread-eagled, and Jack had managed to retreat his arms just in time. As the last one passed, however, he lost footing and fell, landing on a branch almost the same level as Raimundo and Wuya.

Jack blinked at them for a split second, and then scowled. "Lotus Twister!"

This time Raimundo was ready, and dodged the incoming fist, shouting "Third-Arm Sash!" to grab a higher branch and pull himself to it. Wuya, still a little shaken, almost didn't dodge it in time.

The two glared at each other, and then Wuya cried, "Shroud of Shadows!" The black cloth swirling around her, Wuya vanished, and judging from the creaks coming from her tree, began climbing again.

Raimundo clambered up the tree after her, using the Third-Arm Sash to speed things along. He had no idea how far along Wuya was.

There was another rumbling, and Raimundo scrambled onto a higher branch and pressed himself closer to the tree. More branches and logs cascaded past; glancing to the side, he saw Jack narrowly dodge a stray log, his eyes wide.

As soon as it calmed again, the green-eyed boy scrambled up the tree quickly; he felt strangely calm.

Out of the corner of his eye, the Brazilian saw Jack clamber up to the blue-armored boy's current level and aim another blow at him. Leaping up and gripping the branch just above his head just in time, Raimundo kicked out at the hand that had reached for him. Jack yelped loudly, drew back his limb, and began sucking on his bruised knuckles, sending a spiteful glare at the Dragon of Wind, whose smirk was hidden by the standard mask from the armor. Raimundo's friends cheered loudly, praising his nice aim on the kick.

Then a few snapped twigs fell and hit Raimundo on the head. Looking up, Raimundo realized that Wuya had kept moving. Scowling to himself, the boy began scrambling. The Pendant of light was not far now...

From above, the two boys thought they heard a stifled gasp, accompanied by a scrabbling noise. Had Wuya slipped? The thought that she was at least detained for the moment gave a boost to the other two competitors' confidence.

In truth, she had. A misplaced step had her clinging to her current branch for dear life. Struggling not to cry out, she gritted her teeth and began to haul herself onto safety, her nails digging into the wood.

Meanwhile, Raimundo was having further difficulties. The Sash had certainly sped things along, but now he found that whenever he used it, something tugged him back. He glanced down, and saw Jack scrambling up from behind. Suddenly, he needed no further proof.

"What's the matter, Raimundo?" Jack yelled up at him. "Getting snagged?"

Raimundo scowled down at him, the wheels in his head turning swiftly as he tried to think up a way to rid himself of this pest, and suddenly remembered something Jack had said some time ago:

"Man, if I get tied up in a knot over this, I'm gonna sue!"

Illumination arrived with a soft pinging noise.

Only hesitating a moment, Raimundo launched himself from the branch, vaguely aware of his friends' stunned gasps of horror. But just as he'd suspected, Jack's limbs had given chase.

"Third-Arm Sash!" he yelled; the Sash caught hold of one of the branches and he swung smoothly upwards with a speed he'd only managed in flight. Surprised, Jack tried to nab him, thinking the Brazilian was using some abnormal tactic to get far ahead, but Raimundo began bouncing among the tree limbs like a released pinball, neatly dodging Jack's arms and leaping from the branches with concise precision. It was like trying to catch smoke with a dry fishing net.

Frustrated, Jack tried to pull back his arms so that he could just continue on climbing towards the Pendant, but there was a strange tug. He tried again, but nothing happened. Finally, he looked at his arms and realized what Raimundo had done.

The blue-armored boy was standing triumphantly above what appeared to be a badly constructed spider web; Jack's arms had been wrapped around the branches and each other in a hopeless tangle, and all Jack could do was stare open-mouthed with injustice burning in his eyes.

"That's not fair!" he screeched in frustration. Raimundo only shrugged, and began clambering up the branches with smooth agility, Jack's indignant shouts growing fainter, unlike his friends' cheers.

As Raimundo climbed, he became aware of an eerie silence. Nothing seemed to reach this high up; all that existed up here was the creaking of the limbs underneath his weight, and the Shen-Gong-Wu just ahead, glowing brightly like a real sun. With its brilliant rays, the darkness around and below seemed all the more dark, and Raimundo felt like the branches up here were bathed in spotlight.

Then he realized that the creaking wasn't coming from just him. Whether it was above or below, he wasn't certain, but another's weight was definitely being put on the branches.

"Wuya...," he breathed, eyes narrowed. As he continued climbing, his eyes slowly scanned the tree next to him. The Pendant was still a good distance away, but he could get there in no time if he hurried...

Suddenly, a small but thick branch came whizzing out of thin air, on the same level he was. Startled, Raimundo only just managed to dodge it; he heard it zoom by and vanish into the surrounding trees. He scowled at the seemingly empty space, thinking...

Praying with all his might that this was a good idea, he yelled, "Third-Arm Sash!"

The blue sash zoomed forward, and was suddenly caught by an invisible hand. Raimundo smiled grimly.

Gotcha.

"Wudai Star WIND!" he bellowed, balling his hands into fists and punching them forward; miniature twin tornadoes hurled themselves towards the invisible enemy. Raimundo heard Wuya cry out, and then saw her falling, the Shroud of Shadows whipping uselessly through the air in her fist.

Looking down at her for only a moment, Raimundo turned back and leapt up the remaining distance. Eyes glowing when he reached the top, he reached out and held the Pendant aloft by its chain, staring around and down with triumph.

And hidden within the circle of trees surrounding, two pairs of eyes gleamed with expressions unreadable to all but themselves.


Through it all, someone else was watching the proceedings. His eyes glowed approvingly, though no one, not even himself, could see it.

He shivered, longing for tangibility of his own, but he'd made his choice, and now he was paying the price.

But it was worth it; what was done was done, and for the good of everything that wished to live. Surely what he suffered now was very small compared to what would've happened had he not gone through with it?

...The storm was coming, however; he knew nothing could stop its approach...but something could give it a nasty shock when it arrived...

And, now, he felt he'd found the answer to a small problem.


Light flashed blindingly; the Showdown was over. Suddenly, Raimundo was standing back on the ground near the edge of the Yosemite National Park with his friends, the Pendant of Light and Lotus Twister in his hands while the Shroud of Shadows was draped over his arm. A disgruntled Jack Spicer sat cross-legged on the ground several feet away, arms crossed and his face pulled into a curious pout. Wuya stood next to him, scowling at Raimundo. They were all on a grassy stretch of land, the sequoias rising upwards in stoical dignity.

Suddenly, the other Dragons exploded into cheers as they thumped Raimundo on the back and praised his performance. Their voices were so jumbled together that Raimundo couldn't exactly understand what they were saying, but he got the gist of it.

Finally, Jack stood up, the scowl firmly implanted upon his face.

"That was so not fair!" he howled, opening his helipack and zooming up in the air to go home. The Jackbots, unusually undamaged, followed in obedient silence. "That was so totally NOT FAIR."

Wuya listened to Jack's exclamations with narrowed eyes, and realized Chase was standing behind her. She gave him a glance, and then turned her back on him, arms crossed. "Don't say it."

"Say what?" said Chase; he looked a little amused.

"Nothing," she grumbled.

As Dojo began to grow into traveling size, Omi remarked brightly, "Raimundo; your performance in the Showdown was most ingenious! It was very cold to watch!"

"Cool," Raimundo corrected him.

"That too!" said Omi, unfazed; Raimundo only rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Seriously, Raimundo," said Clay, "that was some pretty quick thinking back with Jack and Wuya." Raimundo felt his breath get knocked out of him as one of Clay's strong hands patted him jauntily on the back.

"Yeah, Rai," said Kimiko. "You were great out there!"

He noticed the shine in her sapphire eyes, and felt the familiar swarm of butterflies begin to flutter in a tornado of wings in his stomach. Swallowing inconspicuously in a vain effort to calm them, Raimundo turned his emerald eyes on all of his friends in turn, feeling very light from their praise.

"Thanks guys," he said gratefully.

"Well, you deserve it," said Kimiko resolutely. The Brazilian tried not to blush.

"And the Pendant of Light is a most wondrous Shen-Gong-Wu, don't you think?" said Omi, admiring the newly acquired Wu.

Raimundo smiled his agreement, holding the pendant up to see it better. The sun design glowed like true rays, and the ruby burned with astounding brilliance when it caught the sun just right.

He was taken totally unawares when something else was impressed upon him so forcefully that he couldn't remember where he was: a falcon's cry rang in his ears as wings flashed by his vision, to be replaced by a long, pure white double-edged blade as ocean waves rolled along the top, mountains set square in the middle of the water, and high above a sun burned brightly as clouds swirled around it-

"...Haruki? That meddlesome package of plumage...! What is he doing here?"

"He must've finally found what he was looking for..."

"The thrice accursed fool... He should have ceased and desisted the last time we met. "

"Well, if he's found what we think he's found, you can't really blame him-" A pause. "...What? What's wrong?"

"...I...think...that boy can hear us."

"RAI!"

Someone was slapping his face, and Raimundo realized he was on the ground. He opened his eyes when the girl's voice penetrated his ears, and found himself staring into a gentle blue sky. Omi was on top of him, hand raised to slap him again, as Kimiko knelt on his right with wide, worried eyes, and on the other side, Clay was down on one-knee and fanning Raimundo with his hat.

Seeing he was awake, they each sighed with relief. Then Omi gave him a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

Blinking, Raimundo gently shoved Omi away and sat up, Clay lending a hand to steady him. Giving his head a shake, Raimundo said, "I'm fine; it was nothing."

"Nothing?" echoed Clay, dumbfounded, as he planted his hat back on his golden head. "You just collapsed for no reason!"

"What happened, Rai?" asked Kimiko; her eyes were probing his for answers, the blue orbs concerned.

Raimundo found himself desperately wanting to tell her, but some part of his mind returned to its senses and held him back. Blinking as he gave himself a small mental shake, the boy gave his friends a reassuring grin.

"It was nothing," he repeated, trying to look as convincing as possible. "It was just..." He blinked, and thought about it; how was he supposed to explain what just happened? He was still utterly confused as it was. "...I was tired," he finished, realizing how ridiculous he sounded.

Omi, Kimiko, and Clay were looking at him like a doctor looks at someone with a particularly bad cold, but said nothing more and helped their friend to his feet. When they clambered on Dojo, all four of them were trying to get a normal conversation going.

They were still ascending to their normal flight height when Raimundo felt himself get pushed urgently by a strange gust of wind. He blinked; was that an after-effect of his collapse? But when it shoved him again, he knew it wasn't. Suddenly he knew that Dojo needed to take evasive action.

But to where, and what from? Raimundo thought wildly. He shoved it aside; there was no time for second-thoughts.

"Dojo!" he shouted, standing slightly and feeling a little unhinged. "Swerve!"

Dojo sounded surprised. "What?"

"Swerve!" Raimundo cried out again. "Dodge! Move up! Down! Anything!"

The desperate plea in the boy's voice seemed to strike something within the dragon; after glancing around nervously, he turned his head to look back worriedly at his friend. "What's happening?" he asked nervously.

Before Dojo had even finished speaking, Raimundo knew there was no time. Without thinking, he leapt past a dumbfounded Kimiko and Omi, who was sitting up very straight and, staring wide-eyed at something, looking more awake than he had all day; bounding up the rest of the way to the dragon's head, he seized Dojo's horns and pulled.

With a roar of shock, Dojo lurched slightly back and up.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE-"

Dojo's furious exclamation was cut off when fiery green blast narrowly missed them, slightly singing the dragon's scales and screaming past to fade into nothingness several feet away.

Shocked silence fell over them; even the air seemed to have hushed. The entire group's eyes were completely round. Raimundo stood, panting, looking at the spot the fireball had vanished with confused feelings that he didn't even try to sort out. He looked around, trying to steady his breathing, and his eyes met his friends'.

For a long moment, no one said anything; their tongues locked from speech, they stared mutely at each other, their numbed shock shining in their eyes. No one could really express what they were feeling. First Raimundo fainting mysteriously, now this... Just when the four thought they'd seen it all, something even stranger leapt out at them. But the prickling of the hairs on the backs of their necks and the cold feeling in their guts told them that this wasn't just strange; it was scary. But what did it all mean?

None of them could answer; none of them knew how.

It seemed like forever to Raimundo before anyone said anything. Still staring in the direction the flame had vanished, Dojo said, "How about we get out of here, shall we?"

Nodding, Raimundo swiftly reclaimed his spot between Kimiko and Clay; before he sat down, however, he leaned in close to Omi, so they wouldn't be overheard.

"You saw it while it was coming, didn't you?"

Omi jumped, and casting Raimundo a long-sided glance, nodded ashamedly.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Raimundo's tone wasn't angry.

The small monk didn't answer; he only closed his eyes and sighed quietly. Suddenly, the boy looked even more tired.

Raimundo knew not to press; instead, he clapped a hand on Omi's shoulder, gave him a smile, and sat down between Kimiko and Clay. Once he was seated, all four of them clung to Dojo's scales as the dragon flew swiftly away from the place.

"Well, I certainly don't want to be around when something even stranger happens," Kimiko muttered.

Clay was wearing a grim smile. "Like the sky falling?"

"Nah," said Kimiko; "too obvious."


Down below, two figures watched the retreating Xiaolin Monks with raised eyebrows. Wuya had temporarily forgotten the anger of her defeat, and was tracing the fireball's line of travel with her eyes.

"That was a very good shot...," she murmured. She glanced at Chase, and stifled a grunt of surprise at his expression.

Chase looked shocked, or at least, as close to shocked as Chase Young could get. Anger flickered in his eyes, and he was perfectly rigid. He didn't acknowledge Wuya's comment with even a single twitch.

"I know this presence...," he hissed; Wuya wondered if he even realized she was there anymore. The golden eyes surveyed everything with suspicion. "Where is he?"

Wuya could feel the strange presence in the air, but couldn't pinpoint it. Whoever it was stalking them was doing it well... But why was Chase so unnerved?

A yowl behind them snapped the two out of their thoughts, and they whirled around to see the tiger Chase had sent out limping back to them; it was covered with still-bleeding scratches, fur had been ripped out, and it looked as though it had just fought its way through a whole field of ferocious half-starved wolves.

It collapsed at Chase's feet; its jaws opened wide, as though it were trying to say something; but it hadn't the strength to turn back into its warrior form and it couldn't speak. All that came out of its throat was a strange gurgle, and then its head slumped back, unconscious.

Chase immediately dropped down onto one knee, cradling the tiger's head in his hands. He stared at the feline for what seemed to Wuya a long time, his expression unreadable. When he lifted his head again, his eyes were narrowed.

"...What has that fool gotten himself into?"


When Dojo landed in the temple, the sun was gently setting in the west, and Raimundo's collapse had not been forgotten; his friends' concern wasn't allowing it.

"Seriously, Rai," said Kimiko as they all leapt off of Dojo and the dragon shrunk again. "Just collapsing out of the blue usually isn't a good sign-"

"I know, Kimiko! So would you just drop it already?" he said impatiently, that morning's irritation starting to come back.

Kimiko flinched back as though he'd brandished a whip at her. "Rai, I'm just worried-"

But Raimundo had quickened his pace, and was already disappearing into the closest building.

Kimiko bit her lip, staring after Raimundo. Seeking backup of some kind, she looked at Omi, who only closed his eyes while shaking his head. Without a word, the small monk followed the other boy, his shoulders bowed with weariness.

She sighed; was no one going to help her? Couldn't someone at least tell to stop worrying? She knew that Raimundo could take care of himself... so why was she so concerned about him? Had the fainting spell really affected her that much?

It's more than the fainting spell...

With a growl of annoyance, she shook that thought from her head, only to have it zoom back in as though it were a yo-yo.

The girl moaned silently. Why did she so want to help Raimundo, even though she knew he'd never let her? Was she just...wired that way?

Her thoughts were brought to an abrupt stop when someone spoke.

"Let him be, Kimiko," said a quiet voice in her ear. She looked around as Clay placed a hand on her shoulder; the Dragon of Earth was smiling at her with understanding in his eyes. She'd almost forgotten he was there. "He'll tell ya when he's ready."

"He might never be ready," Kimiko protested as Clay began to gently herd her to the building.

Clay seemed unfazed. "When he wants to, then," he said robustly.

"If he wants to," the Dragon of Fire murmured unhappily. She heard her friend chuckle deep in his throat.

"Yeah; that too."

Kimiko gave him an irritated glance, but didn't comment. The fact that Kimiko was feeling less worried now, even though she wouldn't admit that to Clay, was a relief. He'd always had that calming effect on his friends. The tall cowboy was always a soothing presence to be around, when he wasn't angry or caught up in the heat of battle.

Feeling a little humbled by Clay's steady assurance, she asked softly, "You think so?"

"Positive," smiled Clay. He winked at her. "If no one else, Rai'll talk to you when he's ready."

Kimiko blinked, ignoring a strange sensation. "What-"

But Clay, his face becoming serious, tapped her shoulder for her to become silent, and then pointed at the person in front of them.

Omi was standing in the doorway when they reached it. He stared at the ground in wide-eyed confusion.

"...Omi?" asked Kimiko. "Something wrong?"

The Dragon of Water couldn't find the words to answer that. He ended up making a weird gesture that looked like he was trying to nod, shake his head, and shrug, all at the same time.

Clay leaned forward slightly. "What's goin' on, buddy?"

Omi sighed helplessly and indicated for them to enter. They did so, and the small monk followed.

In front of the dining room, they bumped into Raimundo, blinking at the occupants of the table. Hearing his friends' approach, he only pointed into the room.

Three strangers were sitting at the table, speaking to Master Monk Guan in low voices. The oldest of the group, a woman in her thirties, appeared to be the other two's parents. One was a boy, roughly sixteen, who was entertaining the second, a girl who looked about nine-years-old and seemed to be the boy's sister.

When the four friends entered the room, the group fell silent and the three strangers' eyes landed on the Dragons-in-training. Master Monk Guan, however, saw them and smiled welcomingly.

"Ah, here they are." He motioned to the four to come and sit at the table. Hesitantly, the small group walked over and sat down, eyeing the trio in front of them uncertainly.

No one said anything.

"...It's an honor to meet you," said the boy at last, sounding as though he thought the words were a little inadequate.

The four nodded mutely at them, and Clay tipped his hat to the woman, who smiled back.

"These three are having a little trouble at the moment," Guan began to explain, noting his pupils' expressions.

"We just need a place to stay for a little while," said the woman hurriedly, as though she feared the monks' silence meant they disapproved.

She continued to speak, but Omi barely heard. He was fixing the woman and teenage boy with an intense stare. Their faces rang a bell from somewhere in his memory...but why couldn't he place them?

Suddenly Raimundo heard Omi whisper, "They're not all here..."

Raimundo blinked at him. "What?" he hissed in an undertone.

"There was a boy last time...not a girl..." Even Omi sounded confused by the words.

Guan cleared his throat. "Do you think you should introduce yourselves?"

The boy exchanged a look with his mother, who nodded for him to go ahead, and he turned back to the friends before him.

"These are my sister Kayin and my mother Estelle. I'm Axel."


Meh...

Review! Um, please!