Sorry it's taken so long for an update, guys. I'm going to dedicate this chapter to Luna636, for giving me a virtual rose, kimrailover07301997, for liking my version of Chase, and to Fate-of-true-Moonlight, for being speechless in a review, ha-ha.
I'm going to try to finish this story before the end of the month, because I start college the 29. So, I now have a deadline. I can do this! Who else has faith in me?
Italics: Flashbacks
"Italics": "Thoughts"
OH! I HAVE A PICTURE DONE OF VEERA! Finally have one I'm happy with! ...Sort of. The link is up on my profile for those who want to see it; it's my homepage link, which is the same as the tumblr link on the profile...
"No. No, no, no, no, no!" Veera's mind had stopped and she repeated the same word until it seemed to have no meaning. How could Chase -her Chase- be the most evil being known to man? Veera's reflection in the pond below her rippled from tears falling from sapphire orbs. A strong arm wrapped itself around her small shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug. Veera clutched at Clay's shirt, bunching the fabric in her fist. She stared at everything, seeing nothing.
Her vision had long been blurred by tears and Veera barely registered being carried back into the temple and being set on her bed. Clay sat with her in his arms and let her cry. After a few moments, she calmed and straightened. "This...this does not seem right...Chase is not a bad person..."
"Lil' lady, I hate to make you feel worse, but, I'm afraid he is...I wish I could make ya feel better..." Clay said, looking at the small girl next to him. He didn't know what he was supposed to do; sure, Kimiko had cried once or twice, but Raimundo was always the one to comfort her.
"Where..." Veera breathed in sharply, containing herself, "...can I find him?" She looked at Clay with glassy eyes. They seemed to sparkle from her tears and the light from the now rising sun. Clay looked at her, unsure of how to answer her. "Jack...he told me Chase would be in touch. He knows I am here and alive. It is only a matter of time before he comes to get me. Please, Clay. Plase." She clutched Clay's large hand with her own smaller one and stared intensely at him. Veera was begging him, something elves do not do. Clay sighed, knowing he was going to be in big trouble if he told Veera where to find Chase Young. But, he didn't want the girl mad at him; he had found that since she came into his and the other warriors' lives, everything seemed lighter. Veera brightened everyone's day and he hated to see someone so positive be on the verge of breaking.
"Veera...I...I dunno what to say. I want to help you. But, he's dangerous. He's not the same guy you knew..." Clay yawned, and Veera sighed. She let go of his hand, rested her elbows on her lap, and dropped her head into her hands.
"Clay, I should not have kept you awake...I shall explain everything to Master Fung...Please, go back to sleep." Veera said. Clay nodded; he could at least do that for her. Before standing, he gave her a hug- which Veera returned by tilting her head onto his shoulders and nothing more.
"There's a new Shen Gong Wu active!" Dojo slithered into the room and his body shook violently. Veera looked at him, unsure, and then glanced at the others for guidance. It was just Omi, Raimundo, Kimiko, and Veera in the dining area; Clay was still asleep under Master Fung's orders. True to her word, Veera explained what had happened the night before, and Master Fung understood. He gave Clay the day to have for himself. In return, Veera would take Clay's place. "Hop on, gang!" Dojo expanded and waited for the others to situate themselves. Veera cautiously climbed onto the reptile; the moment her other leg was on Dojo, he took off, causing her to lurch forward with a screech.
"What is it that I am looking for, exactly?" Veera asked from her position. She had taken to looking in bushes and in the high grass for an item that Dojo had called the "Daddy Long Leg." According to him, its power was explained by its name; it was a brooch shaped like a spider that caused the wearer to sprout extra limbs like that of a spider. So, Veera began her search in places a spider would most likely hide. Kimiko was searching the ponds and bodies of water, and Omi was jumping from tree to tree. Raimundo was scoping out the skies with Dojo, in case the dragon sensed something.
"Something not of the normal." Omi said absently. Kimiko rolled her eyes and glanced at the elf behind her.
"He means 'out of the ordinary.' Since it's a brooch...I'm going to guess it's shiny and fancy looking..." Kimiko speculated. She tapped her chin with an index finger, thinking.
Veera stood, sighing and straightening her aching back. She pushed her hood off and thought she caught sight of something eerily familiar in the corner of her eye. Veera spun in her place, looking for fiery amber eyes. She shook her head, trying to focus on her task. When she rotated her position with Kimiko, she glanced at the water in front of her. Veera gasped; she saw Chase Young's reflection in the water on the opposite side of where she stood. Snapping her head up, Veera saw nothing but trees on the other side of the water. Her sharp eyes narrowed and she stared intensely at the forest in front of her, looking for any movement. "Veera, you okay?" Kimiko asked, worried when she heard the elf gasp.
"Hm? Oh, yes. Yes, I am okay. I think I am going to search in the section in front of me...I will be within earshot." Veera stepped carefully around the water and ventured into the trees.
Veera's eyes shut peacefully and she smiled in the wilderness. Drawing a deep breath of fresh air, she let out an audible content sigh and tilted her head back. A ray of sunlight warmed her pale face. A noise caused her eyes to snap open and look around. It hadn't been a normal sound that one would hear in a forest. It sounded metallic. She looked around and caught sight of something shiny on a rock. Veera walked toward it, curious. A gold, jewelled spider brooch sat atop the stone, and Veera's eyes lit up. "I found it!" She yelled, snatched the small item, and sprinted out of the forest to find her friends, her cloak billowing out behind her. Kimiko and Omi turned when they heard their friend call out. But, before they could share in their victory, a shadow loomed over the elf. An obnoxious laugh followed the sound of Veera's body violently hitting the dirt below her. Raimundo and Dojo flew into view, the latter on the verge of panic.
"Guys! Jack Spicer is-oh..." He stopped himself when he saw the goth doubled over and hovering over Veera. The smaller elf turned over so she could glare up at Jack. Blood was trailing down her shin from an already healed cut on her knee, and she was caked in dirt.
"Had to. You were way too excited. It's good to see ya again, Veera." Jack said with a smirk. His arms were crossed over his chest and he looked down his nose at her.
"What do you mean, 'again'?" Raimundo snapped at Jack. The goth grumbled something, and looked at the tanned boy.
"None of your bees-wax!" He turned back to Veera, sweetly smiling. "Now, if you could just hand over the Daddy Long Leg, I'll be on my way." Jack held out a hand to Veera. She huffed through her nose, still glaring up at Jack. Veera stood up calmly, brushing off what little dirt she could. The brooch in her hand was clutched tighter and Veera pushed her shoulders back.
"No. I found it, it is mine." Jack rolled his eyes and dove at her. Veera was unprepared for the assault and fell back again. Jack and she were rolling around, trying to get ahold of the brooch. It went sailing from Veera's hand. Both Jack and Veera stopped moving, following the object's path of flight with their eyes. At the same time they lunged at it.
"Veera, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" Jack declared. Veera looked at him as if he had an extra head.
"A...A what?" She asked. Jack groaned in frustration.
"Basically, a test. Whoever wins, gets the Sheng Gong Wu. What Wu do you have? I bet my trusty Monkey Staff." Veera looked even more confused than she had been to start. Omi fished through his robe quickly, pulling out the Barrier Bangle. He tossed it up to Veera, who caught it and snapped it on her wrist.
"This. I bet this." She said confidently.
"Good. Now. It's a race to get to the center of a spider web. Who ever makes it, wins. Gong Ye Tempei!" Jack screamed. Veera's eyes narrowed in confusion. Before she could voice her thoughts, the world around her changed, and the spider brooch flew out of their hands. It flew to the middle of the clearing, and grew. Once it was about Veera's size, a large, thick spider web sprung out of the now living brooch. Veera and Jack struggled. The web, like a real spider's web, was overwhelmingly sticky. Jack seemed to break free first, and began the difficult task of climbing to the bottom. The spider sensed his movement, and began to crawl towards them, breaking from its guard. Veera ceased her struggle and her eyes widened when she saw her own reflection in the spider's multiple eyes.
A piercing screech was heard through the gardens. "Veera, Veera, what is it?" Chase ran in the direction of Veera's scream; she was frozen in place, eyes wide. A large, hairy, black spider was perched on Veera's lap, staring up at her with eyes like glass. She could feel the prickling of the hair on the spider's legs through the thin fabric of her dress. How the creature made it onto her lap without Veera noticing was beyond her, but she couldn't think. She didn't know what this was, but she did know it scared her. It moved forward slightly, causing Veera's breath to quicken and her hands were shaking, causing the book she previously held to fall.
Chase reached Veera and looked at her frightened, looking for any signs of harm. Seeing the spider on her lap, he almost laughed. It was a big one, though, so he understood her fright. Placing his hand in her lap, the spider crawled onto it and Chase placed it out of Veera's eyesight. He came back to her side, taking her small shaking hands in his large ones. "It is all right, Veera. It will not harm you. It is gone, now. It was just a spider." He jumped a little when Veera clutched onto him, refusing to move. Chase wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm the elf.
Veera's breath began to quicken, feeling faint. The spider bypassed her, and lunged at Jack, pulling him back and off the web. The two landed on the other side and Jack became stuck stuck again. "Monkey Staff!" He yelled. Using his newfound primate abilities, Jack fought with the arachnid. Veera took her chance, unclasping her cloak. Suddenly finding it easy to move, she began her trek down the web. She felt the web shift, and she swayed dangerously. Veera turned on her spot in time to see the spider arch backwards, and shoot a web ball at her. Reflex kicked in.
"Barrier Bangle!" She held her wrist up, hoping it did something that would help her. The web ball hit the shield and bounced uselessly to the side. Veera smiled, proud. Cheers from her friends encouraged her to move faster. She became stuck again.
Panic set in, but she stopped when her eyes searched frantically and landed on a dark figure watching from a tree branch above and behind the warriors. The only thing that she could see was a set of fiery amber eyes. "Chase...?" She mumbled, eyes narrowing. Seeming to hear her, he nodded and slid down the trunk to another branch below him. Veera nodded in return, understanding his motion. She pushed away hard from from the web and landed crouching on the bangle. She slid down it effortlessly, as though she were sledding.
The world changed again, returning to normal when Veera slid through the center hole of the web. She stood proudly. "Barrier Bangle." The shield slid back into its original form and in Veera's other hand, she held the spider brooch. The warriors and Dojo surrounded her, cheering. Once she realized she was holding the brooch, she jumped backwards, and almost threw it at Omi. "You take it." She said quickly as though it would spring back to life.
"'Fraid of spiders, Veera?" Rai teased. She shot him a look and Dojo expanded to bring them home. Veera trotted over to where her cloak had landed and then took her spot on Dojo's back. She turned and searched through the branches again. Chase was still there, watching Veera. She could see him fully. Fiery amber eyes met oceanic blue. The elf stared at him, shocked, until she could see him no longer.
Okay, I'm hoping to get another chapter up ASAP. Tune in next time to see if Veera ever makes it to Chase's lair!
XOXO
~Killjoy
