In the Xiaolin Temple, the Xiaolin Apprentices were still sleeping peacefully. A slight disturbance in the air woke Kimiko, but she rolled over again before opening her eyes. She noticed the sounds of breathing as she sat up, but attributed it to the other three and crawled out of bed, feeling thirsty. A drink of water might help with getting back to sleep, she reasoned.
Walking past Clay's cubicle, she frowned, stopped and took a few steps backward. Where was Raimundo? She rubbed sleep from her eyes, stopping to think. He shouldn't be out wandering about - it was dark, and he knew what they would think... She had better find him.
She checked the vault first, even though she hated herself for doing so. It was just more evidence that deep down, she really still didn't trust him. And there had been a lot of evidence lately. Listening, she thought that she heard footsteps behind her, and spun around to meet whomever it was. No-one.
She gave a fake yawn with one eye half open, scanning the walls and ceiling. Still nothing - or at least, nothing visible. She shrugged, and turned around, coming face-to-bust with the black-suited villainous blonde, Katnappé.
"What, I didn't beat you bad enough in the Showdown?" Kimiko snarled, getting into her 'ready' position.
"I need your help- Wait, what?"
"What did you say?" The girl-monk was incredulous.
"Raimundo is-" Katnappé started, but to her increasing annoyance was cut off again.
"He's with you?" Kimiko vociferated, furious, mentally erasing her discomfort at doubting him.
"No! With..." Katnappé faltered, remembering whose fault it was. "Wuya," she said.
Kimiko seethed. "I knew it, that trait-"
"I mean, as a prisoner," Katnappé continued. Seeing the other girl stop and blink, backtracking, she decided that she had time to make a dig. "I'll tell him that you said that, though."
"Who is a prisoner?" asked a very sleepy Omi who was standing beside Clay. Clay was the only one of the monks shod.
Ashley pushed past Kimiko, whom she disliked, and spread out her hands to the boys. "Raimundo's been taken prisoner by Wuya, and you have to help-"
"What! How could this happen?" Omi exclaimed, jumping up into the air in comic fashion. He had apparently dispensed with his own prejudice much quicker than she had, Kimiko noted sourly.
"How can we be sure that this isn't a trap?" she asked sceptically and then added (as it was better to get these things out in the open): "Rai could still be on Wuya's side for all we know!"
There was silence. "Can we risk it if you're wrong?" Clay asked, his tone suggesting the negative. Omi and Ashley hovered for the verdict, and Kimiko frowned.
"No," she admitted, "we can't." She sighed. "Fine. Off we go, to face who-knows-what, for a friend who might not even-"
"I beg to differ, Kimiko!" Omi stated. "We do know what!" When she raised an eyebrow, he impatiently explained himself: "Wuya, who else!" Feeling that enough time had been spent on that, he turned back to Katnappé. "Where are we going?"
She grinned, glad to have got her own way, and slashed the air with her claws, opening a portal. "Through there," she said triumphantly, and waited expectantly for one of them to go through.
Kimiko's face had turned purple, but she didn't seem to know what to blow up about first - the fact that those Shen Gong Wu were blatantly from their vault, or that they were being expected to precede an enemy into unknown territory. Clay placed a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down," he whispered. Kimiko bit her lip and let herself deflate. She had learnt some things during her stay at the temple - she now knew not to go into a potentially dangerous situation boiling mad.
When she was sure that she was focussed again, she followed Clay through the portal.
&o&o&
