(Whee! How's that for a quick update? Haha! Better than four years, anyway, eh? Thanks so so so much for reading, everyone! Again, I'm looking for harsh reviews and critiques. I'm trying to use fanfiction as a way to get better at writing so I can actually get published someday! Hopefully soon!
So let me know what I can change about my writing to make it professional quality! Thanks so much everyone!)
Chapter 8 – The Many Faces of Wuya
Wuya was the first to notice the evil presence. Master Shan and Roland always told her she had incredible instincts. She paused and glanced toward the temple entrance.
"Hyaaa!" She was able to cave in the ground under her feet just in time to avoid Guan's fist. He went flying over her head and lost his balance, stumbling across the ground.
She interrupted Chase's laughter by holding up a hand. Dashi's eyes narrowed.
"Wait guys! She senses something…there it is, can you feel it?" He took a few steps in the direction of the temple gates. The other boys followed him quickly, but Wuya noticed them both glance back toward the main building of the temple. She shook her head and laughed quietly. Dashi was too stupid to go ask for help and the other two were too proud to suggest it.
She followed quickly. The person, whoever it was, was at the temple gates now, waiting just outside. As the four monks hurried up they caught sight of a young boy, no older than 10, with cold black eyes and wild black hair. On his shoulder was a bird that looked a bit like some sort of parrot, but the colors weren't quite right. The boy seemed to be talking to the bird, but he stopped when he noticed the approaching monks.
Dashi stepped forward to speak for the four of them, but the boy interrupted.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" His face split into an ugly grin that made Wuya shiver. "Is it Halloween already? I thought real monks lived here, not half-pint imitations." He laughed at his own joke.
Guam stepped forward angrily. "Who are you calling an imitation?"
"And who are you calling half-pint?" Chase stepped up next to his friend with a smirk. "If we're half-pints then you're nothing more than a quarter-pint." Chase, the youngest of the monks, had just celebrated his fifteenth birthday.
"And who are you to come to our temple and insult us anyways?" Dashi frowned. "Are you looking for my father or what?"
The boy looked from one monk to the next and finally his eyes fell on Wuya. She felt an urge to look away, but she forced herself to keep eye contact. He grinned again and Wuya had to hold herself back from trembling. What was so frightening about this little boy?
"Poor little thing," the boy's grin widened. "She's never felt true evil before."
"Wuya!" Dashi was at her side in a second. He put an arm around her. "Are you alright?"
She looked up into his eyes, happy for an excuse to look away from the boy. Dashi's eyes were black, too, but his gaze was so different from the boy's. Dashi's eyes were strong, reassuring, caring. She nodded, smiling lightly to let him know she was fine.
"What's wrong, sugar? Can't stand the sight of a real man after hanging with these losers for so long?" His laugh filled the courtyard again.
Chase and Guan growled in unison. Dashi turned to face the boy.
"I don't know who you are, kid, but I think you should leave. Right now." His voice was more serious than Wuya was used to.
"I agree," Chase glared at the boy and moved into a fighting stance.
Guam mirrored his movements, "unless you want to suffer a painful defeat."
The boy's eyes lit up, causing Wuya to cringe. "Well now why would I do that? I just got here. Can't leave without having a little bit of fun. And anyway…" His eyes traveled back to Wuya, "I haven't gotten what I came for yet."
"As you wish," Dashi slid into a fighting stance, but kept Wuya behind him. "But perhaps we could know your name before we defeat you?"
The boy chuckled again. "It's Hannibal. Hannibal Roy."
Wuya awoke to the sound of voices outside her cell. She couldn't make out words, but she thought she heard Jack's voice. She was relieved to wake up; she almost thought she could still feel the sting of the blows the boy had dealt her.
Could that boy really have been Hannibal? She was beginning to doubt these "memories" more and more. She didn't know much about Hannibal's history, and she realized for the first time that he probably hadn't always been a bean. But that boy's Heylin abilities had been remarkable. He had defeated the four young monks from her dreams seemingly without effort. Hannibal was intelligent and tricky, but didn't posses that boy's magical abilities. If he did he would hardly need to collect shen-gong-wu in order to fight Chase and the monks.
But the most unbelievable part of her dreams was herself—a fearful, caring Wuya who hardly ever spoke? Impossible. She couldn't be less like that little girl in her dreams. She wondered if this was some trick of Hannibal's. Or perhaps the monks were creating these dreams? But for what purpose?
She heard Jack's voice more clearly outside the cell, then suppressed a surprised gasp when he came through the closed door, holding the Serpent's Tail. She curled her lip, more at her strange emotional reaction to seeing him than anything. His arm was still in a sling and his face still bruised. She felt a twinge of anger. Why hadn't the monks healed him yet? He shouldn't even have that broken arm, let alone the bruises.
She kicked herself silently. Why did she care about his wounds?
"Jeez, there's no need to be that mad. It's not like I even hurt you all that bad," Jack misunderstood her furious glare to mean that she was angry with him. Which she was, of course. She searched for her former anger, but she couldn't bring herself to be anything more than mildly irritated at the boy.
"So…" Jack started. He seemed to be trying to think of a good way to phrase something.
Wuya rolled her eyes. "What, Jack? Spit it out, what do you want? You obviously didn't come here to gloat. Which certainly surprises me…"
"Well…" Jack grinned. "I could, I guess…no? Alright then, I guess I'll just get to the point. Wuya, why did you sneak into the infirmary? I know it wasn't to try and convince me to join you, don't even start with that crap."
She remained silent for a moment, trying to decide what to say. Her visit to him in the infirmary seemed ages ago. Her odd dreams had been consuming her thoughts recently. She eyed him cautiously and was slightly surprised by the intensity in his eyes. He was certainly changing quickly. He seemed so different from the Jack she used to know. Except…
"Went back to wearing your makeup, I see," she jumped on the opportunity to change the subject. If she could only distract him perhaps she could grab the serpent's tail… "It suits you, Jack. I always thought you looked quite odd without it. Like you were trying to hard to fit in with the monks."
"Yeah, well, maybe I was," Jack responded thoughtfully. His answer shocked Wuya again, but she didn't let it show.
"That robe looks silly on you as well, Jack," she walked up to him and reached up to touch his chest. "Black suits you much better…"
He stiffened up as she reached for him but then seemed to give up. His shoulders slumped and he dropped his gaze to the ground. "You think so? Yeah, I kinda agree." He sighed, then he reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. "I dunno, Wuya. I guess sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here. I'm not…like them. You know that better than anyone, huh?"
He looked up and gave her a weak smile. She suddenly froze. Was he…trying to confide in her?
"Chase…he hurt Raimundo. Really bad. I couldn't help him. I couldn't protect him. I can't fight Chase." He let out a quick laugh. "I can't even fight you, not without shen-gong-wu to help me. Uh, no offense or anything, it's just that you don't have your powers right now so…" He trailed off and frowned, surprised by his own words. Wuya realized suddenly that Jack wasn't trying to trick her. He was being completely honest.
He shook his head and suddenly looked up at her. The determination in his eyes was familiar to Wuya. She'd seen that expression on his face countless times.
"But there's absolutely no way I'm coming back to the Heylin side. If I have to choose between being a looser here or a looser over there, I'll pick here any day. At least here I have friends who support me, even when I fail. At least I know the monks will never abandon or betray me."
The words didn't quite sting, but Wuya did feel a twinge of something…guilt? She dismissed the feeling quickly.
"Anyway Wuya, will you just tell me why you came to see me? I'm gonna get the truth out of you one way or another."
"Jack, that sounded like a threat. You wouldn't hurt a defenseless prisoner, would you?" She fluttered her eyelids and gave him a pout.
"Oh, I don't have to hurt you to figure it out. This is your last chance, you old hag."
She flashed him a grin, "I didn't know you were a mind-reader now, Jack. Won't you give me a demonstration?"
Jack rolled his eyes as he turned to go. "If only. No, I can't read minds, Wuya. But I'm gonna borrow the ability from someone who can."
Why didn't I grab the wu when I had the chance? Jack sat inside his room listening to Wuya's thoughts with Kimiko's little mind-reading pda. The idiot was trying to distract me with that teary confession.
Jack's cheeks went a little pink remembering everything he'd said to her. What had prompted that? Since when did he use Wuya's shoulder to cry on? I wonder what he meant by that? It's not like he can actually read minds or anything. The monks do have the Mind-Reader Conch, but I should be out of its range down here. Are there any other wu that could help him? Dozens of images of shen-gong-wu and short lists of their abilities flipped through her mind. Only the Mind-Reader Conch could help him and he would have to be at least in the hallway to reach me. I'll have to be careful and listen for him outside…
Jack wondered for the first time how Wuya knew so much about the shen-gong-wu. Dashi had created them, hadn't he? Wuya was his enemy, so it made sense that she would know a little bit about them, but she knew every detail about every one. She could even tell when one went active and where it was hidden.
…don't know what I'd do if he found out I was worried about him.
Jack almost dropped the device. What? Wuya, worried about him? He laughed out loud, unable to stop himself.
"What's so funny?" Kimiko walked into his room. Her eyes were less red than they had been in a while, but she still had big bags under them. Her hair was up in its usual pigtails again. She'd done nothing but pull it back into a ponytail while Rai had been unconscious.
"Uh…" Jack turned the pda off quickly, not sure why he felt embarrassed. "Nothing. Just, uh…it's nothing. How's Rai doing?"
Her expression darkened. "He's doing okay. I dunno. It's hard to tell with him now, y'know?" She sat down on the mat next to him and pulled her knees up to her chest. "He was so easy to read before he was made into the leader, and now he can be so…mysterious. I thought he'd be crushed to know about…what happened, but he seems to not care at all."
Her voice was weak and hollow, not at all like the Kimiko Jack was used to.
"He's asleep right now," she sighed. "Are you done with that?" She pointed at the device in his hand.
He nodded and handed it back to her, silently resolving not to use it anymore. Knowing that Wuya was worried about him only confused him even more.
Kimiko stood up and headed out of the room when Jack cleared his throat behind her.
"Uh, Kimiko, I…listen, I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough…y'know, to help Raimundo." He kept his eyes on the floor when she turned around to face him. He felt his cheeks go red as she stared at him. "I just…I mean, you guys have done so much for me and…I just wish I could repay you somehow—"
His voice was cut off as Kimiko wrapped her arms around him suddenly. She held him tightly and he knew his whole face was red now, not just his cheeks. He tried to speak but couldn't seem to form words.
"Jack, I'm sorry for all the nasty stuff I've said about you." The emotion in her voice shocked him almost as much as the hug had. "You're a great guy and a great friend. You saved Rai's life; he'd definitely be dead if it weren't for you." She let go and leaned back, her cheeks slightly pink. "Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you."
He managed to shake his head and give her a smile before he suddenly felt overwhelmingly drowsy. The feeling was all too familiar and he waved goodbye to Kimiko as she hurried from the room. He flopped down onto the pillow and was instantly asleep.
"…I told you already, what girl is going to be interested in a guy who is paralyzed from the waist down? Just give it up, kid. The sooner you accept your loss, the better."
Jack was unsurprised to find himself floating in the white dream-world. He was, however, very surprised to see not just Dashi lounging on the ground, but Raimundo standing in front of the bald monk, fists clenched.
"Just shut up, old man! I told you, I'm gonna find a way to fix myself! I don't care if the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman won't work, there's got to be another way!"
Dashi yawned and leaned back, shutting his eyes. "You should take some advice from this 'old man'—there are some things we are meant to change and some things we aren't. Learn to be able to recognize the difference. Hello Jack."
Raimundo glanced over his shoulder as Jack floated down to land on the ground behind him. "Uh, hey Dashi. Am I interrupting something?"
"No, no, Raimundo was just letting out some of his frustration." Dashi glared off into the distance and muttered, "…seems to be what you both think I'm here for…"
"Hey Jack, how's it hanging?" Raimundo grinned, but Jack could tell the smile was forced. He had a pretty good idea why.
"Um…Raimundo, were you…uh…watching us just now?"
"So!" Dashi jumped up and put a hand on each of their shoulders. "I've called you here together for a reason."
"And that would be…?" Raimundo sounded more irritated than Jack had heard him sound in a while.
"For training, of course," Dashi grinned at them both. "I need to see the two of you in action."
"You've seen us in action." Rai complained. He leaned up to Jack and spoke out of the corner of his mouth, "I bet the old man is just too lazy to spar with us on his own."
Jack grinned. "No kidding. Yeah, I've been wondering why he calls this 'training.' All I've done is listen to him yammer on about how great he is."
Raimundo stifled a laugh as Dashi glared down at them. "I can't judge your abilities accurately by sparing with you myself since you don't even get a chance to use your abilities against me. Now go ahead and show me what you've got."
"All right, all right. At least I get to use my legs here, eh?" He shot Jack a grin and stepped into a defensive position.
Jack was excited to spar. He'd been feeling restless for a while now, and he knew he was safe fighting Raimundo.
"You ready to go down, girly boy?" Rai taunted as he began to circle his opponent, looking for an opening.
"That's my line." Jack grinned. "Guess I can't call you a Xiaolin looser anymore, eh?"
Raimundo lunged forward, swinging at the side of Jack's head. Jack ducked just in time and tried to hit Rai with an uppercut. Raimundo leapt into the air and floated upside-down above Jack's head. He stuck out his tongue at the monk below him.
"Hey, no fair. Elemental powers are cheating," Jack complained.
"Nothing is cheating in this match," Dashi called from the sideline. "That means you too, Jack."
"Alright then," Jack activated his heli-bot and prepared to jump into the air. "I've been flying a lot longer than you have, Raimundo. Better get ready to loose!" He lunged upward with a laugh as his opponent flew further up into the air.
"Don't forget, kiddos," Dashi coached as the two battled furiously in the sky, "Wind is not Chase Young's element. He uses his Heylin powers to make himself fly, but he'll never fight in the air unless forced to. That is why you must improve your skills in the air. You will goad him into facing you in the air. He thinks he's so smart, but he's easy to provoke. You both know that."
"Yeah, yeah, we got it." Rai dodged one of Jack's attacks.
"But, wait, I don't get it," Jack glanced down at Dashi as he blocked Rai's foot with his arm. "You keep saying air isn't Chase's 'element' and before you said it was your element. And you flew around like Rai."
"Yes, I am…well, was…the Dragon of the Wind. What's your point?" But by the look on Dashi's face Jack could tell he knew exactly what the point was.
"Well, then what was Chase's element?"
"Oh yeah, hey, I never thought about that. The dragons always appear together, huh? I'm pretty sure I remember Master Fung saying that…" Raimundo flipped under Jack and grabbed one of his legs. "So…you were at the temple the same time as Chase and Master Monk Guan, right? What were their elements?"
"Guan's element was fire…"
"Ha! No surprise there," muttered Raimundo as he flung Jack toward the ground.
"…and Chase was water, but you won't have to worry about that. Drinking the Lao Mang Long soup takes away one's Xiaolin dragon abilities."
"No wonder that guy is so obsessed with the cheddarhead," Jack said as he caught his balance.
"Haha, yeah. Those water dragons must just be full of themselves," laughed Rai.
"But, wait…" Jack landed next to Dashi, who didn't quite meet his gaze.
"Yeah," continued Rai, landing on the other side of their master. "Who was the dragon of earth? Did he die or something?"
"No…no, she didn't die. Well, not exactly." Dashi sighed. Jack was surprised at the look on his face. He'd never seen the monk so serious.
"Not exactly? Did she or didn't she? Death is kinda an either-or type thing, you know?" Rai shot Jack a quizzical look.
"This really isn't relevant to your training…" Dashi looked away from them, but they weren't letting the topic go.
"Dashi, come on man, you gotta tell us." Rai pressed.
Dashi sighed again, this time in defeat. "It should be obvious. Who do you know who uses earth in her attacks?"
"Her? What do you mean? We don't know anyone like that," Raimundo protested.
But Jack realized immediately. "Wuya? No way! That's immposible!"
"What? The hag? That is impossible. You said dragons lost their Xiaolin powers when they turned evil!"
"No, I said drinking the Lao Mang Long soup took away Xiaolin abilities. That is not how Wuya turned evil."
"Well then how did it happen?" Raimundo leaned forward.
"It was…an accident. A misunderstanding. A mistake." Dashi's eyes went dark and his voice turned distant. Jack glanced at Raimundo, but he seemed to have caught the hint already.
The two continued their fight in silence.
