So here's Chapter 9. I know it's a day early, but that just means it pushes every other chapter forward a day too. Point is, it's a good thing.

Before the chapter starts, I just want to thank everyone so far who has taken the time to not only read my story, but review, add me and it to their alerts and favourites. I sincerely appreciate all the support.

DISCLAIMER: I only own made up Shen Gong Wu

Enjoy!


The monks had returned to the temple with their tails between their legs, metaphorically of course.

"Young Monks, I can tell by the looks on your faces that you were not victorious in retrieving the Harp of Kori." Master Fung approached.

"No, Master. It was most difficult with the constant distraction of Raimundo's absence." Omi told him.

"Young monks, I realize that you are concerned about Raimundo, but this situation will resolve itself in time, hopefully. In the mean time, it is time to train, no use in letting your abilities be compromised just because Raimundo is absent."

The three warriors would have, under normal circumstances, moaned at the thought of training. This time, however, they were more than willing to do something to get their thoughts off the dragon of the wind. They followed Master Fung to the training grounds, where a mat with the newest Shen Gong Wu they had acquired was laying.

"Today will be a three part exercise. Part one is that even though I told you we will be training, I lied. Part one is to go get some rest, and then I will reveal parts two and three." Master Fung motioned for the monks to go and rest for a while. They gladly obliged, and went off towards the temple.


Raimundo was sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of a park. He had a look on his face that told exactly what he was thinking, confusion. He placed his head in his palms and sighed heavily.

"My, my, what do we have hear?" He heard a familiar voice murmur. He turned to see Wuya glaring at him devilishly. He jumped off the bench and faced her, fists raised.

"Aren't we jumpy today? I'm not here to fight, my dear boy."

"Then what do you want, you old hag?"

"I have a proposal for you."

"Forget it; I'm not joining your side."

"That wasn't what I was going to offer you. What I am offering you is a chance to show those pesky monks you call friends who's boss."

Raimundo let his arms fall to his sides and stood up straight.

"What are you getting at?"

"A temporary partnership, a one time deal. You help me beat the monks around a little, maybe take a few Shen Gong Wu, and then we'll see what happens. Evil has an aftertaste, Raimundo. Once you try it, it sticks around in your mouth a bit, and you get drawn back for seconds."

Raimundo stared at her, unconvinced.

"Alright, fine. You help me break into the temple, we steal their Wu, split it 50-50, and maybe we can work out a more permanent agreement."

This was a dilemma. Sure, he wanted to show the other monks, or at least Omi, that he was the leader, and that they had to respect him. But, and it was a big but, a Clay sized but, was it worth it to help Wuya and give away half the Wu? And could he really trust Wuya, or would she just take all the Wu and leave him hanging.

"N..No, I couldn't, I shouldn't… I won't. It's too risky, and I decline."

"Your tone gives away your uncertainty. You hesitated when saying no, which makes me think you really want to help me."

"I said no, Wuya, now go."

"Alright, but remember, you can't help but go back for seconds. The offer will remain open, and if you want to accept, you know how to find me."

Wuya waved to him coyly and vanished in a blaze of green.

Raimundo sat back down on the bench and put his left arm on his left knee, resting his head in his palm. Was he really considering working with Wuya to attack his friends again? He shook his head mentally.

"What kind of leader would I be to betray them like that?" He whispered to himself.


The monks stood at the training ground. They had spent some time resting, and Master Fung had decided they were now ready to begin the test proper.

"As I had previously mentioned, young monks, this is a two part training exercise. Part one will involve each of you practicing with the newly acquired Shen Gong Wu."

"What's part two, Master?" Omi inquired.

"That will be revealed all in due time, young one. Clay, since you were supposed to go first last time, why don't you go first now."

The Texan stepped forward and Master Fung signaled to the Wu.

"Please pick any of the Shen Gong Wu on the mat and begin."

Clay walked over to the mat and picked up the Amethyst of Dionysus.

"Very well. Now that you have chosen a Shen Gong Wu, the training course will be able to adapt to more adequately help you train."

The ground began to shake a bit. A number of contraptions stood in the once empty field. Some had cannons from destroyed Jack Bots, while others had automatic crossbows with flaming arrows, otherwise it was still an empty field.

"Begin!"

The arrows launched at Clay, forming a wall of piercing, flaming metal and wood. Clay dived out of the path of a few arrows, and barely avoided a few others.

"Remember, Clay, you are practicing with the new Shen Gong Wu." Master Fung hinted.

"Right, Amethyst of Dionysus!"

The purple gem glowed and the ground split open. A wall of purple crystal shot up in front of Clay. The arrows bounced off of the barrier like rubber balls hitting the ground. The arrows clattered to the ground and the barricade descended back into the ground.

"Round two, Begin!"

The cannons began to hum, generating energy. Various panels glowed and they all pointed at Clay.

"Run, Clay, RUN!" Kimiko shouted.

The salvo of beams came sailing towards Clay, who jumped to the side to avoid getting hit.

"My god, that was a mighty close call."

Clay stood up and brushed off his pants. He looked up in time to dodge another wave of beams. He panted heavily and wiped sweat from his brow. The cannons charged up for another round.

"Amethyst of Dionysus!" The purple gem summoned another wall in front of Clay. The cowboy, who was struck by an idea, put his fist to the crystalline structure in front of him. He drew his arm back and slammed it into the wall, which shattered on impact. The next thing it did surprised everyone, everyone but Clay, who got just what he wanted. The purple shards began to surround both of his hands, and soon he had purple rock up to his elbow on both arms.

"I get it," Kimiko explained, "Amethyst is a gemstone, which is still a type of rock, which means it fits right into Clay's element."

"That is a very creative way to use a Shen Gong Wu, young dragon."

The cannons hummed again, the fired another barrage at Clay, who raised his arms in front of him. The amethyst gauntlets had worked as intended, absorbing the lasers. Clay figured that it was time to end it, so he raised both arms above his head. He flung his arms down, sending razor sharp shards of amethyst at the robotic sentries, which exploded when they were struck. Clay turned, facing away from the robots as they exploded.

"Very good, Clay," Master Fung said, returning the Amethyst to its spot on the mat, "Kimiko, you're next."

Kimiko walked over to the mat and picked up the Marionette Strings. She grinned evilly and faced Omi.

The testing course switched, it now had about a dozen dummies, all either hanging from poles or resting up against rocks, but all on fire.

"Oh, too easy, Marionette Strings!"

The red threads sailed towards an unaware Omi, who was now under the control of the clever Japanese.

"Kimiko, I am most confused, what is going on?"

"Simple, Omi, those dummies are on fire, and I need to put them out. I could work super hard absorbing the fire, or countering it with my own, or I could just use your powers to benefit myself."

"That's awful sneaky, Kim."

"Thanks Clay. Now Omi, how about a nice Wudai Neptune, Water?"

"Yes Kimiko," a monotone voice escaped Omi's lips, "Wudai Neptune, Water!"

Water sprayed from the imprisoned monk's hands, dousing the dummies, extinguishing them.

"Alright, that's all I wanted."

The red ropes dropped Omi, who hit the ground with a thud. Kimiko stowed the Marionette Strings and eyed the dummies. Noticing that the ground itself still had a few flames remaining, she spread out a palm and held it over one. It roared up suddenly. She drew her hand back, and the swung it forward quickly. The flames followed, slamming into the already fragile dummies. Instead of igniting when they were hit, they merely collapsed into various piles of ash.

"Alright, Omi, it is finally your turn."

Omi excitedly picked up the Huoshan Scarf and wrapped it around his neck. The course changed to something resembling a shooting range. Various dummies were scattered among pots and large vases.

"Begin!"

"Huoshan Scarf!"

The scarf tails rose up, almost as if they were alive, and began to glow a reddish colour. The parts of the scarf that appeared to be rock began to melt upwards, gathering over the actual tail pieces. Two globular orbs of lava floated above the scarf. Omi pointed and the scarf flung both globs in the direction Omi had indicated. A pair of dummies and a vase melted instantly. Omi repeated this twice, melting a few more dummies. Suddenly, Omi was hit with a clever idea.

"Huoshan Scarf, Water!"

Instead of flinging lava, the scarf flung large rocks in the direction Omi had chosen.

"I believe I geddit. Omi knew that lava and water makes rock, so he used that to his advantage."

"You are correct, my cowboy friend."

Omi flung a few more rocks and all the dummies, along with all of the vases, were destroyed.

"Good Job Omi." Master Fung told him

"Although I wish you had avoided some of the vases and pots." Dojo added.


"Did you deliver our message?" A voice asked Wuya as she approached.

"Of course I did." She replied, placing a hand on her hip.

"Very good."

"I don't think the odds are as good as we had hoped, Chase," She informed, "He did seem hesitant to say no, but I don't think he's going to go for it."

"You must remain positive," Chase reassured, "Raimundo will grow tired of the others in due time."

"I sure hope you know what you're talking about."

"Oh believe, me, I know how to convert monks to the Heylin side."

"Yeah, because the Marionette Strings idea went over so well."

Chase glared at the Heylin witch as she let out a chuckle.


Raimundo had found his way to a small, but beautiful, beach. He sat on large rock, staring out at the water. He sighed, which he seemed to be doing a lot these past few days.

"I'm gonna have to go back eventually."

But then he thought for a minute.

"But if they really wanted me back, wouldn't they have tried harder to find me?"
"Well they did send Dojo. And maybe they're letting you solve it yourself because they believe in you."

"Or maybe they just don't care."

Raimundo growled frustratedly, trying not to let his internal conflict get out of hand.


The three monks had earned a well deserved break, and decided to spend it in the garden.

Kimiko looked at the sky, deep in thought.

"Oh yes, I know what you are thinking, Kimiko." Omi interrupted her thought train.

"You do?"

"Yes, you are thinking that it might rain later, correct?"

"Not even close, Omi."

"Oh…"

"Sher is quiet without Rai."

"I'm going to look for him." Kimiko stood up.

"But, Master Fung said not to."
"Omi, I can't leave him by himself, what if he gets the wrong message?"

"But…"

"Omi, buddy, Kim's not gonna stop becuz you said so. I say we just let her go with our support."

"I suppose Clay is right. Good luck Kimiko."

"Thanks Guys."

Kimiko walked off to the vault.

"Are you sure we did the right thing, Clay?"

"I dunno, buddy."


Kimiko grabbed a few Wu and hid them. She walked out of the vault.

"Ah, Kimiko, what are you doing over here?"

"Nothing, Master Fung, just getting some fresh air."

"Very good."

Kimiko watched as the man walked away. When she was sure that the coast was clear, she pulled out a Wu.

"Silver Manta Ray!"

The large vehicle floated in front of her. She climbed in, making sure no one was watching her, and took off.


Raimundo looked up when he heard a familiar voice call his name. He was hesitant to come into the open, but did after the voice called his name a few more times.

"Rai!"

He was knocked to the ground by an overzealous Japanese girl.

"I thought I would never find you. I was so worried, and so were Omi and Clay, not to mention Dojo and Master Fung. What were you thinking running off?"

Raimundo lied on the sand looking at the ocean, trying his hardest to avoid Kimiko's gaze.

"Rai?"

"Look, Kim, I just got tired of all the pressure put on me, especially by Omi."

"Omi feels really bad about what he said, Rai."

"Good. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to forget he said it."

Raimundo turned his head and his eyes met with Kimiko's. She could feel the tears begin to well up, and Raimundo felt it too. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she put hr head on his chest.

"Look, Kim, You know I'll come back, I know I'll come back, everyone knows it, but it has to be when I'm ready."

"Aw, how touching, it makes me sick."

Both Raimundo and Kimiko jumped to their feet at the sound of the voice.

"What do you want this time, Wuya?" Raimundo barked.

"Just wanted to know if you had reconsidered my offer."

"Yeah, I reconsidered it, and I decided that you can take your offer and shove it up your ass."
"My, my, quite the temper."

"There's nothing you could ever say that would make me betray my friends."

"What if I told you that your little girlfriend was making it all up?"

"He wouldn't believe you." Kimiko shouted.

"Stay out of this, you little spoiled brat." Wuya hissed.

"Hey, you leave her out of this." Raimundo ordered.

"I don't take orders from you."

Wuya jumped at Kimiko, tackling her to the ground. The two girls clawed and scratched at each other. Kimiko charged one leg up with fire and kicked Wuya in the side, and the evil witch was sent flying off of the female monk. She stood up and began to brush herself off. Raimundo ran over to her, but she turned and smiled.

"You think that THAT would really hurt me?"

"No," Wuya threatened, "But THIS will." Wuya charged at Kimiko, hands ablaze with a magical green flame.

"Oh, I think it's going to hurt you more, you hag. Two-Ton Tunic!"

The Heylin female sailed straight into the armor. She fell to the ground wide-eyed.

"Come on, Rai, let's go." Kimiko pulled at his sleeve.

"I told you, I can't"

"You can," Kimiko grabbed his hand and gave him a peck on the cheek, "Because you have me."

Raimundo looked from Kimiko, to Wuya, and back to Kimiko. He sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I can't, not now."

He pulled his hand from hers and backed away.

"Raimundo, please."

Raimundo gave her a small grin, one filled with confusion and sadness, before swiping the Golden Tiger Claws in front of him and vanishing.

Kimiko got in the Silver Manta Ray, not wanting to stick around when Wuya regained her senses.


"Clay, I have a most awful feeling."

"I do too, little buddy, I do too."

"Do you think Kimiko got Raimundo to come back?"

"I sher hope so, but it's hard ta say, honestly."

"Clay, I miss Raimundo."

"I do too, Omi, I do too."


So no Shen Gong Wu this time, but that means I had to get creative. A fairly sad chapter, thought i was gonna cry while typing it. Tell me what you think, too much?

Don't forget to review, and keep an eye out for chapter 10.