Chapter 9: Road to the Underworld
"I'm gunna have nightmares about this place for weeks!" Kimiko groaned. She and Raimundo were riding the Black Beatle (sitting rather close together I might add) through a river underneath the mountain. But the term "river" was a definite understatement. The water was an eerie green color and it looked like there were, well, ghostly faces lingering just beneath the surface. But it wasn't just the look of the water that made it unearthly. Kimiko had made the mistake of letting her hand drag through the water for a few seconds at the beginning of their journey only to find that it left her skin with a strange burning sensation. When she removed her hand from the water, after only seconds of letting it drag through, it looked like it belonged to an eighty year-old woman, though it quickly regenerated. It wasn't just that water that would give her nightmares either, the walls and ceiling were made of an unrecognizable pitch black stone. Rotting corpses and (literally) miserable looking souls hung from the stalactites on the ceiling. "How can you not get goose-bumps in this place Rai?"
Rai shrugged. "I guess it's because I've seen every horror movie made in Brazil. Then again," He snuggled a bit closer to Kimiko and moved his arm from her shoulder to her waist. "Maybe it's because I've got other things on my mind." He said in a mischievous tone.
Kimiko elbowed him in the ribs before muttering "Pervert."
Rai rubbed his ribs with his free hand. "You make to many assumptions, girl." He chuckled. "I meant that once this is all done and over maybe I could convince Dojo to fly us into town for a movie or something."
Kim gave him a suspicious look. But after seeing the innocent (yet annoyed) look on Rai's face, she gave him a reassuring smile and nodded. This had happened often since the two had started dating: Rai makes smart-ass comment; Kim accuses him of being a pervert or something like that; Rai either comes up with a quick cover-up, takes Kim's punishment like a man, or Rai actually meant what he said after getting punched, slapped, elbowed, etc.; then life would continues as normal. It seemed rather amusing to Clay, Saya, and Dojo… and Jack on a few occasions.
In the darkness at the end of the tunnel, a low growling could be heard. It sort of sounded like a dog, but whatever this was, it was far too big and there seemed to be more than one. Rai grabbed the Sword of the Storms with his free hand and Kim did the same with the Star Hanabi.
After some time, with no sound but that of the water, the moaning of the diseased around them, and the low growling from the still hidden monster, the Black Beatle beached itself on the end of the green river. The sand was black as the night sky and felt more like crushed ice. The two monks stepped onto the beach, pausing briefly to take in the eerie scenery.
Then, just as suddenly as the silence had begun, it was broken. "Memory Charm Bracelet!" shouted a voice deep and frightening enough that it sent a chill up the spine of anyone who heard it.
Kimiko's pupils narrowed to the point to where they were barely visible. She glanced around, as if trying to figure out where she was. Then her gaze was set on Raimundo. A look of pure rage came across her face as she held the Star Hanabi in front of her, ready to throw it. "Raimundo! What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded.
"What're you talking about Kim? We came here to find the Ruby Gauntlet, remember?" Rai asked confused. Then he realized what was happening. "Oh no..,"
"Right, like I'm gunna believe that you back stabbing son of a bitch!" Kim growled. "You left us to join Hannibal Bean back at Master Monk Guan's temple! Ever since you've left nothing but death and destruction in your wake! Clay, Master Fung, Guan, Even Jack and Chase are dead! Dojo and Omi are nowhere to be found! Wuya even teamed up with me just to stop you two… and now she's dead too!"
Rai knew there was no point in reasoning with her. As long as the Memory Charm Bracelet had a hold of her, she wouldn't believe anything he told her. He swung around. "All right, who ever's got the Bracelet, c'mon out now!" he demanded.
"Don't turn your back on me, Raimundo Pedrosa! Star Hanabi!" Kimiko swiped the star through the air, sending a trail or fire heading for Rai. Acting only on instinct, Rai swiped the sword of the storms through the air, extinguishing the flames and sending Kim hurtling towards the wall.
Rai couldn't stand to watch Kim slam against the rocky wall. It pained him to have to do that to her, but what else was he supposed to do? Kimiko clutched her side as she staggered back to her feet. Her shirt was turning black from the blood pouring out of a gash under her hand. "I can't believe I ever even thought I loved you." She muttered before using her other arm to reach into her purse. "Arrow Sparrow!" Rai dived out of the way as four tiny fire balls went souring at him.
The sound of clapping filled the cave as a towering figure stepped out of the darkness. Kimiko turned her head, her face now red with anger, to see who or what it was. Rai did the same after spitting out a mouthful of black sand. The clapping figure was a man (or something close to it). He wore a black toga that reached from his ankles to his shoulders and a red sash around his waist. There was a golden medallion on the cloth over his chest with a strange and indescribable symbol on it. His skin looked pale, almost white. He had a thin mustache and goatee that was the same shade of black as his short, greasy hair. "I must say, quit a show." He called out. His voice was the same as the one from before. "This trinket that Hannibal gave me works like a charm. Quit a mystery, that Bean."
"You!" Rai shouted. "You put Kimiko's mind back the way it was now!"
"And if I refuse?" asked the man. He fumbled with the golden chain of the charm bracelet between his fingers.
Rai charged, both the Sword of the Storms and the Blade of the Nebula in hand. The look on his face said everything that the man needed to hear. When Rai was only steps away, ready to plunge both blades into the mans chest, the man flicked his wrist. Rai went hurtling through the air, vanishing beneath the emerald green water with a thundering splash.
"Foolish mortal! One should know better than to attack the Lord of the Dead."
Rai slowly made his way out of the water. He looked miserable… weak… old. His hair had changed from the chocolaty brunet to pure white; his back was hunched over; and his person in general just looked ancient. This was nowhere near a good enough punishment for what he'd done in Kim's false memories. Rai collapsed onto the black sand, just far enough away so the water couldn't reach him, as his features began to regenerate. He muttered a single word before he passed out. "Hades..."
Pleased with his quick work of the Dragon of Wind, Hades turned his attention to Kimiko. She still held the Star Hanabi close to her chest, ready to throw it like a Shuriken
"I grow bored." Hades spat. "Please, finish off the young man and be gone. There is nothing within my domain for the likes of mortals."
Kimiko glared at him. The Star Hanabi burst into flames in her hand, her eyes seeming to do the same. "As much as I'd like o kill that no good backstabber, something tells me that you're a bigger threat." She announced.
"Stubborn and hot headed, just as Hannibal said." Hades muttered under his breath. "As you wish, mortal." He clapped his hands twice. Two mounds of stone on the ground began to change shape, forming into small, almost human figures. No taller than two feet tall, skin gray as the stone it was born from, so skinny that practically every bone could be seen in the skin, back hunched over, yellow eyes the size of billiard balls, and ears that looked like they belonged to bats. These creatures were what were called gremlins. "Minions, escort Miss Tohomiko and Mr. Pedrosa to the arena. And send Cerberus there as well." Hades began to chuckle coldly. "I imagine that he'll be interested in a snack after his performance in today's entertainment.
The first gremlin slowly waddled over to Raimundo, grabbing his unconscious body by the wrists and dragging him into the dark tunnel with amazing speed. The second lunged at Kimiko, hitting her in the stomach with its bony fist. Kim blacked out as shortly afterwards.
BENEATH UNDERWORLD ARENA
It was dark. The only light in the small dungeon that Kim and Rai sat in came from a small grate in the ceiling that led to the arena above. Through the darkness, Rai was all most certain that he could still see that hellfire look in Kim's eyes.
The two of them had been stripped of their Shen Gong Wu and Wudai Weapons before being thrown into the dungeon and something was preventing them from entering their Orion forms to break out. It could've been one of the curses that Dojo had mentioned. But more likely, Rai thought, it was Kim's lack of trust in him due to her false memories. One of the upsides of being a Shoku Warrior was that Rai could enter his Orion form without the entire team being present. However, one of the others had to be there. But both Rai and the other had to have complete trust, as Master Fung put it. And that just wasn't the case right now, unfortunately.
The screaming and roaring of a crowd of demons and dead people sounded from above as a battle raged on. From the sounds of the two creatures that were battling, they were some kind of demonic lion and snake.
A thundering roar rang through the arena and the dungeon below as the lion belched a jet of flames at the snake. Scales turned to ash as the snake gave on final his before collapsing onto the grate, dead. The dungeon was now pitch-black. The only thing that could be seen were Kimiko's eyes, still filled with fire from rage.
"All right! Let's give a hand to the Chimera's amazing victory over the Basilisk!" shouted the deep voice of Hades. "There will be a short intermission so that the arena can be cleared before our next match starts. We've got a real treat for you all tonight! Straight from Zeus knows where, two LIVE human warriors of the Xiaolin Order! A gift from my close friend, Hannibal Roy Bean!"
"Now, now, Hades. No need to thank me. I was just dropping by to visit an old pal." came Hannibal's voice.
"Oh, don't be so modest, Hannibal!" protested Hades. "Were it not for you, none of these poor souls would ever actually get to see something die!"
With that, the crowd broke into an explosion of cheers and roars. It quickly faded as, Rai guessed, the stands began to empty. The Basilisk that covered the grate suddenly sprang back to life and slithered away followed by the Chimera casting its shadow through the small hole. All was silent now. It was just the two young monks, alone for a few precious minutes. Rai looked over to Kimiko to find that the fire in her eyes was gone. It had been replaced by ice. Cold, unforgiving, ice. "Kimiko…" he muttered.
"Save it Raimundo." Kimiko snapped. "I don't want to hear it."
Rai slapped his forehead. "You know, this really sucks. You're mad at me and I didn't do anything wrong. I swear if you weren't under the power of a Shen Gong Wu I'd be going crazy!"
"What're you talking about?" Kim asked.
"Ok, listen closely, 'cause I'm only gunna have time to say this once. I never joined Hannibal, It was all just a scam cooked up by Guan and me; Master Fung, Clay, Guan and, regrettably, Chase and Jack are still alive; I can tell you almost exactly where Dojo and Omi are; you and I are here looking for a Shen Gong Wu called the Ruby Gauntlet; and, I can't stress this last part enough, you and I are dating!"
Kimiko lit up at these last few words, but she quickly returned to her cold nature. "That's a bald faced lie, Raimundo!" she protested.
Rai groaned. What more could he do to get her to believe him? There wasn't much he could do unless he somehow got the Charm Bracelet. All he wanted to do at that moment was storm over to her, pull her to her feet, and kiss her, hoping that that would somehow jog her memory. But he knew that kind of stuff only worked in movies.
The floor beneath their feet began to shack as the ceiling split in half. Slowly the two pieces melted into the walls and the floor rose, ever so gradually revealing the dragons of fire and wind to the roaring crowd. "Ladies and dead-men," Hades' voice range out, "I give you… Fire and Wind! The battle of the living in the realm of the dead!"
The arena was almost an exact replica of the Roman Coliseum, only made of the same black stone as everything else in the Underworld. Hanging all around the walls were black and dark blue banisters with a symbol of a skull with a sword sticking through it. At one spot there was a raised platform in the stands where Hades and an oversized Hannibal bean sat. On the opposite end from Hades and Hannibal was a gigantic, three-headed wolf chained to the wall. All three of its heads snarled and barked as it drooled over what would most likely be its next meal.
"Mortals!" Hades called out. Kim and Rai turned their attention away from Cerberus to Hades. "The rules of this battle are simple! You are each allowed one weapon from the arsenal you brought with you. Anything else goes. The match is over when one surrenders, or dies! The loser will be fed to Cerberus; the winner can leave with their prize," Hades brought one hand from behind his back to reveal a blood red cylinder that could fit over a persons forearm. "The Ruby Gauntlet!"
Another one of Hades' gremlins emerged from the floor between Kimiko and Raimundo. This one was holding a stone slab on which sat every Shen Gong Wu that the two monks had brought with them. It waddled over and kneeled before Kimiko, offering her one weapon on the slab. Without a second thought, Kim grabbed the Arrow Sparrow. The gremlin then moved over to Rai, who took the Sword of the Storms. Kimiko gave him a confused glare.
"What're you up to? Why didn't you grab the Blade of the Nebula, Raimundo?"
"I can't wager my Wudai Weapon in a Xiaolin Showdown, now can I?" Rai said. With that, he called out to his elemental powers and leapt into the air, landed on the raised platform where Hades and Hannibal sat, and latched onto the Ruby Gauntlet which was still in Hades' hand. "Hades, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"
"What trickery is this?!" Hades snapped.
"Accept the challenge!" Hannibal ordered.
Hades gave Hannibal a questioning look before nodding. "Very well. I accept your challenge."
"My Sword of the Storms against your Memory Charm Bracelet." Rai announced. "The game is Pandora's Box! First one to find the box with the Ruby Gauntlet inside wins!"
"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"
A golden light flashed from the Gauntlet as the scenery began to change. The coliseum and stands began to crumble, breaking apart and reforming into six perfectly square walls. The walls slammed together around Raimundo and Hades, creating a large room with no opening to the outside. The inside was illuminated by a single glowing orb hovering in mid air, and every wall (floor and ceiling included was covered in small treasure chests spaced evenly apart.
Raimundo and Hades landed on opposite sides of the room. They wasted no time and immediately shouted in unison, "Gong Yi Tanpai!"
Rai bent down and opened the chest directly in front of him. At first it just looked empty, but it didn't take long for a jet of flames to come shooting from the inside. Rai yelped and stumbled back, he would've fallen if there wouldn't have been a wall right behind him. Ok, note to self, wrong boxes aren't always empty. Rai mentally noted before continuing to the next chest.
On the other side, Hades was ripping open chests without a second though to what would come out. Being immortal does have its perks some times. Whether it be fire, ice, lightning, or a copy of one of Cerberus's heads, he just slammed it shut and continued to the next one.
Time went on and still neither competitor had found the gauntlet. Both were on the center row now and were drawing close to the center. Rai grabbed the chest next to the one in the very center of the room and ripped it open. A snarl came from the inside and Rai slammed it shut just before another Cerberus head copy could push its way out. Now it was down to the final chest.
Hades lunged at the last chest. Raimundo grabbed the Sword of the Storms from thin air and called out its name before slashing it through the air and creating a powerful gust of wind. The Lord of the Dead went flying back, slamming against the wall. Rai rushed forward, stabbed the sword between the chest and its lid and pried it open to find…
A bolt of lightning shot out of the chest. Rai just starred at the empty chest, awe struck. What was going on? This was the last chest! He and Hades had checked every last one that was reachable. The Gauntlet should've been in there! Unless…
"My patients are wearing thin!" Hades boomed from across the room. "Where is that blasted Gauntlet! I'll incinerate every chest in here if I have too."
"You're too impatient, Hades. We haven't even checked half of them yet." Rai said.
"What the hell are you talking about?! We've checked every frickin' box on the floor!" Hades snapped.
"That's right." Rai agreed. "Every Box on the floor… Sword of the Storms!" he raised the sword over his head and began to swing it in a circle, slowly moving it over the entire ceiling. One by one, every chest attached to the ceiling, and a few on the walls, opened, each revealing one of the booby traps set. Hades immediately caught on and began to collect dark energy in his hands, using it to blast the chests attached to the walls. After the chests on the ceiling were all open, Rai joined Hades in attacking the walls.
Both saw a small glint of red as one of the chests on the walls fell open. Rai leapt into the air, summoning his elemental powers, and went for it. Hades did the same, calling upon his dark powers to rise into the air. They raced for it, neck and neck until the very end where Rai slashed at Hades with the sword and knocked his out of the way so that he could latch onto the Gauntlet and claim victory.
The Ruby Gauntlet flashed again as the scenery changed back to the Underworld Coliseum. Rai was now standing in the center of the arena holding the three Shen Gong Wu as his prize. Kimiko stood next to him, completely baffled as to what was going on. Hannibal sat on the raised platform, grimacing at the sight of a victorious Raimundo. Hades sat on his hands and knees, glaring down at the floor in rage.
"I lost…" Hades mumbled. "How could I lose in my own domain?"
"Being a god makes you immortal, not invincible." Rai explained.
Hades went silent. His greasy black hair slowly began to turn red, almost seeming to catch on fire. He raised himself off the ground and glared down at Raimundo with a stern bust surprisingly calm face. He reached out and grabbed Rai by the front of his shirt, lifting him off the ground slightly. "You have not seen the last of me." He muttered darkly before letting go of the Brazilian and disappearing in a burst of flames.
All went silent. The crowds in the stands either disappeared or just refused to make a sound and Hannibal was just sitting their awaiting the next move of the two monks.
Rai turned to Kimiko. He was pleased to see that this time her eyes held neither fire nor ice, only confusion and a hint of happiness. "So, Kimiko, ready to get your real memories back?" Rai asked with s smile. It was all Kimiko could do to nod sheepishly. Rai nodded back and stretched his arm in front of him, dangling the Memory Charm Bracelet between his thumb and index finger. "Memory Charm Bracelet!"
It all came flooding back to her. Master Fung, Clay, and Guan weren't dead; regrettably, Jack, Chase, and Wuya were in the same boat; Omi was still alive, though he was a good three-hundred years in the past; Dojo was flying somewhere between Greece and Singapore; Rai had never really joined Hannibal Bean; and most importantly, she remembered the battle and injuries that lead to their becoming a couple. But now the last few hours were a complete mystery to her.
"Rai? What's going on?" she asked. "I thought we were on a black sand beach near the Underworld."
Rai chuckled. "Yeah, it's a long story. But, long story short, we got what we came here for." He said enthusiastically as he brought his other hand in front of himself to reveal a blood red cylinder that could fit over a persons arm. "And with a little something extra, too." He then showed her the small golden chain in his other hand.
"Trade ya!"
The Ying-Yang bird came swooping down and snatched up the bracelet from Rai's hand, but in return, it left a small pile of other Wu on the ground, namely the ones that the two had brought with them.
The next thing they knew, Hannibal and the Ying-Yang bird were gone, disappeared into the Ying-Yang world.
Kim and Rai just stood there, glancing back and forth between the spot in the air where Hannibal had disappeared and the pile of Shen Gong Wu for a few seconds. Something wasn't right. What did Hannibal give them back their Wu? That just wasn't his style. Something was defiantly going on. The only words that Raimundo could find to describe this situation were, "Son of a bitch."
"Who cares? We'll get it back later." Kim said nonchalantly. The two proceeded to grab all the Wu and store them in god knows where the put all those things while on missions, leaving only the Ying and Yang Yo-Yo's out. "Now, whaddo you say we get back to the temple and you can tell me the whole story over lunch?" Kim said as she wrapped her arm around her boyfriend's waist.
"Sound's like a plan to me." Rai agreed, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"It feels like we should be ending this with some cheesy kiss or something, doesn't it?" Kim asked as she wrapped the string of the Ying Yo-Yo around her finger.
"You'd know I'd love to, but I'm exhausted right now." Rai joked as he did the same with the Yang Yo-Yo. "Besides, there'll be time for a lot more than that when we get back to the land of the living."
"I'll hold you're punishment for that one off until you fill me in on the details. Let's just get out of here for now."
"I couldn't agree with you more."
"YING-YANG YO-YO!"