Omi had to resist the urge to cover his ears every time he heard the anguish cry of Kimiko. He and the others had been sitting outside the medical room for hours now and it was only in the past hour that her cries started to pick up. He shivered whenever he heard her moan in pain or cry out and he was sure he once heard Raimundo scream as well. "Oh, I did not know child birth could be so scary." He was curled up in the floor, wondering what could be going on in there that was causing his friend such horrible pain.
"You'd be surprised." Dojo muttered from his game of poker he was playing with Clay and Ryder.
"And you are sure this a normal occurrence when one gives birth to a baby?" to Omi this did not seem natural. How could giving birth to something as wonderful as a child be so painful.
"Trust us on this Omi," Clay told him, picking up two cards from the deck and setting them up in his hand. "Child birth is a truly beautiful thing but it hurts worse than having your ears pecked at by an angry chicken."
"But how?" he wanted answered and was annoyed that he wasn't getting them.
"I am not going into this subject," Dojo shook his head. "That was the deal I made with Master Fung. I do all the flying and he does the life lessons."
Omi pouted, crossing his arms and glaring at the door ahead of him. "Fine, I will ask Master Fung when we return to our time," he sat there quietly for a moment before another question popped into his head. "There is still one thing that I do not understand. How did the baby get inside of Kimiko in the first place?" his question made everyone freeze up.
Pedro rolled his eyes. He had been on his phone the whole time, chatting with his friends and playing games to pass the time but Omi and is questions were starting to get to him. "It's simple, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much they-ow!" he was interrupted by his sister stepping on his foot.
"Don't you dare." Reina scolded her brother and once again wondered how he was the oldest when he was so stupid.
Pedro glared at his younger sister as he held his foot in pain. "What? The kids got to learn some time."
"Maybe, but I'm not going to be the one who tells mom and dad why Xavier and Dario suddenly know where babies come from." She said this as she pointed to their two younger twin brothers, who had stopped playing with Rose and her camera to stare at their older siblings.
Pedro once again rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He wouldn't tell Omi how babies where made because if he did then his younger brothers would hear and then he would get it from both of his parents for teaching to five years about the reproductive system.
Omi once again sighed from his spot. His chances at getting answers were ruined so he returned to staring at the door. Only this time instead of him getting distracted by questions his attention was on his future self. Future Omi had been kicked out soon after all the supplies had been gathered and was meditating by the door. "If you have a question you may ask." He told his past self, never once breaking his meditation.
Omi suddenly felt a little self-conscious but asked nonetheless. "I just wanted to know if you are really free of Hannibal and his evil influence?" he was concerned that his attack did not work as well as he thought and that he did not truly save his future.
"I no longer sense any form of Hannibal within me so yes, I do believe I am free of him," Future Omi opened his eyes and smiled at his younger self. "Do not worry, I know your future will be a bright one." His words brought a smile to the young monk's face and they were all happy to see that. "I believe it is time." As he said this a new cry was heard and it had everyone jumping to their feet.
They all gathered around the door, waiting with eager patience to be allowed in and welcome the baby. They did not have to wait long, Deana opened the door and ushered them inside but told them to do it quietly, she didn't want them to scare the baby. So with light footsteps the group entered the room and surrounded the happy parents. Kimiko was lying on the bed, her back resting against pillows as she held a bundle wrapped in white blankets in her arms. Raimundo was right beside her, one arm wrapped around her and the other under their newborn. Reina and Pedro were the first to visit their parents. Each of them picking up one of the twins and heading over to the bed that held the newest edition to their family.
"Everyone we'd like you to meet Mirari Pedrosa." Raimundo introduced them to his newborn daughter. At the sound of her name the baby opened her eyes, revealing crystal blue eyes and she had a path of black hair on her head. She was the spitting image of her mother.
"Mama, papa, she's so cute." Reina couldn't be happier. She had always wanted a baby sister and now that she finally had one she was near tears.
"Yeah, she sure is." Pedro smiled down at his younger sister, already knowing he was going to be just as protective of her as he is with his other siblings.
Kimiko gave her family a tired smile, her eyes focusing on her two twin boys that were looking at Mirari in wonder. "Xavier, Dario, you two are big brothers now." She told them and her smile widen when she saw the excitement burst on their two faces.
"She sure is beautiful, Kim." Clay was by his wife, arm wrapped around her waist. Seeing a newborn was something like magic.
Omi stepped forward, eyes looking at the baby in Kimiko's arms and he was taken aback by the baby smile at him. "I think Mirari likes you." Kimiko told him with a smile of his own and he felt himself blush.
"I am honored that your daughter likes me." He gave a bow of respect to the family before taking a step back. As much as he wanted to stay and be with them on this joyous occasion there was some place else that he needed to be.
"Yeah, I guess it is time we go back." Dojo was by him in a second, looking very pleased. They had just saved the world and just witnessed one of the most beautiful things that can ever happen in life.
The two stepped out into the hallway so not to disturb the happy family or frighten the baby. "Yes, it is time we return home." Omi got out the Denshi Bunny and the Serpent's Tail. Just like last he used the two Wu together and opened a time vortex. With one last glance back at the group the two jumped into the portal and returned to their time.
Omi felt like he had been struck with lightening but his body was so heavy it was like he felt it but at the same time didn't. He knew he was standing outside in the temple courtyard but was he back in his time or still in the future.
"Hey Omi, you ok?" finding the ability to move again he turned his head and smiled when he saw his three friends, no longer adults but the same age that he had last seen them. He had returned home.
"My friends, I am most glad to see you!" he jumped in glee. He had successfully returned back to his own time.
The three looked at the jumping monk and wondered what had happened to make him act this way.
"Ok...?" Clay scratched the back of his neck, not really sure what was causing Omi to act so strange. "Well we all just realized that we kind of left you all alone so I was wondering if you maybe wanted to help me look through all the colleges. You do have some great tiger instincts that I bet could help." He felt bad for excluding the poor boy. Lately he has been focusing so much on his school that he never really had time for the young boy and that wasn't right.
"And if not you are more than welcome to join Rai and I at the movies." Kimiko told him. She herself had realized that after accepting Raimundo's proposal to the movies they had completely forgotten about Omi and she felt guilty.
"Yeah, whatever," Raimundo looked somewhat annoyed but that look was gone the moment Kimiko elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow...I mean yeah, sure, the more the merrier." He gave a giant grin, trying to look sincere. Honestly he's rather it just be him and Kimiko but even he would admit that leaving Omi behind was wrong. "You know we'd never leave you behind dude." This time he was sincere. Even if he would prefer it if it was just the two of them he knew that it wouldn't be so bad if Omi came along.
Omi smiled up at all of them. He really was foolish to ever doubt them. They were his friends and they would never forget about him. "I thank you for including me but I know that there are some things that you must do without me and I accept this." He wouldn't let himself get upset over this anymore. His friends may be planning new lives but that didn't mean he wasn't included.
"You sure, Omi?" Kimiko asked, wanting to make sure that he was really ok with their plans.
He nodded, "Yes, I am," he told her confidently. He had no more worries but he did have questions. With slow steps he approached her and placed a hand on her stomach. "How could something like a baby fit inside?" he wondered, taking his hand off her stomach and walked away, completely missing the shocked expressions that his friends now wore.
"What baby!?" Raimundo cried, looking at Kimiko for answers. It felt like his heart had just about stopped and his blood ran cold.
"Omi! What in tarnation are you talking about?" Clay had to know where he got such a crazy thought inside his head. Kimiko was much too young to have a baby and if anyone got her pregnant at such a young age then he would have to beat some common sense into them.
"I'm not pregnant!" Kimiko cried. She didn't know what Omi was thinking when he said that and she was going to have to have a serious talk with him about this but first she needed to calm down Raimundo who was freaking out and looked ready to explode.
Dojo could only chuckle at the sight and slithered away towards Master Fung's room. "Well not now but give it twenty years and see what happens." He said loud enough for the others to hear him and laughed when they started to freak out once more.
Twenty Years Later
Omi stood outside in the temple's courtyard, eyes facing the sky as he waited for his friends to arrive. "Relax, they'll be here soon." Clay had been the first to arrive. He and his family had gotten to the temple about two hours ago. "Kimiko just gave birth to little Mirari a few weeks ago so I'm sure Raimundo is makin' Dojo go extra slow and careful. You know how protective he is."
Omi nodded, a knowing smile on his face. "Yes, I do," it had been twenty years since he took his visit to the future. Like last time Raimundo and Kimiko were married, living in Rio and had just welcomed their new daughter into their family. Clay was with Deana and his two children as he and his wife talked about having another child. After they defeated the evil and gathered the last of the Shen Gong Wu everyone had gone their separate ways to make new lives and create their own futures, but not before promising to return to the temple. If any of them had time they would visit the temple on their own and sometimes Omi would leave to visit them, but every year on the same day they all gathered at the temple to catch up.
"It's still hard to believe you were actually evil in the future." Clay commented as he remembered that story. It had been a few years after they left the temple to go back into their old world and find their future careers. Kimiko and Raimundo had just gotten engaged and he had been dating Deana for two years when Omi told them his story. They had all found it hard to believe but in a strange way it made sense. They had locked Wuya up in a puzzle box created by their powers, they were able to defeat Chase Young and free him from the evil that had taken over him, and they trapped Hannibal back inside the Yin-Yang World. The only difference this time was that Omi didn't eat him but instead trapped him and his evil bird inside a new Shen Gong Wu, one that they created together. They gave it the name Pandora's Box and left it inside the Yin-Yang World where it would be guard for all of eternity by the Chi creature.
"Yes, so do I sometimes but I know it happened and I will never forget it." He said this just as Dojo flew in with the Pedrosa family.
"Would you quit it." Kimiko rolled her eyes at her husband. They had just landed and already he was acting like she was going to keel over and die just by jumping off the giant Dragon.
"I just want you and the baby to be safe." He told her, ignoring her protest and helping her down off of Dojo. Their kids jumped off with ease and ran over to their friends as their parents all gathered around together. "So how's it going for our favorite Xiaolin Master?" he asked as the four friends all gathered around.
"Yeah, how have you been Omi?" Kimiko asked as she adjusted the sleeping baby in her arms. Despite Raimundo and his constant worrying that riding on a Dragon would scare their child, Mirari proved her father wrong by sleeping the whole way.
"Hope things haven't been too busy for ya and with the new students and all." Clay had offered to help teach if his friend ever felt he needed the help.
Omi smiled at his three friends. "I am good, my friends." Even after twenty years things were the same. They may no longer be together all the time at the temple but they were still the four chosen ones. The great Xiaolin Dragons that saved the world from evil time and again. They were friends even after twenty years and nothing was ever going to change that.
END