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The Devious Angel- I'm glad you're still following!
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Kimiko stood out in the field by herself. She had her eyes closed in concentration. She put her palms together under her head. Then she opened her eyes.
"Tangle Web Comb!" Kimiko shot hair from the Wu which wrapped around some dummies the monks had set up. If they had previously been able to talk, they wouldn't have had that privilege anymore.
Kimiko twirled the Comb in her hand before narrowing her eyes. "Now for something tricky. Tangle Web Comb, Fire!" The Comb's hairy teeth stretched into the air, became thinner, and turned orange. Kimiko twirled around and covered herself with the new stretchy teeth. When she was done, her hair style had changed. Instead of her usual short pigtails, she had one long ponytail. She used her phone to look at herself. "Not bad…but not my style." Kimiko used the Comb to change her hair into a bob cut.
Clay walked up, stretching. "Mornin', ya'll."
Raimundo shushed him. He, Omi, and Ping Pong were watching Kimiko from behind a tree. "The princess is mastering her Wu." The leader snickered.
"Too bad we cannot use the Tangle Web Comb like Kimiko can, Brother Omi." Ping Pong sadly noted as he rubbed his bald head.
Kimiko tried different styles with the Fire-enhanced Comb before finally turning her hair back to normal. When she was done, she noticed Raimundo staring.
"Oop!" Rai interjected.
"Tangle Web Comb!" Kimiko shouted, stretching the teeth out towards him (but keeping them attached to the Comb). The rest of the boys got out of the way, but Raimundo just smirked and held out his Sword of Lucida. The web wrapped around the weapon.
Kimiko's eyes widened.
"Sword of Lucida."
Wind swirled around the sword and twirled the web with it, picking up Kimiko and spinning her around. Finally, Raimundo stopped and Kimiko fell to the ground.
Raimundo picked up the Tangle Web Comb from where it had fallen. "Nice try, but kinda obvious." He told the downed girl.
Kimiko grunted and stood up. "Why were you peeking?"
"I'm your leader. I am supposed to keep tabs on you guys, aren't I?"
Kimiko just mumbled before snatching the Comb out of Rai's hands and walking away.
Later, Kimiko was checking the news on her phone. One particular article caught her eye.
"Tohomiko Electronics Prepares to Unveil its Big Project." She read aloud. She saw the picture of the short Japanese man standing in front of the building looking proud.
"Dad…" Kimiko said softly. She started dialing her father's number when her screen suddenly became covered in binary numbers and error messages.
"Ugh, this again?! I thought I axed this stupid virus!" Kimiko almost threw down her phone in frustration.
"Oh Dad…" She sniffled and a tear came to her eye. Someone then handed her a tissue. She took it and blew her nose. She then saw that the giver had been Dojo, who was holding his new Master Fung plush (he had sewn the head back on after removing the camera and tracking device).
"Thanks, Dojo."
"Don't mention it. You know, you never realize you miss someone until…they're gone…and you have no idea when you 'll see them again!" Dojo began sniffling.
"I know what you mean. The last time I saw my dad was a visit a few months ago. It didn't go too well; we barely even talked! All Dad could focus on was how his big project was coming along."
"Big project?"
"Sorry, top secret. But he's been working on it for years, as long as I can remember. I got so mad at him for ignoring me, that I just got furious and left."
Dojo gasped. "You didn't even say goodbye?"
"No! The last thing I said to him was that he had no idea what he was doing. I was just upset that he was thinking about his project instead of me when we didn't know when I'd be able to visit again!"
"At least you know where your dad is…" Dojo grumbled as he slithered away.
Kimiko's eyes widened again.
'Yes, I do know where he is, and I'm gonna go make it up to him!'
A little later, the boys were training while Dojo was taking a nap on the Cosmic Burlap. Kimiko pulled out her phone and sent a text message. She then felt a vibrating in her pocket. She pulled out Dojo's cell phone, which she had sent the text to. She set the phone down by the snoozing reptile before reaching into the Burlap and withdrawing the Blue Feather Eagle. She activated its power and after telling it where to go, flew away. The boys all saw this and ran over to Dojo.
"Dojo, wake up!" Raimundo exclaimed as he picked him up and shook him until he was conscious. "W-what? What's the matter?"
"Where's Kimiko going with the Eagle?"
"Kimiko? Eagle? I'm sorry…" Dojo grumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
Ping Pong picked up Dojo's phone and read the text. "Gone 2 tokyo 2 c dad. B back l8r. Kim." He read aloud.
"Tokyo?" Rai echoed.
Hold on to those Shen Gong Wu! We'll be right back to Xiaolin Chronicles on Disney XD.
Wu this, Wu that! Now back to Xiaolin Chronicles on Disney XD.
Meanwhile, in Jack Spicer's lab, the boy genius sat in front of a large computer terminal, his fingers clicking away at the keyboard. He scrolled through binary numbers and other techy stuff. "That's right, my little virtual disaster! Daddy's very proud!"
"And what is all that?" Wuya asked as she floated into the room. "I must admit, technology does have its uses, but this?"
"I'll have you know, this is my most devilishly digital device of destruction to date: my own virtual worm!"
Wuya tilted her head. "It doesn't look like a worm."
Jack sighed. "It's a virus. You program them and use them to crash other people's computers and junk. I already got it to download into Kimiko's cell phone. It's been giving her trouble for days now!"
"Really," Wuya said, intrigued now.
"Yup. And that's not the only way this baby's gonna be causing havoc for the Tohomikos! Once I hack into her dad's so-called 'secret project', I'll dominate the digital domain! And steal a couple million friends while I'm at it."
"Hmm…" Wuya said, slowly smiling. "Very well, keep at this 'worm' thing of yours." She flew out of the room. "Who knows what else Jack can do with his fingers?"
Behind her, Jack briefly picked his nose before continuing.
The Blue Feather Eagle flew in-between the skyscrapers of Tokyo until it finally came to the right one: Tohomiko Electronics.
Inside, Toshiro Tohomiko was in his office, looking at a photograph of a younger Kimiko holding a small blue stuffed bear. He sighed.
"Papa?"
Toshiro turned to see his daughter standing there. "Kimiko?"
"Papa!"
"Kimiko!"
The two ran at each other and hugged.
"Oh Papa/Kimiko, I'm so sorry about last time!" The two said simultaneously. Their eyes widened and they broke the embrace. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry!" They again said at the same time. "No, really, it was my fault! Okay, you can stop that now!" The two laughed before Kimiko spoke. "Oh Papa, I'm sorry I just left last time!"
Toshiro put his hand on her shoulder. "It was my fault for driving you away. I should have payed more attention to your visit."
Kimiko smiled. "So we're cool?"
Her dad hugged her again. "Of course, Kimiko. I love you." Kimiko noticed the picture on her dad's desk before returning his hug. She then noticed something else.
"Is that the Moshi Moshi Bear I had when I was a kid?" Kimiko asked, pointing to the small blue stuffed bear on the desk that was the same as the one in the photo.
"Of course, I have always kept it! I'll never forget how happy you were when I gave this to you on your fifth birthday!" Toshiro's eyebrows shot up in a playful manner. "Remember what I used to call you back then?"
Kimiko giggled. "'The Bug Catcher.'"
"That's right, you were a little protégé beta tester even at five years old!" Toshiro said.
That reminded Kimiko of something. "I saw the news article about the Big Project. Is it finally done?"
"Yes!" The tycoon exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders. "After years and years, it's finally complete and ready for the public!"
Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "You've tested it, right?"
"Actually, I have yet to take the maiden voyage…because I wanted you to accompany me."
"Me?"
"Yes, you! After all, you're the reason Digital Tokyo is finally seeing the virtual light of day!"
"I am? How?"
"Come with me, and I'll explain." Toshiro led Kimiko through his building into a restricted area. Several scientists in biohazard suits were typing on consoles and such.
"Why are they dressed like that?"
"Because it looks creepier." Toshiro said with a chuckle.
Kimiko smiled and rolled her eyes. 'That's my dad.'
Toshiro came to a computer and entered his top-secret password. What looked to be a pixelated version of Tokyo showed up on the screen.
"As you know, Kimiko, ever since you were a little girl, I've been trying to create the ultimate video game experience: a digital world; a literal virtual reality for people to walk through and explore, starting with our proud Tokyo!"
"Yeah Dad, I know. It's been a side project of yours since forever. It's a cool idea, but I don't know how you finally made it possible."
Toshiro smiled and pressed another button. Diagrams for a large cylindrical machine started showing up on the screen.
"This is the database for my virtual city, and this is the heart of it."
With another button press, Kimiko was looking at a rotating image of…
"A rock?"
"This isn't just any rock, Kimiko, this igneous rock came from an ancient volcano, sort of a…magical talisman. And that's not just tourist trap talk either! This rock does indeed supply some kind of strange energy, practically life giving. And it's this energy that ties the whole project together! Without this rock, Digital Tokyo wouldn't be possible." Toshiro turned to his daughter. "And I have you to thank for it!"
"But why me?" Kimiko asked, still confused.
Her dad ruffled her hair. "Because my daughter is a Xiaolin monk who hunts for ancient mystical objects and can shoot fire from her hands! If not for you and your adventures, I would have never considered a magical solution!"
Kimiko laughed and fixed her hair. "So it's ready now?"
"Yes, and I'd be honored if you would be the first to accompany me."
After Kimiko accepted, her father led her down to a room in the lower levels of his building. The room was filled with chairs with virtual reality helmets wired over them. Most of the chairs were covered with blankets, but there were two uncovered ones.
"Have a seat." Toshiro instructed, and Kimiko did. After they both sat down, Toshiro pressed a button on his armrest and the helmet lowered onto his head. "When you're ready, press the orange button on your left. See you inside!" Glowing lines appeared on the helmet and Toshiro went still.
Kimiko looked at him before turning to her left and pressing the large orange button. The helmet lowered onto her head.
Kimiko saw only blackness as she felt a strange sensation all over her body. It felt very similar to when she hooked the Mind Reader Conch and Eye of Dashi to her PDA and projected her mind into cyberspace before.
"Kimiko?"
"Dad?" She looked around. "Where are you? I can't see anything!"
She heard her dad laugh. "That's because your helmet's still on."
"Huh?" Kimiko lifted her helmet off of her head to see her father standing there. "What happened? It didn't work?"
"Oh, it worked, Kimiko. Just look at us." Kimiko noticed that her dad's usual outfit had been replaced with a black jumpsuit covered in white TRON-like designs. She looked down to see that she too was wearing a jumpsuit, this one covered in purple lines. She stood up to examine herself. "Whoa…"
"Don't start whoa-ing until you see rest of it." Toshiro chuckled as he motioned for Kimiko to follow him. The room they were in was very similar to the one they were just in, but all the chairs were uncovered and the room looked overall more colorful.
Toshiro put his hand on the doorknob. He turned to Kimiko and flashed her a big toothy grin before opening the door. Kimiko stepped outside and her jaw dropped.
It was Tokyo…only it wasn't. It was like Kimiko had stepped into a console game. The buildings were Technicolor and everything just looked blocky.
"Dad, this is awesome! You actually did it!" Kimiko exclaimed as she took in the digital sight. She ran and twirled through the street before she noticed a raccoon-like creature approach her. She gasped. "Is that…Momo Mokachu? My virtual pet tanuki? I stopped playing with him ages ago!"
Toshiro chuckled. "I'll admit, it wasn't easy adapting Momo's data for my Digital Tokyo, but the igneous rock made it happen!"
Kimiko hugged the pixelated animal before it scampered away. "Dad, this is so much cooler than I expected!"
"And it's about to get cooler! It'll take some more development, but eventually people will actually be able to live in here!"
"Wh-for real?" Kimiko asked, startled.
"Yes. Thanks to its mystical power core, people's minds will be able to enter a sort of limbo, making it possible to remain here indefinitely! We're entering the digital age, sweetheart! The line between real and unreal is getting blurrier every day!"
"…I'm not so sure about this, Dad. I mean this is super-cool and all, but completely merging two different worlds together doesn't seem like such a good idea. I mean just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you should."
"Don't worry, Kimiko, it's perfectly safe. I have things completely under control."
Suddenly, Kimiko and Toshiro felt a quaking under their feet. "What was that?" Kimiko demanded.
"Just a few bugs with the firewall, nothing major. Like I said, under control." Toshiro insisted, his voice ringing with confidence. They felt another shake. "But all the same, how about we go back now?"
Kimiko agreed. The two went back into the digital version of Tohomiko Electronics and sat back down in the virtual chairs.
"Again, it's the orange button." Toshiro said. Kimiko nodded and they both pressed the buttons to have their minds exit the datascape.
After the rest of the monks learned that Kimiko had gone to Tokyo, they immediately hopped on Dojo and flew there. As they were passing over the city, the monks (most of whom still weren't used to such a bustling metropolis) took in the sights.
"The city's so big…why don't we take some down time here after we find Kimiko?" Rai proposed. "I mean there's still so much to do here. We could take some tours, eat some local delicacies…"
"Find a new Shen Gong Wu…" Dojo said.
"No, not that, that's just another day at the-" Rai looked to see that Dojo was twitching. He sighed and pulled out the scroll. "What do we got?"
"It's called the Honey Badger. It's a pretty odd one."
They looked at the scroll. A monk faced a figure in a robe holding a staff. The enemy waved his staff and the image zoomed in on the monk as abstract shapes appeared all around him. He pulled out a small badger-like object and the shapes were sucked into its mouth.
"The Badger feeds on illusionary magic; you know, when you see things that aren't actually there?" Dojo explained. The scroll image zoomed out to show the wizard again. The wizard conjured up an image of a large monster with claws and horns and a ghostly tail instead of legs.
"And the more magic it feeds on, the more powerful it gets, eventually being able to transform what's unreal real and vice versa." The Badger shot out a beam that struck the monster. The beast sprouted legs and landed on the ground. It turned to the wizard, who ran away in fright with the monster following. The image zoomed in on the monk again, who held up the Honey Badger in one hand, gave a thumbs-up with his other hand, and grinned.
Raimundo closed the scroll. "Looks like this one can be pretty powerful."
Dojo shrugged. "Eh, maybe back in the old days, but no one uses real illusion magic anymore. Nowadays it's all about fancy-schmancy smoke and mirrors." Dojo scoffed. "Anyway, this Shen Gong Wu's pretty worthless in modern times. Wanna just skip it and find Kimiko?"
Raimundo thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, let's get it. Where is it?"
"Not too far actually, it's here in the city." Dojo flew for a minute more before coming to a temple-like establishment.
"This is the place, alright. The varmint Jack's already here." Clay said, pounding his fist into his palm.
Indeed, Jack was standing there with several of his old-school Ninja-Bots ready for them. Omi leapt off of Dojo as he shrank down. "Jack Spicer, we shall fight you and your robots blindfolded!"
Raimundo joined him. "Good idea. To make it really fair, let's tie our hands behind our backs, too."
"Oh sure, laugh it up." Jack said. "But you never know when I'm gonna get the drop on you!"
The monks barely had time to process Jack's words before they heard a deep voice shout, "Mantis Flip Coin!" They looked up to see Tubbimura fall from the sky, smooshing everyone under his fat body except for Omi.
"Oh yeah! Tubbi Bomb, baby!" Jack laughed as he ran into the temple. Omi started after him, but he was quickly surrounded by Ninja Bots. Omi growled before starting to smash them all to pieces.
Jack entered the building, which was filled with all sorts of ninja gear and artifacts on pedestals. One of them proclaimed the Honey Badger for all to see. It was a yellow-and-brown badger with a black nose. Its eyes and tail were green and a green design was on its head.
Jack stepped on the hardwood floor. When he did, he heard a chirping sound. He gasped. "This must be one of those 'nightingale floors' they use for security! Well fat lot of good that'll do when I can fly!" Jack activated his Heli-Bot, flew over to the Honey Badger, picked it up, and flew back out of the temple.
He soared over Omi just as he finished destroying the Ninja-Bots. As Jack flew off, Tubbimura got up and made his leave too. Omi ran over to where Rai, Clay, Ping Pong, and Dojo were pulling themselves out of the dirt. "Jack Spicer has gotten away with the Honey Badger!"
Dojo got up and pressed against his back, making a cracking sound. "I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said, the Honey Badger just swallows illusion magic. Jack won't even be able to use it!"
"If you say so." Rai said, looking back to where Jack had gone. "Let's go find Kimiko."
Kimiko got out of the machine and stood up on her real feet in her real clothes.
After stretching for a moment, she and her dad went back to the research room he showed her before. "I'm still not so sure about all this, Papa."
"What's to be unsure about? Digital Tokyo is mine to control. Plus everyone will enjoy it! You worry too much, sweetheart."
"Yeah, it's cool, but it's also very powerful, and if I've learned anything from fighting over Shen Gong Wu, it's that anything powerful can be used for evil." Kimiko hesitated. "Maybe you should consider…shutting it down?"
"What?" Toshiro whirled to face his daughter. "Kimiko, you know how much this project means to me! It's my baby; my life's work! Shutdown in NOT an option." Toshiro declared, actually sounding stern, a rare thing for him.
Suddenly, they felt quaking below them. Every video monitor in the room turned on, first showing static, but then the picture cleared to show a very familiar face on each screen.
"Moshi Moshi, Tohomiko! You've just been hacked by Jack Spicer, evil boy genius!"
"Spicer?! Dad, that's the guy who was with PandaBubba when he took over the company, remember?" Kimiko asked him.
"Yes, I recognize him. But how did he-"
"If you're wondering how I hacked into your system, you're not the only one who can program, you know! Gotta say, pret-ty sweet setup you got here. A whole new virtual world, or should I say my whole new virtual world! Hahaha!"
"Jack's jacked your city!" Kimiko exclaimed.
"And with this little baby," Jack paused to hold up the Honey Badger. "I'll rule the world by turning virtual reality into real reality, for real!"
"A new Shen Gong Wu? When did he get that?" Kimiko asked herself.
Toshiro ran over to the dashboard and started pressing buttons.
"By the way, don't bother trying to remotely activate the kill command…"
Toshiro pressed some more buttons before slamming his fist on the panel in frustration.
"It's a zombie! Welp, love to stay and gloat some more, and I really mean that, but I got a city to wreck! See ya!" The monitors went back to static before shutting off.
Toshiro collapsed into a chair.
"Dad, I know you, you must have programmed some emergency features into this thing." Kimiko said.
"Well…there is a manual backup command inside a black box…"
"But?"
Toshiro winced. "But I programmed it into the virtual world! You can only access it from inside. I'll go back in and see if I can stop Jack…"
Kimiko rushed in front of him. "No Papa, that's my job. I'm the Bug Catcher, remember? And Spicer's my favorite bug to catch!"
Toshiro smiled. "That's my girl. The box is in the-"
Kimiko quickly clapped a hand over her father's mouth. "Don't tell me where it is. Jack's hacked into the whole system, he could be listening. Don't worry, I'll find it."
"I know you will, but there's something I must tell you. Once you find the black box and enter the password, I'm sure you'll figure that out too, you'll have two options: 'Delete' and 'Reboot'. If you choose 'Reboot', the whole system will be reset. But thanks to the life-sustaining energies flowing through the game from the rock, your mind could also be permanently incorporated into the system. I can't log you out remotely because my controls no longer work, so you'll have to make it back to the chairs and log yourself out before it's too late.
"And the other option?" Kimiko asked, though she already had a pretty good idea what it was.
Toshiro sighed. "'Delete'. If you choose that one, the system will automatically log out all users…" Toshiro looked up. "But then the entire database will be erased; completely wiped clean."
Toshiro avoided his daughter's gaze. "I'll leave it up to you to decide which one."
The Tohomikos felt another rumbling under their feet. "Right, better get going." Toshiro said as he and Kimiko went back to the log-in room.
"Can you give me any weapons?" Kimiko asked curiously. "I can't exactly bring my Shen Gong Wu in there with me."
"I'll give you a bike you can ride. As for weapons, well… this feature is mainly for construction and such, but I suppose it'll work…"
"What?"
"I can program in a cybernetic rope you can shoot out of your wrists, to tie up your enemies and such. How's that?"
Kimiko grinned. "Perfect. Don't worry, Dad, kicking Spicer's butt is practically in my job description."
Toshiro smiled. "And I'll talk you through the whole thing. I love you, Kimiko."
"Love you too, Papa." Kimiko said. After her dad made the necessary adjustments to her avatar, she sat back down in the chair, put the helmet on her head, and pressed the button. Her body went still.
Toshiro went back to the control room and was about to open up the communications that were programmed into every cyber-suit when he heard a female voice from his intercom.
"Mr. Tohomiko, you have visitors, they say it's important."
"Not now, I'm busy!"
"They say they're friends of your daughter?"
Toshiro gasped. "The other Xiaolin Warriors! Send them down to me, give them top clearance!"
"Yes sir."
A few seconds later, the other monks and Dojo entered the room. "Xiaolin Warriors, nice to see you again." Toshiro greeted.
"You too, Mr. Tohomiko." Raimundo replied. "Is Kimiko here?"
"Yes and no. She's trying to stop that Spicer fellow!"
"Spicer?!" The others exclaimed. "What's he done?" Raimundo asked.
"I've created a virtual reality Digital Tokyo that you can project your mind into and explore. Somehow, Spicer has taken over, and he says he'll use one of your magic weapons to turn virtual reality into reality, though I don't see how that's possible."
"The Honey Badger!" Rai exclaimed.
"But how can he use that here? The Badger just absorbs illusions, remember?" Dojo reminded them.
Rai thought for a moment before saying, "What about modern day illusions?"
The others voiced their confusion.
"You know, holograms, digital images, data! You think the Honey Badger's power could work for those, too?"
Dojo put a claw to his chin, then his eyes widened. "It might."
"So yer sayin' that the Honey Badger's also a data cruncher?" Clay asked. He then whispered to Raimundo, "Did I say that right?"
"Apparently!" Dojo answered. "And this 'virtual Tokyo' of yours, it's an exact replica of the real Tokyo?"
"Basically." Toshiro answered.
"Hoo boy." Dojo pulled out the scroll and turned to the Honey Badger section again. "This is all still up in the air, but if Jack can use the Badger to make data real, he can make whatever he does in the digital world happen in the real world, you know, like mirror effects."
"Mirror effects?" Toshiro questioned. Everyone felt another rumbling in the ground.
"Look!" Ping Pong shouted, pointing to the window. The others looked to see that a building outside was disappearing into pixel-like bits. Within a minute, it was gone completely.
"Yup, mirror effects." Dojo reiterated as the others gawked. Toshiro quickly raced to the intercom. "Hopefully none of my workers saw that…" he said as he pressed the button to make his voice go through the whole building. "Pay no attention to these minor earth tremors everyone...this is Japan, happens all the time, heh heh…" Toshiro turned off the intercom and wiped the sweat off his brow. "We don't need this whole company panicking." He told the monks.
"Ye-ah. So where's Kimiko?" Raimundo asked again.
"She sent her mind into the virtual world to stop Spicer. I can pull up how she's doing…" Toshiro pressed a few buttons on the dashboard and Digital Tokyo appeared on the screen.
"Now where is-Aha! There she is!" Toshiro cried as he found his daughter.
Kimiko was back in her black purple-decorated TRON-like jumpsuit, which now included a hood that covered her face except for her eyes and a purple chest emblem of a diamond-shaped insect: her 'Bug Catcher' emblem that she wore when she was Daddy's Little Beta Tester.
Kimiko was riding on a black motorbike that had one wheel and left a purple trail of light behind her. She raced through the computer-generated city until she spotted Jack. The evil kid was standing in front of a noodle restaurant. He held up the Honey Badger and it fired a jet of pixelated flame from its mouth that destroyed the rooftop sculpture of a bowl of noodles and replaced it with a replica of a classic Jack-Bot's head.
"There, this is a good place for a robot store." Jack said approvingly. He heard the revving of the bike and turned to Kimiko. Jack was in a black jumpsuit similar to hers, but his had glowing orange lights on it instead of purple.
"Well well, you came quicker than I expected, Kimiko." Jack said with confidence in his voice. "You diggin' these threads? Like they say, clothes make the villain." Jack said, striking a few poses.
Kimiko jumped off the bike. "Jack Spicer! Why did you hack into my father's system, how did you even get in here, and how did you bring a Shen Gong Wu with you?"
"In order: to take over Tokyo, that's my little secret, and this baby can make what's real unreal, you think it was a problem bringing this in here?"
Kimiko smiled. "Well Jack, redesigning buildings isn't exactly gonna help you against me now, is it?"
"No, but this will. Honey Badger!" Jack held up the Wu and it shot more pixel flame into the air. "Behold, the beauty that allowed me to hack into this computer-generated paradise in the first place…my virus!"
Kimiko stepped back as a large floppy form took shape before her. It was black with green circuit patterns all over it. Kimiko could see a mouth with sharp teeth and a large green eye opened up. The monster let out a roar.
Jack snickered. "Worm-like enough for you now, Wuya?"
The virus set its eye on Kimiko, who actually gulped.
"Doom-Worm, finish her off." Jack nonchalantly said as he casually waved a hand in her direction.
'Kimiko, are you alright in there?' Kimiko heard her dad say.
"I got this, Papa. Don't worry, I'll save your system."
Kimiko jumped out of the way as the giant worm lunged at her. It smashed into a building before turning towards her. Kimiko held out her wrist. She thought the fire command and a glowing purple rope shot out. It wrapped snugly around the worm's neck, making it look like an earthworm. The thing growled and came at her again. Kimiko started running. She suddenly ran back and flipped over the worm. As its head circled back to follow her, Kimiko fired her rope again, which wrapped around both the head and part of its lower region, tying them together. Kimiko fired more rope which did the same thing to other parts of its body until the sentient virus was folded up and lying on the ground, unable to move.
Kimiko turned back to Jack with a smirk. "Was that all you got, Worm Boy?"
Jack returned her smirk. "Oh Kimiko, you're such a techy, don't you know the first thing about computer viruses?"
The Doom-Worm started grunting. Suddenly, multiple smaller worms came out of the exposed parts of its body.
"They multiply like crazy!" Jack finished with a cackle. Kimiko faced the many approaching worms. She shot more cybernetic rope at them, but they just slipped out of it. Kimiko took her fighting pose. "Old-school it is then. Well, as old-school as this whole thing can get." Kimiko said while looking around. She leapt in and started attacking the worms. They didn't put up much of a fight and just let themselves be slapped around. However, one worm snuck up behind her and jumped at her, absorbing itself into her jumpsuit. Kimiko looked surprised from the impact, and then saw her suit flash red. "Hello? Dad?"
Back in the real world, a message showed up on screen.
ERROR: LOST CONTACT
"Kimiko, no!" Toshiro cried as he attempted to reestablish the connection with no luck. He buried his head in his hands. "Oh, what have I done? Thanks to this stupid project, I've put my daughter and my city in danger!"
Raimundo put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Mr. Tohomiko. We'll save both of them. Right, gang?" He asked his friends. They all answered yes. Rai looked back to Toshiro. "Log us in."
Toshiro sniffled and nodded. Later, he had taken the tarps off of four seats so Rai, Omi, Clay, and Ping Pong could join the game. After explaining what to do, the monks pressed the buttons and were mentally transported into the game.
The monks all looked themselves over. They were all wearing the same black jumpsuit as Kimiko was with the Bug Catcher symbol on it. Omi's jumpsuit had dark-blue patterns on it, Raimundo's had light-blue, Clay had yellow (complete with a cowboy hat made of the same material as the rest of it) and Ping Pong green.
"Not quite as noble as our Showdown outfits." Omi observed.
"Never mind that, let's find Kimiko." Rai said. They stepped outside and took in the sight.
"Look at this place." Raimundo said.
"Magnifique…" Ping Pong breathed.
"I'd go so far as to say cyberspace is as big as Texas…well almost." Clay admitted.
"Now how do we find Kimiko?" Ping Pong pondered.
The gang heard a roar and looked to see a giant black worm in the distance.
"Follow the chaos, I suppose." Clay shrugged.
The Doom-Worm had broken free from its confinement, and with her suit's functions disabled due to the virus Kimiko couldn't tie it up again. She found herself backed up into an alley as the worm with Jack on its back and the little worms around it cornered her.
Jack laughed. "Time to kiss your pretty virtual girl butt goodbye!"
Kimiko looked past the worm to see several familiar forms approaching them. She smiled under her hood. "I was about to say the same thing to you."
After a second of looking both confused and offended at the same time, Jack heard a voice.
"Jack Spicer! Surrender now, or suffer a most humiliating defeat!"
Jack sighed. "Why does that voice have an annoying familiar ring to it?"
Don't forfeit the Showdown! Xiaolin Chronicles will be right back on Disney XD.
Gong Yi Tan Pai! Now back to Xiaolin Chronicles on Disney XD.
Jack and the worms turned back to see the other monks running up to them. The small ones raced to meet them, but the monks shot out their own coils from their wrists (each their respective jumpsuit colors), most of them tying up two worms at once so they couldn't get up.
The Doom-Worm roared and started at them itself. Kimiko raced back to her bike. "Thanks, guys! I could use some help! Keep that oversized creepy-crawly busy while I find the black box to fix everything, okay?"
"You go, girl!" Raimundo shouted back. "We got things here!"
Kimiko nodded before riding off.
Kimiko raced through the city, looking left and right. 'Come on, Dad. Where would you hide the black box?'
While Kimiko started racking her head for ideas, a large burst of digital fire appeared in front of her. Kimiko skidded to a stop. When the fire cleared, there stood a large green oddly-dressed monster with red eyes and sharp teeth.
Kimiko leapt off her bike and struck a fighting pose. "Listen up, you old hag! I can take whatever Spicer can throw at me, so just get out of the way before I wipe your hard drive, okay?"
The only response the monster gave was raising its left arm towards the building next to it. Raising an eyebrow, Kimiko looked to see that it was a toy store called Bear Town, specializing in Moshi Moshi Bears.
"Why are you-" Kimiko looked back to see that the monster had vanished. Wondering if the whole thing was just a glitch, Kimiko turned her attention towards the building again. Suddenly it dawned on her.
Kimiko ran into the building. Inside were many Moshi Moshi Bears, but she looked for one in particular. There! On the top row on one of the shelves stood Kimiko's childhood toy, sitting atop…
"The box!" Kimiko reached up and took the black box off the shelves. She turned to walk back outside only to see a single large green eyeball staring at her. The Doom-Worm touched the store wall and made it crumble into green pixels. It lunged at Kimiko only for the Dragon of Fire to dodge and run back out to the street. As the worm came back, it was kicked in the head by Omi.
"Monkey Catching Clouds!" Omi shouted. Raimundo then gave it an uppercut while exclaiming, "Snake Smiling Brightly!" Clay then arrived with another punch and a cry of "Alligator Smashing Bubbles!" Ping Pong just did his best with some beginner moves such as "Tiger Swipe!" and "Lotus Palm Strike!"
While her friends kept the Doom-Worm busy, Kimiko set down the black box and pressed the button to open it. A holographic screen came up asking for a six-letter password.
"Right, Dad mentioned a password. What could it be…?" Kimiko said to herself. Meanwhile, the Doom-Worm used its tail like a whip to smack Raimundo into Clay.
The Dragon of Fire tried the first password she thought of.
K-I-M-I-K-O
INCORRECT PASSWORD
Ping Pong leapt on the worm's back and started pounding it with his tiny fists, but the virus just bucked him off; he landed on the advancing Omi.
Kimiko furrowed her brow before trying again.
T-O-M-O-K-O
INCORRECT PASSWORD
Kimiko let out a sigh of relief that that name hadn't been used instead of hers. That wasn't helping her stop Jack though. "Come on, of course he's not gonna use a family member's name as a password! That's the first thing they try! But what could it be? Let's see, the box was hidden under my-"
'Of course, I have always kept it! I'll never forget how happy you were when you received it on your fifth birthday!'
Kimiko tried one more time.
M-O-S-H-I-5
PASSWORD ACCEPTED
"Yes, I'm in!" Kimiko said happily. Two holographic buttons floated up to her: a green one with a power symbol on it and a red one with an X on it.
"'Reboot' or 'Delete'?" Kimiko pondered. She remembered what her dad said about each button; if she clicked 'Delete', she and her friends would instantly leave the game as it was erased. On the other hand, 'Reboot' would preserve the system, but their minds might be assimilated into the virtual world if they didn't get out in time.
Behind her, the Doom-Worm had overpowered her friends and was sneaking up on her. It opened its wide maw just as Kimiko made her decision.
After Kimiko pressed the button, the Doom-Worm stopped, shuddered, and then disappeared into pixels.
"My virus! No!" Jack cried from around a street corner where he was cowering.
"You did it, Kimiko!" Ping Pong exclaimed.
"Didn't doubt ya for a minute!" Raimundo added.
Kimiko turned to them. "Don't thank me yet. I clicked 'Reboot'. If we don't get out of the game before the system completely resets itself, we'll become part of it." She went to her bike and mounted it. "Hop on!" The others quickly piled on the back of Kimiko's bike.
"Hey, wait a minute! What about me?" Jack asked. "You're not just gonna leave me here, are ya?"
Kimiko raised an eyebrow.
"Come on, I love this place, but I don't wanna be stuck here forever!" Jack fell on his knees. "Please! Think about all the bad times we've had together."
Kimiko smirked and flipped off the bike to in front of Jack. "See Jack, here's the thing. Monks ride free, but evil boy geniuses require a small fine." She held out her hand. "Of one virtual Shen Gong Wu."
"Wha-but-" Jack's protests were cut off as the sky turned green. The system was rebooting.
"Okay, fine!" He shouted, handing her the Honey Badger. "Now can you get me out of here?"
Kimiko smiled and put the Badger in her pocket. "Hop on."
Jack climbed onto the back, specifically Clay's.
"Watch it, Spicer." The cowboy warned as Jack's nails dug into his skin.
Kimiko got back in the driver's seat. "Hang on!" She revved up the bike and sped off.
'Kimiko, sweetie, can you hear me?!'
"Dad? Don't worry, we're on our way out!"
'Hurry! You've only got half a minute left!'
"On it, Papa!" Kimiko skidded to a stop in front of the virtual Tohomiko Electronics. "Everyone in!" Kimiko instructed as all the monks (and Jack) raced in. They all sat down in their seats and pressed the buttons to leave just as a voice said, SYSTEM REBOOTING 98%...99%...100%.
Kimiko took the helmet off her head to see that she was back in the real company building and not stuck inside a computer game for the rest of her life. She quickly noticed the Honey Badger sitting in her lap. She smiled before standing up and putting it in her pocket; a split second later, she was engulfed by her father.
"Oh, Kimiko, I was so worried!" he cried.
"Daaad! You're embarrassing me in front of my friends!" Kimiko said in a whining tone yet with a huge smile on her face. Behind them, Dojo was checking on the other monks.
"Oh no! I see only darkness! I am trapped in the game! AAAAHHH!" Omi cried.
"Your helmet's still on, dude." Raimundo said while trying not to burst out laughing.
"Oh." Omi took off the helmet and chuckled sheepishly. "My mistake."
They heard grunting and thrashing and turned to see Jack wrestling the tarp off the seat he had been using.
"So that's how you snuck into the virtual world." Kimiko said, narrowing her eyes.
"Heh heh. Guess you, uh, figured me out." Jack mumbled. Everyone glared at him. "…Bye." He said before dashing out the door.
Toshiro and the monks all walked back into the main control room. "Well, that was hairy, but your Big Project is safe, Dad." Kimiko said happily. Toshiro frowned and put his hand to his chin, the smiled. He went over to the control panel and typed in some codes. He turned to Kimiko, flashed her a big toothy grin, and pressed the button.
A large message box came up on the screen.
ALL DATA DELETED. DATABASE WIPED 100%.
"Dad!" Kimiko said in shock.
"Just because I can, doesn't mean I should." He said.
"Oh Papa…I'm so sorry, you lost your baby."
Toshiro hugged her again. "No. I almost lost my baby. You're worth more to me than any dumb project."
Kimiko hugged him back. "I love you Dad."
"I love you too, my little Xiaolin monk."
"…Should we leave?" Raimundo whispered to the others.
Later, the monks were boarding Dojo, ready to leave. As expected, Kimiko was the last to get on.
"So what are you gonna tell the media? They were hyped as heck over the Big Project."
Toshiro shrugged. "I'll just tell them some something went wrong and we accidentally wiped the entire system. Sure, that's not exactly what happened, but I don't think anyone will believe what really happened."
Kimiko chuckled. "Story of my life."
"I have one last thing for you." Toshiro signaled two of his workers, who walked up holding a metal case. Toshiro opened it, revealing a black rock with odd transparent formations on top.
"Is that the magic rock that made the Project possible?" Kimiko asked.
Toshiro nodded and held it out to her. "Just so I'm not tempted to start this whole thing all over again, I want you to have it."
Kimiko smiled before taking the rock. "Thanks, Dad. A one-of-a-kind rock from a one-of-a-kind Papa!" Kimiko climbed on Dojo. "Bye Dad!"
"Bye Sweetie! Come back soon!" Toshiro called out as Dojo took off.
"There really is never a dull moment with you kids, is there?" Dojo asked as they flew.
"Don't look like it." Clay answered.
Kimiko didn't say anything as she held her rock, feeling the fiery passion she had for her city, her friends, and her family.