OMAC001-Thanks again and I hope you'll find this next chapter satisfactory.
Nimwen16-Thank you so much for the fave and follow!
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Chase Young walked stood outside his mountain lair, on the cliff overlooking the Land of Nowhere. It was nighttime and the moon was full. Chase held up a bowl of an ancient mystical substance; it wasn't the Lao Mang Lone Soup, this concoction was of a different nature entirely. It was also VERY hard to gather the ingredients for, so Chase just had to hope this would work like he wanted to.
Not that Chase Young ever had to "hope" for anything.
Chase looked at his reflection in the bowl before drinking the whole thing. When he was done, his hands suddenly cramped, dropping the bowl into the abyss below. Chase morphed into his reptilian form and roared in agony, a sound that could be heard for miles. Chase's arms suddenly started moving of their own accord. His left arm rose into the air and glowed with an eerie green light.
Suddenly, without Chase being able to control it, he thrust his arm into his chest, the limb just passing through like the skin was water. Chase grunted with pain before he thrust his claw back out, which was now clutching one of his own ribs.
In his hand, the bone changed shape, morphing into a silvery clam shell. The shell opened, showing a tiny baby girl cooing inside. Chase turned and set the newborn on the ground. The girl was suddenly covered in a black aura and started to rapidly age. The shell turned purple and wrapped around her body, giving her clothes, specifically a set of purple battle armor and a headband with a yin-yang symbol on it. When it was done, a young blue-haired woman stood before Chase. She opened her eyes; they were yellow with black slits, just like his.
Chase turned human again and spoke. "You are Shadow."
"I am Shadow." She repeated.
"You are a piece of me."
"I am a piece of you."
"Together, we shall bring evil to a new level, and rule the world side by side."
The woman gave a wicked smile. "Bring evil…rule side by side."
Chase matched her look. "Exactly."
The image turned murky and faded from the Heylin Eyeball.
"So that's how I was born…" Shadow said, having witnessed the whole thing.
"Yes." Chase, who was standing next to her, confirmed.
Shadow smirked. "Telling me you're my Papa hardly seems appropriate. I practically am you."
Chase held her chin and started sending telepathic signals into her mind. "In a way, you are. You are the part of me that thirsts for power, the part that's restless when there is evil to be done, the part of me that is not afraid to embrace darkness. Omi, Jack, Wuya…they all failed as my partners and apprentices. You are my future, and we shall embrace our destiny together."
Shadow smiled. "But first we have to deal with those pesky monks."
"Indeed. They tend to put their very lives on the line for the sake of others even when it will not benefit them. Speaking of which…"
Chase waved his hand over the Eyeball, which changed to show what one of his crow spies was seeing. A small village was on fire, and the five Xiaolin monks stood in the middle of it.
"Shoku Rocket Formation!" the first four shouted while getting into position. This time, Raimundo was in the middle. He squatted while holding his palms up, supporting Omi who balanced in Rai's hands upside-down like he once did with Kimiko. Clay now took Raimundo's previous position on the right side while Kimiko was on the left. The four monks turned into black silhouettes with different-colored outlines: Raimundo's was white, Omi's was blue, Kimiko's was red, and Clay's was orange-brown.
Raimundo let go of Omi with one hand and clutched his other. "Shoku Astro, Wind!" Raimundo made a small tornado around himself, spun Omi around, and threw him into the air. "Shoku Neptune, Water!" While in the air, Omi twirled around and spread water everywhere like a sprinkler, dousing a generous portion of the fire.
Raimundo stood his ground and crossed his arms. "Shoku Astro, Wind!" Raimundo unfolded his arms and the air around them roared as it spun around, not enough to harm the buildings, but putting out even more of the fire.
"Shoku Mars, Fire!" Kimiko held her arms out and controlled the fire that wasn't in range of the windstorm by pulling it in range so it could be blown out.
When the last of the fire had been extinguished, Omi, having landed safely, met back up with the others, who all gave each other high fives (still in their powered-up forms) at saving the village before it was wiped off the map. Ping Pong had just watched with an amazed look on his face.
Chase, overlooking the whole thing, scoffed. "Such risk and exertion, and for what?" He then smiled creepily. "They shall be the first to feel the power of my new weapon."
"New weapon?" Shadow asked. "Why is this news to me?"
"It's taken me a long time to track down this creature, and even longer to cultivate its powers to the point of satisfaction. Behold…" Chase withdrew a small white crystal. He positioned it over the Eyeball. The Eye shot evil green energy which took hold of the crystal from Chase. The crystal cracked and shattered, revealing a small orange creature that the green energy kept levitated over the Eyeball.
After getting a good look at it, Shadow raised an eyebrow. "A shrimp?"
"A Tiger Shrimp. And no, this is not your average seafood special." Chase snapped his fingers. One of his crows fluttered down carrying a scroll in its talons which it dropped into Chase's awaiting hand.
"You see, Shadow, in times long past, far predating the dawn of humankind…" Chase opened the scroll to show an ancient drawing of a tidal wave. Around it were lightning-filled storm clouds and cracking ground. Within the tidal wave were several vicious-looking cat-like creatures with lobster claws and shrimp tails.
"…the Tiger Shrimp were some of the most powerful creatures on the planet, able to control the weather and alter the ecological balances of the world through sheer will." Chase closed the scroll. "Or so the legend goes."
"And this puny thing is one of them?" Shadow gestured to the floating crustacean.
"Through the ages, the Tiger Shrimp devolved until they looked no different than other aptly-titled shrimp. Fortunately, the ancient power still remains, however faint, and in the right-or wrong-hands, it can change everything."
"Ooh, I'm starting to like this thing." Shadow said.
"Then you will also enjoy what it is capable of. Observe." Chase held his hand over the animal and the hand started glowing with white energy. The surface of the Heylin Eyeball, which still showed the monks, rippled like water.
The still supercharged monks were almost knocked off their feet by rumbling in the ground. They quickly deduced that the cause was an earthquake when they saw cracks forming all around them.
"Clay," Rai started.
"On it, partner." The cowboy answered, way ahead of him. "Shoku Jupiter, Earth!" Clay stomped the ground to use his upped Xiaolin powers to counter the natural.
Unbeknownst to him, this wasn't natural. Chase smirked and turned it up a little.
The earthquake persisted and Clay was knocked onto his bottom, causing him as well as Rai, Omi, and Kimiko to turn back to normal. The monks couldn't do anything as the scorched buildings started coming down. Dojo quickly expanded and carried the monks into the air; they looked down to see the village crumble to dust. Clay looked the most down.
Raimundo noticed this. "It's not your fault, dude."
"I coulda stopped it…" The Dragon of Earth mumbled.
"At least the village had been evacuated," Kimiko said, trying to lift his spirits. "No one got hurt."
"Yeah, I guess so…" Clay sighed. "I just dunno what happened, though. Usually a little tremor like that's no prob fer me, but it didn't work this time."
"Don't sweat it, big guy." Raimundo insisted. "We're still number one at saving the world!"
Clay gave a small smile. "Yeah, yer right."
As the monks flew on, Chase and Shadow watched them in the Eyeball. Chase smiled while Shadow gave an evil chuckle.
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.
"I still can't believe such a tiny creature could have so much untapped power." Shadow murmured.
"The Tiger Shrimp that actually have the power are extremely rare. This could very well be the last one in existence." Chase answered.
"Let me try." Shadow said, holding out her hand before Chase grabbed it and stopped her.
"Power of this magnitude is not to be played with." Chase sternly told her. "Your time will come, Shadow, but remember what happens when you don't obey me."
Actually, Shadow didn't remember, having been a mindless sapphire zombie at the time, and that was why she shuddered at Chase's reminder. After a moment more, she suddenly came at Chase with rapid punches; he blocked every one and wasn't surprised; after all, they did this all the time.
"Why reveal this thing now if we're not going to use it to take over the world?" Shadow asked as she continued punching.
"That will come soon."
"Soon isn't soon enough!"
"Patience is a virtue, my grasshopper."
"I eat grasshoppers. Call me 'phoenix'."
"Very well, my phoenix. The Tiger Shrimp is very powerful, yes, and that is why it must be approached with caution. It will help us in our evil cause, but only if we use it wisely and sparingly. If this sort of power is abused, it could cause disastrous ripple effects all over the world, leaving nothing to rule. Do you understand?"
"…Yeah, I suppose." Shadow said as she stopped her onslaught.
Satisfied, Chase folded his arms.
Meanwhile, Jack was in his kitchen having a little fun in-between evil plans. He was sitting at the dining table with a blindfold on. "Ready, F-Bot?"
"Ready, Boss Jack!" The robot chef replied. "It is time for 'Mystery Meat Roulette'!"
"No liver, right? I hate that stuff!"
"Oui oui Jack, you have programmed your dislikes and allergies into my memory banks very well." F-Bot answered. "Now no peeking." F-Bot stuck the first of the meats into Jack's awaiting mouth.
"Hmm…tastes like chicken." Jack said before sampling another piece. "Chicken…" Then some more. "Chicken...chicken, chicken…and more chicken!"
F-Bot chuckled. "Well, making every meat taste like chicken is one of my specialties."
"Well I don't care what this stuff is, I like it!" Jack turned to his creation. "You are definitely one of my best ideas ever, F-Bot!"
"Oh Jack, you are making me blush! Well, figuratively."
"What's the dish you want to cook most of all?"
"Most of all? Let's see…" F-Bot grabbed a cookbook and opened it. He turned back to Jack showing him a picture of a striped crustacean.
"As you may know, the tiger shrimp is a very popular seafood delicacy." F-Bot raised a finger on his one real hand. "However, legend in the cooking circles tells of a long-lost breed of tiger shrimp, said to be…magical."
"Magical?"
"Oui oui, if I recall correctly, this specific shrimp contains so much magic within it, all other seafood will taste like the chum in comparison."
"Really? A magical shrimp? Hmm…Hold that thought." Jack said. He went to another room and came back dragging something under a tarp.
"What is that?" F-Bot asked.
"F-Bot, meet your new little brother…" Jack pulled off the tarp. "Myth-Bot!"
The machine was the same color as his other Jack-Bots but was shaped like a squat cylinder. On top was a glass dome containing red, blue, and green lights.
"Myth-Bot?" F-Bot echoed.
"Since I keep running into all these ancient magical creatures, I whipped up this baby! By hacking into the local satellites, Myth-Bot can scan the world and detect any magical creature you want it to!"
"Really?"
"Really!" Jack pressed a button on its side and the lights inside turned on. "Myth-Bot, scan for magic tiger shrimp."
The machine used its lights to project a hologram of the Earth into the air. After a minute of scanning, a single beeping red light showed up in China. The specific coordinates were displayed below it.
"Ah yeah, Jack rules! Now let's go get that-wait, I know those coordinates…" After it hit him, Jack chuckled nervously. "Um, F-Bot, you may want to bring along some of that extra mystery meat."
"What for?"
"For Chase Young's cats." Jack turned to the robot. "The shrimp is in his lair."
The monks were recuperating after their not-quite-victory by hanging out near a river. Raimundo, Clay, and Omi were fishing while Kimiko sat at the base of a tree in which Dojo was taking a nap. Ping Pong had taken off his shirt and was wading in the river happily.
Suddenly, the water started bubbling. The boys fishing looked confused. Ping Pong did as well until his body gradually turned red from the feet up.
"E-OOOOWWW!"
The rest of the monks all turned to him as the little monk ran out of the river. "Ow ow ow ow ow hot hot hot hot hot!" He cried as he looked down at his sizzling bare feet.
"Ping Pong!" Kimiko exclaimed as she ran over to him. "Are you okay?"
"Ou-oui, Sister Kimiko, I will be fine." Ping Pong let out a breath as his legs slowly cooled down.
After seeing that their friend was alright, Raimundo and Clay looked back at the river to see that it was boiling and several dead fish were floating on the surface. Clay carefully plucked one out. "These are cooked finer than when my Uncle Fred does it, and the whole family loves his fish!"
Clay's country talk was interrupted when they again felt an earthquake. The hills around them cracked apart, and they could see smoke filling the sky. Kimiko's attention was diverted when an orange leaf floated down by her. She looked up into the tree to see that its previously green leaves were rapidly turning autumn colors and falling down. The movement woke Dojo up and made him slip out of the tree; fortunately Kimiko caught him.
"Thanks." Dojo said before looking back up at the tree. "I musta been asleep longer than I thought!"
"Is this global warming or something?" Kimiko wondered out loud.
"I don't know, but something's going on." Raimundo decided. "This much weird weather doesn't just happen in one day."
Omi turned to him. "The only person I know of who is capable of this magnitude of chaos is Chase Young. But how, and why?"
None of them knew the answer to that question.
Chase and Shadow's work was interrupted when two tigers walked into the room dragging Jack by the back of his trench coat and F-Bot by his spatula arm. "Hey, watch the teeth! This was a present from my granny!" Jack protested before being roughly deposited on the floor. F-Bot shook the saliva off his spatula. "I will have to sanitize this thing…"
Chase groaned. "I have no time for your antics, Spicer; I am in the middle of testing my new abilities of destruction."
Jack wearily got up. "And I'm sure that takes up a good part of your time; doesn't even leave you enough to whip up a nice home-cooked meal!" Jack threw his arm around F-Bot's shoulder. "Well I'd like you to meet F-Bot, my 3-star French chef! I made him myself!"
"And that's supposed to reassure me?" Chase questioned.
"Now that girly-boy mentions it, I am getting kinda hungry. Why don't we see what this thingamabob can do? Pleeease?" Shadow asked.
Chase groaned again. "Very well. What exactly can this machine prepare?"
"Anything you want him to! Right, F-Bot?"
"Oui oui! Anything!" The robot agreed.
Shadow's eyes lit up. "Anything?"
Sometime later, Chase and Shadow were eating at their dining table. Chase had his usual assortment of fruits and meats; Shadow, on the other hand, had much a more…unique layout.
"You like?" Jack asked.
Shadow swallowed. "Spicy buffalo bat wings, cricket curry, rat ratatouille…what's not to like?" She said contentedly.
Chase took another bite of his own meal quietly. Yes, Shadow was meant to be the embodiment of his more animalistic and vicious side, but did her tastes in food have to be so…raw?
"I must admit, Spicer," he finally spoke, "I am actually rather impressed with your machine's culinary skills."
"I know, right! Yummy in the tummy! So can I stick around now?"
"You know I was actually leaning towards 'yes', until you said 'yummy in the tummy'."
"Oh, sorry! Come on, Chase, you know I'll do anything you want?"
"Yes, you do grovel well." Chase agreed.
"Some say that's my forte, especially my mom! So whaddya say?"
"Maybe he can clean up after the cats." Shadow sniffed. "Kinda stinks in here."
"What, the cats?! Uh, I mean sure, no problem!"
"Very well, Spicer, you can stay for now, as long as you don't get in our way, though knowing you that's probably too much to ask."
Jack's eyes grew big and sparkled before he hugged Chase.
"Ahem."
Jack realized what he was doing, let go, and looked in the other direction while whistling innocently.
Later, Jack was sweeping around Chase's throne. He had been working…a lot.
"I tried to join the monks, they made me do chores all day. I join Chase, he makes me do chores all day!" Jack grumbled to himself. "I am so sick of all this cleaning! Plus I'm starving!" Jack looked over to the shrimp hovering above the Heylin Eyeball.
"That thing does look good…and Chase has F-Bot now, he can make him all kinds of good food…"
Jack slowly reached out and grabbed hold of the shrimp.
"And it is why I came here in the first place…" Jack barely hesitated before taking a big bite.
"Mmmm…" Jack said as he let the savory meat trickle down his throat. "Oh man, F-Bot was right, I'll never go back to eating frozen fish sticks again!"
"Ooh…" F-Bot wearily floated into the room. "So much cat food…that had to have shortened my warranty…Bad news, Jack, unfortunately, we will not be able to taste the-thethethe-" F-Bot's voice chip started glitching as he saw Jack gobble up the last of the Tiger Shrimp.
"Whuf?" Jack asked with his mouth full.
"Jack boy, what have you done?!" F-Bot cried.
"It looked too good; I couldn't wait for you to cook it!" Jack said while wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve.
"Jack, that Tiger Shrimp was controlling the-" F-Bot was interrupted when energy started crackling across the Heylin Eyeball. A massive shockwave of energy shot from it, knocking Jack and F-Bot onto the ground.
The shockwave spread out from Chase's lair and over the country, over the world.
The Great Wall of China started crumbling into pieces, across the ocean glaciers began to crack and melt, and storms picked up all over the place.
Jack held his head and stood up. The Heylin Eyeball was rapidly cycling through images, flickering like a television remote with a stuck channel-up button.
"Oh…um…I should, uh, probably get going now…don't wanna overstay my welcome…see ya!" Jack said before running off.
F-Bot struggled to get off the ground; that blast had not been pleasant for his circuitry. Finally, he was lifted up, but not from his jet parts.
If F-Bot could feel pain, Chase's reptilian claw gripping his normal arm probably would have hurt a bit.
"What. JUST. HAPPENED?!"
Make that more than a bit. F-Bot made the closest sound he could make to a gulp as he stared into the infuriated snout.
The monks, previously hiking through a pleasant plain, suddenly found themselves in a barren wasteland without a single shred of plant life anywhere.
"What in tarnation-" Clay began before Dojo started twitching and flopping like he had just drank a bowl of Lao Mang Lone Soup. Scales started flying off his body until the dragon was little more than a pulsing pink sausage.
"Oh gosh…" Kimiko covered her mouth like she was going to hurl.
"Ow…ow…okay, this is not good ow…" Dojo managed to say while trying to protect his now extremely sensitive body. "Something's shaken up the natural order. Something BIG…OW!"
"You can say that again, Dojo." Kimiko was checking her phone. "News reports are streaming in. Weather all over the world has gone crazy! Hurricanes in Egypt, tornadoes in Toledo…" Kimiko gasped and put a hand to her mouth. "Seattle is actually sunny."
"Okay, who's the wise guy playing this big joke on nature, and where are they so we can pound 'em?" Raimundo demanded.
"He's gone." Shadow said, walking back in the room with a couple cats by her side. "Girly-boy's split."
"It seems that I have underestimated Jack Spicer in terms of exactly how much he can mess up." Chase had managed to get the Eyeball slightly back under control; at least the images went slower so he could make out the massive hailstorms and melting igloos.
"You can fix this, right?" Shadow asked curiously.
"I know of one way. While you were scrounging for Spicer, I retrieved one of the Shen Gong Wu that we stole." Chase stepped back from the Eyeball and held up a small white mouse figure. "Hoduku Mouse!" Chase declared.
At first, nothing happened, but then the Mouse turned its head so it was looking at Chase. It wriggled out of his grasp and scurried past Shadow out the door. The cats beside her immediately turned and began chasing the metal rodent.
Shadow watched them go. "I may not know exactly what every one of those thingamajigs we took does…" She turned back to Chase. "But that wasn't supposed to happen, was it?"
Chase sighed and pinched his brow. "No…no it wasn't. Even the Shen Gong Wu are starting to be affected by all this ancient chaotic energy…We really are in uncharted territory now. When I get my hands on that insect…"
"Whatever you're thinking," Shadow interrupted. "Save some for me." She smiled deviously.
The Xiaolin Warriors flew through the air. Dojo's scales had grown back, but he was still too sore to fly, so they were using the Blue Feather Eagle, if it could even be called that anymore. The wild energy in the air had transformed it into a battered brown old-fashioned airplane, with one set of wings, a propeller on the front, and three seats. Raimundo was in the front seat flying, Clay took up the second with Dojo clinging to his shoulder, and Kimiko, Omi, and Ping Pong were all squeezed into the back seat. They flew over a massive desert, and saw a city that was nearly buried in sand.
"This is terrible…" Ping Pong said.
"Indeed. How can we make the world better when it is like this?" Omi concurred.
"We'll fix it, Omi." Kimiko assured him. "We have to."
Dojo suddenly started recoiling and making small noises of pain.
"You still feelin' sore, lil' partner?" Clay asked, concerned.
"Actually, it's a new Shen Gong Wu, but yeah, that's not helping." Dojo managed to get himself under control before reaching under Clay's hat and withdrawing the scroll. "It's called the Taho Snout." Dojo explained as he opened up the scroll. "It gives its user a sense of smell as good as a bloodhound's." The image showed a man securing the Snout to his face and sniffing around for a bit before getting down on all fours and crawling while still sniffing. "But don't wear it too long, or it'll give you, um, other bloodhound-like qualities." Dojo closed the scroll and slipped it back under the hat.
"Perfect!" Raimundo proclaimed. "Jack would never turn down the chance to score a Wu, and if Chase really is behind this, he'll know what's going on."
"I think you're right, Rai." Kimiko said, smiling. "To the Taho Snout!"
Dojo slithered across the plane to Raimundo's seat and positioned himself next to the steering wheel. "Thataway." He said, pointing with his finger like a compass.
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.
The gang flew through the desert to an oil rig that had sunk into the sand at an angle. The Taho Snout resembled a golden animal snout with a bit of white fluff attached to each side. It was connected to a green band with a blue wave pattern. The band was around a loose derrick, leaving the Snout dangling.
"How did that even get there?" Kimiko questioned.
"Maybe a bird used it to make a nest." Clay suggested.
"Guess I was wrong. I don't see Jack…" Raimundo started. His eyes widened. "I see something worse."
The plane touched down and in a flash returned to its smaller form (though it was still an airplane). Standing atop the turntable were Chase and Shadow.
"Chase Young!" Omi shouted. "Is the world's current state your doing?"
"Yes and no." Chase answered. "This is the work of an ancient magical Tiger Shrimp."
"Tiger Shrimp?" Dojo questioned. "I thought the magical kind were extinct?"
"Well they are now." Chase spat. "That worm Jack ate it, and by doing so caused the absorbed power to go rogue, turning the world into, well, this." Chase gestured around them.
"Wait wait wait…a shrimp did this?" Raimundo asked, bewildered.
"According to legend, Tiger Shrimp used to be powerful creatures, able to change the world as they saw fit. They pretty much just blend in with normal shrimp now, but I guess someone figured out how to unleash the power that should've been kept hidden." Dojo said while glaring at Chase.
"That's all fine and dandy, but that still don't explain why Young is chasin' Wu." Clay interrupted.
"I was thinking to meet Spicer here and destroy him for what he has done, but I suppose he at least has enough brain power to stay away." Chase said. "There is a bright side, though, at least this Shen Gong Wu can help us track him down. Care to try and beat us to it?" He said with a smile.
Shadow stepped forward and beckoned to Kimiko.
"You want a girl fight?" The Dragon of Fire asked. "You got it." Kimiko flipped atop the turntable. She and Shadow started climbing the derricks towards the Snout. They both reached it and put their hands on it.
"I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! I wager my Tangle Web Comb." Kimiko began.
Shadow smirked. "I'm feelin' rather playful today. To make it easier for ya, I'll wager a Wu I don't even need." Shadow reached into her armor and pulled out the Shroud of Shadows.
"The goal is to climb this rig. The first one to reach the Snout wins."
"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"
A sandstorm started up around them as the rig straightened and expanded, growing taller and taller. The crown block disappeared, leaving the metal structure to end at a point with the Taho Snout dangling from it. Kimiko and Shadow stood at the bottom atop the elevated turntable.
"Gong Yi Tan Pai!" The two shouted before leaping onto the rig and climbing with the monks cheering her on below. After a few seconds, Shadow leapt out to try and kick Kimiko, but she saw it coming and flipped upward, causing Shadow to miss and almost plummet sown before grabbing on again. After catching up with her, Shadow looked to do a kick again. Kimiko flipped up again, but Shadow had tricked her and went upward, managing to kick the girl and send her down.
"Tangle Web Comb!" Kimiko shouted, shooting the stretchy web like a grappling hook. It wrapped around a derrick and Kimiko swung around before aiming to strike Shadow off her perch. Unfortunately, Shadow saw her coming and melted into her incorporeal form, making Kimiko miss her, but she just grabbed onto another beam. Once she regained herself and Shadow became solid again, the climb resumed.
Kimiko and Shadow had nearly made it to the top when four tall oil towers suddenly sprouted around them. They flung oil into the air, covering the rig and the combatants. Kimiko barely managed to hold on to the slippery metal. Her opponent, on the other hand, used her shadow powers to climb easily. She had just about gotten there when she looked down at Kimiko, who was still slowly climbing. She looked back at the Taho Snout and smirked. Shadow suddenly let go, falling well below Kimiko before grabbing on again. Kimiko looked down at her surprised, then finished the climb and grabbed the Snout, ending the Showdown.
Kimiko and Shadow appeared back in front of the others; any oil that had gotten on them had vanished.
Kimiko looked down at the Taho Snout and Shroud of Shadows that she had won before glaring at Shadow. "Did you let me win?" She questioned.
Shadow put her hand to her chest. "Let you win? Whatever gave you that idea? You won fair and square." She said in a tone that highly suggested she was lying.
Omi looked at the Snout in Kimiko's hands again before suppressing a laugh. "Is that so? Or are the both of you too hoity-toity to crawl like a dog in order to find Jack Spicer?" He inquired.
Raimundo looked down at him. "So you mess up 'keep your head in the game', but 'hoity-toity' is no problem for you? The world really is upside-down…" he murmured.
"At least let us come with you to find him." Shadow said. "As trade, we'll give you something that'll make the job go faster." She reached into the ground using her powers and extracted F-Bot, who had a few scratches and dents.
"Yup, that'll give the Taho Snout the scent it needs!" Dojo said.
Kimiko decided to interrupt. "Guys, as much as I love kicking Jack's butt, that's not gonna put the world back to normal, is it?"
"No, but what will?" Ping Pong wondered.
Omi pondered before speaking. "Chase Young, you said that Jack ate your Shrimp?"
Chase raised an eyebrow. "Correct."
Omi smiled. "Then I have a plan. But for it to work, it will require that you return two particular Shen Gong Wu you stole."
Chase stood there for a moment before sighing. "Which ones?"
Later, the group's best tracker (AKA Clay) had strapped the Taho Snout over his nose and had gotten Jack's scent from F-Bot. After a while of searching, the assorted group of heroes and villains found Jack's RV in a dried-up jungle next to a massive puddle of quicksand. The giant babbling one-eyed red-skinned head sticking out of the quicksand told them why the engine-less RV had stopped moving.
Clay tracked on all fours for a little more until they came to a patch of trees and pointed like a pointer dog to Wuya who was floating in the middle of it. She let out a small shriek when she turned around and saw everyone. "Oh, Chase! What a pleasant surprise!"
"I'll cut to the chase, Wuya. Is Spicer around?"
A sneaky smile adorned Wuya's mask and she used one of her stumpy arms to point up. The group looked up to see Jack perched in one of the trees. Clay stood up and removed the Taho Snout from his face.
"Wuya, you wispy wimp! You ratted me out!" Jack cried.
"Relax, Spicer." Kimiko said. "We're not gonna hurt you."
"You're…not?"
Chase stepped up. "As much as I'd like to squish you like the insect you are, there might actually be a way for you to fix the catastrophe you caused."
"There is? How?" Jack and Wuya said at the same time.
Omi walked up next to Chase. "The question is, when is the last time you flossed?"
"So I just gotta stand here?" Jack asked.
"Yes, stand still and we'll take care of the rest." Chase said. He, Omi, Raimundo, Kimiko, Clay, Ping Pong, Dojo, Shadow, F-Bot, and Wuya were all together with Jack standing a few yards away.
"I don't get it, how is me never flossing gonna save the world?"
"You'll see." Raimundo said. He leaned down to Omi. "You really think this'll work?"
"It must." Omi replied confidently. He stepped forward and held up the first of the two Wu Chase had returned. "Ruby of Ramses!"
Jack was surrounded by a red glow. Omi levitated him a few inches into the air, then made his body turn down at an angle so he head was close to the ground.
"Ping Pong, it is your turn. Jump to it!" Omi said.
"I believe the saying is 'hop to it', and I do not exactly feel like hopping or jumping. Must it really be me?" Ping Pong asked worriedly.
Raimundo shrugged. "Sorry dude, you're the new guy."
"And I only do this with Master Fung." Dojo added.
Ping Pong gulped and pulled a bit of dental floss from the container he held in his hand. Ping Pong went up to Jack's mouth and started flossing his teeth. When one piece of floss was done, Ping Pong laid it on the ground next to him. Jack was as appalled as the rest of them as Omi used the Ruby of Ramses to keep his mouth open so Ping Pong could continue. Within a few minutes Jack's teeth had been flossed and all the used pieces were lying on the ground.
Omi deactivated the Ruby and Jack fell to the ground. Jack got up and rubbed his jaw which had been kept open for so long.
"I don't know why you just did that, but I never want to go through that again." He said.
"How do you think I feel?" Ping Pong exclaimed, still shaken from the whole experience.
"Now to see if my plan will work." Omi walked up to the used floss and withdrew the second Shen Gong Wu that they had just gotten back. "Rio Reverso!"
Black energy shot from the blue crystal and hit the bits of food that clung to the floss. The first blast turned them back into a chicken and a cobra. The next discharge resurrected a frog and a pig.
Jack gaped at what the bits of food that had been between his teeth really were. He turned to F-Bot. "That's what was in 'Mystery Meat Roulette'?"
The robot chef shrugged. "I wanted you to taste some exotic meats."
"Exotic?!" Jack watched as a small bird was restored. "You made me eat a pigeon!"
"That's a quail, you ignorant-" Chase groaned. "No sign of the Tiger Shrimp yet."
"I am not done yet." Omi returned. He aimed the Rio Reverso at the last bit of floss. With baited breath, he used the Wu. The bits of food on the floss became another chicken, a tropical fish of some sort that flopped around, and finally, the Tiger Shrimp.
"Yes!" Omi cried as he ran over to the squirming animal and picked it up. "Water!" Omi used his Shoku powers to create a floating sphere of water in the air. He put the shrimp inside and let it swim around. He turned to Chase. "Now what?"
"With the Tiger Shrimp restored, the loose chaotic energy should be put back in order." He answered.
Kimiko checked her phone again. "He's right. Reports are coming in about the weird weather suddenly going back to normal. We did it!" she cheered.
Chase started walking up to Omi, but he quickly put his hand on the floating water bubble. "Ice." Instantly the bubble froze solid, preserving the Tiger Shrimp inside. Omi held the ice-ball in his hand before placing it in the Cosmic Burlap. "We shall hold on to this wondrous creature. It is a good thing the Cosmic Burlap preserves its contents at the same temperature as when they went in."
Chase folded his arms and let a small smile come to his face. "It's a shame our alliance couldn't have been more…permanent."
Omi folded his arms too. "Yes it is."
Chase frowned. He turned around. "Come, Shadow, our work here is done."
"But you can't just let them keep the-" Shadow began before being cut off. "We lost today, Shadow. Learning when you've lost is a crucial part of any long-term conflict." When Chase got close enough to her, he whispered in her ear. "Besides, there's still the eclipse."
"Whatever that means…" She whispered back. A devious smile appeared on Chase's lips before he snapped his fingers and teleported them away in an orange flash.
"So…" The monks turned to Jack. "Since you couldn't have fixed this mess without me, how about helping me dig Cyclops out of the quicksand so I can be on my way?" Jack flashed a big toothy smile at the monks, all of whom just deadpanned at him. Jack lost the fake smile. "Fine." He grumbled before leaving to try and do it himself with Wuya and F-Bot following.
Raimundo shook his head before looking at the jungle around them, which seemed to get brighter. "Well guys, ready to get back to doing what we do best: saving the world?"
The others heartily confirmed that they got back on Dojo and took off to continue saving the day however they could.
