Sorry about the delay! It's been a busy month for me! And thanks earthchild001 for the reminder! I hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

Thanks to XSrules95, aaliona, XS Fanatic, CoffeeCream101, zeratheliger, angel-devil-2009, earthchild001, lilanimefan247, RaiKim VentusIgnis, kibahina-narusaku4ever, and spoiledhalfbreed for all your reviews! I know I say this every chapter but they mean so much to me! It's because of reviews that I write!

Disclaimer: I don't own XS

Rated T for violence and torture


Rai: (after trying to catch a thug with the Serpent's Tail) I had him, but he slipped right through my fingers! And I think my pancreas.

CH. 29

Part III

Kimiko allowed the apartment door to slam shut behind her as she, Clay, and Omi with Dojo rushed in, their hearts racing. Sunlight poured through the windows, lighting the area in honey. Puppy Omi barked happily at their entry, dancing around their legs. But happy was the last thing they felt.

Kimiko dropped her bag on the table, digging through it. "I'll call Master Fung, you guys check out the Wu."

Omi bounded over to Raimundo's bed and looked under it, crinkling his nose at the dust. He spotted the backpack they'd taken with shen gong wu. He pulled it out, bringing it back into the main section of the apartment. He and Clay bent over it, quickly going through the Wu.

As the puppy barked and the noises of the two monks sorting through the Wu rattled the apartment, Kimiko pressed her phone closer to her ear. She paced restlessly and at last heard Master Fung's voice.

"Master Fung!" she gasped. "Something-something really bad has happened!" She was hyperventilating, her breathing coming out ragged. "We were fighting, and-and, Rai ran off and I followed him. There was a fight, the shades-they came and we destroyed them all. But Gethin-he kidnapped Rai in the Sphere of Yun!"

"What?" came the master's startled voice.

Kimiko nodded, swallowing. "Gethin captured Rai. Then they both disappeared."

She received silence from the other end.

After a moment more she said, "What's going on, Master Fung? Why would Gethin take Raimundo?"

"I do not know," he replied, sounding tired. "Just know that Gethin is solely focused on freeing himself of his shadow prison. Whatever reason he captured Raimundo, it is connected with that."

"Okay," she responded. "We're going to try to find him."

"Be careful," Master Fung said. "I shall speak with the other monks concerning this matter."

Kimiko told him good-bye and hung up the phone. She raked her fingers through her black hair in agitation, turning to the young men. "Is it gone?"

Omi nodded solemnly, looking up at her. "The Sphere of Yun has been taken, along with the Eye of Dashi and the Reversing Mirror."

"Why would Gethin rustle up those three Wu?" Clay asked. "We know why he got the sphere, but the other two . . .?"

"I do not know," Omi sighed, shoulders sagging.

"We need to find Rai!" Kimiko pressed, tugging at her hair. "What if he's scared? What if Gethin's hurting him? What's if he's already-"

"No," Omi interrupted. "We will not think like that." He met both of their eyes solidly. "We will not."

Kimiko's phone rang. She answered it quickly. "Hello?"

"Clay?"

She frowned, holding out the phone. "Um, Clay, it's your daddy."

The cowboy looked shocked, taking the phone. He held it to his ear. "Daddy?"

"Clay!"

"Daddy, how'd you get Kimiko's phone number?"

"I looked through the junk in your room 'til I found a number of one of those xiao-pow folks you use to hang with. Now, Clay, I need ya to come back to the ranch right now."

Clay slapped his palm to his forehead, exasperated. "Daddy, I can't leave right now! I'm . . . in a bit of a situation."

"I don't care none what situation you're in, you need to get your butt over here!" the old man snapped.

"My friend is missin', Daddy!"

"Well, your ranch is about to be missin'!"

"What?"

Kimiko and Omi started, frowning at the cowboy.

"You heard me," Daddy Bailey answered. "Levi's gone and taken the ranch. He has some sort of black creatures with him. I'm hidin' in the basement right now like some kinda sissy. I ain't no match for those things, so I need you to come over here and stop them."

Clay paused, then sighed. "I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up the phone and me the eyes of his friends. "Levi took over the ranch, and he has some of Gethin's shades with him. My daddy is hiding out right now."

Omi and Kimiko exchanged worried looks.

Clay fiddled with the red scarf around his neck. "I don't want my daddy to be hurt . . . but I don't want to leave Rai . . ."

They all stood silently, thinking. Sunlight shone in through the windows, lighting up the messy apartment. There was a bottle of barbeque sauce and a plate of rib bones on the table from Clay's last meal. Kimiko had left some magazines in a pile on the sofa. There was a cleared out space in one corner where Omi always practiced his martial arts. All of that seemed far, far away.

"How did Gethin even get the wu?" Kimiko asked. "How'd he even know where Raimundo lived?"

"Since Gethin's invisible, I'm guessing he just followed us," Clay sighed. "He could have been just lookin' around the apartment until he found where we hid the Wu, and we'd have never known."

"And," Omi continued, "since he can summon shades anywhere at any time, he could have just waited until we were gone and used a shade to steal the Shen Gong Wu he needed." He clenched his hands into fists. "It was so simple! And I cannot think of how we could have stopped it!"

Kimiko shook her head. "We couldn't have. Gethin's been planning this, whatever it is. So," she took a deep breath. "What are we going to do? The longer we wait to look for Rai, the more chance there is of something bad happening to him."

"But we cannot just let something bad happen to Clay's daddy, either," Omi nodded.

"And we have no idea where Raimundo is," Clay said. "Just lookin' around everywhere for him is gonna waste time. Both Rai's, my daddy's, and ours."

Omi scratched his large head thoughtfully, then looked up at them. "I have an idea! You two will ride Dojo to the Bailey Ranch and help Clay's daddy. I will take the Golden Tiger Claws, and the rest of the Shen Gong Wu, and go to the Xiaolin Temple. I believe I know of a way to find where Raimundo is." A smile tugged at his mouth. "And it was, originally, Raimundo's idea."

Kimiko beamed, her blue eyes shining with hope. "You're going to use the Crystal Glasses to see where we'll find Rai!"

Omi nodded. "Correct!"

"Did we not bring along the Crystal Glasses?" Clay inquired.

Omi turned to the bag of Wu, rummaging quickly through it to be certain. "No, I do not see it. But, the temple is just a Golden Tiger Claw trip away." He produced the said Shen Gong Wu, smiling.

"Okay," Kimiko nodded. "Omi, you find out where Rai is and Clay and I will stop Levi. You stay at the temple and we'll meet you there when we're finished."

The Chinese monk nodded. "Agreed." He held up his hand, the Wu on it gleaming in the sunlight. "Golden Tiger Claws!" With a slash he was gone.

XS

Raimundo screamed as electricity shot through his body, causing him to writhe on the floor of the Sphere of Yun. He squeezed his green eyes shut, tears spilling from them anyway. His entire body was in pain from the electrocution he had been receiving on and off since Gethin had captured him.

At last Gethin told his shade to stop, and the lightning vanished from the Eye of Dashi. Raimundo moaned, curling in on himself, before he opened his eyes. He saw the shade, Gethin's helper in using the Wu, since the shadow sorcerer couldn't touch them himself. The Reversing Mirror was propped up against a rock.

Gethin had taken him to a small island in the center of an ocean. Raimundo had no idea where they were. All that was visible was gray sea. The island he was on was no more than a few yards wide. It was simply a cluster of rocks, hard and sharp. He was cut off from his surroundings, being confined inside the sphere. He could see and hear the ocean, but he couldn't feel it. He could hear the roar of the wind, but he couldn't feel that, either.

But what troubled the Brazilian most was the large shadowy orb behind him. It sat perched on the island, bigger than three Spheres of Yun combined. It was black, blue, and purple, swirling with dark energy. He had no idea what it was. Gethin hadn't spoken to him since they'd arrived. He'd only electrocuted him at various intervals.

Raimundo pushed himself to his knees, glaring around the island. "What do you want? Where are we?"

He expected no answer; after all, he hadn't been receiving any. But he didn't want Gethin to think that his spirit was breaking.

However, this time the shadow sorcerer responded, his deep voice seeming to come from the air. "Raimundo, is it?"

"Yes," the Brazilian growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't worry; I won't kill you."

Rai chuckled darkly. "Oh, really? Seems like I'm carefree now."

There was a pause, then Gethin shouted, "Reversing Mirror!"

Raimundo started as the form of Gethin appeared in front of him. It was like he was seeing the former monk in a reflection, only he was standing before him. He still looked human, but he was a shadow, made of pure black. Two blacker spots served for his eyes. Gethin kneeled down on the rocks, bringing them at eye level.

"Let me tell you a story," Gethin said.

Raimundo rolled his eyes, but sat back, looking at his opponent expectantly. A burst of wind shook the sphere, waves crashing against the sides of the island.

"There was a monk once in the Xiaolin Temple. He was very powerful, and had earned a high rank. He was well-respected by the other monks. The lifestyle of the monks was rigid, but the monk bent to every rule." A pause. "All except one. The rule of chastity never made much sense to him. Especially because he was in love with a girl from a nearby village."

Raimundo felt his attention arrested, but he kept his outward visage uninterested and annoyed. He wondered if Gethin could see through it. He could read no expression from the shadow sorcerer, his mouth didn't even move as he talked.

"But the elder monks of the temple found out about their love. She came to the temple with him one night to plead their case. But they sent her away. As she was leaving the temple, she was attacked and killed by thieves."

Raimundo's heart jumped and swallowed his suddenly dry throat.

"The monk was outraged," Gethin continued. "He left the Xiaolin Temple and found a Heylin sorcerer to train him to use Heylin magic. With increased power at his disposal, the monk returned to the temple to avenge the death of his love. But the elder monks . . . caught him by surprise in their indirect approach. Instead of fighting him to the death, they sealed him in a shadow world for eternity. The monk never gave up, and so he waited as his power increased and until he formulated a plan. A plan to get revenge for his love, for his imprisonment, and to destroy the order that had turned on him. "

"So that's it, then?" Raimundo snapped. "You're doing this to me because Kimiko and I are in love?"

There was silence as Gethin kneeled, unmoving. It was so long that for a moment Raimundo wondered if his opponent had gone into some sort of meditation. But at last Gethin said, "You are here to help me be free again."

"Like I'd ever-" Lightning shot out of the Eye of Dashi, bursting over his body. The Brazilian fell back against the side of the sphere, gritting his teeth.

The lightning stopped as Gethin stood, saying, "I have waited for years and years for the Chosen Ones to come along. You see, I may have broken free of my shadow prison," here he glanced at the swirling dark orb a few feet away, "but I'm still bound to it. To be released from my curse, and to gain back my body, I need to have someone replace me."

Sudden fear coursed through Raimundo's veins like ice. He stared up at Gethin. "What do you mean?"

"The shadow prison was made to hold me. In my time inside, I learned that so long as the magic that bound it thought I was still in the prison, I could be free. I needed someone to take my place. Someone who could fool the prison. I am very powerful, having learned both Xiaolin and Heylin techniques. So, naturally, I had to wait until the Chosen Ones were born and trained. I knew they were the only ones who could rival my power."

Raimundo shifted his position, some drops of gray ocean water spattering against the sphere and trickling down the side.

"I had my shades attack each of you individually to gauge your power. But the one that impressed me the most was you, Raimundo. So now you will take my place inside the shadow prison, and I will be free to enact my revenge. And the Xiaolin Temple won't be the only thing that feels my power, the entire world will."

Raimundo's green eyes widened as he fully realized what Gethin had been planning. What he'd wanted from the very beginning. And how he was going to get it.

"I won't go inside the shadow prison," the Dragon of the Wind said.

Gethin chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course you won't. Well, not voluntarily. That's why you are in the Sphere of Yun. You can't escape. For over a thousand years I've waited for the one person to have the potential to free me. And at last I've found you, Raimundo."

The Brazilian glared up at him, his pulse racing uncontrollably.

Gethin tilted his head to the side. "You should take it as a compliment."


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