Chapter 37: When in Rome
It was a nice sunny day in Italy's capital city of Rome. Unbeknownst to the townspeople of the city however, a demon chi was lying dormant somewhere in the confines of Rome. Both the Lei Team and Jinpachi along with his minions had promptly headed out that way to see where the demon chi might have been lying.
"Ah, so we're on lucky number seven in terms of finding the demon chi," stated Bryan.
"I sure hope for your sake that you're right about seven being a lucky number," grumbled Jinpachi.
"I'm sure we are, we've just had bad luck with all these stupid outsiders interfering in our fights with the Lei Team," replied Feng.
"For once, I'll agree with you on that," said Jinpachi.
"That's a rarity, but regardless, all we have to do is find the chi before they do and we win," remarked Eddy.
"That'll be easier said than done," responded Bryan.
Elsewhere, the Lei Team and Dark Hand were also searching the city of Rome and were near the Sistine Chapel and took some time to admire the artwork of the illustrious chapel.
"I know we're here for business, but I can't help but admire a great work of art," said Raven.
"Definitely, this is just so fabulous," chimed in Lee.
"It's one of Michelangelo's greatest achievements," remarked Lei.
"Michelangelo was always my favorite Ninja Turtle," piped up Dragunov.
"Ninja star takes out eye!" yelled Paul as he smacked Dragunov on the head.
"We're talking about the artist Dragunov, not the turtle. Besides, Leonardo was the best turtle," said Steve.
"I'll agree with you on that one," replied Lei.
"Let's not worry about that, we must find demon chi quick!" cried out Wang.
"I'll agree with that too, we can admire artwork after we take care of what we need to," ordered Lei.
"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amorè!" sang Paul as they all left the chapel to resume their search.
As the Lei Team and Dark Hand left the chapel, a strong gust of wind blew by them nearly knocking them all off their feet.
"Damn, that's some strong wind," commented Ganryu.
"So it's the wind demon chi that is here," chimed in Asuka.
"It seems that way chica," replied King.
"Let's chase the wind then and maybe we'll be able to seal the hot air into our airtight container," suggested Lei.
Without any more hesitance, the Lei Team and Dark Hand ran in the direction the wind blew looking for any more oddities that could've been a clue as to where exactly they could find the essence of the wind demon chi. Back where Jinpachi and his crew were, the four evildoers continued to mill about, frightening everyone that caught sight of them.
"Did you feel that breeze blowing by?" asked Jinpachi.
"Yeah, something felt really odd about it," answered Eddy.
"So the wind demon chi is here. Excellent, it'll be perfect for blowing away that pitiful Lei Team!" exclaimed Jinpachi.
"Oh yes, I'm ready to engulf them in a tornado of rage!" added Feng.
"We all are bro, count on that," replied Bryan.
"Speaking of those fools, isn't that our sworn enemies running our way now?" asked Eddy pointing a group of people running northbound towards Jinpachi and company.
"You're right, saves us the trouble of having to hunt them down," responded Jinpachi.
Feng spit out a breath of fire towards the Lei Team and Dark Hand making them jump back to avoid getting singed by the flame.
"Whoa, what the hell was that, did someone burn their pizza?" asked Ganryu.
"I highly doubt that. Something tells me that we have to deal with that old fart and his stupid cronies once again," answered Wang.
"I heard that you wrinkled prune!' shouted Jinpachi.
And once more, the Lei Team and Dark Hand came face to face with Jinpachi and his trio of lackeys.
"Why does the wind always wind up blowing garbage in our faces?" groaned Raven.
"Hey we're not the waste of space here, you are!" retorted Eddy.
"Why don't we spare the small talk this time and just get to the fighting?" suggested Lei.
"That works for me," replied Bryan.
Everyone else nodded in agreement as they all took a combat stance. The song "Heavyweight" by Infected Mushroom began to play as the Lei Team and Dark Hand engaged in fisticuffs with Jinpachi and his cronies.
"I've had enough of you windbags!" shouted Feng as him and King traded punches with one another sending them both staggering back from each other. Lee kicked Feng in the back but was met with a palm strike to the face after Feng recovered from Lee's attack. Dragunov then dove at Feng tackling him to the ground and then Ganryu leapt into the air and sat on the Chinese fighter.
"I'm gonna whack you like a Mafia member," commented Bryan as he punched Steve in the gut and slammed him onto the ground. Hwoarang then kicked Bryan across the face but was met with a sweep from Bryan sending him crashing to the floor as well. Xiaoyu leapt into the air and punched Bryan in the face sending him staggering back into Paul.
"Pizza chef kneads dough!" shouted Paul as he smacked Bryan with an uppercut and nailed him with a hard fist to the back while Bryan was still airborne.
"Let's see if you can handle my raging tornado!" roared Eddy as he spun around sending a mini tornado at Raven who got caught up in it and went crashing into Asuka who was busy making a dash at the Brazilian dragon man. Lei dove at Eddy with a flying kick hitting him in the face and then crane kicked him in the chest sending Eddy into Wang who tripped the dragon man knocking him on his back.
"Time to make this gentle breeze become a raging windstorm!" shouted Jinpachi as he got ready to attack the Lei Team and Dark Hand. At that moment, a large tornado sprang up from the ground near where the scuffle was taking place.
"Did you conjure this up boss?" asked Feng.
"I wish I had, but this is not my doing," answered Jinpachi.
Within a few seconds, the tornado sucked everyone up sending them spinning around with ferocity as they all screamed loudly.
"This blows, literally!" shouted Lei.
After a while of being blown around in the tornado, the large windy vortex spat everyone out sending them all flying in different directions before disappearing once again into the ground.
"I'd like a refund on that fan," commented Wang as he stood up a few minutes later.
"We got rocked by a hurricane," groaned King.
"Has anyone seen my clothes?" asked Xiaoyu as she hid behind a nearby tree.
"Yeah, they're hanging up on that tree," answered Asuka pointing upwards where Xiaoyu's garments were all hanging off a branch high up on the tree.
"Well that's just lovely," groaned Xiaoyu.
"Don't worry, I'll get them down," said Hwoarang kicking the tree with enough force to jar Xiaoyu's clothing loose. She quickly scooped it up and put it all on.
"The question is where the hell did that old windbag get blown off to," pondered Ganryu.
"Hey I'm right behind you!" shouted Wang.
"He's talking about the other windbag Wang, the evil one," responded Lei.
"What's it matter, anytime we're not fighting them is a good thing," stated Steve.
"True, but if the demon chi arises near them again, we're screwed," chimed in Raven.
"I've seen where they got blown off to," called out a male's voice.
The Lei Team and Dark Hand turned around to see a tan skinned fighter with black hair done up in a ponytail. He was wearing a blue long sleeve shirt with an orange vest over it in addition to white pants and blue sneakers.
"Really, where did you see them get blown off to sir?" asked Lei.
"Towards the Colosseum, by the way I'm Robert Garcia, it's a pleasure to meet you all," introduced the man.
"Well then, if they're over there, let's make like gladiators and slay those beasts before they get the demon chi!" ordered Lei to his companions.
Meanwhile, near the Colosseum, Jinpachi and his cohorts were also still disoriented after being blown around by the wind demon chi.
"I swear, am I cursed or something? I've been attacked by the demon chi as well," grumbled Jinpachi.
"You're not going emo on us are you boss?" asked Feng.
"No way in hell is that happening, don't you even think that!" yelled Jinpachi as he smacked Feng on the head.
"Look at it this way, if we find the demon chi again, Lei and his group of shit heads isn't around to fuck things up for us," commented Bryan.
"He's got a point there boss," added Eddy.
"Nope, not anymore he doesn't!" called out Lei's voice from out of nowhere.
Jinpachi and company whirled around to see the Lei Team and Dark Hand with Robert in tow glaring at them.
"Oh, you guys again. Ready to take on a beast that you shouldn't anger," said Jinpachi in a threatening tone.
"Don't make us laugh, you've most likely been defanged," retorted Lei.
"Bring it on clown!" taunted Robert.
"Yeah, you tell them cutie," said Lee as he smacked Robert on his backside.
"If we weren't dealing with bigger things I'd hurt you for that right now," grumbled Robert.
"Well this time we're gonna blow you into oblivion!" shouted Bryan.
"What country is the city of Oblivion in?" asked Dragunov.
"Natural disaster devastates city!" shouted Paul as he smacked Dragunov on the head.
"Ok now, let's generate another powerful hurricane of our own!" exclaimed Lei as he took a fighting stance with the rest of this team. The song "Re-Education (Through Labor)" by Rise Against began to play as the Lei Team and Dark Hand fought Jinpachi and his minions for their second time in Rome.
"Mama Mia I'm sick and tired of you guys," groaned Bryan as he punched Raven in the face, Steve then ran up to Bryan and hit him in the back and Bryan turned around and gave Steve a gut punch. Hwoarang then leapt into the air and kicked Bryan in the face and then Xiaoyu tripped Bryan making him stumble to the ground just as Raven got back up and stomped on Bryan's back.
"I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse," said Eddy as he spun at King nailing him with a kick to the chin, King chopped Eddy across the chest making the Brazilian stagger back into Lee who swept Eddy. However, Eddy leapt back up and hit Lee with a roundhouse making him crash into Dragunov just as Ganryu hit Eddy right in the chest with a palm strike and then Robert nailed Eddy with a flurry of kicks before knocking him away with one really powerful one.
"That's it, you're gonna fall just like Julius Caesar!" yelled Feng as he went for a one two punch against Asuka who dodged the attacks and flip kicked Feng into Lei who nailed him with two quick snake like strikes to his face. Wang then spun the Chinese dragon man around making him disoriented right as Paul charged at him.
"Gladiator spears beast!" shouted Paul as he punched Feng directly in the face knocking him down.
"Oh come on, you melt under pressure quicker than a gelato does under the sun!" yelled Jinpachi to his minions. Just then, Jinpachi felt a stinging sensation in his neck and saw a blow dart lodged into it.
"I've had enough of your complaining! It's Saturday and I'm missing my hobby because of this, you don't hear me bitching," said Raven as he put his blowgun away.
"I'll get you next time," mumbled Jinpachi in a drowsy manner as he teleported away with his lackeys in tow.
"So where's the wind demon chi now?" asked Xiaoyu.
At the moment Xiaoyu finished speaking, a tornado began to rise out of the ground again aiming to suck up the Lei Team and Dark Hand in its wrath once again.
"Wang, don't waste any time, do the chi spell!" shouted Lei.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!" chanted Wang and Ganryu in unison repeatedly. As the two men chanted, the tornado started to die down and the very essence of the wind demon chi shot up into the air. When it began to descend, Wang opened up the demon chi container and caught the wind demon chi as it fell and promptly sealed the container shut.
"And we got lucky number seven!" exclaimed Asuka.
"However, we still have one more left to obtain, hopefully we find it soon," replied King.
"We know that Jinpachi will be there willing to fight us over it," added Steve.
"Until then though, what do you say we go back and enjoy some of the Italian sights?" suggested Lei.
"Like go back to the Sistine Chapel and admire the artwork?" inquired Lee.
"Or maybe get a pizza," added Ganryu.
"Why not do them all," said Robert.
"Agreed, we could stand to unwind after that windy escapade," stated Lei.
And with that, the Lei Team and Dark Hand with Robert in tow decided to go and roam around Rome and enjoy the sights.
Ask Lei segment
"Hey Lei," says some little kid.
"Yes?" asked Lei.
"How do you like your pizza?" asked the kid.
"Ah pizza, what a wonderful dish, there's so many great toppings that can go on it, like shrimp, barbecued chicken, pineapple, and the list goes on. However, I'm old fashioned, but I love it the best with good old pepperoni and sausage.
"Now I want a pizza too," said the kid.
"Pizza power, ah that's what makes us feel all right!" exclaimed Lei.
Author's Note: Well, another chapter down, only three to go. I just got back from FanimeCon a while back and saw some awesome cosplayers. I'm also busy getting ready to settle into a new place so I'll try to get the next chapter up post haste. Until then though, please read and review.